Often designer needs require making openings in concrete slabs to provide extra service .Therefore it was necessary to study the size and the location of the opening in the slab and show the effect of it in the behavior of the slab. The aim of this study was to carry out nonlinear finite element analyses modeling of concrete slabs reinforced by CFRP bars and determine the effect of size openings on the structural behavior of the flat slabs in consideration, by using the ANSYS 19 program. All models were 3 by 3 panels of square flat slabs; each of them had dimensions 4000 x 4000 mm with a marginal beam and reinforced by carbon fiber polymer bars. At first, the dimension of the opening is studied by taking 2000 x 2000mm, 1000 x 1000mm and 800 x 800mm in the field strip. The second case of study was the location of the opening in different position of the slab to choose the best location of it. The flat slab was analyzed without openings and with different size openings for comparison. Finite element verification was made by comparing experimentally tested CFRP concrete slab with central opening with numerically solved specimen and showed good agreement. Results indicated that slabs with openings in the field strips possess better stiffness. The ultimate loads for slabs with central opening at the central panel decreased to around 14% of that without opening .In case of central opening at corner panel, the ultimate loads revealed higher reductions in ultimate load that reached 33% of that of the slab without opening.
Introduction/Objective Fungal infection is usually caused by an overgrowth of yeast typically found in the vaginal flora. The major pathogen C. albicans is the best-characterized member of the Candida clade. Candida species are common inhabitants of the female genital tract, and the use of intrauterine devices (IUDs) has been associated with pelvic inflammatory diseases. This study explored the relationship between insertion (IUDs) and candidiasis. Methods/Case Report 350 female patients using IUDs suffering from vaginitis from The Delta region, Egypt, were enrolled in this study. The median age was 20 to 43 years old. Vaginal swabs and IUDs were collected. Patients were classified according to the period of using IUDs as the following. Group 1: 46 users of IUDs for a period of one month to one year. Group 2: 85 users for one year to 5 years. Group 3: 171 users for five years to 10 years. Group 4: 52 users for 10 years to 20 years. The cultural characters identified the isolated organisms (morphological characters of the purified fungal isolates were carried out according to the organism's colony characters and biochemical tests). Results (if a Case Study enter NA) : 292 patients were positive for Candida albicans. We observed that 38 (5.59 %), 41 (11.2 %), 163 (7.6 %), and 48 (5.93 %) cases have positive Candida albicans for group1, group2, group2, and group4 respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the occurrence of Candidiasis and IUDs in all studied groups P-value was ≤ 0.05. Conclusion In Egypt, women who use intrauterine devices have a higher chance of developing vaginitis. The findings indicated that women who used IUDs for longer periods of time had a higher risk of developing candidiasis. We advocate for the regulation of IUDs and the education of women on how to recognize the symptoms of candidiasis vaginosis and how to properly treat it.
Introduction/Objective Noninvasive Markers (NIM) of Liver Fibrosis help evaluate the stage of fibrosis in patients with no clear indication for a liver biopsy, such as patients with chronic hepatitis C who need monitoring of the stage of fibrosis during or after treatment. The perfect NIM for hepatic fibrosis should be inexpensive, safe, simple, reliable, and well-validated in different forms of chronic liver disease. Aim of the work Find if there is a correlation between serum collagen III and APRI as noninvasive markers in patients with HCV-induced liver fibrosis. Methods/Case Report 118 patients with HCV induced liver fibrosis (60 males and 58 females) and 50 healthy comparable control subjects (27 males and 23 females) were enrolled in the study. Collagen III was identified in serum samples of HCV-induced liver fibrosis patients at 70 kDa using collagen III polyclonal antibody and western blot analysis techniques. Collagen III was purified using the electroelution technique and then quantified using the ELISA technique. AST, ALT, albumin, and total bilirubin were measured. The APRI was calculated as [AST/ (upper limits of normal)/ platelets count 109/L]×100. The AST-ALT ratio was calculated as [AST/ ALT]. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) There was a statistically significant difference between the diseased and control groups (P<0.0001) regarding collagen III and APRI. Also, significant positive correlation between serum collagen III, APRI, and ALT levels (r=0.3 and p=0.02). However, there were no correlations between serum collagen III levels and AST, Albumin, Total Bilirubin, and AST/ALT ratio (r=0.15, -0.26, 0.22, and -0.027), respectively. Conclusion Collagen III and APRI is a promising diagnostic and prognostic potential in the noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis as their levels elevate with each other. So, we can powerfully depend on them in liver fibrosis diagnosis in chronic HCV patients.
Introduction/Objective Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is typically characterized by slowly progressive hepatic fibrosis, with progression from stage 0 (no fibrosis) to stage 4 (cirrhosis). Aspartate aminotransferase-to- platelet ratio (APRI) may be a simple and convenient noninvasive diagnostic test because it is based on the regular laboratory tests and demographic data. However, its overall test performance in various settings remains questionable. Methods/Case Report Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of APRI in the prediction of hepatic fibrosis. Subjects and Methods: Serum samples were collected from patients recruited from Internal Medicine Dept., Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt. The study included 118 liver fibrosis patients associated with chronic HCV infection (60 males and 58 females) and 50 age-matched healthy volunteers (27 males and 23 females). The HCV infection was diagnosed based on biochemical, serologic, and histological criteria. All samples of fibrotic liver patients showed a positive result for anti-HCV Abs using ELISA as a confirmatory test. AST, ALT, albumin, and total bilirubin were measured using standard methodologies. Routine blood pictures, including platelets counting were determined. The AST-ALT ratio was calculated as [AST/ ALT]. The APRI was calculated as [AST/ (upper limits of normal)/ platelets count 109/L]×100. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) There was no statistically significant difference between sex distribution in liver fibrosis patients and healthy volunteers. The mean±SD was (46.1±10.44 and 33.3±11.13) respectively. The medians of the selected laboratory markers in the healthy group and liver fibrotic patients were (41,39), (272.5,167), (36,54), (35.5,51), (0.9,0.98), (0.71,2.5), and (0.34, 0.86) for Albumin, Platelet count, AST, ALT, AST/ALT ratio, Total Bilirubin, APRI respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in all laboratory parameters (p<0.001) and for APRI (p<0.0001). Conclusion The evaluation of APRI is uncomplicated, inexpensive, and has a reasonable degree of diagnostic accuracy in determining whether or not patients with chronic HCV have liver fibrosis.
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