Background: Extracorporeal Shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is widely used in treating patients with ureteralstones because it is effective, safe, and noninvasive. Based on factors such as size and the location of stones,there is a significant variation in the overall stone-free rate (SFR).Aim of the study: To evaluate the effect of ureteral wall thickness (UWT), stone attenuation, the time fromfirst attack of pain till first session of ESWL and stone/ rib density on the outcome of SWL in the treatmentof upper ureteral stones (UUS).Patient and methods: A prospective study when 127 patients with radio-opaque UUS ranging from 7 to 20mm and treated by ESWL were included in this study. The effect of (stone/ 12th rib) density by KUB, ureteralwall thickness by NCCT and the time from first attack of pain till first ESWL session was studied.Results: The overall successful fragmentation was 75.5%, with the overall success rates in the low density(LD) and high density (HD) groups were 83.8% and 52.94%, respectively. The average number of SWLsessions needed in the two groups for success was 1.9 compared with 2.7 sessions (p<0.05). For stones <10 mm; those with ureteral wall thickness <3.25 mm have success rate about 90.3% VS 69.7% with uretericwall thickness > 3.25 mm which is highly significant. Early ESWL within the first 24 hours of acute attackof first pain has successful fragmentation of 85.45%. With significant effect on number of ESWL sessions.The stone free rate reaches 91.1% for stones <10 mm.Conclusions: The stone free rate is inversely affected by stone /12th rib density ; ureteral wall thickness andthe time from first attack of pain till first session of ESWL, were important predictors of successful ESWL.
The photoconductivity and its dependence on light intensity have been investigated in a-Ge20Se80 thin films as a function of temperature between (293–323)K. The result showed that the photoconductivity and photosensitivity increase with increase of annealing temperature. This behavior is interpreted in terms of the dispersive diffusion –controlled recombination of localized electrons and holes.
A cantilevered piezoelectric beam with a tip mass at its free end is a common energy harvester configuration. This paper introduces a new principle of designing such a harvester which increases the generated voltage without changing the natural frequency of the harvester: The attraction force between two permanent magnets is used to add stiffness to the system. This magnetic stiffening counters the effect of the tip mass on the natural frequency. Three setups incorporating piezoelectric bimorph cantilevers of the same type in different mechanical configurations are compared theoretically and experimentally to investigate the feasibility of this principle. Theoretical and experimental results show that magnetically stiffe
... Show MoreDestiny functional theory (DFT) calculations are undertaken in order to scrutinize the electrochemical and calcium (Ca) storage characteristics of a graphyne-like aluminum nitride monolayer (G-AlNyen) as an electrode material for Ca-ion batteries (CIBs). The results show that the change in internal energy as well as the cell voltage values for the CIB with the G-AlNyen anode are comparable to others with two-dimensional 2D nano-materials. It is shown that Ca is adsorbed primarily onto the center of a hexagonal and triangular ring of G-AlNyen with absorption energies of −2.06 and −0.42 eV. After increasing the concentration of Ca atoms on G-AlNyen, the adsorption energy as well as the cell voltage decreases. Lower values of 0.15–0.32 e
... Show MoreMotives: The research deals with the issue of urban sprawl on agricultural lands. It is an urban problem caused by rapid urbanization and poor planning. It is considered one problem that threatens cities with environmental and health disasters. It also threatens agricultural life and the green belt surrounding cities. Changes in urban sprawl on agricultural land are associated with complex processes that lead to multiple social, economic, political, and environmental risks and thus pose a threat and an obstacle to the sustainability of cities. Aim: The research aims to study and evaluate the reality of the city of Baghdad and the extent of its ability and flexibility to withstand the disaster of urban sprawl on agricultural lands. T
... Show MoreThe piled raft is a geotechnical composite construction consisting of three elements: piles, raft and soil.
In the design of piled rafts, the load shared between the piles and the raft, and the piles are used up to a
load level that can be of the same order of magnitude as the bearing capacity of a comparable single
pile or even greater. Therefore, the piled raft foundation allows reduction of settlements in a very
economic way as compared to traditional foundation concepts.
This paper presents experimental study to investigate the behavior of piled raft system in sandy
soil. A small scale “prototype” model was tested in a sand box with load applied to the system through
a compression machine. The settlement was
COVID 19 has spread rapidly around the world due to the lack of a suitable vaccine; therefore the early prediction of those infected with this virus is extremely important attempting to control it by quarantining the infected people and giving them possible medical attention to limit its spread. This work suggests a model for predicting the COVID 19 virus using feature selection techniques. The proposed model consists of three stages which include the preprocessing stage, the features selection stage, and the classification stage. This work uses a data set consists of 8571 records, with forty features for patients from different countries. Two feature selection techniques are used in
The inflammatory response is a crucial aspect of the tissues’ responses to deleterious inflammogens. This complex response involves leukocytes cells such as macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes, also known as inflammatory cells. In response to the inflammatory process, these cells release specialized substances which include vasoactive amines and peptides, eicosanoids, proinflammatory cytokines, and acute-phase proteins, which mediate the inflammatory process by preventing further tissue damage and ultimately resulting in healing and restoration of tissue function. This review discusses the role of the inflammatory cells as well as their by-products in the mediation of inflammatory process. A brief insight into the role of natural an
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