Soils located above the groundwater table are generally unsaturated and possess negative pore-water pressures. A soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) that relates the water content of a soil to matric suction is an important relationship for the unsaturated soil mechanics. The SWCC essentially shows the ability of an unsaturated soil to retain water under various matric suctions. The filter paper method is a soil suction measurement technique. Soil suction is one of the most important parameters describing the moisture condition of unsaturated soils. The measurement of soil suction is crucial for applying the theories of the engineering behavior of unsaturated soils.In this paper, three soil samples were collected from three sites within Baghdad city in Iraq. These soils have different properties and they were prepared at different degrees of saturation. For each sample, the total and matric suction were measured by the filter paper method at different degrees of saturation. The soil samples were mixed with different percentages of Nacl salt.It was concluded that the suction increases with the decrease of the degree of saturation. The relationships between the total and matric suction and the filter paper water content are approximately linear and indicate decrease of suction with the increase of the filter paper water content. All soil samples exhibit unique linear relationship between the total suction and filter paper water content and matric suction. When salt exists in the soil, there is a noticeable increase in both matric and total suction.
Klebsiella pneumoniae have an ability to form biofilm as one of strategies to persist and overcome host defenses. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of rosemary essential oil alone and in combination with some antibiotics against biofilm of K. pneumoniae isolated from urine. The antibiotics resistance pattern by disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin, trimethoprim/ sulfame- thoxazole, cefotoxime and rosemary essential oil were determined. The ability to form biofilm as well as inhibition of biofilm formation of K. pneumoniae was performed. MICs 128, 0.25, 768, 64, 384 and 10 µg/ml were used. The effect of MIC and 1/2 MIC of antibiotics and rosemary essential oil
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to know the effect of different percentages of chitosan added to drinking water on the weight and quality of quail meat, physical anatomy in terms of (the body of the long carcass, the girth of the chest, the length of the thigh bones, the thigh racket, the fullness of the chest), chemical analysis (protein, moisture, fat and ash) and sensory evaluation of quail meat. It was purchased 320 Iraqi-origin birds of quail and one day old. Chicks were randomly distributed to three equal groups' treatments and treated with chitosan and added to the drinking water: the first treatment (0.1 gm./L water only as a control treatment), the second treatment (0.2 gm./L of chitosan was added to the drinking water) and the
... Show MorePolycrystalline Cadmium Oxide (CdO) thin films were prepared using pulsed laser deposition onto glass substrates at room temperature with different thicknesses of (300, 350 and 400)nm, these films were irradiated with cesium-137(Cs-137) radiation. The thickness and irradiation effects on structural and optical properties were studied. It is observed by XRD results that films are polycrystalline before and after irradiation, with cubic structure and show preferential growth along (111) and (200) directions. The crystallite sizes increases with increasing of thickness, and decreases with gamma radiation, which are found to be within the range (23.84-4.52) nm and (41.44-4.974)nm before and after irradiation for thickness 350nm and 4
... Show MoreThe present study was conducted to investigate effect of prey type on the relationship between age of females of Macrocyclops albidus and reproductive performance, which included each of mean number of nauplii, age at first brood, and age at first clutch. Results revealed that the correlation coefficient between the age at first brood and clutch and age of females fed on Artemia was significant P <0.05, being 0.65 and 0.81 respectively, while the correlations were not significant P>0.05 in females fed on mosquito larvae (Culex quinquefasciatus) and Paramecium nauplii. It was also found that the correlation coefficients between mean number of the nauplii and longevity in M. albidus were significant P<0.05 whereas, the correlations were not s
... Show MoreThe problem of the research lies in special motor abilities training programs like the balance that positively affect coordination between the nervous system and muscles. These training programs did not get enough attention from athletes especially young athletes; their training was restricted to physical abilities like strength, speed, and endurance instead. The research aimed at designing an apparatus for developing athletes’ balance in national centers for gifted/ ministry of youth and sport so as to provide a measurement for coached in this field. The results showed that the designed apparatus have a positive effect on developing the subjects’ balance in boxing and basketball athletes.
The electronic properties (such as energy gap HOMO levels. LUMO levels, density of state and density of bonds in addition to spectroscopic properties like IR spectra, Raman spectra, force constant and reduced masses as a function of frequency) of coronene C24 and reduced graphene oxide C24OX , where x=1-5, were studied.. The methodology employed was Density Functional Theory (DFT) with Hybrid function B3LYP and 6-311G** basis sets. The energy gap was calculated for C24 to be 3.5 eV and for C24Ox was from 0.89 to 1.6862 eV for x=1-5 ,respectively. These energy gaps values are comparable to the measured gap of Graphene (1-2.2 eV). The spectroscopic propertie
... Show MoreThe poor hole cleaning efficiency could causes many problems such as high torque, drag, poor hydraulics and pipe stuck. These inherent problems result in an avoidable high operation cost which this study tried to address. In this study, the effect of cutting density on hole cleaning efficiency in deviated and horizontal wells was investigated. Experiments were conducted using 40 feet (12 m) long of flow loop made from iron and PVC. However, the test section was made from PVC with (5.1m) long and (4” ID) for outer pipe and (2” OD) inner pipe. The cutting transport ratio (CTR) was determined from weight measurements for each test. Cutting Transport Ratio has been investigated for effects of the following parameters; flow rate, cu
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This paper concerned with study the effect of a graphite micro powder mixed in the kerosene dielectric fluid during powder mixing electric discharge machining (PMEDM) of high carbon high chromium AISI D2 steel. The type of electrode (copper and graphite), the pulse current and the pulse-on time and mixing powder in kerosene dielectric fluid are taken as the process main input parameters. The material removal rate MRR, the tool wear ratio TWR and the work piece surface roughness (SR) are taken as output parameters to measure the process performance. The experiments are planned using response surface methodology (RSM) design procedure. Empirical models are developed for MRR, TWR and SR, using the analysis
... Show MorePhotoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique that employs variations in light absorption produced by alteration in the blood volume in capillaries at the skin during the cardiac cycle. This study aims to understand factors related to PPG morphology; a hand-elevation, the study has modified blood flow to and from the finger was conducted in the laboratory. It is widely established that the position of the limb relative to the heart has an effect on blood flow in arteries and venous. Peripheral digital pulse wave (DPW) signals were obtained from 15 healthy volunteer participants during hand-elevation, and hand-lowering techniques wherein the right hand was lifted and lowered relative to heart level, while the left h
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