The varied thermal conductivity (insulation) of silica aerogel with heating for different pH has been investigated, it has been depended on ambient pressure drying method in the preparing silica aerogel samples, also six different pH of samples (1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9) were treated under five degree of heating with (50,100,150,200 and 250) ᴼC. This technique is important to test the carry-outs hydrophobic silica to temperature without high-quality material changes in the basic characteristics. The hot-wire technique is used in this work to examine the thermal conductivity, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) depended to characterize the bonds and their artificial by heating. Resu

Abstract

In this work, diabetic glucose concentration level control under disturbing meal has been controlled using two set of advanced controllers. The first set is sliding mode controllers (classical and integral) and the second set is represented by optimal LQR controllers (classical and Min-, ax). Due to their characteristic features of disturbance rejection, both integral sliding mode controller and LQR Minmax controller are dedicated here for comparison. The Bergman minimal mathematical model was used to represent the dynamic behavior of a diabetic patient’s blood glucose concentration to the insulin injection. Simulations based on Matlab/Simulink, were performed to verify the performance of each controll

Frequently, load associated mode of failure, rutting and fatigue, are the main failure types found in some newly constructed roads within Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and some suburban areas. The use of excessive amount of natural sand in asphalt concrete mixes which is attractive to local contractors could be one of the possible causes to the lack of strength properties of the mixes resulting in frustration in the pavement performance. In this study, the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes with two natural sand types, desert and river sands, were evaluated. Moreover, five replacement rates of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% by weight of the fine aggregate finer than 4.75 were used. The performance properties including moisture susc

Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16

Priority of road maintenance can be viewed as a process influenced by decision-makers with varying decision-making power. Each decision-maker may have their view and judgment depending on their function and responsibilities. Therefore, determining the priority of road maintenance can be thought of as a process of MCDM. Regarding the priority of road maintenance, this is a difficult MCDM problem involving uncertainty, qualitative criteria, and possible causal relationships between choice criteria. This paper aims to examine the applicability of multiple MCDM techniques, which are used for assessing the priority of road maintenance, by adapting them to this sector. Priority of road maintenance problems subject to internal

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determ