The nanostructured MnO2 /carbon fiber (CF) composite electrode was prepared using the anodic electrodeposition process. The crystal structure and morphology of MnO2 particles were determined with X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrosorptive properties of the prepared electrode were investigated in the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solution, and the effect of pH, cell voltage, and ionic strength was optimized and modeled using the response surface methodology combined with Box–Behnken design. The results confirm that the optimum conditions to remove Cd(II) ions were: pH of 6.03, a voltage of 2.77 V, and NaCl concentration of 3 g/L. The experimental results showed a good fit for the Freundli

The designer must find the optimum match between the object's technical and economic needs and the performance and production requirements of the various material options when choosing material for an engineering application. This study proposes an integrated (hybrid) strategy for selecting the optimal material for an engineering design depending on design requirements. The primary objective is to determine the best candidate material for the drone wings based on Ashby's performance indices and then rank the result using a grey relational technique with the entropy weight method. Aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, composites, and wood have been suggested as suitable materials for manufacturing drone wings. The requirement

Abiotic stress-induced genes may lead to understand the response of plants and adaptability to salinity and drought stresses. Differential display reverse transcriptase – polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to investigate the differences in gene expression between drought- and salinity-stressed plantlets of Ruta graveolens. Direct and stepwise exposures to drought- or salt-responsive genes were screened in R. graveolens plantlets using the DDRT technique. Gene expression was investigated both in the control and in the salt or drought-stressed plantlets and differential banding patterns with different molecular sizes were observed using the primers OPA-01 (646,770 and 983 pb), OPA-08 (593 and 988 pb), OPA-11 (674 and 831 pb

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

Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are widely used for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and study the characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on a polymer-infiltrated photonic crystal fiber that operates in a Mach- Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) reflection mode. The fabrication of the sensor only involves splicing and cleaving Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) with Single Mode Fiber (SMF). A stub of (LMA-10) PCF spliced to SMF (Corning-28). In the splice regions. The PCFI sensor operation based on the adsorption and desorption of water vapour at the silica-air interface within the PCF. The sensor shows a high sensitivity to RH variations from (27% RH - 95% RH), with a change in its reflected powe

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on EOS/Aqua satellite provides diverse measurements of Methane (CH₄) distribution at different pressure levels in the Earth's atmosphere. The focus of this research is to analyze the vertical variations of (CH₄) volume mixing ratio (VMR) time-series data at four Standard pressure levels SPL (925, 850, 600, and 300 hPa) in the troposphere above six cities in Iraq from January 2003 to September 2016. The analysis results of monthly average CH₄VMR time-series data show a significant increase between 2003 and 2016, especially from 2009 to 2016; the minimum values of CH₄ were in 2003 while the maximum values were in 2016. The vertical distribution of CH_4<