This paper reports a comprehensive study on the behavior of concavely curved soffit reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened in flexure with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites under static loading. The main objective of this paper is to explore the effect of surface concavity on the bond performance of externally bonded wet layup CFRP sheets and laminates. An experimental program consisting of flexural strengthening of 24 RC beams with concavely curved soffits was carried out. All specimens were simply supported RC beams tested under three-point bending. Of the 24 beams, 6 beams were flat soffit RC beams, and the remainder were fabricated with concavely curved soffits with a degree of curvature that is ranging from 5 mm/m to 20 mm/m. All tested specimens were 2,700-mm long and had a constant cross section at midspan of 140-mm wide × 260-mm deep. The experiments showed that all strengthened beams failed by intermediate crack-induced (IC) debonding of the CFRP. The experimental results were then used, together with those for other specimens in the literature to set recommendations for strengthening concavely curved RC beams.
This study was carried out to describe the gene expression of the micro RNA 122a gene with the development of diabetes in Iraq. The difference in gene expression between patients and healthy controls was properly considered. In this study, blood was isolated from 121 individuals divided into two groups as follows: 80 samples of diabetic patients and 41 samples from a healthy control. miRNA was isolated and transformed into cDNA, and the expression of mi122a was measured by qRT-PCR. The researchers looked at the relationship between age and gender and the occurrence of diabetes, as well as how they compared to controls. When comparing the mean gene expression level (Ct) of patient groups to the corresponding Ct means in the control group, th
... Show MoreObjective(s): To determine the quality of life for adults with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out on (80) patients with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from
December 2008 through October 2009 with special inclusion criteria (adult paƟents from 18 years and above exclude
the patients who suffer complication related of disease and from psychological problems and other chronic illnesses.
The data were analyzed through the application of descriptive data analysis approach and inferential data approach.
Result: The study indicated that the determination of QoL for COPD depended on the level of effect .The grades
according to R.S are: "high" effect of disease in
In this work, porous silicon (PS) are fabricated using electrochemical etching (ECE) process for p-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers of (100) orientation. The structural, morphological and electrical properties of PS synthesized at etching current density of (10, 20, 30) mA/cm2 at constant etching time 10 min are studied. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement, the value of FWHM is in general decreases with increasing current density for p-type porous silicon (p-PS). Atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that for p-PS the average pore diameter decreases at 20 mA. Porous silicon which formed on silicon will be a junction so I-V characteristics have been studied in the dark to calculate ideality factor (n), and saturation current (Is
... Show MoreAbstract Kidney stones are one of the most common and most painful medical problems known (1). Nurses assess and monitor patients through diagnosis and treatment and teach patients how to avoid recurrence of stones (2). A descriptive study was conducted on 150 patients diagnosed with recurrent kidney stones, who were attending the out patients consultation urology disease clinics at surgical specialties, Al-Kadhimia, Al-Yarmook, and Al-Karama Teaching Hospital and Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) departments for the period from the 1st of Feb. 2002 through to the end of May 2004. The aim of
Kidney damage in workers within environments of highly expected exposure to toxin, including heavy metals, could be a primary marker to expect hazards in population exposed to low levels of many environmental pollutants. The present study was designed to evaluate the possible effect of environmental exposure to cadmium and zinc on renal function among painters in Sulaimani city. Cross sectional study was performed on 37 male painting workers in Sulaimani city. Each worker was interviewed using structured questionnaire. Twenty five non-exposed healthy subjects were included as control group. Venous blood samples (10 ml) were obtained by vein puncture from both subjects and utilized for estimation of serum urea, creatinine levels, serum le
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontitis is an infection attributable to multiple infectious; it causes an interrelated cellular and humoral host immune responses. Recent reports have indicated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) may contribute to pathogenesis of periodontitis. The HCMV can stimulate the release of cytokines from inflammatory and non-inflammatory cells and weaken the periodontal immune defense. This study aimed to reveal the presence of anti-CMV IgG, and determine the levels of ILâ€6 and TNF-α and to correlate the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) with cytokines levels. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with chronic periodontitis and 40 healthy control subjects (their age and sex were matched with the patients) were involved
... Show MoreBackground: Human semen contains high concentrations of fructose, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in bound and ionic forms for Zn and Cu. The presence of abnormal levels of fructose and those trace elements may affect spermatogenesis with regard to production, maturation, motility and fertilizing capacity of the spermatozoa.Objective: To evaluate the levels of fructose, Zn and Cu in seminal plasma in different groups of male infertility and to correlate their concentrations with various sperm parameters.Methods: The concentrations of fructose, Zn and Cu were measured in 114 semen samples from normozoospermic, oligozoospermic, astheno-zoospermic, and azoospermic men using the electrothermal-atomic absorption spectrometry for Zn and Cu determinatio
... Show MoreBackground: Orthodontic force is considered to stimulate cells in the periodontium to release many mediators such as cytokines which play a responsible role for periodontal and alveolar bone remodeling, bone resorption and new bone deposition. Aim of this study was carried out to estimate changes of the (interleukin-one beta, tumor necrosis factor – alpha and C-reactive protein) levels in unstimulated whole saliva during the leveling stage of orthodontic tooth movement. Materials and methods: The sample consisted of thirty adult patients (12 males and 18 females) with ages ranges (19-23) years. Each sample had Class I and Class II malocclusion dental classification and required bilateral extraction of their maxillary first premolars, und
... Show More