The Iraqi marshes are considered the most extensive wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and are located in the middle and lower basin of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers which create a wetlands network and comprise some shallow freshwater lakes that seasonally swamped floodplains. Al-Hawizeh marsh is a major marsh located east of Tigris River south of Iraq. This study aims to assess water quality through water quality index (WQI) and predict Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) concentrations in Al-Hawizeh marsh based on artificial neural network (ANN). Results showed that the WQI was more than 300 for years 2013 and 2014 (Water is unsuitable for drinking) and decreased within the range 200-300 in years 2015 and 2016 (Very poor water). The develope

Background: fixed orthodontic appliances deleterious influence on gingival health is well documented. Association between weight status and gingival health is presented in many studies. This study aimed to evaluate how early the impact of fixed orthodontic therapy on patients` gingival health, and if there are differences of that impact among different weight status groups. Materials and Methods: Sample consisted of 54 patients (25 males, 29 females; age limits are 16 -18 years) going under the course of treatment with fixed orthodontic appliance. Patients were categorized according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) into 3 weight status groups considering WHO charts in 2007 (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese), then determinat

The expansion in water projects implementations in Turkey and Syria becomes of great concern to the workers in the field of water resources management in Iraq. Such expansion with the absence of bi-lateral agreement between the three riparian countries of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Turkey, Syria and Iraq, is expected to lead to a substantially reduction of water inflow to the territories of Iraq. Accordingly, this study consists of two parts: first part is aiming to study the changes of the water inflow to the territory of Iraq, at Turkey and Syria borders, from 1953 to 2009; the results indicated that the annual mean inflow in Tigris River was decreased from 677 m³/sec to 526 m³/sec, after operating Turkey reserv

In this paper a dynamic behavior and control of  a jacketed continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR)  is developed using different control strategies, conventional feedback control (PI and PID), and neural network (NARMA-L2, and NN Predictive) control. The dynamic model for CSTR process is described by a first order lag system with dead time.

The optimum tuning of control parameters are found by two different methods; Frequency Analysis Curve method (Bode diagram) and Process Reaction Curve using the mean of Square Error (MSE) method. It is found that the Process Reaction Curve method is better than the Frequency Analysis Curve method and PID feedback controller is better than PI feedback controller.

The results s

Electronic remote identification (ER-ID) is a new radio frequency (RF) technology that is initiated by the Federal Aviation Authorities (FAA). For security reasons, traffic control, and so on, ER-ID has been applied for drones by the FAA to enable them to transmit their unique identification and location so that unauthorized drones can be identified. The current limitation of the existing ER-ID algorithms is that the application is limited to the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless controllers, which results in a maximum range of 10–20 m for Bluetooth and 50–100 m for Wi-Fi. In this study, a mathematical computing technique based on finite state automaton (FSA) is introduced to expand the range of the ER-ID RF system and reduce the ene

Background: Herbs are being widely explored to discover alternatives to synthetic antibacterial agents.Small Cardamom often referred to as queen of spices because of its very pleasant aroma and taste, have a history as old as human race. Most people use cardamom as a spice and are largely unaware of its numerous health benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of water and alcoholic cardamom extracts on sensitivities, growth, and adherence of Mutans streptococci in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this study, saliva was collected from ten volunteers (College students 18-22 years). Agar well technique was used to study the sensitivities of Mutans streptococci to different concentrations of s

Background: Spices and herbs have been used by many cultures to enhance the flavor and aroma of food and for their medicinal value. Black cardamom is one of these spices widely used in cooking because of its unique taste and powerful flavor. The aim of study was to test the effect of black cardamom on Mutans Streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) and de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Dried fruits of black cardamom were extracted by using alcohol (70% ethanol). Saliva was collected from seven volunteers. Agar well technique with different concentrations of black cardamom extracts was used to test the sensitivities of Mutans Streptococci, as well black cardamom extracts effect on viable counts of Mutans Streptococ

In subterranean coal seam gas (CSG) reservoirs, massive amounts of small-sized coal fines are released during the production and development stages, especially during hydraulic fracturing stimulation. These coal fines inevitably cause mechanical pump failure and permeability damage due to aggregation and subsequent pore-throat blockage. This aggregation behavior is thus of key importance in CSG production and needs to be minimized. Consequently, such coal fines dispersions need to be stabilized, which can be achieved by the formulation of improved fracturing fluids. Here, we thus systematically investigated the effectiveness of two additives (ethanol, 0.5 wt % and SDBS, 0.001 and 0.01 wt %) on dispersion stability for a wide range of condit

Solid waste is a major issue in today's world. Which can be a contributing factor to pollution and the spread of vector-borne diseases. Because of its complicated nonlinear processes, this problem is difficult to model and optimize using traditional methods. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to optimize the cost of solid waste recycling and management. In the optimization phase, the salp swarm algorithm (SSA) is utilized to determine the level of discarded solid waste and reclaimed solid waste. An optimization technique SSA is a new method of finding the ideal solution for a mathematical relationship based on leaders and followers. It takes a lot of random solutions, as well as their outward or inward fluctuations, t