Different bremsstrahlung spectra from tungsten anode x-ray tube generated at 30, 40 and 50 kV have been examined theoretically and experimentally for an attempt to find a most suitable spectrum to radiograph a test object of 0.01 cm thickness of Cu and Ag. The high contrast using this suitable spectrum is demonstrated and the possible effects of fluorescent radiation are discussed.

Recent phosphorus (P) pollution in the United States, mainly in Maine, has raised some severe concerns over the use of P fertilizer application rates in agriculture. Phosphorus is the second most limiting nutrient after nitrogen and has damaging impacts on crop yield if found to be deficient. Therefore, farmers tend to apply more P than is required to satisfy any P loss after its application at planting. Several important questions were raised in this study to improve P efficiency and reduce its pollution. The objective of this study was to find potential reasons for P pollution in water bodies despite a decrease in potato acreage. Historically, the potato was found to be responsible for P water contamination due to its high P sensitivity a

In this study, gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector was used to measure the specific activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in soil samples collected from IT1 oil reservoirs in Kirkuk city, northeast Iraq. The “spectral line Gp” gamma analysis software package was used to analyze the spectral data. ²²⁶Ra specific activity varies from 9  0.34 Bq.kg^-1 to 17  0.47 Bq.kg^-1. ²³²Th specific activity varies from 6.2  0.08 Bq.kg^-1 to 18  0.2 Bq.kg^-1. ⁴⁰K specific activity varies from 25  0.19 Bq.kg^-1 to 118  0.41 Bq.kg^-1. The radiological hazard due to the radiation emitted from natural r

Asphalt binder is a thermoplastic material that conducts as an elastic solid at lower service temperatures or throughout fast loading rate. At a high temperature or slow rate of loading, asphalt binder conducts as a different liquid. The classical duplication generates a required to assess the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete at the anticipated service temperature to reduce the stress cracking, which happens at lower temperatures, fatigue, and the plastic deformation at higher temperatures (rutting). In this study, an achievement was made to assess the effect of temperature on the mechanical characteristics of asphalt concrete mixes. A total of 132 asphalt concrete samples were attended utilizing two asphalt cement grades (40-50) a

In the lifetime process in some systems, most data cannot belong to one single population. In fact, it can represent several subpopulations. In such a case, the known distribution cannot be used to model data. Instead, a mixture of distribution is used to modulate the data and classify them into several subgroups. The mixture of Rayleigh distribution is best to be used with the lifetime process. This paper aims to infer model parameters by the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm through the maximum likelihood function. The technique is applied to simulated data by following several scenarios. The accuracy of estimation has been examined by the average mean square error (AMSE) and the average classification success rate (ACSR). T

Pathogenic microorganisms from hospitals, communities, and the environment remain great threats to human health. The increasing concern about antibiotic resistance has also necessitated the search for robust alternatives. Therefore, this study aims to isolate, screen and evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a soil sample taken from northern, western and eastern parts of Kelana Jaya Lake against four antibiotics (gentamycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and penicillin) on a Mueller-Hinton Agar media plate. Pseudomonas identification was done by using API 20 kit. Disc diffusion was employed as well as the oxidase test. From the positive oxidase result, the isolated bacteria were identified as Burkhold

The raw material soil of Al-Sowera factory quarry (quarry soil and mixture) used for building brick industry was tested mineralogically, geochemically and geotechnically. Mineral components of soil are characterized by Clay minerals (Palygoriskite and chlorite) and nonclay minerals like calcite, quratz, feldspar, gypsum and halite. The raw material is deficient in SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, Fe2O3 and MgO, while enriched in CaO. Loss on ignition and Na2O are in suitable level and appear to be concordant with the standard. Grain size analyses show that the decreasing sand and clay, and increasing silt ratio in both quarry soil and mixture caused decreasing in strength of brick during molding and after firing. The quarry soil is characterized by high p