Introduction: This study was designed to examine the effects of addition of the combination of polymerized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and zirconia (ZrO2) particles to heat cure PMMA resin on impact strength, surface hardness, and roughness. Methods: The 70% (w/w) of polymerized PMMA powder (particle size: 0.70mm) was mixed with 30% (w/w) of zirconia powder (ZrO2) (1mm) to produce PMMA-ZrO2 filler. Ninety acrylic specimens created were divided into three groups containing 0% wt (Control group), 2% wt, and 4% wt, PMMA-ZrO2 filler. Ten specimens were used for impact strength, surface hardness and roughness test, blindly. Data were analyzed via oneway ANOVA and the Tukey post hoc test using R 3.6.3. Results: There was statistically signific

has experienced a step-change since the inception of ambient mass spectrometry removed the requirement for samples to be investigated under vacuum conditions. Approaches based on surface– plasma interactions are especially promising, including PADI. Whilst the mechanisms involved in generating PADI spectra still need to be unravelled, PADI shows significant promise to become a valuable and versatile tool in the instrumental arsenal available to the surface analyst

Organofluorines, as a pollutant, belongs to a group of substances which are very difficult to neutralize. They are part of many products of everyday use and for this reason they pollute the environment in large quantities. Perfluorinated carboxylic acids are entered into the list of the “Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants” in order to minimize the load on the environment by significantly reducing their use, up to their complete rejection. The DD4 strain was isolated from the soil by the enrichment method and identified using 16S rRNA method as Pseudomonas plecoglossicida. It is able to metabolize perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as the only carbon source in Raymond nutrient medium with a concentration of 1000

Non-thermal (low-temperature) plasma may act as an alternative approach to control superficial wound and skin infections when the effectiveness of chemical agents is weak due to natural pathogen or biofilm resistance. In this paper an atmospheric pressure plasma needle jet device which generates a cold plasma jet is used to measure the effectiveness of plasma treatment against different pathogenic bacteria and to test the individual susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to non-thermal argon plasma. It is found that, Gram-negative bacteria were more susceptible to plasma treatment than Gram-positive bacteria. For the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, there were no survivors among the initial 1x10⁸C.F.U (Co

There are different types of corruptions such as administrative, political, economic and financial corruption. The corruption forms also varied such as bribery, nepotism and extortion. All types and forms of corruption play significant role in the all economic variables generally and on investments in particular, and the corruption used to be an intermediate means in reducing the rate of economic growth.  The corruption contributes in reducing the domestic investments via pay bribery by investors to officials’ persons for supplemental contracts and tenders which finally leads to reduction in the investment efficiency. The corruption also contributes in rise of operational costs for the investment projects.  In additio

Test results of six half-scale reinforced concrete flat plates connections with an opening in the vicinity of the column are reported. The test specimens represent a portion of a slab bounded by the lines of contraflexure around the column. The tests were designed to study the effect of openings on the punching shear behavior of the slab-column connections. The test parameters were the location and the size of the openings. One specimen had no opening and the remaining five had various arrangements of openings around the column. All specimens were cast with normal density concrete of approximately 30 MPa compressive strength. The openings in the specimens were square, with the sides parallel to the sides of the column. Three sizes of ope

Two dimensional meso-scale concrete modeling was used in finite element analysis of plain concrete beam subjected to bending. The plane stress 4-noded quadrilateral elements were utilized to model coarse aggregate, cement mortar. The effect of aggregate fraction distribution, and pores percent of the total area – resulting from air voids entrapped in concrete during placement on the behavior of plain concrete beam in flexural was detected. Aggregate size fractions were randomly distributed across the profile area of the beam. Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed to treat the discontinuities problems result from double phases of concrete and cracking that faced during the finite element analysis of concrete beam. Crac