Strengthening of Concrete Beams Using FRP Composites

Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to predict the behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). To verify and measure the accuracy of the FEM model, the current model results were compared with both experimental and theoretical available results. Four beams were studied simulating the Horsetail Creek Bridge, Oregon, USA. The first one is a control beam with no strengthening fiber.The second beam is strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) oriented along the length of the beam to reinforce the flexure behavior. The third beam is wrapped with glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP) laminates representing the shear beam. The fourth one is strengthened with CFRP and GFRP laminates representing the flexure-shear beam.The load-strain for concrete, steel and fiber as well were represented and compared. In addition, the load deflection curves and crack patterns were developed and represented. The results showed that the modeling process was accurate in simulating the tested beams. It was also clear that using FRP in strengthening reinforced concrete beams is an effective method in improving both shear and flexural behavior of the beams

Adsorption and inhibitive properties of Tryptophan on low alloy steel corrosion in acidic media

AbstractThe inhibition efficiency of Tryptophan (Trp) has been studied for the corrosion of low alloy steel ASTM A213 grade T22 in sulfamic (HSO3NH2) and hydrochloric (HCl) acid solutions.Corrosion inhibition was studied using electrochemical methods (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; EIS and the new technique electrochemical frequency modulation; EFM) and weight loss measurements. The influence of inhibitor concentration, solution temperature, and immersion time on the corrosion resistance of low alloy steel (LAS) has been investigated. Trp proved to be a very good inhibitor for low alloy steel acid corrosion. EFM measurements showed that Trp is a mixed type inhibitor. Trp behaved better in 0.6M HCl than in 0.6M HSO3NH2. Moreover, it was found that the inhibition efficiency increased with increasing inhibitor concentration, while a decrease was detected with the rise of temperature and immersion time. The associated activation energy (Ea) has been determined. The values of Ea indicate that the type of adsorption of Trp on the steel surface in both acids belongs to physical adsorption. The adsorption process was tested using Temkin adsorption isotherm

Extrapulmonary small cell sarcinoma: involvement of the brain without evidence of extracranial malignancy by serial PET/CT scans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (EPSCC) involving the brain is a rare manifestation of an uncommon tumor type.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a 59 year-old Caucasian female diagnosed with an EPSCC involving the left parietal lobe without detectable extracranial primary tumor followed by serial positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. Histopathological examination at both initial presentation and recurrence revealed small cell carcinoma. Serial PET/CT scans of the entire body failed to reveal any extracranial [¹⁸F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) avid lesions at either diagnosis or follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chemotherapy may show a transient response in the treatment of EPSCC. Further studies are needed to help identify optimal treatment strategies. Combination PET/CT technology may be a useful tool to monitor EPSCC and assess for an occult primary malignancy.</p

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Corrosion Inhibition of Expired Cefazolin Drug on Copper Metal in Dilute Hydrochloric Acid Solution: Practical and Theoretical Approaches

In this work, we studied the corrosion of Cu metal in 0.5 mol L−1 HCl and the inhibition effect of the expired Cefazolin drug. The inhibition efficiency (IE) of Cefazolin varied according to its concentration in solution. As the Cefazolin concentration increased to 300 ppm, the IE increased to 87% at 298 K and decreased to 78% as the temperature increased to 318 K. The expired drug functioned as a mixed–type inhibitor. The adsorption of the drug on the copper surface followed Temkin’s adsorption model. The magnitudes of the standard free energy change (ΔGoads) and adsorption equilibrium constant (Kads) indicated the spontaneous nature and exothermicity of the adsorption process. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques showed that the drug molecules were strongly attached to the Cu surface. The electrochemical frequency modulation (EFM), potentiodynamic polarization (PP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results were in good agreement with the results of the weight loss (WL) method. The density functional tight–binding (DFTB) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results indicated that the expired drug bound to the copper surface through the lone pair of electrons of the heteroatoms as well as the π-electrons of the tetrazole ring. The adsorption energy between the drug and copper metal was –459.38 kJ mol−1

Gender difference of knowledge and attitude of primary health care staff towards domestic violence

Background: Cultural and traditional norms in the community can have an impact on gender equity. This can be reflected on attitude of both men and women towards domestic violence against women. Gender differences in knowledge and attitude of medical staff about domestic violence can affect their role dealing with battered women. Objective: The current study was formulated to compare knowledge and attitude of male and female medical staff about domestic violence against women. Methods: To achieve this aim, a sample of 1553 health care workers was interviewed out of 2516 allocated for this study with an overall response rate of 61.7%. The target population for this study was all physicians and nurses in the primary health care centers in Kuwait. Results: The results of the current study revealed that female medical primary health care workers tended to have a higher knowledge score about violence against women than male staff (72.8 + 9.8% compared with 68.6 + 10.3%). They also had a higher overall attitude score than males (59.9 + 13.7% compared with 57.8 + 22.4%). Multivariate analysis showed that gender was a significant predictor, after adjusting for other confounding factors, of the overall knowledge, attitude and outcome scores of violence against women. No significant difference was revealed between gender and the barrier domain of violence. Conclusion: Female health care workers tended to have a better knowledge score about definition of domestic violence against women than male medical staff. Females also tended to accept hitting of wives by their husbands if there was a good reason more than males. There is a need to improve both knowledge and attitude of primary health care workers about domestic violence against women. Keywords: Domestic violence, Primary care staff, Knowledge, Attitude gender differenc

Barriers for administering primary health care services to battered women: Perception of physician and nurses

Background: Violence against women is an important public-health problem that draws attention of a wide spectrum of clinicians. However, multiple barriers undermine the efforts of primary health care workers to properly manage and deal with battered women. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to reveal barriers that might impede administering comprehensive health care to battered women and compare these barriers between nurses and physicians and identify factors affecting such barriers. Methods: A total of 1553 medical staff from 78 primary health care units agreed to share in this study, of these 565 were physicians and 988 were nurses. Results: Barriers related to the battered woman topped the list of ranks for both physicians (93.1 ± 17.4%) and nurses (82.1 ± 29.3%). Institutional barriers (87.2 ± 21.5%), barriers related to the health staff (79.8 ± 20. 5%), and social barriers (77.5 ± 21.7%) followed, respectively, in the rank list of physicians while for the list of nurses, social barriers (75.1 ± 30.1%), institutional barriers (74.3 ± 31.7%) followed with barriers related to health staff (70.0 ± 30.0%) at the bottom of the list. Only duration spent at work and degree of education of nurses were significantly affecting the total barrier score, while these factors had no significant association among physicians. Conclusion: Real barriers exist that might interfere with administering proper comprehensive health care at the primary health care units by both physicians and nurses. This necessitates design of specific programs to improve both the knowledge and skills of the medical staff to deal with violence among women. Also, available resources and infrastructure must be strengthened to face this problem and enable primary health care staff to care for battered women. Keywords: Battered women, Barriers, Physicians, Nurses, Primary health car

Burnout syndrome among physicians working in primary health care centers in Kuwait

Objective: The aim of the study was to reveal extent of burnout problem among primary care physicians and the socio-demographic factors affecting its occurrence. Methods: The target population included all physicians working in these two health regions in Kuwait. Two hundred physicians working in the primary health care units in the selected regions agreed to participate in the study. A specifically designed questionnaire for this research was derived from Maslach Burnout Inventory (BMI). It included four domains, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, and involvement. In addition, socio-demographic and work characteristics of physicians were studied and their association with burnout domains was illustrated. Results: More than half the sample was females (56%), in the age group 30–49 (56.5%) and of non-Kuwait nationality (51%). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization had lower percentage scores than the positive ones namely, personal accomplishment, and involvement. Physicians had a mean percent score of 37.1 + 29.0% on the emotional exhaustion domain, 21.0 + 22.9% on the depersonalization domain, 63.2 + 26.3% on the personal accomplishment domain, and 46.2 + 29.9% on the involvement domain. The four domains of MBI were associated only with some of the studied socio-demographic and job characteristics of the studied physicians. Nationality, place of work, job and income had a significant association with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment domains. Conclusion: Burnout syndrome is relatively common among Kuwaiti physicians working at the primary care level. The syndrome is more common among non-Kuwaiti physicians, general practitioners, and those with lower income. There is a need for training the physicians about how to cope with stress at work. Keywords: Burnout, Physicians, Primary care center

Synthesis of a resorcinol-based derivative as a corrosion inhibitor for low-carbon steel in 0.5 mol L⁻¹ HCl medium: chemical, electrochemical, and theoretical aspects

This work illustrated the synthesis of a new simple resorcinol derivative, 4,6-dimethoxyisophthalohydrazide (DMIH) and confirmed its structure using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The inhibiting performance of the DMIH compound in resisting the pitting action of a 0.5 mol L−1 HCl solution on low-carbon steel (LCS) was assessed. The newly synthesized compound had a simple structure and was dissolved in acidic media. The efficiency of the inhibitor was examined using chemical and electrochemical methods. The DMIH compound significantly decreased the rate of dissolution of LCS in HCl solution by adsorption. The adsorption was based on the Langmuir model. The DMIH compound is adsorbed on LCS via both chemisorption and physisorption. The DMIH compound is a mixed-type inhibitor. An inhibition efficiency (IE) of 83.8% was obtained using 300 ppm of the DMIH compound at 298 K. The IE decreased to 72% as the temperature increased to 328 K. When the concentration of DMIH increased from 50 to 300 ppm, the charge transfer resistance (Rct) increased from 134.7 to 404.8 ohm cm2, and the capacitance of the adsorbed layer decreased from 38 × 10−6 to 11 × 10−6 F cm−2. The high IE of the synthesized inhibitor was validated by the quantum characteristics. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations revealed that the DMIH compound adsorbed to the LCS quite well. The presence of a protective film on the LCS specimen was verified by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) results. DMIH has significant potential to function as a corrosion inhibitor, as indicated by the comparative study between its performance and that of previously reported compounds. Although the structure of the DMIH compound is simpler than that of other inhibitors, it has been proven to be more effective.</p

Egyptian recommendations for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus: a consensus, evidence-based, clinical practice guidelines for treat-to-target management

Abstract Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by having varying clinical presentation, severity, unpredictable course as well as outcomes. Recent disease-modifying conventional and biologic agents have enhanced rates of attaining both short- and long-term management goals, including minimization of glucocorticoid dose and use. This study was carried out to develop an up-to-date evidence-based, consensus on clinical practice guidelines for treat-to-target management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. Results The response rate to the online questionnaires, sent to the expert panel who participated in the three rounds, was 95.5%. At the end of round 3, a total of 14 recommendation sections were proposed for the T2T management of patients with SLE. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 90.9–100%. Consensus was reached (i.e., ≥ 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed) on the proposed statements. Conclusion These recommendations provide a consensus on the treat-to-target management of patients with SLE. They provide strategies to reach optimal outcomes in common clinical scenarios, based on a combination of evidence and expert opinion