Cost estimation is considered one of the important tasks in the construction projects management. The precise estimation of the construction cost affect on the success and quality of a construction project. Elemental estimation is considered a very important stage to the project team because it represents one of the key project elements. It helps in formulating the basis to strategies and execution plans for construction and engineering. Elemental estimation, which in the early stage, estimates the construction costs depending on . minimum details of the project so that it gives an indication for the initial design stage of a project. This paper studies the factors that affect the elemental cost estimation as well as the relation between these factors using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Final conclusions and recommendations were extracted for better elemental estimation accuracy in project management.
This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on seven one-way, reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with a new technique of slab weight reduction using polystyrene-embedded arched blocks (PEABs). All slabs had the same dimensions, steel reinforcement, and concrete compressive strength. One of these slabs was a solid slab, which was taken as a control slab, while the other six slabs were cast with PEABs. The main variables were the ratio of the length of the PEABs to the length of the slab (lp/L) and the ratio of the height of the PEABs to the total slab depth (hP/H). The minimum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 6% with a minimum reduction in the slab weight of 15%. In contrast, the maximum decrease in the
... Show MoreFullerene nanotube was synthesized in this research by pyrolysis of plastic waste Polypropylene (PP) at 1000 ° C for two hours in a closed reactor made from stainless steel using molybdenum oxide (MoO3) as a catalyst and nitrogen gas. The resultant carbon was purified and characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The surface characteristics of C60 nanotubes were observed with the Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The carbon is evenly spread and has the highest concentration from SEM-EDX characterization. The result of XRD and FESEM shows that C60 nanotubes are present in Nano figures, synthesized at 1000 ° C and with pyrolysis tempera
... Show MoreFibromyalgia (FM) is a common, debilitating, and chronic pain syndrome. The women are more likely to have more tender points on examination than are their male counterparts. Iraqi study showed that FM occur in 1.5% among adolescents of Iraqi population. In compare to normal healthy women, present study was revealed that Iraqi women with FM have significant elevation of calcium (p = 0.003) with significant reduction of magnesium (p = 0.001), whereas the inorganic phosphorous was not differs (p = 0.31). In conclusion, magnesium and calcium would play a crucial role in etiopathogenesis of fibromyalgia.
Key words: calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, Fibromyalgia.
Inflammatory bowel disease includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic, progressive relapsing disease of gastrointestinal tract that require long-term treatment or maintenance therapy. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an important factor that affects compliance of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is a prerequisite for better compliance. The aim of the current study was to investigate and assess beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to determine possible association between these beliefs and some patient-specific factors.
This study is a cross-sectional study carried out o
... Show MoreModified algae with nano copper oxide (CuO) were used as adsorption media to remove tetracycline (TEC) from aqueous solutions. Functional groups, morphology, structure, and percentages of surfactants before and after adsorption were characterised through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Several variables, including pH, connection time, dosage, initial concentrations, and temperature, were controlled to obtain the optimum condition. Thermodynamic studies, adsorption isotherm, and kinetics models were examined to describe and recognise the type of interactions involved. Resultantly, the best operation conditions were at pH 7, contact time
... Show MoreA.C electrical conductivity and dielectric properties for poly
(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) /poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) blends undoped
and doped with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) with
different concentrations (1, and 3 wt %) in the frequency range
(25x103 - 5x106 Hz) were investigated. Samples of (PVA/PEO)
blends undoped and doped with MWCNTs were prepared using
casting technique. The electrical conductivity measurements showed
that σA.C is frequency dependent and obey the relation σA.C =Aωs for
undoped and doped blends with 1% MWCNTs, while it is frequency
independent with increases of MWCNTs content to 3%. The
exponent s showed proceeding increase with the increase of PEO
ratio (≥50%) for undope
Micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorber is increasingly gaining popularity as an alternative sound absorber in buildings compared to the well-known synthetic porous materials. A single MPP has a typical feature of a Helmholtz resonator with a high amplitude of absorption but a narrow absorption frequency bandwidth. To improve the bandwidth, a single MPP can be cascaded with another single MPP to form a double-layer MPP. This paper proposes the introduction of inhomogeneous perforation in the double-layer MPP system (DL-iMPP) to enhance the absorption bandwidth of a double-layer MPP. Mathematical models are proposed using the equivalent electrical circuit model and are validated with experiments with good agreement. It is revealed that the DL-
... Show MoreEffective management of advanced cancer requires systemic treatment including small molecules that target unique features of aggressive tumor cells. At the same time, tumors are heterogeneous and current evidence suggests that a subpopulation of tumor cells, called tumor initiating or cancer stem cells, are responsible for metastatic dissemination, tumor relapse and possibly drug resistance. Classical apoptotic drugs are less effective against this critical subpopulation. In the course of generating a library of open-chain epothilones, we discovered a new class of small molecule anticancer agents that has no effect on tubulin but instead kills selected cancer cell lines by harnessing reactive oxygen
Endometriosis is a common women health disorder that occurs when Endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus. This may lead to irregular bleeding , pelvic pain, infertility and other complications. Metformin, because of its activity to improve insulin sensitivity, it is used for the treatment of diabetes; it also has a modulatory effect on ovarian steroid production and has anti-inflammatory properties, all may suggest its possible effect in treatment of endometriosis. This study was planned to determine the effect of metformin on serum levels of&nbs
... Show MoreABSTRACT: Protein isolate was achieved from local peeled non soaked pumpkins seeds by using petroleum ether with protein percentage of 53.15%. Protein isolate was used in manufacturing meat burger with two substitution10 and 20%. The shrinkage percentage for burger diameter was decreased from 25.5 to 16.6%, the sample with 10% substitution was distinguished in water holding capacity (WHC) which was 54.52%. Sensitive evaluation for these samples showed that the burger with 10% substitution was similar to the control.