Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces an extracellular biofilm matrix that consists of nucleic acids, exopolysaccharides, lipid vesicles, and proteins. Alginate, Psl and Pel are three exopolysaccharides that constitute the main components in biofilm matrix, with many biological functions attributed to them, especially concerning the protection of the bacterial cell from antimicrobial agents and immune responses. A total of 25 gentamicin-resistant P. aeruginosa selected isolates were enrolled in this study. Biofilm development was observed in 96% of the isolates. In addition, the present results clarified the presence of pelA and pslA in all the studied isolates. The expression of these genes was very low. Even though all biof

Non-biodegradability of rubber tires contributes to pollution and fire hazards in the natural environment. In this study, the flexural behavior of the Rubberized Reactive Powder Concrete (RRPC) beams that contained various proportions and sizes of scrap tire rubber was investigated and compared to the flexural behavior of the regular RPC. Fresh properties, hardened properties, load-deflection relation, first crack load, ultimate load, and crack width are studied and analyzed. Mixes were made using micro steel fiber of the straight type, and they had an aspect ratio of 65. Thirteen beams were tested under two loading points (Repeated loading) with small-scale beams (1100 mm, 150 mm, 100 mm) size.

The fine aggregate

This research dealt with desalting of East Baghdad crude oil using pellets of either anionic, PVC, quartz, PE, PP or
nonionic at different temperature ranging from 30 to 80 °C, pH from 6 to 8, time from 2 to 20 minutes, volume percent
washing water from 5 to 25% and fluid velocity from 0.5 to 0.8 m/s under voltage from 2 to 6 kV and / or using additives
such as alkyl benzene sulphonate or sodium stearate. The optimum conditions and materials were reported to remove
most of water from East Baghdad wet crude oil.

This paper presents an analytical study on the serviceability of reinforced concrete gable roof beams with openings of different sizes, based on an experimental study which includes 13 concrete gable roof beams with openings under static loading. For deflection and crack widths under static loading at service stage, a developed unified calculation procedure has been submitted, which includes prismatic beams with one opening subjected to flexure concentrated force. The deflection has been calculated with two methods: the first method calculated deflections via relevant equations and the second was Direct Stiffness Method in which the beam is treated as a structural member with several segments constituting the portions with solid sec

In this paper, a dynamic investigation is done for strip, rectangular and square machine foundation at the top surface of two-layer dry sand with various states (i.e., loose on medium sand and dense on medium sand). The dynamic investigation is performed numerically using finite element programming, PLAXIS 3D. The soil is expected as a versatile totally plastic material that complies with the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. A harmonic load is applied at the base with an amplitude of 6 kPa at a frequency of (2 and 6) Hz, and seismic is applied with acceleration – time input of earthquake hit Halabjah city north of Iraq. A parametric study is done to evaluate the influence of changing L/B ratio (Length=12,6,3 m and width=3 m), type of sand

Efficiency of Pisum sativum plants in using tricalcium super phosphate (TSP) in presence and absence of mycorrhizal fungi was evaluated in the field experiment in College of Science / Al-Mustansiriyah University. The experiment comprised of (6) treatments prepared from the interaction of two levels of inoculation [non-inoculation with fungus F0 and inoculation with Glomus mosseae fungus (F1)]. And three levels of phosphorus: 0,20,40 Kg P/ha. The experimental size was (1x2)m. Irrigation and hand-weeding were done when needed. The following plant measurements were recorded: (Shoots dry weight, concentration of N and P% in addition to percentage of root infection with mycorrhizal fungi at flowering 50% of plants. The re

In practical engineering problems, uncertainty exists not only in external excitations but also in structural parameters. This study investigates the influence of structural geometry, elastic modulus, mass density, and section dimension uncertainty on the stochastic earthquake response of portal frames subjected to random ground motions. The North-South component of the El Centro earthquake in 1940 in California is selected as the ground excitation. Using the power spectral density function, the two-dimensional finite element model of the portal frame’s base motion is modified to account for random ground motions. A probabilistic study of the portal frame structure using stochastic finite elements utilizing Monte Carlo simulation

The use of worn-out agricultural nozzles in pesticide application has a negative effect on the efficiency and cost of the application process. It also has an effect on environmental pollution due to an excessive amount of pesticide being applied when spraying with worn-out nozzles. In this paper, the resistance to wear of three different internal design hydraulic nozzles was ascertained. Changes in the flow rate and spray distribution as a result of this wear were also investigated. The wear test was done inside a closed system, and it was accelerated using an abrasive material to generate 100 h of wear. The tested nozzles were the Turbo TeeJet (TT)-twin chambered, Turbo Twinjet (TTj60)-dual outlet, and Drift Guard (DG)-pre-orifice.

In recent decades, tremendous success has been achieved in the advancement of chemical admixtures for Portland cement concrete. Most efforts have concentrated on improving the properties of concrete and studying the factors that influence on these properties. Since the compressive strength is considered a valuable property and is invariably a vital element of the structural design, especially high early strength development which can be provide more benefits in concrete production, such as reducing construction time and labor and saving the formwork and energy. As a matter of fact, it is influenced as a most properties of concrete by several factors including water-cement ratio, cement type and curing methods employed.
Because of acce