T-joints are common structures encountered in the assemblage of many industrial applications due to their advantages. However, joining these structures when using Friction Stir Welding (FSW) could be prone to defects that cause severe consequences like loss of strength and fracture. The current paper implements an experimental procedure to assess the effect of geometrical tool shape on void formation in friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 T-joint configuration. Taguchi optimization method was put into service to minimize the number of experiments and fulfil the goal of discovering the optimal FSW parameters that allow the manufacturing of such configurations with high mechanical properties. X-ray radiography and micrograph images were u

The electrical performance of bottom-gate/top source-drain contact for p-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an active semiconductor layer with two different gate dielectric materials, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Hafnium oxide (HfO2), is investigated in this work. The output and transfer characteristics were studied for HfO2, PVP and HfO2/PVP as organic gate insulator layer. Both characteristics show a high drain current at the gate dielectric HfO2/PVP equal to -0.0031A and -0.0015A for output and transfer characteristics respectively, this can be attributed to the increasing of the dielectric capacitance. Transcondactance characteristics also studied for the three organic mater

The aim of the current study is to in evaluate the role of SOD activity in the previously reported oxidative stress in our laboratory(1), in the patients with different brain tumors. SOD activity was assayed according to riboflavin/NBT method and its specific activity was calculated in patients with benign and malignant brain tumors and control. Moreover the specific activity was compared in these samples according to gender and the occurrence of disease.Non significant elevation (P > 0.05) in SOD specific activity was observed in tissue of malignant tumors in comparison to that of in benign brain tumors. While a highly significant decrease (P < 0.001) of the specific activity was found in sera of malignant patients group in comparison to t

Recently, wireless communication environments with high speeds and low complexity have become increasingly essential. Free-space optics (FSO) has emerged as a promising solution for providing direct connections between devices in such high-spectrum wireless setups. However, FSO communications are susceptible to weather-induced signal fluctuations, leading to fading and signal weakness at the receiver. To mitigate the effects of these challenges, several mathematical models have been proposed to describe the transition from weak to strong atmospheric turbulence, including Rayleigh, lognormal, Málaga, Nakagami-m, K-distribution, Weibull, Negative-Exponential, Inverse-Gaussian, G-G, and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions. This paper extensive

Cover crops (CC) improve soil quality, including soil microbial enzymatic activities and soil chemical parameters. Scientific studies conducted in research centers have shown positive effects of CC on soil enzymatic activities; however, studies conducted in farmer fields are lacking in the literature. The objective of this study was to quantify CC effects on soil microbial enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, and dehydrogenase) under a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation. The study was conducted in 2016 and 2018 in Chariton County, Missouri, where CC were first established in 2012. All tested soil enzyme levels were significantly different between 2016 and 2018

This study aimed to determine the effect of varicocelectomy on sperm parameters, oxidant- antioxidant status and chromatin maturity percent. The current study has been conducted on 154 infertile patients complaining from varicocele and varicocelomized men in addition to 25 fertile men as control. The results revealed significant decrease (P<0.05) in sperm concentration, progressive motile sperm percent, normal sperm morphology percent, GSH, SOD1, CAT levels and chromatin maturity percent and significant increase (P<0.05) in MDA and ROS concentrations in infertile patients with varicocele when compared to fertile men. The results revealed improvement (P<0.05) of sperm parameters quality, GSH, SOD1, CAT, MDA, ROS concentration and chromatin m

Background: The microhardness of a composite resin is a vital parameter that is used to determine its clinical behavior. Measuring the microhardness of a composite resin has been used as an indirect method to assess its degree of conversion and extent of polymerization. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of three curing distances (0, 2, and 4 mm) on the microhardness of the top and bottom surfaces of three types of flowable bulk-fill composite resins (smart dentin replacement, Opus bulk fill flow, and Tetric N). Material and method: Sixty-three specimens from the three types of composite resins (n=21) were fabricated using Teflon mold with a 4mm depth and a 5 mm internal diameter and cured for 20 seconds. For e

In this research, damping properties for composite materials were evaluated using logarithmic decrement method to study the effect of reinforcements on the damping ratio of the epoxy matrix. Three stages of composites were prepared in this research. The first stage included preparing binary blends of epoxy (EP) and different weight percentages of polysulfide rubber (PSR) (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%). It was found that the weight percentage 5% of polysulfide was the best percentage, which gives the best mechanical properties for the blend matrix. The advantage of this blend matrix is that; it mediates between the brittle properties of epoxy and the flexible properties of a blend matrix with the highest percentage of PSR. The second stage

This research presents an experimental investigation on the influence of metakaolin replacement percentage upon some properties of different concrete types. Three types of concrete were adopted (self- compacted concrete, high performance concrete and reactive powder concrete) all of high sulphate (SO3) percentage from the fine aggregate weight, 0.75%. Three percentages of metakaolin replacement were selected to be studied (5, 7 and 10) %. Three types of concrete properties (compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strength) were adopted to achieve better understanding for the influence of adding metakaolin.. The output results indicated that the percentage of metakaolin had a different level of positive effect on the compressive strength