A novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (3) steel beams can be replaced, whereas precast decks and shear connectors can be reused. A series of push-out tests are conducted to assess the behavior of the connector and quantify the effect of important parameters. The experimental results show shear resistance, stiffness, and slip capacity significantly higher than those of welded shear studs along with superior stiffness and strength against slab uplift. Identical tests reveal negligible scatter in the shear load-slip displacement behavior. A design equation is proposed to predict the shear resistance with absolute error less than 8%.
Afamin, which is a human plasma glycoprotein, a putative multifunctional transporter of hydrophobic molecules and a marker for metabolic syndrome. Afamin concentration have been proposed to have a significant role as a predictor of metabolic disorders. Since NAFLD is associated with metabolic risk factors, e.g., dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and visceral obesity, it is considered as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. The objective of this study is to determine Afamin levels in hypothyroid patients with and without fatty liver disease and compare the results with controls. Also to study the relationship of Afamin level with the Anthropometric and Clinical Features (Age, Gender, BMI and Duration of Hypothyroidism) , Serum
... Show MoreEpithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths from gynecological malignancies. Angiogenesis is considered essential for tumor growth and the development of metastases. VEGF and IL?8 are potent angiostimulatory molecules and their expression has been demonstrated in many solid tumors, including ovarian cancer.VEGF and IL-8 concentrations were measured by ELISA test (HumanVEGF,IL-8). Bioassay ELISA/ US Biological / USA).The median VEGF and IL-8 levels were significantly higher in the sera of ovarian cancer patients than in those with benign tumors and in healthy controls.Pretreatment VEGF and IL-8 serum levels might be regarded as an additional tool in the differentiation of ovarian tumors.
The effects of T-shaped fins on the improvement of phase change materials (PCM) melting are numerically investigated in vertical triple-tube storage containment. The PCM is held in the middle pipe of a triple-pipe heat exchanger while the heat transfer fluid flows through the internal and external pipes. The dimension effects of the T-shaped fins on the melting process of the PCM are investigated to determine the optimum case. Results indicate that while using T-shaped fins improves the melting performance of the PCM, the improvement potential is mainly governed by the fin’s body rather than the head. Hence, the proposed T-shaped fin did not noticeably improve melting at the bottom of the PCM domain; additionally, a flat fin is ad
... Show MoreBackground: Denture relining is the process of resurfacing of the tissue side of the ill fitting denture, the bond strength at the relining-denture base interface is most important for denture durability.The aim of present study was to evaluate the shear bond strength between the thermosens as relining material and different denture base materials that bonded by thermo fusing liquid. As this corrective procedureis the common chair side procedure in the dental clinic. Material and method: Sixty samples were prepared and divided into three main groups according to the type of denture base materials.Group (A) referred to the heat cure acrylic samples which consisted of 20 samples. Group (B) referred to the high impact acrylic samples which con
... Show MoreThe nanostructured Manganese dioxide/Carbon fiber (CF) composite electrode was prepared galvanostatically using a facile method of anodic electrodeposition by varying the reaction time and MnSO4 concentration of the electrochemical solution. The effects of these parameters on the structures and properties of the prepared electrode were evaluated. For determining the crystal characteristics, morphologies, and topographies of the deposited MnO2 films onto the surfaces of carbon fibers, the X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques were used, respectively. It found that the carbon fibers were coated with γ-MnO2 with a density that increased with increasing the de
... Show MoreCompression for color image is now necessary for transmission and storage in the data bases since the color gives a pleasing nature and natural for any object, so three composite techniques based color image compression is implemented to achieve image with high compression, no loss in original image, better performance and good image quality. These techniques are composite stationary wavelet technique (S), composite wavelet technique (W) and composite multi-wavelet technique (M). For the high energy sub-band of the 3 rd level of each composite transform in each composite technique, the compression parameters are calculated. The best composite transform among the 27 types is the three levels of multi-wavelet transform (MMM) in M technique wh
... Show MoreCompression for color image is now necessary for transmission and storage in the data bases since the color gives a pleasing nature and natural for any object, so three composite techniques based color image compression is implemented to achieve image with high compression, no loss in original image, better performance and good image quality. These techniques are composite stationary wavelet technique (S), composite wavelet technique (W) and composite multi-wavelet technique (M). For the high energy sub-band of the 3rd level of each composite transform in each composite technique, the compression parameters are calculated. The best composite transform among the 27 types is the three levels of multi-wavelet
... Show MoreObjectives: Small field of view gamma detection and imaging technologies for monitoring in vivo tracer uptake are rapidly expanding and being introduced for bed-side imaging and image guided surgical procedures. The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) has been developed to enhance the localization of targeted radiopharmaceuticals during surgical procedures; for example in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and for bed-side imaging in procedures such as lacrimal drainage imaging and thyroid scanning. In this study, a prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed, constructed, and evaluated using representative modelled medical scenarios to study the capability of the HGC to detect SLNs and image small organs. Methods: An anthropom
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