A ‘locking-bolt’ demountable shear connector (LBDSC) is proposed to facilitate the deconstruction and reuse of steel-concrete composite structures, in line with achieving a more sustainable construction design paradigm. The LBDSC is comprised of a grout-filled steel tube and a geometrically compatible partially threaded bolt. The latter has a geometry that ‘locks’ the bolt in compatible holes predrilled on the steel flange and eliminates initial slip and construction tolerance issues. The structural behaviour of the LBDSC is evaluated through nine pushout tests using a horizontal test setup. The effects of the tube thickness, strength of concrete slab, and strength of infilled grout on the shear resistance, initial stiffness, and ductility of the LBDSC are assessed. The experimental results show that the LBDSC can achieve higher shear resistance and similar initial stiffness as compared to traditional welded studs. In addition, all tested LBDSCs exhibited slip capacities ranging from 14 to 32 mm and can be classified as ductile shear connectors according to Eurocode 4. A detailed finite element model was also created and found to be reliable to reproduce the experimental behaviour. Parametric studies were subsequently conducted using the validated model to study further parameters and generalise the experimental results. Due to the specific test setup, non-negligible uplift forces were generated in the connector and the potential implications are discussed.
Background: Toxoplasmosis is a very common infection caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan parasite. This parasite is called Toxoplasma gondii widely distributed around the world . Toxoplasma gondii can be vertically transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy and may cause wide range of clinical manifestations in the offspring.
Objective: To determine seroprevalence Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM ) to toxoplasma gondii among pregnant women and to identify the risk factors.
Type of the study: A cross-sectional study.
Methods: A total of 110 blood samples of pregnant women were collected from
... Show MoreBackground: Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful oral mucosal disease, affecting approximately 20% of the population. RAS presents with a wide spectrum of severity ranging from a minor nuisance to complete debility. Many of factors thought to have been involved in its etiology; that might have at the same time a direct or indirect impact upon oxidant/antioxidant system and trigger free radicals production. The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of oxidant/total antioxidant status and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Subjects, materials and methods: The study consisted of thirty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and thirty healthy controls from which saliva and blood samples we
... Show MoreThis research sheds light on those discrepancies in the use of ornaments, adornment and perfumes, as well as the art of cosmetics, in two important civilizations, namely, the Mesopotamian civilization as the earlier civilization, and the civilization of Yemen, which represents the first Arab civilization. Through the foregoing, our research includes two topics, the first topic included the history of the use of decorations, ornaments and perfumes in the civilization of Mesopotamia, while the second topic included the study of ornaments, adornment and cosmetic art in the ancient civilization of Yemen. And then the research came out with a number of conclusions that the researcher considers very important to highlight the differences and f
... Show MoreEven though in recent decades a bulk of studies have been accomplished on the use of communicative language teaching (CLT) in English as a foreign language (EFL) environments, fairly a limited numbers of studies precisely dealt with investigating the attitudes of language teachers, students and supervisors concerning the principals of CLT in the context of Iraq. Henceforth, this study was designed to delve into the attitudes of teachers, learners and supervisors about the implementation. To this end, the study was accomplished using a mixed method design. The present study was carried out in two phases: designing and using a questionnaire plus interviewing the teachers, students and supervisors (51 language learners, 41 teachers and
... Show MoreCefixime is an antibiotic useful for treating a variety ofmicroorganism infections. In the present work, tworapid, specific, inexpensive and nontoxic methods wereproposed for cefixime determination. Area under curvespectrophotometric and HPLC methods were depictedfor the micro quantification of Cefixime in highly pureand local market formulation. The area under curve(first technique) used in calculation of the cefiximepeak using a UV-visible spectrophotometer.The HPLC (2nd technique) was depended on thepurification of Cefixime by a C18 separating column250mm (length of column) × 4.6 mm (diameter)andusing methanol 50% (organic modifier) and deionizedwater 50% as a mobile phase. The isocratic flow withrate of 1 mL/min was applied, the temper
... Show MoreThe thyroid gland is a vital part of the overall endocrine system, which is regulated some of body function as oxygen use, basal metabolic rate, growth, cellular metabolism and development This study shed light on a number of extracts that have been shown to have beneficial effects on the thyroid and its function, as well as the various factors linked to thyroid dysfunction. The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of a mixture of two extracts of "Fucus vesiculosus (150 mg/ kg) with Coleus forskohlii (1000 mg/ kg) and Rosmarinus officinalis (220 mg/ kg) with Camellia sinensis (1.25 mg/ kg)" on thyroid hormones as well as lipids profile and tested the effectiveness of two drugs one of them stimulates the hormones of the thyroid (
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