The global food supply heavily depends on utilizing fertilizers to meet production goals. The adverse impacts of traditional fertilization practices on the environment have necessitated the exploration of new alternatives in the form of smart fertilizer technologies (SFTs). This review seeks to categorize SFTs, which are slow and controlled-release Fertilizers (SCRFs), nano fertilizers, and biological fertilizers, and describes their operational principles. It examines the environmental implications of conventional fertilizers and outlines the attributes of SFTs that effectively address these concerns. The findings demonstrate a pronounced environmental advantage of SFTs, including enhanced crop yields, minimized nutrient loss, improved nutrient use efficiency, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nevertheless, amidst these benefits, the challenges and constraints associated with these technologies, such as production expenses and potential environmental impacts of specific components, are also discussed. A comparative assessment of these SFTs emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach, considering three crucial factors: efficiency, environmental safety, and cost-effectiveness. While no single SFT achieves optimal balance across these dimensions, integrating multiple fertilizer technologies may help mitigate individual drawbacks. Also, financial and cost-to-benefit analyses are essential to gauge their applicability across diverse cropping environments. Future perspectives shed light on emerging SFTs and innovative approaches to overcome prevailing challenges and cultivate a more impactful role in fostering sustainable agriculture
Lacing reinforcement plays a critical role in the design and performance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs by distributing the applied loads more evenly across the slab, ensuring that no specific area of the slab is overloaded. In this study, nine slabs, divided into three groups according to the investigated parameters, were meticulously designed and evaluated to study the interplay between the lacing reinforcement and other key parameters. Each slab was crafted for simple support and was subjected to both static and repeated two-point load tests. The lacing reinforcement had an angle of 45° with various tension and lacing steel. The repeated-tested specimens with lacing reinforcement experienced smaller ductility than those of s
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study was to distinguish between healthy children and those with epilepsy by electroencephalography (EEG). Two biomarkers including Hurst exponents (H) and Tsallis entropy (TE) were used to investigate the background activity of EEG of 10 healthy children and 10 with epilepsy. EEG artifacts were removed using Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter. As it hypothesize, there was a significant changes in irregularity and complexity in epileptic EEG in comparison with healthy control subjects using t-test (p< 0.05). The increasing in complexity changes were observed in H and TE results of epileptic subjects make them suggested EEG biomarker associated with epilepsy and a reliable tool for detection and identification of this di
... Show MoreAbstract In this study, an investigation is conducted to realise the possibility of organic materials use in radio frequency (RF) electronics for RF-energy harvesting. Iraqi palm tree remnants mixed with nickel oxide nanoparticles hosted in polyethylene, INP substrates, is proposed for this study. Moreover, a metamaterial (MTM) antenna is printed on the created INP substrate of 0.8 mm thickness using silver nanoparticles conductive ink. The fabricated antenna performances are instigated numerically than validated experimentally in terms of S11 spectra and radiation patterns. It is found that the proposed antenna shows an ultra-wide band matching bandwidth to cover the frequencies from 2.4 to 10 GHz with bore-sight gain variation from 2.2 to
... Show MoreLacing reinforcement plays a critical role in the design and performance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs by distributing the applied loads more evenly across the slab, ensuring that no specific area of the slab is overloaded. In this study, nine slabs, divided into three groups according to the investigated parameters, were meticulously designed and evaluated to study the interplay between the lacing reinforcement and other key parameters. Each slab was crafted for simple support and was subjected to both static and repeated two-point load tests. The lacing reinforcement had an angle of 45° with various tension and lacing steel. The repeated-tested specimens with lacing reinforcement experienced smaller ductility than those of s
... Show MoreCassava, a significant crop in Africa, Asia, and South America, is a staple food for millions. However, classifying cassava species using conventional color, texture, and shape features is inefficient, as cassava leaves exhibit similarities across different types, including toxic and non-toxic varieties. This research aims to overcome the limitations of traditional classification methods by employing deep learning techniques with pre-trained AlexNet as the feature extractor to accurately classify four types of cassava: Gajah, Manggu, Kapok, and Beracun. The dataset was collected from local farms in Lamongan Indonesia. To collect images with agricultural research experts, the dataset consists of 1,400 images, and each type of cassava has
... Show MoreObjective: In this work we design and evaluate a bidirectional pneumatic soft actuator made from silicone rubber (RTV2 C10) for the use in prosthetic hand. The actuator aimed to enhance flexibility and provide motion in two directions that mimic the actions of the human fingers. Materials and Methods: Two parallel air chambers are used in the actuator design where each chamber is divided into smaller internal cavities. These chambers are linked through a narrow connecting channel. The fabrication process relied on a molding technique based on 3D printed molds. Three separate mold components were designed and printed to allow accurate casting of silicone rubber into the desired shape. The completed actuators were then tested using an experim
... Show MoreIn this paper, game theory was used and applied to the transport sector in Iraq, as this sector includes two axes, the public transport axis and the second axis the private transport axis, as each of these axes includes several types of transport, namely (sea transport, air transport, land transport, transport by rail, port transport) and the travel and tourism sector, as public transport lacks this sector, as the competitive advantage matrix for the transport sector was formed and after applying the MinMax-MaxMin principle to the matrix in all its stages, it was found that there was an equilibrium point except for the last stage where the equilibrium point was not available Therefore, the use of the linear programming method was
... Show MoreMammals are under threat worldwide due to deforestation, hunting, and other human activities. In Iraq, a total of 93 species of wild mammals have been recorded including species with global conservation concern. Bamo Mountain is situated within the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq which is a suitable habitat for wild mammals. Due to scarcity of the field survey efforts and cryptic behavior, monitoring of the wild mammals fauna in Zagros Mountain seems challenging. Therefore, we used a camera trap which seems to be an ideal way to determine species diversity of wild mammals in Bamo Mountain. Moreover, interviews with local villagers were performed. The mammalian diversity of Bamo Mountain is not fully explored but seemed threatened by lo
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