Hard-grade asphalt binders like AC20-30 typically exhibit excessive stiffness, reduced penetration, and compromised workability, necessitating modification before use in paving applications. This study evaluates the efficacy of regular polyalphaolefin (PAO), a synthetic olefin-based lubricant, as a performance-enhancing modifying agent for such binders. AC20-30 was blended with PAO at dosages ranging from 2 wt.% to 10 wt.%, and the modified binders were characterized via penetration, ductility, softening point, and rotational viscosity measurements, alongside advanced rheological and chemical-morphological analyses. Incorporating PAO in AC20-30 asphalt progressively reduced the binder stiffness and enhanced its flexibility, with all modifie

This study examines the causes of time delays and cost overruns in a selection of thirty post-disaster reconstruction projects in Iraq. Although delay factors have been studied in many countries and contexts, little data exists from countries under the conditions characterizing Iraq during the last 10-15 years. A case study approach was used, with thirty construction projects of different types and sizes selected from the Baghdad region. Project data was gathered from a survey which was used to build statistical relationships between time and cost delay ratios and delay factors in post disaster projects. The most important delay factors identified were contractor failure, redesigning of designs/plans and change orders, security is

It is widely accepted that early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) makes it possible for patients to gain access to appropriate health care services and would facilitate the development of new therapies. AD starts many years before its clinical manifestations and a biomarker that provides a measure of changes in the brain in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Given the rapid increase in the number of older people suffering from AD, there is a need for an accurate, low-cost and easy to use biomarkers that could be used to detect AD in its early stages. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a vital role in this but at present, no reliable EEG biomarker exists for early diagnosis of AD. The gradual s

أن الثورة الرقمية أصبحت اليوم واقع حتمي نعيشه من حيث القت بظلالها على مختلف جوانب الحياة، ولم يخل المسرح من هذا التأثير وخاصة في ظهور ملامح ما بعد الحداثة بكل ما تحملهُ من رؤى فكرية وفلسفية وجمالية، مع ذلك التطور التكنولوجي في هذا السياق يسعى المسرحيون والمخرجون والممثلون الى تأسيس علاقات فاعلة مع شبكات الانترنيت والوسائط الرقمية مما ظهر العديد من المواقع المهتمة بالمسرح. من هنا ظهرت اهمية الربط بين الث

In this work, the possibility of a multiwavelength mode-locked fiber laser generation based on Four-Wave Mixing (FWM) induced by Fe2O3-SiO2 nanocomposite material is investigated for the first time. A multiwavelength mode-locked pulses fiber laser are generated from Ytterbium–doped fiber laser (YDFL) due to the combined action of high nonlinear absorption and high refractive coefficients of Fe2O3-SiO2 nanocomposite incorporated inside YDFL ring cavity. Up to more than 20 lasing lines in the 1040–1070 nm band with an equally lines separation of ~0.6 nm have been observed by just simple variation of passive modulation of the state of the polarization and the pump power altogether. Moreover, a passively mode-locked operation of YDFL laser

Optical losses represent one of the primary obstacles to increasing the efficiency of silicon solar cells. The recommended solution to minimize optical losses is the use of plasmonic metal nanoparticles; however, they act as recombination centers within the solar cell construction, leading to a decrease in performance. The goal of this article is to introduce cobalt/graphene nanoparticles into the solar cell to minimize the optical losses. An ultra-thin film silicon PIN solar cell of dimensions (400 ×400 ×900) nm3 with ring metal contact shape was designed and numerically investigated using COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.2 by the finite element method (FEM). Core/shell cobalt-graphene (Co/Gr) nanoparticles are periodically int