The research aims to assess the claystone exposed in the Nfayil Formation (Middle Miocene) for Portland cement (P.C.) manufacturing based on mineralogy and geochemistry. The importance of the study is to avoid the miming of the agricultural soils that are mining now for the cement industry. Claystones of Nfayil Formation and the limestone of the Euphrates Formation were used to design the raw mixture as clay to limestone (1:3). The chemical composition (%) of the designed mixture was calculated using the Alligation Alternative Method (A.A.M.) as CaO (65.52), MgO (1.05), SiO2 (21.65), Al2O3 (7.43), Fe2O3 (2.62), Na2O3+K2O (1.52) and SO3 (0.26), which are suitable for P.C. The lime saturation factor (LSF = 92.8), silica saturation factor (SSF = 0.87), alumina ratio (AR = 2.8), silica ratio (SR = 2.16), and calcium to silica (CS = 3.04) of the planned mixture are all within the permissible range. A clinker was successfully manufactured as composed mainly of belite, alite, aluminate, and ferrite.
Nutlets of 22 taxa of Stachys (13 species and seven subspecies and two varieties), representing seven of the currently recognized sections distributed in northern Iraq were examined by light microscope. The basic shape of nutlets in most taxa studied is Obovoid, but Oblong also found in S.megalodanta Hausskn.& Bornm. ex P.H.Davis, S.setirefa C.A.Mey. subsp daenensis (Gandog.) Rech.f.and S. kurdica Boiss.& Hohen. var.kurdica, while the Subgloboid shape found in S. iberica M.Bieb. and S. inflata Benth., more over the Broad triangular shape was found in S. nephrophylla Rech.f. and S.lanigera (Bornm.) Rech.f.., the biggest size of nutlets was found in S.inflata L. and the smallest was in S.melampyroides Hand.-Mzt. Regarding sculpturing pa
... Show MoreVariation in the numbers of pectoral fin spines and rays, pelvic fin rays, gill rakers on the first gill arch, anal fin rays, and the number of vertebrae of Silurus triostegus Heckel were examined in specimens from 16 localities that span its entire distribution range in the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt al-Arab rivers in Iraq. The mean number of the six meristic traits increases toward high latitudes with maximum and minimum values in the north and south of Iraq. Based on cluster analysis and PCA, the Mesopotamian river samples were clearly separated into three distinct groups. The upper Tigris populations were isolated from those of the middle and southern populations of this river and from those of
The predatory bush crickets Saga ephippigera Fischer Von Waldheim, 1846 is the largest Iraqi orthopterans and one of the most active and successful predators in the Kurdistan region. The nymphs and adults prey on all the stages of various species of insects. Twelve adult specimens were collected from Erbil Province during May 2018 and June 2021. Morphological structures of the adult insects were described and illustrated in details; important taxonomic characteristics of body regions with their appendages were chosen; and the results indicated the importance of morphological characteristics which confirmed the identification of this species correctly.
Astragalus mesogitanus is a new recorded species for Iraqi flora, from Onobrychium genus section, was collected from Erbil district, all morphological features were described in details as well as some micromorphological character as the trichomes and were provided with dimensions and plates, section key was also updated which illustrated the importance of standard (corolla) trichomes in species identification. Keywords: Astragalus, Fabaceae, Iraq, New record, Onobrychium, Trichomes.
In this research, the geotechnical properties of the soil profile in Hilla city within Babylon Governorate in the middle parts of Iraq are described. The geotechnical data at the specific sites were collected from some geotechnical investigation reports performed at some selected locations. This article is devoted to studying the distribution of soil properties (the physical and mechanical) in the horizontal and vertical directions. Moreover, a correlation between different physical and mechanical properties is performed. The correlation is executed using statistical analysis by Microsoft Excel Software (2016). From the regression results, it was found that the nature of the soil is c
A total of 722 algal taxa are recorded in Diyala River by different authors. Most of the identification algae belong to three Divisions: Bacillariophyceae (367, 50.8%), Chlorophyceae (179, 24.8%), and Cyanophyceae (126, 17.5%).
A revision study of the Sphecidae from Iraq is presented. A survey is conducted to collect the specimens from different regions; generally, there were 41 species belonging to 12 genera and 4 subfamilies are revised with synonyms.
The current investigation included the species previously reported in Iraq, which were not collected during the current investigations; the distribution and other information are also provided.