In the present time, radioactive contamination is considered one of the most dangerous types of environmental pollution. It usually takes place because of a leakage of radioactive materials to one of the environment natural components, such as, water, air, and soil. Iraq is considered one of the most contaminated environments in the world; this is closely associated with the wars Iraq had suffered from; especially, in 1991 and 2003. Considering the importance of the radioactive contamination and its different health impacts on the population, the current paper is interested in studying this type of environmental contamination and its impact on the birth defects depending on the data available in the annual reports issued by the Iraqi ministry of health.
Several conclusions were drawn from the current work, among them, is that Iraq is obviously still suffering from the radioactive contamination leftover by wars and that the cities located in the middle and south of Iraq are the most affected ones by this type of contamination because it lies within the wars’ map and it contains 75% of the total population.According to the registered birth defects’ ratios in the period between 2004 and 2013, Baghdad ranked the first with a concentration ratio of 22.3% from the total birth defects in Iraq, followed by Nineveh Province with a ratio of 20.9%, then Basrah and Anbar provinces with a ratio of 9.7% and 9.0%, respectively. However, the minimum ratio belonged to Al-Muthanna province which registered only 1.2% berth defects’ ratio.
Moderately, advanced national election technologies have improved political systems. As electronic voting (e-voting) systems advance, security threats like impersonation, ballot tampering, and result manipulation increase. These challenges are addressed through a review covering biometric authentication, watermarking, and blockchain technologies, each of which plays a crucial role in improving the security of e-voting systems. More precisely, the biometric authentication is being examined due to its ability in identify the voters and reducing the risks of impersonation. The study also explores the blockchain technology to decentralize the elections, enhance the transparency and ensure the prevention of any unauthorized alteration or
... Show MoreEmploying phase-change materials (PCM) is considered a very efficient and cost-effective option for addressing the mismatch between the energy supply and the demand. The high storage density, little temperature degradation, and ease of material processing register the PCM as a key candidate for the thermal energy storage system. However, the sluggish response rates during their melting and solidification processes limit their applications and consequently require the inclusion of heat transfer enhancers. This research aims to investigate the potential enhancement of circular fins on intensifying the PCM thermal response in a vertical triple-tube casing. Fin arrays of non-uniform dimensions and distinct distribution patterns were des
... Show MoreModern statistical techniques offer a range of methodologies for modelling time series data, with conditional and unconditional approaches providing complementary insights that enhance overall model accuracy. This article introduced a modified ARIMA model employing conditional and unconditional parameter estimates. The methodology for the new model based on novel methods is provided. The prediction process, one and two steps ahead, is covered in detail, and a novel algorithm is presented. The best model is picked based on various measurement criteria, such as coefficient of determination (R2), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute scaled error (MASE). The suggested model is applied to a monthly petrol sales dataset (Jan
... Show MoreAnalyzing plantar pressure trajectories is crucial for assessing foot behavior in dynamic gait stability. We propose the identification of foot symmetry and the detection of deformities by analyzing the trajectories of the center of pressure (CoP) and peak pressure (PP). First, using a foot pressure mapping system, plantar pressure data are acquired during a normal gait cycle. After the data have been acquired, post processing extracts both the CoP and PP trajectories over the spatiotemporal domain of foot motion for each foot independently. For this purpose, we used the optical flow technique which accurately estimates the direction of foot motion. The extracted trajectories of each foot are then segmented into, the medial and lateral regi
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Objective: the idea of this study to improve transdermal permeability of Methotrexate using eucalyptus oil, olive oil and peppermint oil as enhancers.
Method: eucalyptus oil (2% and 4%), peppermint oil (2% and 4%) and olive oil (2% and 4%) all used as natural enhancers to develop transdermal permeability of Methotrexate via gel formulation. The gel was subjected to many physiochemical properties tests. In-vitro release and permeability studies for the drug were done by Franz cell diffusion across synthetic membrane, kinetic model was studied via korsmeyer- peppas equation.
Result: the results demonstrate that safe, nonirritant or cause necrosis to rats' skin and stable till 60 days gel was successfully formulated.<
Criticism is inherently impolite and a face-threatening act generally leading to conflicts among interlocutors. It is equally challenging for both native and non-native speakers, and needs pre-planning before performing it. The current research examines the production of non-institutional criticism by Iraqi EFL university learners and American native speakers. More specifically, it explores to what extent Iraqi EFL learners and American native speakers vary in (i) performing criticism, (ii) mitigating criticism, and (iii) their pragmatic choices according to the contextual variables of power and distance. To collect data, a discourse-completion task was used to elicit written data from 20 Iraqi EFL learners and 20 American native speaker
... Show MoreMoisture damage is described as a reduction in stiffness and strength durability in asphalt mixtures due to moisture. This study investigated the influence of adding nano silica (NS) to the Asphalt on the moisture susceptibility of hot-mix-asphalt (HMA) mixtures under different aging conditions. NS was mixed with asphalt binder at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of the binder. To detect the microstructure changes of modified Asphalt and estimate the dispersion of NS within the Asphalt, the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used. To examine the performance of Asphalt mixed with NS at different aging stages (short-term and long-term aging), asphalt mixture tests such as Marshall stability,
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