This study deals with the serviceability of reinforced concrete solid and perforated rafters with openings of different shapes and sizes based on an experimental study that includes 12 post-fire non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (solid and perforated). Three groups were formed based on heating temperature (room temperature, 400 °C, and 700 °C), each group consisting of four rafters (solid, rafters with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings, and rafter with eight circular openings) under static loading. A developed unified calculation technique for deflection and crack widths under static loading at the service stage has been provided, which comprises non-prismatic beams with or without opening exposed to flexure concentra

Background: Cigarette smoking (CS) is a periodontal disease risk factor, affecting clinical parameters such as bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and proinflammatory cytokines level. This study examines the impact electronic cigarette use on proinflammatory cytokines and periodontal parameters. Methods: In this non-randomized study, ninety participants diagnosed with gingivitis were assigned into three groups. examined the effect of oral hygiene instructions on periodontal parameters and inflammatory biomarkers. Thirty CS (n=30) vaping electronic-cigarettes (e-cig) (n=29), and non-smoker (NS) (n=31) was included. Clinical parameters including PI, BOP, and GI were recorded at baseline and after 3 weeks

It is recognized that organisms live and interact in groups, exposing them to various elements like disease, fear, hunting cooperation, and others. As a result, in this paper, we adopted the construction of a mathematical model that describes the interaction of the prey with the predator when there is an infectious disease, as well as the predator community's characteristic of cooperation in hunting, which generates great fear in the prey community. Furthermore, the presence of an incubation period for the disease provides a delay in disease transmission from diseased predators to healthy predators. This research aims to examine the proposed mathematical model's solution behavior to better understand these elements' impact on an eco-epidemi

In this study, we made a comparison between LASSO & SCAD methods, which are two special methods for dealing with models in partial quantile regression. (Nadaraya & Watson Kernel) was used to estimate the non-parametric part ;in addition, the rule of thumb method was used to estimate the smoothing bandwidth (h). Penalty methods proved to be efficient in estimating the regression coefficients, but the SCAD method according to the mean squared error criterion (MSE) was the best after estimating the missing data using the mean imputation method

Objective To highlight the main demographic characteristics and clinical profiles of female patients registered with breast cancer in Iraq; focusing on the impact of age.Methods This retrospective study enrolled 1172 female patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer at the Main Center for Early Detection of Breast Cancer/Medical City Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. Data were extracted from an established information system, developed by the principal author under supervision of WHO, that was based on valid clinical records of Iraqi patients affected by breast cancer. The recorded information regarding clinical examination comprised positive palpable lumps, bloody nipple discharge, skin changes, bilateral breast involvement, tumor

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory skin condition characterized by uncontrolled keratinocyte proliferation and potential systemic manifestations. Its pathogenesis involves activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses, leading to an imbalance in inflammatory cytokines. Interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 are key cytokines in the pathophysiology of psoriasis and sustain chronic skin inflammation. Biologic therapies, such as ustekinumab (UST), have been developed to induce long-term remission in moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The objective of this study was to identify differences in serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers [erythrocyte sedimentation rate, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), IL-12, IL-17, IL-22, and IL

The performance of asphalt pavements is crucial due to heavy traffic loads from civil and industrial developments. Various additives and modifiers are used in flexible roads to improve their resistance to deterioration caused by climatic changes. From this context, modifying the asphalt binder with polymers is popular in asphalt pavement construction. The present research investigates the effect of Polyethylene (PE) polymers in powder form on the characteristics of asphalt mixtures since these polymers are composed of hydrocarbons. It is similar to asphalt binders, making them very effective in enhancing the performance of neat asphalt produced from the oil refinery. To confirm this, two types of PE, High-Density PE (HDPE) and Low-Density P