Sustainable crop production in a coarse soil texture is challenging due to high water permeability and low soil water holding capacity. In this paper, subsurface water retention technology (SWRT) through impermeable polyethylene membranes was placed at depth 35 cm below ground surface and within the root zone to evaluate and compare the impact of these membranes and control treatment (without using the membranes) on yield and water use efficiency of eggplant inside the greenhouse. The study was conducted in Al-Fahamah Township, Baghdad, Iraq during spring growing season 2017. Results demonstrated the yield and water use efficiencies were 3.483 kg/m² and 5.653 kg/m³, respectively for SWRT treatment p

 Abstract

In this paper, fatigue damage accumulation were studied using many methods i.e.Corton-Dalon (CD),Corton-Dalon-Marsh(CDM), new non-linear model and experimental method. The prediction of fatigue lifetimes based on the two classical methods, Corton-Dalon (CD)andCorton-Dalon-Marsh (CDM), are uneconomic and non-conservative respectively. However satisfactory predictions were obtained by applying the proposed non-linear model (present model) for medium carbon steel compared with experimental work. Many shortcomings of the two classical methods are related to their inability to take into account the surface treatment effect as shot peening. It is clear that the new model shows that a much better and cons

The adopted accelerated curing methods in the experimental work are 55ºC and 82ºC according to British standard methods. The concrete mix with the characteristics compressive strength of 35MPa is design according to the ACI 211.1, the mix proportion is (1:2.65:3.82) for cement, fine and coarse aggregate, respectively. The concrete reinforced with different volume fraction (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75)% of glass, carbon and polypropylene fibers. The experimental results showed that the accelerated curing method using 82ºC gives a compressive strength higher than 55ºC method for all concrete mixes. In addition, the fiber reinforced concrete with 0.75% gives the maximum compressive strength, flexural and splitting tensile strength for all types of

Morphologies of ceramic hollow fiber membranes prepared by a combined phase-inversion and sintering method were studied. The organic binder spinning solution containing suspended Al₂O₃ powders was spun to a hollow fiber precursor, which was then sintered at elevated temperatures( 300 ˚C, 1400 ˚C, 25 ˚C) in order to obtain the Al₂O₃ hollow fiber membranes. The spinning solution consisted of polyether sulfone (PES), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), which were used as polymer binder, solvent, respectively. The prepared Al₂O₃ hollow fiber membranes were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is believed that finger-like void formation in asymmetric ceramic membranes is initiated by hydrodynamically unstable vis

Improving the accuracy of load-deformation behavior, failure mode, and ultimate load capacity for reinforced concrete members subjected to in-plane loadings such as corbels, wall to foundation connections and panels need shear strength behavior to be included. Shear design in reinforced concrete structures depends on crack width, crack slippage and roughness of the surface of cracks.

This paper illustrates results of an experimental investigation conducted to investigate the direct shear strength of fiber normal strength concrete (NSC) and reactive powder concrete (RPC). The tests were performed along a pre-selected shear plane in concrete members named push-off specimens. The effectiveness of concrete compressiv

The current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless steel

The current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless st

The behaviour of certain dynamical nonlinear systems are described in term as chaos, i.e., systems' variables change with the time, displaying very sensitivity to initial conditions of chaotic dynamics. In this paper, we study archetype systems of ordinary differential equations in two-dimensional phase spaces of the Rössler model. A system displays continuous time chaos and is explained by three coupled nonlinear differential equations. We study its characteristics and determine the control parameters that lead to different behavior of the system output, periodic, quasi-periodic and chaos. The time series, attractor, Fast Fourier Transformation and bifurcation diagram for different values have been described.

Objective: The present work was undertaken to investigate the impact of sub inhibitory concentration of gentamicin on hla gene expression in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Methods: The bacterial isolates used in this study represent 33 MRSA strains, previously isolated form patients visiting several hospitals in Baghdad. Gentamicin, vancomycin, and oxacillin MIC were determined using broth dilution method. Microtiter plate method was adopted to investigate the biofilm forming capacity. Alpha hemolysin was detected by culturing MRSA isolates on rabbit blood agar. Furthermore, hla gene was detected in MRSA isolates using conventional PCR technique; while, qRT-PCR method was performed to assay the hla expression in plank

Background: Plantar heel pain is a clinical syndrome characterized by pain and tenderness beneath the heel which is typically worse in the morning and improves after the first few steps in the day. It is a common and frequently disabling clinical complaint that may be caused by a broad spectrum of osseous or soft tissue disorders. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an operation of multiple drilling of calcaneum for resistant plantar heel pain syndrome. Methods: During the period from November 2012 to August 2016, 17 patients (17heels) were enrolled in a cohort clinical study at the orthopedic unit in AL-Sheikh Zayed and AlWassity Hospitals. Result: Drilling of the calcaneum is a simple procedure achieving 70.6% cure in resistant as