Studying Shear Behavior of Self Compacting Concrete T- Beams Strengthened With Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Sheets

The investigational program consists of testing ten simply supported T- beams molded by using Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) with two point loads.All beams have the same dimensions (1500 * 300 * 100) mm and flexural reinforcement. In this study three parameters were considered: shear span to effective depth ratio (a/d), the shape of CFRP sheets and distribution of CFRP sheets.The specimens were divided into two groups (A and B), Group A with (a/d) equal to 2.5 and group B with (a/d) equal to 3. Each group involves five beams strengthened by CFRP strips. In addition to eight Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) beams strengthened by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), there were two reference beams. These reference beams had no strengthening by CFRP strips. All ten beams were made of SCC with fʹc equal to 40 MPa.The experimental results indicated that the Strengthened with (U) shape on the web only get good resistance to the shear force with shear span (a/d = 2.5) more than Shear span (a/d = 3) when we applied two-point load on the spaceman .Keywords: Self-Compact Concrete (S C C), Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (C F R P), Shear Failure crack, Shear Force, T-Beam

Antifungal and Antioxidant Activities of Pyrrolidone Thiosemicarbazone Complexes

Metal complexes of (Z)-2-(pyrrolidin-2-ylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide (L) with Cu(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) chlorides were tested against selected types of fungi and were found to have significant antifungal activities. The free-radical-scavenging ability of the metal complexes was determined by their interaction with the stable free radical 2,2′′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, and all the compounds showed encouraging antioxidant activities. DFT calculations of the Cu complex were performed using molecular structures with optimized geometries. Molecular orbital calculations provide a detailed description of the orbitals, including spatial characteristics, nodal patterns, and the contributions of individual atoms

Performance Evaluation of Small Scale Air-Conditioning System Using R22 and Alternative Refrigerants

A mathematical model has been formulated to predict the influence of high outdoor air temperature on the performance of small scale air - conditioning system using R22 and alternative refrigerants R290, R407C, R410A. All refrigerants were investigated in the cooling mode operation. The mathematical model results have been validated with experimental data extracted from split type air conditioner of 2 TR capacity. This entailed the construction of an experimental test rig which consists of four main parts. They are, the refrigeration system, psychrometric test facility, measuring instrumentation, and auxiliary systems. The conditioned air was maintained at 25 0C dry bulb and 19 0C wet bulb for all tests. The outdoor ambient air temperature was varied from 35 0C to 55 0C in 5 0C increments. The study showed that R290 is the better replacement for R22 when the air conditioning system works under high ambient temperature. It has better performance as a drop in refrigerant. R407C has the closest performance to R22, followed by R410A

Permeation, antifouling and desalination performance of TiO2 nanotube incorporated PSf/CS blend membranes

Polysulfone (PSf) and chitosan (CS) blend membranes were prepared by incorporating titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO2NT) in different compositions. The proper blending of PSf and CS in the PSf/CS/TiO2 membranes was confirmed by ATR-IR spectroscopy. The influence of nanotubes on morphology of membranes was investigated by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The effect of nanotubes on hydrophilicity of the membranes was studied by water swelling and contact angle measurements. The distribution of TiO2NT on the membrane surface was determined by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis. The permeation property of PSf/CS/TiO2NT membranes was carried out by measuring the time dependent pure water flux (PWF). Bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein rejection studies were performed to know the antifouling properties. The rheological percolation threshold of PSf/CS/TiO2NT solutions was measured by viscosity studies. The nanotubes incorporated PSf/CS membranes showed enhanced permeation and antifouling properties compared to PSf/CS and nascent PSf ultrafiltration membranes. Membranes prepared well above rheological percolation threshold showed drastic reduction in pore size and acted as nanofiltration (NF) membranes

تدبر أذكار القرآن الكريم وأثر العمل بها في حياة القلوب والأبدان: دراسة تحليلية وصفية = Pondering the Holy Quran

تضمن هذا البحث موضوع: "تدبُّر أذكار القرآن الكريم وأثر العمل بها في حياةِ القلوب والأبدان"، وهو يهدف إلى دراسة الأذكار من القرآن الكريم ومن السنة النبوية، ويُعنى بتدبر معانيها والعمل بها، وكذا الأثر المترتب عليها في إحياء القلوب والأبدان، فهذا الوحي الـمُنزل لهو العافية والشفاء لكل داء، وذلك أن تأثيرها قويٌ لصحة العبد من أمراضه وعلَلِه، ولهذا ينبغي على الناس أن يُحسِنوا الإستشفاء به. ومن أهداف هذا البحث الوصول إلى حقيقة تدبر الأذكار، ومُحاولة كشف الأدوية، وبيان أثرها في شفاء أمراض القلوب والأبدان. وقد اعتمد الباحث في هذه الدراسة على المنهج الاستقرائي الوصفي في تتبع الآيات القُرآنية المتعلقة بالآذكار وكذا الأحاديث النبوية الصحيحة، ثم تَنزيلها بالفهم الصحيح على ما ناسبها من أدواء. وكما سلك الباحث المنهج التحليلي في دراسة ماهية التدبر، ومعرفة طُرقه وأساليبه الـمُوصلة إلى فهم أعمق لها، وعمل أكثر بمُقتضاها، وانتفاع أكبر من بركتها، وهذا من خلال تتبع أقوال العلماء والباحثين في تفاسيرهم ومؤلفاتهم، بُغيةَ علاج ضعف التدبر وضعف تأثير القرآن على القلوب والأبدان. ومن أهم النتائج التي توصل إليها الباحث، أن التدبر لآيات القرآن الكريم وأذكار السنة النبوية يكون بفهم ما يُتلى من الآيات والذكر، مع حضور القلب وخشوع الجوارح وإخلاص ما يلزم من العمل، فتنحلُّ مشاكل العبد وعُقده وأمراضه، ويزيد إيمانه ويقينه. ولهذه الفائدة الكبيرة للأذكار يقترحُ البحث العمل على إعادة النظر في كيفية استغلال هذا الدواء الرباني لتنزيله على الأدواء، ويَنصح كذلك بتناول هذه الأذكار من منظور تدبري، فهي ذات فعالية كبيرة في التداوي من الأمراض الحسية والمعنوية، فهذا الذكر يحتاج إلى تفعيل الفهم عند قراءته ومعرفة المراد منه، ومن ثم التقرب إلى الله بما يُناسبُ حالة الذكر إما: دعاءً أو استغفارًا أو تسبيحًا وغيره، فهو سرُّ كشف الكروب والعلل، وكل ما يعرض للإنسان من أمراض ظاهرة وباطنة

A novel pathogenic mutation of the CYP27B1 gene in a patient with vitamin D-dependent rickets type 1: a case report

BACKGROUND: Rickets can occur due to Vitamin D deficiency or defects in its metabolism. Three rare genetic types of rickets with different alterations of genes have been reported, including: Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1, Vitamin D dependent rickets type 2 or also known as Vitamin D resistant rickets and 25 hydroxylase deficiency rickets. Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1 is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, and is caused by mutations in the CYP27B1 gene encoding the 1α-hydroxylase enzyme. We report here a new mutation in CYP27B1, which lead to Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a 13-month-old Arabic Saudi girl with Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1 presented with multiple fractures and classic features of rickets. A whole exome sequencing identified a novel pathogenic missense mutation (CYP27B1:Homozygous c.1510C > T(p.Q504X)) which results in a protein truncating alteration. Both parents are heterozygous carriers of the mutation. Based on data search in Human Gene Mutation Database, 63 CYP27B1 alterations were reported: only 28.6% are protein truncating (5 nonsense, 13 frameshift insertions/deletions, 0 gross deletions), while 61.9% are non-truncating (38 missense, 1 small in-frame insertions/deletion), and 9.5% are possible protein-truncating (5 splice, 1 regulatory). CONCLUSION: The deleterious effect of this alteration, which was the only mutation detected in the CYP27B1 common gene of Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1 in the proband, and its autosomal recessive inheritance fashion, both support a pathogenic nature of this mutation as the cause of Vitamin D dependent rickets type 1

Polyester Sulphonic Acid Interstitial Nanocomposite Platform for Peroxide Biosensor

A novel enzyme immobilization platform was prepared on a platinum disk working electrode by polymerizing aniline inside the interstitial pores of polyester sulphonic acid sodium salt (PESA). Scanning electron microscopy study showed the formation of homogeneous sulphonated polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes (∼90 nm) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed that the nanotubes were stable up to 230 °C. The PANI:PESA nanocomposite showed a quasi-reversible redox behaviour in phosphate buffer saline. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was immobilized on to this modified electrode for hydrogen peroxide detection. The biosensor gave a sensitivity of 1.33 μA (μM)-1 and a detection limit of 0.185 μM for H2O2. Stability experiments showed that the biosensor retained more than 64% of its initial sensitivity over four days of storage at 4 °C

Hydrogen storage in depleted gas reservoirs: A comprehensive review

Hydrogen future depends on large-scale storage, which can be provided by geological formations (such as caverns, aquifers, and depleted oil and gas reservoirs) to handle demand and supply changes, a typical hysteresis of most renewable energy sources. Amongst them, depleted natural gas reservoirs are the most cost-effective and secure solutions due to their wide geographic distribution, proven surface facilities, and less ambiguous site evaluation. They also require less cushion gas as the native residual gases serve as a buffer for pressure maintenance during storage. However, there is a lack of thorough understanding of this technology. This work aims to provide a comprehensive insight and technical outlook into hydrogen storage in depleted gas reservoirs. It briefly discusses the operating and potential facilities, case studies, and the thermophysical and petrophysical properties of storage and withdrawal capacity, gas immobilization, and efficient gas containment. Furthermore, a comparative approach to hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide with respect to well integrity during gas storage has been highlighted. A summary of the key findings, challenges, and prospects has also been reported. Based on the review, hydrodynamics, geochemical, and microbial factors are the subsurface\u27s principal promoters of hydrogen losses. The injection strategy, reservoir features, quality, and operational parameters significantly impact gas storage in depleted reservoirs. Future works (experimental and simulation) were recommended to focus on the hydrodynamics and geomechanics aspects related to migration, mixing, and dispersion for improved recovery. Overall, this review provides a streamlined insight into hydrogen storage in depleted gas reservoirs

A New Class of Electrocatalyst Materials for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications

Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has been attracting lots of attention as a power source for transportation, stationary and portable electronic devices due to the high energy density of methanol and ease of handling compared to gaseous fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas. However, the commercialization of DMFC is still limited due to some technical challenges such as methanol crossover and low methanol electro-oxidation kinetics. In order for fuel cells to be a feasible and viable option amongst clean energy technologies, innovations in the materials developments are required for efficient operation of fuel cells. Many efforts have been made in various research laboratories to develop high-performance catalysts that will enhance the methanol electro-oxidation. Compared to any single-metal catalyst, Pt has shown the highest activity for the electro-oxidation of methanol in an acid environment. However, Pt is expensive and during the methanol electro-oxidation reaction, COads and other organic intermediates such as formaldehyde, formic acid and methyl formate are formed on the Pt surface, which results in poisoning of the Pt catalyst. Many binary and ternary catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation have been investigated and reported in the literature, most of them based on modification of Pt with some other metal(s). The aim is to accelerate the oxidation of the intermediates and decrease their accumulation so as to improve the catalyst performance. Among the various catalyst formulations, PtRu alloy has shown the best results for the methanol electro-oxidation. Diverse methods have been used to prepare the PtRu-based catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation. Catalyst composition and method of preparation are known to immensely affect the physical property es and electrochemical performance of a catalyst. Thus, there is the need to use a carefully selected approach in order to prepare a catalyst with the highest attainable performance. Incorporation of transition metals into the PtRu catalysts to form ternary catalysts in order to improve the performance of the PtRu catalysts is one of the techniques attracting a lot of interest. In this work, a novel approach have been used for synthesizing a new class of electrocatalyst nanomaterials for electro-oxidation of methanol by incorporation nano-oxides of transition metals. The prepared nanomaterial catalysts were characterized using FESEM, BET surface area, EDX, FT-IR and XRD. The catalysts performance was studied using cyclic voltammetry and compared with the commercial Pt-Ru/C.qscienc

Expert consensus from the Arabian Gulf on selecting disease-modifying treatment for people with multiple sclerosis according to disease activity.

AbstractRecent research has expanded our understanding of the natural history and clinical course of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Arabian Gulf region. In addition, the number of available therapi..