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 (

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) create imitation photosynthesis by using chemical reactions to produce electricity from sunlight. DSSC has been pursued in numerous studies due to its capability to achieve efficiencies of up to 15% with artificial photosensitizer in diffuse light. However, artificial photosensitizers present a limitation because of the complex processing of metal compound. Therefore, various types of sensitizers were developed and synthesized to surpass the artificial sensitizer performances such as natural sensitizers from bio-based materials including plants, due to simple processing techniques and low environmental impact. Thus, this study examines the potential and properties of natural sensitizers from the was

     This work is devoted to define new generalized gamma and beta functions involving the recently suggested seven-parameter Mittag-Leffler function, followed by a review of all related special cases. In addition, necessary investigations are affirmed for the new generalized beta function, including, Mellin transform, differential formulas, integral representations, and essential summation relations. Furthermore, crucial statistical application has been realized for the new generalized beta function.  

This study investigated the structural behavior of a beam–slab member fabricated using a steel C-Purlins beam carrying a profile steel sheet slab covered by a dry board sheet filled with recycled aggregate concrete, called a CBPDS member. This concept was developed to reduce the cost and self-weight of the composite beam–slab system; it replaces the hot-rolled steel I-beam with a steel C-Purlins section, which is easier to fabricate and weighs less. For this purpose, six full-scale CBPDS specimens were tested under four-point static bending. This study investigated the effect of using double C-Purlins beams face-to-face as connected or separated sections and the effect of using concrete material that contains different recycled

Background: to evaluate the effect of different dentifrices on the surface roughness of two composite resins (nanofilled-based and nanoceramic – based composite resins). Materials and methods: Forty specimens (diameter 12 mm and height of 2mm) prepared from different composite resin materials: Z350 (nanofilled composite, and Ceram-X (nanoceramic) .they were subjected to brushing simulation equivalent to the period of 1 year. The groups assessed were a control group brushed with distilled water (G1), Opalescence whitening toothpasteR (G2), Colgate sensitive pro-relief (G3) and Biomed Charcoal Toothpaste (G4). The initial and final roughness of each group was tested by surface roughness tester. The results were statistically analyzed using

In this study, the aqueous extract of (Typha domingensis Pers.) pollen grain (qurraid) to know its ability to manufacture silver nanoparticles. Qurraid is a semi-solid yellow food substance, sold in Basra markets and eaten by the local population. It is made from the pollen of the T.  domingensis Pers. plant after being pressed and treated with water vapor. The Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) reaction was done to identify the active compounds of qurraid aqueous extract. The ability of the aqueous extract of qurraid to manufacture silver nanoparticles was tested, and the construction of silver nanoparticles was inferred by the reaction mixture's color, which ranged from yellow to dark brown. The synthesi

This work describes the enhancement of phenol red decolorization through immobilizing of laccase in chitosan and enzyme recycling. Commercial laccase from white rot fungus, Trametesversicolor (Tvlac), was immobilizedin to freshly prepared chitosan beads by using glutaraldehyde as a cross linker. Characterization of prepared chitosan was confirmed by FTIR and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Tvlac (46.2 U/mL) immobilized into chitosan beads at 0.8 % glutaraldehyde (v/v) within 24 hrs. Synthetic (HBT) and natural (vanillin) mediators were used to enhance dye decolorizoation. It was found that 89 % of phenol red was decolorized by chitosan beads within 180 min. in the absence of enzyme and mediator, while decolorization percenta

In this study, a traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) classification system is proposed using a convolutional neural network (CNN) technique with automatically learned features from electromyography (EMG) signals for a non-human primate (NHP) model. A comparison between the proposed classification system and a classical classification method (k-nearest neighbors, kNN) is also presented. Developing such an NHP model with a suitable assessment tool (i.e., classifier) is a crucial step in detecting the effect of TSCI using EMG, which is expected to be essential in the evaluation of the efficacy of new TSCI treatments. Intramuscular EMG data were collected from an agonist/antagonist tail muscle pair for the pre- and post-spinal cord lesi

Purpose This study investigated periodontal ligament (PDL) restoration in osseointegrated implants using stem cells. Methods Commercial pure titanium and zirconium oxide (zirconia) were coated with beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) using a long-pulse Nd:YAG laser (1,064 nm). Isolated bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMMSCs) from rabbit tibia and femur, isolated PDL stem cells (PDLSCs) from the lower right incisor, and co-cultured BMMSCs and PDLSCs were tested for periostin markers using an immunofluorescent assay. Implants with 3D-engineered tissue were implanted into the lower right central incisors after extraction from rabbits. Forty implants (Ti or zirconia) were subdivided according to the duration of implantation (healing period: 45 o