The beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,

Periodontal disease is typically treated with mechanical debridement of the tooth surface. It may, however, be insufficient to eradicate pathogenic microorganisms on its own. Because of the microbial etiology of periodontitis, systemic or local antibiotic therapy is used as an adjunct treatment. The present study aimed to determine the effects of curcumin gel on Porphyromonas gingivalis. Eleven patients with stage II and III periodontitis were registered in the study. A double-blinded split-mouth design followed. Periodontal pockets were distributed into 2 groups; the test group received scaling and root planing along with curcumin gel, while the control group received scaling and root planing along with a placebo gel. Plaque index,

The present study develops the sorption model for simulating the effects of pH and temperature on the uptake of cadmium from contaminated water using waste foundry sand (WFS) by allowing the variation of the maximum adsorption capacity and affinity constant. The presence of two acidic functional groups with the same or different affinity is the basis in the derivation of the two models; Model 1 and Model 2 respectively. The developed Bi-Langmuir model with different affinity (Model 2) has a remarkable ability in the description of process under consideration with coefficient of determination > 0.9838 and sum of squared error < 0.08514. This result is proved by FTIR test where the weak acids responsible of cadmium ions removal

      A filed experiment was conducted to consider the impacts of bio-fertilizers (Azotobacter chroococcum and Glomus mosseae)  and two levels of chemical fertilization ( 50% and 100% of recommended dose) on proline content and activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and peroxidase) in wheat Triticum aestivum L. cultivar IPA 99 under drought conditions (50% and 20% of soil field capacity). Bio-fertilization involved treatment with   A. chroococcum (Azoto) and G. mosseae (AMF), singly or in combination. The experiment was conducted by applying a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The results of this stud

Background: Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) and BiodentineTM cements are new materials with numerous exciting clinical applications. Both have appreciable properties which include good physical properties and the ability to stimulate tissue regeneration as well as good antibacterial effects. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the antibacterial effects of MTA and BiodentineTM, when they were mixed with different concentrations of aqueous solutions of Black Seed extract, against Enterococcus faecalis. Materials and methods: MTA and BiodentineTMwere prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The method of Mawlood was followed to prepare the Black Seed aqueous solution. Agar diffusion method on Brain Heart

Forward-swept wings were researched and introduced to improve maneuverability, control, and fuel efficiency while reducing drag and they are often used alongside canards, to further enhance their characteristics. In this research, the effects of canard dihedral angles on the wing loading of a forward-swept wing in transonic flow conditions were studied, as the wing loading provides a measure of wing’s efficiency (lift/drag). A generic aircraft model from literatures was selected, simulated, and compared to, using CFD software ANSYS/Fluent where the flow equations were solved to calculate the aerodynamic characteristics. The research was carried at two different Mach numbers, 0.6 and 0.9, for five different canard dihedral angles which tra

     In this work, vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) thin films were prepared using rf magnetron sputtering on silicon wafer and glass substrates from V2O5 target at 200 °C substrate temperature, followed by annealing at 400 and 500 °C in air for 2 h. The prepared thin films were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), forier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible absorbance, and direct current coductivity to study the effects of annealing temperature on their structural and optical properties. The XRD analysis exhibited that the annealing promoted the highly crystallized V2O5 phase that is highly orientated along the c direction. The crystalline size increased from 22.5 nm to 35.4 nm with increasing the annealing

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) has low optical absorption due to its high surface reflection of incident light. Nanotexturing of c-Si which produces black silicon (b-Si) offers a promising solution. In this work, effect of H₂O₂ concentrations towards surface morphological and optical properties of b-Si fabricated by two-step silver-assisted wet chemical etching (Ag-based two-step MACE) for potential photovoltaic (PV) applications is presented. The method involves a 30 s deposition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in an aqueous solution of AgNO₃:HF (5:6) and an optimized etching in HF:H₂O₂:DI H₂O solution under 0.62 M, 1.85 M, 2.47 M, and 3.7 M concentrations of H₂O<

     This research aims to utilize a complementarity of field excavations and laboratory works with spatial analyses techniques for a highly accurate modeling of soil geotechniques properties (i.e. having lower root mean square error value for the spatial interpolation). This was conducted, for a specified area of interest, firstly by adopting spatially sufficient and  well distributed samples (cores). Then, in the second step, a simulation is performed for the variations in properties when soil is contaminated with commonly used industrial material, which is white oil in our case. Cohesive (disturbed and undisturbed) soil samples were obtained from three various locations inside Baghdad University campus in AL-J