<p>In combinatorial testing development, the fabrication of covering arrays is the key challenge by the multiple aspects that influence it. A wide range of combinatorial problems can be solved using metaheuristic and greedy techniques. Combining the greedy technique utilizing a metaheuristic search technique like hill climbing (HC), can produce feasible results for combinatorial tests. Methods based on metaheuristics are used to deal with tuples that may be left after redundancy using greedy strategies; then the result utilization is assured to be near-optimal using a metaheuristic algorithm. As a result, the use of both greedy and HC algorithms in a single test generation system is a good candidate if constructed correctly. T

Background: This study was conducted to assess the effects of various beverages on the shear bond strength of light-cured orthodontic composite used to bond stainless steel orthodontic brackets on human teeth and to determine the site of bonding failure of this material. Materials and Methods: Fifty extracted human premolars were selected and randomly divided into five equal groups each with 10 teeth according to the beverage type (Control, One Tiger, Milk, Green tea and Coffee). After bonding, the teeth were immersed in specific beverages for 5 minutes twice daily with equal intervening intervals then washed and stored in distilled water at 37º C for the reminder of the day. The process was carried out for 30 days. The samples were then

Background: Sliding mechanics is widely used during orthodontic treatment. One of the disadvantages of this mechanics is the friction generated at the bracket/archwire interface, which may reduce the amount of desired orthodontic movement obtained. The aim of the present in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the static frictional forces produced by two passive self-ligating brackets stainless-steel and hybrid and two conventional brackets stainless-steel and monocrystal ligated with stainless-steel ligature wire at two degrees of torque(zero and twenty) under dry condition. Materials and method: One hundred and sixty brackets were used in this study divided into four groups each group consisted of forty brackets these are: Two self-li

This study used a continuous photo-Fenton-like method to remediate textile effluent containing azo dyes especially direct blue 15 dye (DB15). A Eucalyptus leaf extract was used to create iron/copper nanoparticles supported on bentonite for use as catalysts (E@B-Fe/Cu-NPs). Two fixed-bed configurations were studied and compared. The first one involved mixing granular bentonite with E@B-Fe/Cu-NPs (GB- E@B-Fe/Cu-NPs), and the other examined the mixing of E@B-Fe/Cu-NPs with glass beads (glass beads-E@B-Fe/Cu-NPs) and filled to the fixed-bed column. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential, and atomic forces spectroscopy (AFM) techniques were used to characterize the obtained particles (NPs). The effect of flow rate and DB15 concent

We consider the problem of calibrating range measurements of a Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) sensor that is dealing with the sensor nonlinearity and heteroskedastic, range-dependent, measurement error. We solved the calibration problem without using additional hardware, but rather exploiting assumptions on the environment surrounding the sensor during the calibration procedure. More specifically we consider the assumption of calibrating the sensor by placing it in an environment so that its measurements lie in a 2D plane that is parallel to the ground. Then, its measurements come from fixed objects that develop orthogonally w.r.t. the ground, so that they may be considered as fixed points in an inertial reference frame. Moreov

The adequacy of diagnostic tests, together with trichomoniasis associated clinical symptoms, were investigated in females suffering vaginitis, and they were referred to the Gynecology Department, Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital during the period December 2004 – June 2005. The total number of patients was 250 cases (age range: 18 - 52 years), and each patient was examined using a sterile speculum to obtain vaginal swabs for examination. The diagnosis with T. vaginalis was done in many methods. The direct methods included wet and stained (Leishman's stain) examinations and cultivation in different culture media (Kupferberg Trichomonas Broth Base;, Trichomonas Agar Base; TAB and Trichomonas Modified CPLM), while the indirect methods were serol