Flexible pavements are considered an essential element of transportation infrastructure. So, evaluations of flexible pavement performance are necessary for the proper management of transportation infrastructure. Pavement condition index (PCI) and international roughness index (IRI) are common indices applied to evaluate pavement surface conditions. However, the pavement condition surveys to calculate PCI are costly and time-consuming as compared to IRI. This article focuses on developing regression models that predict PCI from IRI. Eighty-three flexible pavement sections, with section length equal to 250 m, were selected in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, to develop PCI-IRI relationships. In terms of the quantity and severity of eac

This paper proposes a neuro-fuzzy system to model β-glucosidase activity based on the reaction’s pH level and temperature. The developed fuzzy inference system includes two input variables (pH level and temperature) and one output (enzyme activity). The multi-input fuzzy inference system was developed in two stages: first, developing a single input-single output fuzzy inference system for each input variable (pH, temperature) separately, using the robust adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) approach. The neural network learning techniques were used to tune the membership functions based on previously published experimental data for β-glucosidase. Second, each input’s optimized membership functions from the ANF

A modified chemical method was used to prepare titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), which were diagnosed by several techniques: X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, field emission scaning electron microscopy, energy disperse X-ray, and UV-visible spectroscopy, which proved the success of the preparation process at the nanoscale level. Where the titanium oxide particles have an average particle size equal to 6.8 nm, titanium dioxide particles were used in the process of adsorption of Congo red dye from its aqueous solutions using a batch system. The titanium oxide particles gave an adsorption efficiency of Congo red dye up to more than 79 %. The experimental data of the adsorption process were analyzed with kinetic models and

From 211 urine samples, Gram negative bacteria were isolated from only 61 urine samples with isolation percentage 28.9%. Escherichia coli were isolated percentage 70.49% while Klebsiella pneumoniae and Psendomonas aeruginosa were 8.19% and 6.55%, respectively.Proteus spp. Were isolated from 9 (14.75%), P. mirablis and P. vulgaris were isolates percentage 11.47% and 3.27%, respectively. Uroepithelial Cell Adhesin (UCA) fimbriae expression by P.mirabilis isolates was detected by the high capacity to adhesion to human uroepithetial cells, the isolate p.mirabilis U7 was adhesion to human uroepithelial cells mean no.30.2 bacteria/cell when grown on luria broth at 37C for 24h, but then grown it’s on luria agar at 37C for 24h the adhesion

   The economical and highly performed anode material is the critical factor affecting the efficiency of electro-oxidation toward organics. The present study aimed to detect the best conditions to prepare Mn-Co oxide composite anode for the electro-oxidation of phenol. Deposition of Mn-Co oxide onto graphite substrate was investigated at 25, 30, and 35 mA/cm² to detect the best conditions for deposition.  The structure and the crystal size of the Mn-Co oxide composite electrode were examined by using an X-Ray diffractometer (XRD), the morphological properties of the prepared electrode were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques, and the chemical composition of the various

synthesis and characterization of New Bidentate schiff base Ligand Type(NO)Donor Atoms Derived from isatin and 3-Amino benzoic acid and Its complexes with Co(||),Cu(||),Cd(||)and Hg(||)Ions

An innovative two-step noncatalytic esterifcation technique was proposed to synthesize alkyl esters from free fatty acids simulated in waste cooking oil, as a pretreatment process for biodiesel production, without adding any catalyst under normal conditions of pressure and temperature. The efect of methanol:oil molar ratio, reaction time, mixing rate, and reaction temperature were investigated. The results confrmed that the conversion of the reaction was increased when increasing the methanol molar ratio and decreased in prolonged reaction temperature. High conversion (94.545%) was successfully achieved at optimized conditions of 115:1, 65:1 methanol:oil molar ratio in the frst step and second step, respectively, other conditions i

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of binary solvent for regeneration of spent lubricating oil by extraction-flocculation process. The regeneration was investigated by bench scale experiments by using locally provided solvents (Heavy Naphtha, n-Butanol, and iso-Butanol). Solvents to used oil, mixing time, mixing speed and temperatures were studied as operating parameters. The performance on three estimated depended key parameters, namely the percentage of base oil recovered (Yield), percent of oil loss (POL), and the percent of sludge removal (PSR) were used to evaluate the efficiency of the employed binary solvent on extraction process. The best solvent to solvent ratio for binary system were 30:70 for Heavy Naph

This research investigates the adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetics of nitrogen from air using packed bed of Li-LSX zeolite to get medical oxygen. Experiments were carried out to estimate the produced oxygen purity under different operating conditions: input pressure of 0.5 – 2.5 bar, feed flow rate of air of 2 – 10 L.min^-1 and packing height of 9-16 cm. The adsorption isotherm was studied at the best conditions of input pressure of 2.5 bar, the height of packing 16 cm, and flow rate 6 Lmin^-1 at ambient temperature, at these conditions   the highest purity of oxygen by this system 73.15 vol % of outlet gas was produced. Langmuir isotherm was the best models representing the experimental data., and the m

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is problematic and still the leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide. It is developed resistance against most antibiotics. The investigation, surveillance system, and efficient strategy will facilitate selecting an appropriate treatment that could control the bacterial distribution. The present study aims to investigate the epidemiology and associated risk factors of uropathogenic E. coli and to study their antibiotic resistance patterns. 1585 midstream urine specimens were collected from symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI) patients (225 males and 1360 females) admitted to Zakho emergency hospital, Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from January 2016 until the end of December 2