Background: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a disorder of systemic inflammatory condition. Its important features are represented by recurrent oral, genital ulcerations and eye lesions. Aims. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate and compare cytological changes using morphometric analysis of the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Behçet’s disease patients and healthy controls, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease. Methods. Twenty five Behçet’s disease patients have been compared to 25 healthy volunteers as a control group. Papanicolaou stain was used for staining the smears taken from buccal epithelial cells to be analyzed cytomorphometrically. The image analysis sof

Strengthening of composite beams is highly needed to upgrade the capacities of existing beams. The strengthening methods can be classified as active or passive techniques. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to provide detailed FE simulations for strengthened and unstrengthened steel–concrete composite beams at the sagging and hogging moment regions with and without profiled steel sheeting. The developed models were verified against experimental results from the literature. The verified models were used to present comparisons between the effect of using external post-tensioning and CFRP laminates as strengthening techniques. Applying external post-tensioning at the sagging moment regions is more effective because of the e

Background: Synthetic hydroxyapatite,(Ca10(PO4)6(OH2) can directly bond to bones without infection and fibrous encapsulation, thus is regarded as bioactive and biocompatible. The aim of the study was the estimation of microarchitecture bone parameters include bone mass (gm/cm2) cortical bone width (mm), thread width (mm), marrow space star volume analysis (V*m) and osteoblast, osteocyte cell number. Materials and methods: Ninety-six (96) commercially pure titanium CpTi) used in this study, (48) implants were coated with HA by dipping coating and (48) implants were used as control. They were inserted in (32) Newzland white rabbits and followed for 2 & 6 weeks. Mechanical torque removal test and histomorphometric analysis of bone microarchit

This paper develops a nonlinear transient three-dimensional heat transfer finite element model and a rate independent three-dimensional deformation model, developed for the CO₂ laser welding simulations in Al-6061-T6 alloy. Simulations are performed using an indirect coupled thermal-structural method for the process of welding. Temperature-dependent thermal properties of Al-6061-T6, effect of latent heat of fusion, and the convective and radiative boundary conditions are included in the model. The heat input to the model is assumed to be a Gaussian heat source. The finite element code ANSYS12, along with a few FORTRAN subroutines, are employed to obtain the numerical results. The benefit of the proposed methodology is that it

Despite not being digested, trace elements and/or heavy metals are important for the activity of enzymes, physiological processes, and homeostasis. If certain trace elements are present in excess, they can have harmful effects and pose major health hazards. Objective: The aims to examine the connection between serum zinc, copper levels, and the Cu/Zn ratio, and several anthropometric parameters, including an index of body mass and the waist-hip ratio. In our study, we used atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) to measure serum levels of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in 60 individuals, 30 patients with kidney cancer and 30 healthy controls. We assessed serum uric acid, creatinine, and urea using the semi-auto analyzer BA-88A (Korea). The results

Carbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-

The most hazardous class of pharmaceuticals for soil and aquatic ecosystems are antibiotics, which include prescription medications and cancer treatments. Hospital effluents are usually produced by all parts of medical facilities, including hospitals. This study's specific goal was to provide a quick, affordable, and accurate analytical technique for determining the levels of amoxicillin, azithromycin, and penicillin in wastewater from Medical City, Al-Mahmudiya, and Al-Yarmouk hospitals (Iraq, Baghdad). An HPLC with a receptive ODS C18 column was used. It was equipped with UV and pulsed amperometric detectors with wavelengths of 230 nm and 210-240 nm, respectively. The correlation coefficients for each drug are greater than 0.9999,

In this research, an experimental study was conducted to high light the impact of the exterior shape of a cylindrical body on the forced and free convection heat transfer coefficients when the body is hold in the entrance of an air duct. The impact of changing the body location within the air duct and the air speed are also demonstrated. The cylinders were manufactured with circular, triangular and square sections of copper for its high thermal conductivity with appropriate dimensions, while maintaining the surface area of all shapes to be the same. Each cylinder was heated to a certain temperature and put inside the duct at certain locations. The temperature of the cylinder was then monitored. The heat transfer coefficient were then cal