This paper studies the effects of stiffeners on shear lag in steel box girders with stiffened flanges. A three-dimensional linear finite element analysis using STAAD.Pro V8i program has been employed to evaluate and determine the actual top flange stress distribution and effective width in steel box girders. The steel plates of the flanges and webs have been modeled by four-node isoparametric shell elements, while the stiffeners have been modeled as beam elements. Different numbers (4, 8, and 15) for the steel stiffeners have been used in this study to establish their effects on the shear lag and longitudinal stresses in the flange. Using stiffeners reduced the magnitude of the top flange longitudinal stresses about 40%, but did

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's

The current study sheds light on the measurement and estimation of the radioactivity of radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰k) in natural waters of different regions of Nineveh Governorate in Iraq.15 samples were collected from different sources of natural waters, where gamma-ray spectroscopy was used using NaI)TI) sodium iodide detector to determine the concentration of radioactivity in the samples. According to the results, the radioactivity concentration in the tested water sample were ​​ranged from 0.36 ± 0.04-1.57 ± 0.09with an average value of 0.69 ± 0.06 Bq/l for ²³⁸U, and 2.9 ± 0.02-0.88 ± 0.03 with an average value of 0.65 ± 0.03 Bq/l for ²²⁶Ra Bq/l

In this work, 332 Al alloy was prepared and reinforced with (0.5% and 1%) nano-Al₂O₃ particles. The prepared unreinforced and reinforced 332 Al alloy with nano-Al₂O₃ were solution heat treated (T6) at 510 ̊C and aged at 225 ̊C with different times (1, 3, and 5 h). Hardness test was performed on all the prepared alloys. All prepared alloys were dry slided under different applied loads (5, 10, 15, and 20 N) against steel counterface surface using pin on disk apparatus. The results showed that refinement effect was observed after addition of nano-Al₂O₃ particles and a change in silicon morphology after performing the solution heat treatment. The results also showed that har

Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides unconditional security in theory. However, practical QKD systems face challenges in maximizing the secure key rate and extending transmission distances. In this paper, we introduce a comparative study of the BB84 protocol using coincidence detection with two different quantum channels: a free space and underwater quantum channels. A simulated seawater was used as an example for underwater quantum channel. Different single photon detection modules were used on Bob’s side to capture the coincidence counts. Results showed that increasing the mean photon number generally leads to a higher rate of coincidence detection and therefore higher possibility of increasing the secure key rate. The secure key rat

The traction property is one of the important mechanical properties, especially the rotary parts which are subjected to constant and variable loads There are many methods used to improve this property, and the shoot peening by metal balls is considered the most critical one. the study focuses on this characteristic of steel CK35 used in many engineering applications as the rotating shafts and railway This study shows that the fatigue strength is improved by14% after shoot peening with metal balls. The study includs the rehabilitation of damaged samples as a result of fatigue corrosion. The standard solution adopted was 36% MgCl­₂ with a 30 days immersion period. These samples has been improved by 6% after it decreased by18% d

We have investigated the impact of laser pulse wavelength on the quantity of ablated materials. Specifically, this study investigated the structural, optical, and morphological characteristics of tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanoparticles (NPs) that were synthesized using the technique of pulsed-laser ablation of a tungsten plate. A DD drop of water was used as the ablation environment at a fixed fluence at 76.43 J/cm2 and pulse number was 400 pulses of the laser. The first and second harmonic generation ablations were carried out, corresponding to wavelengths of 1064 and 532 nm, respectively. The Q-switched Nd: YAG laser operates at a repetition rate of 1 Hz and has a pulse width of roughly 15 ns. These parameters are applicable to both wavelen

Celery (Apium graveolens L. ; family : Apiaceae) was often used as a spice in daily food. However, this plant contains many antioxidant compounds useful for attenuating neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease. Planting celery in the form of microgreens harvested 15 days was expected to increase the content of bioactive compounds. In the current study, we intended to evaluate the neuromodulatory potential of methanol extract of celery microgreens on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster Meigen : family Drosophilidae ; ordo : Diptera) which were exposed to paraquat. Neuroprotective capacity was assessed by survival rate, locomotor performance, lipid peroxidation and dopamine content after being treated wi