Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of Iraqi dentists towards cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) applications in endodontics by using an online survey. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire, consisting of 31 questions, targeted general dental practitioners and specialists in different dental specialities. A total of 306 participants were included. Data were assessed according to the frequency of distribution and the chi-square test was applied to analyse the difference in responses between two independent groups. Results: Among the participants 63.4% were using digital radiography in their daily practice, and 84% had awareness about CBCT's uses, with higher statistically significant responses among endodontists. About 51.4% of participants gained their CBCT knowledge from lectures, while 79.4% believed that continuous education courses enhance knowledge of CBCT. Nearly 75% of participants agreed on the accuracy of CBCT rather than periapical radiography in detecting endodontic conditions. However, most participants responded that CBCT would be used selectively in their future routine practice. Conclusions: This questionnaire showed that Iraqi dentists have a very good knowledge regarding indications and limitations of CBCT in endodontics. However, there is a lack of structured teaching and practical training on the use of CBCT within dental schools. The development of CBCT training programmes and increasing the availability of CBCT machines within dental schools are strongly supported by the results of this survey
A land magnetic survey was carried out along regional profile, which is located at the north part of the Iraqi western desert. It starts from al –Qaam City (at north) toward Rutba City (at south) with a total length of 238km. The survey was carried out along the paved road between the two cities, About 113 measuring points were done with inter-station distance of 2 km (for 198 km) and 2 to 5km (for 40km). Two proton magnetometers were used in this survey. One of them is used for base station monitoring, which was fixed as of Salah Aldin field (Akkas). Its readings were used for diurnal corrections. All magnetic measurements were corrected for normal and topographic corrections. The readings were reduced to a certain base level. The resu
... Show MoreIn this paper a new method is proposed to perform the N-Radon orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which are equivalent to 4-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, ... etc. in spectral efficiency. This non conventional method is proposed in order to reduce the constellation energy and increase spectral efficiency. The proposed method gives a significant improvement in Bit Error Rate performance, and keeps bandwidth efficiency and spectrum shape as good as conventional Fast Fourier Transform based OFDM. The new structure was tested and compared with conventional OFDM for Additive White Gaussian Noise, flat, and multi-path selective fading channels. Simulation tests were generated for different channels
... Show MoreThe petroleum industry, which is one of the pillars of the national economy, has the potential to generate vast wealth and employment possibilities. The transportation of petroleum products is complicated and changeable because of the hazards caused by the corrosion consequences. Hazardous chemical leaks caused by natural disasters may harm the environment, resulting in significant economic losses. It significantly threatens the aim for sustainable development. When a result, determining the likelihood of leakage and the potential for environmental harm, it becomes a top priority for decision-makers as they develop maintenance plans. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the risks associated with oil and gas pipeli
... Show MoreRutting has a significant impact on the pavements' performance. Rutting depth is often used as a parameter to assess the quality of pavements. The Asphalt Institute (AI) design method prescribes a maximum allowable rutting depth of 13mm, whereas the AASHTO design method stipulates a critical serviceability index of 2.5 which is equivalent to an average rutting depth of 15mm. In this research, static and repeated compression tests were performed to evaluate the permanent strain based on (1) the relationship between mix properties (asphalt content and type), and (2) testing temperature. The results indicated that the accumulated plastic strain was higher during the repeated load test than that during the static load tests. Notably, temperatur
... Show MoreThis paper proposes a new encryption method. It combines two cipher algorithms, i.e., DES and AES, to generate hybrid keys. This combination strengthens the proposed W-method by generating high randomized keys. Two points can represent the reliability of any encryption technique. Firstly, is the key generation; therefore, our approach merges 64 bits of DES with 64 bits of AES to produce 128 bits as a root key for all remaining keys that are 15. This complexity increases the level of the ciphering process. Moreover, it shifts the operation one bit only to the right. Secondly is the nature of the encryption process. It includes two keys and mixes one round of DES with one round of AES to reduce the performance time. The W-method deals with
... Show MoreConcerns about the environment, the cost of energy, and safety mean that low-energy cold-mix asphalt materials are very interesting as a potential replacement for present-day hot mix asphalt. The main disadvantage of cold bituminous emulsion mixtures is their poor early life strength, meaning they require a long time to achieve mature strength. This research work aims to study the protentional utilization of waste and by-product materials as a filler in cold emulsion mixtures with mechanical properties comparable to those of traditional hot mix asphalt. Accordingly, cold mix asphalt was prepared to utilize paper sludge ash (PSA) and cement kiln dust (CKD) as a substitution for conventional mineral filler with percentages ranging fro
... Show MoreIn the recent years the research on the activated carbon preparation from agro-waste and byproducts have been increased due to their potency for agro-waste elimination. This paper presents a literature review on the synthesis of activated carbon from agro-waste using microwave irradiation method for heating. The applicable approach is highlighted, as well as the effects of activation conditions including carbonization temperature, retention period, and impregnation ratio. The review reveals that the agricultural wastes heated using a chemical process and microwave energy can produce activated carbon with a surface area that is significantly higher than that using the conventional heating method.
A bolted–welded hybrid demountable shear connector for use in deconstructable steel–concrete composite buildings and bridges was proposed. The hybrid connector consisted of a partially threaded stud, which was welded on the flange of a steel section, and a machined steel tube with compatible geometry, which was bolted on the stud. Four standard pushout tests according to Eurocode 4 were carried out to assess the shear performance of the hybrid connector. The experimental results show that the initial stiffness, shear resistance, and slip capacity of the proposed connector were higher than those of traditional welded studs. The hybrid connector was a ductile connector, according to Eurocode 4, with slip capacity higher than 6 mm. A nonli
... Show MoreFuzzy logic is used to solve the load flow and contingency analysis problems, so decreasing computing time and its the best selection instead of the traditional methods. The proposed method is very accurate with outstanding computation time, which made the fuzzy load flow (FLF) suitable for real time application for small- as well as large-scale power systems. In addition that, the FLF efficiently able to solve load flow problem of ill-conditioned power systems and contingency analysis. The FLF method using Gaussian membership function requires less number of iterations and less computing time than that required in the FLF method using triangular membership function. Using sparsity technique for the input Ybus sparse matrix data gi
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