This study examines the causes of time delays and cost overruns in a selection of thirty post-disaster reconstruction projects in Iraq. Although delay factors have been studied in many countries and contexts, little data exists from countries under the conditions characterizing Iraq during the last 10-15 years. A case study approach was used, with thirty construction projects of different types and sizes selected from the Baghdad region. Project data was gathered from a survey which was used to build statistical relationships between time and cost delay ratios and delay factors in post disaster projects. The most important delay factors identified were contractor failure, redesigning of designs/plans and change orders, security is

The current research aims to examine the willingness to communicate and psychological adjustment of Iraqi EFL undergraduate students. To achieve the main aim, a sample of 100 male and female Iraqis’ undergraduate students studying English as a foreign language was chosen randomly from two different public colleges in Baghdad city for the academic year 2023-2024. Two scales have five Likert alternatives of 17 and 16 items developed by McCroskey & Richmond (1990) and Wais (2010), respectively were administered to the research sample to collect the needed data. The results revealed that Iraqi EFL undergraduate students have a willingness to communicate in the English language. Iraqi EFL undergraduate students have a good level of

The advancement of cement alternatives in the construction materials industry is fundamental to sustainable development. Geopolymer is the optimal substitute for ordinary Portland cement, which produces 80% less CO₂ emissions than ordinary Portland cement. Metakaolin was used as one of the raw materials in the geopolymerization process. This research examines the influence of three different percentages of sulfate (0.00038, 1.532, and 16.24) % in sand per molarity of NaOH on the compressive strength of metakaolin-based geopolymer mortar (MK-GPM). Samples were prepared with two different molarities (8M and 12M) and cured at room temperature. The best compressive strength value (56.98MPa) was recorded with 12M w

This research deals with the qualitative and quantitative interpretation of Bouguer gravity anomaly data for a region located to the SW of Qa’im City within Anbar province by using 2D- mapping methods. The gravity residual field obtained graphically by subtracting the Regional Gravity values from the values of the total Bouguer anomaly. The residual gravity field processed in order to reduce noise by applying the gradient operator and 1st directional derivatives filtering. This was helpful in assigning the locations of sudden variation in Gravity values. Such variations may be produced by subsurface faults, fractures, cavities or subsurface facies lateral variations limits. A major fault was predicted to extend with the direction NE-

This paper presents a novel inverse kinematics solution for robotic arm based on artificial neural network (ANN) architecture. The motion of robotic arm is controlled by the kinematics of ANN. A new artificial neural network approach for inverse kinematics is proposed. The novelty of the proposed ANN is the inclusion of the feedback of current joint angles configuration of robotic arm as well as the desired position and orientation in the input pattern of neural network, while the traditional ANN has only the desired position and orientation of the end effector in the input pattern of neural network. In this paper, a six DOF Denso robotic arm with a gripper is controlled by ANN. The comprehensive experimental results proved the appl

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an efficient antineoplastic agent with a broad antitumor spectrum; however, doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxic adverse effect through oxidative damage and apoptosis limits its clinical application. Cafestol (Caf) is a naturally occurring diterpene in unfiltered coffee with unique antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anti-inflammatory activities by activating the Nrf2 pathway. The present study aimed to investigate the potential chemoprotective effect of cafestol on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Wistar albino rats of both sexes were administered cafestol (5 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive days by oral gavage alone or with doxorubicin which was injected as a single dose (15 mg/kg intraperitoneally at day 14) to i

Objective: To measure the effect of the pharmacist-led medication reconciliation service before hospital discharge on preventing potential medication errors. Methods: This behavioral interventional study took place in a public teaching hospital in Iraq between December 2022 and January 2023. It included inpatients who were taking four or more medications upon discharge from the internal medicine ward and the cardiac care unit. The researcher provided the patients with a medication reconciliation form and reconciliation form (including medication regimen and pharmacist instructions) before discharging them home. Any discrepancies between the patients’ understanding and the actual medication recommendations prescribed by the physici

Objective: The present study investigates whether the exposure to low-power diode laser induces denaturation in red blood cell (RBC) membrane protein composition, and determines the irradiation time for when denaturation of membrane protein process begins. Background: A low-energy laser has been used extensively in medical applications. Several studies indicated significant positive effects of laser therapy on biological systems. In contrast, other studies reported that laser induced unwanted changes in cell structure and biological systems. The present work studied the effect of irradiation time of low-power diode laser on the structure of membrane proteins of human RBCs. Materials and methods: The RBC suspension was divided into five equa