ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by hydrothermal method at different temperatures and growth times. The effect of increasing the temperature on structural and optical properties of ZnO were analyzed and discussed. The prepared ZnO nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis. absorption spectroscopy (UV–Vis.), Photoluminescence (PL), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this work, hexagonal crystal structure prepared ZnO nanostructures was observed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the average crystallite size equal 14.7 and 23.8 nm for samples synthesized at growth time 7 and 8 hours respectively. A nanotubes-shaped surface morphology was found using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optic

This paper discusses using H2 and H∞ robust control approaches for designing control systems. These approaches are applied to elementary control system designs, and their respective implementation and pros and cons are introduced. The H∞ control synthesis mainly enforces closed-loop stability, covering some physical constraints and limitations. While noise rejection and disturbance attenuation are more naturally expressed in performance optimization, which can represent the H₂ control synthesis problem. The paper also applies these two methodologies to multi-plant systems to study the stability and performance of the designed controllers. Simulation results show that the H2 controller tracks a desirable cl

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of in vitro long-term simulation of oral conditions on the bond strength of PEEK CAD/CAM lingual retainers.

Material and methods: The sample consisted of 12 PEEK CAD/CAM retainers each composed of 2 centrally perforated 3x4mm pads joined by a connector. They were treated by 98% sulfuric acid for 1 minute and then conditioned with Single Bond Universal and bonded to the lingual surface of premolar teeth by 3M Transbond TM System. Half of the retainers were artificially aged using a 30-day water storage and 5000 thermocycling protocol before bond strength testing to compare with the non-aged specimens.

Results: The artificially aged retainers showed a marginally

In this study, the effect of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) section and compressive strength of concrete in composite beams under static and low velocity impact loads was examined. Modeling was performed and the obtained results were compared with the test results and their compatibility was evaluated.‎ Experimental tests of four composite beams were carried out, where two of them are control specimen with 20 MPa compressive strength of concrete deck slab and 50 MPa for other. Bending characteristics were affected by the strength of concrete under impact loading case, as it increased maximum impact force and damping time at a ratio of 59% and reduced the damping ratio by 47% compared to the reference hybrid beam. Under stat

The present study was conducted to estimate the antimicrobial activity and the potential biological control of the killer toxin produced byD. hanseniiDSMZ70238 against several pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, the effects of NaCl, pH, and temperature, killer toxin production, and antimicrobial activity were studied. The results showed that the optimum inhibitory effect of killer toxin was at 8% NaCl, and the diameters of clear zones were 20, 22, 22, 21, 14, and 13 mm forStaphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Candida albicans,andCandida neoformans, respectively. The largest inhibition zones were

The university course timetable problem (UCTP) is typically a combinatorial optimization problem. Manually achieving a useful timetable requires many days of effort, and the results are still unsatisfactory. unsatisfactory. Various states of art methods (heuristic, meta-heuristic) are used to satisfactorily solve UCTP. However, these approaches typically represent the instance-specific solutions. The hyper-heuristic framework adequately addresses this complex problem. This research proposed Particle Swarm Optimizer-based Hyper Heuristic (HH PSO) to solve UCTP efficiently. PSO is used as a higher-level method that selects low-level heuristics (LLH) sequence which further generates an optimal solution. The proposed a

This study discusses risk management strategies caused by pandemic-related (Covid-19) suspensions in thirty-six engineering projects of different types and sizes selected from countries in the middle east and especially Iraq. The primary data collection method was a survey and questionnaire completed by selected project crew and laborers. Data were processed using Microsoft Excel to construct models to help decision-makers find solutions to the scheduling problems that may be expected to occur during a pandemic. A theoretical and practical concept for project risk management that addresses a range of global and local issues that affect schedule and cost is presented and results indicate that the most significant delays are due to a

Abstract As a part of our ongoing project on the design and synthesis of new 4-thiazolidinone derivatives with antimicrobial activity, four new 4-thiazolidinone derivatives carrying bromo, nitro, methyl, and chloro groups on the benzene ring were synthesized by starting with the 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin moiety, linking coumarin with various phenyl isothiocynate to form the thiourea group, and then cyclizing the derivatives, characterized by IR and 1HNMR, and assayed in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria and fungi. Overall, 2-(4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl) thiazolidin-4-one to be the most powerful individuals in the series. Based on the observed data, it can be sta