High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minne

This work analyzes the effectiveness of an artificial intelligence (AI) community- building workshop designed for high school teachers and it focuses on contemporary issues related to AI concepts and applications. A group of high school teachers from local education districts attended a one-day AI hands-on workshop at our university. The workshop included several AI-related topics and hands-on examples and exercises aiming to introduce AI concepts and tools relevant to pre-college education. The participating teachers were expected to become a part of a collaborative network created to design, develop, and implement novel AI learning modules for high school students. Initial and a post-training surveys have been used to measure the

Exposure of reinforced concrete buildings to an accidental fire may result in cracking and loss in the bearing capacity of their major components, columns, beams, and slabs. It is a challenge for structural engineers to develop efficient retrofitting techniques that enable RC slabs to restore their structural integrity, after being exposed to intense fires for a long period of time. Experimental
investigation was carried out on twenty one slab specimens made of self compacting concrete, eighteen of them are retrofitted with CFRP sheets after burning and loading till failure while three of them (which represent control specimens) are retrofitted with CFRP sheet after loading till failure without burning. All slabs had been tested in a

SKF Sami I. Jafar, Mohammad J. Kadhim, Engineering and Technology Journal, 2018 - Cited by 4

The effect of laser radiation on human aorta, coronary, and pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary veins has been investigated. Xenon-Chloride (eximer), Nitrogen, and Nd-YAG pulsed lasers of wavelengths 308, 337, and 1060 nm respectively were used. Their effects on fresh postmortem tissues, normal and diseased, was studied. The diameter and depth of ablation of the exposed tissues, in air, were measured as a function of many factors related to the type of laser and nature of the tissue. The effect of properties of the applied lasers, such as average power density and deposited energy density, on the exposed tissue surface were studied. The increase of these two parameters cause an increase in the depth and diameter of ablation. However the di

This study aims to clarify areas of using information technology in accounting and its impact on the profession of auditors by reviewing the concept, types, areas and the importance of information technology and its implications on the audit profession as well as to clarify the extent of contribution of information technology in  developing of procedures of the audit profession and what its requirement, also this study aims to enhance the theoretical side by identifying the views of a sample of auditors in  Arab countries selected (Iraq, Syria, Jordan), for the extent of using of information technology in their work and level of their perception for the importance of that

The high mobility group A1 gene (HMGA1) rs139876191 variant has been related to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, but data are lacking in Middle Eastern populations. The study aimed to assess whether the HMGA1 rs139876191 variant is associated with metabolic syndrome risk and whether this variant predicts the risk of insulin resistance. This case-control study was carried out at single center in Kirkuk city/ Iraq from February to August 2022. Polymorphisms in HMGA1 and genotyping were identified by Sanger sequencing of genomic DNA obtained from 91 Iraqi participants (61 patients with metabolic syndrome and 30 control). Lipid profile, serum (glucose and insulin), glycated hemoglobin, blood pressure, body mass index, and waist circumfer