The consumption of fresh fruits has increased nowadays due to the lifestyle of the consumers. Maintaining the quality and nutritional value of cut fruits during storage is difficult compared to whole fruits. Deterioration of internal and external quality usually occurs in freshly harvested fruits. It is necessary to use different techniques to maintain the quality and increase the shelf life of the freshly cut product. This research studied the effect of treating apple slices with cold plasma once and with filtered water again on quality characteristics (hardness, moisture content, sugar content, carbohydrate content, and color) after being stored for five days. The best treatment was determined using two different pressures of the plasma j

For the most reliable and reproducible results for calibration or general testing purposes of two immiscible liquids, such as water in engine oil, good emulsification is vital. This study explores the impact of emulsion quality on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy calibration standards for measuring water contamination in used or in-service engine oil, in an attempt to strengthen the specific guidelines of ASTM International standards for sample preparation. By using different emulsification techniques and readily available laboratory equipment, this work is an attempt to establish the ideal sample preparation technique for reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility for FT-IR analysis while still considering t

Fiber reinforced polymer composite is an important material for structural application. The diversified application of FRP composite has taken center of attraction for interdisciplinary research. However, improvements on mechanical properties of this class of materials are still under research for different applications. In this paper we have modified the epoxy matrix by Al₂O₃, SiO₂ and TiO₂ nano particles in glass fiber/epoxy composite to improve the mechanical and physical properties. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. It is observed that mechanical properties like flexural strength, hardness are more in case of SiO₂ modified epoxy composite compare to other nano

Two field experiments were conducted during the spring seasons of 2000,2001.The aim was to study the effect of hardening to drought tolerance on moisture percentage in root and stem of sunflower plant during growth stages . Asplit-split plots design was used with three replications.The main plots included irrigation treatments:irrigation to100%(full irrigation),75and50%of available soil water.The sub plots were the cultivars Euroflor and Flame.The sub-sub plots represented four seed soaking treatments :Control(unsoaked),soaking in water ,Paclobutrazol solution(250ppm),and Pix solution(500ppm). The soaking continued for 24 hours then seeds were dried at room temperature until they regained their original weight. Amount of water

A simple technique is proposed in this paper for estimating the coefficient of permeability of an unsaturated soil based on physical properties of soils that include grain size analysis, degree of saturation or water content, and porosity of the soil. The proposed method requires the soil-water characteristic curve for the prediction of the coefficient of permeability as most of the conventional methods. A procedure is proposed to define the hydraulic conductivity function from the soil water characteristic curve which is measured by the filter paper method. Fitting methods are applied through the program (SoilVision), after indentifying the basic properties of the soil such as Attereberg limits, specific gravity, void ratio, porosity, d

The removal of direct blue 71 dye from a prepared wastewater was studied employing batch electrocoagulation (EC) cell. The electrodes of aluminum were used. The influence of process variables which include initial pH (2.0-12.0), wastewater conductivity (0.8 -12.57) mS/cm , initial dye concentration (30 -210) mg/L, electrolysis time  (3-12) min, current density (10-50) mA/cm2   were studied in order to maximize the color removal from wastewater. Experimental results showed that the color removal yield increases with increasing pH until pH 6.0 after that it decreased with increasing pH. The color removal increased with increasing current density, wastewater conductivity, electrolysis time, and decreased with increasing the concen

In the present study, composites were prepared by Hand lay-up molding and investigated. The composites constituents were epoxy resin as the matrix, 6% volume fractions of Glass Fibers (G.F) as reinforcement and 3%, 6% of industrial powder (Calcium Carbonate CaCO₃, Potassium Carbonate K₂CO₃ and Sodium Carbonate Na₂CO₃) as filler. Density, water absorption, hardness test, flexural strength, shear stress measurements and tests were conducted to reveal their values for each type of composite material. The results showed that the non – reinforced epoxy have lower properties than composites material. Measured density results had show an incremental increase with volume fraction increase

Aim: To evaluate the wettability and microhardness of Zirconium (ZrO2) dental material when coated with different concentrations of Faujasite. Materials and methods: 30 circular disks produced from ZrO2, then each group is classified into 10 control groups, 10 coated groups with 3% Faujasite, and 10 coated groups with 7% faujasite by electro-spun tool to study variable properties in hardness and water contact angle of implant materials. Results: This study stated the high hardness in 7% of faujasite concentration for ZrO2, in addition, the contact angle decreased gradually until reach 0 ᵒ in 7% concentration of faujasite with ZrO2 Conclusion: Water contact angle (WCA) declined till disappeared in (7% wt.) of faujasite coated with the Z

Fifty-Four paddy samples, 45 soil samples, and nine irrigation water samples of some paddy fields at Alfurat Alawsat Area, Iraq were collected to investigate the microbial quality including total count bacteria (TCB), molds and yeast, total coliform (TC), and E. coli bacteria. Paddy samples were processed at the laboratory level to produce rice at 32 and 36 whiteness, and the microbial quality of the produced rice was conducted too. The results showed that all irrigation water samples were overpassed the FDA limit for E. coli. All paddy samples were exceeded the good limit of TCB, but no sample exceeded the acceptable limit. Most paddy samples were exceeded the FDA limit for molds and yeast, and few paddy samples exc

In the present study, a pressure drop technique was used to identify the phase inversion point of oil-in-water to water-in-oil flows through a horizontal pipe and to study the effect of additives (nanoparticles, cationic surfactant and blend  nanoparticles-surfactant) on the critical dispersed volume fraction (phase inversion point). The measurements were carried  for mixture velocity ranges from 0.8 m/sec to 2.3 m/sec. The results showed that at low mixture velocity 0.8 and 1 m/sec there is no effect of additives and velocity on phase inversion point, while at high mixture velocities the phase inversion point for nanoparticles and blend (nanoparticles/surfactant) systems was delayed (postponed) to a higher value of the dispers