Objective: This study goal was to screen participants from different settings in Baghdad for depression using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale and identify factors influencing the levels of depression. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 313 people from four settings (teaching hospital, college of medicine, college of pharmacy, and high school) in Baghdad, Iraq. The participants were screened using paper survey relying on the BDI scale during spring 2018. Using multiple linear regression analysis, we measured the association between depression scores and six participant factors. Results: The overall prevalence of depression in our sample was 57.2%. Female participants had higher BDI scores (depression symptoms) than male participants. Among those with depression, the majority (73.7%) had mild or moderate degree of depression. In terms of the cut-off scores, 42.8 % scored in the normal range, 20.4 % in the mild range, 7.0 % in the borderline range, 14.7 % in the moderate range, 10.5 % in the severe range and 4.5 % in the very severe range depression. Approximately 63% of the participants had sort of suicidal thoughts. The regression analysis showed significant (P-value < 0.05) association between having higher scores of depression symptoms and the presence of chronic disease(s), recent family loss, young age and female gender. Conclusions: In our findings, depression was quite prevalent among people in Iraq. The study demonstrates the importance of broad screening and social/psychiatric counseling of young population. Iraqi healthcare professionals should structure specific actions for patients with chronic diseases to minimize their depression symptoms. Article Type: Orignal Research
This paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study on the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns with longitudinal steel embedded tubes positioned at the center of the column cross-section. A total of 12 pin-ended square sectional columns of 150 × 150 mm having a total height of 1400 mm were investigated. The considered variables were the steel tube diameters of 29, 58, and 76 mm and the load eccentricity (0, 50, and 150) mm. Accordingly, these columns were divided into three groups (four columns in each group) depending on the load eccentricity (e) to column depth (h) ratio (e/h = 0, 1/3, and 1). For each group, one column was solid (reference), and the other three columns contained steel tubes with hollow rat
... Show MoreThe experimental and numerical analysis was performed on pipes suffering large plastic deformation through expanding them using rigid conical shaped mandrels, with three different cone angles (15◦, 25◦, 35◦) and diameters (15, 17, 20) mm. The experimental test for the strain results investigated the expanded areas. A numerical solution of the pipes expansion process was also investigated using the commercial finite element software ANSYS. The strains were measured for each case experimentally by stamping the mesh on the pipe after expanding, then compared with Ansys results. No cracks were generated during the process with the selected angles. It can be concluded that the strain decreased with greater angles of con
... Show MoreThe present study aims to remove nickel ions from solution of the simulated wastewater using (Laminaria saccharina) algae as a biosorbent material. Effects of experimental parameters such as temperature at (20 - 40) C⁰, pH at (3 - 7) at time (10 - 120) min on the removal efficiency were studied.
Box-Wilson method was adopted to obtain a relationship between the above three experimental parameters and removal percentage of the nickel ions. The experimental data were fitted to second order polynomial model, and the optimum conditions for the removal process of nickel ions were obtained.
The highest removal percentage of nickel ions obtained was 98.8 %, at best operating conditions (Temperature 35 C⁰, pH 5 and Time 10 min).
The invention relates to a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for determining a measuring position of a probe. The AACMM isdepends on the robotkinematics (forward and reverse) in their measurementprinciple, i.e., using the AACMM links and joint angles todetermine the exact workspace or part coordinates. Hence, themeasurements are obtained using an AACMM will be extremely accurate and precise since that ismerely dependent on rigid structural parameters and the only source of measurement error is due to human operators. In this paper, a new AACMM design was proposed. The new AACMM design addresses common issues such as solving the complex kinematics, overcoming the workspace limitation, avoiding singularity, and eliminating the effects of
... Show MoreThe Mishrif Formation is one of the most important geological formations in Iraq consisting of limestone, marl, and shale layers since it is one of the main oil producing reservoirs in the country, which contain a significant portion of Iraq's oil reserves. The formation has been extensively explored and developed by the Iraqi government and international oil companies, with many oil fields being developed within it. The accurate evaluation of the Mishrif formation is key to the successful exploitation of this field. However, its geological complexity poses significant challenges for oil production, requiring advanced techniques to accurately evaluate its petrophysical properties.
This study used advanced well-logging analysi
... Show MoreIn modern hydraulic control systems, the trend in hydraulic power applications is to improve efficiency and performance. “Proportional valve” is generally applied to pressure, flow and directional-control valves which continuously convert a variable input signal into a smooth and proportional hydraulic output signal. It creates a variable resistance (orifice) upstream and downstream of a hydraulic actuator, and is meter in/meter out circuit and hence pressure drop, and power losses are inevitable. If velocity (position) feedback is used, flow pattern control is possible. Without aforementioned flow pattern, control is very “loose” and relies on “visual” feed back by the operator. At this point, we should examine how this valv
... Show MoreSpraying pesticides is one of the most common procedures that is conducted to control pests. However, excessive use of these chemicals inversely affects the surrounding environments including the soil, plants, animals, and the operator itself. Therefore, researchers have been encouraged to...
Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are widely used for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and the characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on a polymer-coated photonic crystal fiber that operates in a Mach- Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) transmission mode. The fabrication of the sensor involved splicing a short (1 cm) length of Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) between two single-mode fibers (SMF). It was then coated with a layer of agarose solution. Experimental results showed that a high humidity sensitivity of 29.37 pm/%RH was achieved within a measurement range of 27–95%RH. The sensor also showed good repeatability, small size, measurement accuracy and wide humidity range. The RH sensitivity o
... Show MoreThe aim of this paper is to present method for solving ordinary differential equations of eighth order with two point boundary conditions. We propose two-point osculatory interpolation to construct polynomial solution.