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In Malaysia, issue to attain durable concrete structures has risen due to shortage of skilled labours. Besides pollution due to construction activities, safety and health of the workers is also a major concern. Self-compacting concrete is able to overcome the problems through its execution. Moreover, properties of SCC can be further improved via incorporation with other materials. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the strengths and water absorption of SCC containing metakaolin (MK) and nylon fiber (NF) besides determining the effects of MK and NF in SCC. Four mixes (100%C, 95%C 5%MK, 100%C 0.5%NF, 95%C 5%MK 0.5%NF) were being carried out with w/c ratio 0.4 and 1.5% super-plasticizer (SP). Fresh concrete were tested with slump flow, T500 and segregation resistance test whereas hardened concrete were tested with compressive, tensile and flexural strength test. The results of fresh SCC were consistent as all mixes mostly falls in the same class for each respective test. Based on compressive strength test, all mix proportions were able to reach at least 80% of targeted strength, 50MPa. SCC (95%C 5%MK) had the highest compressive, split tensile and flexural strength. While SCC (95%C 5%MK0.5 %NF had better testing results compare to 100%C 0.5%NF.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the efficacy of direct-acting antiviral drugs in different ethnicities and elderly population of Pakistan. Methods: We used GeneXpert® technology to quantify HCV RNA and evaluated treatment response in different cohorts that included HCV patients classified on the basis of their age-group and ethnicity. Results: The findings of our study suggest that 76% of nonresponder patients were older than 55 years of age which shows that age is the predictor of treatment outcome of direct-acting antiviral drugs. In addition to this, no differences were observed in overall efficacy by ethnicity. Conclusion: Treatment-regimen sofosbuvir+ribavirin has a limited effect on older patients; therefore, practitioners and healthcare professionals need to reconsider treatment options for elderly populations.

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