Braces in straight bridge systems improve the lateral-torsional buckling resistance of the girders by reducing the unbraced length, while in horizontally curved and skew bridges, the braces are primary structural elements for controlling deformations by engaging adjacent girders to act as a system to resist the potentially large forces and torques caused by the curved or skewed geometry of the bridge. The cross-frames are usually designed as torsional braces, which increase the overall strength and stiffness of the individual girders by creating a girder system that translates and rotates as a unit along the bracing lines. However, when they transmit the truck’s live load forces, they can produce fatigue cracks at their connection

Flat-plate collector considers most common types of collectors, for ease of manufacturing and low price compared with other collectors. The main aim of the present work is to increase the efficiency of the collector, which can be achieved by improving the heat transfer and minimize heat loss experimentally. Five types of solar air collectors have been tested, which conventional channel with a smooth absorber plate (model I), dual channel with a smooth absorber plate (model II), dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate (model III), dual channel with internal attached wire mesh (model Ⅳ), and dual channel with absorber sheet of transparent honeycomb, (model Ⅴ). The dual channel collector used for

This study was designed to compare the effect of two types of viral hepatitis A and E (HAV
and HEV) on liver functions in Iraqi individuals by the measurement of biochemical changes
associated with hepatitis.
The study performed on 58 HEV and 66 HAV infected patients compared with 28 healthy
subjects. The measured biochemical tests include total serum bilirubin, serum transminases (ALT
and AST) alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT).
The study showed that adolescent and young adults (17-29) years, were mostly affected by
HEV while children (5-12) years were frequently affected by HAV. The severity of liver damage in
HEV patients was higher than HAV patients as a result of high serum transa

Previous studies indicated that supplementation with antioxidants has a protective effects against oxidative stress–induced damage in type 2 diabetes. In this study we evaluated the antioxidant effects of melatonin on the oxidative stress parameters and microalbuminuria in type 2 DM patients. 30 patients with type 2 DM were treated with 3mg/day melatonin for 90 days. Erythrocytes and plasma MDA and glutathione, fasting plasma glucose, %Hb_AIC, microalbuminuria, total plasma protein and lipid profile were measured each 30 days and compared with those obtained from 20 healthy controls.

A decrease in MDA levels associated with the elevation in GSH levels were observed, compared with the pre–treatment levels.

Background: Because of the demands for aesthetic orthodontic appliances have increased, aesthetic archwires have been widely used to meet patient's aesthetic needs. The color stability of aesthetic archwires is clinically important, any staining or discoloration will affect patient’s acceptance and satisfaction. This study was designed to evaluate the color stability of different types of aesthetic archwires after immersion into different types of mouth washes. Materials and methods: Four brands of nickel titanium coated aesthetic arch wires: Epoxy coated (Orthotechnology and G&H) and Teflon coated (Dany and Hubit) were evaluated after 1 week, 3 weeks and 6 weeks of immersion into two types of mouthwashes (Listerine with alcohol and