Evaluating the behavior of a ring foundation resting on multi-layered soil is one of the important issues facing civil engineers. Many researchers have studied the behavior of ring foundation rests on multi-layered soil with vertical loads acting on the foundation. In real life ring foundation can be subjected to both vertical and horizontal loads at the same time due to wind or the presence of soil. In this research, the behavior of ring footing subjected to inclined load has been studied using PLAXIS software. Furthermore, the effect of multi-layered soil has been simulated in the model. The results showed that both vertical and horizontal stresses are mainly affected when the inclination angle of the load exceeded 45 degrees with a reduc

Since more than a decade, human rights dialogue in the European Mediterranean Region has been marked by a number of tensions. Although a number of factors contribute to such disputes, the effect of human rights conditionality, which ties EU economic cooperation progression with partner countries human rights advancement, on the dialogue has not been studied. Understanding the aspects, impacts, and effects of conditionality on Euro-Med relations is crucial for furthering dialogue. Yet this variable has been almost entirely neglected in academic and policy research. The research concludes several direct and indirect impacts of conditionality on human rights dialogue using a mixed methodology approach. Direct effects are reflected in the wi

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films were deposited on glass substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique. The laser used is the Q-switched Nd: YAG laser with 1064nm wavelength and 1Hz pulse repetition rate and varying laser energy 700mJ-1000mJ with 25 pulse. The substrate temperature was kept constant at 100°C. The structural, morphological and optical properties of ZnS thin films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and UV-VIS spectrophotometer.

This work studies with produce of light fuel fractions of gasoline, kerosene and gas oil from treatment of residual matter that will be obtained from the solvent extraction process as by product from refined lubricate to improve oil viscosity index in any petroleum refinery. The percentage of this byproduct is approximately 10% according to all feed (crude oil) in the petroleum refinery process. The objective of this research is to study the effect of the residence time parameter on the thermal cracking process of the byproduct feed at a constant temperature, (400 °C). The first step of this treatment is the thermal cracking of this byproduct material by a constructed batch reactor occupied with control device at a selective range of re

Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a widespread Nontraditional Machining (NTM) processes for manufacturing of a complicated geometry or very hard metals parts that are difficult to machine by traditional machining operations. Electrical discharge machining is a material removal (MR) process characterized by using electrical discharge erosion. This paper discusses the optimal parameters of EDM on high-speed steel (HSS) AISI M2 as a workpiece using copper and brass as an electrode. The input parameters used for experimental work are current (10, 24 and 42 A), pulse on time (100, 150 and 200 µs), and pulse off time (4, 12 and 25 µs) that have effect on the material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and wear ratio (WR). A

The aim of this study is to compare the effects of three methods: problem-based learning (PBL), PBL with lecture method, and conventional teaching on self-directed learning skills among physics undergraduates. The actual sample size comprises of 122 students, who were selected randomly from the Physics Department, College of Education in Iraq. In this study, the pre- and post-test were done and the instruments were administered to the students for data collection. The data was analyzed and statistical results rejected null hypothesis of this study. This study revealed that there are no signifigant differences between PBL and PBL with lecture method, thus the PBL without or with lecture method enhances the self-directed learning skills bette

This paper proposes a new approach, of Clustering Ultrasound images using the Hybrid Filter (CUHF) to determine the gender of the fetus in the early stages. The possible advantage of CUHF, a better result can be achieved when fuzzy c-mean FCM returns incorrect clusters. The proposed approach is conducted in two steps. Firstly, a preprocessing step to decrease the noise presented in ultrasound images by applying the filters: Local Binary Pattern (LBP), median, median and discrete wavelet (DWT),(median, DWT & LBP) and (median & Laplacian) ML. Secondly, implementing Fuzzy C-Mean (FCM) for clustering the resulted images from the first step. Amongst those filters, Median & Laplace has recorded a better accuracy. Our experimental evaluation on re