Although the events of September 2001 marked the United States' employment of solid forces in its direct comprehensive strategy to counter terrorist organizations and any other challenges to US national security, the United States did not lose sight of the importance of the cultural variable. The cultural variable is the United States' most important instrument of soft power in ensuring its dominance of the international system and promoting its global project. France viewed US soft power as a threat to its own civilizational pattern. Therefore, France considers culture to be an inherent component of its national personality and a cornerstone of its international standing as a major force. Additionally, the US-French political and economic

Background: There is a clear debate about the role of bad oral habits (thumb-sucking and biting nails) and on oral health and the state of the dental caries, but there is no doubt that continuing these bad habits until advanced ages will lead to deep and difficult problems to solve. Objective: The purpose of study was to evaluate the effect of bad habits, include finger sucking and nail biting on dental caries among children aged from 6 to 10 years old. Subjects and methods: In Al-Hilla city, Iraq, a comparative study was conducted in which (200) primary school students aged between 6 to10 years old were involved. A questionnaire filled out by their parents was used to gather information related to the bad oral habit, and then all the stude

An experimental study was performed to estimate the forced convection heat transfer performance and the pressure drop of a single layer graphene (GNPs) based DI-water nanofluid in a circular tube under a laminar flow and a uniform heat flux boundary conditions. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluid at weight concentrations of (0.1 to 1 wt%) were measured. The effects of the velocity of flow, heat flux and nanoparticle weight concentrations on the  enhancement of the heat transfer are examined. The Nusselt number of the GNPs nanofluid was enhanced as the heat flux and the velocity of flow rate  increased, and the maximum Nusselt number  ratio (Nu nanofluid/ Nu base fluid)   and thermal performance factor

Background: Incorporation of chemical additives has long been a technique used to improve properties of the gypsum products. The purpose of this work was to study the effects of adding a combination of gum Arabic and calcium hydroxide to a type III dental stone and type IV improved die stone with different proportion. The effect on water/powder ratio, and surface hardness was determined. Material and method: Both material stone and die stone were blended with two proportion of additives so that each material was mixed twice but with different proportion of gum Arabic (0.1% and 0.2%) and calcium hydroxide (0.5 % and 0.3%). Data for hardness were subjected to two-way analysis of variance. Results: The results revealed that the chemical additi

Abstract: Background: High percentage of diabetes patients complain from post extraction hemorrhage. Many types of hemostatic materials are used to stop bleeding after teeth extraction: diode lasers are good hemostatic agents owing to their highly absorption by hemoglobin therefore they are used in soft tissue procedures with relatively no effects on dental hard tissues due to their poorly absorption by water and hydroxyapatite. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of diode laser to assist the clot formation after tooth extraction for type II diabetes patients with minimum temperature elevation to prevent periodontal destruction. Materials and methods: From 12 type II diabetes patients (7 males and 5 females wi

the influence of permeability tensor upon drainage of anisotropic soils under ponded water and steady recharge (rainfall) is theoretically investigated. Tensorial permeability has led to the formulation of mixed type partial differential equations. Since there is no analytical solution to this problem, the formulation is therefore solved numerically by the method of finite elements. The finite element formulation is implemented into a computer model which can be applied to any problem of seepage under steady state
conditions. Two different example problems representing two different flow conditions under full anisotropy have been studied. Results of the model for the isotropic case were checked against exact mathematical solutions de

Background: A carefully planned clinical medical education is critical for the provision of supportive clinical educational environment. The latter will ensure effective teaching, active learning and good attitudes and performance at the bedside. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical learning environment at AL-Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: A descripitive cross-sectional study involved resident doctors from Internal Medicine and Surgery departments who had six months or more residency training in the respective departments. Data were collected using the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure. Data where analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0 and presented us