The aim of this paper is to design artificial neural network as an alternative accurate tool to estimate concentration of Cadmium in contaminated soils for any depth and time. First, fifty soil samples were harvested from a phytoremediated contaminated site located in Qanat Aljaeesh in Baghdad city in Iraq. Second, a series of measurements were performed on the soil samples. The inputs are the soil depth, the time, and the soil parameters but the output is the concentration of Cu in the soil for depth x and time t. Third, design an ANN and its performance was evaluated using a test data set and then applied to estimate the concentration of Cadmium. The performance of the ANN technique was compared with the traditional laboratory inspecting

The importance of specifying proper aggregate grading for achieving satisfactory performance in pavement applications has long been recognized. To improve the specifications for superior performance, there is a need to understand how differences in aggregate gradations within the acceptable limits may affect unbound aggregate base behavior. The effects of gradation on strength, modulus, and deformation characteristics of high-quality crushed rock base materials are described here. Two crushed rock types commonly used in constructing heavy-duty granular base layers in the State of Victoria, Australia, with three different gradations each were used in this study. The gradations used represent the lower, medium, and upper gradation li

Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the major globally distributed pathogens, which causes chronic and recalcitrant infections due to their capacity to produce biofilms in large part. Biofilm production represents a survival strategy in these species, allowing them to endure environmental stress by altering their gene expression to match their own survival needs. In this study, we co-cultured different clinical isolates of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa as mono- and mixed-species biofilms in a full-strength Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI) and in a 1000-fold diluted Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI/1000) using Microtiter plate assay and determination of colony-forming units. Furthermore, the effect of starvation stress on the e

Scrophularia. striata from Scrophulariacea family has been used in Iranian folk medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases. In this study we evaluated the synergistic effect of S. striata   hydroalcoholic extract (SSE) and commercially available antibiotics against P. aeroginosa and Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The resazurin-based microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of plan extract and standard antibiotics. The interaction between standard antibiotics and SSE was evaluated by using checkerboard method. The results of this study revealed that SSE enhance the antibacterial activity of antibiotics. The combin

1,3,4-oxadiazole-5-thion ring (2) successfully formed at position six of 2-methylphenol and five of their thioalkyl (3a-e). Furthermore 6-(5-(Aryl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-2-methylphenol (5a-i) were formed at position six by two method. The first method was from cyclization their corresponding hydrazones (4a-e) of 2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzohydrazide (1) using bromine in glacial acetic acid. The second method was from cyclization the hydrazide with aryl carboxylic acid in the presence of phosphorusoxy chloride. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized from their IR, NMR and mass spectra. The antioxidant properties of these compounds were screened by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazide (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay

1, 3, 4-oxadiazole-5-thion ring (2) successfully formed at position six of 2-methylphenol and five of their thioalkyl (3a-e). Furthermore 6-(5-(Aryl)-1, 3, 4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-2-methylphenol (5a-i) were formed at position six by two method. The first method was from cyclization their correspondinghydrazones (4a-e) of 2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzohydrazide (1) using bromine in glacial acetic acid. The second method was from cyclization the hydrazide with aryl carboxylic acid in the presence of phosphorusoxy chloride. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized from their IR, NMR and mass spectra. The antioxidant properties of these compounds were screened by 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazide (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) a

The aim of this research is to develop mechanical properties of a new aluminium-lithium-copper alloy. This alloy prepared under control atmosphere by casting in a permanent metal mould. The microstructure was examined and mechanical properties were tested before and after heat treatment to study the influence of heat treatment on its mechanical properties including; modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, impact, and fatigue. The results showed that the modulus of elasticity of the prepared alloy is higher than standard alloy about 2%. While the alloy that heat treated for 6 h and cooled in water, then showed a higher ultimate tensile stress comparing with as-cast alloy. The homogenous heat treatment gives best fatigue

Thin films of ZnO nano crystalline doped with different concentrations (0, 6, 9, 12, and 18 )wt. % of copper were deposited on a glass substrate via pulsed laser deposition method (PLD). The properties of ZnO: Cu thin-nanofilms have been studied by absorbing UV-VIS, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopes (AFM). UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to determine the type and value of the optical energy gap, while X-ray diffraction was used to examine the structure and determine the size of the crystals.  Atomic force microscopes were used to study the surface formation of precipitated materials. The UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to determine the type and value of the optical energy gap.

  Foot and ankle movements are essential in various activities like walking, running, and balance, where the mechanics of these movements are affected by the muscles around the ankle joint [1,2]. In this study, the correlations between isometric ankle torque and muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) in the course of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion was investigated. Eight healthy participants were enrolled for the study, where the ankle torque and surface Electromyography (sEMG) of the main flexors were measured and analyzed. The results showed that ankle torque is higher in plantarflexion than dorsiflexion. In addition, the TA has greater muscle activity during dorsiflexion, while the GAS presents higher ac