Objective: In this work we design and evaluate a bidirectional pneumatic soft actuator made from silicone rubber (RTV2 C10) for the use in prosthetic hand. The actuator aimed to enhance flexibility and provide motion in two directions that mimic the actions of the human fingers. Materials and Methods: Two parallel air chambers are used in the actuator design where each chamber is divided into smaller internal cavities. These chambers are linked through a narrow connecting channel. The fabrication process relied on a molding technique based on 3D printed molds. Three separate mold components were designed and printed to allow accurate casting of silicone rubber into the desired shape. The completed actuators were then tested using an experim

In this study, phosphorescence analysis (KPA) is used for determining soil collected from the Tigris River from Al- Karrada and Bab Al-Sharq in Baghdad and samples were taken from rainwater collected from Al-Rashad, Al-Obeidi, Al-Dora and Al-Sadr City in Baghdad. The measurements were carried out by the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment, in the Radiation Protection Center. The collection, removal and evaporation of the samples ranged from January to the end of March 2018. The results show the presents of concentration of 238U and 235U in soil samples and the rainwater samples. The conclusion of this work is the concentration of uranium in soil samples is more than recommendations by ICRP value of 1.9 μg /l. While all water sample

Background This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of once-daily liraglutide as an add-on to oral antidiabetics (OADs) on glycemic control and body weight in obese patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods A total of 27 obese T2D patients who received 7 months (0.6 mg/day for the first month, 1.2 mg/day for 3 months, and 1.8 mg/day for 3 months) of liraglutide treatment as an add-on to OADs were included. Data on body weight (kg), fasting plasma glucose (FPG, mg/dL), postprandial glucose (PPG, mg/dL), and HbA1c (%), were recorded. Results Liraglutide doses of 1.2 mg/day and 1.8 mg/day were associated with significant decreases in body weight (by 8.0% and 11.9%, respectively, p < 0.01 for each) and HbA1c (by 20.0

Academic writing is a key skill for success in academic life, particularly for graduate students of a foreign language. The importance of writing to academic culture, practice, and knowledge building has led to a great deal of research in many fields, including rhetoric and composition, linguistics, applied linguistics, and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Often, studies and research investigating academic writing are motivated by the need to inform the learning of writing to native and non-native English-speaking students, through both descriptions of professional academic writing as well as through comparisons of novice writer (native and non-native Englishspeaking) and expert production. However, while learning about academic writing

Many problems are facing the installation of piles group in laboratory testing and the errors in results of load and settlement are measured experimentally may be happened due to select inadequate method of installation of piles group. There are three main methods of installation in-flight, pre-jacking and hammering methods. In order to find the correction factor between these methods the laboratory model tests were conducted on small-scale models. The parameters studied were the methods of installation (in-flight, pre-jacking and hammering method), the number of piles and in sandy soil in loose state. The results of experimental work show that the increase in the number of piles value led to increase in load carrying ca

The differential protection of power transformers appears to be more difficult than any type of protection for any other part or element in a power system. Such difficulties arise from the existence of the magnetizing inrush phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize between inrush current and the current arise from internal faults. In this paper, two approaches based on wavelet packet transform (WPT) and S-transform (ST) are applied to recognize different types of currents following in the transformer. In WPT approach, the selection of optimal mother wavelet and the optimal number of resolution is carried out using minimum description length (MDL) criteria before taking the decision for the extraction features from the WPT tree