A bolted–welded hybrid demountable shear connector for use in deconstructable steel–concrete composite buildings and bridges was proposed. The hybrid connector consisted of a partially threaded stud, which was welded on the flange of a steel section, and a machined steel tube with compatible geometry, which was bolted on the stud. Four standard pushout tests according to Eurocode 4 were carried out to assess the shear performance of the hybrid connector. The experimental results show that the initial stiffness, shear resistance, and slip capacity of the proposed connector were higher than those of traditional welded studs. The hybrid connector was a ductile connector, according to Eurocode 4, with slip capacity higher than 6 mm. A nonli

t-Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) reduces environmental noise and has more workability. This research presents an investigation of the behavior of SCC under mechanical loading (impact loading). Two types of cement have been used to produce SCC mixtures, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Limestone Cement (PLC), which reduces the emission of carbon dioxide during the manufacturing process. The mixes were reinforced with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) which is usually used to improve the seismic performance of masonry walls, to replace lost steel reinforcements, or to increase column strength and ductility. Workability tests were carried out for fresh SCC. Prepared concrete slabs of 500×500×50mm were tested for lo

Abstract     Asthma is a complex disease defined by chronic airway inflammation and airflow limitation causing variable respiratory symptoms which include shortness of breath (SOB), wheezing, chest tightness and cough. Asthma guidelines advocate adding a second long acting bronchodilator to medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) rather using high doses of ICS alone to control moderate to severe persistent asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of three medication regimens indicated for Iraqi patients suffering from persistent asthma.      This study was interventional randomized clinical study conducted on a sample of adult Iraqi asthmatic patients in Baghdad City. The study com

            An image retrieval system is a computer system for browsing, looking and recovering pictures from a huge database of advanced pictures. The objective of Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) methods is essentially to extract, from large (image) databases, a specified number of images similar in visual and semantic content to a so-called query image. The researchers were developing a new mechanism to retrieval systems which is mainly based on two procedures. The first procedure relies on extract the statistical feature of both original, traditional image by using the histogram and statistical characteristics (mean, standard deviation). The second procedure relies on the T-

Recently, Malaysia has been recognized as one of the most popular destinations for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia. But how do these FDI inflows affect Malaysia economy? This paper aims to identify the role of FDI inflows in Malaysia economic growth through a proposed endogenous growth model. Annual data covers from 1975 to 2010. Unit root test and Johansen Co-integration test are adopted to respectively verify the time series data is stable and the linear combination of the variables is stationary. Hierarchical Multiple Regressions (HMR) Analysis is then conducted to find out the momentum of the Malaysia economic growth including FDI inflows. The results show that the FDI inflows together with the human capital deve

The significance of the research lies in the fact that electronic technologies represent an important step in evaluating legal situations, and the research problem centered on the lack of attention to visual requirements and the absence of a clear image of legal situations that may be difficult for the referee to apply correctly in addition to the lack of focus on visual requirements and the unclear depiction of some legal cases which make it difficult for the referee to interpret them correctly This is because the referee's main tool is visual perception, which interprets live situations such as violations, fouls, and other cases that arise during a game Moreover, there are numerous responses and challenges in evaluating legal situ

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of hydrated lime addition methods as filler replacement on fatigue performance of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Three types of addition methods of hydrated lime were introduced namely dry HL on dry aggregate and saturated surface aggregate above 3% and slurry HL on dry aggregate, ordinary Lime stone powder was reduced by three HL percentage (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 %). The effect of different methods were investigated on the fatigue properties of HMA using, third-point flexural fatigue bending Test. Pneumatic Repeated Load System (PRLS) was carried out to establish the effect of hydrated lime on the fatigue failure criteria and to select the proper hydrated lime application methods on fatigue behavior o

A linear and nonlinear theoretical and experimental aeroelastic investigation of a wing-flap-tab typical section model undergoing two-dimensional incompressible airflow is described. The linear flutter velocity (LFV) and frequency are predicted using linear analysis. Then a freeplay structural nonlinearity is considered in the tab. The structural equations of motion have been coupled with Theodorsen aerodynamic theory to produce the theoretical aeroelastic model which is analyzed by a state space method to predict the LFV and flutter frequency. Linear piecewise function has been used to introduce the tab spring stiffness in the freeplay state. The ground vibration test is used to measure the model structural dynamic characteristics. Then th

This study investigates the influence of five nanomaterials nano-alumina (NA), nano-silica (NS), nano-titanium (NT), nano-zinc oxide (NZ), and carbon nanotubes (CNT)on enhancing the fatigue resistance of asphalt binders. NA, NS, and NT were incorporated at dosages of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%, while NZ and CNT were added at 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%. A series of physical, rheological, and performance-based tests were conducted, including penetration, softening point, ductility, and rotational viscosity. Based on the outcomes of the overall desirability evaluation, the first three dosages of each nanomaterial were selected for further testing due to their superior workability and binder flexibility. Subsequent investigations included the high-tem

In this paper, preliminary test Shrinkage estimator have been considered for estimating the shape parameter α of pareto distribution when the scale parameter equal to the smallest loss and when a prior estimate α0 of α is available as initial value from the past experiences or from quaintance cases. The proposed estimator is shown to have a smaller mean squared error in a region around α0 when comparison with usual and existing estimators.