This study examined the correlation between binder-level fatigue properties and mixture-level cracking resistance in asphalt binders modified with five Nanomaterials (NMs): Nano-Silica (NS), Nano-Alumina (NA), and Nano-Titanium dioxide (NT) at 2%, 4%, and 6% as well as Nano-Zinc oxide (NZ) and Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) at 1%, 2%, and 3%. Modified binders were subjected to Rolling Thin-Film Oven Test (RTFOT) and Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV) aging and tested at 25 °C using the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test to determine fatigue life (Nf) and the fatigue parameter G*.sin δ. The corresponding asphalt mixtures were evaluated using the IDEAL-CT test. The results indicated strong correlations between binder and mixture performance for

Objectives: Although the Frankfort Horizontal (FH) and sella-nasion were routinely used as craniofacial reference planes, the inter-individual orientations were changeable when related to true horizontal (HOR). Natural head position (NHP) is a reproducible, standardized position, with the head in an upright posture and eyes focused on a point in the distance at eye level so that the visual axis is horizontal. The natural head position has importance in anthropological as well as in orthodontic fields, as this position has a relatively fixed relationship to the true horizontal and vertical planes. However, NHP is clinically not simple and it takes long time to be recorded, in addition to a deficiency in the tools utilized in the NHP and l

    This work has been accomplished through a dense field work on the Sawa Lake. The aim of this work is to highlight on characteristics that are consistent with outstanding universal values to be a new Iraqi site belongs to the World Natural Heritage. This study sorted many unique characteristics might ensure that Sawa Lake as a world natural heritage sites. This study shows that the lake had met four natural criteria of the outstanding universal values: (1) the seventh criterion which states to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. (2) The eighth criterion which stated to be outstanding example representing major stages of earth's history, including the rec

The measurement of natural radioactivity in a given region or country is essential to provide a reference base-line map to follow up a possible variation in future. In order to perform such measurement, the natural radioactivity was measured in different locations. The locations (50 sites) were distributed over Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi Mountain, starting from the city Al-Azeeziah in the eastern part to Wazen on the Tunisian border in the west. The measurements showed obvious variation from one site to another. The levels were fluctuating from (12.8 counts/minute) in Bir-Ayad to (45.7 counts/minute) in Gherian.
In order to investigate the cause for such variation, samples were collected from (27) sites for detailed study. The levels of natur

Objective: The approximate life span of a silicone maxillofacial prosthesis is as short as1.5–2 years of clinical service, then a new prosthesis should be fabricated. The most common reasonfor re-making the prosthesis is silicone mechanical properties degradation. The aim of this studywas to assess some mechanical properties of VST-30 silicone for maxillofacial prostheses after addi-tion of intrinsic pigments.Methods: Two types of intrinsic pigments (rayon flocking and burnt sienna); each of them wasincorporated into silicone. One hundred and twenty samples were prepared and split into 4 groupsaccording to the conducted tests (tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and tensile strengthand elongation percentage) with 30 samples for ea

The study investigated the behaviour of asphalt concrete mixes for aggregate gradations, according to the Iraqi specification using the Bailey method designed by an Excel spreadsheet. In mixing aggregates with varying gradations (coarse and fine aggregate), The Bailey method is a systematic methodology that offers aggregate interlocking as the backbone of the framework and a controlled gradation to complete the blends. Six types of gradation are used according to the bailey method considered in this study. Two-course prepared Asphalt Concrete Wearing and Asphalt Concrete binder, the Nominal Maximum Aggregate Sizes (NMAS) of the mixtures are 19 and 12.5 mm, respectively. The total number of specimens was 240 for both layers (15 samp

Because of the experience of the mixture problem of high correlation and the existence of linear MultiCollinearity between the explanatory variables, because of the constraint of the unit and the interactions between them in the model, which increases the existence of links between the explanatory variables and this is illustrated by the variance inflation vector (VIF), L-Pseudo component to reduce the bond between the components of the mixture.

    To estimate the parameters of the mixture model, we used in our research the use of methods that increase bias and reduce variance, such as the Ridge Regression Method and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) method a

       In this work, an experimental analysis is made to predict the thermal performance of the natural-convection phenomenon from a heated vertical externally finned-tube to surrounding air through an open-ended enclosure. Two different configurations of longitudinal rectangular fin namely, continuous and interrupted are utilized with constant thickness, different numbers, and different heights are extended radially on the outer surface of a heated tube. The tube is heated electrically from inner surface with five varied power input magnitudes. The effect of fins configuration, fins number, fins height, and heat flux of the inner tube surface on the thermal performance of natural c

Background: Bilosomes are lipid vesicles that exhibit flexibility and deformability. They consist of phospholipids and amphiphilic bile salts. Compared to the normal vesicular systems such as liposomes and niosomes, bilosomes provide several notable advantages, including simplified manufacturing, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced stability.

Aim: The main objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of different bile salts on the physical properties that include entrapment efficiency, vesicle size, and polydispersity index(PDI). In addition, in vitro drug release for nisoldipine (NSD) loaded bilosomes was evaluated.

The purpose of this work is to concurrently estimate the UVvisible spectra of binary combinations of piroxicam and mefenamic acid using the chemometric approach. To create the model, spectral data from 73 samples (with wavelengths between 200 and 400 nm) were employed. A two-layer artificial neural network model was created, with two neurons in the output layer and fourteen neurons in the hidden layer. The model was trained to simulate the concentrations and spectra of piroxicam and mefenamic acid. For piroxicam and mefenamic acid, respectively, the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm with feed-forward back-propagation learning produced root mean square errors of prediction of 0.1679 μg/mL and 0.1154 μg/mL, with coefficients of determination of