This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on seven one-way, reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with a new technique of slab weight reduction using polystyrene-embedded arched blocks (PEABs). All slabs had the same dimensions, steel reinforcement, and concrete compressive strength. One of these slabs was a solid slab, which was taken as a control slab, while the other six slabs were cast with PEABs. The main variables were the ratio of the length of the PEABs to the length of the slab (lp/L) and the ratio of the height of the PEABs to the total slab depth (hP/H). The minimum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 6% with a minimum reduction in the slab weight of 15%. In contrast, the maximum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 24% with a maximum reduction in the slab weight of 40%. Moreover, the mode of failure changed from flexure to shear failure, especially for those slabs with an lP/L ratio equal to one. The geometric and material non-linearity was adopted in the proposed finite element (FE) model to simulate the slabs with PEABs using Abaqus software. Good agreement was obtained between the developed FE and experimental results.
Background: Client satisfaction with the immunization service is used to evaluate the quality of the admitted service and at the same time it affects the goodness of the health care outcome.
Objectives: This study assessed the satisfaction with immunization services offered to children and factors affecting this satisfaction.
Methods: Exit interviews for clients were conducted in Baghdad, Al-Karkh in a representative sample of primary health care centers to assess clients’ satisfaction with immunization services. Clients are companions of children encountered at study settings.
Results: Among the 253 respondent clients, 183 (72.3%) reflected satisfaction with the immunization
... Show MoreOsteopontin hormone (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein that is expressed in bone cells such as osteoblasts and osteoclasts and associated with bone turnover and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
The aim of the study is to investigate serum levels of circulating OPN and its relationship with biochemical parameters and BMD in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Iraq. Serum samples from fifty postmenopausal women were selected from patients attending two educational hospitals in Baghdad, which are AL Wasity Educational Hospital and Baghdad Educational Hospital, during the period from November 2018 to March 2019. Twenty five postmenopausal healthy women were inc
... Show MorePemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune disease of the skin and mucous membrane. Renal transplantation is a common procedure in
To study the frequency of skin tumors and infections in patients with pemphigus vulgaris compared with renal transplant recipients and normal controls.
One hundred kidney transplant recipients, their ages ranged from 14 to 70 (46.65 ± 4.74) years
The study aimed to identify Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and its genotypes prevalent among Iraqi women. They collected 89 cervical swab samples from diagnosed patients at Baghdad Teaching Hospital's Early Detection Clinic. Using PCR technique on 19 samples, they found HPV16 (57.89%) and HPV6 (10.52%) genotypes, while HPV-11, 18, and 45 were absent. HPV 16 and HPV 6 were common in cervical cancer among Iraqi women. Sequencing revealed nucleic acid variants in HPV-6 (124A>C) and HPV-16 (225G>T) E6 genes, resulting in silent effects on the encoded protein. These changes didn't alter amino acid residues (p.74I= and p.L117=). Phylogenetic analysis showed substantial distances between their samples and other viral types, indicating di
... Show MoreIn this work, an optical fiber biomedical sensor for detecting the ratio of the hemoglobin in the blood is presented. A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based coreless optical fiber was developed and implemented using single- and multi-mode optical fibers. The sensor is also utilized to evaluate refractive indices and concentrations of hemoglobin in blood samples, with 40 nm thickness of (20 nm Au and 20 nm Ag) to increase the sensitivity. It is found in practice that when the sensitive refractive index increases, the resonant wavelength increases due to the decrease in energy.
Background: Measuring the concentration of hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) in HBV patients can be determined with immunoassay techniques. This study aimed to measure the HbsAg titers in chronic HBV patients and to assess its correlation with patients' ages, gender, and with the levels of liver enzymes and total serum bilirubin. Materials and Method: Fifty-eight chronic hepatitis B infected patients were enrolled in this study. Age and gender of the patients were recorded. HbsAg concentration was tested with automated Immunoanalyzer. The patients were also tested for ALT, AST, ALP, and TSB by automated chemistry analyzer. Results: All the chronic HBV patients have positive HBsAg titers above the negative cutoff (0.05U/L) with mea
... Show MoreThe current study aimed to isolate and diagnose Candida spp yeasts that cause candidiasis with a PCR device from patients reviewed for some hospitals in Baghdad city and by 190 samples, the study recorded 123 isolates and the total percentage of infection was 64.7% .Samples were taken from different clinical cases of the vagina, blood and mouth and the Candida spp were (70.37%, 41.26%, 86.95%) respectively. Five types of yeasts were isolated and diagnosed, namely C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei and C.glabarta. They were confirmed by PCR device and the most notable were yeast C. albicans, where 91 isolates were found, 73.98%, while the lowest infection was recorded. C.glabartawith 3 isolates, at 2.43%, significant diff
... Show MoreBackground: The skin functions as a barrier to the external environment, damage to this barrier following a burn disrupts the innate immune system and increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Objective: This study was carried out to determine the bacterial isolates and study their antimicrobial susceptibility in burned wound infections at one burn's hospital in Baghdad.Type of study:Cross-sectional study.Methods: The bacteria were identified at species level by using Analytic Profile Index (API) system and The antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to Kirby-Bauer (disk diffusion) technique.Results: Over a period of one year (from October 2014 to October 2015). Out of 848 patients with different degrees of burns
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