A novel demountable shear connector is proposed to link a concrete slab to steel sections in a way that resulting steel-concrete composite floor is demountable, i.e. it can be easily dismantled at the end of its service life. The proposed connectors consist of two parts: the first part is a hollow steel tube with internal threads at its lower end. The second part is a compatible partially threaded bolted stud. After linking the stud to the steel section, the hollow steel tube can be fastened over the threaded stud, which create a complete demountable shear connector. The connector is suitable for use in both composite bridges and buildings, and using cast in-situ slabs, precast solid slabs, or hollow-core precast slabs. A series of push-off

The increasing demand for energy has encouraged the development of renewable resources and environmentally benign fuel such as biodiesel. In this study, ethyl fatty esters (EFEs), a major component of biodiesel fuel, were synthesized from soybean oil using sodium ethoxide as a catalyst. By-products were glycerol and difatty acyl urea (DFAU), which has biological characteristics, as antibiotics and antifungal medications. Both EFEs and DFAU have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The optimum conditions were studied as a function of reaction time, reactant molar ratios, catalyst percentage and the effect of organic solvents. The conversion ratio of soybea

In this work, varying compositions of SiO₂ micro filler were added
with the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and samples have been prepared
using film casting technique. The results have been analyzed and
compared for PVC samples with (1 wt%, 3 wt%, 5 wt% and 10 wt%)
SiO2 micro filler. Mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength,
elongation at break and Young`s modulus were measured for all the
samples, where the tensile strength was increased from 8.39 Mpa for
purified PVC to 16 Mpa for 3% SiO₂/PVC composite. Also, thermal
conductivity measurement values illustrated that composite materials
have a good thermal insulation at 10 wt. %, thermal conductivity was
decreased from 0.1684 W/m.

Background: Immediate implant placement in the maxillary anterior region was challenging, especially with the jumping gap and limited primary implant stability. Objective: To assess the autogenous dentin graft biomaterial's ability to improve the esthetic outcomes of an immediately inserted implant. Methods: Twenty patients with non-restorable retained roots in the maxillary non-molar region surrounded by natural sound teeth were included in this study after a complete clinical and radiological examination, including patient health and clinical fitness for the immediate dental implant procedure. A single dental implant was inserted for each patient, and the resulting jump distance was filled with the mineralized dentin graft and co

Background: Dyslipidemia is defined as an abnormally high level of various lipids in the blood. It is considered a major risk for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Genetic susceptibility can have a significant influence on the development and progression of dyslipidemia. ApoB-100 R3500Q mutation and ApoE variants are among those genetic risks for dyslipidemia. This study aims to assess the possible contribution of ApoB and ApoE variants on lipid profile among a group of early-onset ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients in comparison to a group of controls. Methods: Forty patients with dyslipidemia and early-onset IHD without chronic conditions likely to cause derangement of lipid levels were recruited to this case-control study

This research deals with the nature of the Turkish attitude towards the events of the Arab Spring which the Arab region witnessed recently, as this attitude is characterized by hesitation and utter confusion about those events at its beginning. However, the development of events and the consequent repercussions led the Turkish decision makers of the foreign policy to reconsider their attitude towards those events for political, economic, cultural and social motives.