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.
This paper presents a method of designing and constructing a system capable of acquiring
the third dimension and reconstructs a 3D shape for an object from multi images of that object using
the principle of active optical triangulation. The system consists of an illumination source, a photo
detector, a movement mechanism and a PC, which is working as a controlling unit for the hard ware
components and as an image processing unit for the object multi view raw images which must be
processed to extract the third dimension. The result showed that the optical triangulation method
provides a rapid mean for obtaining accurate and quantitative distance measurements. The final
result's analysis refers to the necessity of usin
This study uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to examine the constitutive relationships of the Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) residual tensile strength at elevated temperatures. The objective is to develop an effective model and establish fire performance criteria for concrete structures in fire scenarios. Multilayer networks that employ reactive error distribution approaches can determine the residual tensile strength of GFRP using six input parameters, in contrast to previous mathematical models that utilized one or two inputs while disregarding the others. Multilayered networks employing reactive error distribution technology assign weights to each variable influencing the residual tensile strength of GFRP. Temperatur
... Show MoreAn experimental study is made here to investigate the discharge coefficient for contracted rectangular Sharp crested weirs. Three Models are used, each with different weir width to flume width ratios (0.333, 0.5, and 0.666). The experimental work is conducted in a standard flume with high-precision head and flow measuring devices. Results are used to find a dimensionless equation for the discharge coefficient variation with geometrical, flow, and fluid properties. These are the ratio of the total head to the weir height, the ratio of the contracted weir width to the flume width, the ratio of the total head to the contracted width, and Reynolds and Weber numbers. Results show that the relationship between the discharge co
... Show MoreBackground and Objectives: Wound healing is a complex process with overlapping phases haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and maturation/matrix remodeling. Each phase of wound healing requires different management strategies, and inappropriate treatment can delay wound healing. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of topical application of calmodulin as a significant augmentation of the granulation tissue production process of wound healing and to express of genes CaMKK2, MaP2K6 and CXCR4 at site of wound defect, that have versatile effects on the body and they belong to Ca/camodulin related genes. Material and Methods: In this study thirty albino male rats, weighting (300-400) gram, aged (6-8) months, wil
... Show MoreThis research aims to the possibility of evaluating the strategic performance of the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) using a balanced scorecard of four criteria (Financial, Customers, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth). The main challenge was that the State Board use traditional evaluation in measuring employee performance, activities, and projects. Case study and field interviews methodology has been adopted in this research with a sample consisting of the Chairman of the State Board, 6 General Managers, and 7 Department Managers who are involved in evaluating the strategic performance and deciding the suitable answers on the checklists to analyze it ac
... Show MoreThis research aims to the possibility of evaluating the strategic performance of the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) using a balanced scorecard of four criteria (Financial, Customers, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth). The main challenge was that the State Board use traditional evaluation in measuring employee performance, activities, and projects. Case study and field interviews methodology has been adopted in this research with a sample consisting of the Chairman of the State Board, 6 General Managers, and 7 Department Managers who are involved in evaluating the strategic performance and deciding the suitable answers on the checklists to analyze it according to the 7-points Likert scale. Data analysis re
... Show MoreResilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixin
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder of the carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, resulting in increased blood glucose levels. Various complications of diabetes have been described with periodontitis being added as the sixth complication of diabetes mellitus. Matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) has been identified as major tissue-destructive enzyme in periodontal disease. MMP-8 is released from neutrophils in a latent, inactive pro form and becomes activated during periodontal inflammation by independent and/or combined actions of host-derived inflammatory mediators .C-reactive protein is a systemic marker released during the acute phase of an inflammatory response. Subjects, materials and methods: Total samples
... Show MoreBackground: This in vitro study compares a self-etch primer (SEP) to an etch-and-rinse (EaR) for bonding sapphire brackets by evaluation of the enamel etch-pattern, shear bond strength, amount of remnant adhesive and enamel surface damage following thermal and fatigue cyclic loading. Material and Methods: Ceramic (sapphire) brackets were bonded to 80 extracted human premolars using two enamel etching protocols: conventional EaR using 37% phosphoric acid (PA) gel (control), and a SEP (Transbond Plus). Each group was subdivided into two subgroups (n=20 teeth) according to the time of bracket debonding: after 24 h water storage or following 5000 thermo-cycles plus 5000 cycles fatigue loading, to determine the shear bond strength (SBS), adhesiv
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