The global rise in temperature and the desert climatic conditions prevalent in Middle Eastern countries have exacerbated rutting distress in heavily trafficked highways. Conventional asphalt binders with a high-temperature performance grade (PG 70) have proven inadequate under such extreme conditions, necessitating the development of modified binders with enhanced high-temperature performance. While polymer modification using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), an elastomeric polymer, and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), a plastomeric polymer, has been widely studied, limited research provides a direct comparison of their effectiveness at both the binder and mixture levels under extremely high-temperature conditions. This study addresses this gap

Baghdad, one of Iraq’s most crowded cities, faces severe air pollution caused by rapid population growth, dense traffic, and limited green spaces. Monitoring at five sites in Al-Rusafa during 2024–2025 showed that pollutant levels, especially PM₁₀, PM₂.₅, and TSP, exceed national and global limits. The most polluted areas lacked vegetation and had heavy traffic, while greener zones showed lower concentrations. Seasonal variations were evident: winter had the highest pollution, summer the lowest but with greater plant stress. Ascorbic acid and the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) proved reliable indicators of plant resistance. Overall, the study confirms plants’ role as effective bio monitors and stresses the need f

The imposition of (state) policy on the South Kuril Islands.In the Pacific was a subject
of borders dispute between Japan and Soviet Union which appeared clearly afterthe second
Great War and during the cold war. Despite the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991, this conflict has continued, thus both countries had to made a historic
and legitimate claims to demand the rights of sovereignty and ownership of four islands
occupied by the Soviet Union after World War II under the international conventions and
treaties, but these claims are proven failures through the continuation of the regional conflict.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of plasma treatment versus conventional treatment on the micro shear bond strength (μSBS), surface roughness, and wettability of three different CAD/CAM materials. Materials and methods: Sixty cylindrical specimens (5 mm diameter ×3 mm height) were prepared from three different CAD/CAM materials: Group A: Zirconia, Group B: Lithium disilicate, and Group C: Resin nano-ceramic. Each group was subdivided into two subgroups according to surface treatment used: Subgroup I: Conventional treatment, zirconia was sandblasted with Al2O3, while lithium disilicate and resin nano-ceramic were etched with hydrofluoric acid. Subgroup II: Plasma treatment, the surface of each material was tr

Abstract: Objectives: To investigate the effect of temperature elevation on the bonding strength of resin cement to the zirconia ceramic using fractional CO2 laser. Background: Fractional CO2 laser is an effective surface treatment of zirconia ceramic, as it increases the bonding strength of zirconia to resin cement. Methods: Thirty sintered zirconia discs (10 mm diameter, 2 mm thickness) were prepared and divided to three groups (N=10) and five diffident pulse durations were used in each group (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 ms). Group A was treated with 10 W power setting, group B with 20 W and group C with 30 W. During laser irradiation, temperature elevation measurement was recorded for each specimen. Luting cement was bonded to the treated z

The cement slurry is a mixture of cement, water and additives which is established at the surface for injecting inside hole. The compressive strength is considered the most important properties of slurry for testing the slurry reliability and is the ability of slurry to resist deformation and formation fluids. Compressive strength is governed by the sort of raw materials that include additives, cement structure, and exposure circumstances. In this work, we use micro silica like pozzolanic materials. Silica fume is very fine noncrystalline substantial. Silica fume can be utilized like material for supplemental cementations for increasing the compressive strength and durability of cement. Silica fume has very fine particles size less

تعد صناعة السمنت في العراق من اقدم الصناعات الحديثة واكثرها تطورا وتقدما ومن اقواها تاثيرا في الاقتصاد القومي. واذ توفر في صناعة السمنت العراقي كافة المستلزمات الناجحة من حيث توفر المواد الاولية والخبرات الفنية والتقنية واسواق ثابتة وراسخة محليا وعالميا فقد كان من المفروض ان يتم التوسع في هذه الصناعة، وان التخطيط لهذه الصناعة امرا ضروريا خاصة وان مادة السمنت هي احدى اهم المواد الرئيسة التي يؤثر توفره

In this study, concentrations of radon and uranium were measured for twenty six samples of soil. The radon concentrations in soil samples measured by registrant alpha-emitting radon (²²²Rn) by using CR-39 track detector. The uranium concentrations in soil samples measured by using registrar fission fragments tracks in CR-39 track detector that caused by the bombardment of U with thermal neutrons from ²⁴¹ Am-Be neutron source that has flux of 5 ×10³n cm^-2 s^-1.
The concentrations values were calculated by a comparison with standard samples The results show that the radon concentrations are between (91.931-30.645Bq/m³).
The results show that also the uranium concentrat

    In the drilling and production operations, the effectiveness of cementing jobs is crucial for efficient progress. The compressive strength of oil well cement is a key characteristic that reflects its ability to withstand forceful conditions over time. This study evaluates and improves the compressive strength and thickening time of Iraqi oil well cement class G from Babylon cement factory using two types of additives (Nano Alumina and Synthetic Fiber) to comply with the American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications. The additives were used in different proportions, and a set of samples was prepared under different conditions. Compressive strength and thickening time measurements were taken under different conditions. The amoun