This paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study aimed at comparing the influence of openings of different configurations on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete gable roof beams. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported gable beams subjected to mid-point concentrated load. The variable which has been investigated in this work was opening's configuration (quadrilateral or circular) with the same upper and lower chords depth. The results indicate improvement in the beams’ flexural behavior when circular openings were used compared with that of quadrilateral openings, represented by an increase in ultimate load capacity and a decrease in deflection at the service limit. Also, there was an enhancement in the ductility and rigidity of the beams. The results of the tested beams were verified by a nonlinear finite element program, ABAQUS (2018). Comparisons are presented and good agreement is shown between the predictions of the finite element analysis and the experimental results in terms of failure loads and load-deflection relations.
Detection of early clinical keratoconus (KCN) is a challenging task, even for expert clinicians. In this study, we propose a deep learning (DL) model to address this challenge. We first used Xception and InceptionResNetV2 DL architectures to extract features from three different corneal maps collected from 1371 eyes examined in an eye clinic in Egypt. We then fused features using Xception and InceptionResNetV2 to detect subclinical forms of KCN more accurately and robustly. We obtained an area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.99 and an accuracy range of 97–100% to distinguish normal eyes from eyes with subclinical and established KCN. We further validated the model based on an independent dataset with
... Show MoreThe present study aims to study the correlation between visfatin levels and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi obese adolescence (with and without metabolic syndrome) and its relation with other studied biochemical parameters. Sixty obese adolescences were depended in this study (with and without metabolic syndrome), compared with (30) non-obese children as control group. This study was done in the period from April 2020 until the end of December 2020, in the National Diabetes Centre/Mustansiriya University, Baghdad/Iraq. There were no significant differences in age, height, waist circumferences (WC), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the patients' groups. In contrast, a significant increase differs (p<0.05) was recorded in the values of
... Show MoreThis study investigates the elimination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from an Iraqi petroleum refinery effluent through a combined electro‐Fenton and adsorption process (EF+AC). Response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was employed to investigate the effects of FeSO 4 concentration, current density, and electrolysis time on the reduction of COD using the EF technique. According to the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the EF technique, FeSO 4 concentrations, with a contribution of 40.06%, and cur
Inflammatory bowel disease includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic, progressive relapsing disease of gastrointestinal tract that require long-term treatment or maintenance therapy. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an important factor that affects compliance of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is a prerequisite for better compliance. The aim of the current study was to investigate and assess beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to determine possible association between these beliefs and some patient-specific factors.
This study is a cross-sectional study carried out o
... Show MoreClobetasol propionate (CP) is a super potent corticosteroid widely used to treat various skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. However, its utility for topical application is hampered due to its common side effects, such as skin atrophy, steroidal acne, hypopigmentation, and allergic contact dermatitis. Microsponge is a unique three-dimensional microstructure particle with micro and nano-meters-wide cavities, which can encapsulate both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs providing increased efficacy and safety. The aim of the current study is to prepare and optimize clobetasol-loaded microsponges. The emulsion solvent diffusion method is used for the preparation of ethylcellulose (EC)-based microsponges. The impact of
... Show MoreIn this paper, the Active Suspension System (ASS) of road vehicles was investigated. In addition to the conventional stiffness and damper, the proposed ASS includes a fuzzy controller, a hydraulic actuator, and an LVDT position sensor. Furthermore, this paper presents a nonlinear model describing the operation of the hydraulic actuator as a part of the suspension system. Additionally, the detailed steps of the fuzzy controller design for such a system are introduced. A MATLAB/Simulink model was constructed to study the proposed ASS at different profiles of road irregularities. The results have shown that the proposed ASS has superior performance compared to the conventional Passive Suspension System (PSS), where the body displacemen
... Show MoreEndometriosis is a common women health disorder that occurs when Endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus. This may lead to irregular bleeding , pelvic pain, infertility and other complications. Metformin, because of its activity to improve insulin sensitivity, it is used for the treatment of diabetes; it also has a modulatory effect on ovarian steroid production and has anti-inflammatory properties, all may suggest its possible effect in treatment of endometriosis. This study was planned to determine the effect of metformin on serum levels of&nbs
... Show MoreInsulin-induced hyperglycemia is the hallmark of diabetes mellitus (DM), including various metabolic disorders. Diabetic people are more likely to develop dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the most common illness, is generally asymptomatic in its early stages and can go misdiagnosed for years. Diabetes screening may be beneficial in some cases since early identification and treatment can lessen the burden of diabetes and its consequences. This study aimed to find the relationship between Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and lipid profile components in T2DM patients. This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on the control group and T2DM patients in Medical City in Baghdad be
... Show MoreIn this survey, there are 14 species belonging to 14 genera, nine families and two orders, collected on Macrofungi from Tikrit city, Salahadin Governorate, North Central of Iraq. The members of Coleoptera were more abundant than flies on Macrofungi.
The family of Ciidae and Leiodidae (Order, Coleoptera), Mycetophilidae (Order, Diptera), and 6 species are recorded for the first time for insect fauna of Iraq.