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

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

The influence of fear on the dynamics of harvested prey-predator model with intra-specific competition is suggested and studied, where the fear effect from the predation causes decreases of growth rate of prey.  We suppose that the predator attacks the prey under the Holling type IV functional response. he existence of the solution is investigated and the bounded-ness of the solution is studied too. In addition, the dynamical behavior of the system is established locally and globally. Furthermore, the persistence conditions are investigated. Finally, numerical analysis of the system is carried out.

   Municipal solid waste is one of the most important environmental problems in the world and is an important source of environmental pollution and contributes significantly to the pollution of the basic environmental elements of soil, water and air. The management of municipal waste in general is a process of monitoring, collection, treatment or recycling if possible or disposal of waste. This term is used for waste produced by some human activities. States provide this process to mitigate the negative effects of waste on the environment, health and appearance of the city. It is possible to find solutions to the problem of solid waste and make it an important source of income and contribute to securing employment oppor

Image quality has been estimated and predicted using the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and SNR measurements in PET imaging using patient studies with liver cancer. Three groups of 59 patients (24 males and 35 females) were divided according to BMI. After intravenous injection of 0.1 mCi of 18F-FDG per kilogram of body weight, PET emission scans were acquired for (1, 1.5, and 3) min/bed position according to the weight of patient. Because liver is an organ of homogenous metabolism, five region of interest (ROI) were made at the same location, five successive slices of the PET/CT scans to determine the mean uptake (signal) values and its standard deviat