Background: The most common reason for re-making a maxillofacial prosthesis is the degradation of the mechanical properties of the silicone. Aim of this study: To assess some mechanical properties of VST-50F maxillofacial silicone reinforced with a composite of silicon dioxide nanoparticle and polyamide-6 microparticle before and after artificial aging. Material and Method: Preparing 240 samples tested for tear strength, tensile strength and elongation percentage, hardness, and roughness before and after aging. The Silicon dioxide was added in concentrations of 1% by weight and Polyamide-6 in the concentration of 0.25% and 0.5% by weight to the VST-50F RTV maxillofacial silicone. The one-way ANOVA and post hoc tests were used for inferentia

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

This work is concerned with the study of the effect of cement types, particularly OPC and SRPC, which are the main cement types manufactured in Iraq. In addition, study the effect of mineral admixtures, which are HRM and SF on the resistance of high performance concrete (HPC) to internal sulphate attack. The HRM is used at (10%) and SF is used at (8 and 10)% as a partial replacement by weight of cement for both types. The percentages of sulphate investigated are (1,2 and 3)% by adding natural gypsum as a partial replacement by weight of fine aggregate. The tests carried out in this work are: compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and density at the age of 7, 28, 90 and 120 days.

The r

The study aimed to evaluate the benefits of transferrin saturation percentage (TSAT) and serum ferritin in assessing body iron status, which can influence erythropoietin treatment in patients with ESRD. Forty end-stage renal disease patients on regular hemodialysis participated in this study. Clinical data were obtained. Serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, ferritin, albumin, creatinine, and C-reactive protein were investigated. Thirty healthy people were enrolled as a control group. ESRD patients had a mean age of 45.1±13.9 years, with 60% being males. They exhibited significantly lower hematocrit (25.3±6.5%), and higher platelet (285.7±148.1x10^9/L) and WBC (9.4±3.1x10^9/L) counts compared to healthy contro

Roller compacted concrete (RCC) is a concrete compacted by roller compaction. The concrete mixture in its unhardened state must support a roller while being compacted. The aim of this research work was to investigate the behavior and properties of roller compacted concrete when constructed in the laboratory using roller compactor manufactured in local market to simulate the field conditions. The roller compaction was conducts in three stages; each stage has different loading and number of passes of the roller. For the first stage, a load of (24) kg and (5) passes in each direction had been employed. For the second stage, a load of (104) kg and (10) passes in each direction were conducted. Finally, at the third stage, a load of (183) kg a

To achieve sustainability in the field of civil engineering, there has become a great interest in developing reactive powder concrete RPC through the use of environmentally friendly materials to reduce the release of CO₂ gas produced from cement factories as well as contribute to the recycling of industrial wastes that have a great impact on environmental pollution.

In this study, reactive powder concrete was prepared using total binder content of 800 kg/m³, water to binder ratio (0.275), and micro steel fibers  1% by volume of concrete. The experimental program included replacing fly ash with (8, 12, 16) % by cement weight to find the optimal ratio, which achieved the best mechanical proper

loaded reinforced concrete circular short columns. An experimental investigation into the behavior
of 24 short reinforced concrete columns with and without steel fibers was carried out. The columns
had a circular section (200 mm diameter and 900 mm long). Test variables include concrete
strength, spacing of spiral reinforcement, and inclusion of steel fibers. The axial stress and axial
strains were obtained and used to evaluate the effects of the presence of steel fibers. It was found
that the addition of steel fibers slightly improves the load carrying capacity of the tested columns
whereas it significantly enhances the ductility of these specimens. Test results also indicated that for
the same confinement parameter

Background: Suppression of quorum sensing (QS) that regulates many virulence factors, including antimicrobial resistance, in bacteria may subject the pathogenic microbes to the harmful consequences of the antibiotics, increasing their susceptibility to such drugs. Aim: The current study aimed to make an aqueous crude extract from the soil Proteus mirabilis isolate with the use of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique for its analysis, and then, study the impact of the extract on clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: Preparation of crude extracts from P. mirabilis (both organic and aqueous), which were then analyzed by GC-MS to detect the bioactive ingredients. Furthermore, the extract’s capability to i

Curing of concrete is the maintenance of a satisfactory moisture content and temperature for a
period of time immediately following placing so the desired properties are developed. Accelerated
curing is advantages where early strength gain in concrete is important. The expose of concrete
specimens to the accelerated curing conditions which permit the specimens to develop a significant
portion of their ultimate strength within a period of time (1-2 days), depends on the method of the
curing cycle.Three accelerated curing test methods are adopted in this study. These are warm water,
autogenous and proposed test methods. The results of this study has shown good correlation
between the accelerated strength especially for