Failure in asphalt mixture and distress in pavement are major issues to roads infrastructure. Selecting an appropriate chemical composition of asphalt cement is a key component in avoiding these issues. This work aimed to investigate the effect of the chemical composition of different polar fractions on the rheological and physical properties of asphalt cement. Four types of asphalt cement with penetration grades of 20/30, 40/50, 60/70 and 85/100 were divided into four fractions. Complex shear modules, rutting resistance and rotational viscosity of the asphalt cement were determined by using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer and a Rotation Viscometer, respectively. The results show that an increase in the asphaltene content and Gastel index resulted in an increase in the complex shear modulus, rutting resistance and rotation viscosity of the asphalt cement. The addition of more asphaltene content and Gastel index resulted in a decrease in penetration and ductility values. This observation also revealed that asphalt cement with higher asphaltene content had higher stiffness. The findings from this study can assist in the understanding of the behavior of asphalt cements in its original state and improve the performance of asphalt cement for pavement applications.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine implicated in the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis (TB). TB is recognized worldwide as an important public health issue. To study the relationship between the age of patients with pulmonary TB and serum IL-6 levels, from the other hand, the severity of this disease with IL-6 levels. This study included 30 patients (16 female and 14 male) with pulmonary TB and 10 healthy persons (5 female and 5 male) as control group for comparison. An ELISA assay was used to quantify IL-6 in the sera. The results showed a significant increase of IL-6 levels with increase of age of patients, in (23-38) year old patients the IL-6 levels (median= 17.9 pg/ml, range 12.3-29.1), while in (50-70) year old patien
... Show MoreAn experimental investigation of the variation of argon discharge current with a glow and afterglow time intervals of a square discharge voltage was carried out at low pressure (6-11 mbar). The discharge was created between two circular metal electrodes of diameter (7.5 cm), separated horizontally by a distance (10 cm) at the two ends of a Pyrex cylindrical tube. A composite of two Gaussian functions has been suggested to fit and explain the variation graphs clearly. It is shown that the necessary times of glow and afterglow needed to attain a maximum discharge current are (70 us) and (60 us), respectively. The discharge current is observed to drop to the lowest value when the two times are serially longer than (85 us) and (72 u
... Show MoreIn this research CdTe and CdTe: Cu thin films with different doping ratios (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) %, were deposited by thermal evaporation technique under vacuum on glass substrates at room temperature in thickness 450 nm. The measurements of electrical conductivity (σ), and activation energies (Ea1, Ea2), have been investigated on (CdTe) thin films as a function of doping ratios, as well as the effect of the heat treatment at (373, 423, and 473) K° for one hour on these measurements were calculated and all results are discussed. The electrical conductivity measurements show all films prepared contain two types of transport mechanisms, and the electrical conductivity (σ) increases where
... Show MoreThe subgrade soil is the foundation plate form of the roadway; it should sustain its structural characteristics throughout the design life of the roadway with minimal requirements for maintenance. When Gypseous soil is implemented in the construction of subgrade, problems regarding collapsibility and poor structural capacity usually occur when the subgrade came in touch with excess water. Asphalt stabilization could furnish a proper solution to such problems. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to monitor the variations in compressibility characteristics of asphalt stabilized subgrade soil subjected to 30 cycles of (freezing-thawing) and (heating-cooling). Data have been observed after each 10 cycles, and compared with that of r
... Show MoreThis research deals with the form of the physical identity which is concerned with the features and characteristics that distinguish the shape of the city from other existing cities and reveal its similarity with the self (itself) and objective difference with others. Accordingly, these features must be sophisticated and variable resulting the shape of the city, while preserving the continuity of time, and eventually leads to the emergence of the whole shape. Physical identity is conceptually equivalent with the terms "personality" and "sense of place". The research determined the criteria for evaluating the physical identity as follows:
... Show MoreThe spray quality of two spraying agents with different physical properties was investigated under laboratory conditions to find whether the measurement of deposited drops could be affected by spraying those agents. The first spraying agent Moddus, which is a plant growth regulator, has a surface tension of 28 mN m-1 with almost half the value of the second spraying agent Kelpak (58 mN m-1). A mini boom sprayer containing three flat fan nozzles (XR 11003) was used in the test with three traveling speeds (4.74, 5.42 and 8.13 km. h-1). The test was performed to evaluate the quality of spray drops (spray coverage, spray density and stains diameter) after they were deposited on water sensitive papers (WSP). The results showed a higher ability o
... Show MoreDuration of each developmental stage of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus together with the mortality percentage were observed at a combination of five different temperatures namely 20C°, 22.5C°, 25C°, 27.5C° and 30C° and four different humidities namely 55%, 75%, 85% and 95% r. h. Results showed that temperature had the greatest effect on the life cycle period. The higher the temperature the shorter the life cycle was aid versa verea. On the other hand, humidity seems to be less effectiveness, though at the higher temperature and humidity no development was occured. Mortality among all temperatures and humidities appeared nearly the same, but at higher temperature and higher humidity and because of mould g
... Show MoreThe fish assemblage in the East Hammar marsh was studied during December 2009 to May 2010. The fish fauna of the marsh consisted of 17 native, 23 marine (49%) and seven alien species. The dominant species were Liza abu (14.6%), Carassius auratus (13.4%) and Thryssa mystax (11.2%). The resident species formed 44.7%, occasional species 36.1% and seasonal species 19.2% of the total number of fish species. Fish species diversity index ranged from 1.28 to 2.61, richness from 1.98 to 4.50 and evenness from 0.45 to 0.78. Salinity ranged from 1.45 to 7.74‰. The increase in the proportion of marine species (49%) in the fish assemblage due to marine waters progress from Arabian Gulf had an impact on the values of ecological indices and the
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