This paper is devoted to investigate experimentally and theoretically the structural behavior of reinforced concrete hollow beams which have internal transverse ribs under effect of shear. The number of the internal ribs is the major variable adopted in this research, while, the other variables are kept constant for all tested specimens. The experimental part includes poured and test of four (200x300x1200mm) beam specimens, three of these specimens were hollow with different locations of internal ribs and one of them was solid. The experimental results indicated that the shear strength are increased (33%) to (60%) for beams containing internal ribs in comparison with reference beam. Also, the change of beam state from ho

Automatic Programming Assessment (APA) has been gaining lots of attention among researchers mainly to support automated grading and marking of students’ programming assignments or exercises systematically. APA is commonly identified as a method that can enhance accuracy, efficiency and consistency as well as providing instant feedback on students’ programming solutions. In achieving APA, test data generation process is very important so as to perform a dynamic testing on students’ assignment. In software testing field, many researches that focus on test data generation have demonstrated the successful of adoption of Meta-Heuristic Search Techniques (MHST) so as to enhance the procedure of deriving adequate test data for efficient t

There has been a growing interest in the use of chaotic techniques for enabling secure communication in recent years. This need has been motivated by the emergence of a number of wireless services which require the channel to provide very low bit error rates (BER) along with information security. As more and more information is transacted over wireless media, there has been increasing criminal activity directed against such systems. This paper investigates the feasibility of using chaotic communications over Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) channels. We have studied the performance of differential chaos shift keying (DCSK) with 2×2 Alamouti scheme and 2×1 Alamouti scheme for different chaotic maps over additive white Gaussian noise (

Feed Forward Back Propagation artificial neural network (ANN) model utilizing the MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox is designed for the prediction of surface roughness of Duplex Stainless Steel during orthogonal turning with uncoated carbide insert tool. Turning experiments were performed at various process conditions (feed rate, cutting speed, and cutting depth). Utilizing the Taguchi experimental design method, an optimum ANN architecture with the Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm was obtained. Parametric research was performed with the optimized ANN architecture to report the impact of every turning parameter on the roughness of the surface. The results suggested that machining at a cutting speed of 355 rpm with a feed rate of 0.07 m

Background: This study evaluated the influence of different fiber formulations incorporation in resin composite on cuspal deflection (CD) of endodontically-treated teeth with mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavities. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two freshly extracted maxillary premolar teeth received MOD cavity preparation followed by endodontic treatment using single cone obturation technique, and divided into: Group I: direct composite resin only using a centripetal technique, Group II: direct composite resin with short fiber-reinforced composite (everX Flow), Group III: direct composite resin with leno wave ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (LWUHMWPE) fibers placed on the cavity floor, and Group IV: direct composite resin with LWUHMWP

Liposomal amphotericin B (Amph B) has been used effectively to treat leishmaniosis, in spite of its high toxicity appeared in some patients. In our study, Amph B was administered in Leishmania donovani that infected BALB/c male mice using different concentrations to evaluate its efficacy challenge against infection as well as its effect in modulating immunity of the host. We observed that low doses with short duration of Amph B as a therapy regime significantly enhanced the induction of Th1 cytokine (INF-γ), but suppressed Th2 cytokine (IL-10) production. Groups of mice infected with L. donovani and treated with Amph B showed clearly increasing in INF-γ level and reduction in IL-10 level in concentration (3, 4, 5 mg/ml/kg) with best resul

The electron correlation effect for inter-shell have been analysed in terms of Fermi hole and partial Fermi hole for Li-atom in the excited states (1s² 3p) and (1s² 3d) using Hartree-Fock approximation (HF). Fermi hole Δf(r₁₂) and partial Fermi hole Δg(r₁₂ ,r₁) were determined in position space. Each plot of the physical properties in this work is normalized to unity. The calculation was performed using Mathcad 14 program.

Background: The clinical examination is one of the best suitable methods for diagnosis of low backache. Backache is one disease that the signs, clinical examination finding, and the results on imaging modalities not always related. The straight leg raising (SLR) and slump tests, can be used for diagnosis of lumber disc herniation. Objectives: To compare the result of the slump test and SLR test in the diagnosis of lumber disc herniation. Subjects and Methods: A prospective comparative study conducts on 280 patients in Al-Kindy teaching and private clinics complaints of backache, aging between 18-70 years old with acute or recurrent backache, sciatica pain, or low back and sciatica pain for last 12 weeks, while patients

Background: The clinical examination is one of the best suitable methods for diagnosis of low backache. Backache is one disease that the signs, clinical examination finding, and the results on imaging modalities not always related. The straight leg raising (SLR) and slump tests, can be used for diagnosis of lumber disc herniation.

Objectives: To compare the result of the slump test and SLR test in the diagnosis of lumber disc herniation.

Subjects and Methods: A prospective comparative study conducts on 280 patients in Al-Kindy teaching and private clinics complaints of backache, aging between 18-70 years old with acute or recurrent backache, sciatica pai