Settlement performance evaluation of longitudinal settling basins - A case study on Golfaraj and Iry-Siah Rud pump stations, Iran

One of the most important elements of river intake is settling basins for water sediment removal. Settling basins play an important role in supplying appropriate water for irrigation networks and power plants. Therefore, it is necessary to design them carefully based on the local conditions. Our objectives were to determine the properties of sediments entering into the intake systems of two pump stations (Golfaraj and Iry-Siah Rud) by sampling the water suspended load in different points of the systems and to investigate the performance of settling basins in Iran. The suspended load samples were taken from sections before and after the settling basins at three depths of 0.2 y, 0.6 y, and 0.8 y (y is the depth of the cross section from the water surface). Evaluating the characteristics of sediments entering into the stations showed that the mean diameter of the sediment particles is 0.0035 mm and 0.002 mm at the transmission canal and suction basins, respectively. Approximately 90% of the sediments entering into the stations have a diameter smaller than 0.03 mm. In high sediment conditions, statistical analyses revealed that there is a significant difference (p<0.05) between the mean cross sectional suspended concentrations, before and after the settling basins. The results indicated that the Golfaraj settling basin, by removing 22.75% of sediments did not have proper performance, as well as the Iry-Siah Rud station. Based on the condition of the stations, we recommend the use of the additional structures such as guide walls with sluiceway, doubled sills, and pre-settling basins and proper designing operation to reduce the problems related to sediment particles

The Relationship between Types of Delivery and Methods of Anesthesia with Occurrence of Jaundice in Term Neonates

Background Because of severe adverse effects of hyperbilirubinemia on newborns central nervous system diagnosis of its risk factors before delivery can prevent these effects.  This study aimed to determine the relationship between types of delivery with jaundice during the first week of life in Term neonates. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, all term neonates born in Amiralmoemenin Hospital, Semnan, Iran, in 2016 were included into the study. Required data were collected including age, weight, type of delivery, gender, incidence of non-pathological jaundice and type of anesthesia in cesarean delivery using data recorded in the labor ward, hospital archives, and medical records of infants and recorded in a researcher made questionnaire. Results: Mean age of neonates was 40 ± 2 weeks and their mean weight was 3100 ± 200 grams. Among them, 48.8% of neonates with normal delivery and 49.1% of neonates with cesarean delivery were girls. Both groups did not have a significant difference in term of age, weight and gender (P > 0.05). In girls, there was no significant difference between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.56). As the same in boys there was no significant difference between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.059). Also, there was no difference in all neonates regardless of their sexuality, between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.078). In cesarean delivery there was no significant difference in icterus severity between general and epidural anesthesia (P= 0.21). Conclusion The results indicate that cesarean delivery was not a risk factor for hospitalization due to icterus during first week after delivery. Further studies are recommended to confirm our results

Numerical 3D Finite Element Assessment of Bending Moment-Resisting Frame Equipped with Semi-Disconnected Steel Plate Shear Wall and Yielding Plate Connection

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) have advantages such as high elastic stiffness, stable hysteresis behavior, high energy absorption capacity, and decent ductility. However, one of the main drawbacks of SPSWs is their buckling under lateral loading. To address this issue, a simple and practical solution in the form of using a trapezoidal plate moment connection (PMC) and a narrow gap between the infill plate and columns is presented. The PMC will act as an energy absorber, similar to a yielding steel plate, and keep the other structural members in an elastic state. Extensive three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of the SPSW system were investigated under monotonic and cyclic loading. The results revealed that by separating the infill plate from the vertical boundary elements and using two vertical edge stiffeners at both edges of the wall, the same lateral bearing capacity of the conventional system can be achieved. In addition, by increasing the thickness of the PMC from 6.5 to 26 mm, the load-bearing capacity, energy dissipation, and elastic stiffness increased approximately 2, 2.5, and 3.2 times, respectively. It was also found that the flexural capacity ratio of the connection to the beam had little effect on the overall force–displacement behavior. However, it can affect the system failure mechanism. Finally, the tension field inclination angle for such SPSWs was proposed in the range of 30 to 35°