The durability of asphalt concrete is highly dependent on the geometry and mineralogy of coarse aggregates, yet their combined influence on mechanical and moisture resistance properties is still not fully understood. This study evaluates the effects of coarse aggregate geometry, specifically flat and elongated particle ratios and angularity, as well as mineral composition (quartz versus calcite), on asphalt mixture durability. The durability of mixtures was evaluated through Marshall properties as well as moisture susceptibility indicators, including the tensile strength ratio (TSR) and index of retained strength (IRS). Statistical analyses (ANOVA and t-tests) were also conducted to confirm the significance of the observed effects.

This study was conducted on species composition, morphology, ecological characteristics, biotope distribution, ecological groups, biodiversity indicators and zoogeography of leeches and gastropods distributed in the lower Ak-Buura River. According to the results, it was found that 7 species of leeches belonging to 4 families and 6 genera and 10 species of fresh-water gastropods belonging to 3 families and 6 genera live in the lower Ak-Buura River. In the river, it was observed that leeches are mainly distributed in muddy biotopes, and gastropods are widespread in muddy, stony and sandy biotopes with a lot of plants. Biodiversity indices of leeches and gastropods in the Ak-Buura River were analyzed using the Shannon index. As a result, it

ABSTRUCT

In This Paper, some semi- parametric spatial models were estimated, these models are, the semi – parametric spatial error model (SPSEM), which suffer from the problem of spatial errors dependence, and the semi – parametric spatial auto regressive model (SPSAR). Where the method of maximum likelihood was used in estimating the parameter of spatial error          ( λ ) in the model (SPSEM), estimated  the parameter of spatial dependence ( ρ ) in the model ( SPSAR ), and using the non-parametric method in estimating the smoothing function m(x) for these two models, these non-parametric methods are; the local linear estimator (LLE) which require finding the smoo

Objectives: As health care workers on the front line during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, dental practitioners are amongst those at risk due to their close contact with potentially infected individuals. The aim of the current study was to assess the anxiety, awareness practice modification, and economic impact amongst Iraqi dentists whilst working during the outbreak.

Methods: This study was performed using an online survey questionnaire with aid of Google forms from 2nd to 23rd July 2020. A total of 484 clinicians responded. The questionnaire was composed of open end, closed end, and Likert five-point scale questions to assess anxiety, awareness and financial impa

A simple low-cost approach at various exposure times was utilized to generate cold plasma in the aim to fabricate AuNPs. UV-Visible spectra and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the nanoparticles (XRD). Surface Plasmon resonance was observed in the synthesized AuNPs at 530, 540, and 533 nm. For all samples, the patterns of XRD show very intensive peaks implying the fcc crystalline structure of AuNPs. The average crystallite size of AuNPs is ranging between 20-30 nm. The observation of morphology by FESEM revealed the spherical formation of AuNPs. Doses of 100 and 200 ppm of AuNPs were adapted to investigate their effect on the blood-mixture with and without a 20-second of cold plasma exposure. The WBC components in the blood