Flexible pavements are subjected to three main distress types: fatigue crack, thermal crack, and permanent deformation. Under severe climate conditions, thermal cracking particularly contributes largely to a considerable scale of premature deterioration of pavement infrastructure worldwide. This challenge is especially relevant for Europe, as weather conditions vary significantly throughout the year. Hydrated lime (HL) has been recognized as an effective additive to improve the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete for pavement applications. Previous research has found that a replacement of conventional limestone dust filler using hydrated lime at 2.5% of the total weight of aggregates generated an optimum improvement in the mechanical properties of the asphalt concrete mixes used for all three purposed layers (i.e., wearing, levelling, and base) at atmospheric temperatures from mild to relatively high. This paper reports on a continuous experimental test for the thermal properties of the optimized hydrated lime-modified mixes. The experiment together with that conducted before provides the required data to characterize the thermomechanical constitutive relations of the optimized hydrated lime-modified mixes. The obtained thermal and mechanical properties thereafter were implemented in a numerical modelling study for a scenario involving pavement exposed to coupled thermal and traffic service conditions. The study has demonstrated that using HL in mineral filler enhances the thermal properties of asphalt concrete, which, however, showed little influence on the local temperature profiles within the pavement structure. The thermal effect is pronounced under the coupled thermomechanical conditions for a pavement exposed to both traffic and climatic impacts. The HL pavement has about 1.5% less deformation, and 39% less stress level under traffic loading only, but the thermal effect increases the maximum total internal tensile stress level by 26% in the HL pavement in winter season. The modelling analysis has shown that the local maximum tensile stress dominates in the surface region of the HL pavement. It will help to reduce the workload of crack repairing and in long term help on saving costs and efforts of maintenance.
Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) exhibit promising biomedical properties, but concerns about biocompatibility and synthesis-related toxicity remain. This study aimed to develop eco-friendly PtNPs using aqueous broccoli extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent, and to assess their multifunctional biomedical potential. PtNPs were synthesized through sonochemical reduction of K₂PtCl₆ in broccoli extract, followed by purification and comprehensive physicochemical characterization. UV–Vis confirmed nanoparticle formation at 253 nm, while XRD and FTIR analyses verified the crystalline FCC structure and phytochemical capping. TEM revealed mainly spherical PtNPs with an average core size of 14.83 ± 7.67 nm. Conversely, DLS showe
... Show MoreBackground Numerous studies indicated that workers in the health sector suffer from work stress, hassles, and mental health problems associated with COVID-19, which negatively affect the completion of their job tasks. These studies pointed out the need to search for mechanisms that enable workers to cope with job stress effectively. Objectives This study investigated psychological flow, mental immunity, and job performance levels among the mental health workforce in Saudi Arabia. It also tried to reveal the psychological flow (PF) and mental immunity (MI) predictability of job performance (JP). Method A correlational survey design was employed. The study sample consisted of 120 mental health care practitioners (therapists, psychologists, co
... Show MoreThis research investigates the adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetics of nitrogen from air using packed bed of Li-LSX zeolite to get medical oxygen. Experiments were carried out to estimate the produced oxygen purity under different operating conditions: input pressure of 0.5 – 2.5 bar, feed flow rate of air of 2 – 10 L.min-1 and packing height of 9-16 cm. The adsorption isotherm was studied at the best conditions of input pressure of 2.5 bar, the height of packing 16 cm, and flow rate 6 Lmin-1 at ambient temperature, at these conditions the highest purity of oxygen by this system 73.15 vol % of outlet gas was produced. Langmuir isotherm was the best models representing the experimental data., and the m
... Show MoreHerein, the interfacial polymerization method has been used for the synthesis of PPy/NaVO3 composites with different compositions of NaVO3 (10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 % and 50 %) as an efficient electrode material for supercapacitors. The successful formation and composition of the as-prepared composites (PV1-PV5) were confirmed by FTIR, XRD, EDX, and SEM analysis. The electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanometric charge–discharge measurement (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte. As compared to other, the PV4 composite exhibit excellent specific capacitance of 391 F g−1 at a current density of 0.75 A/g with good cycling stability of ∼59 % after 1000 cycle
... Show MoreUropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is problematic and still the leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide. It is developed resistance against most antibiotics. The investigation, surveillance system, and efficient strategy will facilitate selecting an appropriate treatment that could control the bacterial distribution. The present study aims to investigate the epidemiology and associated risk factors of uropathogenic E. coli and to study their antibiotic resistance patterns. 1585 midstream urine specimens were collected from symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI) patients (225 males and 1360 females) admitted to Zakho emergency hospital, Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from January 2016 until the end of December 2
... Show MoreAbstract:
Taghlib tribe had an important part in the history of the first century of
hijra. She managed to get the best social, economic and political basis in the
Arab- Islamic state. In this basis Taghlib was the best Dhimies in the Islamic
state. This tribe refused to be among the people of the book, and to be from
the people of dhima. That tribe refused to pay the Jizya and Khraj, but
accepted to pay double Sadaqa in stead of Jizya and Khraj, so in that case
many Muslims become angry.
Although their Christianity was naïve and simple, Taghlib hold it until the
end of the third century A.H. Taghlib did so because her people wanted to
keep their good relation with the Byzantine. Taghlib thought that the
Background: Survey of the occlusion in population groups usually include in their objections the academic assessment of occlusal feature, the planning resources for public health treatment programmers, the comparison of different population and the screening of groups for orthodontic treatment. Likewise a thorough investigation of the occurrence of malocclusions among school–students would be of major importance in the planning of orthodontic treatment in the public dental health services. For this purpose it is necessary to have detailed information on the prevalence of individual malocclusion among boys and girls at different ages distributed regionally, and moreover, an analysis of the need for orthodontic treatment in the different sc
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