Enhancement of Blast Resistance of R.C Beams Using Micro/Nano Silica in Presence of Steel Fibers

An analytical investigation using ABAQUS/Explicit dynamic analysis was carried out to investigate the effect of using Micro/Nano silica in the presence of steel fibers on improving the dynamic response of reinforced concrete beams. According to the results of Magnusson and Hallgren's experimental investigation, the FE model has been well verified and calibrated. The finite element test program was extended further to study the effect of tensile reinforcement ratio by (0.5%, 0.78%, and 1.13%) comparing with the enhancement of concrete’s material on the behavior of tested R.C beams under blast loading. The results where compared in terms of changes in the max deflection at mid-span and flexural toughness values. The results showed that the combination between the compressive and flexural characteristic of concrete is necessary in case of high steel reinforcement ratio to reduce the brittle behavior of the R.C structure element, especially when the R.C elements exposed to a high strain rate loading due to the addition value of (DIF) for steel reinforcement properties which make the element stiffer than usual, compared with quasi-static loading condition.           &nbsp

Developing a Chromatographic 99mTc Generator Based on Mesoporous Alumina for Industrial Radiotracer Applications: A Potential New Generation Sorbent for Using Low-Specific-Activity 99Mo.

The commercial low-pressure column chromatographic 99Mo/99mTc generator represents a reliable source of onsite, ready-to-use 99mTc for industrial applications. These generators use fission-produced 99Mo of high specific activity, posing serious production challenges and raising proliferation concerns. Therefore, many concepts are aimed at using low-specific-activity (LSA) 99Mo. Nonetheless, the main roadblock is the low sorption capacity of the used alumina (Al2O3). This study investigates the feasibility of using commercial alumina incorporated with LSA 99Mo to develop a useful 99Mo/99mTc generator for industrial radiotracer applications. First, the adsorption profiles of some commercial alumina sorbents for LSA 99Mo were tested under different experimental conditions. Then, the potential materials to develop a 99Mo/99mTc generator were selected and evaluated regarding elution yield of 99mTc and purity. Among the sorbents investigated in this study, mesoporous alumina (SA-517747) presented a unique sorption-elution profile. It demonstrated a high equilibrium and dynamic sorption capacity of 148 ± 8 and 108 ± 6 mg Mo/g. Furthermore, 99mTc was eluted with high yield and adequate chemical, radiochemical, and radionuclidic purity. Therefore, this approach provides an efficient and cost-effective way to supply onsite 99mTc for radiotracer applications independent of fission-produced 99Mo technology

HARDNESS REMOVAL FROM DRINKING WATER

This study included three trials that were made during December 2003 by using lime, of 98% w/w calcium hydroxide to find the relation between lime doses to be added and the hardness removed .The trials were performed by adding various doses of lime and measuring the hardness, electrical conductivity and pH in water produce by three plants, Nissan in the north of Baghdad, Al-Karama and Al-Wathba water treatment plant in Baghdad center. The objective of this study is to find the optimum lime dose that gives the minimum hardness content. The results indicate a non linear relation between lime dose added and the hardness removed . The results represented a 36% removal in hardness when using an optimum dose of lime 200 ppm in Nissan water treatment plant, while a percentage removal of 34% was obtained in both Al- Karama and Wathba water treatment plants with 300 ppm dose of lime. The low percentage removal indicates the presence of non-carbonate hardness which could not be removed by lime alone

Assessments and Historical Changes the Water Quality of Sawa Lake, Southern Iraq for the Period 1977-2020

This investigation pertains to the evaluation of water quality in SAWA Lake, located in the Al-Muthanna province of Southern Iraq, from 1977 to 2020. Understanding the water quality and assessments of this Lake is of great importance. The Lake is home to small, transparent, blind fish measuring approximately 10 cm and is often referred to as the "wonderful" or "strange" Lake due to its many unique features. The study focuses on several elements to represent water quality, including total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and temperature (T), which were measured directly in the field. Additionally, scientific concepts such as K+, Ca2+, Cl-, HCO3, and KSO4 were used in each sample. Scientists have analyzed the density and salinity of the lake water and found that its water density exceeds that of seawater, and its salinity exceeds that of the Gulf of Arabia by about 1.5 times. The water is salty, surrounded by natural lime, and is automatically renewed by nature when it is broken. Its hardness also characterizes it, and its water volume fluctuates depending on the wet and dry seasons. The Lake is roughly 4.74 km in length, and all the elements under study showed an increase in concentration during the periods of 1977, 1983, and 2003 with NaSO4, which later changed to MgCl between 2007 and 2011. The study found that Sawa Lake water was unsuitable for drinking or irrigation purposes between 2016 and 2020 due to the increased concentration of certain elements. This increase in concentration is attributed to the Lake's location, nutrition, and the lack of rain, which means it relies solely on groundwater

Prediction of Coefficient of Permeability of Unsaturated Soil

A simple technique is proposed in this paper for estimating the coefficient of permeability of an unsaturated soil based on physical properties of soils that include grain size analysis, degree of saturation or water content, and porosity of the soil. The proposed method requires the soil-water characteristic curve for the prediction of the coefficient of permeability as most of the conventional methods. A procedure is proposed to define the hydraulic conductivity function from the soil water characteristic curve which is measured by the filter paper method. Fitting methods are applied through the program (SoilVision), after indentifying the basic properties of the soil such as Attereberg limits, specific gravity, void ratio, porosity, degree of saturation and wet and dry unit weights

The relationship between serum osteopontin level and parameters of Chronic Kidney Disease – mineral bone disease in patients on regular hemodialysis

Background: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is becoming a major health concern worldwide. For many patients, CKD is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein first identified in bone tissue and has pleiotropic functions due to its common expression in the main organs and apparatuses. It is a phosphorylated glycophosphoprotein composed of 314 amino acids, involved in biomineralization and remodeling.Objective: This research aimed to assess the serum level of osteopontin in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on regular haemodialysis and to correlate osteopontin level in patients with ESRD on hemodialysis with other biomarkers CKD-MBD.Patients & Methods: This Study was conducted on 160 participants that were divided into two groups. Control group included 80 healthy subjects of both sexes, and patients group that included 80 ESRD patients on regular hemodialysis of both sexes. All studied groups were subjected to osteopontin level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: Serum osteopontin levels were higher in ESRD patients on regular dialysis than in healthy individuals, where it might have a higher predictive value for CKD development. Also, they were positively correlated with serum phosphorus, serum alkaline phosphatase and serum parathyroid hormone, which are parameters of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder.Conclusion: Osteopontin may be considered an early marker of chronic kidney disease

Using KNN Algorithm Predictor for Data Synchronization of Ultra-Tight GNSS/INS Integration

The INS system’s update rate is faster than that of the GNSS receiver. Additionally, GNSS receiver data may suffer from blocking for a few seconds for different reasons, affecting architecture integrations between GNSS and INS. This paper proposes a novel GNSS data prediction method using the k nearest neighbor (KNN) predictor algorithm to treat data synchronization between the INS sensors and GNSS receiver and overcome those GNSS receiver’s blocking, which may occur for a few seconds. The experimental work was conducted on a flying drone over a minor Hungarian (Mátyásföld, 47.4992 N, 19.1977 E) model airfield. The GNSS data are predicted by four different scenarios: the first is no blocking of data, and the other three have blocking periods of 1, 4, and 8 s, respectively. Ultra-tight architecture integration is used to perform the GNSS/INS integration to deal with the INS sensors’ inaccuracy and their divergence throughout the operation. The results show that using the GNSS/INS integration system yields better positioning data (in three axes (X, Y, and Z)) than using a stand-alone INS system or GNSS without a predictor

Impact of COVID-19 on global burn care.

Worldwide, different strategies have been chosen to face the COVID-19-patient surge, often affecting access to health care for other patients. This observational study aimed to investigate whether the standard of burn care changed globally during the pandemic, and whether country´s income, geographical location, COVID-19-transmission pattern, and levels of specialization of the burn units affected reallocation of resources and access to burn care. The Burn Care Survey is a questionnaire developed to collect information on the capacity to provide burn care by burn units around the world, before and during the pandemic. The survey was distributed between September and October 2020. McNemar`s test analyzed differences between services provided before and during the pandemic, χ2 or Fisher's exact test differences between groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyzed the independent effect of different factors on keeping the burn units open during the pandemic. The survey was completed by 234 burn units in 43 countries. During the pandemic, presence of burn surgeons did not change (p = 0.06), while that of anesthetists and dedicated nursing staff was reduced (<0.01), and so did the capacity to manage patients in all age groups (p = 0.04). Use of telemedicine was implemented (p < 0.01), collaboration between burn centers was not. Burn units in LMICs and LICs were more likely to be closed, after adjustment for other factors. During the pandemic, most burn units were open, although availability of standard resources diminished worldwide. The use of telemedicine increased, suggesting the implementation of new strategies to manage burns. Low income was independently associated with reduced access to burn care. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A new approach to formulation of complex fuel surrogates

This paper presents a new approach to the formulation of fuel surrogates in application to gasoline, diesel, and their biofuel blends (including blends of biodiesel/diesel and ethanol/gasoline). This new approach, described as a ‘Complex Fuel Surrogates Model (CFSM)’, is based on a modified version of the Multi-Dimensional Quasi-Discrete Model (MDQDM). The new approach is aimed to reduce the full composition of fuel to a much smaller number of components based on their mass fractions to formulate fuel surrogates. The formulated surrogates for gasoline and blended ethanol/gasoline fuels matched the data of the full compositions of the same fuels for droplet lifetime, surface temperature, density, vapour pressure, H/C ratio, molar weight and research octane number, using the CFSM. Also, the cetane number and viscosity of diesel and biodiesel/diesel blends were mimicked by their suggested surrogates. The results were verified, with up to 7.2% errors between the two sets of predicted droplet lifetimes: surrogates and full compositions of fuels