Here, the efficiency of the non-destructive BREAK-Off (BO) test was investigated for assessing the in-place compressive strength of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). SFRC was studied due to its advantages in increasing toughness and tensile and flexural strength in particular. To provide a through and comprehensive database, 24 mix designs were selected with cement contents of 400, 450 and 500 kg/m3 with constant water/cement ratio of 0. 4 for all mixes, two maximum aggregate sizes of 12. 5 and 25 mm along with steel fiber volume fractions of 0%, 0. 33%, 0. 67% and 1% for ages of 14, 28 and 90 days. A total of 360 BO tests were carried out in this investigation. Then, effective parameters of SFRC and BO test results were evaluated. In the BO method, the force required to BREAK off an in-place concrete cylinder of 55 mm in diameter and 70 mm long, is related to the compressive strength of the concrete from a predetermined calibration curve developed for concrete mix. The studies showed that volumetric percentage and features of steel fibers had a significant influence on concrete properties as well as BO test results. According to the experimental results it could be generally concluded that the influencing factors, namely, SFRC properties due to presence of steel fibers and BO test significantly affect the results as follows: Generally, for a constant W/C ratio, it can be concluded that raising the cement content increase the mean values of BO strength. It can be stated that the maximum aggregate size within the range of 12. 5– 25 mm has a negligible effect on the BO test results for SFRC with 1% steel fiber volume fractions as the average value of BO strength for 25 mm aggregate concrete was significantly more than the corresponding value for 12. 5 mm aggregate size for plain concrete. Moreover, the improving trend the BO strength with age is observed to be similar for all different concretes. Furthermore, increase of BO strength of SFR concretes respect to corresponding plain value is observed as concrete grows older. In addition, results showed that strength estimation based on a single general calibration curve is not feasible. Therefore, a specific calibration curve for each SFRC should be represented for a realistic assessment and interpretation of results. The coefficient of variation of the BO strength was in range of 4– 11%. The higher values are for concretes with higher amounts of fibers, especially at early ages. The reliability of the method seems to be good in which the coefficient of variation for each group of BO tests are below 11%. It should be noted that even under ideal conditions with a specific calibration it is unlikely that 95% confidence limits of better than ± 15% can be achieved for an absolute prediction of concrete compressive strength. The findings show that higher values are not only due to the lack of precision of the test procedure, but also due to the intrinsic heterogeneity of granular materials like concrete, particularly in presence of higher amounts of fibers.

Flexural strength test has a significant effect on the determination of failure strengths and cracking moment. According to ASTM-C78, the size and shape of used specimens were cubes by size (700*150*150 mm). Here, the efficiency of the non-destructive BREAK-Off (BO) and flexural strength tests was investigated for assessing the in-place compressive strength of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). In order to provide a thorough and comprehensive database, 24 mixtures were designed with various cement content, maximum aggregate size, steel fibre volume fractions and the constant water/ cement ratio of 0.4 for all mixtures. Then, effective parameters of SFRC and BREAK-Off and flexural strength test results were evaluated. The studies showed that volumetric percentage and features of steel fibers had a significant influence on concrete properties as well as BREAK-Off and flexural strength test results. According to the experimental results it could be generally concluded that the influencing factors, namely, SFRC properties due to presence of steel fibers and non-destructive tests significantly affect the results as follows: Generally, for a constant W/C ratio, it can be concluded that raising the cement content increases the mean values of BREAK-Off strength and Flexural strength. It can be stated that increasing the size of the aggregate causes an increase in strength. Also, the steel fibers restrain the development of internal micro-cracks in the concrete and thus contribute to the increase in bending strength, which causes improving BREAK-Off and flexural strengths. In addition, the conventional numerical regression model was developed in this study. Statistical indices were used to compare the efficiency and accuracy of the model. The result of this study confirmed the accuracy of the artificial neural network models in the determination of the compressive strength of concrete.

Lice are small, wingless, minor ectoparasites of mammals and birds. More than 540 blood-sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) have been described with aech host having its own type of louse, suggesting the cospeciation of the lice species with their host. Among these, two lice species from two different genera infest humans: Pediculus humanus and Phthirus pubis (pubic “ crab” lice ). The former constitutes two morphotypes, P. humanus morphotype capitis (head lice) and P. humanus morphotype corporis (clothing “ body” lice). Head, body, and pubic lice live on the head, in clothing, and in the pubic areas, respectively. These tiny creatures have been humans' and primates' close companions for millions of years and have played a significant role in human history, as they became the source of inspiration for many novelists. Human lice cannot survive on their target hosts for extended periods of time and die of starvation within 24-48 h. However, recent evidence implies human lice can shift hosts and adapt to other closely related species to evade death...

Like the biological clock in the body, replication of each cell type (even different cells of the same organism) follows a timing program. Abnormal function of this timer could be an alarm for a disease like cancer. DNA replication starts from a specific point on the chromosome that is called the origin of replication. In contrast to prokaryotes in which DNA replication starts from a single origin, eukaryotic DNA replication starts from many origins scattered along the chromosomes. Budding yeast contains 300 origins, whereas fission yeast has 1, 100, and the numbers of replication origins for human increase to over 20, 000. These origins are fired in a coordinated manner, and there are spatial and temporal disciplines for this process, which happens in the S phase of the cell cycle. It was known that eukaryotic cells prepare all these potential origins during the G1 phase of the cell cycle but utilize only a portion of these origins during S phase. Furthermore, firing some of these origins are delayed until the mid and late phases of the S phase...

Context: Glioblastoma is the most invasive brain tumor with a poor prognosis and rapid progression. The standard therapy (surgical resection, adjuvant chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) ensures survival only up to 18 months. In this article, we focus on innovative types of radiotherapy, various combinations of temozolomide with novel substances, and methods of their administration and vector delivery to tumor cells. Evidence Acquisition: For a detailed study of the various options for chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Elsevier, NCBI MedLine, Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Global Health, CyberLeninka, and RSCI databases were analyzed. Results: The most available method is oral or intravenous administration of temozolomide. More efficient is the combined chemotherapy of temozolomide with innovative drugs and substances such as lomustine, histone deacetylase inhibitors, and chloroquine, as well as olaparib. These combinations improve patient survival and are effective in the treatment of resistant tumors. Compared to standard fractionated radiotherapy (60 Gy, 30 fractions, 6 weeks), hypofractionated is more effective for elderly patients due to lack of toxicity; brachytherapy reduces the risk of glioblastoma recurrence, while radiosurgery with bevacizumab is more effective against recurrent or inoperable tumors. Currently, the most effective treatment is considered to be the intranasal administration of anti-Ephrin A3 (anti-EPHA3)-modified containing temozolomide butyl ester-loaded (TBE-loaded) poly lactide-coglycolide nanoparticles (P-NPs) coated with N-trimethylated chitosan (TMC) to overcome nasociliary clearance. Conclusions: Newradiotherapeutic methods significantly increase the survival rates of glioblastoma patients. Withsomeimprovement, it may lead to the elimination of all tumor cells leaving the healthy alive. New chemotherapeutic drugs show impressive results with adjuvant temozolomide. Anti-EPHA3-modified TBE-loaded P-NPs coated withTMChave high absorption specificity and kill glioblastoma cells effectively. A new “ step forward” may become a medicine of the future, which reduces the specific accumulation of nanoparticles in the lungs, but simultaneously does not affect specific absorption by tumor cells.