Constructional Efficiency in architecture in general is one of the most important standard success for any structure and a measure of its continuity and relevance across time and space. Given the importance of Al-Ahwaar environment that owned the spatial, environmental, economic and social elements had a prominent impact in creation of architecture patterns form to create special architectural and structural environment, which had many qualities and ingredients that contributed to its continuity and existence over the years. From the premise that man and his environment is the main goal to any architectural style,

Thus the research problem focusing on the lack of clarity of the previous literatures in its st

Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to rifampicin is mainly mediated through mutations in the rpoB gene. The effects of rpoB mutations are relieved by secondary mutations in rpoA or rpoC genes. This study aims to identify mutations in rpoB, rpoA, and rpoC genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and clarify their contribution to rifampicin resistance. Seventy isolates were identified by acid-fast bacilli smear, Genexpert assay, and growth on Lowenstein Jensen medium. Drug susceptibility, testing was performed by the proportional method.  DNA extraction, PCR, and sequencing were accomplished for the entire rpoA, rpoB, and

In this research, the performance of asphalt mixtures modified with polyethylene polymer (PE) by adding 2%, 4%, and 6% percentages was evaluated. Two kinds of PE are employed: Low-Density PE (LDPE) and High-Density PE (HDPE). The semi-wet mixing technique (SWM) was conducted to avoid stability issue for PE-modified binder during storage condition. Many experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the ability of these mixtures to withstand the effects of loads and moisture. The hardness index of these mixtures was also measured to determine their resistance to the effects of high temperatures without causing permanent deformations. The results showed that adding PE led to a remarkable enhancement in the performance of PE-modified mixtures.

A novel demountable shear connector is proposed to link a concrete slab to steel sections in a way that resulting steel-concrete composite floor is demountable, i.e. it can be easily dismantled at the end of its service life. The proposed connectors consist of two parts: the first part is a hollow steel tube with internal threads at its lower end. The second part is a compatible partially threaded bolted stud. After linking the stud to the steel section, the hollow steel tube can be fastened over the threaded stud, which create a complete demountable shear connector. The connector is suitable for use in both composite bridges and buildings, and using cast in-situ slabs, precast solid slabs, or hollow-core precast slabs. A series of push-off

Shear lag is the phenomenon that occurs when a supported slender member undergoes deformation from lateral loading, causing in-plane non-uniform distribution of stresses that results in reducing the member’s minimum strength capacity. This paper investigates the behaviour of shear distribution in steel I-section and box girders when subjected to both static and impact loadings. Three-dimensional finite element analysis models were prepared in Strand7 and validated against experimental results providing a basis for further comparison research into shear lagging effects. A parametric study was conducted comparing the effects of impact loading through certain specified velocities at the midspan of restrained ends. It provided new ins

A ‘locking-bolt’ demountable shear connector (LBDSC) is proposed to facilitate the deconstruction and reuse of steel-concrete composite structures, in line with achieving a more sustainable construction design paradigm. The LBDSC is comprised of a grout-filled steel tube and a geometrically compatible partially threaded bolt. The latter has a geometry that ‘locks’ the bolt in compatible holes predrilled on the steel flange and eliminates initial slip and construction tolerance issues. The structural behaviour of the LBDSC is evaluated through nine pushout tests using a horizontal test setup. The effects of the tube thickness, strength of concrete slab, and strength of infilled grout on the shear resistance, initial stiffness, and du

The experiment was conducted in field of the University of Baghdad, Jadryia region, Baghdad to measure vibration and performance efficiency of grass mower (machine cutting grass). Vibration in three axes are longitudinal X , lateral Y and vertical Z in four places of mower machine during cutting grass and Practical Productivity, Efficiency and Fuel Consumption measured in this experiment . Factorial design (3 x 2) used, mower speeds included 1.9 3.6 and 6.4 km/hr and engine load included idling and full load according to randomized complete design were used in this experiment. Least Significant Design (LSD) 0.05 was used to compare the mean of treatment. Result were showed that the mower speed 6.4 km/hr recorded high productivity (0.6557 ha

The fluorescence and absorption spectra of Fluoranthene dissolved in
cyclohexane and ethanol were studied and analyzed. The effect of the
concentration of this molecule and the polarity of the solvents on the spectral
shifts and on relative intensity has been investigated. A computational program
was written in order to convert the spectra from grapher to data. Some
photophysical parameters such as oscillator strength and quantum efficiency have
been calculated. Fluorescence quantum efficiency of Fluoranthene was measured
relative to Quinine Sulfate (QS) in 1N H2SO4. The obtained values were (0.5) in
cyclohexane and (0.45) in ethanol

Image compression is an important tool to reduce the bandwidth and storage
requirements of practical image systems. To reduce the increasing demand of storage
space and transmission time compression techniques are the need of the day. Discrete
time wavelet transforms based image codec using Set Partitioning In Hierarchical
Trees (SPIHT) is implemented in this paper. Mean Square Error (MSE), Peak Signal
to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Maximum Difference (MD) are used to measure the
picture quality of reconstructed image. MSE and PSNR are the most common picture
quality measures. Different kinds of test images are assessed in this work with
different compression ratios. The results show the high efficiency of SPIHT algori