Effective decision-making process is the basis for successfully solving any engineering problem. Many decisions taken in the construction projects differ in their nature due to the complex nature of the construction projects. One of the most crucial decisions that might result in numerous issues over the course of a construction project is the selection of the contractor. This study aims to use the ordinal priority approach (OPA) for the contractor selection process in the construction industry. The proposed model involves two computer programs; the first of these will be used to evaluate the decision-makers/experts in the construction projects, while the second will be used to formulate the OPA mathematical model. The experts’ interview was used to identify the criteria of evaluation process of the decision-makers/experts, while Delphi survey with principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify the required selection criteria of the construction projects contractors. The results illustrate that there are 20 criteria for selecting the construction contractor, and 7 criteria for evaluating the decision-makers/experts in the construction projects. Finally, the proposed model has been applied in a real construction project, and showed good results.
This study aims at identifying the notion of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) pertinent to the performance of three general hospitals constructed inside the Sulaimani City, tracing the relationship between the quality of the indoor environments and medical staff (doctors and nurses) satisfaction level. Using some indoor environment elements in the right way will positively influence the mood, stress level of the medical staff, and patient recovery as a result. The POE toolkits (AEDET and ASPECT) have been implemented on targeted wards at the selected hospitals. AEDET and ASPECT questionnaires were distributed among 152 medical staff to obtain their perspectives. In total, 112 valid questionnaires were received. The medica
... Show MoreApical periodontitis (AP) is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the teeth. Bone resorption dynamics in symptomatic and asymptomatic AP are still unrecognized. This study examined different inflammatory markers within gingival crevicular fluid, including matrix metalloproteinases 8 (MMP8), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1), receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), its ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), to be used in comparing symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP) and asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) versus healthy teeth. Subjects with SAP, AAP, and a control group were recruited and GCF samples were collected by Periopaper strips. Clinical and radiographical measures were used f
... Show MoreIn this study, a novel application of lab-scale dual chambered air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been developed for simultaneous bio-treatment of real pharmaceutical wastewater and renewable electricity generation. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) was provided with zeolite-packed anodic compartment and a cation exchange membrane (CEM) to separate the anode and cathode. The performance of the proposed MFC was evaluated in terms of COD removal and power generation based on the activity of the bacterial consortium in the biofilm mobilized on zeolite bearer. The MFC was fueled with real pharmaceutical wastewater having an initial COD concentration equal to 800 mg/L and inoculated with anaerobic aged sludge. Results demo
... Show MoreEvaluation of trace elements in Iraqi chewing gums are unavailable, particularly pollution of toxic elements, materials which change the values of PH in the Oral. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) were successfully employed to determine the concentration of 7 trace elements (essentially toxic and nonessential) and the PH, in thirteen different brands of chewing gum generally consumed in Iraq. Combined wet and dry digestion procedures were applied. Two types of heated graphite tubes were used, coated and uncoated tubes treated with tungsten solution. Result showed that Cu, Al and Zn were at very high levels in almost all brands whereas Mn was found to be high in brands A and O only.
The mobile phone is widespread all over the world. This technology is one of the most widespread with more than five billion subscriptions making people describe this interaction system as Wireless Intelligence. Mobile phone networks become the focus of attention of researchers, organizations and governments due to its penetration in all life fields. Analyzing mobile phone traces allows describing human mobility with accuracy as never done before. The main objective in this contribution is to represent the people density in specific regions at specific duration of time according to raw data (mobile phone traces). This type of spatio-temporal data named CDR (Call Data Records), which have properties of the time and spatial indications for th
... Show MoreNew simple and sensitive spectrophotometric methods for the determination of paracetamol in aqueous medium were developed. The first method is based on coupling of paracetamol with p-amino-2-hydroxy sodium benzoate (AHB) in the presence of sodium periodate, as oxidizing agent, to form a brownish-orange compound which shows a λmax at 470 nm. The molar absorptivity (εmax) of the colored product was found to be (3371) l. mole1. cm-1 and Sandel’s index 0.0449 μg. cm-2. The method follows Beer’s law in the concentration range of 12.5-500.0 μg of paracetamol in a final volume of 25 ml (0.5-20.0) μg. ml-1 with relative standard deviation percent (RSD%) ranged between 0.26-4.71% and accuracy, expressed by recovery percent, 95-106% for five
... Show MoreNumerical study is adapted to combine between piezoelectric fan as a turbulent air flow generator and perforated finned heat sinks. A single piezoelectric fan with different tip amplitudes placed eccentrically at the duct entrance. The problem of solid and perforated finned heat sinks is solved and analyzed numerically by using Ansys 17.2 fluent, and solving three dimensional energy and Navier–Stokes equations that set with RNG based k−ε scalable wall function turbulent model. Finite volume algorithm is used to solve both phases of solid and fluid. Calculations are done for three values of piezoelectric fan amplitudes 25 mm, 30 mm, and 40 mm, respectively. Results of this numerical study are compared with previous b
... Show MoreThe article considers the main reason for A. I. Herzen's address to obsolete words, which is their ability to acquire a stylistic coloring in the context of speech, as well as the possibility of combining, in some cases, with neutral lexemes of various functional styles. A certain stylistic effect of such characteristics of this type of vocabulary is represented, as a result of which their stylistic coloring in syntagmatic terms does not coincide with stylistic coloring in terms of paradigmatics, that is, in speech they have a completely stylistic meaning. Attention is focused on the role of outdated vocabulary, which consists in the fact that they serve to implement such features of the artistic style as imagery, emotionality, and their
... Show MoreAbstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program on nurses' practices concerning therapeutic communication.
Methodology: A quasi experimental design was carried out at Karbala Center for Cardiac Diseases and Surgery, Imam Hussein Medical City and Al-Handia General Hospital for period 10th June 2017 to the 15th of August 2018.
The program and instruments were constructed and developed by the researcher to measure the purpose of the study. Purposive sample comprised of (57) nurses were divided into two groups, study and control groups. The questionnaire consisted from two parts, first part is related to nurses' demographic characteristics and second part which include practices checkl