Background: Synthetic vertebral body replacement has been widely used recently to treat different spinal conditions affecting the anterior column. They arrange from trauma, infections and even tumor conditions
Objective: To assess the functional outcome of this modality in different spinal conditions.
Patients and Methods: twenty-seven cases operated from Oct. 2010 to Dec. 9 cases had spinal fractures, 8 cases with spinal tuberculosis, and 10 cases with spinal tumors. They were followed clinically for a mean period of 36 months.
Results: All the cases approached anteriorly. 5 cases had postoperative infection. No neurological worsening reported. we had dramatic neurological improvement in all spinal tuberculo

Feature selection algorithms play a big role in machine learning applications. There are several feature selection strategies based on metaheuristic algorithms. In this paper a feature selection strategy based on Modified Artificial Immune System (MAIS) has been proposed. The proposed algorithm exploits the advantages of Artificial Immune System AIS to increase the performance and randomization of features. The experimental results based on NSL-KDD dataset, have showed increasing in performance of accuracy compared with other feature selection algorithms (best first search, correlation and information gain).

The fact that the signature is widely used as a means of personal verification
emphasizes the need for an automatic verification system. Verification can be
performed either Offline or Online based on the application. Offline systems work on
the scanned image of a signature. In this paper an Offline Verification of handwritten
signatures which use set of simple shape based geometric features. The features used
are Mean, Occupancy Ratio, Normalized Area, Center of Gravity, Pixel density,
Standard Deviation and the Density Ratio. Before extracting the features,
preprocessing of a scanned image is necessary to isolate the signature part and to
remove any spurious noise present. Features Extracted for whole signature

     Measuring goat weight on a farm is carried out by two methods. The first method conventionally measures the chest girth (CG) and body length (BL), while the second is performed using a scale. This study aimed to facilitate the CG and BL measurements to estimate goat weight more efficiently through image processing. The endpoints of CG and BL were determined automatically using binary large object (BLOB) segmentation. The images of 120 goats were taken at three different shooting distances of 50 cm, 70 cm, and 90 cm. The statistical testing of the three scenarios in this study explained that the ideal distance to take pictures is the basis for determining whether or not the size of the circumference and BL is appropriate as a fea

Background: Thyroid ultrasound has been widely used to differentiate benign from malignant nodules; many investigators have tried to point out few ultrasonographic features in order to identify those lesions, which are at a higher risk of malignancy.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of selected conventional ultrasound (US) features of thyroid focal lesions useful for predicting malignancy and establishing indications for fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).
Patients and Methods:Two hundred and four consecutive patients with thyroid nodules who visited the outpatient clinic of the surgical department of Tikrit University teaching hospital for the period from January 2011 to April 2014, and who underwent surgery for clinical s

The theatrical show consists of theatrical techniques that form the space to display the play that may form conscious visual effects about the receiver. The current search included the (Research problem) which is the immediate question ((What makes the theatrical techniques dazzling and visually exciting in a certain theatrical show?))
It also included (the importance of research) by highlighting the importance of theatrical techniques and the mechanism of contrast.
It also identified the visual stimulus of theatrical techniques in the theater show.
It also included the (research limits), which were temporally determined by the period (1990-1998) and spatially, the Iraqi theater shows (Baghdad), in which theatrical techniques c

Trimmed Linear moments (TL-moments) are natural generalization of L-moments that do not require the mean of the underlying distribution to exist. It is known that the sample TL-moments is unbiased estimators to corresponding population TL-moment. Since different choices for the amount of trimming give different values of the estimators it is important to choose the estimator that has minimum mean squares error than others. Therefore, we derive an optimal choice for the amount of trimming from known distributions based on the minimum errors between the estimators. Moreover, we study simulation-based approach to choose an optimal amount of trimming and maximum like hood method by computing the estimators and mean squares error for range of

Hot mix recycling of asphalt pavements is increasingly being used as one of the major rehabilitation methods by various highway agencies. Besides general savings in costs and energy expended, it also saves our natural resources and environment.  Recycling process presents a sustainable pavement by using the old materials that could be reclaimed from the pavement; these materials could be mixed with recycling agents to produce recycled mixtures. The important expected benefits of recycling process are the conservation of natural resources and reduction of environmental impact. The primary objectives of this work are evaluating the Tensile and Shear Properties of recycled asphalt concrete mixtures, In addition to the

As asphalt concrete wearing course (ACWC) is the top layer in the pavement structure, the material should be able to sustain stresses caused by direct traffic loading. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of aggregate gradation and mineral filler type on Marshall Properties.  A detailed laboratory study is carried out by preparing asphalt mixtures specimens using locally available materials including asphalt binder (40-50) penetration grade, two types of aggregate gradation representing SCRB and ROAD NOTE 31 specifications and two types of  mineral filler including limestone dust and coal fly ash. Four types of mixtures were prepared and tested. The first type included SCRB specification and

The performance of flexible pavements is significantly impacted by the permanent deformation (rutting) of asphalt pavements. Rutting shortens the pavement's useful service life and poses significant risks to those using the highway since it alters vehicle handling characteristics.. The aim of this research is to evaluate the permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures under different conditions,to achieve this aim 108 cylindrical specimens has been prepared and tested under repeated loading in uniaxial compression mode. Five factors were considered in this research, these factors represent the effect of environmental condition and traffic loading as well as mixture properties, they include testing temperature, loading condition (stress level