Soil water use and water storage vary by vegetative management practices, and these practices affect land productivity and hydrologic processes. This study investigated the effects of agroforestry buffers (AB), grass buffers (GB), and biofuel crops (BC), relative to row crops (RC) on soil water use for a claypan soil in northern Missouri, USA. The experiment located at the Greenley Memorial Research Center included RC, AB, GB, and BC established in 1991, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively. Soil water reflectometer sensors installed at 5‐, 10‐, 20‐, and 40‐cm depths monitored soil water from April to November in 2017 and 2018. Results showed significant differences in weekly volumetric water content (VWC) among treatments for all four soil depths in 2017 and 2018. Treatments of AB, GB, and BC had lower VWC (16, 37, and 18% on 9 June), (31, 35, and 20% on 18 August), and (43, 49, and 35% on 29 September) in 2017 and (46, 70, and 19% on 24 August) and (31, 34, and 17% on 5 October) in 2018, respectively, in the pre‐recharge periods for the 5‐cm depth compared with the RC. In the post‐recharge period, equal or occasionally slightly higher soil water occurred in the buffer and biofuel treatments compared to the RC. During recharge, larger increases in soil water due to better infiltration were observed in the perennial vegetative practices relative to RC. The results showed that these practices could significantly influence soil water use and storage compared to RC management, especially for eroded claypan landscapes.
This research is devoted to study the strengthening technique for the existing reinforced concrete beams using external post-tensioning. An analytical methodology is proposed to predict the value of the effective prestress force for the external tendons required to close cracks in existing beams. The external prestressing force required to close cracks in existing members is only a part from the total strengthening force.
A computer program created by Oukaili (1997) and developed by Alhawwassi (2008) to evaluate curvature and deflection for reinforced concrete beams or internally prestressed concrete beams is modified to evaluate the deflection and the stress of the external tendons for the externally strengthened beams using Matlab
Ficus (FIC) leaf extract used as corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel alloy (C.S) in two corrosive environments (saline and acidic) with four concentrations (1, 2, 3 and 4 ppm) at varied temperature range between (298-328 K) using electrochemical polarization measurements. The importance of this work focused on the use the green chemistry that is far from the chemical materials effect. The results of polarization presented the FIC inhibitor consider a mixed type (anodic and cathodic) inhibitor. Tafel curve used to evaluate the corrosion inhibition activity. In a saline medium, the best inhibitor efficiency reaches to (87%) in 2 ppm and IE% reach to (99%) for HCl medium inhibited by 1ppm. Langmuir isotherm obeys the study by thermodynamic pa
... Show MoreSimple and sensitive kinetic methods are developed for the determination of Paracetamol in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparations. The methods are based on direct reaction (oxidative-coupling reaction) of Paracetamol with o-cresol in the presence of sodium periodate in alkaline medium, to form an intense blue-water-soluble dye that is stable at room temperature, and was followed spectrophotometriclly at λmax= 612 nm. The reaction was studied kinetically by Initial rate and fixed time (at 25 minutes) methods, and the optimization of conditions were fixed. The calibration graphs for drug determination were linear in the concentration ranges (1-7 μg.ml-1) for the initial rate and (1-10 μg.ml-1) for the fixed time methods at 25 min.
... Show MoreDiacerein (DCN) is a semi-synthetic anthraquinone derivative of Rhein that is indicated for the management of osteoarthritis. Diacerein exhibits poor dissolution in the GIT fluids and suffers from low bioavailability upon oral administration in addition to the laxative effect of Rhein metabolites. The aim of the present study was to develop novasomal vesicles with optimized entrapment efficiency and size to serve as a carrier for transdermal delivery of diacerein. Novasomal vesicles were prepared by thin film hydration method thin film hydration. The prepared vesicles were optimized utilizing different surfactant to cholesterol molar ration, sonication type, different sonication times and varying fatty acid level. The prepared vesicles were
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Timely diagnosis of periodontal disease is crucial for restoring healthy periodontal tissue and improving patients’ prognosis. There is a growing interest in using salivary biomarkers as a noninvasive screening tool for periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of two salivary biomarkers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein, for periodontal disease by assessing their sensitivity in relation to clinical periodontal parameters. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the impact of systemic disease, age, and sex on the accuracy of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal health. Materials and methods: A total of 145 participants were categorized into three groups based
... Show MorePreserving the Past and Building the Future: A Sustainable Urban Plan for Mosul, Iraq