This study was aimed to investigate the response of two types of ornamental herbaceous plants (Wedelia trilobata and Jacobaea maritima 'Cirrus') to different agricultural environments and the application of potassium silicates to the living walls system LWS (Felt layer system) under the climate conditions of Baghdad city. Each experiment involved the cultivation of a different plant species, and the study duration was from September 15, 2021, to August 1, 2022. A Strip-Plot Design experiment was conducted using two factors: factor M with four levels of substrates (50% peatmoss and perlite (M1), 50% Vermicompost and perlite (M2), 50% Water hyacinth compost and perlite (M3), 50% wheat straw compost and perlite (M4)) and factor S with three levels of foliar spray of potassium silicate (0, 1.5, and 3 ml Lֿ ¹) S1, S2 and S3 respectively. The results differed according to the different substrates, and the study indicators were superior using potassium silicate concentrations compared to the comparison treatment.
Optical burst switching (OBS) network is a new generation optical communication technology. In an OBS network, an edge node first sends a control packet, called burst header packet (BHP) which reserves the necessary resources for the upcoming data burst (DB). Once the reservation is complete, the DB starts travelling to its destination through the reserved path. A notable attack on OBS network is BHP flooding attack where an edge node sends BHPs to reserve resources, but never actually sends the associated DB. As a result the reserved resources are wasted and when this happen in sufficiently large scale, a denial of service (DoS) may take place. In this study, we propose a semi-supervised machine learning approach using k-means algorithm
... Show MoreThis paper describes the problem of online autonomous mobile robot path planning, which is consisted of finding optimal paths or trajectories for an autonomous mobile robot from a starting point to a destination across a flat map of a terrain, represented by a 2-D workspace. An enhanced algorithm for solving the problem of path planning using Bacterial Foraging Optimization algorithm is presented. This nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, which imitates the foraging behavior of E-coli bacteria, was used to find the optimal path from a starting point to a target point. The proposed algorithm was demonstrated by simulations in both static and dynamic different environments. A comparative study was evaluated between the developed algori
... Show MoreThis paper presents thermal characteristics analysis of a modified Closed Wet Cooling Tower (CWCT) based on heat and mass transfer principles to improve the performance of this tower in Iraq. A prototype of CWCT optimized by added packing was designed, manufactured and tested for cooling capacity of 9 kW. Experiments are conducted to explore the effects of various operational and conformational parameters on the thermal performance. In the test section, spray water temperature and both dry bulb temperature and relative humidity of the air measured at intermediate points of the heat exchanger and packing. Heat exchangers consist of four rows and eight columns for an inline tubes arrangement and six rows and five columns f
... Show MoreQuadrotors are coming up as an attractive platform for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research, due to the simplicity of their structure and maintenance, their ability to hover, and their vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability. With the vast advancements in small-size sensors, actuators, and processors, researchers are now focusing on developing mini UAV’s to be used in both research and commercial applications. This work presents a detailed mathematical nonlinear dynamic model of the quadrotor which is formulated using the Newton-Euler method. Although the quadrotor is a 6 DOF under-actuated system, the derived rotational subsystem is fully actuated, while the translational subsystem is under-actuated. The der
... Show MoreThis paper deals with a Twin Rotor Aerodynamic System (TRAS). It is a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system with high crosscoupling between its two channels. It proposes a hybrid design procedure that combines frequency response and root locus approaches. The proposed controller is designated as PID-Lead Compensator (PIDLC); the PID controller was designed in previous work using frequency response design specifications, while the lead compensator is proposed in this paper and is designed using the root locus method. A general explicit formula for angle computations in any of the four quadrants is also given. The lead compensator is designed by shifting the dominant closed-loop poles slightly to the left in the s-plane. This has the effect
... Show MoreBackground: The immune system of the oral cavity suffers alterations due to fixed orthodontic treatment which act as potent stimulus for oral secretory immunity. The aims of this study are to estimate the effect of fixed orthodontic appliance on the level of salivary sIgA at different time intervals, and to verify the gender difference. Materials and method: The patient's history, clinical examination, and fixed orthodontic appliances were placed for 30 Iraqi orthodontic adult patients had class II division 1 and/ or class I malocclusion (15 males and 15 females) aged 18-25 years old. The unstimulated whole saliva was collected from each sample immediately before wearing fixed appliance (control group T0 as base line), and after 2 weeks (T1
... Show MoreSpent hydrodesulfurization (Co-Mo/γ-Al2O3) catalyst generally contains valuable metals like molybdenum (Mo), cobalt (Co), aluminium (Al) on a supporting material, such as γ-Al2O3. In the present study, a two stages alkali/acid leaching process was conducted to study leaching of cobalt, molybdenum and aluminium from Co-Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The acid leaching of spent catalyst, previously treated by alkali solution to remove molybdenum, yielded a solution rich in cobalt and aluminium.
This paper proposes a new structure for a Fractional Order Sliding Mode Controller (FOSMC) to control a Twin Rotor Aerodynamic System (TRAS). The new structure is composed by defining two 3-dimensional sliding mode surfaces for the TRAS model and introducing fractional order derivative integral in the state variables as well as in the control action. The parameters of the controller are determined so as to minimize the Integral of Time multiplied by Absolute Error (ITAE) performance index. Through comparison, this controller outperforms its integer counterpart in many specifications, such as reducing the delay time, rise time, percentage overshoot, settling time, time to reach the sliding surface, and amplitude of chattering in control inpu
... Show MoreThe challenge to incorporate usability evaluation values and practices into agile development process is not only persisting but also systemic. Notable contributions of researchers have attempted to isolate and close the gaps between both fields, with the aim of developing usable software. Due to the current absence of a reference model that specifies where and how usability activities need to be considered in the agile development process. This paper proposes a model for identifying appropriate usability evaluation methods alongside the agile development process. By using this model, the development team can apply usability evaluations at the right time at the right place to get the necessary feedback from the end-user. Verificatio
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