Developing a three-dimensional city modeling with the absence of elevation data

The past few decades have witnessed steady innovations in remote sensing technologies; however, elevation data needed for creating 3D city models are not reachable for several regions in all over the world. Many developed states still without proper nationwide elevation measurements dataset for developing sufficient 3D city models. The current paper addresses the possibility of producing 3D models for areas without elevation data but with footprints, measurements collected from government departments and volunteered individuals. The study aims to investigate and evaluate a different approach to create three-dimensional city models based on data that existed in open-source maps when elevation measurements are not available. The proposed approach can be divided into two stages: footprint and shadow data collection, and height estimation. At first, the footprint information and shadow area are manually gathered from satellite images, then the building height is predicted based on rooftop and shadow data. SketchUp, a 3D design software, is employed as an efficient tool for creating the 3D virtual city model. To develop such a model, the software utilizes procedural modeling in addition to an image-based approach. The developed model can produce a satisfactory and realistic virtual scene within a short time and for a large area. The 3D city modeling resulted from estimated heights is considered as a rational provisional solution at areas where elevation data are not available or are out-dated

Evaluation of medication package inserts in Saudi Arabia

Sinaa A Al-aqeelClinical Pharmacy Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaPurpose: The aim of this study was to examine if package inserts (PIs) supplied with prescribed and over-the-counter medications in Saudi Arabia contain information relevant for the safe and appropriate use of these medications.Methods: Sixty PIs for prescription-only medications (n = 37) and over-the-counter medications (n = 23) were evaluated against a set of safety criteria compiled from the literature.Results: Analyzed PIs were defective in many aspects. Particularly of concern were unclear dosage instructions, lack of measures to be taken when an administrative error was made, inappropriate presentation of side effects, and lack of measures to be taken if serious side effects occurred.Conclusion: This study indicated that information relevant to the safe and appropriate use of medications was not uniformly mentioned in the PIs analyzed. To avoid medication errors due to deficits in the current PIs, we recommend improvement in the existing PIs based on best practice for information content and design.Keywords: drug information, patient education, patient information leaflets, package insert

Correlation between Paris function parameters to crack velocity for Alumina ceramics

The question about the existence of correlation between the parameters A and m of the Paris function is re-examined theoretically for brittle material such as alumina ceramic (Al2O3) with different grain size. Investigation about existence of the exponential function which fit a good approximation to the majority of experimental data of crack velocity versus stress intensity factor diagram. The rate theory of crack growth was applied for data of alumina ceramics samples in region I and making use of the values of the exponential function parameters the crack growth rate theory parameters were estimated

Exploring the Possibility of Headache Exposure among Mobile Phone Users Aged (18-25) Years

Background: Many health reports have focused on the symptoms and health effects caused by mobile phone usage around the world, including headaches. Headaches are common among the Iraqi people, and when exposed to low-frequency radiation from mobile phone use for long hours, this may cause headaches. Objective:To determine the possibility of headache exposure among mobile phone users in relation to age, gender and various aspects of mobile and to find out any significant association between the duration of  mobile phone usage per day with  duration and intensity of headache. Patients and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Baquba city during the 1st  December 2016 to 31 December 2017 to obtain a random sample of young adults aged 18 – 25 years. A questionnaire was created to collect data. This questionnaire consists of three parts, the first part  includes age and gender  and the second part about mobile-related information. While the third part is about headaches information related to headaches. Initial approval was taken from every to participating. Data, sorted and arranged, and statistical tables were used to represent the results. Statistical data were analyzed using the statistical packages for social Sciences (SPSS) program version (20). Chi-square and t- test were applied and p-value of <0.05 was taken to be as a statistical significance. Results: The current study shows that mobile phone usage significantly increases the rate of exposure to headaches by (65%). The highest rate of exposure to headaches (86.1%) was significantly among those who owned the mobile for four years and more. The study showed that the highest rate of headaches (% 72.6) was significantly found in persons who use the mobile mainly to surf social networking and the headache rate (73.8%) was significantly higher  among those who use mobile phones for (3-˂ 4) hours per day.  Conclusion: It has been concluded from this study that the use of mobile phones increases the  of exposure to headaches, especially when the duration of use during the day increases, as well as the duration of headache exposure of more than two hours and intensity significantly associated with increasing the mean number of hours per day

Modified prediction approach of strength of high strength polyolefin fiber reinforced concrete corbels

This paper aims to investigate the effect of polyolefin fibers on high strength reinforced concrete corbels using twelve specimens with different quantities of fibers and shear span-to-span ratios, all corbels were only tested vertically. Due to the addition of polyolefin fibers, the ultimate load-carrying capacity of corbels was significantly improved, according to the findings of this study and other relevant data. The limitations and insufficiency of the three techniques were proven by a comparison of current test results and anticipated values by the ACI 318 Code -19 rules for the tested specimens, the Strut and Tie Model, and the proposed method. The ultimate shear load of polyolefin fiber reinforced high strength concrete corbels with was determined to be best predicted by applying the Strut and Tie Model technique to account for the fibers' contribution to strength