Accurate description of thermodynamic, structural, and electronic properties for bulk and surfaces of ceria (CeO2) necessitates the inclusion of the Hubbard parameter (U) in the density functional theory (DFT) calculations to precisely account for the strongly correlated 4f electrons. Such treatment is a daunting task when attempting to draw a potential energy surface for CeO2-catalyzed reaction. This is due to the inconsistent change in thermo-kinetics parameters of the reaction in reference to the variation in the U values. As an illustrative example, we investigate herein the discrepancy in activation and reaction energies for steps underlying the partial and full hydrogenation of acetylene over the CeO2(111) surface. Overall, we find th

Three new polyphosphates were synthesized in good yields by reacting diethylenetriamine with the appropriate phosphate ester in ethanol under acidic conditions. The polyphosphate structures were determined using FT-IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopies, and their elemental compositions were confirmed by EDX spectroscopy. Polyphosphates were added to poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) at low concentrations to fabricate thin films. The PVC films were irradiated with ultraviolet light for long periods, and the effect of polyphosphates as the photostabilizer was investigated by determining changes in the infrared spectra (intensity of specific functional group peaks), reduction in molecular weight, weight loss, and surface morphology. Minimal changes we

These days, the world is facing a global environmental and sustainability problem due to the increasing generation of large amounts of waste through construction and demolition work, which causes a serious problem for the environment. Therefore, this research was conducted to get rid of the waste disposal problems, including old glass and concrete, which were used as recycled fine aggregates. Seven different mixtures were prepared. The first mixture was with the used sand, which is glass sand, and it was adopted as a reference mixture (ORPC), and three mixtures were prepared for each of the recycled materials (waste concrete and glass) and partially replaced by glass sand in different proportions (25, 50, and 75) %. Some

Frictional heat is generated when the clutch starts to engag. As a result of this operation the surface temperature is increased rapidly due to the difference in speed between the driving and driven parts. The influence of the thickness of frictional facing on the distribution of the contact pressure of the multi-disc clutches has been investigated using a numerical approach (the finite element method). The analysis of contact problem has been carried out for a multiple disc dry clutch (piston, clutch discs, separators and pressure plate). The results present the distribution of the contact pressure on all tShe surfaces of friction discs that existed in the friction clutch system. Axisymmetric finite element models have been developed to ac

Giardia lamblia is the worldwide most common intestinal protozoan parasite. It was indicated that Giardia is the most important agent that causes acute and chronic diarrhea in infants, young children and travelers. The aim was to detect the influence of host HLA alleles on the susceptibility to infection with G. lamblia in a sample of Iraqi patients. A total of (40) patients with giardiasis aged (14-39) years were registered. All of them were symptomatic and (40) healthy individuals matched age and sexes were included as controls. All patients were prepared to stool examination to detect G. lamblia and eliminated other pathogens, as well as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles (DRB1) typing. The most common detected alleles in pat

Introduction: The present study was performed to evaluate the influence of a 1064 nm fiber laser on shear bond strength (SBS) at the interface of titanium and resin cement. Methods: Forty titanium discs of 6 mm × 3 mm (diameter and thickness respectively) were categorized into four groups (n=10): control group without any surface treatment and three groups treated with a fiber laser with 81 ns pulse duration, 30 kHz frequency, 10000 mm/s scanning speed, 0.05 mm spot size, and different average power values (3, 5 and 7 W) depending on the tested group. Titanium disc characterization was performed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and surface roughness tester. Phase analysis was achieved using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). F