One eighth of the bird species in the world is considered globally threatened; the avifauna of Iraq comprises 409 species and is considered as the major indicator of the health of Iraq’s biological resources. The Iraqi geography falls into five main regions among which is the desert and semi-desert areas which cover much of the country area. Al-Najaf desert is still one of the poorly known regions from the biodiversity point of view. Birds of conservation concern are detected in Al-Najaf desert during 31 field trips to 20 sites conducted from August 2018 to April 2020, (citing literature records, and personal interviews with locals).The factors caused the bird numbers to decline in Al-Najaf desert include hunting and trapping, logging, invasive species, and climate change.
Nine birds are found threatened with 3 EN and 6 VU comprising Saker Falcon Falco cherrug Gray, 1834 (Falconidae, Falconiformes), Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus Linnaeus, 1766 (Falconidae, Falconiformes), Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis Hodgson, 1833 (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga (Pallas, 1811) (Accipitridae, Accipitriformes), Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris (Ménétrés, 1832) (Anatidae, Anseriformes), Macqueen's Bustard Chlamydotis macqueeni (Gray, 1834) (Otididae, Otidiformes), Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus, 1758) (Columbidae, Columbiformes), and Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis aucheri Bonaparte, 1853 (Laniidae, Passeriformes). It is concluded that Al-Najaf desert is a region of top priority area for biodiversity conservation as it hosts large number of threatened bird species.
The present study was conducted to estimate the incidence, clinical findings, cytological and histopathological characteristics of spontaneously occurring skin neoplasms in dogs. A total of 40 grossly suspected cases of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors were gathered during the period from July 2016 to August 2018 from male and female dogs in Baghdad city. Dogs with skin neoplasia revealed various clinical signs, and their ages were older than 5 years to 15 years. German shepherd 30% followed by Terrier dogs 25% were more influenced than other breeds. Concerning tumor features, the majority of neoplasms had solitary lesion 70%, regular shapes 65% with black color 55%. The tumors frequently occurred on fore-limbs and abdomen, and 80% of them
... Show MoreObesity is a complex disease and a major worldwide health hazard with adult mortality. Obesity is defined by an increase in the body-mass index of 30 kg m−2 or greater. It belongs to the genetic predisposition and more consumption of high-energy foods and decreased requirement for physical activity in modern society. This study was designed to evaluate leptin and ghrelin hormones levels and the gene expression of leptin and ghrelin receptors in obese individuals. Seventy-five obese (45 females and 30 males) and 25 (15 females and 10 male) normal individuals were admitted to the Obesity Research and Therapeutic Unit at Alkindy College of Medicine/ University of Baghdad. All blood samples were pulled from obese and n
... Show MoreAgile methodologies are adopted extensively by many of the software industries as it is flexible in nature as well as can address the required changes in any phase of development. Authentic estimation of the software products is not an easy task as it requires continuous attention of the product owner. Effort and cost can be estimated in a proper manner to ensure the success of the project. In this article, we considered the Scrum-based Agile projects that are developed into several Sprints. We proposed an extension to an existing algorithm, based on a total of 36 success factors; that estimate the development cost and effort required to complete the project. For estimation and computations, we have taken a dataset of 12 project
... Show MoreThis research is carried out to study the effect of the external post-tensioning technique on the flexural capacity of simply supported composite castellated beam experimentally. In this research, seven composite castellated beams having the same dimensions and material properties were cast and tested up to failure by applied two concentrated loads at 700 mm from each end. Two external strands of 12.7 mm diameter were fixed at each side of the web of strengthening beams and located at depth 180 mm from top fiber of the section (dps) at each end of the beam. The strands have been tensioned by using a hydraulic jack with a constant stress of 100 MPa. This research aims to study the effect of the strengthening by different shapes of st
... Show MoreIn current study a computation fluid dynamic (CFD) technique was used to investigate the effect of groynes shape and spacing on the scour pattern and the maximum scour depth in open channel flow. CFD model have been validated throughout comparing the numerical results with three previous experimental studies for a single groyne located in open channel with three different shapes (L, quadrant, and parabola shapes). The comparison revealed very good agreement between numerical results of the maximum scour depth with the results of all experimental models. Moreover, investigations of the effect of multi-groynes (three groynes and four groynes) arranged in parallel with constant spacing and also with variable spacing have been done, the
... Show MoreIron slag is a byproduct generated in huge quantities from recycled remnants of iron and steel factories; therefore, the possibility of using this waste in the removal of benzaldehyde from contaminated water offers an excellent topic in sustainability field. Results reveal that the removal efficiency was equal to 85% for the interaction of slag and water contaminated with benzaldehyde at the best operational conditions of 0.3 g/100 mL, 6, 180 min, and 250 rpm for the sorbent dosage, initial pH, agitation time, and speed, respectively with 300 mg/L initial concentration. The maximum uptake capacity of iron slag was 118.25 mg/g which was calculated by the Langmuir model. Physical sorption may be the major mechanism for the removal of
... Show MoreThe present research design examines the relationship between SCARB1 gene expression and the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in Iraqi patients. The variations in gene expression between patients with CML and healthy controls were investigated. The gender and age correlations with CML patients were included, as was the association of gene expression folding of the SCARB1 gene with clinical data (WBC, RBC, hemoglobin, platelets, and BCR-ABL gene). The results displayed a significant difference in the mean gene expression level (∆Ct) of the CML group when compared to the matching ∆Ct values in the healthy control group. The gene expression folding of the SCARB1 gene indicates considerable changes in expression, wh
... Show MoreFrictional heat is generated when the clutch starts to engag. As a result of this operation the surface temperature is increased rapidly due to the difference in speed between the driving and driven parts. The influence of the thickness of frictional facing on the distribution of the contact pressure of the multi-disc clutches has been investigated using a numerical approach (the finite element method). The analysis of contact problem has been carried out for a multiple disc dry clutch (piston, clutch discs, separators and pressure plate). The results present the distribution of the contact pressure on all tShe surfaces of friction discs that existed in the friction clutch system. Axisymmetric finite element models have been developed to ac
... Show MoreIn this study, an industrial source) E-Glass fiber) and a natural source (chestnut filler) were combined to improve the properties of polyesters. Hand-layup technique was applied in this work. Polyester (UPE) were reinforced with E-glass fibers, then reinforced with nano chestnut particles. All composites were prepared with (10% wt.) of E-glass for all prepared sheet and this ratio applied for Nano chestnut composite to preparing nano hybrid composites, Nano chestnut particles were used to reinforce E-glass/UPE composites with weight ratio (3%, 6% and 9% wt.). The evaluated mechanical performances for E-glass/NCSP polyester composite were tensile strength, impact strength and hardness. The higher ultimate tensile strength, Y
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