High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minnesota) over three years. We measured vetch cover crop effects on a suite of soil health indicators, including potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), permanganate oxidizable carbon, and microbial biomass. Preliminary results suggest that vetch effects on PMN were highly variable. Soil mineral N, meanwhile, was often lower in the vetch treatment than in a fertilized control, both in spring and in fall. While further work on vetch effects on crop yields is needed, our results suggest that even legume cover crops such as vetch have the potential to reduce nitrate leaching.
The Planning and Resource Development Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Health is very interested in improving medical care, health education, and village training programs. Accordingly, and through the available capabilities of the ministry, itdesires to allocate seven health centers to four villages in Baghdad, Iraq therefore the ministry needs to determine the number of health centers allocated to each of these villages which achieves the greatest degree of the overall effectiveness of the seven health centers in a fuzzy environment. The objective of this study is to use a fuzzy dynamic programming(DP) method to determine the optimal allocation of these centers, which allows the greatest overall effectiveness of these health centers
... Show MoreBreast cancer is the most diagnosed form of malignant tumour in Iraqi women. Tamoxifen and trastuzumab are highly effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. This study's objectives were to define the patient's belief in tamoxifen or trastuzumab when used as adjuvant therapy and to determine the variation in belief between the two medications in a sample of Iraqi breast cancer patients. The cross-section survey was conducted using the BMQ-Specific questionnaire. Ninety-seven participants (sixty-seven tamoxifen, thirty trastuzumab) participated in this study. The mean of specific-necessity scale for tamoxifen was (3.7) and for trastuzumab (4). The findings showed a high necessity for both medicines, and there were
... Show MoreThis study aimed to evaluate oral health (OH) and periodontal diseases (PD) awareness in the Iraqi population.
This study was a questionnaire‐based online survey of two weeks duration. The questionnaire was built using a Google platform and was distributed randomly via social media (Facebook and Telegram). The questionnaire consisted of a demographic data section and two other main sections for the evaluation of OH and PD awareness. Each response was marked with “1” for a positive answer and “0” for the other answers. For each respondent, answers were summed to give
The present study sought to identify the negative effects on pregnant patients and those suffering from appendicitis who underwent appendectomy. Furthermore, the quality of life of the participants was evaluated in order to ascertain any statistical differences in Iraq during the period spanning from 2022 to May 2024. The cases encompassed 110 patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis who received treatment across multiple hospitals in Iraq during the period spanning from 2022 to May 2024. The participants in the study ranged in age from 18 to 40 years, with a mean age of (27.15 ± 4.28) years in the control group and from 20 to 50 years in the laparoscopic appendectomy group, with a mean age of (29.28 ± 3.45) years. A statistical analysi
... Show MoreThe use of ultraviolet rays is one of the methods of treating surface contamination of many foods especially pickles. however, there are some side effects to its use, especially in high percentage oil food products, it is necessary to determine the appropriate doses and time periods to avoid deterioration of its oil physicochemical characteristics. this study was conducted to see the effect of ultraviolet rays 15W on some chemical properties of olive oil when using it to preserve green olive pickles, treated for 5, 10 and 15 min daily. green olive fruits Iraqi variety (al-ashrasi), in season (2020-2021) were pickled using Spanish style, the best time period to pr
... Show MoreRecently, the application of geosynthetics in the reinforcement of weak subgrade is expanded dramatically. However, selection of the geo-material that fits site conditions and soil type is crucial to achieving the success of the overall performance of such improvement. Also, the road life and cost construction are significant keys for evaluating this type of ground treatment. This paper presents an overview of the subgrade strengthening with geosynthetics to acquire a better understanding of the technique and to provide a clear guide for transportation and geotechnical engineers. The rutting failure along with its main causes are highlighted briefly. The types of geosynthetics, their applications and
This study was focused on biotreatment of soil which polluted by petroleum compounds (Diesel) which caused serious environmental problems. One of the most effective and promising ways to treat diesel-contaminated soil is bioremediation. It is a choice that offers the potential to destroy harmful pollutants using biological activity.
Four bacterial strains were isolated from diesel contaminated soil samples. The isolates were identified by the Vitek 2 system, as Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Pentoae species, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterobacter cloacae. The potential of biological surfactant production was tested using the Sigma 703D stand-alone tensiometer showed
... Show MoreThe construction of embankment for roadway interchange system at urban area is restricted due to the large geometry requirements, since the value of land required for such construction is high, and the area available is limited as compared to rural area. One of the optimum solutions to such problem is the earth reinforcement technique which requires a limited area for embankment construction. Gypseous soil from Al-Anbar governorate area was obtained and subjected to various physical and chemical analysis to determine it is properties. A laboratory model box of 50x50x25 cm was used as a representative embankment; soil has been compacted in five layers at maximum dry density (modified compaction) and an aluminum reinforcement strips we
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