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From the mythological point of view, the hero of a literary text is an archetype in the collective unconscious who embodies the collective ideals of a culture while searching for his/her individual identity at the narrative level. In his seminal The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), Joseph Campbell addresses the archetypal function of the hero in three main stages: departure, initiation, and return. Drawing on Campbell’s model, this study examines the journey of the hero in the second storyline of The Seventh Day of Creation, i.e., Al-Sirah al-Mutlaqiyeh. Sirah al-Zatiyeh is a sequence to another study by same authors that examined the first storyline of the novel (Al-Sirah al-Zatiyeh) with regard to the author’s personality and individuation. Proceeding from the analysis of Al-Sirah al-Zatiyeh, this study considers Mutlaq as an antihero based on Campbell’s model and identifies a Hegelian dialectic relationship between the two storylines of the novel. Al-Sirah al-Zatiyeh and Al)Sirah al-Mutlaqiyeh, which respectively represent the individual code and the social code, are designed to showcase an ideal Iraqi society. More precisely, highlighting the opposition in the two main parts of the narrative points at the movement and dynamism desired by the author for changing the future of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Summary: This paper describes the experimental results from flexural strengthening of old‐type concrete columns reinforced with plain bars and different lap splices constructed before the 1970s. Nine half‐scale column specimens were tested under combined constant axial and quasi‐static cyclic lateral loads. The specimens included 3 control specimens and 6 other specimens strengthened via near surface mounted technique with glass‐fiber reinforced plastic and steel bars. The effect of different longitudinal bar lap splices of columns and the type of strengthening materials were also investigated. The results indicated that the proposed strengthening method significantly increases the flexural strength and improves the seismic parameters, for example, energy dissipation and hysteresis damping. The specimens strengthened with steel bars presented higher strength, ductility, and hysteresis damping compared to those strengthened with glass‐fiber reinforced plastic bars. The formation of struts at the control specimen with hooked lap splices caused severe damages at the spliced region; if appropriate wrapping is done at the column end, these damages will be constrained. Using steel bars as near surface mounted reinforcement, utilizing epoxy resins as bonding agent, and installing fiber‐reinforced polymer wrapping at the end of column will all make a more effective strengthening method. Finally, an analytical work was presented for predicting the capacity of test specimens, and the comparison between experimental results and theoretical predictions showed a good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation was undertaken to study the seismic performance of external reinforced concrete (RC) beam-column joints having representative details for mid-rise RC frame buildings in developing countries such as Iran that were designed and constructed prior to the 1970s. Three half-scale external RC beam-column joints were tested by applying lateral cyclic loading of increasing amplitudes. Tested specimens were comprised of one unit having seismic reinforcement detailing in accordance with the seismic requirements of ACI 318-11, and two units having non-seismic reinforcement detailing in accordance with the 1970s construction practice in many developing countries, such as Iran. Two typical defects were considered for the non-seismic units, being the absence of transverse steel hoops and insufficient bond capacity of beam bottom reinforcing bars in the joint region. Test results indicated that the non-seismically detailed specimens had a high rate of strength and stiffness degradation when compared to the seismically detailed specimen, which was attributed primarily to the joint shear failure or bond failure of the beam bottom bars. The non-seismically detailed specimens also showed a 30% reduction in both average strength and ductility and a 60% loss of energy dissipation capacity in comparison to the seismically detailed specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of a rehabilitation method based on joint enlargement using prestressed steel angles to enhance the seismic behavior of damaged external reinforced concrete beam-column joints was experimentally investigated. Three half-scale joints having either non-seismic or seismic reinforcement details were tested both before and after rehabilitation by applying lateral cyclic loading of increasing amplitudes. Two defects were considered for the two non-seismic units, being the absence of transverse steel hoops and insufficient bond capacity of beam bottom steel reinforcing bars in the joint panel zone. The damaged specimens were rehabilitated by injecting epoxy grout into existing cracks and installing stiffened steel angles at the re-entrant corners of the beam-column joint, both above and below the beam, that were mounted and held in place using prestressed high-tensile strength bars. The test results indicated that the seismic performance of the rehabilitated specimens in terms of strength, stiffness, and ductility was fully recovered and comparable with the performance of the seismically detailed specimen. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal diabetes mellitus, which is defined as hyperglycemia presenting within the first six weeks of life, is a rare disorder. It may result in transient or permanent disease. Pancreatic agenesis is a rare cause of neonatal diabetes.We report a neonate who was small for gestational age and presented with diabetes mellitus and signs of malabsorption because of pancreatic agenesis.