The utilization and incorporation of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) in structural applications and architectural constructions are progressively gaining prominence. Therefore, this paper experimentally and numerically investigates the use of GFRP I-beams in conjunction with concrete slabs to form composite beams. The experimental design incorporated 2600 mm long GFRP I-beams which were connected compositely to concrete slabs with a 500 mm width and 80 mm thickness. The concrete slabs are categorized into two groups: concrete slabs cast using normal-strength concrete (NSC), and concrete slabs prepared using high-strength concrete (HSC). Various parameters like the type of concrete (normal and high-strength concrete), type of

This study was conducted to estimate some heavy metals cadmium, lead, nickel and iron in 15 samples of Iraqi honey with 3 replicates for each sample which were collected from apiaries near potential contamination areas in five Iraqi governorates, including Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Diyala and Salah al-Din. The atomic absorption technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was

The current standard for treating pilonidal sinus (PNS) is surgical intervention with excision of the sinus. Recurrence of PNS can be controlled with good hygiene and regular shaving of the natal cleft, laser treatment is a useful adjunct to prevent recurrence. Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is a gold standard of soft tissue surgical laser due to its wavelength (10600 nm) thin depth (0.03mm) and collateral thermal zone (150mic).It effectively seals blood vessels, lymphatic, and nerve endings, Moreover wound is rendered sterile by effect of laser. Aim of this study was to apply and assess the clinical usefulness of CO2 10600nm laser in pilonidal sinus excision and decrease chance of recurrence. Design: For 10 patients, between 18 and 39 year

This work focuses on the use of biologically produced activated carbon for improving the physi-co-chemical properties of water samples obtained from the Tigris River. An eco-friendly and low-cost activated carbon was prepared from the Alhagi plant using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an impregnation agent. The prepared activated carbon was characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to determine the functional groups that exist on the raw material (Alhagi plant) and Alhagi activated carbon (AAC). Scanning electron microscope–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope was also used to investigate the surface shape and the elements that compose the powder. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis was used to evaluate the spe

One of the most important techniques for preparing nanoparticle material is Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid technique (PLAL). Carbon nanoparticles were prepared using PLAL, and the carbon target was immersed in Ultrapure water (UPW) then irradiated with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) and six ns pulse duration. In this process, an Nd:YAG laser beam was focused near the carbon surface. Nanoparticles synthesized using laser irradiation were studied by observing the effects of varying incident laser pulse intensities (250, 500, 750, 1000) mJ on the particle size (20.52, 36.97, 48.72, and 61.53) nm, respectively. In addition, nanoparticles were characterized by means of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) test, pH easurement

Credit risk assessment has become an important topic in financial risk administration. Fuzzy clustering analysis has been applied in credit scoring. Gustafson-Kessel (GK) algorithm has been utilised to cluster creditworthy customers as against non-creditworthy ones. A good clustering analysis implemented by good Initial Centres of clusters should be selected. To overcome this problem of Gustafson-Kessel (GK) algorithm, we proposed a modified version of Kohonen Network (KN) algorithm to select the initial centres. Utilising similar degree between points to get similarity density, and then by means of maximum density points selecting; the modified Kohonen Network method generate clustering initial centres to get more reasonable clustering res

     Financial fraud remains an ever-increasing problem in the financial industry with numerous consequences. The detection of fraudulent online transactions via credit cards has always been done using data mining (DM) techniques. However, fraud detection on credit card transactions (CCTs), which on its own, is a DM problem, has become a serious challenge because of two major reasons, (i) the frequent changes in the pattern of normal and fraudulent online activities, and (ii) the skewed nature of credit card fraud datasets. The detection of fraudulent CCTs mainly depends on the data sampling approach. This paper proposes a combined SVM- MPSO-MMPSO technique for credit card fraud detection. The dataset of CCTs which co