The goal of the research is to develop a sustainable rating system for roadway projects in Iraq for all of the life cycle stages of the projects which are (planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance). This paper investigates the criteria and its weightings of the suggested roadway rating system depending on sustainable planning activities. The methodology started in suggesting a group of sustainable criteria for planning stage and then suggesting weights from (1-5) points for each one of it. After that data were collected by using a closed questionnaire directed to the roadway experts group in order to verify the criteria weightings based on the relative importance of the roadway related impacts

Human interaction technology based on motion capture (MoCap) systems is a vital tool for human kinematics analysis, with applications in clinical settings, animations, and video games. We introduce a new method for analyzing and estimating dorsal spine movement using a MoCap system. The captured data by the MoCap system are processed and analyzed to estimate the motion kinematics of three primary regions; the shoulders, spine, and hips. This work contributes a non-invasive and anatomically guided framework that enables region-specific analysis of spinal motion which could be used as a clinical alternative to invasive measurement techniques. The hierarchy of our model consists of five main levels; motion capture system settings, marker data

Nowadays power systems are huge networks that consist of electrical energy sources, static and lumped load components, connected over long distances by A.C. transmission lines. Voltage improvement is an important aspect of the power system. If the issue is not dealt with properly, may lead to voltage collapse.  In this paper, HVDC links/bipolar connections were inserted in a power system in order to improve the voltage profile. The load flow was simulated by Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP.16) program in which Newton- Raphson method is used. The load flow simulation studies show a significant enhancement of the power system performance after applying HVDC links on Kurdistan power systems. Th

Amorphization of drug has been considered as an attractive approach in improving drug solubility and bioavailability. Unlike their crystalline counterparts, amorphous materials lack the long-range order of molecular packing and present the highest energy state of a solid material. Co-amorphous systems (CAM) are an innovative formulation technique by where the amorphous drugs are stabilized via powerful intermolecular interactions by means of a low molecular co-former.

This review highlights the different approaches in the preparation of co-amorphous drug delivery system, the proper selection of the co-formers. In addition, the recent advances in characterization, Industrial scale and formulation will be discussed.

Wildfire risk has globally increased during the past few years due to several factors. An efficient and fast response to wildfires is extremely important to reduce the damaging effect on humans and wildlife. This work introduces a methodology for designing an efficient machine learning system to detect wildfires using satellite imagery. A convolutional neural network (CNN) model is optimized to reduce the required computational resources. Due to the limitations of images containing fire and seasonal variations, an image augmentation process is used to develop adequate training samples for the change in the forest’s visual features and the seasonal wind direction at the study area during the fire season. The selected CNN model (Mob

  Foot and ankle movements are essential in various activities like walking, running, and balance, where the mechanics of these movements are affected by the muscles around the ankle joint [1,2]. In this study, the correlations between isometric ankle torque and muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) in the course of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion was investigated. Eight healthy participants were enrolled for the study, where the ankle torque and surface Electromyography (sEMG) of the main flexors were measured and analyzed. The results showed that ankle torque is higher in plantarflexion than dorsiflexion. In addition, the TA has greater muscle activity during dorsiflexion, while the GAS presents higher ac

Shell-and-double concentric tube heat exchanger is one of the new designs that enhance the heat transfer process. Entransy dissipation is a recent development that incorporates thermodynamics in the design and optimization of heat exchangers. In this paper the concept of entransy dissipation is related to the shell-and-double concentric tube heat exchanger for the first time, where the experiments were conducted using hot oil with temperature of 80, 100 and 120°C, flow rate of cold water was 0.667, 1, and 1.334 kg/m³ respectively and the temperature of inlet cold water was 20°C. The entransy dissipation rate due to heat transfer and to fluid friction or pressure drop was studied.

The aim of present study to investigate the effect of Coraindrum sativum leaves extract on reproductive activity of male albino mice .Thirty male mice with age of 80-100 day and weight between 25-30 g were divided into three groups: group 1 (untreated), group 2 and 3 were administrated orally for 30 days with aqueous extract of Coraindrum sativum leaves at dose 125 and 250mg/kg.b.w. respectively. The following parameters were evaluated: serum testosterone levels, testes weights, sperm characteristics [motility, viability, spermatozoa, morphology and concentration] and histology changes of the testis. The results showed that the treatment caused highly significant degrease (P<0.01) in testosterone levels and the weight of testes assoc