The current study included the isolation, purification and cultivation of blue-green alga Oscillatoria pseudogeminata G.Schmidle from soil using the BG-11liquid culture medium for 60 days of cultivation. The growth constant (k) and generation time (G) were measured which (K=0.144) and (G=2.09 days).

Microcystins were purified and determined qualitatively and quantitatively from this alga by using the technique of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa Kits). The alga showed the ability to produce microcystins in concentration reached 1.47 µg/L for each 50 mg DW. Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) aged two months were irrigated with three concentrations of purified microcystins 0.5 , 3.0 and 6.0

   The aim of this paper is to present the first record of ctenophore species Pleurobrachia pileus (O. F. Müller, 1776) in the coral reef as was recently found in Iraqi marine waters. The specimens were collected from two sites, the first was in Khor Abdullah during May 2015, and the second site was located in the pelagic water of the coral reef area, near the Al-Basrah deep sea crude oil marine loading terminal. Three samples were collected at this site during May 2015, February and March 2018 which showed that P. pileus were present at a densities of 3.0, 2.2 and 0.55 ind./ m³ respectively. The species can affect on the abundance of other zooplankton community through predation.

In this study, a 3 mm thickness 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheet was used in the friction stir welding process. Using the design of experiment to reduce the number of experiments and to obtain the optimum friction stir welding parameters by utilizing Taguchi technique based on the ultimate tensile test results. Orthogonal array of L9 (3³) was used based on three numbers of the parameters and three levels for each parameter, where shoulder-workpiece interference depth (0.20, 0.25, and 0.3) mm, pin geometry (cylindrical thread flat end, cylindrical thread with 3 flat round end, cylindrical thread round end), and thread pitch (0.8, 1, and 1.2) mm) this technique executed by Minitab 17 software. The results showed th

The objective of this paper is to improve the general quality of infrared images by proposes an algorithm relying upon strategy for infrared images (IR) enhancement. This algorithm was based on two methods: adaptive histogram equalization (AHE) and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE). The contribution of this paper is on how well contrast enhancement improvement procedures proposed for infrared images, and to propose a strategy that may be most appropriate for consolidation into commercial infrared imaging applications.
The database for this paper consists of night vision infrared images were taken by Zenmuse camera (FLIR Systems, Inc) attached on MATRIC100 drone in Karbala city. The experimental tests showed sign

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computerized database management system for accumulating, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display spatial data. In general, GIS contains two broad categories of information, geo-referenced spatial data and attribute data. Geo-referenced spatial data define objects that have an orientation and relationship in two or three-dimensional space, while attribute data is qualitative data that can be counted for recording and analysis. The main aim of this research is to reveal the role of GIS technology in the enhancement of bridge maintenance management system components such as the output results, and make it more interpretable through dynamic colour coding and more sophisticated visualization

Sheet piles are necessary with hydraulic structures as seepage cut-off to reduce the seepage. In this research, the computational work methodology was followed by building a numerical model using Geo-Studio program to check the efficiency of using concrete sheet piles as a cut-off or reducer for seepage with time if the sheet piles facing the drawdown technique. Al-Kifil regulator was chosen as a case study, an accurate model was built with a help of observed reading of the measuring devices, which was satisfactory and helped in checking the sheet piles efficiency. Through the study, three scenarios were adopted (with and without) drawdown technique, it was found that at the short time there's no effect of the drawdown technique on

The effective insulation design of the stress grading (SG) system in form-wound stator coils is essential for preventing partial discharges and excessive heat generation under pulse-width modulation excitation. This paper proposes a method to find the optimal insulation design of the SG system aimed at reducing the dielectric and thermal stresses in the machine coil. The non-uniform transmission line model is used to predict the voltage propagation along the overhang, SG, and slot regions considering the variation in the physical properties of the insulation layers. The machine coil parameters for different insulation materials are calculated by using the finite element method. Two optimization algorithms, fmincon and particle swarm optimiz

Background: The anticancer impact of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) the highly active polyphenol of green tea was abundantly studied.  Though, the exact mechanism of its cytotoxicity is still under investigation. Objectives: Hence, the current study designed to investigate the molecular target of EGCG in HepG2 cells on thirteen autophagy- and/or apoptosis- related genes. Methods: The apoptosis detection analyses such as flow cytometry and dual apoptosis assay were used. The genes expression profile was explored by the real-time quantitative-PCR. Results: EGCG increases G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and the real-time apoptosis markers proteins leading to stimulate apoptos

The -mixing of  - transition in Er 168 populated in Er)n,n(Er 168168  reaction is calculated in the present work by using a2- ratio method. This method has used in previou studies [4, 5, 6, 7] in case that the second transition is pure or for that transition which can be considered as pure only, but in one work we applied this method for two cases, in the first one for pure transition and in the 2nd one for non pure transitions. We take into accunt the experimental a2- coefficient for p revious works and -values for one transition only [1]. The results obtained are, in general, in agood agreement within associated errors, with those reported previously [1], the discrepancies that occur are due to inaccuracies existing