Land use change, particularly the expansion of urban areas and associated human activities at the expense of natural and semi-natural areas, is a major ecological issue in urban areas around the world. Climate change being a very strong additional driver for changing the temperature and habitat in the cities. This also applies to Baghdad, Iraq, where urbanisation and climate change exerts a major pressure on the natural habitats of the city, and thus may affect the ability of city planners to adapt to future climate change scenarios. Here we present evidence of substantial growth in urban areas, increases in temperature, and degradation of natural vegetation within Baghdad city by using Remote Sensing techniques and an assessment for the Jadriyah and Umm Al-Khanazeer site (JUKI). These changes were associated with loss of bird species richness within the area, which was previously the only Important Bird Area (IBA) within the city. A standardised scoring system (following Birdlife International global framework) was used to assess Pressure-State-Response: JUKI site scored 3-5 for pressure (Medium), two for the state (Moderate), and two for the response (Low). Despite the degradation highlighted in Baghdad city, the JUKI site still has 88% intact habitat to support bird trigger species. We conclude that the site urgently needs a detailed management plan to ensure the protection of its habitats and avian fauna, and that the area should be declared as a protected area according to the “IUCN Category IV: Habitat/Species Management Area; to provide a means by which the urban residents may obtain regular contact with nature”, and re-designated JUKI as an IBA site. The study also identifies the most affected areas in the city of Baghdad, which should take the priority of the afforestation efforts and any future restoration campaigns.
Background. Material tribology has widely expanded in scope and depth and is extended from the mechanical field to the biomedical field. The present study aimed to characterize the nanocoating of highly pure (99.9%) niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), and vanadium (V) deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS) substrates which considered the most widely used alloys in the manufacturing of SS orthodontic components. To date, the coating of SS orthodontic archwires with Nb, Ta, and V using a plasma sputtering method has never been reported. Nanodeposition was performed using a DC plasma sputtering system with three different sputtering times (1, 2, and 3 hours). Results. Structural and elemental analyses were conducted on the deposited coating
... Show MoreMany studies have been published to address the growing issues in wireless communication systems. Space-Time Block Coding (STBC) is an effective and practical MIMO-OFDM application that can address such issues. It is a powerful tool for increasing wireless performance by coding data symbols and transmitting diversity using several antennas. The most significant challenge is to recover the transmitted signal through a time-varying multipath fading channel and obtain a precise channel estimation to recover the transmitted information symbols. This work considers different pilot patterns for channel estimation and equalization in MIMO-OFDM systems. The pilot patterns fall under two general types: comb and block types, with
... Show MoreSuicidal ideation is one of the most severe mental health issues faced by people all over the world. There are various risk factors involved that can lead to suicide. The most common & critical risk factors among them are depression, anxiety, social isolation and hopelessness. Early detection of these risk factors can help in preventing or reducing the number of suicides. Online social networking platforms like Twitter, Redditt and Facebook are becoming a new way for the people to express themselves freely without worrying about social stigma. This paper presents a methodology and experimentation using social media as a tool to analyse the suicidal ideation in a better way, thus helping in preventing the chances of being the victim o
... Show MoreThe scholars of Iraq in the modern and contemporary era have been interested in the definition of tremendous knowledge treasures left by the successive Iraqi civilizations on Mesopotamia and around the cities, through the census and extrapolation of manuscript heritage and even printed, they compiled indexes,evidence
The increasing rates of consumption of cigarettes harmful, to health in the world in general, and in Iraq in particular, and because of the costs borne by individuals, and the state as a result of addressing its damage, as well as Iraq's commitment, to international conventions against cigarettes, and demands of the World Health Organization, to raise prices to reduce consumption. Therefore, the tax Selectivity is one of the most important ways of regulating the consumption of this commodity on the one hand and increasing the tax revenue on the other. The research aims to shed light on the issue of selective tax on cigarettes and the impact of their application in increasing tax revenues and identify the effectiveness of the application
... Show More Measurement of stability constant of some complexes formed by (6-(2-amino-2-(4hydroxy phenyl)-acetamido)-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-aza-bicyclo[3,2,0] heptanes-2carboxylic acid (Amoxicillin) with (Cr+3, Co+2, Ni+2, Cu+2,Ag+1, and Cd+2) ions, have been performed(Amoxicillin) was found to behave as bidentate ligand with ahardness parameter(α)of (0.46)and asoftness parameter(β)of (1.03) while complexes being formed were of (1:1)ratio.
EDIRKTO, an Implicit Type Runge-Kutta Method of Diagonally Embedded pairs, is a novel approach presented in the paper that may be used to solve 4th-order ordinary differential equations of the form . There are two pairs of EDIRKTO, with three stages each: EDIRKTO4(3) and EDIRKTO5(4). The derivation techniques of the method indicate that the higher-order pair is more accurate, while the lower-order pair provides superior error estimates. Next, using these pairs as a basis, we developed variable step codes and applied them to a series of -order ODE problems. The numerical outcomes demonstrated how much more effective their approach is in reducing the quantity of function evaluations needed to resolve fourth-order ODE issues.
Enhancement of the performance for hybrid solar air conditioning system was presented in this paper. The refrigerant temperature leaving the condenser was controlled using three-way valve, this valve was installed after the compressor to regulate refrigerant flow rate towards the solar system. A control system using data logger, sensors and computer was proposed to set the opening valve ratio. The function of control program using LabVIEW software is to obtain a minimum refrigerant temperature from the condenser outlet to enhance the overall COP of the unit by increasing the degree of subcooled refrigerant. A variable load electrical heater with coiled pipe was used instead of the solar collector and the storage tank to simulate the sola
... Show MoreX-ray diffraction pattern reveled the tetragonal crystal system of SnO2 Thin films of SnO2 were prepared on glass substrates using Spray Pyrolysis Technique. The absorption and transmition spectra were recorded in the rang of 300-900nm, the spectral dependences of absorption coefficient were calculated from transmission spectra. The direct and allowed optical energy gap has been evaluated from plots of (αhυ)² vs. (hυ) . The energy gap was found to be 2.4-2.6eV. The optical constant such as extinction coefficient( k ) and absorption coefficient ( α) have been evaluated.