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.
Objective(s): This research aims at evaluating the quality of pulmonary tuberculosis patients life before and after applying the suggested instructional program, and to find out relationships among distribution of an overall assessment quality of life improvement and socio-demographic characteristics variables. Methodology: Self controlled design studying effectiveness of applying instructional program on quality of life for pulmonary tuberculosis patients among sample size (65) patients from primary health care centers/AL-Sadur City sector-the consultation clinic of chest and respiratory diseases at AL
Objectives: the study aims to assess nurses' practices toward chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) for children at the hematology center, and to determine the effectiveness of the health education program on nurses' practices toward CIPN, and to find out the relationships between the effectiveness of Health education program and demographic characteristics of nurses.
Methodology: Use quasi-experimental design in the study (a design that divides the sample into two groups, a study group and a control group, with data collection in three stages). This study was conducted at a hematology center in Baghdad city for the period (from December 16th, 2019 to 8th May 202
... Show MoreBackground: Oral health is a mirror of general health. During pregnancy, oral health is affected by changes in saliva and oral hygiene measures which may lead to more dental caries.
Objective: Assess oral health status in relation to salivary antimicrobial peptides in pregnant women.
Subjects and Method: This cross sectional study was carried out in different primary health care centers in Rusafa sectors/ Baghdad city. The total sample included was 80 women (their age range from 21-30). The study group consisted of 40 pregnant women: half of them were in the first trimester and others were in third trimester, while the control group included 40 non-pregnant married fem
... Show MoreGrass carp at a weight of 34.68 + 2 g were gradually exposed to four saline concentrations: tap water (0.1), 3, 6, 9, and 12 gm/litter, and the first concentration represented a control treatment. Fish were fed on a diet with a protein content of 30% for ten weeks. Results of the growth experiment showed that the feed conversion rate was 2.46, 3.58, 4.84, 6.77, and -8.56 in the first to fifth treatments, respectively, and the rate feed conversion efficiency was 40.65, 27. 93, 20.66, 14.77 and 11.68 %, while the protein intake was 22.38, 20.44, 18.86, 17.47 and 16.56 g in salt concentrations of 0.1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 g/L, respectively. In another experiment to study the effect of salt acc
Experimental research was carried out to investigate the effect of fire flame (high temperature) on specimens of short columns manufactured using SCC (Self compacted concrete). To simulate the real practical fire disasters, the specimens were exposed to high
temperature flame, using furnace manufactured for this purpose. The column specimens were cooled in two ways. In the first the specimens were left in the air and suddenly cooled using water, after that the specimens were loaded to study the effect of degree of
temperature, steel reinforcement ratio and cooling rate, on the load carrying capacity of the reinforced concrete column specimens. The results will be compared with behaviour of columns without burning (control specime
The global rise in temperature and the desert climatic conditions prevalent in Middle Eastern countries have exacerbated rutting distress in heavily trafficked highways. Conventional asphalt binders with a high-temperature performance grade (PG 70) have proven inadequate under such extreme conditions, necessitating the development of modified binders with enhanced high-temperature performance. While polymer modification using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), an elastomeric polymer, and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), a plastomeric polymer, has been widely studied, limited research provides a direct comparison of their effectiveness at both the binder and mixture levels under extremely high-temperature conditions. This study addresses this gap
... Show MoreThe sunrise, sunset, and day length times for Baghdad (Latitude =33.34º N, Longitude =44.43º E) were calculated with high accuracy on a daily basis during 2019. The results showed that the earliest time of sunrise in Baghdad was at 4h: 53m from 5 Jun. to 20 Jun while the latest was at 7h: 07m from 5 Jan. to 11 Jan. The earliest time of sunset in Baghdad was at16 h: 55m from 30 Nov. to 10 Dec. whereas the latest was at 19h: 16m from 25 Jun. to 5 Jul. The minimum period of day length in Baghdad was 9h: 57m) in 17 Dec. whereas the maximum period was 14h: 22m) in 20 Jun. Day length was calculated and compared among regions of different latitudes(0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 north).