High performance self-consolidating concrete HP-SCC is one of the most complex types of concrete which have the capacity to consolidated under its own weight, have excellent homogeneity and high durability. This study aims to focus on the possibility of using industrial by-products like Silica fumes SF in the preparation of HP-SCC enhanced with discrete steel fibers (DSF) and monofilament polypropylene fibers (PPF). From experimental results, it was found that using DSF with volume fraction of 0.50 %; a highly improvements were gained in the mechanical properties of HP-SCC. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus improved about 65.7 %, 70.5 %, 41.7 % and 80.3 % at 28 days age, respectively

Ebastine (EBS) is a poorly water-soluble antihistaminic drug; it belongs to the class II group according to the biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS). The aim of the present work was to enhance the solubility, dissolution rate and micromeritic properties of the drug, by formulating it as spherical crystal agglomerates by Quasi Emulsion Solvent Diffusion (QESD) method.

Spherical crystal agglomerates (SCAs) were prepared in presence of three solvents dichloromethane (DCM), water and chloroform as a good solvent, poor solvent and bridging solvent respectively.  Agglomeration of EBS involved the use of some hydrophilic polymers like polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000), polyvinyl pyrrolidine K30 (PVP K30), D-?-tocopheryl

Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via an eco-friendly green approach by adding Phoenix dactylifera extract to the aqueous solution of ferric chloride. The effect of annealing temperature (Ta) (100-150) °C on particle size was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to evaluate the produced nanoparticles. According to XRD spectra, the crystallite size of the samples was determined using the Scherrer formula. AFM and FE-SEM were used to determine surface morphology. A UV-Vis optical spectroscopic examination was carried out to determine the band gap energy of the iron oxide nanoparticles. It was found th

Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

Understanding, promoting, and teaching media literacy is an important societal challenge. STEM educators are increasingly looking to incorporate 21st century skills such as media literacy into core subject education. In this paper we investigate how undergraduate Computer Science (CS) students can learn media literacy as a by-product of collaborative video tutorial production. The paper presents a study of 34 third-year CS undergraduates who, as part of their learning, were each asked to produce three video tutorials on Raspberry Pi programming, using a collaborative video production tool for mobile phones (Bootlegger). We provide results of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the production process and resulting video tutorials,

The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of trace elements Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), and Selenium (Se) in blood sera of asthmatic patients by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The concentrations of Mg, Cu, and Zn have been determined by Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS), and Se with flameless Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GFAAS). The study involves (55) asthmatic patients as study group and (28) subjects as control from both genders. Serum levels of Mg, Cu, and Se were significantly higher (p<0.001 for all) in patients when compared with healthy subjects, while Zn level was relatively significant (p<0.05). Our observations confirm the efficacy and applicability of (AAS) in

This study focuses on diagnosis of Candida species causing Vulvovaginal Candidiasis using phenotype and genotype analyzing methods, and frequencies of candida species also using Vulvovaginal Candidiasis patients. 130 samples (100 from patients and 30 from non infected women) were collected and cultured on biological media. Identifying the yeasts, initially some phenotypic experiments were carried out such as germ tube, from motion of pseudohyphae and clamydospores in CMA+TW80 medium, API20 candida and CHROMagar Candida. Genomic DNA of all species were extracted and analyzed with PCR and subsequent Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragments Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. Frequency of C. albicans, C. krusei, C. tropicalis , C.

The purpose of this paper is to identifying some of the physical, kinetic and electrical capabilities of the working muscles of patients with simple hemiplegic cerebral palsy, preparation of special exercises (rehabilitation and water) accompanied by symmetrical electrical stimulation in the rehabilitation of working muscles for patients with simple hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and identifying the effect of exercises, especially (rehabilitation and water), accompanied by symmetrical electrical stimulation, on some physical, kinetic and electrical capabilities in rehabilitating working muscles for patients with simple hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The researcher used the experimental approach with a one-group design with two pre and post-tests du