The implementation of decentralization in Iraq was asymmetrical, leading to different forms and paces of implementation. Comparing four cases of Basra, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Sulaymaniyah indicate that these cases differ in their political stability and autonomy in a way that led to a different forms of decentralization. This paper argues that the higher the level of political autonomy from the federal government, the more efficient the governance model, and the more efficient the governance model, the more legitimate the system (trust), and the more legitimate a system, the more accountable elected officials. Therefore, it recommends reforming the institutional setup of decentralization by having districts, instead of provinces, as the bu

A solar updraft tower power plant (solar tower) is a solar thermal power plant that utilizes a combination of solar

air collector and central updraft tube to generate an induced convective flow which drives pressure staged turbines to generate electricity.

 This paper presents practical results of a prototype of a solar chimney with thermal mass, where the glass surface is replaced by transparence plastic cover. The study focused on chimney's basements kind effect on collected air temperatures. Three basements were used: concrete, black concrete and black pebbles basements. The study was conducted in Baghdad from August to November 2009.

The results show that the best chimney efficiency attaine

Objective(s): In the present study, glycerin is used as a substitute for tin-foil and cold mold seal (Alginate mould seal)
in the process of curing heat and cold-cure acrylic resin denture base against stone and plaster.
Methodology: 60 specimens were prepared from heat-cure acrylic resin and cold-cure acrylic resin denture base. The
study includes 12 groups of specimens depending on the type of processing, investment material and type of
separating medium that are used in curing process. Each group of them contains 5 specimens for each test.
Some of physical properties of the processed acrylic denture base that (water sorption and solubility) have been
compared with those processed using tin-foil and tin-foil substitut

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that its plasma levels increase after trauma or surgery so it is used as an indicator for the level of inflammation after surgery. The objective of this study is to investigate pre- and post-operative levels of CRP in three types of oral surgical interventions (Apicoectomy, Impaction, and Impacted teeth exposure). Materials and Methods: A total number of (48) healthy individuals aged (20-60) years who needed oral surgical intervention for either (removal of impacted third molars, exposure of an impacted canine, or Apicoectomy). A 4ml venous blood was obtained from each patient at two occasions (pre-operatively at the day of operation and post-operatively after 48 hours), then ce

Background: Cardiomyopathy (CM) is a cardiac muscle disorder that can lead to heart failure (HF). It has several phenotypes, including dilated, hypertrophic, and restricted. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a crucial part in the development and advancement of CM. Objective: This study aimed to measure the concentration of certain cytokines [Interleukin- 1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α)] in the serum of Iraqi patients with CM. Materials and Methods: Sixty CM patients and 30 healthy individuals with age ranged from 40 to 70 years old were enrolled in this study through their presence at Iraqi Center for Heart Diseases, Ghazy Al-Hariri Hospital for Surgical Specialties in the Medical City in Baghdad. The st

New nanotechnology-based approaches are increasingly being investigated for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), with a particular focus on heavy oil reservoirs. Typically, the addition of a polymer to an injection fluid advances the sweep efficiency and mobility ratio of the fluid and leads to a higher crude oil recovery rate. However, harsh reservoir conditions, including high formation salinity and temperature, can limit the performance of such polymer fluids. Recently, nanofluids, that is, dispersions of nanoparticles (NPs) in a base fluid, have been recommended as EOR fluids; however, such nanofluids are unstable, even under ambient conditions. In this work, a combination of ZrO2 NPs and the polyacrylamide (PAM) polymer (ZrO2 NPs–PAM) was us

Groundwater quality investigation has been carried out in the western part of Iraq (west longitude '40°40). The physicochemical analyses of 64 groundwater samples collected from seven aquifers were used in the determination of groundwater characterization and assessment. The concept of spatial hydrochemical bi-model was prepared for quantitative and qualitative interpretation. Hydrogeochemical data referred that the groundwater is of meteoric origin and has processes responsible for observed brackishness. The geochemical facies of the groundwater reveal that none of the anions and cations pairs exceed 50% and there are practically mixtures of multi-water types (such as Ca–Mg–Cl–HCO₃ and Na+K–SO4–Cl water type) as do

This paper presents a fuzzy logic controller for a two-tank level control system, which is a process with a dead time. The fuzzy controller is a proportional-integral (PI-like) fuzzy controller which is suitable for steady state behavior of the system. Transient behavior of the system was improved without the need for a derivative action by suitable change in the rule base of the controller. Simulation results showed the step response of the two-tank level control system when this controller was used to control this plant and the effect of the dead time on the response of the system.

A mathematical method with a new algorithm with the aid of Matlab language is proposed to compute the linear equivalence (or the recursion length) of the pseudo-random key-stream periodic sequences using Fourier transform. The proposed method enables the computation of the linear equivalence to determine the degree of the complexity of any binary or real periodic sequences produced from linear or nonlinear key-stream generators. The procedure can be used with comparatively greater computational ease and efficiency. The results of this algorithm are compared with Berlekamp-Massey (BM) method and good results are obtained where the results of the Fourier transform are more accurate than those of (BM) method for computing the linear equivalenc

The research aims to study the importance of applying lean accounting techniques and the tools and methods they contain, the most important of which is the “value path costs” technique and its impact on rationalizing and controlling costs, as well as reducing production costs in general and reducing quality costs in a way Special by reducing or eliminating waste and waste in both time and resources and meeting customer requirements. In order to achieve this goal, the researcher relied on the application of lean accounting tools by obtaining data related to the mill, in addition to that, the information obtained as a result of field coexistence in the mill and being able to view the records of the mill in the research sample. From the