The Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) is a devastating invasive pest of palm trees, invading the Iraqi date palm tree in 2015 for the first time in Safwan county, Basrah province. The Red Palm weevil has been categorized as a quarantine pest of date palm trees worldwide. In this study, a five years monitoring program has been achieved by scouting the invasive pest RPW population in Safwan county by using visual sampling and Pheromone baited traps.
The results indicated that the number of infested palms, increased from 12 trees in 2015 to 111 in 16 orchards in 2016. The number of the infested palms was minimized to 3 trees in the county in 2019 due to the management protocol of the Ministry of Agriculture. Furthermore, the results of RPW adults appeared monthly in the county with two activity peaks during the moderate-temperature-months.
In conclusion, the quarantine and management protocol of RPW decreased the population of the invasive pest which did not spread to other districts of Iraq.
To enhance the structural performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, various strengthening techniques have been proposed, including the use of internal steel stiffeners, external wrapping with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets, and embedded steel elements. However, the behavior of concrete-filled stainless-steel tube (CFSST) columns remains insufficiently explored. This study numerically investigates the axial performance of square CFSST columns internally strengthened with embedded I-section steel profiles under biaxial eccentric loading. Finite element (FE) simulations were conducted using ABAQUS v. 6.2, and the developed models were validated against experimental results from the literature. A comprehen
... Show MoreBackground: The presence of anatomic variations within the maxillary sinus such as septa has been reported to increase the risk of sinus membrane perforation during sinus elevation procedure for implant placement. This study aimed to measure the septal heights and correlate it with different types of septa. Material and methods: Thirty patients (15 males and 15 females) with partially edentulous maxillae and mean age (35) years were enrolled in this study. Sixty sinuses scanned with Spiral multislice Computed Tompgraphy, septal height measured after evaluation of septal type whether it was primary or secondary. Results: The results showed that 72.5 % of the septa detected were primary and this is statistically significant when compared w
... Show MoreSocial factors may affect the available sources of toxic substances and causes of poisoning, and these factors may change over time. Additionally, understanding the characteristics of poisoning cases is important for treating such patients. Therefore, the present study investigated the characteristics of poisoning cases in Baghdad Poisoning Consultation Center (PCC) and Forensic Medicine Institute (FMI). Data on all poisoning cases reported in PCC and FMI during 2013 were retrospectively obtained from medical records. Total of 1131 reports of poisoning cases (1082 from PCC and 49 from FMI) were analyzed according to age, sex, geographical distribution and causes of poisoning according to the type and class of poisoning agent. The results
... Show MoreAim: The present study aims to improve the poor water solubility of zaltoprofen which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) with a potent analgesic effect using solid dispersion then formulate it as a hollow type suppository to be more convenient for geriatric patients. Materials and Method: Zaltoprofen solid dispersions were prepared by solvent evaporation technique in different zaltoprofen: Soluplus® ratios. Results: Among the formulations tested, zaltoprofen solid dispersion preparation using 1:5 (zaltoprofen: Soluplus®) ratio showed the highest solubility and selected for further investigation. Solid dispersion characterization was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction study (XRD) and Fou
... Show MoreThe cytotoxic effect of catechol was examined in two human cancer cell lines, Epidermoid larynx carcinoma (Hep- 2), Cerebral glioblastoma multiforme (AMGM-5) and Murine mammary adenocarcinomacell (AMN3) treated with half concentrations of catechol (1000, 500, 250, 125, 62.5 and 32.25 μM) for 72 hr. The get hold of results showed catechol have a toxic effect of the cell viability of three types of cell lines after 72h of exposure, the toxicity was dependent on catechol concentrations and/or autoxidation for quinines formation, there were a marked decreased of cell viability in a dose dependent manner in all cell line types. Inhibition concentration of catechol for 50% of cell viability (IC50) were calculated, they were at 581.5 μM, 478 μM
... Show MoreObjective: evaluation of Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance (AFP) System's Structure at Al-Russafa Health directorate in Baghdad City. Methodology: descriptive study using evaluation approach conducted to measure the efficiency of AFP Surveillance System structure for period from November 27th 2014 to June 30th 2015. The study adopted the non-probability multi-stage sampling approach. As nineteen health facilities under surveillance are chosen and interview is conducted with a total of 50 health worker how are involved in the AFP Surveillance System. The data are gathered from sample by using question
The Dynamic Load Factor (DLF) is defined as the ratio between the maximum dynamic and static responses in terms of stress, strain, deflection, reaction, etc. DLF adopted by different design codes is based on parameters such as bridge span length, traffic load models, and bridge natural frequency. During the last decades, a lot of researches have been made to study the DLF of simply supported bridges due to vehicle loading. On the other hand, fewer works have been reported on continuous bridges especially with skew supports. This paper focuses on the investigation of the DLF for a highly skewed steel I-girder bridge, namely the US13 Bridge in Delaware State, USA. Field testing under various load passes of a weighed load vehicle was u
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR) often contaminate hospital environment and cause serious illnesses. Quorum Sensing (QS) regulates a variety of downstream cellular processes, including antibiotics resistance mechanisms and biofilm formation, and causes harm to the host. This study investigates antibacterial susceptibility and biofilm formation of pathogenic bacteria in hospital environment. Methods: Hundred bacterial isolates were collected from various environments in the Medical City hospital. The antimicrobial susceptibility technique was evaluated through disk diffusion method. Next, biofilms formation was detected by the microliter plate assay. Finally, PCR was used to analyze the frequency of QS system gene
... Show MoreThis research investigated the importance and priorities of the project overhead costs in Iraq via a questionnaire using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process technique (FAHP). Using this technique is very important in the uncertain circumstances as in our country. The researcher reached to frame an equation through the results of the priorities of weights include the percentages of each of the main items of the project overhead costs. The researcher tested this equation by applying it to one of the completed projects and the results showed suitability for the application. The percentages of the (salaries, grants, and incentives) and (fieldwork requirements) in equation represent approximately two-thirds of project overhe
... Show MoreCombination therapy with a dipeptidyl peptidase–4 inhibitor and metformin or metformin+ glibenclamide results in substantial and additive glucose- lowering effects in Iraqis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus . This study evaluated the glycemic control by using two groups of combinations of drugs metformin + glibenclamide and metformin + sitagliptin in Baghdad teaching hospital / medical city. 68 T2DM patients and 34 normal healthy individuals as control group were enrolled in this study and categorized in to two treatment groups. The group 1 (34 patients ) received ( metformin 500 mg three times daily + glibenclamide 5 mg twice daily ) and the group 2 (34 patients) received (metformin 500 mg three times daily + sitaglip
... Show More