This paper reports an evaluation of the properties of medium-quality concrete incorporating recycled coarse aggregate (RCA). Concrete specimens were prepared with various percentages of the RCA (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The workability, mechanical properties, and durability in terms of abrasion of cured concrete were examined at different ages. The results reveal insignificant differences between the recycled concrete (RC) and reference concrete in terms of the mechanical and durability-related measurements. Meanwhile, the workability of the RC reduced vastly since the replacement of the RCA reached 75% and 100%. The ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) results greatly depend on the porosity of concrete and the RC exhibited higher poros

The estimation of the parameters of linear regression is based on the usual Least Square method, as this method is based on the estimation of several basic assumptions. Therefore, the accuracy of estimating the parameters of the model depends on the validity of these hypotheses. The most successful technique was the robust estimation method which is minimizing maximum likelihood estimator (MM-estimator) that proved its efficiency in this purpose. However, the use of the model becomes unrealistic and one of these assumptions is the uniformity of the variance and the normal distribution of the error. These assumptions are not achievable in the case of studying a specific problem that may include complex data of more than one model. To

In this study, dynamic encryption techniques are explored as an image cipher method to generate S-boxes similar to AES S-boxes with the help of a private key belonging to the user and enable images to be encrypted or decrypted using S-boxes. This study consists of two stages: the dynamic generation of the S-box method and the encryption-decryption method. S-boxes should have a non-linear structure, and for this reason, K/DSA (Knutt Durstenfeld Shuffle Algorithm), which is one of the pseudo-random techniques, is used to generate S-boxes dynamically. The biggest advantage of this approach is the production of the inverted S-box with the S-box. Compared to the methods in the literature, the need to store the S-box is eliminated. Also, the fabr

The aim of this research is to compare traditional and modern methods to obtain the optimal solution using dynamic programming and intelligent algorithms to solve the problems of project management.

It shows the possible ways in which these problems can be addressed, drawing on a schedule of interrelated and sequential activities And clarifies the relationships between the activities to determine the beginning and end of each activity and determine the duration and cost of the total project and estimate the times used by each activity and determine the objectives sought by the project through planning, implementation and monitoring to maintain the budget assessed 

This paper proposes a new strategy to enhance the performance and accuracy of the Spiral dynamic algorithm (SDA) for use in solving real-world problems by hybridizing the SDA with the Bacterial Foraging optimization algorithm (BFA). The dynamic step size of SDA makes it a useful exploitation approach. However, it has limited exploration throughout the diversification phase, which results in getting trapped at local optima. The optimal initialization position for the SDA algorithm has been determined with the help of the chemotactic strategy of the BFA optimization algorithm, which has been utilized to improve the exploration approach of the SDA. The proposed Hybrid Adaptive Spiral Dynamic Bacterial Foraging (HASDBF)

PPSU hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes are prepared by applying two concentrations and various extrusion pressures according to the phase inversion method. Cross-sectional area and outer structures were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In additional to the pore size distribution, either the mean roughness or the mean pore size of the PPSU hollow fiber surfaces was evaluated by AFM. It was found that the morphology of the PPSU fibers had both sponge-like and finger-like structures through different extrusion pressures and PPSU concentrations. The mean pore size and mean roughness for inner and outer surfaces were seen to be decreased with the increase of extrusion pressure at

Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are greatly used
for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and
characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on Mach-
Zehnder Interferometer (MZI), which operates in reflection mode.
The humidity sensor operation based on the adsorption and
desorption of water vapour at the silica-air interface within the PCF.
The fabrication of this sensor is simple, it only includes splicing and
cleaving the PCF with SMF.PCF (LMA-10) with a certain length
spliced to SMF (Corning-28).
The spectrum of PCFI exhibits good sensitivity to humidity
variations. The PCFI response is observed for a range of humidity
values from (27% RH to 85% RH), the positi

Moisture damage is one of the most significant troubles that destroy asphaltic pavement and reduces road serviceability. Recently, academics have noticed a trend to utilize fibers to enhance the efficiency of asphalt pavement. This research explores the effect of low-cost ceramic fiber, which has high tensile strength and a very high thermal insulation coefficient, on the asphalt mixture's characteristics by adding three different proportions (0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25%). The Marshall test and the Tensile Strength Ratio Test (TSR) were utilized to describe the impact of ceramic fiber on the characteristics of Marshall and the moisture susceptibility of the hot mix asphalt mixture. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microsc

The region-based association analysis has been proposed to capture the collective behavior of sets of variants by testing the association of each set instead of individual variants with the disease. Such an analysis typically involves a list of unphased multiple-locus genotypes with potentially sparse frequencies in cases and controls. To tackle the problem of the sparse distribution, a two-stage approach was proposed in literature: In the first stage, haplotypes are computationally inferred from genotypes, followed by a haplotype coclassification. In the second stage, the association analysis is performed on the inferred haplotype groups. If a haplotype is unevenly distributed between the case and control samples, this haplotype is labeled