Background: Beta thalassemia major (β-TM) is an inheritable condition with many complications, especially in children. The blood-borne viral infection was proposed as a risk factor due to the recurrent blood transfusion regimen (hemotherapy) as human parvovirus B19 (B19V). Objective: This study investigated the B19V seroprevalence, DNA presence, B19V viral load, and B19V genotypes in β-TM patients and blood donors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study incorporating 180 subjects, segregated into three distinct groups each of 60 patients, namely control, β-TM, and β-TM infected with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).  For the B19V prevalence in the studied group, the ELISA technique and real-time PCR were used. The genotyping was follo

Salmonella infections are a major cause of foodborne infection in both humans and animals. Some serotypes are capable of inducing severe clinical manifestations, including gastroenteritis, septicemia, and abortion. The present study aimed to identify, isolate, and detect Salmonella Agona in cats with diarrhea in Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq, and to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance profiles of the recovered isolates. Between November 2024 and May 2025, 100 fecal samples were collected from cats of different breeds presenting with diarrhea at veterinary clinics in Iraq. These samples were processed using established culture methods, including pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water followed by selective enrichment in tetrathionate

Dust storms are typical in arid and semi-arid regions such as the Middle East; the frequency and severity of dust storms have grown dramatically in Iraq in recent years. This paper identifies the dust storm sources in Iraq using remotely sensed data from Meteosat-spinning enhanced visible and infrared imager (SEVIRI) bands. Extracted combined satellite images and simulated frontal dust storm trajectories, using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, are used to identify the most influential sources in the Middle East and Iraq. Out of 132 dust storms in Iraq during 2020–2023, the most frequent occurred in the spring and summer. A dust source frequency percentage map (DSFPM) is generated using ArcGIS so

Background: Staphylococcus spp. are widely distributed in nature and can cause nosocomial, skin infections, and foodborne illness, and it may lead to severe financial losses in birds by causing systemic infection in numerous organs. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. in humans and birds in Baghdad city. Methods: Seventy-six oral cavity swabs were collected, including 41 from birds and 35 from breeders. All samples were examined by bacteriological methods and identified by using the VITEK technique, the samples were then further studied to test the ability of biofilm formation, and MDR factors and MAR index were tested with the use of seven antibiotics. Results: Among the 76 oral swa

This study examines the vibrations produced by hydropower operations to improve embankment dam safety. This study consists of two parts: In the first part, ANSYS-CFX was used to generate a three-dimensional (3-D) finite volume (FV) model to simulate a vertical Francis turbine unit in the Mosul hydropower plant. The pressure pattern result of the turbine model was transformed into the dam body to show how the turbine unit's operation affects the dam's stability. The upstream reservoir conditions, various flow rates, and fully open inlet gates were considered. In the second part of this study, a 3-D FE Mosul dam model was simulated using an ANSYS program. The operational turbine model's water pressure pattern is conveyed t

The development of microcontroller is used in monitoring and data acquisition recently. This development has born various architectures for spreading and interfacing the microcontroller in network environment. Some of existing architecture suffers from redundant in resources, extra processing, high cost and delay in response. This paper presents flexible concise architecture for building distributed microcontroller networked system. The system consists of only one server, works through the internet, and a set of microcontrollers distributed in different sites. Each microcontroller is connected through the Ethernet to the internet. In this system the client requesting data from certain side is accomplished through just one server that is in

It has been shown recently that there is a need to design smart structures, such as smart houses, in order to be controlled in different ways. That will be in high demand due to its usefulness for some people who are incapable of reaching some control units that require direct interaction with human beings. In this paper, we propose and develop a new enhanced electroencephalography (EEG)-based smart structure setup that can be utilized to assist people, with or without disorders, to control devices in an easy and comfortable way. Ten people of a wide range of ages (20–65) and both genders actively participated in this research. Consequently, eight EEG channels are employed in this study to cover most of the brain’s regions, and the prot

This study assessed the advantage of using earthworms in combination with punch waste and nutrients in remediating drill cuttings contaminated with hydrocarbons. Analyses were performed on day 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 of the experiment. Two hydrocarbon concentrations were used (20000 mg/kg and 40000 mg/kg) for three groups of earthworms number which were five, ten and twenty earthworms. After 28 days, the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration (20000 mg/kg) was reduced to 13200 mg/kg, 9800 mg/kg, and 6300 mg/kg in treatments with five, ten and twenty earthworms respectively. Also, TPH concentration (40000 mg/kg) was reduced to 22000 mg/kg, 10100 mg/kg, and 4200 mg/kg in treatments with the above number of earthworms respectively. The p

 Most below-knee prostheses are manufactured in Iraq without considering the fast progress in smart prostheses, which can offer movements in the desired directions according to the type of control system designed for this purpose. The proposed design appears to have the advantages of simplicity, affordability, better load distribution, suitability for subjects with transtibial amputation, and viability in countries with people having low socio-economic status. The designed prosthetics consisted of foot, ball, and socket joints, two stepper motors, a linkage system, and an EMG shield. All these materials were available in the local markets in Iraq. The experimental results showed t

Infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is widely prevalent in humans and animals. Infection with Toxoplasma may associate with miscarriage in many pregnant women due to infection. In this study, the level of lutetropic hormone (LTH), folliclestimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) was measured in pregnant women suffering from toxoplasmosis using mini-VIDAS®technique. Results showed that pregnant women have high concentration of both LTH and FSH hormone(10.80 ± 6.53) ng/ml and (9.51 ± 2.40) μIU/ml respectively, while the concentration of LH hormone was lower than normal(4.49 ± 0.56) μIU/ml. Such finding is to suggest that infection with T. gondii is interfering with these hormones in pregnant women.