This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on seven one-way, reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with a new technique of slab weight reduction using polystyrene-embedded arched blocks (PEABs). All slabs had the same dimensions, steel reinforcement, and concrete compressive strength. One of these slabs was a solid slab, which was taken as a control slab, while the other six slabs were cast with PEABs. The main variables were the ratio of the length of the PEABs to the length of the slab (lp/L) and the ratio of the height of the PEABs to the total slab depth (hP/H). The minimum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 6% with a minimum reduction in the slab weight of 15%. In contrast, the maximum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 24% with a maximum reduction in the slab weight of 40%. Moreover, the mode of failure changed from flexure to shear failure, especially for those slabs with an lP/L ratio equal to one. The geometric and material non-linearity was adopted in the proposed finite element (FE) model to simulate the slabs with PEABs using Abaqus software. Good agreement was obtained between the developed FE and experimental results.
The electrical performance of bottom-gate/top source-drain contact for p-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an active semiconductor layer with two different gate dielectric materials, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Hafnium oxide (HfO2), is investigated in this work. The output and transfer characteristics were studied for HfO2, PVP and HfO2/PVP as organic gate insulator layer. Both characteristics show a high drain current at the gate dielectric HfO2/PVP equal to -0.0031A and -0.0015A for output and transfer characteristics respectively, this can be attributed to the increasing of the dielectric capacitance. Transcondactance characteristics also studied for the three organic mater
... Show MoreBackground: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease restricted to the large intestine, characterized by superficial ulceration. It is a progressive and chronic disease requiring long-term treatment. Although its etiology remains unknown, it is suggested that environmental factors influence genetically susceptible individuals, leading to the onset of the disease. (C-X-C) ligand 9 is a chemokine that belongs to the CXC chemokine family, it plays a role in the differentiation of immune cells such as cytotoxic lymphocytes, natural killer T cells, and macrophages. Its interaction with its corresponding receptor CXCR3 which is expressed by a variety of cells such as effector T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, and macrophage
... Show MoreHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious disease of the liver and signifies a major worldwide health concern. HBV Genotyping is vital for further epidemiological study, predicting the disease outcome and response to treatment. The current study aimed to determine hepatitis B virus genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis B, and to validate possible associations with the baseline characteristics of the disease. A total of 90 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection were enrolled in this study. Liver function tests, hepatitis B virus markers and DNA viral load were done using routine standardized procedures. HBV genotyping was performed using real time PCR. Genotype D was the most predominant in 64 (71.1%) of samples, while
... Show MoreMicrobial activity of Ellagic acid when mixed with some types of candy toward Streptococcus mutans microorganism was studied. The main purpose of carrying out this study is to produce a new type of candy that contains Ellagic acid in addition to xylitol instead of sucrose to prevent dental caries. The results show that the inhibitory action of Ellagic acid was more effective when mixed with this type of candy for the purpose of reducing Streptococcus mutans microorganisms, while sensory evaluation was applied in this study to 20 volunteers to that candy sample evaluated which contain (5 mg/ml) Ellagic acid with 100g xylitol to determine consumers acceptability of this sample of candy. The results were expressed as mean value, slandered d
... Show MoreThe objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with different fat sources on blood parameters of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Eighty four 7-week old laying quail were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups (21 birds per group) with 3 replicates for each treatment group and fed for three months on a commercial diet supplemented with 3% of either sunflower oil (T1), flax oil (T2), corn oil (T3) or fish oil (T4). The birds received water and feed ad libitum during the experiment. During the last month of experiment blood samples were collected fortnightly from each bird. The first blood samples collection was used to determine fresh blood parameters, while the second blood samples coll
... Show MoreChronic periodontitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease affecting tooth supporting structures in response to bacterial dental plaque causing irreversible tissue destruction. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an effective mediator in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Polymorphisms in the COX-2 gene may contribute to its overexpression and increased disease susceptibility. To evaluate the association between -1195 A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promotor area of the cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) gene and severity of chronic periodontitis in a sample of Iraqi population. -1195A/ G COX-2 SNP was investigated in 70 chronic periodontitis (CP) cases and 30 healthy controls. CP cases composed of 2 subgroups (35 moderate CP cases and 35 severe CP
... Show MoreThis work is the first study of the Curculionoidea fauna from Kurdistan region of Iraq, based on the intensive survey in different localities of Kurdistan from March 2016 to November 2017. In total, 41 species belonging to 28 genera, 21 tribes and 3 families were collected and identified, including 25 species newly recorded for the Iraqi fauna.
General distribution, collecting localities and methods, with plant association data for each species are given.
Quantum dots (QDs) of zinc sulfide (ZnS) was prepared by chemical reaction with different potential of hydrogen (pH) and used to fabricate organic quantum dot hybrid junction device. The optical properties of QDs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis.) and photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer. The results show that the prepared QDs were nanocrystalline with defects formation. The energy gap (Eg)calculated from PL were 3.64, 3.53 and 3.35 eV for pH=8, 10 and 12 respectively. This decreasing of energy gaps is results of the effect the pH solution increases, which in turn leads to the shifted of the PL spectrum toward red shifted, which makes the energy bands at surface states are shallow ban
... Show MoreA field study aimed at identifying the degree of satisfaction of secondary school principals with regard to the role of universities and their obstacles in developing their administrative skills. It adopted the descriptive analytical approach. The research community consisted of (249) male and female principals in the schools of Baghdad (Al-Rusafa and Karkh), and the research sample was chosen by the simple random stratified method at a percentage of (40%) of the research community, and the number of the sample was (100) male and female principals. A questionnaire consisting of (40) items distributed between two domains was developed. Its validity and reliability were confirmed. The researcher used the (SPS
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