For the most reliable and reproducible results for calibration or general testing purposes of two immiscible liquids, such as water in engine oil, good emulsification is vital. This study explores the impact of emulsion quality on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy calibration standards for measuring water contamination in used or in-service engine oil, in an attempt to strengthen the specific guidelines of ASTM International standards for sample preparation. By using different emulsification techniques and readily available laboratory equipment, this work is an attempt to establish the ideal sample preparation technique for reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility for FT-IR analysis while still considering t

Abstract  

The aim of this paper is to investigate and discuss the mechanisms of corrosion of epoxy coatings used for potable water tanks. Two distinct types of Jotun epoxy coatings: Tankguard 412 contained polyamine cured epoxy and Penguard HB contained polyamide cured epoxy, were tested and studied using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) method. The porosity of epoxy coatings was determined using EIS method. The obtained results showed that the two epoxy coatings have excellent behavior when applied and tested in potable water of Basrah city. Polyamine is more resistance to water corrosion compared to polyamide curing epoxy and has high impedance values. Microscopic inspection after te

The main objective of this paper is to study the behavior of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete (NPRC) beams with and without rectangular openings either when exposed to fire or not. The experimental program involves casting and testing 9 NPRC beams divided into 3 main groups. These groups were categorized according to heating temperature (ambient temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group containing 3 NPRC beams (solid beams and beams with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings). For beams with similar geometry, increasing the burning temperature results in their deterioration as reflected in their increasing mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and their residual deflection after cooling. Meanwhile, the existing ope

We investigated at the optical properties, structural makeup, and morphology of thin films of cadmium telluride (CdTe) with a thickness of 150 nm produced by thermal evaporation over glass. The X-ray diffraction study showed that the films had a crystalline composition, a cubic structure, and a preference for grain formation along the (111) crystallographic direction. The outcomes of the inquiry were used to determine these traits. With the use of thin films of CdTe that were doped with Ag at a concentration of 0.5%, the crystallization orientations of pure CdTe (23.58, 39.02, and 46.22) and CdTe:Ag were both determined by X-ray diffraction. orientations (23.72, 39.21, 46.40) For samples that were pure and those that were doped with

Background The traditional management of appendicular mass is an initial conservative treatment followed by interval appendectomy. Recently interval appendicectomy has been questioned.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the need and the role of interval appendicectomy after successful initial conservative treatment.
Method: This is a prospective study conducted in a major hospital in Basra from April 2006 to Septemper2010, included 65 patients with appendicular mass which subsequently proved postinflammmatory (phlegmonous) changes of the appendix were treated conservatively.
Results: Routine interval appendicectomy was not performed and needed after successful treatment in the majority of the patients (84.6%). F

Many previous investigations have found quercetin to be a powerful antioxidant and antitumor flavonoid, but its poor bioavailability has limited its use. This current study investigated the effects of two newly synthesized Quercetin Schiff bases containing 2-amino thiadiazole-5-thiol (Q1), and its benzyl derivatives (Q2) on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Cell viability and apoptosis were assessed to determine the toxic effects of Q1 and Q2. Cytotoxicity valuation showed that both compounds inhibited MCF-7 cell growth, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased in a dose-dependent aspect compared to the control group. Comet assay results observed that Q1 and Q2 induce more serious DNA damage than the control (untreated cell

Nanofluids, liquid suspensions of nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed in deionized (DI) water, brine, or surfactant micelles, have become a promising solution for many industrial applications including enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon geostorage. At ambient conditions, nanoparticles can effectively alter the wettability of the strongly oil-wet rocks to water-wet. However, the reservoir conditions present the greatest challenge for the success of this application at the field scale. In this work, the performance of anionic surfactant-silica nanoparticle formulation on wettability alteration of oil-wet carbonate surface at reservoir conditions was investigated. A high-pressure temperature vessel was used to apply nano-modification of oil-wet

This work revealed the spherical aromaticity of some inorganic E4 cages and their protonated E4H+ ions (E=N, P, As, Sb, and Bi). For this purpose, we employed several evaluations like (0D-1D) nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS), multidimensional (2D-3D) off-nucleus isotropic shielding σiso(r), and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The magnetic calculations involved gauge-including atomic orbitals (GIAO) with two density functionals B3LYP and WB97XD, and basis sets of Jorge-ATZP, 6-311+G(d,p), and Lanl2DZp. The Jorge-ATZP basis set showed the best consistency. Our findings disclosed non-classical aromatic characters in the above molecules, which decreased from N to Bi cages. Also, the results showed more aromaticity in E4 than E4H+