This paper proposes a novel finite-time generalized proportional integral observer (FTGPIO) based a sliding mode control (SMC) scheme for the tracking control problem of high order uncertain systems subject to fast time-varying disturbances. For this purpose, the construction of the controller consists of two consecutive steps. First, the novel FTGPIO is designed to observe unmeasurable plant dynamics states and disturbance with its higher time derivatives in finite time rather than infinite time as in the standard GPIO. In the FTGPO estimator, the finite time convergence rate of estimations is well achieved, whereas the convergence rate of estimations by classical GPIO is asymptotic and slow. Secondly, on the basis of the finite and fast e

Specialized Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates, called uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), cause most of urinary tract infections (UITs). Once bacteria reached the urinary tract of the host, they have to adhere to the host cell for the colonization. For this purpose, bacteria have different structures including fimbrial adhesins. Most of the UPECs contain type 1 fimbriae encoded by fim operon (fimB, E, A, I, C, D, F, G, H) which is responsible for the adhesive ability in these isolates. Ninety-four isolates of UPEC were obtained from UTI patients in Baghdad hospitals and their diagnosis were confirmed by the PCR method using 16srDNA as a housekeeping gene. The UPEC isolates were tested for their ability of adherence to the urothelial cells obtai

The importance of vibrations in rotating rotors in engineering applications has been examined, as has the best approach to interpreting vibration data. The most extensively used analytical approaches for rotating shaft vibration analysis have been investigated. In this research, a detailed study was made of the Rayleigh and Dunkerley methods due to their importance in the special calculations to find the amplitude of vibrations in the rotation system. The multi-node method was used to calculate both Dunkerley's and Rayleigh's methods. An experimental platform was built to study the vibrations that occur in the rotating shafts, and the results were compared with theoretical calculations and with different distances of the bearings. It pro

The studied succession is deposited during late Berriasian-Aptian interval, which is represented by the Zubair, Ratawi, Yamama formations. The present study includes stratigraphic development and basin analysis for 21 boreholes (Rachi-1, 2; Rifaei-1, Diwan- 1; Ratawi-1, 2; Halfaia-5; West Qurna 12, 15; Nahr Umr-7,8; Zubair-47,49; North Rumaila- 72, 131, 158; Suba-7; Majnoon-2, 3 and Luhais-2, 12) distributed within 13 oil fields in the southern Iraq. The back-stripping process determined the original direction of basin depocenter for the studied succession. The Yamama basin in the study area stretches from southeast to southwest with single depocenters, it was located in the southeast of the study area near wells Mj-2, Mj-3.NR-8 and

In this paper, fire resistance and residual capacity tests were carried out on encased pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) I-beams with high-strength concrete beams. The specimens were loaded concurrently under 25% of the ultimate load and fire exposure (an increase in temperature of 700 °C) for 70 min. Subsequently, the fire-damaged specimens were allowed to cool and then were loaded statically until failure to explore the residual behaviors. The effects of using shear connectors and web stiffeners on the residual behavior were investigated. Finite Element (FE) analysis was developed to simulate the encased pultruded GFRP I-beams under the effect of fire loading. The thermal analyses were performed using the general-pu

Arum maculatum is traditionally used for the control of many diseases and illnesses such as kidney pain, liver injury, hemorrhoids. However, the detailed biomedical knowledge about this species is still lacking. This study reports on the bioactive components and the possible mechanisms underlying the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity of A. maculatum leaf extract. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for phytochemical analysis. Assay of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide ) (MTT) was used to determine the cytotoxicity in the murine cell line L20B upon exposure to different extract concentrations for 24 h. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect pro-in

In this paper, a least squares group finite element method for solving coupled Burgers' problem in   2-D is presented. A fully discrete formulation of least squares finite element method is analyzed, the backward-Euler scheme for the time variable is considered, the discretization with respect to space variable is applied as biquadratic quadrangular elements with nine nodes for each element. The continuity, ellipticity, stability condition and error estimate of least squares group finite element method are proved.  The theoretical results  show that the error estimate of this method is . The numerical results are compared with the exact solution and other available literature when the convection-dominated case to illustrate the effic

The large number of failure in electrical power plant leads to the sudden stopping of work. In some cases, the necessary reserve materials are not available for maintenance which leads to interrupt of power generation in the electrical power plant unit. The present study, deals with the determination of availability aspects of generator in unit 5 of Al-Dourra electric power plant. In order to evaluate this generator's availability performance, a wide range of studies have been conducted to gather accurate information at the level of detail considered suitable to achieve the availability analysis aim. The Weibull Distribution is used to perform the reliability analysis via Minitab 17, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) by approaching o

This study concerns a new type of heat exchangers, which is that of shell-and-double concentric tube heat exchangers. The case studies include both design calculations and performance calculations.

       The new heat exchanger design was conducted according to Kern method. The volumetric flow rates were 3.6 m³/h and 7.63 m³/h for the hot oil and water respectively. The experimental parameters studied were: temperature, flow rate of hot oil, flow rate of cold water and pressure drop.

A comparison was made for the theoretical and experimental results and it was found that the percentage error for the hot oil outlet temperature was (- 1.6%). The percentage