Braces in straight bridge systems improve the lateral-torsional buckling resistance of the girders by reducing the unbraced length, while in horizontally curved and skew bridges, the braces are primary structural elements for controlling deformations by engaging adjacent girders to act as a system to resist the potentially large forces and torques caused by the curved or skewed geometry of the bridge. The cross-frames are usually designed as torsional braces, which increase the overall strength and stiffness of the individual girders by creating a girder system that translates and rotates as a unit along the bracing lines. However, when they transmit the truck’s live load forces, they can produce fatigue cracks at their connection

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent joint inflammation, which is a defining feature of this chronic inflammatory condition. Considerable advancements have been made in the field of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medicines (DMARDs), which effectively mitigate inflammation and forestall further joint deterioration. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) drugs, which are a class of biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), have been efficaciously employed in the treatment of RA in recent times Adalimumab, a TNF inhibitor, has demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing disease symptoms and halting disease progression in patients with RA. However, its use is associated with major side effects and high costs. In addition,

 For many years controlled shot peening was considered as a surface treatment. It is now clear that the performance of control shot peening in terms of fatigue depends on the balance between its beneficial (compressive residual stress and work hardening) and beneficial effects (surface hardening).

The overall aim of this paper is to study the effects of aggressive shot peening on fatigue life of 7075 – T6 aluminum alloy. The fatigue life reduction factor (LRF) due to the aggressive shot peening was established and empirical relations were proposed to describe the behavior of LRF, roughness and fatigue life. The benefits of shot peering in terms of fatigue life are dependent on the shot peening time (SPT).

Salt stress negatively affects germination and seedling growth. Sorghum cultivars (Bohuth70, Inqath and Rabeh), seed soaking in dry yeast extract (3, 6 and 9 g l-1) in addition to dry seeds and electrical conductivity (4, 10 and 16 dS m-1) were studied. Traits of germination ratio at first and final counts, lengths of radicle and plumule, seedling dry weight and seedling vigour index were studied. The cultivar of Bohuth70 and concentration of yeast extract (9 g l-1) were superior at all studied traits, while all traits values were reduced with increased saline stress. The combination (Bohuth70×9×4) was superior to most other treatments at first and final counts, radicle length and seedling dry weight, while superiority of plumule length a

The object of this work is to investigate the effect of the addition of methanol on the shelf life and color characteristics of novolak resin. Different percentages were added and two mechanisms were suggested for the addition. High ortho structure (1, 2-3) novolak resin was prepared and used in the above investigation. Experimental determination using FT-IR and UV-spectroscopy showed that on the addition of 30% of methanol and according to the second mechanism of addition novolak shelf life increased to 12 months without obvious decomposition and color change. It is suggested that methanol plays an important role in the inhabitation of the reactive sites on the resin that are responsible for the oxidation of the polymer when exposed to

Among the undesirable effects of soil compaction is a measurable reduction in plant growth and crop yield. The prevailing belief is that compacted tillage pans are caused by repetitive farming practices, heavy tractors, tillage tools, and field traffic. This experiment was conducted to determine and map the hardpan layers across an agricultural field through advanced technologies of precision agriculture. These valuable techniques such as data logger, yield map, and data analysis of performance indicators were linked with accurate global positioning systems (GPS) datasets. These important technologies provided the farmers and helped them to identify and manage areas of the fields with higher compacted layers. Three ground speeds 4.3

Concentrations of radon were measured in this study for twenty-four samples of soil distributed in six locations on the north part of Iraq. The radon concentrations in soil samples measured by using alpha-emitters registration that emits from Radon (222Rn) in (CR-39) track detector. The concentrations values were calculated by a comparison with standard samples. The results shows that the radon gas concentrations in Darbandikhan City varies from (16.60-34.04 Bq/m3), Halabja City (16.51-23.32 Bq/m3), Al Sulaimaniya City (17.61-32.25 Bq/m3), Koisnjaq City (22.04-35.65 Bq/m3), Shaqlaua City (21.10-29.10 Bq/m3) and Erbil City (22.30-34.63 Bq/m3). The average radon gas concentration in Al Sulaimaniya and Erbil governorate are (22.30 Bq/m3)

The enhancement of the thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance of a semi-circular solar air collector (SCSAC) is numerically investigated using porous semi-circular obstacles made of metal foam with and without longitudinal porous Y-shaped fins. Two 10 and 40 PPI porous material samples are examined. Three-dimensional models are built to simulate the performance of SCSAC: model (I) with clear air passage; model (II) with only metal foam obstacles, and model (III) with metal foam obstacles as well as porous Y-fins. COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.2 based on finite element methodology is employed. A conjugate heat transfer with a (k-ε) turbulence model is selected to simulate both heat transfer and fluid flow across the entir

The present study is a hybrid method of studying the effect of plasma on the living tissue by using the image processing technique. This research explains the effect of microwave plasma on the DNA cell using the comet score application, texture analysis image processing and the effect of microwave plasma on the liver using texture analysis image processing. The study was applied on the mice cells. The exposure to the plasma is done by dividing the mice for four groups, each group includes four mice (control group, 20, 50, 90 second exposure to microwave plasma). The exposure to microwave plasma was done with voltage 175v and gas flow on 2 with room temperature; the statistical features are obtained from the comet score images and the textur