Earth dams in regions with moderate to high seismic activity are crucial for protecting downstream communities. Iraq and its neighboring areas have seen recurrent seismic activity, notably the 2017 Halabja Earthquake, which potentially compromised the integrity of the existing earth dam. The Darbandikhan Dam, affected by an earthquake, has inadequacies in its crest and downstream slope, presenting a greater danger of significant earthquake-induced damage compared to cyclic shocks. Consequently, evaluating the dam's safety is essential for safeguarding downstream residents and identifying optimal ways to avert slope stability failure amid recurrent seismic activity. Iraq's seismicity map is being updated to reflect earthquake magnitude, highlighting the need for immediate action. Stone columns are a ground improvement technique that utilizes compacted stone columns to enhance soil strength by increasing shear strength and reducing excess pore water pressure in non-cohesive soils. The behavior of prop stone columns on slopes under static and dynamic loads has not been extensively investigated. This study the influence of stone columns on the stability of the downstream slope of the Al-Adhaim Earth Dam in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, under static and dynamic loads induced by four earthquakes with a peak ground acceleration of 0.2 g for durations of 15 and 30 seconds, using Geo Studio software for various scenarios. The findings indicated that the stone column resulted in a very slight improvement in the safety factor of the downstream slope under static load conditions. The presence of the stone column significantlymproved the safety factor during all seismic occurrences relative to its absence.
Emotional blackmail is generally defined as manipulating others' emotions for personal gain. It is a type of manipulation that damages healthy relationships among people and turns them into toxic relations leaving the victim in a state of depression and under stress of losing something s/he holds dear. This study aims to identify the pragmatic techniques of emotional blackmail used by both blackmailers and victims in "No One Would Tell" (2018). To do so, the researchers developed an eclectic model comprising Forward and Frazier's (1997) emotional blackmail, Searle’s speech acts (1979), Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies (1987), Culpeper’s impoliteness strategies (1996, 2005), and Mayfield's taxonomy of fallacy (2007)
... Show MoreThe effect of 0.662MeV gamma radiation on the optical properties of the CdTe thin films was studied. 300nm thickness of CdTe samples were irradiated with doses (10, 20, 30,60krad) in room temperature. The absorption spectra for all the samples were recorded using UV- Visible spectrometer in order to calculate the energy gap, width of localized states and optical constants(refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant). The optical energy gap was found to decrease from (1.53 to 1.48 eV), while the width of localized states increased from (1.34 to 1.49 eV) with the increasing of radiation dose. The behavior of energy gap with the irradiation dose makes the material a good candidate for dosimetry
... Show MoreIn this work, a simple and very sensitive cloud point extraction (CPE) process was developed for the determination of trace amount of metoclopramide hydrochloride (MTH) in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The method is based on the extraction of the azo-dye results from the coupling reaction of diazotized MTH with p-coumaric acid (p-CA) using nonionic surfactant (Triton X114). The extracted azo-dye in the surfactant rich phase was dissolved in ethanol and detected spectrophotometrically at λmax 480 nm. The reaction was studied using both batch and CPE methods (with and without extraction) and a simple comparison between the two methods was performed. The conditions that may be affected by the extraction process and the sensitivity of m
... Show MoreBackground: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Oxidative stress plays a major role in the development of CVD. Saliva has a diagnostic properties aiding in the detection of systemic diseases. This study aimed to assess the association between salivary oxidative stress markers and the risk of vascular disease (VD) in T2DM patients. Materials and Methods: One hundred T2DM patients and fifty apparently healthy males were enrolled in this study. Saliva sample was collected for assessment of oxidative stress markers including: lipid peroxidation plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), uric acid (UA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels. Arterial stiffness index (ASI
... Show MoreThe nanostructured MnO2 /carbon fiber (CF) composite electrode was prepared using the anodic electrodeposition process. The crystal structure and morphology of MnO2 particles were determined with X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrosorptive properties of the prepared electrode were investigated in the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solution, and the effect of pH, cell voltage, and ionic strength was optimized and modeled using the response surface methodology combined with Box–Behnken design. The results confirm that the optimum conditions to remove Cd(II) ions were: pH of 6.03, a voltage of 2.77 V, and NaCl concentration of 3 g/L. The experimental results showed a good fit for the Freundli
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