A high sensitivity, low power and low cost sensor has been developed for photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement. The PPG principle was applied to follow the dilatation and contraction of skin blood vessels during the cardiac cycle. A standard light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been used as a light emitter and detector, and in order to reduce the space, cost and power, the classical analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs) replaced by the pulse-based signal conversion techniques. A general purpose microcontroller has been used for the implementation of measurement protocol. The proposed approach leads to better spectral sensitivity, increased resolution, reduction in cost, dimensions and power consumption. The basic sensing configuration prese

This work is concerned with a two stages four beds adsorption chiller utilizing activated carbon-methanol adsorption pair that operates on six separated processes. The four beds that act as thermal compressors are powered by a low grade thermal energy in the form of hot water at a temperature range of 65 to 83 °C.  As well as, the water pumps and control cycle consume insignificant electrical power. This adsorption chiller consists of three water cycles. The first water cycle is the driven hot water cycle. The second cycle is the cold water cycle to cool the carbon, which adsorbs the methanol. Finally, the chilled water cycle that is used to overcome the building load. The theoretical results showed that average cycle cooling power

The aim of this work is to study reverse osmosis characteristics for copper sulfate hexahydrate (CuSO4.6H2O), nickel sulfate hexahydrate (NiSO4.6H2O) and zinc sulfate hexahydrate (ZnSO4.6H2O) removal from aqueous solution which discharge from some Iraqi factories such as Alnasser Company for mechanical industries. The mode of operation of reverse osmosis was permeate is removed and the concentrate of metals solution is recycled back to the feed vessel. Spiral-wound membrane is thin film composite membrane (TFC) was used to conduct this study on reverse osmosis. The variables studied are metals concentrations (50 – 150 ppm) and time (15 – 90 min). It was found that increasing the time results in an increase in concentration of metal in p

The frequent and widespread use of medicines and personal care products, particularly in the residential environment, tends to raise concerns about environmental and human health impacts. On the other hand, carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere is a problem with numerous environmental consequences. Microalgae are being used to bioremediate toxins and capture CO2. The current study aimed to confirm the possibility of removing pharmaceutical contaminant (Ranitidine) at different concentrations by using the Chlorella Sorokiniana MH923013 microalgae strain during the growth time. As part of the experiment, carbon dioxide was added to the culture medium three times per week. Explanatory results revealed that gas doses directly affect

During the last decade, there has been a concern about the relation between aluminum residuals in treated water and Alzheimer disease, and more interest has been considered on the development of natural coagulants. The present study aimed to investigate the efficiency of alum as a primary coagulant in conjunction with mallow, Arabic gum and okra as coagulant aids for the treatment of water samples containing synthetic turbidity of kaolin. Jar test experiments were carried out for initial raw water turbidities 100, 200 and 500 (NTU). The optimum doses of alum, mallow, Arabic gum and okra were 20, 2, 1 and 1 mg/L for100 NTU turbidity level, 35, 4, 2 and 3 mg/L , for 200NTU turbidity level and 50, 8, 10 and 8 mg/L for 500 NTU turbidity leve

In this study, nanocomposites have been prepared by adding
multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with weight ratios (0, 2, 3,
4, 5) wt% to epoxy resin. The samples were prepared by hand lay-up
method. Influence of an applied load before and after immersion in
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) of normality (0.3N) for (15 days) at
laboratory temperature on wear rate of Ep/MWCNTs
nanocomposites was studied. The results showed that wear rate
increases with increasing the applied load for the as prepared and
immersed samples and after immersion. It was also found that epoxy
resin reinforced with MWCNTs has wear rate less than neat epoxy.
The sample (Ep + 5wt% of MWCNTs) has lower wear rate. The
immersion effect in base so

In this paper, the general framework for calculating the stability of equilibria, Hopf bifurcation of a delayed prey-predator system with an SI type of disease in the prey population, is investigated. The impact of the incubation period delay on disease transmission utilizing a nonlinear incidence rate was taken into account. For the purpose of explaining the predation process, a modified Holling type II functional response was used. First, the existence, uniform boundedness, and positivity of the solutions of the considered model system, along with the behavior of equilibria and the existence of Hopf bifurcation, are studied. The critical values of the delay parameter for which stability switches and the nature of the Hopf bifurcat

Background: Schneiderian first rank symptoms are
considered highly valuable in the diagnosis of
schneideria.
They are more evident in the acute phase of the
disorder and fading gradually with time. Many studies
have shown that the rate of these symptoms are
variable in different countries and are colored by
cultural beliefs and values.
Objectives: To find out the rate of Schneiderian first
rank symptoms among newly diagnosed schizophrenic
patients, to assess which symptom(s) might
predominate in those patients, and to find out if there
is/are any correlation(s) between the occurrence of
these symptoms and the sex of the patients.
Methods: Out of twenty-four patients with no past
psychiatric hi