Two novel demountable shear connectors for precast steel-concrete composite bridges are presented. The connectors use high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the steel beam with the aid of a special locking configuration that prevents slip of bolts within their holes. Moreover, the connectors promote accelerated construction and overcome typical construction tolerances issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connectors allow bridge disassembly, and therefore, can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow, i.e. (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (3) steel beams can be replaced, while precast

This paper proposes a new structure of the hybrid neural controller based on the identification model for nonlinear systems. The goal of this work is to employ the structure of the Modified Elman Neural Network (MENN) model into the NARMA-L2 structure instead of Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) model in order to construct a new hybrid neural structure that can be used as an identifier model and a nonlinear controller for the SISO linear or nonlinear systems. Weight parameters of the hybrid neural structure with its serial-parallel configuration are adapted by using the Back propagation learning algorithm. The ability of the proposed hybrid neural structure for nonlinear system has achieved a fast learning with minimum number

As a result of the development and global openness and the possibility of companies providing their services outside their spatial boundaries that were determined by them, and the transformation of the world due to the development of the means of communication into a large global market that accommodates all products from different regions and of the same type and production field, competition resulted between companies, and the race to obtain the largest market share It ensures the largest amount of profits, and it is natural for the advertising promotion by companies for their product to shift from an advertisement for one product to a competitive advertisement that calls on the recipient to leave the competing product and switch to it

Structural, optical, and electrical properties of thin films of CdS : Zn prepared by the solution – growth technique are reported as a function of zinc concentration. CdS are window layers influencing the photovoltaic response of CIS solar cells. The zinc doping concentration was varied from 0.05 to 0.5 wt %, zinc doping apparently increase the band gap and lowers the resistivity. All beneficial optical properties of chemically deposited CdS thin films for application as window material in heterojunction optoelectronic devices are retained. Heat treatment in air at 400 °C for 1h modify crystalline structure, optical, and electrical properties of solution growth deposited CdS : Zn films.

The Ant System Algorithm (ASA) is a member of the ant colony algorithms family in swarm intelligence methods (part of the Artificial Intelligence field), which is based on the behavior of ants seeking a path and a source of food in their colonies. The aim of This algorithm is to search for an optimal solution for Combinational Optimization Problems (COP) for which is extremely difficult to find solution using the classical methods like linear and non-linear programming methods. 

The Ant System Algorithm was used in the management of water resources field in Iraq, specifically for Haditha dam which is one of the most important dams in Iraq. The target is to find out an efficient management system for

Background: The stethoscope is a tool that doctors use daily in the examination of patients and  it  can take part in the transmission of health care-associated infections. In a single day it may come in direct contact with multiple patients and the intra hospital environment  may be contaminated by various type of bacteria and possibly transmit to others.

Objective:- The study was to know the attitude and knowledge about   the stethoscope hygiene behavior among physicians  and to determine the types of  bacterial agents that can contaminate stethoscopes.

Type of the study: The study was a cross-sectional study

Metho

Objective: Econazole nitrate (ECZ) is one of the triazole antifungal drugs with poor aqueous solubility and dissolution rate; there is a need for enhancement of solubility. Therefore; inclusion complexation with β cyclodextrin (βCD) was performed. Methods: In this study kneading method and co-evaporation method of preparation of inclusion complex between βCD and ECZ using two molar ratios of βCD. The solubility of these complexes in isotonic saline solution and distilled water was studied. Complexes prepared by kneading method were used for the preparation of different ophthalmic gel formulas using carbomer (CB) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (sod CMC) as a gelling agent. The release profile and the rheological behaviour of the gel w

Two samples of (Ag NPs-zeolite) nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by easy hydrothermal method for 4 hours and 8 hours inside the hydrothermal autoclave at temperatures of 100°C. The two samples were used in a photoelectrochemical cell as a photocatalyst inside a cell consisting of three electrodes: the working electrode photoanode (AgNPs-zeolite), platinum as a cathode electrode, and Ag/AgCl as a reference electrode, to study the performance of AgNPs-zeolite under dark current and 473 nm laser light for water splitting. The results show the high performance of an eight-hour sample with high crystallinity compared with a four-hour sample as a reliable photocatalyst to generate hydrogen for renewable energies.

This paper presents designing an adaptive state feedback controller (ASFC) for a magnetic levitation system (MLS), which is an unstable system and has high nonlinearity and represents a challenging control problem. First, a nonadaptive state feedback controller (SFC) is designed by linearization about a selected equilibrium point and designing a SFC by pole-placement method to achieve maximum overshoot of 1.5% and settling time of 1s (5% criterion). When the operating point changes, the designed controller can no longer achieve the design specifications, since it is designed based on a linearization about a different operating point. This gives rise to utilizing the adaptive control scheme to parameterize the state feedback controll

Sewage sludge samples were collected from Al-rasafa and Al-karkh refinement stations which represent the main stations of Baghdad city. Samples were collected from all treatment stages: before, after, and during refinement processes. The High Purity Germanium Coaxial Detector system with energy resolution 1.8 keV for energy line 1333 keV of Co – 60 radioactive sources was used to measure radioactivity from both natural and artificial sources. GENIE – 2000 analysis the results statistically and qualitatively. The results showed that all sewage sludge samples exhibited natural radioactive level and sometimes less than the international regular standards, but Al–Karkh station showed increment in radioactive levels than Al– Rasa