The tunnel’s stability during construction is a very important matter. Some methods have been proposed for stability evaluation, but the hazard warning levels (HWLs) are more applicable among these methods. Despite monitoring and applying HWLs, several collapses in Shibli twin tunnels in Iran have cast doubts on the accuracy of this criterion in the presence of water. In this study, the critical strains under different water contents were measured through uniaxial compressive strength tests on 11 different shale and marl samples. A comparison of laboratory tests and numerical results shows that the influence of the moisture content on the critical strain is negligible. In addition, the results show that there is no dir

In this paper, a new technique is offered for solving three types of linear integral equations of the 2nd kind including Volterra-Fredholm integral equations (LVFIE) (as a general case), Volterra integral equations (LVIE) and Fredholm integral equations (LFIE) (as special cases). The new technique depends on approximating the solution to a polynomial of degree  and therefore reducing the problem to a linear programming problem(LPP), which will be solved to find the approximate solution of LVFIE. Moreover, quadrature methods including trapezoidal rule (TR), Simpson 1/3 rule (SR), Boole rule (BR), and Romberg integration formula (RI) are used to approximate the integrals that exist in LVFIE. Also, a comparison between those methods i

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) could be considered as the furthermost significant modern high compressive strength concrete. In this study, an experimental investigation on the impact of micro steel fiber volume fraction ratio and gamma ray irradiation duration influence upon the compressive strength of RPC is presented. Three volume fraction ratios (0.0, 1.0 and 1.5) % was implemented. For each percentage of the adopted fiber ratios, six different irradiation duration was considered; these are (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) days. Gamma source (Cs-137) of energy (0.662) MeV and activity (6) mci was used. In a case of zero volume fraction ratio, the experimental results showed that gamma ray had a significant influence on the reducing of the

Background: Male infertility is a global concern and it tends to increase due to miscellaneous factors, such as environmental toxins and genetic and lifestyle choices. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) has recently attracted attention due to its involvement in male infertility mechanisms and impact on sperm production and function. AHR, a versatile receptor expressed in various tissues, including the testes, regulates the genes involved in spermatogenesis. AHR activation is associated with cell cycle regulation and chromatin condensation during spermatogenesis. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the influence of AHR activation on blood-testis barrier (BTB) integrity, focusing on the role of tight junction protein-1 (TJP1)

In the current study, synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) before and after functionalization with ampicillin antibiotic and their application as anti-pathogenic agents towards bacteria were investigated. AgNPs were synthesized by a green method from AgNO3 solution with glucose subjected to microwave radiation. Characterization of the nanoparticles was conducted using UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential determination and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. From SEM analysis, the typical silver nanoparticle particle size was found to be 30 nm and Zeta potential measurements gave information about particle stability. Analysis of FTIR patterns and UV-VIS spectroscopy con

Spray pyrolysis technique (SPT) is employed to synthesize cadmium oxide nanostructure with 3% and 5% Cobalt concentrations. Films are deposited on a glass substrate at 350 ᵒC with 150 nm thickness. The XRD analysis revealed a polycrystalline nature with cubic structure and (111) preferred orientation. Structural parameters represent lattice spacing, crystallite size, lattice parameter and dislocation density. Homogeneous surfaces and regular distribution of atoms were showed by atomic force microscope (AFM) with 1.03 nm average roughness and 1.22 nm root mean square roughness. Optical properties illustrated a high transmittance more than 85% in the range of visible spectrum and decreased with Co concentration increasing. The absorption