Search

Aim: To understand the psychological impact of COVID – 19 on Medical Students of a private sector Medical University in Karachi, Pakistan. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students studying at Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, Pakistan. The data collection was done through online survey from July 2020 to December 2020. The study aimed to gather data from many medical students. A total number of 420 students were participated from Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry in Karachi, Pakistan. The participants were selected from all years of MBBS and BDS programs . Results: Out of 420 participants, 236 (56.2%) were male and 184 (43.8%) female, with a male:female ration of 1.28:1. Majority of participants were single as 411 (97.9%), of 224 (53.3%) students living with their family, 150 (35.7%) in hostel and 46 (11%) living with friends. In our sample 369 (87.9%) students studying in MBBS program while only 51 (12.1%) BDS, among those 80 (19%) medical students were in first year, followed by 122 (29%) second year, 65 (15.5%) third year, 54 (12.9%) fourth year and 99 (23.6%) studying in final year. IES-R scale and results shows 75 (17.9%) reported that PTSD is a clinical concern, probable diagnosis of PTSD 28 (6.7%) and majority rated as high enough to PTSD 133 (31.7%). Impact of event (revised) scale shows significant association with age and year of study with p value 0.026 and 0.002 respectively. Based on the PHQ9 scale, Gender, Living arrangements and the program enrolled in were reported significant association with depression p values 0.059, 0.008 and 0.006 respectively. Conclusion: Findings suggests high rate of anxiety, depression, and signs of PTSD in medical students due to COVID-19 which needs pressing attention and provision of professional help from mental health practitioners. Keywords: Impact, Covid-19, Medical students

Background: The rise in prevalence and complications associated with dental traumatic injuries among Pakistani population is considered a topic of discussion at International Association of Dental Traumatology nowadays. Understanding the multifactorial etiology, therapeutic techniques and choosing management approaches are vital to dental traumatic injuries. Aim: To assess the knowledge, qualification and practices followed by dental professionals from a tertiary healthcare centers based in Sindh Pakistan. Methodology: The study population of this cross-sectional descriptive study comprised of dental care providers attending the seminar on World Oral Health Day at Bibi Aseefa Dental College, Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of two parts; demographic and knowledge about management of trauma was administered to participants on 20 March 2021. The detailed demographic details of research participants were collected and further analyzed by using SPSS 20 and MS Office 2010 tools. Results: Out of total 134 participants, 40(29.9%) were males while, 94(70.1%) were females with mean age of 24.314.088. Among them 45(33.6%) were undergraduate dental students; in them 4(8.9%) were in 1st year dental students, 17(37.8%) in 2nd year, 10(22.2%) in 3rd year and 14(31.1%) were in final year of their undergraduate studies. 31(23.1%) were house officers, 19(14.2%) were post graduate residents and 39(29.1%) were general dental practitioners (GDP). Conclusion: Lack of qualified dental experts with post-residency trainings dealing dental traumatic complexity in Sindh Pakistan is considered a major underlying associated with heightened case rates of pediatric dental injuries. Keywords: tooth injuries, Dentists, Restorative, Pediatric

Background: With the advances in percutaneous intervention techniques, the majority of patients referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are on aspirin and clopidogrel. Standard guidelines suggest to stop clopidogrel 5 days and continue aspirin before surgery. We aim to report our centre experience on effects of continuation of preoperative clopidogrel on postoperative bleeding and use of blood products after off- pump CABG (OP-CABG).Methods: This retrospective study included 120 consecutive patients who underwent isolated OP-CABG operation between Nov 2019 and March 2021 in our centre. Data was obtained from hospital records. Patients were divided into two groups: Group-1: this group consists of 86 patients. All patients included were elective CABG cases with preoperative Clopidogrel 75 mg discontinued 3-5 days before surgery. Group-2: this group consists of 34 patients. All patients included were urgent CABG cases with preoperative Clopidogrel 75 mg discontinued 24 hours before surgery. Aspirin 75 mg was continued in both groups till surgery. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data was recorded.Results: 120 patients were enrolled in the study. There was no statistical significance in postoperative bleeding, re-exploration and use of blood products between the two groups. However, use of total arterial vascularisation and operative time was significant among the groups. The postoperative outcome was similar in both the groups.Conclusions: OP-CABG can be done safely in patients requiring urgent surgery. However, clopidogrel should be stopped 3-5 days in patients undergoing elective surgeries as it influences graft selection, prolongs operative time and exposes the patients to unnecessary risks.

Rationale and objectives Early prediction of incipient Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is important for timely therapeutic intervention and identifying participants for clinical trials at greater risk of developing AD. Methods to predict incipient AD in MCI have mostly utilized cross-sectional data. Longitudinal data enables estimation of the rate of change of variables, which along with the variable levels have been shown to improve prediction power. While some efforts have already been made in this direction, all previous longitudinal studies have been based on observation periods longer than one year, hence limiting their practical utility. It remains to be seen if follow-up evaluations within shorter intervals can significantly improve the accuracy of prediction in this problem. Our aim was to determine the added value of incorporating 6-month longitudinal data for predicting progression from MCI to AD. Materials and methods Using 6-months longitudinal data from 247 participants with MCI, we trained two Random Forest classifiers to distinguish between progressive MCI (n = 162) and stable MCI (n = 85) cases. These models utilized structural MRI, neurocognitive assessments, and demographic information. The first model (cross-sectional) only used baseline data. The second model (longitudinal) used data from both baseline and a 6-month follow-up evaluation allowing the model to additionally incorporate biomarkers’ rate of change. Results The longitudinal model (AUC = 0.87; accuracy = 80.2%) performed significantly better (P Conclusion Short-term longitudinal assessments significantly enhance the performance of AD prediction models.

This study was conducted to evaluate the usability of health care apps and its significance in the field of health care. As health care centers are the settings working 24/7 for providing health services to patients. For this study a systematic review, comparison and functionality assessment of selected COVID19 mobile apps was performed. The assessment was performed on two digital platforms, App store on Apple iPhone and Google play store on Android smartphones. Further online search of keywords on Google was also conducted in order to ensure the reliability and validity of apps on these stores. And only those apps were selected which were in English because of the language proficiency of authors. The mobile apps selected were having five features of assessment, a questionnaire, Privacy statement, Precautionary measures if test positive for COVID19, after plans of Pandemic and Region based. The sample was a blend of participants from different fields including students, doctors, patients and software developers. This is quantitative study; a questionnaire was distributed among the selected participants who were familiar with the use of health care mobile apps. The data was analyzed on the basis of gender and age. The results were made on the basis of responses towards effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of users towards mobile phone apps. The results show that apps were found 64.5% informative for participants as they helped in fast communication of doctors and patients while sitting at the other corner of world.

Wavelet analysis deals with finding a suitable basis for the class of $$L^2$$ functions. Symmetric basis functions are very useful in various applications. In the case of all wavelets other than the famous Haar wavelet, the simultaneous inclusion of compact supportedness, orthogonality and symmetricity is not possible. Theory of multiwavelets assumes significance since it offers orthogonal, compact frames without losing symmetry. We can also construct symmetric, compactly supported and pseudo-biorthogonal bases which are also possible only in the case of multiwavelets. The properties of a multiwavelet directly depends on the corresponding multiscaling function. A multiscaling function is characterized by a unique symbol function, which is a matrix polynomial in complex exponential. A matrix polynomial can be constructed from its spectral data. Our aim is to find the necessary as well as sufficient conditions a spectral data must satisfy so that the corresponding matrix polynomial is the symbol function of a compactly supported, symmetric multiscaling function $$\varPhi (x)$$ . We will construct such a multiscaling function $$\varPhi (x)$$ and its dual $$\tilde{\varPhi }(x)$$ such that the functions $$\varPhi (x)$$ and $$\tilde{\varPhi }(x)$$ form a pair of pseudo-biorthogonal multiscaling functions.

The degradation of mobility is one of the major concerns that affect the independent living ability of elderly/disabled people. Therefore, mobility assistive devices are being developed to uplift the living standards of the people. However, the existing mobility assistive devices require improvements. This paper presents about design and development of a smart wheel chair with multiple control interfaces. A prototype of the smart wheelchair system has been developed based on a conventional wheelchair that is commonly available in the market, with the addition of related electrical and mechanical advancements. Voice and gesture controlling interfaces are deployed to the system in addition to the conventional joystick-controlling interface to enhance the interaction with the user. Particulars on the mechanical design, the electrical and control system of the smart wheelchair are presented. Experiments have been conducted to verify the functionality of the developed smart wheelchair. Furthermore, the user preferences between the different controlling interfaces have been evaluated through a user study and the results are presented.

Electrical stimulation of subthalamic nuclei (STN) is a widely used therapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD). While deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN alters the neurophysiological activity in basal ganglia, the therapeutic mechanism has not been established. A positron emission tomography (PET) study of cerebral blood flow (CBF) during speech production in PD subjects treated with STN-DBS found significant increases in global (whole-brain) CBF.1 That study utilized a series of whole-slice regions of interest to obtain global CBF values. The present study examined this effect using a voxel-based principal component analysis (PCA) combined with Fisher’s linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) to classify STN-DBS on versus STN-DBS off whole-brain images. The approach yielded wide-spread CBF changes that classified STN-DBS status with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity approaching 90%. The PCA component of the analysis supported the observation of a global CBF change during STN-DBS. The FLDA component demonstrated wide-spread multi-focal CBF changes. Further, CBF measurements related to a number of subject characteristics when STN-DBS was off, but not when it was on, suggesting that the normal relationship between CBF and behavior may be disrupted by this form of neuromodulation.

Superconductivity in bismuth-based high-T c superconducting materials attracts the researchers for their unique properties. Bismuth-based superconductors commonly called BSCCO have great importance among the superconducting family. These are divided into three phases among them 2223 phase is highly studied in order to investigate its superconducting properties by substitution of different elements. We have studied the substitution of cerium (Ce) on the calcium site of bismuth-based Bi(Pb)Sr(Ba)-2223 high-T c superconductor. The nominal compositions of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr1.6Ba0.4(Ca1−x Ce x )2Cu3O x ceramic superconductor were prepared by the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was done at room temperature for structural analysis and different parameters were calculated. Surface morphology was done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). DC resistivity measurements for the transition temperature of synthesized superconducting samples were taken by the standard four-probe method, apparatus for which was developed in our laboratory. Current density measurements were also taken by the same apparatus. The synthesized superconducting samples were also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and Fourier transformation infrared radiations (FTIR). It is observed that the substitution of cerium on the calcium site favors the formation of single high-T c 2223 phase.

Background Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage from normal aging to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. It is extremely important to develop criteria that can be used to separate the MCI subjects at imminent risk of conversion to Alzheimer-type dementia from those who would remain stable. We have developed an automatic algorithm for computing a novel measure of hippocampal volumetric integrity (HVI) from structural MRI scans that may be useful for this purpose. Objective To determine the utility of HVI in classification between stable and progressive MCI patients using the Random Forest classification algorithm. Methods We used a 16-dimensional feature space including bilateral HVI obtained from baseline and one-year follow-up structural MRI, cognitive tests, and genetic and demographic information to train a Random Forest classifier in a sample of 164 MCI subjects categorized into two groups [progressive (n = 86) or stable (n = 78)] based on future conversion (or lack thereof) of their diagnosis to probable AD. Results The overall accuracy of classification was estimated to be 82.3% (86.0% sensitivity, 78.2% specificity). The accuracy in women (89.1%) was considerably higher than that in men (78.9%). The prediction accuracy achieved in women is the highest reported in any previous application of machine learning to AD diagnosis in MCI. Conclusion The method presented in this paper can be used to separate stable MCI patients from those who are at early stages of AD dementia with high accuracy. There may be stronger indicators of imminent AD dementia in women with MCI as compared to men.

Bismuth based superconductors (BSCCO) having 2 2 2 3 phase is highly carried by the researchers to study the structural and other properties. The effect of substitution of cerium element on calcium site of bismuth based Bi(Pb)Sr(Ba)-2 2 2 3 high T c superconductor for the enhancement of superconducting properties like critical temperature( T c ) and critical current density ( J c ) are studied. The nominal compositions of Bi 1.6 Pb 0.4 (Sr 1− y Ba y ) 2 (Ca 1− x Ce x ) 2 Cu 3 O Y (where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and y = 0.0, 0.4) ceramic superconductor were prepared by wet chemical method. Stoichiometric amounts of Bi 2 O 3 , PbO, Sr(NO 3 ) 2 , BaCO 3 , CaCO 3 , CuO and CeO 2 were used as starting materials. The effect of substitution of cerium on calcium site and its effect on current density of Bi-2 2 2 3 phase were studied. To study the structural morphology and surface analysis X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was done. It is observed that with the substitution of cerium on calcium site not only the phase pure material is obtained but also the current density increases.

The effects of sintering temperature on the structural and electrical transport properties of nanocrystalline zinc ferrites are reported. The zinc ferrites were prepared by WOWS sol-gel synthesis route. The prepared sample was sintered at temperatures 500°C, 700°C and 900°C respectively for 2 h. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) technique was used to describe the structural properties. The crystallite size, lattice parameters and porosity of samples were measured from the analysis of XRD data. The average crystallite size for each sample was measured using the Scherrer formula by considering the most intense (3 1 1) peak. The dielectric constant (ε), dielectric loss tangent (tan) and AC electrical conductivity of nanocrystalline Zn ferrites are investigated as a function of frequency and sintering temperature. All the electrical properties are explained in accordance with MaxwellWagner model and Koops phenomenological theory.

The nanocrystalline Mg-Zn ferrites having general formula Mg1-xZnxFe2O4(x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0. 5) were prepared by WOWS sol-gel route. All prepared samples were sintered at 700°C for 2 h. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) technique was used to investigate structural properties of the samples. The crystal structure was found to be spinel. The crystallite size, lattice parameters and porosity of samples were calculated by XRD data analysis as function of zinc concentration. The crystallite size for each sample was calculated using the Scherrer formula considering the most intense (3 1 1) peak and the range obtained was 34-68 nm. The dielectric constant (ε), dielectric loss tangent () and AC electrical conductivity of nanocrystalline Mg-Zn ferrites are investigated as a function of frequency. The dielectric constant (ε), dielectric loss tangent () increased with increase of Zn concentration. All the electrical properties are explained in accordance with MaxwellWagner model and Koops phenomenological theory.

Air bearing table is used to validate attitude control strategies for small satellites and to validate the performance of satellite sensors and actuators on ground with frictionless environment before launch. It can only be done by using a test platform that floats on the continuous airstream and hence allowing free rotation around all three axes. The system is employed to develop, improve, and carry out tests of sensors (magnetometer, sun sensor), actuators (reaction wheel, magnetic torquer), and algorithms in the experimental framework. In order to simulate weightlessness, it is essential for the platform to be completely balanced in all axes. Another important consideration is that the combined center of gravity (COG) of the lifted structure should be coincident or very close to the center of rotation (COR) of bearing. In this paper the design detail of developed air bearing table is discussed. It provides a cost effective mean to test small satellites and their AOCS hardware. The diameter of air bearing is selected as 5 inch as it fulfilled the loading requirement which is integrated with the platform. The designed load is selected to be 100kg class satellites. Modular design approach is adopted in order to accommodate different sizes of air bearing and hence enhancing the lifting capability of the platform. The sensitivity of platform is tested to be as small as 5 grams. The vertical balancing of the system (Z-axis) is done by adding counter weights at each corner of the platform, while horizontal balancing is carried out with the help of trimming masses in two axes(X, Y). The platform allows tilt angle of 30° about X and Y axes while free rotation of 360° about Z-axis. The system is tested for the dummy weight of 75kg at continuous pressure of 4bar. For the desired lifting mass, appropriate air compressor is selected that can supply maximum pressure of 8 bar. A control panel is also provided to regulate the air flow according to the experimental needs. FEM analysis is carried out for the platform to check the maximum lifting capability of the system. The results were found within safe limits.

The Al-Jubail SWRO plant has a unique feature of using two entirely different types of RO membranes. The plant has 15 trains, producing 20 MIGD product water of WHO recommended quality. Eleven of these trains use polyamide hollow fine fiber (HFF) membranes and the remaining four utilize polyamide spiral-wound (SW) membranes. Initially, the HFF permeators were installed in trains A, B, C and D. Since the production of these permeators has been discontinued, an alternate solution had to be found. Hence the SW membranes were selected. The SW vessels have been arranged in such a way that three vessels are side-port connected in series. The vessels were specially fabricated so that the existing racks, feed/product headers and manifolds could be utilized as they were already fabricated and installed. This study compared the performance parameters like salt rejection, feed pressure, and flux decline of these two types of membranes. The seawater temperature in the Arabian Gulf varies from 15°C to 37°C and the TDS from 42,000 mg/L to 45,000 mg/L. Among 15 trains (11 HFF + 4 SW), one train was selected from the SW group and another train from the HFF group for comparison purposes. The performance of the membranes changed with a wide fluctuation of feed water temperature. As per the plant design, the product water flow rate remains constant in spite of variations in feed water temperature. The software at the DCS reduces the feed pressure if temperature increases or vice versa.

Clay–lime improvement is an effective means to improve soft clay soil. Lime stabilization especially improves the strength and the workability of the clay soil. In addition, lime improvement provides more resistance to the soil structure and to the effect of weather on the soil structure. This study has investigated lime stabilization of soft clay and the possibility of utilizing waste rock powder produced in crusher plants as a supplemental material for lime stabilization in order to increase the strength of the soil structure. The purpose of the study was to apply the results especially in irrigation projects in order to avoid the problems of soft clay on irrigation structures in Sri Lanka. However, the results and conclusions can be considered for other regions, where the same type of soft clay problems exists. The Dutch Oostvaardersplassen (OVP) soft clay, which has a high plasticity, low shear strength and high natural water content, was chosen for the investigations. The results of unconfined compressive strength for different water contents of clay and also for different lime and waste rock powder contents show an excellent increase in strength and workability. The waste rock powder proved to increase the effect of lime stabilization. The strength improvement caused by waste rock powder is more significant for those soils which have a low clay content. Since in irrigation projects a wide range of clay soils exist, this investigation may be useful to utilize waste rock powder in order to improve the quality and the durability of the foundation of irrigation structures in the long run. Therefore the application of lime and rock material improvement on soft clay in irrigation projects may be a useful approach to stabilize soft soils and improve medium-scale shallow foundation irrigation structures and road and canal embankments, including repairing canal leaks. It has also been found that by applying this method in irrigation projects in Sri Lanka, the stabilization cost for structures on soft clay can be significantly reduced compared to other methods. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this paper we review the concepts of Bayesian evidence and Bayes factors, also known as log odds ratios, and their application to model selection. The theory is presented along with a discussion of analytic, approximate and numerical techniques. Specific attention is paid to the Laplace approximation, variational Bayes, importance sampling, thermodynamic integration, and nested sampling and its recent variants. Analogies to statistical physics, from which many of these techniques originate, are discussed in order to provide readers with deeper insights that may lead to new techniques. The utility of Bayesian model testing in the domain sciences is demonstrated by presenting four specific practical examples considered within the context of signal processing in the areas of signal detection, sensor characterization, scientific model selection and molecular force characterization., Arxiv version consists of 58 pages and 9 figures. Features theory, numerical methods and four applications

Wavelet analysis provides suitable bases for the class of L 2 functions. The function to be represented is approximated at different resolutions. The desirable properties of a basis are orthogonality, compact supportedness and symmetricity. In the scalar case, the only wavelet with these properties is Haar wavelet. Theory of multiwavelets assumes significance since it offers symmetric, compactly supported, orthogonal bases for L 2(R). The properties of a multiwavelet are determined by the corresponding Multiscaling Function. A multiscaling function is characterized by its symbol function which is a matrix polynomial in complex exponential. The inverse representation theorem of matrix polynomials provides a method to construct a matrix polynomial from its Jordan pair. Our objective is to find the properties that characterize a Jordan pair of a symbol function of a multiscaling function with desirable properties.

This paper presents a novel digital watermarking algorithm using Contourlet and Discrete Cosine transforms to perceptually shape the watermark by taking care of two conflicting parameters imperceptibility and robustness. Multi Objective Genetic Algorithm is used to decide the optimal watermarking strength (a). Contourlet transform is used to get better quality by taking care of Human Visual System and better robustness under various kinds of linear and non-linear filtering attacks. Discrete Cosine Transform with Zigzag scanning is used to detect the watermark blindly. The watermark embedding process is applied over the sub-band coefficients that lie on the edges and around the edges where distortions are less noticeable. The proposed algorithm provides an excellent tradeoff between robustness and imperceptibility and it is image adaptive. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm improved the resistance to attacks especially JPEG compression with 5% quality, Median filter with a mask of 6 × 6, resizing up to 20% and various non-linear filtering attacks. Motivation of presented work is to adapt a watermark sequence to those frequency components of an image which provide a transparent and robust watermark.

Aim : The aim of this study was to determine the value of dynamic high-resolution ultrasonography (HR-US) in the evaluation of internal derangements of a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in the open and closed mouth position. Settings and Design : The study designed to collect the sample from the Outpatient Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology at GDC, Bangalore. Patients with pain, clicking, deviation, and tenderness were included in the study as a symptomatic group. The asymptomatic group was free of any symptoms. Materials and Methods : Maximum mandibular range of motion (Open and Closed) was performed during HR-US of TMJ in 100 consecutive patients, (50 symptomatic and 50 asymptomatic cases, a total of 400 joints, with 200 joints in the right and left closed and open mouth position;36 males and 64 females; age range, 16 - 50 years; mean age 27.56 years). Subsequently, the entire group, after clinical diagnosis, went for HR-US. Sonography confirmed the diagnosis by showing internal derangement in 34 (68%) of the symptomatic group and the remaining 16 (32%) patients failed to show any derangement. In the asymptomatic group 40 patients did not show any pathology associated with TMJ, whereas, 10 patients showed internal derangement. The data obtained was analyzed statistically. Results : HR-US performed during the maximal range of motion (Open and Closed) helped to detect 34 instances (68 joints) of internal derangement, which were true positive cases, whereas, 16 patients (32 joints) showed a false positive finding for internal derangement (ID). The results obtained showed a sensitivity of 64%, specificity of 88%, positive predictive value of 84%, and a negative predictive value of 71%, with an accuracy of 76%. Conclusions : Dynamic HR-US being non-invasive can provide valuable information about internal derangement of the TMJ in mandibular closed mouth than open mouth position.

To establish the awareness of palliative medicine in Pakistani doctors through a questionnaire.A questionnaire was developed after consultation with the professionals working in palliative medicine. It was distributed, by hand, to a convenience sample of doctors who worked at various teaching hospitals in Pakistan. The distribution and collection of questionnaires was carried out within six months.The results suggested that 74% doctors felt that cancer was the commonest reason for the palliative care teams to be involved. Forty five percent mentioned tht pain control was their prime job; 54% said that they had some experience of palliative medicine; 64% wanted to be involved in palliative medicine; 60% thought that they broke bad news properly to the patients; 59% were satisfied with their own performance while dealing with an incurable patient (57% said that they had heard about a hospice). There was a wide range of drugs for the cancer pain.Amongst Pakistani doctors, there is a lack of training in palliative medicine. A significant number of doctors are interested and they are willing to have more training in pain control, breaking bad news, communication skills and terminal care.

Clay-lime improvement is an effective means to improve soft clay soil. Lime stabilization especially improves the strength and the workability of the clay soil. In addition to that, lime improvement provides more resistance to the soil structure and to the effect of weather on the soil structure. The purpose of the study is to improve the irrigation structures constructed in soft clay in order to increase the efficiency of irrigation and drainage systems that would insure a proper and efficient water management system. This study has investigated lime stabilization of soft clay and the possibility of utilizing waste rock powder produced in crusher plants as a supplemental material for the lime stabilization in order to increase the strength of the soil structure. The purpose of the study was to apply the results especially in irrigation projects in order to avoid the problems of soft clay on irrigation structures in Sri Lanka. However, the results and conclusions can be considered for other regions, where the same type of soft clay problems exist. The Dutch Oostvaardersplassen (OVP) soft clay, which has a high plasticity, low shear strength and high natural water content and lime (house burned, locally made from the eastern part of Sri Lanka) and waste rock material (from local rock crushers from Sri Lanka) were chosen to carryout the investigations. The results of unconfined compressive strength for different water contents of clay and also for different lime and waste rock powder contents show an excellent increase in strength and workability. The waste rock powder proved to increase the effect of lime stabilization. The strength improvement caused by waste rock powder is more significant for those soils, which have a low clay content. Since, in irrigation projects, a wide range of clay soils exist, this investigation may be useful to utilize waste rock powder in order to improve the quality and the durability of the foundation of irrigation structures in the long run. Therefore, the application of lime and rock material improvement on soft clay in irrigation projects may be a useful approach to stabilize soft soils and improve medium scale shallow foundation irrigation structures, road embankments and canal embankments, including repairing canal leaks. It has also been found that by applying this method in irrigation projects in Sri Lanka, the stabilization cost for structures on soft clay can be significantly reduced compared to other methods.