The present paper is an experimental study to improve the productivity of the conventional solar still. This done by modifying conventional still in a way that the distilled basin is larger than distillation basin, thus providing an increase in the condensation surface and speeding up the condensation process. Moreover, increase in the dimensions of the distilled base helps coupling reflective panels to the distilled base to reflect incident solar radiation to the distillation basin. For this purpose , two solar stills were made, one conventional designand another made according to the proposed design. The two solar stills were tested during the period from February to July 2009 under varying weather conditions of Basra, Iraq (latitude o

Various literary studies have investigated the psychological, social and cultural effects of traumatic events. They give voice to traumatised victims and enable them to convey and confront their traumas. However, these studies present a one-sided view, concentrating largely on the presentation of trauma in the industrial societies of the Western world. Recently, increasing attention has been devoted to identifying and depicting the forms and types of trauma that have been experienced in marginalised and neglected societies, such as the Iraqi society. Iraq has witnessed the unexpected fall of a brutal dictatorship, Western invasion and an unprecedented rise of sectarian discourses. This extreme violence has deeply affected many aspec

The Combined Economic Emission Dispatch (CEED) problem is crucial for optimizing power system operation by minimizing costs and emissions while ensuring grid stability and meeting demand. This paper addresses the complex, nonlinear, and nonconvex nature of CEED, arising from factors like valve-point effects and transmission losses, which necessitates efficient metaheuristic algorithms. We introduce an Improved Zebra Optimization Algorithm (IMZOA), an enhanced bio-inspired technique integrating advanced adaptive foraging and dynamic defense mechanisms, along with a cubic function for CEED modeling, to improve search efficiency and convergence. IMZOA demonstrates significant numerical improvements, achieving up to a 0.80 % cost reduction for

Background: In dentistry, dentist takes the advantages of soft lining materials due to the viscoelastic properties. The major problem is the adhesion of the soft liner with the denture base material. Materials and Methods: Heat cured of high impact acrylic resin specimens prepared with dimensions 75x13x13mm for shear bond strength test, soft lining material (Refit and Mollosil) with a 3-mm thickness and used to join each two acrylic blocks. Also four specimens with the same previous dimensions utilized for chemical and physical surface analysis. The specimens grouped as control (without plasma) and experiment (with oxygen plasma) treated high impact acrylic specimens. Results: Plasma treatment increased the shear bond strength for both Refi

This study provides a systematic and bibliometric review of ASTM F75 cobalt–chromium alloys, focusing on microstructure and the shift from conventional to laser-based manufacturing. Using combined analytical methods, it evaluates microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and biocompatibility. Results show that laser-based techniques such as LPBF and DMLS produce finer grain sizes (1–10 µm vs. 50–200 µm), leading to improved hardness (20–40%) and tensile strength (15–30%). Despite challenges like residual stress and process optimization, these methods show strong potential for high-performance and sustainable applications.

The paper examines key aspects of the use of phraseologi-cal units related to colors in Russian culture and speech. It explores their role in shaping cultural identity, reflecting national characteristics and men-tality. The study analyzes the frequency and contexts of the use of color-related phraseological units in contemporary speech, as well as the influ-ence of media and literature on their popularization. The author highlights the significance of phraseological units in preserving cultural heritage and fostering a deeper understanding of language and culture.

General Background: Deep image matting is a fundamental task in computer vision, enabling precise foreground extraction from complex backgrounds, with applications in augmented reality, computer graphics, and video processing. Specific Background: Despite advancements in deep learning-based methods, preserving fine details such as hair and transparency remains a challenge. Knowledge Gap: Existing approaches struggle with accuracy and efficiency, necessitating novel techniques to enhance matting precision. Aims: This study integrates deep learning with fusion techniques to improve alpha matte estimation, proposing a lightweight U-Net model incorporating color-space fusion and preprocessing. Results: Experiments using the AdobeComposition-1k

The primary goal of root canal treatment (RCT) is to expel the presence of any necrotic or vital tissue, microbes and their byproducts from the canal space before press forward with the following steps of the RCT procedures. Although this is difficult to attain, various strives had been practiced by employing chemical and mechanical methods to eliminate as much microorganisms as possible and make the canal space valid for the obturation materials to be received. The aim of this review is to demonstrate some of what new remedies that could be used as root canal disinfectant by summarizing the recent studies regarding the efficacy of different natural products against the most persistence microbiota that could be responsible for most

In globalization, the world became open area to competition for the attractive of investment, and the abilities of each country to win the confidence of investors depend upon the preparation to optimize circumstances.   The competitiveness is an essential means of expanding the capacity of developed to coexist in an international environment characterized by globalization. While competition describes the market structure, the behavior of investors and business, competitiveness is interested in the evaluation of business performance or countries and compare them in the conditions of competition available in these markets. Regarding Malaysia, which is depend on FDI-Export- Led Growth strategy,  it has taking on diffe