The present study aims to convert obsidian rocks into spongy gravel for the use in the production of lightweight and heat insulating concrete. The rocks were burned at 960°C to achieve maximum swelling of the samples, then broken into gravel and sand sizes. For comparison purposes, two other types of aggregates were used, namely pumice and basalt. The main physical tests, such as specific gravity, bulk density, porosity, and water absorption were performed. For testing the resistance of samples to alkalinity, KOH and Na OH solutions were used. The results showed that the obsidian sample gave the best specifications, where its specific gravity was 0.33, while the values were 1.1 for pumice and 2.7 for basalt, with the

Reinforced concrete (RC) beams containing a longitudinal cavity have become an innovative development and advantage for economic purposes of light-weight members without largely affecting their resistance against the applied loads. This type of openings can also be used for maintenance purposes and usage space of communication lines, pipelines, etc. RC beams are primarily loaded in the plane of the members, which are two-dimensional in a plane stress state and the dominant structural behaviours include bending, shear, or combination of both. In the present study, six numerical models of RC beams with and without openings were simulated by using commercial finite element software ANSYS to evaluate the structural behaviours of those b

A novel demountable shear connector is proposed to link a concrete slab to steel sections in a way that resulting steel-concrete composite floor is demountable, i.e. it can be easily dismantled at the end of its service life. The proposed connectors consist of two parts: the first part is a hollow steel tube with internal threads at its lower end. The second part is a compatible partially threaded bolted stud. After linking the stud to the steel section, the hollow steel tube can be fastened over the threaded stud, which create a complete demountable shear connector. The connector is suitable for use in both composite bridges and buildings, and using cast in-situ slabs, precast solid slabs, or hollow-core precast slabs. A series of push-off

The rehabilitation of deteriorated pavements using Asphalt Concrete (AC) overlays consistently confronts the reflection cracking challenge, where inherent cracks and joints from an existing pavement layer are mirrored in the new overlay. To address this issue, the current study evaluates the effectiveness of Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) and geotextile fabric as mitigation strategies. ECC, characterized by its tensile ductility, fracture resistance, and high deformation capacity, was examined in interlayer thicknesses of 7, 12, and 17 mm. Additionally, the impact of geotextile fabric positioning at the base and at 1/3 depth of the AC specimen was explored. Utilizing the Overlay Testing Machine (OTM) for evaluations, the research d

This paper is dealing with an experimental study to show the influence of the geometric characteristics of the vortex generators VG son the thickness of the boundary layer (∂) and drag coefficients (C_D) of the flat plate. Vortex generators work effectively on medium and high angles of attack, since they are "hidden" under the boundary layer and practically ineffective at low angles.

            The height of VGs relative to the thickness of the boundary layer enables us to study the efficacy of VGs in delaying boundary layer separation. The distance between two VGs also has an effect on the boundary layer if we take into

In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using a plasma jet system at different exposure times. Using ultraviolet, visible spectra, X-ray diffraction, the nanoparticles were characterized (XRD). A Plasmon surface resonance concentrated at 530, 540, and 533 nm for the prepared AuNPs. The pattern of XRD showed that the extreme peaks of the film reflect crystalline existence. The face-centered cubic structure of the gold nanoparticles was prepared for all samples, with an average crystallite size of 25-40 nm. The effect of AuNPs in vivo on liver function levels was measured. For all doses, we notice an increase in the ranks of liver function in the blood during the period of dosing, and it begins to decrease when the dosi

Smoking have a direct and indirect effects on some organs of the body, this effect is duo to inhaled the smoke and reach the alveoli and in to pulmonary veins. The main objective of this study, to investigate the changes in liver enzymes Alanine aminotransferase(ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and Alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and electrolytes like(K+, Na+, Fe+2, Ca+2,Cl- and Po4 -3) in male smokers. In this study collect of (100) blood samples from male smokers and divided in to (3) groups according to period of smoking, and compare with (40) nonsmoker persons (group 4), the age groups are between (25-40) year, in a period between (November 2015-April 2016), within the district of Baqubah in Diyala governorate .The results show increa

Background: Surgery is one and may be the most effective method to treat obesity. In the last decade, Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is perceived to be less invasive, technically simple, less morbid and more popular form of bariatric surgery.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the effect of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Fasting Blood Glucose Levels and Blood Pressure.

 Methods: A prospective controlled study in which 50 obese patients were involved, 36 of patients have hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus , 7 patients have type 2 diabetes mellitus only, and 7 patients don’t have hypertension or type 2 diabetes. All patients were submitted to Laparosco