In order to promote sustainable steel-concrete composite structures, special shear connectors that can facilitate deconstruction are needed. A lockbolt demountable shear connector (LB-DSC), including a grout-filled steel tube embedded in the concrete slab and fastened to a geometrically compatible partial-thread bolt, which is bolted on the steel section's top flange of a composite beam, was proposed. The main drawback of previous similar demountable bolts is the sudden slip of the bolt inside its hole. This bolt has a locked conical seat lug that is secured inside a predrilled compatible counter-sunk hole in the steel section's flange to provide a non-slip bolt-flange connection. Deconstruction is achieved by demounting the tube from the t

Resilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixin

Dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis (SD) are common skin disorders affecting the scalp and extending to other body sites in the case of SD. They are associated with pruritus and scaling, causing an esthetical disturbance in the population affected.   Treatment of such conditions involves using a variety of drugs for long terms, thus optimizing drug formulation is essential to improve therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance. Conventional topical formulations like shampoos and creams have been widely used but their use is associated with disadvantages. To overcome such effects, novel topical nanotechnology-based formulations are currently under investigation. In the following article, we highlight recently published formulatio

SnS has been widely used in photoelectric devices due to its special band gap of 1.2-1.5 eV. Here, we reported on the fabrication of SnS nanosheets and the effect of synthesis condition together with heat treatment on its physical properties. The obtained band gap of the SnS nanosheets is in the rage of 1.37-1.41 eV. It was found that the photo-current density of a thin film comprised of SnS nanosheets could be enhanced significantly by annealing treatment. The maximum photo-current density of the stack structure of FTO/SnS/CdS/Pt was high as 389.5 mu A cm(-2), rendering its potential application in high efficiency solar hydrogen production.

The formation of a Schiff-base with N2O2 donor atoms derived from the hydrazine segment and its metal complexes are reported. The Schiff-base ligand; N’-((1R,2S,4R,5S,Z)-2,4-diphenyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-ylidene)furan-2-carbohydrazide (HL) was prepared from the reaction of furan-2-carbohydrazide with (1R, 2R, 4R, 5S)-2,4-diphenyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-one (M1) in ethanol medium. The reaction of the title ligand with selected metal ions Cr(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) gave complexes with the general formula [M(L)Cl2], (where: M = Cr(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II)). Spectroscopic analyses Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic res

Dental clinicians and professionals need an affordable, nontoxic, and effective disinfectant against infectious microorganisms when dealing with the contaminated dental impressions. This study evaluated the efficiency of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as an antimicrobial disinfectant by spraying technique for the alginate impression materials, compared with sodium hypochlorite, and its effect on dimensional stability and reproduction of details. HOCl with a concentration of 200 ppm for 5 and 10 min was compared with the control group (no treatment) as a negative control and with sodium hypochlorite (% 0.5) as a positive control. Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected to assess the antimicrobi

In this paper, a compartmental differential epidemic model of COVID-19 pandemic transmission is constructed and analyzed that accounts for the effects of media coverage. The model can be categorized into eight distinct divisions: susceptible individuals, exposed individuals, quarantine class, infected individuals, isolated class, infectious material in the environment, media coverage, and recovered individuals. The qualitative analysis of the model indicates that the disease-free equilibrium point is asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number R0 is less than one. Conversely, the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when R0 is bigger than one. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine which

The necessary optimality conditions with Lagrange multipliers  are studied and derived for a new class that includes the system of Caputo–Katugampola fractional derivatives to the optimal control problems with considering the end time free. The formula for the integral by parts has been proven for the left Caputo–Katugampola fractional derivative that contributes to the finding and deriving the necessary optimality conditions. Also, three special cases are obtained, including the study of the necessary optimality conditions when both the final time  and the final state  are fixed. According to convexity assumptions prove that necessary optimality conditions are sufficient optimality conditions.