Laboratory studies were conducted at the biological control unit, college of Agriculture, University of Baghdad to evaluate some biological aspects of the predator Chilocorus bipustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), which is considered one of the most important predators on many insect pests, especially the scale insect, Parlatoria blanchardi, (Homoptera: Diaspididae) on date palms. The results showed that biological parameters of the predator were varied according to different degree of temperature. Egg incubation period was significantly different and reached to 7.5 and 5.44 day at 25 and 30°C respectively, Fertility was the same 100% at both temperature degrees. Larval growth periods were 17.41 and 16.12 day as well as the mortality du

This paper investigates the performance evaluation of two state feedback controllers, Pole Placement (PP) and Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The two controllers are designed for a Mass-Spring-Damper (MSD) system found in numerous applications to stabilize the MSD system performance and minimize the position tracking error of the system output. The state space model of the MSD system is first developed. Then, two meta-heuristic optimizations, Simulated Annealing (SA) optimization and Ant Colony (AC) optimization are utilized to optimize feedback gains matrix K of the PP and the weighting matrices Q and R of the LQR to make the MSD system reach stabilization and reduce the oscillation of the response. The Matlab softwar

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of diode laser (λ=940 nm) in the management of gingival hyperpigmentation compared to the conventional bur method. Materials and methods: Eighteen patients with gingival hyperpigmentation were selected for the study with an age between 12-37 years old. The site of treatment was the upper gingiva using diode laser for the right half and the conventional method for the left half. All patients were re-evaluated after the following intervals: 3 days, 7 days, 1 month and 6 months post-operation. Pain and functions were re-evaluated in each visit for a period of 1 day, 3 days and 1 week post-operation. Laser parameters included 1.5 W in continuous mode with an initiated tip (400 μm) placed in

In study of effective bioactive compounds, we have synthesized the Co((ІІ), Mn(ІІ), Fe(ІІ), Cu(ІІ), Ni(ІІ), and Zn(ІІ) complexes of the Schiff base derived from trimethoprim and2'-amino-4-chlorobenzophenone and characterized by spectroscopic (NMR, IR, Mass, UV–vis,), analytical, TGA studies and magnetic data .The solution electronic spectral study suggests the stoichiometry of the synthesized complexes and Elemental analysis detected the square planer and octahedral geometry of the compounds. The prepared metal complexes presented promoted efficiency versus the screened bacterial (Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aureus) antibacterial efficacy against (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., E. coli, Vibrio spp., Pseud

Erratum for Organic acid concentration thresholds for ageing of carbonate minerals: Implications for CO2 trapping/storage.