The duration of sunshine is one of the important indicators and one of the variables for measuring the amount of solar radiation collected in a particular area. Duration of solar brightness has been used to study atmospheric energy balance, sustainable development, ecosystem evolution and climate change. Predicting the average values of sunshine duration (SD) for Duhok city, Iraq on a daily basis using the approach of artificial neural network (ANN) is the focus of this paper. Many different ANN models with different input variables were used in the prediction processes. The daily average of the month, average temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, cloud level and atmospheric pressure were used as input parameters in order to obtain the daily average of sunshine duration (SD) as the output. The eight-year data were divided into two categories. The first category covers whole years (annually) and the second category is seasonal. To recognize and assess the influence of different input parameters on sunshine duration, six models of ANN have been evolved. The findings showed that in the annual models, the outcomes of RMSE, MAE and R for the model with input parameters (Month, Cloud Level and Average Temperature) were the best results 1.82, 1.175 and 0.89, respectively. As for the season models, the outcomes of RMSE, MAE and R for the autumn season were the best results 1.450, 1.009 and 0.94, respectively. Accordingly, the performance of the artificial neural network is considerably effective in predicting the sunshine duration.
Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of demographic, clinical, and radiographic factors on the duration of surgical extraction of impacted lower third molars. Materials and methods This retrospective study included patients who underwent surgical removal of impacted lower third molars, and the investigated factors were demographic data including age and gender, radiographic data including the impacted tooth angulation and depth of impaction and ramus relation, and clinical data including the state of eruption of the impacted teeth. These factors were evaluated for association with the duration of surgery. Descriptive statistical analysis included percentages and mean ± standard deviation (SD). Student's t-test was used to co
... Show MoreThe coronavirus-pandemic has a major impact on women's-mental and physical-health. Polycystic-ovary-syndrome (PCOS) has a high-predisposition to many cardiometabolic-risk factors that increase susceptibility to severe complications of COVID-19 and also exhibit an increased likelihood of subfertility. The study includes the extent of the effect of COVID-19-virus on renin-levels, glutathione-s-transferase-activity and other biochemical parameters in PCOS-women. The study included 120 samples of ladies that involved: 80 PCOS-patients, and 40 healthy-ladies. Both main groups were divided into subgroups based on COVID-19 infected or not. Blood-samples were collected from PCOS-patients in Kamal-Al-Samara Hospital, at the period between Decembe
... Show MoreBackground: This study aimed to apply a high-power pulsed alexandrite laser in vitro, the researchers tested different exposure periods, pulse lengths, and laser fluencies to see which dosage was most successful against S. aureus bacteria, which had developed resistance to many antibiotics. Method: Three bacteria samples were exposed to laser beams for 30 seconds with a 5ms pulse duration and a laser fluency of 5J/cm2. The process was repeated with laser fluencies of 10, 15, and 20. Results: The study was carried out by using different doses of Alexandrite laser. Results: There are significant differences (p = 0.05) in the mean number of bacteria colonies exposed for 30 and 60 seconds at any laser fluencies utilized in the present i
... Show MoreArtificial pancreas is simulated to handle Type I diabetic patients under intensive care by automatically controlling the insulin infusion rate. A Backstepping technique is used to apply the effect of PID controller to blood glucose level since there is no direct relation between insulin infusion (the manipulated variable) and glucose level in Bergman’s system model subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test by applying a meal translated into a disturbance. Backstepping technique is usually recommended to stabilize and control the states of Bergman's class of nonlinear systems. The results showed a very satisfactory behavior of glucose deviation to a sudden rise represented by the meal that increase the blood glucose
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The aim of this paper was to investigate the removal efficiencies of Zn+2 ions from wastewater by adsorption (using tobacco leaves) and forward osmosis (using cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane). Various experimental parameters were investigated in adsorption experiment such as: effect of pH (3 - 7), contact time (0 - 220) min, solute concentration (10 - 100) mg/l, and adsorbent dose (0.2 - 5)g. Whereas for forward osmosis the operating parameters studied were: draw solution concentration (10 - 150) g/l, pH of feed solution (4 - 7), feed solution concentration (10 - 100) mg/l. The result showed that the removal efficiency by using adsorption was 70% and the removal efficiency by using forward osmosis was 96.2 %.
... Show MoreThe hydraulic conditions of a flow previously proved to be changed when placing large-scale geometric roughness elements on the bed of an open channel. These elements impose more resistance to the flow. The geometry of the roughness elements, the numbers used, and the configuration are parameters that can affect the hydraulic flow characteristics. The target is to use inclined block elements to control the salt wedge propagation pointed in most estuaries to prevent its negative effects. The Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD Software was used to simulate the two-phase flow in an estuary model. In this model, the used block elements are 2 cm by 3 cm cross-sections with an inclined face in the flow direction, with a length
... Show MoreThe neighbourhood unit is a small local community in a city dwelled by certain number of dwellers who are characterized by common features, mostly economic. They daily deal with each other & unified with the feeling of neighbourhood. The daily primary services are available in this small community (like education, shopping & entertainment). This community is separated from other communities by physical boundaries like streets, gardens… etc. The neighbourhood is not an exotic notion on human community but it is as ancient as history itself since it was there in ancient communities that dwelled on earth. Complications of urban life needs, caused by cities’ expansion, and the weakness of social relationships, imposed phy
... Show MoreThe accuracy of the skillful performance of the front and back dimensions of badminton in volleyball, occurs through the investment of complex exercises (physical skills) in a single performance and its characteristics that give the correct movement behavior and speed to the accuracy of the performance of the strokes as well as the identification of changes in some physiological indicators of By using these compound exercises. The research problem lies: I found a weakness in the accuracy of the performance of the front and back dimensions strike and diagnosed this through the tests that it conducted on the players to identify and know the problem, and attributed this weakness to a weakness in the necessary physical and skill abilities and t
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