Bearing capacity of a concrete pile in fine grained cohesive soils is affected by the degree of saturation of the surrounding soil through the contribution of the matric suction. In addition, the embedded depth and the roughness of the concrete pile surface (expressed as British Pendulum Number BPN) also have their contribution to the shear strength of the concrete pile, consequently its bearing capacity. Herein, relationships among degree of saturation, pile depth, and surface roughness, were proposed as a mathematical model expressed as an equation where the shear strength of a pile can be predicted in terms of degree of saturation, depth, and BPN. Rel

    Soft clays are generally characterized by low shear strength, low permeability and high compressibility. An effective method to accelerate consolidation of such soils is to use vertical drains along with vacuum preloading to encourage radial flow of water.  In this research numerical modeling of prefabricated vertical drains with vacuum pressure was done to investigate the effect of using vertical drains together with vacuum pressure on the degree of saturation of fully and saturated-unsaturated soft soils.  Laboratory experiments were conducted by using a specially-designed large consolidometer cell where a central drain was installed and vacuum pressure was applied. All tests were conducted

One of the main environmental problems which affect extensively the areas in the world is soil salinity. Traditional data collection methods are neither enough for considering this important environmental problem nor accurate for soil studies. Remote sensing data could overcome most of these problems. Although satellite images are commonly used for these studies, however there are still needs to find the best calibration between the data and real situations in each specified area. Landsat satellite (TM & ETM+) images have been analyzed to study soil pollution (Exacerbation of salinity in the soil without the use of abandoned agricultural for a long time) at west of Baghdad city of Iraqi country for the years 1990, 2001 & 2007. All of the th

The study evaluated the recovery performance of any home herbs group as first aid in some emergency cases. The study involved 10 items of herbs (chamomile, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and anise) which used in acute cases such as cold, colic, inflammation of the intestine and tonsillitis, and (hibiscus, catnip, dried lime, cress seed, and ginger) were used for chronic cases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. The results showed the herbs had healing power and efficiency in the primary remedy for the above-mentioned diseases. The side effects, the contradictions, and the overdoses of these substances were discussed. It was concluded that home herbs could be used for treatment in emergency cases until moder

Land snails constitute an important group of mollusks distributed worldwide. This study reports on land snails found in Iraq. A survey of terrestrial gastropods was performed during their activity seasons in gardens, agricultural lands and nurseries in Iraq from March 2022 to September 2023. Fifteen terrestrial snails belonging to seven families were documented. The species Euchondrus michonii (Bourguignat, 1853) was identified and recorded based on several distinct conchological characters for the first time in Iraq. The recently collected specimens, along with those previously recorded in Iraq, were included in this checklist. Essential information on each species is also presented. As there is no previous checklist or study that

Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, has a number of infectious and non-infectious causes. Two of the viruses that cause hepatitis (hepatitis A and E) can be transmitted through water and food; hygiene is therefore important in their control. First, to assess the importance of HAV and HEV as a possible diagnosis for clinically diagnosed patients with acute viral hepatitis. Second, to assess the prevalence of hepatitis A and E in all provinces of Iraq and study its association with age, gender. This study consisted of two groups: The first group consisted of 2975 patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute viral hepatitis. The second group consisted of a total of 9610 persons, which were recruited by surveying a nationally representative

Background: Mycotoxins have a significant impact on population health worldwide. Ochratoxin is a common mycotoxin that can be detected in the serum of healthy people due to its prevalence in food. Researches on ochratoxin and its metabolites in biological fluids can help us better understand the toxin's biological impacts. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether individuals in Baghdad, Iraq, were exposed to ochratoxin A. Methodology: Serum samples were obtained from 90 healthy persons (ages 14–40 years) and evaluated for ochratoxin A using the human Ochratoxin A ELISA Kit, an accurate, quantitative, and sensitive technique (limit of detection 0.34 ng/ml). Results: We detected Ochratoxin A in all serum samples, with a m

Introduction: The therapeutic efficacy of erythropoietin (EPO) may be diminished by the formation of anti-erythropoietin antibodies (AEAs), potentially resulting in therapy failure. Objectives: This retrospective study included 84 hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) treated with recombinant EPO and aimed to evaluate the association between serum AEA and treatment response. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included eighty-four Iraqi patients with ESRD who had been on recombinant human EPO for more than 6 months and had hemoglobin levels below 11 g/dL. Serum AEA levels were measured in all patients to evaluate their association with treatment response and to investigate correlations with demograph