The performance of asphalt pavements is crucial due to heavy traffic loads from civil and industrial developments. Various additives and modifiers are used in flexible roads to improve their resistance to deterioration caused by climatic changes. From this context, modifying the asphalt binder with polymers is popular in asphalt pavement construction. The present research investigates the effect of Polyethylene (PE) polymers in powder form on the characteristics of asphalt mixtures since these polymers are composed of hydrocarbons. It is similar to asphalt binders, making them very effective in enhancing the performance of neat asphalt produced from the oil refinery. To confirm this, two types of PE, High-Density PE (HDPE) and Low-Density PE (LDPE), were blended with neat asphalt binder at different dosages of 0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% by the weight of asphalt binder. The physical tests, including penetration, ductility, softening point, and weight loss on heat, were conducted to examine neat and PE-modified binders' rheological properties, durability, and temperature sensitivity. Marshall stability, stiffness index, tensile strength, and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were also employed to assess the performance of PE-modified asphalt mixtures. The findings reveal that incorporating PE into asphalt mixtures significantly improves their mechanical properties, and the most optimal results are achieved when using 6% of both HDPE and LDPE. Specifically, modifying the asphalt binder with the inclusion of 6% HDPE and LDPE presents a remarkable increase in stability of 167.6% and 150.9%, respectively, compared to conventional mixtures. The stiffness index is improved for HDPE and LDPE-modified mixtures, which offers these mixtures superior resistance to permanent deformation. The moisture damage resistance can be enhanced by modification of the asphalt binder with HDPE and LDPE, especially at the inclusion of 6%. SEM images of asphalt pavement demonstrate HDPE's superiority in terms of distribution and dispersion in asphalt binder. In conclusion, the properties of HDPE-modified mixtures are better than those of LDPE-modified and untreated mixtures.
Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with an increasing prevalence worldwide and characterized by an increase in oxidative stress and inflammation. The most important factor that is responsible for oxidative stress and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is hyperglycemia. The major targets of ROS are proteins. The most common and widely used biomarker of severe oxidative protein damage is protein carbonyl content.
The study was designed to assess the serum level of protein carbonyl as a marker of protein oxidation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to evaluate the effect of age, body weight, waist circumference, diabetic control and disease duration on the level
... Show MoreThe risk assessment for three pipelines belonging to the Basra Oil Company (X1, X2, X3), to develop an appropriate risk mitigation plan for each pipeline to address all high risks. Corrosion risks were assessed using a 5 * 5 matrix. Now, the risk assessment for X1 showed that the POF for internal corrosion is 5, which means that its risk is high due to salinity and the presence of CO, H2S and POF for external corrosion is 1 less than the corrosion, while for Flowline X2 the probability of internal corrosion is 4 and external is 4 because there is no Cathodic protection applied due to CO2, H2S and Flowline X3 have 8 leaks due to internal corrosion so the hazard rating was very high 5 and could be due to salinity, CO2, fluid flow rate
... Show MoreThe design of safe pedestrian facilities usually depends on the assessment of pedestrian characteristics and behavior. In this investigation, pedestrian walking speed through the religious occasion have been monitored at three locations, Al- Kadhimiya (Imam AL-Kadim), Najaf and Karbala (Imam AL-Husain) holy shrines. Video captures of the pedestrian through their walking to the two holy shrines have been prepared and analyzed for walking speed, gender, age groups, and clothing tradition. The pedestrian sample size is 468, 501, and 447 for Al- Kadhimiya, Karbala, and Najaf respectively. When the gender is taken into consideration, it can be noted that the walking speed of male and female pedestrian is (0.97, 1.68, and 1.63
... Show MoreIn Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals. To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view. The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in Baghdad h
... Show MoreA major disadvantage of dose reconstruction by means of thermoluminescence (TL) is the fact that during readout of any TL material exposed to ionizing radiation (i.e., during measuring the glow curve), the radiation-induced signal gets lost. Application of the photo-transferred thermoluminescence phenomenon (PTTL) may offer a solution to this problem. In PTTL, the residual signal that is not destroyed by conventional TL readout (because it comes from deeper electron traps) can be readout through simultaneous stimulation by UV light and heating, allowing to obtain information about the absorbed dose in a second run. The present paper describes the application of PTTL for emergency dose assessment. For
In Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals.
To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view.
The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire
The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to evaluate some mechanical and physical
properties (i.e. the impact strength, hardness, flexural strength,
thermal conductivity and diffusion coefficient) of
(epoxy/polyurethane) blend reinforced with nano silica powder (2%
wt.). Hand lay-up technique was used to manufacture the composite
and a magnetic stirrer for blending the components. Results showed
that water had affected the bending flexural strength and hardness,
while impact strength increased and thermal conductivity decreased.
In addition to the above mentioned tests, the diffusion coefficient
was calculated using Fick’s 2nd law.
Abstract
This research aims to assess the practice of physical activities by people with intellectual disabilities and its challenges during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from their families' point of view. The research sample consisted of (87) individuals from families with intellectual disabilities in the Makkah region. The sample was selected by the simple random method where the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach. A questionnaire of (32) items was used as the research tool to collect data. The findings of the study showed that the assessment level of practicing physical activities by people with intellectual disabilities was low. The public facilities dimension ranked first with a moder
... Show More