Coagulation is the most important process in drinking water treatment. Alum coagulant increases the aluminum residuals, which have been linked in many studies to Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, it is very important to use it with the very optimal dose. In this paper, four sets of experiments were done to determine the relationship between raw water characteristics: turbidity, pH, alkalinity, temperature, and optimum doses of alum [ .14 O] to form a mathematical equation that could replace the need for jar test experiments. The experiments were performed under different conditions and under different seasonal circumstances. The optimal dose in every set was determined, and used to build a gene expression model (GEP). The models were constructed using data of the jar test experiments: turbidity, pH, alkalinity, and temperature, to predict the coagulant dose. The best GEP model gave very good results with a correlation coefficient (0.91) and a root mean square error of 1.8. Multi linear regression was used to be compared with the GEP results; it could not give good results due to the complex nonlinear relation of the process. Another round of experiments was done with high initial turbidity like the values that comes to the plant during floods and heavy rain. To give an equation for these extreme values, with studying the use of starch as a coagulant aid, the best GEP gave good results with a correlation coefficient of 0.92 and RMSE 5.1
Rutting has a significant impact on the pavements' performance. Rutting depth is often used as a parameter to assess the quality of pavements. The Asphalt Institute (AI) design method prescribes a maximum allowable rutting depth of 13mm, whereas the AASHTO design method stipulates a critical serviceability index of 2.5 which is equivalent to an average rutting depth of 15mm. In this research, static and repeated compression tests were performed to evaluate the permanent strain based on (1) the relationship between mix properties (asphalt content and type), and (2) testing temperature. The results indicated that the accumulated plastic strain was higher during the repeated load test than that during the static load tests. Notably, temperatur
... Show MoreBackground: Over the last few years, nanocrystal technology has expanded to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs, which is challenging. Nanocrystals (NCs) exhibit many properties, such as enhancing drug solubility, dissolution, oral absorption, and high drug loading. Ondansetron hydrochloride (ONH) is an antiemetic drug that antagonizes a serotonin 5-HT3 receptor in the peripheral and central nervous system and is widely prescribed for the management of chemotherapy and radiotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea, as well as for postoperative nausea. ONH exhibits approximately 60% bioavailability due to its poor solubility and first-pass metabolism in the liver. Its solubility is pH-dependent, its precipitates abov
... Show MoreBackground: Metabolic syndrome (Mets) is partially heritable. High mobility group AT-hook1 (HMGA1), an architectural transcription factor, affects the homeostasis of glucose. The marked inter-individual differences between T
... Show MoreThis study was undertaken to introduce a fast, accurate, selective, simple and environment-friendly colorimetric method to determine iron (II) concentration in different lipstick brands imported or manufactured locally in Baghdad, Iraq. The samples were collected from 500-Iraqi dinars stores to establish routine tests using the spectrophotometric method and compared with a new microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) platform as an alternative to cost-effective conventional instrumentation such as Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). This method depends on the reaction between iron (II) with iron(II) selective chelator 1, 10-phenanthroline(phen) in the presence of reducing agent hydroxylamine (HOA) and sodium acetate (NaOAc) b
... Show MoreSustainable crop production in a coarse soil texture is challenging due to high water permeability and low soil water holding capacity. In this paper, subsurface water retention technology (SWRT) through impermeable polyethylene membranes was placed at depth 35 cm below ground surface and within the root zone to evaluate and compare the impact of these membranes and control treatment (without using the membranes) on yield and water use efficiency of eggplant inside the greenhouse. The study was conducted in Al-Fahamah Township, Baghdad, Iraq during spring growing season 2017. Results demonstrated the yield and water use efficiencies were 3.483 kg/m2 and 5.653 kg/m3, respectively for SWRT treatment p
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