Southern Technical University -Iraq

A large part of incident solar radiation on photovoltaic (PV) modules is converted into heat, leading to overheating and reduction of PV modules performance. The present work investigates the impact of rectangular aluminium fins (RAFs) and evaporative cooling represented by cotton wicks immersed water (CWWs) on the performance and thermal behaviour of the PV module. Results indicate that the evaporative cooling attained better cooling potential than RAFs, in which the PV module temperature was reduced by 22.3%, and the output power was enhanced by 73% thanks to continuous cooling of the PV module. A slight improvement in the PV module performance was observed with RAFs due to the increased heat transfer area, which reduced temperature by up to 6.7% and increased the output power of the PV module by up to 21.3 %. Exergy analysis shows a gradual increment of the electrical exergy and exergy efficiency using CWWs, which reduces the entropy generation of it more than RAFs. The study concluded that PV modules without cooling in hot climate areas may deteriorate their performance significantly.

Recently, photovoltaic technology applications have occupied a wide range in electric generation. The temperature rising higher than the operating temperature permissible is the weak point facing this technology, which significantly influences the performance of the photovoltaic cells. Using nanofluids as the coolant of photovoltaic (PV) modules is an effective method, circulating nanofluids in the heat exchanger attached to the backside of the PV module to absorb excess heat and enhance the performance of the PV module. The current work investigates using zirconium oxide (ZrO 2) nanofluid as a coolant at different volume concentrations (0.015 vol%, 0.025 vol%, 0.0275 vol%) in deionized (DI) water to reduce the temperature of the photovoltaic PV cells and then analyses the performance from the energy/exergy viewpoints. The results indicate that the PV module temperature was reduced by 10.2 °C when cooled by ZrO 2 nanofluid at 0.0275% volume concentration in DI water compared to the reference PV module, resulting in remarkable system energy and exergy enhancement. Besides, the cooling by DI water has decreased the PV module temperature by 5.1 °C. The overall efficiencies gradually increment with an increase in volume concentration by 8.9%, 18.8 % and 24.4%, respectively, compared with PV modules cooled by DI water. Using ZrO 2 nanofluids with 0.0275 vol% could enhance the exergy efficiency by 66.8% and reduce the exergy losses and entropy generation by 7% and 26%, respectively.

Modern metropolitan cities worldwide suffer from heavy congestion due to high daily commutes for various purposes. Intersections are the most congested component of the network and represent the sites of accidents. At the same time, the intersection (Al-Sadrien) in Al- Najaf Al-Ashraf city is regarded as one of the major important intersections. Typically, this intersection increases the volume of traffic during rush hours, which raises traffic congestion, Therefor, the problem with this article is that unclear how the distribution of the surrounding areas affects traffic accidents and junction congestion. Our hypothesis to solve the problem is that an important relationship must be clear between the intersection and its surrounding areas. In this study, analysis the current service of intersection as field survey adopting the analytical approach using simulation by HCS2010 and VISSIM software, based on GIS that showed: the eastern approach (coming from Al- Kufa) was (F) (3.18.97), the result of the western approach (coming from Najaf) (F) (3.45.49), and the result of the northern approach (coming from the College of Administration and Economics) (D) (1.38). 83) and the result of the southern approach (coming from Al- Rawan Street) (E) (1.14.13). When the times of delay to the level of service intersection, as adopted by the capacity of roads on the program (HCS 2010), amounted to more than (800) seconds/vehicle at peak times. So, the classification of service at this intersection is in level (E). Through the traffic intersection analysis, recommendations and proposals must be taken before any decisions regarding land use , which has effects on the city.

The need for cloud services has been raised globally to provide a platform for healthcare providers to efficiently manage their citizens' health records and thus provide treatment remotely. In Iraq, the healthcare records of public hospitals are increasing progressively with poor digital management. While recent works indicate cloud computing as a platform for all sectors globally, a lack of empirical evidence demands a comprehensive investigation to identify the significant factors that influence the utilization of cloud health computing. Here we provide a cost-effective, modular, and computationally efficient model of utilizing cloud computing based on the organization theory and the theory of reasoned action perspectives. A total of 105 key informant data were further analyzed. The partial least square structural equation modeling was used for data analysis to explore the effect of organizational structure variables on healthcare information technicians' behaviors to utilize cloud services. Empirical results revealed that Internet networks, software modularity, hardware modularity, and training availability significantly influence information technicians' behavioral control and confirmation. Furthermore, these factors positively impacted their utilization of cloud systems, while behavioral control had no significant effect. The importance-performance map analysis further confirms that these factors exhibit high importance in shaping user utilization. Our findings can provide a comprehensive and unified guide to policymakers in the healthcare industry by focusing on the significant factors in organizational and behavioral contexts to engage health information technicians in the development and implementation phases.

Ziziphus spp. is one of the economic fruit trees whose cultivation spreads in southern Iraq. This study characterized the morphological, molecular, and genetic diversity of five cultivars (Malasy, Normal, Zaytony, Bambawi, Tofahy), using 12 morphological indicators for leaf and fruit and six primers for RAPD technology. The results of the morphological characterization showed that the two cultivars (Normal and Malasy) recorded the highest genetic kinship between them, amounting to 10.04. In comparison, the farthest genetic distance between the two cultivars (Zaytony and Normal) was recorded, which amounted to 29.3. As for the molecular characterization results, the primers produced 113 20 bands, with an average of 18.8 bands for each primer, and the percentage of polymorphism was 100% and unique bands totaling 51 bands appeared, including 17 bands with different molecular weights characteristic of the cultivars. The genetic tree diagram showed the distribution of cultivars in two groups. The combination of morphological and molecular characterization is one of the most important tools that can be relied upon in finding genetic differences and determining fingerprints, especially between types of genders or cultivars of the same species. Keywords: fingerprints, genetic distance, Morphological, RAPD, Ziziphus.

Background. Anemia is a public health issue that affects both industrialized and developing nations. Childhood anemia has severe consequences, including reduced growth, poor motor and cognitive development, and increased death and morbidity. Objective. This study aims to determine sociodemographic factors associated with the severity of anemia among under-five children in Kut City. Methods. A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample (non-probability) was conducted among 264 children admitted to hospitals in Kut City, from September 1st, 2022, to March 1st, 2023. Data were collected via questionnaires, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate the data. Results. The total number of children participating in the study was 264, with 39.0% having mild anemia and 60.0% having moderate anemia, according to the World Health Organization classification of anemia. The results showed that the children most at risk of developing anemia were within 4 years of age and had a lower mean hemoglobin level than the rest of the age groups of the children participating in the study, compared to the mean + standard deviation (SD) (9.46+0.99). Boys are more affected than girls, and those who reside in rural areas have lower HB percentages with a mean+SD of (9.21+0.93). Unemployed mothers who read and write had the lowest HB percentage. In contrast, parents with primary education and government jobs have the lowest percentage of HB. Children of married mothers are more affected by anemia. Families with high overcrowding showed the lowest rate of HB. They experienced low socioeconomic status as a result. The degree of anemia was significantly correlated with the child's age, residence, mother's educational level, father's job, and socioeconomic position. Conclusion. This study concludes a significant association between the severity of anemia and sociodemographic factors, both unmodifiable (age) and modifiable (residence, mothers’ education, fathers’ jobs, and economic and social status). Children with modifiable risk factors need to have their anemia risk constantly evaluated.

Background. Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death among children under five globally. Objective. The study aims to determine socio-demographic factors associated with the severity of pneumonia among children under five in Wasit Governorate. Methods. A cross-sectional study and convenience sampling (non-probability) were conducted among 477 children admitted to Wasit governorate hospitals. This sample was distributed throughout five hospitals selected using convenience sampling techniques, including AL-Zahra Hospital, AL-Numaniyah General Hospital, AL-Karama Teaching Hospital, Martyr Fairouz General Hospital, and AL-Kut Gynecology Hospital. It was conducted from October 1st, 2022, to May 1st, 2023. Through questionnaires, data were collected and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. The results showed that the participants' distribution according to pneumonia severity was such that the majority of children (81%) included in the study suffered from pneumonia. 14% of children suffered from very severe pneumonia, and 5% suffered from severe pneumonia. The children at risk of developing pneumonia were within the age group of 1-11 months (55.6%), were male (60.6%), and resided in urban areas (63.7%). Both the mother and the father had completed their primary education (50.9% and 47.4%, respectively), and 99.4% and 97.5% of the mothers were married and housewives. More than half of the fathers, 59.5%, were self-employed, and 25.6% suffered from house overcrowding. In addition, 65% had low socioeconomic status. There was a significant relationship between pneumonia severity and the father's occupation and socioeconomic status. Conclusion. This study concludes that pneumonia was the most common diagnosis at admission. Among the risk factors studied, low socioeconomic status and the father's occupation were significant risk factors for pneumonia in children.

The discovery of disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson's Disease (PD) represents a critical need in neurodegenerative medicine. Genetic mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are risk factors for the development of PD, and some of these mutations have been linked to increased LRRK2 kinase activity and neuronal toxicity in cellular and animal models. Furthermore, LRRK2 function as a scaffolding protein in several pathways has been implicated as a plausible mechanism underlying neurodegeneration caused by LRRK2 mutations. Given that both the kinase activity and scaffolding function of LRRK2 have been linked to neurodegeneration, we developed proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) targeting LRRK2. The degrader molecule JH-XII-03-02 (6) displayed high potency and remarkable selectivity for LRKK2 when assessed in a of 468 panel kinases and serves the dual purpose of eliminating both the kinase activity as well as the scaffolding function of LRRK2.

Background Despite saving millions of lives through blood transfusion, transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) still threaten the lives of patients requiring blood transfusion. Hence, screening blood donors and studying the prevalence of TTIs among blood donors may display the burden of these diseases among our population. The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence rates of transfusion transmitted infections among blood donors in Basra, Iraq from 2019 to 2021 as groundwork for providing safe blood transfusion in Iraq. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in the blood banks in Basra, Iraq from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. A total of 197 898 samples were collected and screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B core (HBc), anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis immunologically. Results The prevalence rates of seropositive of viral hepatitis for the year 2019, 2020, 2021 were as following: hepatitis B virus (HBV) rates 1.54%, 1.45% and 1.14% with significant declined trend by 26%; anti-HCV rates were 0.14, 0.12 and 0.11% with significant declined trend by 21.4%; and the syphilis rates were 0.38, 0.47, 0.36 with marked declined trend 5.3%, respectively. Of those donors showed HBV positive, 2503 (1.26%) had positive anti-HBc results, while only 173 (0.0874) showed positive test results for both anti-HBc and HBsAg. Conclusion Prevalence rates of viral hepatitis and syphilis showed a steady decline between 2019 and 2021, and these rates were much lower in Basra than in other parts of Iraq and neighbouring countries. The importance of using the anti-HBc test in the screening of blood donors was indicated in this study. These findings would contribute in improving the understanding of TTIs epidemiology and supporting health authorities controlling bloodborne diseases.

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of multifuel blends on combustion parameters of single-cylinder four-stroke direct injection diesel engines. Engine characteristics (performance, combustion, and emissions) are scanned under the following scenario: initially powered by regular diesel (DF), then 20% biodiesel derived from spirulina green algae. Afterward, 40% water ammonia solution (25% NH 3) is used, followed by a hybrid blend (40% DF þ 20% biodiesel þ 40% NH 4 OH). Simulations are performed using Diesel-RK software. In contrast to diesel and biodiesel, aque-ous ammonia solution has a longer delay period due to lower cetane number. In comparison with diesel, the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) is increased by 1.6%, 3.8% for biodiesel and NH 4 OH, while it is decreased by 13% for hybrid fuel. Peak values of pressure and temperature are reduced. All fuel blends under consideration had significant reductions in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Bosch smoke number (BSN). Hybrid fuel reduced NOx emissions by 37% and BSN by 53.5% compared to DF. Compared to DF, there was a slight increase in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) coupled with a decrease in thermal brake efficiency (BTE). The optimal fuel compromise for dual-fuel diesel engines is the usage of biodiesel and aqueous ammonia together (hybrid mode). There is an excellent convergence between these outcomes and those of other scientists.

Studying the effect of boiler water released in rivers on some water properties such as density, viscosity was done in this research. Equations of momentum, conversation, turbulence and energy were used with the relation between the temperature and water properties to describe those properties along the study reach. Simplifying of partial equation was done to obtain system of linear equation. Verification of numerical model by conducting comparison of observed data from Euphrates River at Mussaib Thermal Power Station with those computed by the model. The comparison results of density and viscosity show an agreement with using statistical tests such as Chi square and RMSE. The results of the study showed that increasing the bed roughness from 0.04 m to 0.12 m causes a longitudinal retardation of the values of density and viscosity values about (26 and 22%) respectively and vertical advance of these values about (14 and 12% ) respectively. Increasing the water surface slope from (6 cm/km to 12 cm/km) causes a longitudinal advance of density and viscosity values about (19 and 12%) respectively and vertical retardation of these values about (16 and 13%) respectively. HIGHLIGHTS Effects of boiler water on water river properties such as water density and water viscosity were studied.; Significance and degree of freedom between observed data from the river and predicted data from the model were studied.; The effects of hydraulic river properties such as bed height and water surface slope on distribution of the values of these water river properties were explored.;

Selenium, an antioxidant enzyme component, has been shown to protect against colorectal cancer risk. A diet is the primary source of these antioxidants, and selenium level is inversely related to colorectal cancer risk and may be responsible for around 50% of colorectal cancer risk. The study aims to evaluate selenium levels as a marker for colorectal cancer risk. The participants in this study were 180 individuals, comprising patients and healthy people, separated into two distinct groups: The first comprised 90 cases, 47 of them were men, and 43 were female patients. The second group had 90 healthy individuals, including 60 men and 30 women. All individuals were subjected to blood sampling to determine serum selenium by using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The mean serum selenium concentration in the colorectal cancer group was significantly lower (P< 0.01) than in healthy control people. The result shows a strong association between low levels of selenium and the risk of colorectal cancer.

This study goal to the ability of using low cost materials representing thermestone and aluminum solid wastes in water filtration by using a pilot plant constructed in wastewater treatment plant to remove cadmium II ion. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) used to optimize the optimal parameters that affecting the performance of filter units, these parameters are time, Cd (II) concentration, and filtration rate. These optimized parameters were 9 hr., 5 ppm, 10 l/hr. with removal efficiency of Cd (II) for A-Filter, T-Filter, S-Filter, and A-T-S-Filter was 94%, 95%, 86.8% and 90%, respectively. The result shows that the T-filter has higher cadmium removal efficiency than A-filter, S-filter and S-T-A- filter. While A-filter has a higher removal efficiency of cadmium than the S-filter and S-T-A- filter. While the S-T-A- filter has higher efficiency than S- filter. The result obtained from RSM was good Agreement with the result of experiments. As a result, the optimized process in this paper can be widely utilized with high removal ratio of Cd (II) ions from wastewater samples.

Precision agriculture encompasses automation and application of a wide range of information technology devices to improve farm output. In this environment, smart devices collect and exchange a massive number of messages with other devices and servers over public channels. Consequently, smart farming is exposed to diverse attacks, which can have serious consequences since the sensed data are normally processed to help determine the agricultural field status and facilitate decision-making. Although a myriad of security schemes has been presented in the literature to curb these challenges, they either have poor performance or are susceptible to attacks. In this paper, an elliptic curve cryptography-based scheme is presented, which is shown to be formally secure under the Burrows–Abadi–Needham (BAN) logic. In addition, it is semantically demonstrated to offer user privacy, anonymity, unlinkability, untraceability, robust authentication, session key agreement, and key secrecy and does not require the deployment of verifier tables. In addition, it can withstand side-channeling, physical capture, eavesdropping, password guessing, spoofing, forgery, replay, session hijacking, impersonation, de-synchronization, man-in-the-middle, privileged insider, denial of service, stolen smart device, and known session-specific temporary information attacks. In terms of performance, the proposed protocol results in 14.67% and 18% reductions in computation and communication costs, respectively, and a 35.29% improvement in supported security features

The reasons for concrete roof shells’ apparent seismic resistance have been subject to limited research but they have been shown to be inherently resilient to earthquakes. Shells constructed of concrete exhibit high structural efficiency and can therefore be made very thin. As a result of their relatively lightweight nature, thin shell structures are implicitly resistant to earthquake forces. The shell structure is typically designed so that it performs optimally under gravity loads, which are carried mainly by membrane action over the shell surface. As earthquakes induce unexpected horizontal forces, concrete shell structures can be damaged by bending stresses. By studying 8 cm-thick concrete roof shells using parametric analysis, this research shows that small and midsized (span <30 m) thin concrete roof shells can indeed be intrinsically earthquake resistant. These structures have high geometric stiffness and low mass, which results in fundamental frequencies far higher than those of realistic seismic events. Under earthquake excitation, these characteristics result in elastic shell behavior, without exceeding the maximum concrete strength. A shallow shell exhibits greater stress in response to earthquake vibrations caused by the vertical components than by horizontal components. Further, by increasing the rise and curvature of large shells, the fundamental frequency increases and the damaging effect of vertical earthquake vibration is reduced. The aim of this study in general is to show the analysis and the effect of earthquakes on cylindrical concrete shells.

Using a combination of the finite element method (FEM) applied in COMSOL Multiphysics and the machine learning (ML)-based classification models, a computational tool has been developed to predict the appropriate amount of power flow in a plasmonic structure. As a plasmonic coupler, a proposed structure formed of an annular configuration with teeth-shaped internal corrugations and a center nanowire is presented. The following representative data mining techniques: standalone J48 decision tree, support vector machine (SVM), Hoeffding tree, and Naïve Bayes are systematically used. First, a FEM is used to obtain power flow data by taking into consideration a geometrical dimensions, involving a nanowire radius, tooth profile, and nanoslit width. Then, we use them as inputs to learn about machine how to predicate the appropriate power flow without needing FEM of COMSOL, this will reduce financial consumption, time and effort. Therefore, we will determine the optimum approach for predicting the power flow of the proposed structure in this work based on the confusion matrix. It is envisaged that these predictions’ results will be important for future optoelectronic devices for extraordinary optical transmission (EOT).

Deflection of a beam is the movement of the beam from its initial position to another position depending on the applied load. Beam deflection estimation gives an indication about the possible deformation of the beam. A parametric Bayesian linear based model is introduced to mimic the experimentally collected data to estimate the stochastic deflection of a simply supported beam. A Gaussian noise is assumed to understand the stochastic behavior of the beam deflection as well as a Gaussian prior. The model mapping function used in this work is known as radial basis function, which can be linear or nonlinear. Three basis functions are compared, namely are linear, Gaussian and modified Gaussian function proposed in this work. The modified Gaussian function is a simple function introduced in this work. The performance of the functions is analyzed for three central concentrated loads. The best model can describe the observed data is found to be the modified Gaussian model with regularization factor of 0.9 for three loading cases. The prediction based linear basis function is better than the use of the Gaussian basis function prediction according to error of estimation. The maximum RMS error obtained for modified Gaussian radial basis function corresponding to central load of 4kg is smaller than that of a theoretical based model for the same loading conditions.

Plain Language Summary We believe we need to think in radical ways and drive our multi‐year and multi‐disciplinary research agenda with the goal of driving sustainable economic development. Research just for research sake and publication of research papers is now an outdated concept that benefits a few in this region in the near term. We call on the key players of the region, such as the national governments, water ministries, US Department of State, and European Government agencies to push for win‐win solutions. It is in their best economic and sovereign interest too to see Mesopotamian rivers restore sooner rather than later. Because, if the Mesopotamian rivers fail, then we as a world fail.