Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms that play important role in aquatic ecosystems as they are the primary producers in aquatic food webs. Several groups of algae are capable of producing toxins that impact aquatic ecosystems, especially managed systems. Cyanobacteria are the most important algae in freshwaters, and many species produce cyanotoxins including hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. The potent cyano-neurotoxins β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), 2, 4-diaminobutyric acid dihydrochloride (DABA), and anatoxin-a are especially critical with regards to public and animal health problems.
Background and Aim: due to the rapid growth of data communication and multimedia system applications, security becomes a critical issue in the communication and storage of images. This study aims to improve encryption and decryption for various types of images by decreasing time consumption and strengthening security. Methodology: An algorithm is proposed for encrypting images based on the Carlisle Adams and Stafford Tavares CAST block cipher algorithm with 3D and 2D logistic maps. A chaotic function that increases the randomness in the encrypted data and images, thereby breaking the relation sequence through the encryption procedure, is introduced. The time is decreased by using three secure and private S-Boxes rather than using si
... Show MoreThis paper investigates the experimental response of composite reinforced concrete with GFRP and steel I-sections under limited cycles of repeated load. The practical work included testing four beams. A reference beam, two composite beams with pultruded GFRP I-sections, and a composite beam with a steel I-beam were subjected to repeated loading. The repeated loading test started by loading gradually up to a maximum of 75% of the ultimate static failure load for five loading and unloading cycles. After that, the specimens were reloaded gradually until failure. All test specimens were tested under a three-point load. Experimental results showed that the ductility index increased for the composite beams relative to the reference specim
... Show MoreGlass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) beams have gained attention due to their promising mechanical properties and potential for structural applications. Combining GFRP core and encasing materials creates a composite beam with superior mechanical properties. This paper describes the testing encased GFRP beams as composite Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams under low-velocity impact load. Theoretical analysis was used with practical results to simulate the tested beams' behavior and predict the generated energies during the impact loading. The impact response was investigated using repeated drops of 42.5 kg falling mass from various heights. An analysis was performed using accelerometer readings to calculate the generalized inertial load
... Show MoreTillage tools are subject to friction and low-stress abrasive wear processes with the potential deterioration of the desired soil quality, loss of mechanical weed efficacy, and downtime for replacing worn tools. Limited experimental methods exist to quantify investigate the effect of wear-resistant coatings on shape parameters of soil-engaging tools. ASTM standard sand/rubber wheel abrasion and pin-on-disk tests are not able to simulate wear characteristics of the complex shape of the tillage tools. Even though the tribology of tillage tools can be realistic from field tests, tillage wear tests under field conditions are expensive and often challenging to generate repeatable engineeri
In this work, optical system with different aperture shapes (circular, square, elliptical and triangle aperture) has been used for efficiency evaluation when the system involved moving factor in ideal case (aberration free). The optical system evaluate far moving object, therefore the image forming at image plane due to point spread function (image formula of incoherently illuminated point object). A mathematical treatment has been used to getting results by Gaussian numerical calculations method. The results show priority of circular aperture when optical system that submits of moving factor.
Flexible pavements are considered an essential element of transportation infrastructure. So, evaluations of flexible pavement performance are necessary for the proper management of transportation infrastructure. Pavement condition index (PCI) and international roughness index (IRI) are common indices applied to evaluate pavement surface conditions. However, the pavement condition surveys to calculate PCI are costly and time-consuming as compared to IRI. This article focuses on developing regression models that predict PCI from IRI. Eighty-three flexible pavement sections, with section length equal to 250 m, were selected in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, to develop PCI-IRI relationships. In terms of the quantity and severity of eac
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