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

Background: Worldwide gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer with poor prognosis. In early stages, it is hard to distinguish gastric cancer from benign gastric diseases, resulting in delayed diagnosis. There is a need to develop a biomarker for differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases. Serum cholinesterase is synthesized in liver and released into plasma, and it has an important role in oncogenesis.

Objectives: To determine the correlation between serum cholinesterase activity and gastric cancer, in comparison to benign gastric diseases.

Subjects and Methods: A case control study carried out at Medical City Direct

This research was designed to investigate the factors affecting the frequency of use of ride-hailing in a fast-growing metropolitan region in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur. An intercept survey was used to conduct this study in three potential locations that were acknowledged by one of the most famous ride-hailing companies in Kuala Lumpur. This study used non-parametric and machine learning techniques to analyze the data, including the Pearson chi-square test and Bayesian Network. From 38 statements (input variables), the Pearson chi-square test identified 14 variables as the most important. These variables were used as predictors in developing a BN model that predicts the probability of weekly usage frequency of ride-hai

In the present article, we implement the new iterative method proposed by Daftardar-Gejji and Jafari (NIM) [V. Daftardar-Gejji, H. Jafari, An iterative method for solving nonlinear functional equations, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 316 (2006) 753-763] to solve two problems; the first one is the problem of spread of a non-fatal disease in a population which is assumed to have constant size over the period of the epidemic, and the other one is the problem of the prey and predator. The results demonstrate that the method has many merits such as being derivative-free, overcome the difficulty arising in calculating Adomian polynomials to handle the nonlinear terms in Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM), does not require to calculate Lagrange multiplier a

   The kinetics of removing cadmium from aqueous solutions was studied using a bio-electrochemical reactor with a packed bed rotating cylindrical cathode. The effect of applied voltage, initial concentration of cadmium, cathode rotation speed, and pH on the reaction rate constant (k) was studied. The results showed that the cathodic deposition occurred under the control of mass transfer for all applied voltage values ​​used in this research. Accordingly, the relationship between logarithmic concentration gradient with time can be represented by a first-order kinetic rate equation. It was found that the rate constant (k) depends on the applied voltage, the initial cadmium concentration, the pH and the rotational speed of cathode. It

In this paper, a compartmental differential epidemic model of COVID-19 pandemic transmission is constructed and analyzed that accounts for the effects of media coverage. The model can be categorized into eight distinct divisions: susceptible individuals, exposed individuals, quarantine class, infected individuals, isolated class, infectious material in the environment, media coverage, and recovered individuals. The qualitative analysis of the model indicates that the disease-free equilibrium point is asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number R0 is less than one. Conversely, the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when R0 is bigger than one. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine which

Applying a well-performing heat exchanger is an efficient way to fortify the relatively low thermal response of phase-change materials (PCMs), which have broad application prospects in the fields of thermal management and energy storage. In this study, an improved PCM melting and solidification in corrugated (zigzag) plate heat exchanger are numerically examined compared with smooth (flat) plate heat exchanger in both horizontal and vertical positions. The effects of the channel width (0.5 W, W, and 2 W) and the airflow temperature (318 K, 323 K, and 328 K) are exclusively studied and reported. The results reveal the much better performance of the horizontal corrugated configuration compared with the smooth channel during both melti

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of re-operations engineering business in continuous improvement, as the rapid development of service activities generally private and the great diversity in the goals of its operations and programs of the university and the service has led to the increasing importance of re-operations engineering business as well as continuous improvement so began to study the relationship between the re engineering and continuous improvement of university service, and applied study on a sample of professors from the faculties of administration, economics and law. Find and reach to several conclusions, notably that the preparation of the teaching staff training sessions on how to use modern teaching