The reaction paths of the C-C and C-H bond cleavage in the anthracene and phenanthrene aromatic molecules are studied by applying the ab-initio DFT method. It is found that the C-C bond cleavage proceeds via a singlet aromatic transition state, compelled through a disrotatoric ring opening reaction. A suprafacial H atom shift follows the transition state, leading to the formation of a methylene -CH2 and an acetylenic or allenic moiety. The calculated activation energies for anthracene range from 158.81-208.90 kcal/mol and the reaction energies from 96.106-156.976 kcal/mol. For phenanthrene, the energy values are 157.39-202.34 kcal/mol and 62.639-182.423 kcal/mol, respectively. For the C-H cleavage reactions, the calculated reaction energies

The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM7, and PM10) was evaluated in  Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years.  The effects of  these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and  antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between workers exposed to the PM as compared to the control gro

Reliability analysis methods are used to evaluate the safety of reinforced concrete structures by evaluating the limit state function 𝑔(𝑋𝑖). For implicit limit state function and nonlinear analysis , an advanced reliability analysis methods are needed. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) can be used in this case however, as the number of input variables increases, the time required for MCS also increases, making it a time consuming method especially for complex problems with implicit performance functions. In such cases, MCS-based FORM (First Order Reliability Method) and Artificial Neural Network-based FORM (ANN FORM) have been proposed as alternatives. However, it is important to note that both MCS-FORM and ANN-FORM can also be time-con

Reinforced concrete (RC) beams containing a longitudinal cavity have become an innovative development and advantage for economic purposes of light-weight members without largely affecting their resistance against the applied loads. This type of openings can also be used for maintenance purposes and usage space of communication lines, pipelines, etc. RC beams are primarily loaded in the plane of the members, which are two-dimensional in a plane stress state and the dominant structural behaviours include bending, shear, or combination of both. In the present study, six numerical models of RC beams with and without openings were simulated by using commercial finite element software ANSYS to evaluate the structural behaviours of those b