This paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study aimed at comparing the influence of openings of different configurations on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete gable roof beams. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported gable beams subjected to mid-point concentrated load. The variable which has been investigated in this work was opening's configuration (quadrilateral or circular) with the same upper and lower chords depth. The results indicate improvement in the beams’ flexural behavior when circular openings were used compared with that of quadrilateral openings, represented by an increase in ultimate load capacity and a decrease in deflection at the service limit. Also, there was an

Background: Many structural or functional abnormalities can impair the production of thyroid hormones and cause hypothyroidism.Objectives: to identify the main etiological causes of hypothyroidism among patients visiting Specialized Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology.Methods: This study was conducted in the Specialized Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology on 217 patients with proved hypothyroidism, from 2006 to 2008. Every patient was tested with thyroid function tests, Ultrasound examination, thyroid autoantibodies, fine needle aspiration, radiology of skull, isotopes scan, also checking adrenal and gonadal function. Results: Out of these 217 patients 120 patients have thyroiditis 33 patients had been undergone thyroidectomy. 39 pat

In this study, performance characteristics such as power take off (PTO) power consumption, fuel consumption, fuel consumption for the unit field-unit product were determined at different working speeds with two different PTO applications (540 and 540E) in a single row disc type silage machine. In particular, the 540E PTO application greatly reduces fuel consumption for unit work. The best results in terms of hourly fuel consumption were achieved in 540E PTO application and V1 working speed. When the field - product fuel consumption is evaluated, the best results were obtained with the 540E PTO application at the V3 working speed. When an evaluation is made considering all the parameters, it is concluded that the 540E PTO application will p

Al-Rustamiyah plant is the oldest and biggest sewage treatment plant in Iraq; it locates in the south of Baghdad city. The plant suffers from serious problems associated with overflow and low capacity. The present work aims to upgrade the heart of biological treatment process through suggesting the use of membrane bioreactor; (MBR). In this work, fouling of membrane during sewage treatment has been analyzed experimentally and theoretically by fouling mechanisms. Aeration has been applied in order to control fouling through producing effective diameters of air bubbles close to the membrane walls. Effect of air flow rate on flux decline was investigated. Hermia's models were used to investigate the fouling mechanisms. The results showed th

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) has been widely known for his special interest in the female characters. In many of his novels, he narrates the conditions, values, and the institutions that surround and control the life of women, leading them to be victims. In “Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1844), the heroine, Beatrice is created to be victimized by her loved ones (her father and lover). This paper focuses on the term “victim,” it shows its aspects through the development of Beatrice’s character. The paper also studies a female character in the male-dominated society, to show the cruelty done to her, and how she is considered to be a second rate person, who is unable to live normally, or at least to save herself from dea

To approach the problem of individual oppression with an international perspective drawing on Foucauldian concepts, this paper compares George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) and the Iraqi Sinan Antoon’s I’jaam (2004), which was translated into English in 2007. Even though Orwell and Antoon come from dissimilar cultural backgrounds, religions and epochs, they have tackled the issue of individuals’ oppression through their oppressed characters in a strikingly similar way. Hence, by applying the theories of both the American School of Comparative Literature and Foucauldian concepts, the current study attempts to establish a relationship between the Western and Eastern ways of dealing with the issue of oppression as an international problem in au

It is often noted that disordered materials have different chemical properties to their more “ordered” cousins. Quantifying these effects in terms of thermodynamics is challenging in part because disordered materials can be difficult to characterize and are frequently relatively unstable. During the course of our experiments to understand the effects of disorder in catalysts for water oxidation we observed that many disordered manganese and cobalt oxide water oxidation catalysts directly oxidized peroxide in contrast to their more ordered analogues which catalyzed its disproportionation, that is, MnO2+2H+ +H2O2! Mn2+ +2H2O+O2(oxidation) versus H2O2!H2O+1=2 O2(disproportionation). By measuring the efficiency for one reaction over the oth