Structural performance and failure analysis of bubbledeck concrete slabs in construction

In this research paper, as the concrete material is eliminated from the locations situated around the middle of the cross-sections of bubbledecks (BDs), the BD type slabs are lighter than the traditional slabs. In the recent researches, the performance analysis (PA) is generally determined for the reinforced concrete (RC) structures with the moment-resisting frame (MRF) and dual systems. The dual system comprises mainly the MRF with shear wall of building under construction, as well as the flat slab having chiefly the BD system. In this paper, the evaluation of values of the performance and failure analysis of RC structures using BD system are submitted. We recorded a maximum load of 6.48, maximum stress of 75.00, macimum strain of 7.80, with minimum force of 0.83, while minimum slab length of 9.62 and lastly the maximum slab span of 27 for our bubbledeck concrete slab experiment in comparison with reinforced concrete slab to get the best results. The obtained results indicate that the lateral strengths of buildings increase by increasing the span length to story height ratio. Besides, the variations of the span length and the number of the story have more effects than the variation of the usage category buildings on the performance of structures. Furthermore, the span length has more effect than the number of stories in determining performance in an MRF. We observed that the bubbledeck concrete slabs are more lightweight and resistant in comparison with reinforced concrete

Effect of zinc oxid on the bentonite ability for removing Methylene blue from solution

A batch adsorption system was applied to study the adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution by Iraqi bentonite and treated bentonite with different amount of zinc oxide (ZnO). The adsorption capacities of methylene blue onto bentonite were evaluated. The equilibrium between liquid and solid phase was described by Langmuir model better than the Freundlich model. Langmuir and Freundlich constants have been determined. The separation factor or equilibrium parameter, RL which is used to predict if an adsorption system is favourable or unfavourable was calculated for all cases

Prevalence and Levels of Depression Among Parents of Children with Cancer in Basrah, Iraq

Objectives: Cancer in a family member can be a major source of psychological disorders, especially for the parents of children diagnosed with cancer. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and levels of depression among parents of children with cancer in Basrah, Iraq. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2014 and April 2015 at the Specialist Paediatric Hospital in Basrah City, Iraq. One parent each of 384 children with cancer admitted to the hospital for treatment or follow-up during the study period were invited to participate in the study. Age, gender, years of education, occupation, monthly income, place of residence and the overall number of children in a family were recorded. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to identify depression and assess levels of depression. Results: A total of 336 parents participated in the study (response rate: 87.5%). Of these, 70.5% were depressed, 54.1% of which had major depression. Depression was significantly more common (77.2% versus 57.1%) and more severe (60.7% versus 41.1%) among mothers compared to fathers (P = 0.001). Parents with fewer years of education were more likely to be depressed; this association was significant for mothers but not fathers (P = 0.001 and 0.814, respectively). Depression was significantly inversely associated with monthly income (P = 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of depression among the parents of children with cancer was high. Depression was significantly more severe among mothers compared to fathers and among mothers who were less educated. Income also had a significant association with levels of depression among parents

The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccine: Is it a better choice for the treatment of viral warts?

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine with topical salicylic acid (SA) in the treatment of viral warts. Methods: This non-randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Al-Sader Teaching Hospital, Basrah, Iraq, from January 2016 to April 2017. A total of 201 patients with viral warts were injected with an intradermal purified protein derivative. Subsequently, those with negative tuberculin test results received an intradermal BCG vaccination, while those with positive results underwent conventional treatment with topical SA. Patients were assessed for any signs of improvement at one, two and three months. Results: Overall, 190 patients completed the trial; of these, 133 (70%) received the BCG vaccine and 57 (30%) were treated with topical SA. Complete response to treatment was observed in 9.8% and 5.3% of patients in the BCG and SA groups, respectively (P <0.001). Cure rates were significantly higher for patients with genital (22.2% versus 7.7%; P = 0.002) and common warts (8.5% versus 0%; P = 0.001) treated with the BCG vaccine; however, the reverse was true for flat warts (12.9% versus 25%; P = 0.041). A binary logistic regression analysis indicated that BCG therapy was the only significant independent predictor of positive treatment response (odds ratio: 7.56, 95% confidence interval: 3.72–15.36; P <0.001). Conclusion: The BCG vaccine was more effective than topical SA for treating viral warts, with the best response noted in the treatment of genital warts, followed by flat warts. However, plantar warts demonstrated least response to this treatment.Keywords: Human Papilloma Viruses; Warts; Immunotherapy; BCG Vaccine; Salicylic Acid; Clinical Trial; Treatment Effectiveness

Effects of impulsive loading and deformation damage on reinforced concrete slabs during building construction

The effects of impulsive loading and deformation damage in reinforced concrete slabs were observed for analyzing the under-construction buildings for specific period of time. To fully harvest the structural capacity of building under constrcution with reinforced slabs sections exposed to combined actions, it is necessary to leave behind the simplicity of treating the verification of structural adequacy for normal stresses separately from that of shear stresses and instead fully exploit the advantages of choosing more efficient stress distributions. By exploring the vast possibilities of other statically admissible systems using optimization routines for deformation damage reduced to 20% from 80% in the work, the longitudinal reinforcement near the neutral axis in reinforced concrete can be utilized much more efficiently. In addition, by adhering to the interdependency constraints between normal and shear stresses in reinforced concrete a much more precise picture of the actual service stress state can be determined for impulsive loading and deformation damage where the maximum deformation and impulsive loading on RC-slab were observed at strain 91s≤t≤97s on RC-slab in the total simulation steps from 0s to 398s. There is therefore a need for a one- step, automated design tool capable of addressing such verifications holistically which was performed in the simulation of this study using Matlab R2019b. In this paper the theoretical basis and a free to use open-source design tool is presented, allowing for easy access to highly optimized designs capable of observing the impulsive loading and deformation damage on reinforced concrete materials to their limit

Application of external prestressing on the rehabilitation of reinforced concrete beams

Concrete structure experiencing any form of distress due to multiple reasons; need remedial, strengthening, and rehabilitation measures, if the structure is to attain serviceability and strength requirements of different elements. Further, the external welding reinforcement and prestressing of the reinforced concrete members have been proven to provide an effective strengthening approach. The prestressed concrete describes a type of concrete where internal stresses are instituted to counteract the multiple tensile stresses that are characteristics of service loading. In these concrete structures, cables, hard-drawn wires or bars of high strength alloy steel are employed as tendons to generate the counteracting stresses. The prestressed concrete is made up of an active combination of steel and concrete as these materials are traditionally stressed before the application of external loads. The prestressing technique has been comprehensively reviewed in numerous articles showing that it is more effective than the RCC structures. External prestressing is emerging as an essential component of prestressing as it is structurally attractive and economical. In external prestressing, the tendons are placed outside the member to improve the load-bearing capacity of the structures and their members. In this study, a beam exposed to various loading condition and distress is strengthened using external prestressing. The ultimate deflection and failure characteristics were evaluated using different loading scenarios; beam weight, live weight, and dead weight. The results for the prestressing analysis was provided for 10 and 20 strands

Experimental investigation to limit the effecting of friction stir welding factors on the strength of AA6061-T651

Properties like light weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, and good corrosion resistance make aluminium alloys widely accepted in automotive industry. The low melting point of these alloys makes welding by traditional methods difficult due to the imperfections associated with fusion processes. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding method invented in 1991 at the welding institute (TWI) in the UK; melting and recasting do not occur when using this process. But joints from AA6061-T651 aluminium alloy have been friction stir welded with different welding parameters like tool rotational speed and tool welding speed with constant tool dimension. The effects of rotational and welding speeds on the tensile strength, microhardness distribution and microstructure of the welding joints were studied. The results showed that the maximum tensile strength of the joints can be achieved when using tool with 18 mm and 5 mm shoulder and pin diameter at 710 rpm tool rotational speed and 23 mm/min. Also, we observed that microhardness is markedly affected when tool rotational speed increases

Modelling of earthquake repellent fibre reinforced concrete

Iraq is exposed to significant earthquakes since it is located in the Middle East, in southwestern Asia. Thus, buildings should be designed and constructed to resist seismic forces. This is not always the case. Most of typical fibre reinforced concrete residential buildings in Iraq are designed and constructed to resist gravity loads only without any considerations to earthquake resistance. It is generally assumed by designers that the seismic forces on low and high-rise buildings are low. The building frame structural system and infill walls are assumed to resist such loads. There has been no verification to these assumptions by designers. Several seismic evaluation methodologies exist over around the world including qualitative (empirical) and quantitative (analytical) methodologies. The most suitable seismic evaluation methodology to be used in Iraq is the analytical methodology of pushover analysis since it does not require an observed damage data from previous earthquakes. We have designed two building that could withstand the earthquakes and have been long lasting using the fibre reinforced concrete. The orientation of the long dimension of columns is an important factor in the seismic resistance of both buildings. The direction contains the long dimension of columns have an earthquake resistance larger than the other direction. Buildings having structural walls behave better than other buildings during earthquakes as long as the location of these walls does not form a horizontal irregularities

Modelling reinforced concrete beams for structural strengthening of buildings

Iraq has many damaged and vandalized building since it is located in the Middle East, in southwestern Asia. Reinforced concrete beams of normal weight and lightweight's beams were conducted. The study is also done on normal strength and high strength beams in each category. The reinforced concrete used were 0% and 0.75% in each category. The lengths of the concrete beams used were 35 mm and 60 mm in each category. The longitudinal reinforcement ratio in all the beams is kept at 1.46%. The effect of types of aggregates, length of concrete beams, and concrete compressive strength were studied and results were presented with regard to the shear and flexure strengths, beam load-deflection responses, mode of failure, stiffness, energy absorption, and ductility. Shear and flexural crack widths and cracking patterns of the beams were also presented. Reinforced concrete content of the beams was also discussed. The possibility of replacement of minimum concrete reinforcement for lightweight beams with reinforced concrete is discussed. The most efficient length of beams for this purpose was presented. The modeling of buildings were designed in ANSYS and the strengthening as well as reinforcement was being shown using the software tool for the buildings in Iraq

The Role of Hyposthenuria in Enuresis among Paediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Objectives: Enuresis in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) is common. Many risk factors have been postulated but its relation to hyposthenuria is debatable. This study aims to determine the prevalence of enuresis inchildren with SCD in Basrah, Iraq and to examine its relation with hyposthenuria. Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was performed on children with SCD who met the inclusion criteria at the Basrah Center for Hereditary Blood Diseases over the period from the first of December 2020 through May 2021. A questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Blood samples were tested for hemoglobin genotype, certain blood indices, and serum hemoglobin. Urine was tested for albumin and creatinine, and the specific gravity was measured using urine dipsticks. The relationships between enuresis and various sociodemographic and clinical variables were assessed. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to examine the independent risk factors of enuresis. Results: Out of 200 eligible children, 161 were studied after exclusion of 39 based on the exclusion criteria, yielding an 80.5% response rate, 60.9% of them were males. The mean age of the participants was 10.9 ± 2.9 years. Enuresis was reported in 50 (31.1%) patients. The independent risk factors for enuresis were; family history of enuresis (OR, 5.94; 95% CI, 2.54-13.89; P<0.001), hyposthenuria (OR, 3.76, 95% CI, 1.25-11.30; P= 0.018), and sleep disorders (OR, 2.90; 95% CI, 0.19-7.06; P= 0.019). Conclusion: Enuresis is common among children with SCD. Hyposthenuria was significantly associated with enuresis. Family history of enuresis, and sleep disorders were also found to be significantly related to enuresis. Keywords: Enuresis, sickle cell disease, children, prevalence, hyposthenuri