Abstract- Asymptomatic or clinically silent kidney stones are possibly serious because, in their expected passage, they may cause infection, obstruction and renal impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of silent kidney stones in a sample of Baghdad population and consider how this value could affect the justification for a screening system. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted in Iraq. We investigated 714 consecutive patients who sustained an abdominal ultrasound at our hospital with further kidney screening. All these patients did not have clinical signs and symptoms of nephrolithiasis. Age, sex, the indication for ultrasound, the size, side, and the number of the discovered stones were recorded. We observed silent kidney stones in 3.4% of patients. Males were stone carriers mostly. Stones were detected more in the left kidney than the right. Distinctly, multiple stones and stones of a large size were minimally seen. We conclude that the prevalence of clinically silent nephrolithiasis of 3.4% does not support a global screening. Yet, this screening may be justified in a limited pattern for those male subjects higher than 50 years, having a positive family history of renal stones, and their socioeconomic status is granted.
For more than a decade, externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites successfully utilized in retrofitting reinforced concrete structural elements. The function of CFRP reinforcement in increasing the ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) beam is essential in such members. Flexural and shear behaviors, ductility, and confinement were the main studied properties that used the CFRP as a strengthening material. However, limited attention has been paid to investigate the energy absorption of torsion strengthening of concrete members, especially two-span concrete beams. Hence, the target of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of CFRP-strengthening technique with regard to energy absorption of two-span RC
... Show MoreIt was aimed to investigate the compressibility, compactibility, powder flow and tablet disintegration of a new excipient comprising magnesium (Mg) silicate co-processed (5%–85% w/w) onto chitin, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and starch as the hydrophilic polymers of interest. Initially, the mechanism of tablet disintegration was studied by measuring water infiltration rate, moisture sorption, swelling capacity and hydration ability. Moreover, the powders compression behavior was carried out by applying Kawakita model of compression analysis in addition to porosity and radial tensile strength measurements. In vitro drug release of compacts made of 400 mg ibuprofen and 300 mg of the hydrophilic polymers containing 30% w/w Mg silicat
... Show MoreWellbore instability and sand production onset modeling are very affected by Sonic Shear Wave Time (SSW). In any field, SSW is not available for all wells due to the high cost of measuring. Many authors developed empirical correlations using information from selected worldwide fields for SSW prediction. Recently, researchers have used different Artificial Intelligence methods for estimating SSW. Three existing empirical correlations of Carroll, Freund, and Brocher are used to estimate SSW in this paper, while a fourth new empirical correlation is established. For comparing with the empirical correlation results, another study's Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used. The same data t
... Show MoreThis valve is intended for use in valves for steering movement, using the qualities of the Magneto-rheological (MR) fluid to regulate the fluid, direct contact without the utilization of moving parts like a spool, a connection between electric flux, and fluid power was made, The simulation was done to employ the" finite element method of magnetism (FEMM)" to arrive at the best design. This software is used for magnetic resonance valve finite element analysis. The valve's best performance was obtained by using a closed directional control valve in the normal state normally closed (NC) MR valve, with simulation results revealing the optimum magnetic flux density in the absence of a current and the shedding condition, as well as the optimum
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Although the rapid development in reverse engineering techniques, 3D laser scanners can be considered the modern technology used to digitize the 3D objects, but some troubles may be associate this process due to the environmental noises and limitation of the used scanners. So, in the present paper a data pre-processing algorithm has been proposed to obtain the necessary geometric features and mathematical representation of scanned object from its point cloud which obtained using 3D laser scanner (Matter and Form) through isolating the noised points. The proposed algorithm based on continuous calculations of chord angle between each adjacent pair of points in point cloud. A MATLAB program has been built t
... Show MoreThis study involves the design of 24 mixtures of fiber reinforced magnetic reactive powder concrete containing nano Silica. Tap water has been used in mixing 12 of these mixtures, while the other 12 have been mixed using magnetic water. Nano Silica (NS) with ratios (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3) % were used. The results showed that the mixture containing 2.5%NS gives the highest compressive strength at age 7 days. Many different other tests were carried out, the results showed that the fiber reinforced magnetic reactive powder concrete containing 2.5% NS (FRMRPCCNS) has the higher bulk density, dynamic modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity electrical resistivity and lesser absorption than fiber reinforced
... Show MoreIn this paper, a FPGA model of intelligent traffic light system with power saving was built. The intelligent traffic light system consists of sensors placed on the side's ends of the intersection to sense the presence or absence of vehicles. This system reduces the waiting time when the traffic light is red, through the transition from traffic light state to the other state, when the first state spends a lot of time, because there are no more vehicles. The proposed system is built using VHDL, simulated using Xilinx ISE 9.2i package, and implemented using Spartan-3A XC3S700A FPGA kit. Implementation and Simulation behavioral model results show that the proposed intelligent traffic light system model satisfies the specified operational req
... Show MoreHematological malignancies remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide despite advances in cancer therapeutics. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a member of Paramyxoviridae that elicits considerable interest as an anticancer agent because it can replicate up to 10 000 times faster in human cancer cells than in most normal cancer cells. Several NDV strains reportedly induce the cytolysis of cancerous cell lines. The attenuated Iraqi strain (AMHA1) of NDV is a novel oncolytic agent with promising antitumor characteristics, including apoptosis induction. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of the AMHA1 NDV strain to induce apoptotic cell death in hematological tumors through caspase-dependent or independent apoptotic pathways. The
... Show MoreRecording an Electromyogram (EMG) signal is essential for diagnostic procedures like muscle health assessment and motor neurons control. The EMG signals have been used as a source of control for powered prosthetics to support people to accomplish their activities of daily living (ADLs). This work deals with studying different types of hand grips and finding their relationship with EMG activity. Five subjects carried out four functional movements (fine pinch, tripod grip and grip with the middle and thumb finger, as well as the power grip). Hand dynamometer has been used to record the EMG activity from three muscles namely; Flexor Carpi Radialis (FCR), Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS), and Abductor Pollicis Brevis (ABP) with different
... Show MoreStudies from our laboratory have shown that Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in marijuana plant Cannabis sativa, can attenuate acute lung injury induced by Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB). In the current study, we investigated the role of THC on the metabolism of SEB-activated lymphocytes. To this end, we determined metabolic potential of SEB-activated lymphocytes treated with vehicle or THC by performing the Cell Mito Stress Test. The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in THC-treated cells was decreased when compared to vehicle-treated group whereas the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) was similar in both the groups. Specifically, electron transport chain inhi