Recently, Qatar, a well-known oil production country, has been convinced as a successful case in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) as a smaller economy. This paper aims to investigate how FDI inflows affect Qatar’s business cycles. Time series data was selected from 1990 to 2010 as available. The VAR Impulse Responses and the Granger Causality test were mainly employed by using Eviews. The derived result shows that the FDI inflows and the economic growth in Qatar interact with each other in a relatively long term.

Interest has largely centered on the use of plant fibers to reinforce plastics, because these fibers are abundant and cheap. Carrot fibers (Curran) have been extracted from carrot, left over from carrot juice manufacture. The fibers of two sizes fine (50<µm) and coarse (100-150 µm) have been mixed with epoxy in four levels of loading (10, 20, 30, 40 wt %) respectively. Impact test, shore d hardness test and three point bending test of epoxy and carrot fiber-epoxy composites samples have been determined. The impact strength values of samples prepared with fine and coarse fibers increased as compared with pure epoxy sample. Hardness values increased, and the Young’s modulus values decreased with fiber content of both sizes.

The studies on unbonded post-tensioned concrete members strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are limited and the effect of strengthening on the strain of unbonded pre-stressed steel is not well characterized. Estimating the flexural capacity of unbound post-tensioned members using the design methodology specified in the design guidelines for FRP strengthening techniques of bonded post-tensioned members does not provide a reliable evaluation. This study investigates the behavior of unbonded post-tensioned concrete members with partial strand damage (14.3% and 28.6% damage) and strengthened with CFRP laminates using a near-surface mounted technique with and without U-wrap anchorages. The experimental results show

This paper compares between the direct and indirect georeferencing techniques in Photogrammetry bases on a simulation model. A flight plan is designed which consists of three strips with nine overlapped images for each strip by a (Canon 500D) digital camera with a resolution of 15 Mega Pixels.

The triangulation computations are carried out by using (ERDAS LPS) software, and the direct measurements are taken directly on the simulated model to substitute using GPS/INS in real case. Two computational tests have been implemented to evaluate the positional accuracy for the whole model and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) relating to (30) check points show that th

SIFCON is characterized as a construction material of high ductility and very high strength. It is suitable for concrete structures used for special applications. However, the density of SIFCON is much higher than that of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) due to the need for a large amount of high-density steel fibers. This work examines the split tensile behavior of modified weight slurry infiltrated fiber concrete utilizing a mixture of two types of fibers, steel fiber, and polyolefin fiber. For the investigation, 30 cylinders and 15 cubes were poured. The used volume fraction (V.F) is (6 %) and the use of five series once as each type separately and once a hybrid in proportions of 2/3 polyolefin with 1/3 steel fiber and

Membrane distillation (MD) is a hopeful desalination technique for brine (salty) water. In this research, Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) and  Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) will be used. The sample used is from Shat Al –Arab water (TDS=2430 mg/l). A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane was used as a flat sheet form with a plate and frame cell. Several parameters were studied, such as; operation time, feed temperature, permeate temperature, feed flow rate. The results showed that with time, the flux decreases because of the accumulated fouling and scaling on the membrane surface. Feed temperature and feed flow rate had a positive effect on the permeate flux, while permeate temperatu

Trace Elements (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni) level were examined in hair of donors from industrial areas, cities and village, and in permanent contact with a polluted workplace environment in lattakia. Hair sample were analyzed for their contents of the trace elements by inductivity coupled plasma- mass spectrometer (ICP- MS). It was found that the contents of (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni) in the hair were significantly higher in the industrial areas and cities, while in the village had the lower concentration of elements. Correlation coefficients between the levels of the elements in hair found in this study showed that hair is a good indicator of Environmental Pollution.