This research presents experimental and theoretical investigation of 15 reinforced concrete spliced and nonspliced girder models. Splices of hooked dowels and cast in place joints, with or without strengthening steel plates were used. Post-tensioning had been used to enhance the splice strength for some spliced girders. The ANSYS computer program was used for analyzing the spliced and non-spliced girders. A nonlinear three dimensional element was used to represent all test girders. The experimental results have shown that for a single span girder using steel plate connectors in the splice zone has given a sufficient continuity to resist flexural stresses in this region. The experimental results have shown that the deflection of hooked do

Flexible joint robot (FJR) manipulators can offer many attractive features over rigid manipulators, including light weight, safe operation, and high power efficiency. However, the tracking control of the FJR is challenging due to its inherent problems, such as underactuation, coupling, nonlinearities, uncertainties, and unknown external disturbances. In this article, a terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) is proposed for the FJR system to guarantee the finite-time convergence of the systems output, and to achieve the total robustness against the lumped disturbance and estimation error. By using two coordinate transformations, the FJR dynamics is turned into a canonical form. A cascaded finite-time sliding mode observer (CFTSMO) is construct

In this paper, two parameters for the Exponential distribution were estimated using the
Bayesian estimation method under three different loss functions: the Squared error loss function,
the Precautionary loss function, and the Entropy loss function. The Exponential distribution prior
and Gamma distribution have been assumed as the priors of the scale γ and location δ parameters
respectively. In Bayesian estimation, Maximum likelihood estimators have been used as the initial
estimators, and the Tierney-Kadane approximation has been used effectively. Based on the MonteCarlo
simulation method, those estimators were compared depending on the mean squared errors (MSEs).The results showed that the Bayesian esti

Objective: The study aims at assessing the food frequency intake and dietary habits for diabetic pregnant
women.
Methodology: A descriptive study is carried out for the period from November4th 2013 to August
25th 2014. A purposive "non-probability" sample of one hundred diabetic pregnant women is selected from
the Diabetic and Endocrine Center in Al-Amarha City. A questionnaire is developed as a tool of data
collection. Content validity of the study instrument is determined through panel of experts. Split-half
reliability technique is used for reliability determination of the study instrument which depicts a reliability
coefficient of (0.79) for the entire scale. A structured interview with each diabetic pregnant wom

Introduction: Methadone hydrochloride (MDN) is an effective pharmacological substitution treatment for opioids dependence, adopted in different countries as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programmes. However, MDN can exacerbate the addiction problem if it is abused and injected intravenously, and the frequent visits to the MMT centres can reduce patient compliance. The overall aim of this study is to develop a novel extended-release capsule of MDN using the sol-gel silica (SGS) technique that has the potential to counteract medication-tampering techniques and associated health risks and reduce the frequent visits to MMT centres. Methods: For MDN recrystallisation, a closed container method (CCM) and hot-stage method (HSM) were conduc

Free Space Optical (FSO) technology offers highly directional, high bandwidth communication channels. This technology can provide fiber-like data rate over short distances. In order to improve security associated with data transmission in FSO networks, a secure communication method based on chaotic technique is presented. In this paper, we have turned our focus on a specific class of piece wise linear one-dimensional chaotic maps. Simulation results indicate that this approach has the advantage of possessing excellent correlation property. In this paper we examine the security vulnerabilities of single FSO links and propose a solution to this problem by implementing the chaotic signal generator “reconfigurable tent map”. As synchronizat

CO₂ Gas is considered one of the unfavorable gases and it causes great air pollution. It’s possible to decrease this pollution by injecting  gas in the oil reservoirs to provide a good miscibility and to increase the oil recovery factor. MMP was estimated by Peng Robinson equation of state (PR-EOS). South Rumila-63 (SULIAY) is involved for which the miscible displacement by  is achievable based on the standard criteria for success EOR processes. A PVT report was available for the reservoir under study. It contains deferential liberation (DL) and constant composition expansion (CCE) tests.  PVTi software is one of the (Eclipse V.2010) software’s packages, it has been used to achieve the goal.