John Updike’s use of setting in his fiction has elicited different and even conflicting reactions from critics, varying from symbolic interpretations of setting to a sense of confusion at his use of time and place in his stories.  The present study is an attempt at examining John Updike’s treatment of binary settings in Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories (1962) to reveal theme, characters’ motives and conflicts.  Analyzing Updike’s stories from a structuralist’s perspective reveals his employment of two different places and times in the individual stories as a means of reflecting the psychological state of the characters, as in “The Persistence of Desire”, or expressing conflicting views on social and political is

Prediction of the structural response of reinforced concrete to the time-dependent, creep and shrinkage, volume changes is complex. Creep is usually determined by measuring the change, with time, in the strain of specimens subjected to a constant stress and stored under appropriate conditions. This paper brings into view the development of creep strain for four self-compacting concrete mixes: A40, AL40, B60 and BL60 (where 40 and 60 represent the compressive strength level at 28 days and L indicates to Portlandlimestone cement). Specimens were put under sustained load and exposed to controlled conditions in a creep chamber (ASTM C512). The test results showed that normal strength Portland-limestone mixes have yielded lower ultimate c

Industrial development has recently increased, including that of plastic industries. Since plastic has a very long analytical life, it will cause environmental pollution, so studies have resorted to reusing recycled waste plastic (sustainable plastic) to produce environmentally friendly concrete (green concrete). In this research, producing environmentally friendly load-bearing concrete masonry units (blocks) was considered where five concrete mixtures were compressed at the blocks producing machine. The cement content reduced from 400 kg/m³ (B-400) to 300 kg/m³ (B-300) then to 200 kg/m³ (B-200). While (B-380) was produced using 380 kg/m³ cement and 20 kg/m³ nano-sil

Thermal pyrolysis kinetics of virgin high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was investigated. Thermal pyrolysis of HDPE was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer in nitrogen atmosphere under non-isothermal conditions at different heating rates 4, 7, 10 °C/min. First-order decomposition reaction was assumed, and for the kinetic analysis Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose(KAS), Flynn-Wall-Ozawa(FWO) and Coats and Redfern(CR) method were used. The obtained values of  average activation energy by the KAS and FWO methods were equal to137.43 and 141.52 kJ/mol respectively, these values were considered in good agreement, where the  average activation energy value obtained by CR equation methods was slightly different which equal to 153.16 kJ/

Abstract: Background: Drug toxicity and chemotherapeutic side effects negatively impact the quality of life of breast cancer patients. Objectives: to evaluate the efficacy of pharmaceutical Interventions (PI) on quality of life (QOL)Among chemotherapy intake breast cancer women.  Method: A pre-post interventional study was carried out at the chemotherapy ward of Alhabobi Hospital in Alnasiriyah City. Eligible patients received comprehensive pharmaceutical care and a self-compiled Breast Cancer Patients Medication Knowledge Guide pamphlet. Each patient received two sessions, the first at baseline and the second after 7, 14, or 21 days depending on the next taking dose of chemotherapy. Each session lasted for approximately 15-30 minutes. Par

This study investigates the levels of gaseous and particulate pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, CO, and CO₂) emitted during charcoal-grilling activities in five selected restaurants in the Al-Karkh district of Baghdad, with a focus on their environmental and health implications. Developing countries, including Iraq, face severe pollution-related challenges exacerbated by inefficient combustion processes inherent to traditional cooking practices. Restaurants that rely on charcoal grilling are a significant source of both indoor and outdoor air pollution, posing acute and chronic health risks to workers and patrons. This research documented measured amounts of pollutants released from burning coal using two types of particulate matter (PM2.5; PM10)