The rapid sprawl in urban areas caused by excessive production and consumption of goods (as driven by local poor social choices) has inevitably resulted in a major burden due to environmental degradation worldwide. Unfortunately, these traditional models of urban planning fail to properly account for the intricacies that permeate a modern city and are deficient in terms of their approach as they shape themselves within an environment largely divorced from natural systems, resulting in vast mismanagement of resources, guiding cities down trajectories where growth destroys both physical and cultural landscapes. As cities suffer from increasing scarcity, we advocate for regeneration and resilience to be embedded in advanced urban design approa

The complexity and partially defined nature of jet grouting make it hard to predict the performance of grouted piles. So the trials of cement injection at a location with similar soil properties as the erecting site are necessary to assess the performance of the grouted piles. Nevertheless, instead of executing trial-injected piles at the pilot site, which wastes money, time, and effort, the laboratory cement injection devices are essential alternatives for evaluating soil injection ability. This study assesses the performance of a low-pressure laboratory grouting device by improving loose sandy soil injected using binders formed of Silica Fume (SF) as a chemical admixture (10% of Ordinary Portland Cement OPC mass) to di

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is a North American native fruit and contains a very wide variety of phytochemicals, which has several beneficial effects on humans. Aim: The study was designed to assess the protective effect of cranberry fruit extract on selected genotoxic parameters induced by cisplatin in mice’s bone marrow. Methods: 56 male albino mice were randomLy divided into two equal numbers (28 mice) for each part of the study [Part one: for the evaluation of chromosomal aberrations and the mitotic index; and Part two: for the evaluation of micronucleus index]; and for each part, mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: Group I [negative Control/orally-administered normal saline]; Group II [Orally-administered cranberry fr

In this work, two different laser dye solutions were used to host highly-pure silicon nitride nanoparticles as scattering centers to fabricate random gain media. The laser dye was dissolved in three different solvents (ethanol, methanol and acetone) and the final results were obtained for methanol only. The silicon nitride nanoparticles were synthesized by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique with average particle size of 35 nm. The random gain medium was made as a solid rod with high spectral efficiency and low production cost. Optical emission with narrow linewidth was detected at 532-534 nm as 9 mg of silicon nitride nanoparticles were added to the 10 -5 M dye solution. The FWHM of 0.3 and 3.52 nm was determined for Rhodamine B and

The manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple aqueous chemical reaction of manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacitamide in aqueous solution. Thioglycolic acid is used as capping agent for controlling the nanoparticle size. The main advantage of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that the sample is prepared by using non-toxic precursors in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. The structural, morphological and chemical composition of the nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanosize of the prepared nanoparticles was elucidated by Scan

Phytophagous stink bugs (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) are economically important insect pests of fruit, vegetable, nut and field crops. This study was carried out during the season of 2013 in orchards within Erbil city, to follow the stink bug Mustha spinulosa (Lefebvre, 1831) seasonal fluctuation on some fruit trees: olive, plum, apricot, pear, apple and almond.
The stink bug reaches its maximum abundance throughout the second week of August (38.2/tree) coinciding with mean temperature and relative humidity of 33.40C and 28.14% respectively, and the highest total mean of the number of the insect was recorded on the olive trees (181.8/tree). The study reveals that the stink bug attacked 22 trees (fruit and forest) while it has not atta

The current study included the isolation, purification and cultivation of blue-green alga Oscillatoria pseudogeminata G.Schmidle from soil using the BG-11liquid culture medium for 60 days of cultivation. The growth constant (k) and generation time (G) were measured which (K=0.144) and (G=2.09 days).

Microcystins were purified and determined qualitatively and quantitatively from this alga by using the technique of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa Kits). The alga showed the ability to produce microcystins in concentration reached 1.47 µg/L for each 50 mg DW. Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) aged two months were irrigated with three concentrations of purified microcystins 0.5 , 3.0 and 6.0

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is considered a standard treatment for nephrolith or kidney stones measuring less than 20 mm. Anatomical, machine-related, and stone factors play pivotal roles in treatment outcomes, the latter being the leading role. This paper examined the relationship between stone density on native CT scans and ESWL treatment to remove renal stones concerning several treatments. One hundred and twenty patients (64 males and 56 females) were enrolled and completed the study from April 2019 to September 2020. Inclusion criteria were a single renal pelvis stone of 5–20 mm to be treated for the first time in adult patients with no urinary or musculoskeletal anatomical abnormalities. We assessed patients