High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minne
... Show MoreBasil (Ocimum basilicum L.), a leafy plant used for fresh food, medicinal purposes, and aromatic purposes (including the extraction of volatile essential oil and active compounds), was the subject of a worker experiment at the College of Education for Pure Sciences Ibn Al-Haitham / University of Baghdad during the 2023 growing season. The experiment aimed to determine the effects of spraying the basil plant’s vegetative system with aqueous extracts of watercress and parsley on the plant’s growth characteristics and the production of active compounds. The experiment included two factors, the first factor, the aqueous extract of the watercress plant in three concentrations (0, 5, 10
To achieve sustainability in the field of civil engineering, there has become a great interest in developing reactive powder concrete RPC through the use of environmentally friendly materials to reduce the release of CO2 gas produced from cement factories as well as contribute to the recycling of industrial wastes that have a great impact on environmental pollution.
In this study, reactive powder concrete was prepared using total binder content of 800 kg/m3, water to binder ratio (0.275), and micro steel fibers 1% by volume of concrete. The experimental program included replacing fly ash with (8, 12, 16) % by cement weight to find the optimal ratio, which achieved the best mechanical proper
... Show MoreGypsum is one of the important construction materials in Iraq in plastering surfaces and gypsum board , the ability of gypsum to give a comfortable an aesthetic ambiance as a construction material increase the need of gypsum , The particle size , total surface area and particle size distribution were factors affecting plaster properties used for construction properties . In this study gypsum paste was used with different mixing ratios of particle size and studied the physical properties of these types of pastes named (standard consistency ,setting time ,density) and compressive strength . The results showed that the water to gypsum ratio increased with increasing the fineness of the gypsum to (0.75%) and the setting time to the maxi
... Show MoreThis study describe the effect of temperature on the optical
properties of nickel(ii) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium
salt (NiPcTs) organic thin films which are prepared by spin coating
on indium tin oxide (ITO-glass). The optical absorption spectra of
these thin films are measured. Present studies reveal that the optical
band gap energies of NiPcTs thin films are dependent on the
annealing temperatures. The optical band gap decreases with increase
in annealing temperature, then increased when the temperature rising
to 473K. To enhance the results of Uv-Vis measurements and get
more accurate values of optical energy gaps; the Photoluminescence
spectra of as-deposited and annealed NiPcTs thin fi
The ground-state properties of exotic 18N and 20F nuclei, including the neutron, proton and matter densities and related radii are investigated using the two-body model of within Gaussian (GS) and Woods Saxon (WS) wave functions. The long tail is evident in the computed neutron and matter densities of these nuclei. The plane wave Born approximation (PWBA) is calculate the elastic form factors of these exotic nuclei. The variation in the proton density distributions due to the presence of the extra neutrons in 18N and 20F leads to a major difference between the elastic form factors of these exotic nuclei and their stable isotopes 14N and 19F. The reaction c
... Show MoreIn this study, plastic wastes named (PET and PVC) were used to prepare polymer matrix composite (PMC) which can be used in different applications. Composite materials were prepared by mixing unsaturated polyester resin (UP) with plastic wastes, two types of plastic waste were used in this work included polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with various weight fractions (0, 5,10,15, 20 and 25%) added as a filler in flakes form. In this work, some of the tests that were carried out included (tensile, bending, and compressive strength) as mechanical tests, in addition to (thermal conductivity and water absorption) as physical tests. The values of tensile, compressive strength and Young's modulus of UP increased after
... Show MoreThis Study aimed to studying the effect of Volatile oil extracted from the leaves of Myrtus communis on the growth and activities of the following types of bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the yeast Candida albicans. The results showed an inhibitory effect of the oil on both the growth and activity of the tested microbes. This was reflected by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa which was: (2.5, 1.25, and 2.5,5 % respectively), and the yeast (5) %. Also, the Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) to the bacteria mentioned above was (5, 2.5,5,10 % respectivel
... Show MoreBackground: During acrylic resin processing, the mold must be separated from the surface of the gypsum to prevent liquid resin from penetrating into the gypsum, and water from the gypsum seeping into the acrylic resin. For many years, tin foil was the most acceptable separating medium, and because it's difficult to apply, a tin-foil substitute is used. In this study, olive oil is used as an alternative to tin foil separating medium for first time, and evaluating its effect as a separating medium on some mechanical properties such as (indentation hardness and transverse strength) of acrylic resins denture base comparing it with those processed using tin-foil and tin foil substitute such as (cold mold seal) separating medium. Materials and M
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