In this work, monitoring of monthly variation (from May 2016 to October 2016) in the concentration of the metals (Co, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni and Fe) from Al-Diwaniya city of Iraq. Investigation about the pollution with these metals was achieved from five selected sites locate in study area by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results showed a wide variation in the levels of heavy metals from site to site and from month to month. A total of 180 surface soil samples were analyzed to detecting the pollution with selected samples. The resultsshowed that the highest concentration with Ni was 6.290 mg kg-1 while the lowest concentration detected with Ni was 0.080 mg kg-1. The results of pollution index (enrichment factor, contamination factor, po

Background: The surface properties of the titanium alloy plays a significant role in the bond of the dental implant with living bone and modification of the implant surface could enhance osseointegration. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of different durations of heat treatment on the surface properties of titanium alloy for dental implants. Materials and methods: Twenty disks of (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy were prepared. The sample was divided into four test groups to study the effect of different duration of heat treatment to the surface topography; surface chemistry, titanium oxide layer thickness, blood contact angle, & blood drop diameter of titanium alloy samples were investigated to evaluate the effect of different durations of

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of surface treatments of zirconia (grinding and sandblast with 50μm, 100 μm) on shear bond strength between zirconia core and veneering ceramic. Material and methods: Twenty-eight presintered Y-TZP ceramic specimens (IPS e.max ZirCAD, Ivoclar vivadent) were fabricated and sintered according to manufacturer’s instructions. The core specimens were divided randomly in to 4 groups, group 1: no surface treatment, group2: zirconia specimens were ground with silicon carbide paper up to1200 grit under water cooling, group3: zirconia specimens were ground and sandblast with 100 μm alumina, group 4: zirconia specimens were ground and sandblast with 50 μm alumina. Surfa

In this research, a sensor for chemical solutions was designed and formed using optical fiber-based on a surface Plasmon resonance technology. A single-mode optical fiber with three different diameters (25, 45 and 65) µm was used, respectively.  The second layer of the low refractive fiber was replaced by gold, which was electrically deposited at 40 µm thickness. For each of the three types of optical fiber, different saline concentrations (different index of refraction) were used to evaluate the performance of the refractive index sensor (chemical sensor) by measuring its sensitivity and resolutions. The highest values we could get for these two parameters were 240mm/RIU, and 6*10^-5 RIU respectively, when the diameter of a

The aim of this research is to adopt a close range photogrammetric approach to evaluate the pavement surface condition, and compare the results with visual measurements. This research is carried out on the road of Baghdad University campus in AL-Jaderiyiah for evaluating the scaling, surface texture for Portland cement concrete and rutting, surface texture for asphalt concrete pavement. Eighty five stereo images of pavement distresses were captured perpendicular to the surface using a DSLR camera. Photogrammetric process was carried out by using ERDAS IMAGINE V.8.4.  The results were modeled by using a relationship between the photogrammetric and visual techniques and selected the highest coefficient of determinatio

The aim of this research is to adopt a close range photogrammetric approach to evaluate the pavement surface condition, and compare the results with visual measurements. This research is carried out on the road of Baghdad University campus in AL-Jaderiyiah for evaluating the scaling, surface texture for Portland cement concrete and rutting, surface texture for asphalt concrete pavement. Eighty five stereo images of pavement distresses were captured perpendicular to the surface using a DSLR camera. Photogrammetric process was carried out by using ERDAS IMAGINE V.8.4. The results were modeled by using a relationship between the photogrammetric and visual techniques and selected the highest coefficient of determination (R2). The first techniqu

The incorporation of safety characteristics into the traditional pavement structural design or in the functional evaluation of pavement condition has not been established yet. The design has focused on the structural capacity of the roadway so that the pavement can withstand specific level of repetitive loading over the design life. On the other hand, the surface texture condition was neither included in the AASHTO design procedure nor in the present serviceability index measurements.

The pavement surface course should provide adequate levels of friction and ride quality and maintain low levels of noise and roughness. Many transportation departments perform routine skid resistant testing, the type of equipment us

Carbonized nonwoven nanofibers composite were fabricated using the electrospinning method of a polymeric solution composite followed by heat treatment including stabilization and calcination steps. The spun polymeric solution was a binary polymer mixture/organic solvent. In this study, two types of polymers (Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and Polyethylene glycol (PEG)) were used separately as a copolymer with the base polymer (Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)) to prepare a binary polymer mixture in a mixing ratio of 50:50. The prepared precursor solutions were used to prepare the precursor nanofibers composite (PAN: PMMA) and (PAN: PEG).  The fabricated precursors nonwoven fibers composite were stabilized and carbonized to produce carbon nonw

By- products of corn starch industry were used to prepare media for propagation the lactic acid bacteria as a natural auxotroph. The by- products used were the corn steep water (S) and gluten extract (G) after a proper treatment to get them ready for media preparation. The results showed that it was possible to replace the peptone and meat extract by gluten extract in MRS medium. The growth was approximately similar to that obtained in standard MRS media. Corn steep water (S) was used as well and the growth enhanced by including Tween – 80 at 1% level. The later media named MZ, which was superior for growing standard and local strains and starters. The MZ medium modified by adding acetate and glacial acetic acid similarly to

The Vulnerable Indian Roofed Turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) occurs in the Sub-Himalayan lowlands of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Little is known about its natural history, no studies have been conducted revealing its natural predators. In this study, a group of Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 (Passeriformes: Corvidae) was observed hunting and predating on an Indian Roofed Turtle carcass in the bank of river Kuakhai, Bhubaneswar, India. The first record of this predation behaviour is reported and substantiated by photographic evidence.