This study explores the semiotic aspects of American slang, specifically focusing on the phenomenon of reduplicative expressions in informal speech. Despite the extensive research on American slang, limited attention has been given to the cultural and mythical meanings embedded within reduplicative expressions. To address this gap, the study investigates how these expressions convey denotative, connotative, and mythical meanings within casual American discourse. The objectives of the study include: 1. To what extent does Barthes’ semiotic model hold potential for application in this study? 2. How are reduplicative slang expressions widely used in everyday American life? 3. To what extent do qualitative and quantitative methods hav

Background: Antimicrobial prescribing patterns have an important role in the emergence of resistance, and community pharmacists have a substantial influence on this issue. Objective: To assess community pharmacists' behaviors and attitudes toward antimicrobial dispensing, determine their proportions and categories, and examine the underlying rationales for this practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in Iraq was conducted from June to August 2023, using a self-administered validated questionnaire. The attitudes, practices, and motivations driving the distribution of antimicrobials without a prescription (AWP) were explored in three areas. Results: A sizable proportion (61.6%) of respondents rejected

The data preprocessing step is an important step in web usage mining because of the nature of log data, which are heterogeneous, unstructured, and noisy. Given the scalability and efficiency of algorithms in pattern discovery, a preprocessing step must be applied. In this study, the sequential methodologies utilized in the preprocessing of data from web server logs, with an emphasis on sub-phases, such as session identification, user identification, and data cleansing, are comprehensively evaluated and meticulously examined.

        Urban land price is the primary indicator of land development in urban areas. Land prices in holly cities have rapidly increased due to tourism and religious activities. Public agencies are usually facing challenges in managing land prices in religious areas. Therefore, they require developed models or tools to understand land prices within religious cities. Predicting land prices can efficiently retain future management and develop urban lands within religious cities. This study proposed a new methodology to predict urban land prices within holy cities. The methodology is based on two models, Linear Regression (LR) and Support Vector Regression (SVR), and nine variables (land price, land area,

The long – term behaviour of polyethylene products used out doors is affected by weathering. In the present work,
weathering test was carried out to find the effect of the environment conditions on the mechanical properties of
HDPE/LLDPE blends with different weight percents (0, 15, 30, and 45 %) relative to the LLDPE by increasing the
exposure times to (100, 150, 200, 250, 300) hr.
A series of tests (destructive), tensile, impact and hardness were carried out on the prepared samples, the results
obtained declare the changes on the material behaviour from ductile to brittle and the polymer shows a decline in the
mechanical properties with increasing the exposure times.
In the present work empirical equations were r

Developing an efficient algorithm for automated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) segmentation to characterize tumor abnormalities in an accurate and reproducible manner is ever demanding. This paper presents an overview of the recent development and challenges of the energy minimizing active contour segmentation model called snake for the MRI. This model is successfully used in contour detection for object recognition, computer vision and graphics as well as biomedical image processing including X-ray, MRI and Ultrasound images. Snakes being deformable well-defined curves in the image domain can move under the influence of internal forces and external forces are subsequently derived from the image data. We underscore a critical appraisal

Engineering equipment is essential part in the construction project and usually manufactured with long lead times, large costs and special engineering requirements. Construction manager targets that equipment to be delivered in the site need date with the right quantity, appropriate cost and required quality, and this entails an efficient supplier can satisfy these targets. Selection of engineering equipment supplier is a crucial managerial process .it requires evaluation of multiple suppliers according to multiple criteria. This process is usually performed manually and based on just limited evaluation criteria, so better alternatives may be neglected. Three stages of survey comprised number of public a

     In this research, several estimators concerning the estimation are introduced. These estimators are closely related to the hazard function by using one of the nonparametric methods namely the kernel function for censored data type with varying bandwidth and kernel boundary. Two types of bandwidth are used:  local bandwidth and global bandwidth. Moreover, four types of boundary kernel are used namely: Rectangle, Epanechnikov, Biquadratic and Triquadratic and the proposed function was employed with all kernel functions. Two different simulation techniques are also used for two experiments to compare these estimators. In most of the cases, the results have proved that the local bandwidth is the best for all the