Controlling cost in construction projects is an essential issue. This study investigates the most critical problems that cause weakness in cost control in Iraqi construction projects. The quantitative technique was used by conducting a survey directed to professionals who work on construction projects. One hundred and sixty-four questionnaire forms were distributed to private sector companies, government companies, and government institutions, and the responses were subjected to the required statistical analysis. The results indicate that the most influential factors are the weakness in keeping up with the use of modern concepts, methods, and technologies, the delay in receiving the amounts due for work done from the owner, fluctuations in market prices, the lack of knowledge and the inefficient use of currently available tools and technology, and the security situation in the country. The results indicate that the Iraqi construction projects suffer from weakness in cost control, which causes them to stop or delay their delivery, and this needs serious and quick solutions. One of the most important solutions is the adoption of modern technologies and their inclusion in the construction sector and the development of special systems for managing costs that are appropriate to the Iraqi construction environment.
This study conducted an analytical investigation on the behavior of concrete beams with openings reinforced by glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. In this study, five proposed beams reinforced by GFRP bars as flexural and shear reinforcement with openings were numerically examined. The variables were the opening orientation (vertical and horizontal) and the number of openings. These openings were located within the flexural zone of the proposed beams. The result shows that the vertical openings had a significant effect over the horizontal openings on reducing the ultimate load and increasing the mid-span deflection compared with the control beam. Moreover, the results showed t
In the geotechnical and terramechanical engineering applications, precise understandings are yet to be established on the off-road structures interacting with complex soil profiles. Several theoretical and experimental approaches have been used to measure the ultimate bearing capacity of the layered soil, but with a significant level of differences depending on the failure mechanisms assumed. Furthermore, local displacement fields in layered soils are not yet studied well. Here, the bearing capacity of a dense sand layer overlying loose sand beneath a rigid beam is studied under the plain-strain condition. The study employs using digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) and finite element method (FEM) simulations. In the FEM, an experiment
... Show MoreFor the treatment of pathogenic bacterial infections, multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a major issue. The use of nanoparticles is a promising strategy for combating medication resistance in a variety of pathogens that cause deadly diseases. The goal of our research was to extract multidrug-resistant bacteria from wound infections and then use iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) as alternative therapeutic agents in vitro. Gram staining, morphological attributes evaluation, and biochemical testing were used to assess the microbes. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used to test MDR-bacterial strains against several antibiotics; the majority of these isolates were resistant to ceftazidime, amoxicillin
... Show MoreCreatinine and Schiff`s bases are well known for their diverse range of biological activities and are thought to be emerging and useful therapeutic targets for the treatment of several diseases. The present work was aimed at the synthesis of new imidazolidine-4-one, thiazolidine-4-one, and oxazolidine-4-one derivatives derived from creatinine and to illustrate their influence on a colon cancer cell line and assess their antioxidant activity. Creatinine was reacted with α-chloroethyl acetate to produce 2-ethyl acetate creatinine 1. Then, the reaction of compound 1 with n-propyl bromide afforded N-propyl-2-ethylacetate creatinine 2. Compound 2
... Show MoreBackground: A great dental and biomedical interest had been paid to silver nanoparticles because of their antimicrobial activity. Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of a newly developed Nano-silver fluoride that was synthesized from moringa oleifera leaf extract against S. mutants. Material and method: The green synthesis method was used to prepare Nano-silver fluoride from moringa oleifera leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were evaluated using brain heart infusion plates, while the cytotoxicity was evaluated by the hemolytic activity. Results: Nano-silver fluoride had a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect (MIC was 60 ppm a
... Show MoreDate stones were used as precursor for the preparation of activated carbons by chemical
activation with ferric chloride and zinc chloride. The effects of operating conditions represented
by the activation time, activation temperature, and impregnation ratio on the yield and adsorption
capacity towards methylene blue (MB) of prepared activated carbon by ferric chloride activation
(FAC) and zinc chloride activation (ZAC) were studied. For FAC, an optimum conditions of 1.25
h activation time, 700 °C activation temperature, and 1.5 impregnation ratio gave 185.15 mg/g
MB uptake and 47.08 % yield, while for ZAC, 240.77 mg/g MB uptake and 40.46 % yield were
obtained at the optimum conditions of 1.25 h activation time, 500
Abstract Background: The prevalence of heart failure (HF) continues to increase with an increase in the aging population. Palliative care should be integrated into routine disease management for all patients with serious illness, regardless of settings or prognosis. Objectives: The purposes of this study were to determine the level of knowledge of nurses concerning palliative care for patients with heart failure after implementation of instructional program. Design: The study was a quasi-experimental study and consists of 60 nurses. Setting: The study was conducted between17th November 2021, to 10th February 2022, at three teaching hospitals in Baghdad city, Iraq. Method: A non-probability (purposive) sample was utilized, nurses who agreed
... Show MoreAbstract
A series of new 4(3H)-quinazolinone derivatives (S1-S4) were synthesized and characterized by FTIR,1HNMR and 13CNMR .Their cytotoxic activity against a set of human cancer cell lines MCF-7 (breast) and A549 (lung) was evaluated using MTT assay. To detect their selectivity toward cancer cells, the compounds were also tested against epithelial cells derived from normal human fibroblast (NHF). Methotrexate (MTX) was used as a reference for comparison . All the tested compounds exhibited toxicity against the normal cells lower than cancer cells. All the tested compounds displayed higher cytotoxicity against lung cancer cell line (A549) than MTX with the most
... Show MoreIn this research, the degradation of Dazomet has been studied by using thermal Fenton process and photo-Fenton processes under UV and lights sun. The optimum values of amounts of the Fenton reagents have been determined (0.07g FeSO4 .7H2O, 3.5µl H2O2) at 25 °C and at pH 7 where the degradation percentages of Dazomet were recorded high. It has been found that solar photo Fenton process was more effective in degradation of Dazomet than photo-Fenton under UV-light and thermal Fenton processes, the percentage of degradation of Dazomet by photo-Fenton under sun light are 88% and 100% at 249 nm and 281 nm respectively, while the percentages of degradation for photo-Fenton under UV-light are 87%, 96% and for thermal Fenton are 70% and 66.8% at 2
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