Economic feasibility of solar power plants in Iraq

This gives grounds for implementation sun energy projects for electricity generation. It is interesting that the efficiency of modern solar power station nowadays reaches up to 14,4%, however 5 years ago at the height of the popularity of solar modules their efficiency does not exceed 10%. It is believed 5-10 years later, this index closer to 30%. Due to new technologies introduction quite naturally the cost of electricity will fall. Such prospects in the development of solar energy make it one of the most attractive destinations in attracting foreign investment. An important advantage of the solar power station for Iraq is the ability of local electricity generation, which could decentralize the power systems in Iraq, as a result great losses of energy could disappear when transporting electricity. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2647

Supercontinuum Generation by Controlling Pitch in Photonic Crystal Fibers

The influence of varying the distance between air holes (Pitch)on the geography of solitone propagation through the photonic crystal fiber has been tested, and the study depend on the Split-Step Fourier method, the results that were reached by using the MATLAB program.  The first-order solitone was tested with the change in the pitch, as it was found that there is a clear decay in the amplitude of the resulting pulse with the increase in the pitch . While when increasing the pitch  in the case of second-order solitons, it was noticed that the pulse would split into multiple-order solitons down to higher-order solitons with the increase in the pitch, while in the case of third-order solitons, solitonic fission leads to the supercontinuum generation with increasing the pitch, where the supercontinuum generation  was reached in this way depending on a very small energy source compared to the high energies approved to generate  this type of spectrum  by the previously  methods. In this study observed when Increased the pitch values in the third-order soliton, this result lead  to obtained supercontinuum generation (SGG) which have many application such as medical and industrial, it has an important  role in modern communication systems. &nbsp

Study Effect Self-Frequency Shift of A Soliton in A Liquid Core Photonic Crystal Fibre

      In this study, the dispersion curve family reveals that changing the liquid core fluoro-ethylene increases the dispersion curve and causes the curve to flatten at sugar solution 60% with the second zero dispersion point of the wavelength as the refractive index rises. The two zero dispersion wavelength shifts toward the visible region, and it's clear that Soliton's intensity at the second zero dispersion point is around 10% to 25% of its maximum. These peaks are further subdivided into low amplitude dispersive waves depending on the liquid core used at the anomalous region of the fiber. When a soliton approaches the second point of zero dispersion, the refractive index rises. A broadband continuum named "supercontinuum" will emerge as a result of soliton fission, dispersive wave radiation, and soliton self-frequency shifting. This type of expansion is important in many modern applications, such as medical, industry, and communication systems

Characterization of Mannitol Fermenter and Salt Tolerant Staphylococci from Breast Tumor Biopsies of Iraqi Women

          نشوء جراثيم المكورات العنقودية (Staphylococci) سواء كانت موجبة او سالبة لخميرة التجلط، كمسببات مرضية مهمة للإنسان، يتطلب استخدام طرائق موثوقة لتشخيصها لغرض فهم الامراض التي تسببها. سجلت الدراسة الحالية توصيف وتشخيص المكورات العنقودية في خزع مأخوذة من اورام الثدي في النساء. من مجموع ٣٢ خزعة نسيجية، نمت ١٢ عزلة على وسط املاح المانتول الصلب وكان مشكوكا بها على أنها المكورات العنقودية، بضمنها ٧ مخمرة للمانتول و٥ عزلات أخرى غير مخمرة اعتمادا على طرائق التشخيص الروتينية في المختبر. نجح تفاعل سلسلة خميرة البلمرة بالتعرف على ٧ عزلات على مستوى الجنس كونها تعود لمجموعة المكورات المقاومة للمثسلين من خلال استخدام بوادئ استهدفت منطقة عامة في جين mecA. جرى تشخيص اثنان من المكورات العنقودية الذهبية S. aureus من بين العزلات السبعة وذلك باستخدام ٣ ازواج من البوادئ خاصة بالجرثومة (recN, icaD, pvl). أظهر نظام الفايتك (Vitek2 system) نتائجا مختلفة بالمقارنة مع النتائج أعلاه. مع ذلك، استطاع نظام الفايتك التعرف على ٦ عزلات من ٧ كونها تعود الى جنس المكورات العنقودية، بضمنها: عزلتان تعود لكل من النوع cohnii subsp. cohnii S. و S. lentus، وعزلة واحدة لكل من S. auricularis و S. xylosus، بينما كان تشخيص العزلة الأخيرة مختلف تماما (Aerococcus viridans). فيما يخص جرثومتي المكورات العنقودية الذهبية التي شخصها تفاعل سلسلة خميرة البلمرة، فقد شخصت على انها نوعا اخر (S. lentus) بواسطة نظام الفايتك وبنسب احتمالية منخفضة نسبيا ٩٣٪ و ٨٨٪. تبين الدراسة انه بلا شك نتائج تفاعل سلسلة خميرة البلمرة موثوقة ويمكن التعويل عليها للتعرف على الجراثيم المخمرة للمانتول والمقاومة للأملاح بالمقارنة مع الاختبارات الأخرى التي تعتمد بصورة رئيسية على الخواص البيوكيميائية للأحياء المجهرية.            The emergence of staphylococci, either coagulase negative (CNS) or coagulase positive (CPS), as important human pathogens has implied that reliable methods for their identification are of large significance in understanding the diseases caused by them. The identification and characterization of staphylococci from biopsies taken from human breast tumors is reported here. Out of 32 tissue biopsies, a total of 12 suspected staphylococci grew on mannitol salt agar (MSA) medium, including 7 fermenters and 5 non-fermenter staphylococci based on traditional laboratory methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) successfully identified seven isolates at the genus level as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus spp. by targeting a common region of the mecA gene. Only two of the seven bacteria were S. aureus based on the three-specific primers designed to amplify the housekeeping gene recN, and two of the virulence genes icaD and pvl. Diagnosing the isolates using the Vitek system revealed different findings. Although 6 of 7 isolates belonged to the Staphylococcus genus, including: S. cohnii subsp. cohnii, 2 isolates; S. lentus, 2 isolates; and one isolate for each S. auricularis and S. xylosus, the last bacterium was completely different (Aerococcus viridans). Concerning the two bacteria characterised as S. aureus by PCR, they were identified as S. lentus by Vitek with comparatively low detection probabilities of 93% and 88%. The data of this study indicate that undoubtedly PCR is a reliable and accurate test for identification of mannitol fermenter and salt tolerant bacteria in comparison with other tests that depend mainly on biochemical characteristics. &nbsp

A Study of acute toxicity to pyrethroid insecticide

The study was conducted to evaluate the acute toxicity of insecticide (Karate) upon trough use green algae Scendesmus quadricauda as test organism in period time(24,72,96) hours under control conditions.The alga was growing in water giving from Al-Hilla river after filtering by Millipore filter paper (0.45

A Study of acute toxicity to pyrethroid insecticide “KARATE” on fresh water alga Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turb.) Bereb.

The study was conducted to evaluate the acute toxicity of insecticide (Karate) upon trough use green algae Scendesmus quadricauda as test organism in period time(24,72,96) hours under control conditions.The alga was growing in water giving from Al-Hilla river after filtering by Millipore filter paper (0.45)µm. Triplicates of samples where exposed to insecticides in a different concentrations (0.5,1,3)mg/l. Monitoring was proceeded every 24 hours for four days . This study include measure the optical density as indicators to density of algae and total count of cell number ,growth average and inhibition ratio was study ,also LT50 is calculated. Result show increase concentration of insecticide with increase concentration and recorded high inhibition ratio in concentration 3mg/l is (91.4%) after (96)h , and low value of LT50 in concentration (3)mg/l is (17.78). This study pointed out that insecticide differs in their toxicity according to concentration and time of exposur

Bank stock returns and macroeconomic variables: Empirical evidence from selected ASEAN countries

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of macroeconomic variables on bank stock returns in ASEAN. The panel data were retrieved from the DataStream and World Bank data archive, consisting of 58 banks from six countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam) for the period 2004 to 2014. The bank stock return index is used as a proxy for bank stock return while proxies for macroeconomic variables are money supply, interest rate, inflation, and foreign exchange rate. By applying pooled OLS regression analysis, the results show that money supply has negative impact on bank stock returns, indicating that changes in money supply is a major signal for change in stock price because it has a direct influence on stock market and an indirect influence on bond market based on the adjustment of interest rates. Inflation also has negative significant influence on bank stock returns, implying that negative inflation –real activity induced the relationship through the money demand theory and the quantity theory of money. Foreign exchange rate has a positive significance influence on bank stock returns, indicating that the foreign exchange exposures of ASEAN banks have influenced their stock returns since most part of the stock returns are sensitive to the changes in exchange rates during the periods. Meanwhile, interest rate is insignificant with bank stock returns, implying that interest rate sensitivity does not exert a significant impact on the common stock of the banks, which could be caused by the effect of wealth distribution triggered by unexpected inflation when banks hold nominal assets and nominal liabilities. It is recommended that ASEAN banks should involve in various off-balance sheet activities and implement effective and efficient approaches of risk management which reduce their exposure to fluctuations in macroeconomic factor

Improving Torsional Behaviour Of Reinforced Concrete Beam Strengthened With Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Reinforced concrete members subjected to torsion may fail suddenly due to insufficient transverse steel reinforcing resulting from construction errors, or increased loading due to a change in purpose. Therefore, strengthening and upgrading is the most cost-effective and convenient solution. The proposed techniques to strengthen concrete members such as steel plates, polymers or concrete have important deficiencies in adherence and durability. So, the use of ultra-high performance steel fibre concrete (UHPFC) can effectively resolve these problems. On the other hand, there have been very little studies on the torsional behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with UHPFC composite. This work aims at studying the strengthening of rectangular beams with or without stirrups using UHPFC with different types of configurations and thicknesses to improve the torsional resistance of RC beams. Thereby, an experimental study has been made through this investigation to understand the behaviour of RC beams with UHPFC under torsion. Moreover, simulation of the experimental beams was studied using finite element analysis. The FE method from the ANSYS program is used. Variables considered in the test program include; influence of UHPFC configuration (full, U-jacked and left-right sides), influence of UHPFC layer thickness (10, 15, 20 and 25 mm), and influence of transverse steel reinforcement. Test results are discussed in this research based on torque-twist behaviour, torque-strain curve, influence of UHPFC on cracking and ultimate torque, crack patterns and mode of failure of each beam. Results show that the UHPFC matrix can generally be used as an effective external torsional reinforcement for RC beams with or without stirrups. The UHPFC contribution to torsional strength is increased when thickness increases, for all cases of strengthened beams. Moreover, the UHPFC material can be cast in a thin layer, while sandblasting of the specimen surface ensures good adhesion of the U-jacket without using any primer, which subsequently prevents premature failure of the structure and a significant increase in torque capacity. Despite the positive effect in increasing the torque capacity, left-right wrappingis not the most efficient and economical scheme for strengthening reinforced concrete using UHPFC. The fully wrapped beams exhibited considerably higher torque capacity and torsional behaviour. Therefore, the cracking and maximum torque capacity of the strengthened beams is dependent on both configuration and volumetric ratios of UHPFC. Meanwhile, the FE results show good agreement with the experimental results. The ratio of experimental values of the cracking torque to the predicted valuesfrom the FE results for all beams hasa mean of 1.059 and standard deviation of 0.089.The ratio of experimental values of the maximum torque to the predicted values from the FE results for the beams has a mean of 1.038 and standard deviation of 0.062.It is worth mentioning, the possibility of increasing the durability of the member by applying the UHPFC matrix, due to the reduced crack openings and to the compactness of the UHPFC matrix. Hence, the use of UHPFC appears to be a good method to enhance the torsional performance of RC beams

Adaptive firefly algorithm for hierarchical text clustering

Text clustering is essentially used by search engines to increase the recall and precision in information retrieval. As search engine operates on Internet content that is constantly being updated, there is a need for a clustering algorithm that offers automatic grouping of items without prior knowledge on the collection. Existing clustering methods have problems in determining optimal number of clusters and producing compact clusters. In this research, an adaptive hierarchical text clustering algorithm is proposed based on Firefly Algorithm. The proposed Adaptive Firefly Algorithm (AFA) consists of three components: document clustering, cluster refining, and cluster merging. The first component introduces Weight-based Firefly Algorithm (WFA) that automatically identifies initial centers and their clusters for any given text collection. In order to refine the obtained clusters, a second algorithm, termed as Weight-based Firefly Algorithm with Relocate (WFAR), is proposed. Such an approach allows the relocation of a pre-assigned document into a newly created cluster. The third component, Weight-based Firefly Algorithm with Relocate and Merging (WFARM), aims to reduce the number of produced clusters by merging nonpure clusters into the pure ones. Experiments were conducted to compare the proposed algorithms against seven existing methods. The percentage of success in obtaining optimal number of clusters by AFA is 100% with purity and f-measure of 83% higher than the benchmarked methods. As for entropy measure, the AFA produced the lowest value (0.78) when compared to existing methods. The result indicates that Adaptive Firefly Algorithm can produce compact clusters. This research contributes to the text mining domain as hierarchical text clustering facilitates the indexing of documents and information retrieval processes

Dynamics and physical processes involving extreme temperatures in the Iberian Peninsula and Iraq

The occurrence of heat waves and cold spells has received special attention in recent years due to their impact on human health, ecosystems and economy. In the context of climate change, there is evidence that extreme temperature episodes, and not only the mean temperature, are changing in response to anthropogenic radiative forcing. This thesis focuses in the study of the dynamics and the physical processes leading to temperature extremes in two regions located at the west and the east sides of the Mediterranean Sea: the Iberian Peninsula (IP) and Iraq. The 12–hourly 2–m height maximum/minimum temperatures obtained from the 1º¿1º ERA–Interim database in the period 1994–2013 are used. At each grid point, hot/cold extremes are defined as those events in which T2MAX/T2MIN was above/under its 99.9th/0.1th percentile. The results in both study areas show that there is a positive trend in the occurrence and persistence of both hot and cold events. By using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, the 10-day back-trajectories of the air masses producing the extremes are analysed. Rather than meridional advection, the primary cause behind the occurrence of hot extremes seems to be progressive diabatic warming, which becomes accentuated the days before the episode. The extremes are caused by air masses with long residence times and by recirculation processes during summer days of weak baric gradient. The air masses producing the extreme cold events have faster trajectories. Cold events are mainly associated with advection of air-masses from northeast and north Europe for IP and from Siberia and East Europe for Iraq. In the IP, Principal Component Analysis of the pressure and geopotential fields has also been carried out to identify the associated synoptic scale configurations, showing that advection during cold episodes is induced by the presence of a relative low in the central Mediterranean and a blocking high in the North Atlantic and/or in northeast Europe. We analyse the correlations between temperature extremes and the modes of climatic variability affecting the Mediterranean basin: North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO), Arctic Oscillation (AO) and East Atlantic Oscillation (EA). In the IP, a significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) is found between the annual average of the extreme hot temperatures and annual WeMO. Significant negative correlation (p < 0.01) is found between the number of cold days and the annual index for NAO. In Iraq, significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) between the annual average of the extreme hot temperatures and annual EA is found. The mechanisms underlying the occurrence of hot extreme temperatures for specific events occurred in IP have been analysed by using both HYSPLIT and the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) mesoscale model. For the event that occurred on 10 August 2012, that affected the highest number of grid points of the series, the synoptic situation shows an omega blocking system and local recirculation of warm air masses. The analysis of the only hot extreme event recorded just at one single grid point, on 15 August 2012, shows that not synoptic or mesoscale conditions substantially different from those of the neighbours grid point were given.L'estudi de les causes de les onades de calor i fred ha tingut una atenció especial en els últims anys a causa del seu impacte en la salut humana, els ecosistemes i l'economia. En el context del canvi climàtic, hi ha evidències que mostren que els episodis de temperatura extrema, i no només la temperatura mitjana, estan canviant en resposta al forçament antropogènic. Aquesta tesi se centra en l'estudi de la dinàmica i els processos físics que condueixen a temperatures extremes en dues regions situades a l'oest i l'est del mar Mediterrani: la Península Ibèrica (PI) i Iraq. S'utilitzen les temperatures màximes/mínimes a 2 m d'altura, obtingudes a partir de la base de dades ERA-Interim en el període de 20 anys 1994-2013. En cada punt de la malla que cobreix les dues àrees d’estudi, cada 12 hores (03 i 15 UTC) amb resolució 1ºx1º, es defineixen els extrems càlids/freds com aquells episodis en què T2MAX/T2MIN es troba per sobre/sota del percentil 99.9/0.1. Els resultats en ambdues àrees d'estudi mostren que hi ha una tendència positiva en l'ocurrència i persistència d'episodis tant càlids com freds. Mitjançant l'ús del model Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), s'analitzen les trajectòries, endarrere en el temps, de 10 dies de durada, de les masses d'aire que produeixen els extrems. La causa principal que explica l'aparició d'extrems càlids sembla estar associada a un escalfament diabàtic progressiu, que s'accentua els dies anteriors a l'episodi, i no pas a l’advecció de masses d’aire des d’àrees més càlides. Els extrems càlids són produïts per masses d'aire amb temps de residència llargs sobre la PI i per processos de recirculació que tenen lloc durant dies d'estiu amb un feble gradient bàric. Les masses d'aire que produeixen dies de fred extrem tenen associades trajectòries més ràpides que les masses d’aire càlides. Els episodis freds a la PI es relacionen principalment amb advecció de masses d'aire procedents del nord-est i el nord d'Europa, i per l’Iraq, procedents de Sibèria i l'Est d’Europa. A la PI també s'ha realitzat l'anàlisi de components principals dels camps de pressió i geopotencial per identificar les configuracions d’escala sinòptica associades; aquestes mostren que l'advecció durant els episodis de fred és induïda per la presència a la Mediterrània central d'una baixa relativa i un alta de bloqueig a l'Atlàntic Nord i/o al nord-est d'Europa. S’analitzen també les correlacions entre l’ocurrència de temperatures extremes i els principals modes de variabilitat climàtica que afecten la conca mediterrània: Oscil·lació de l'Atlàntic Nord (NAO), Oscil·lació de la Mediterrània Occidental (WeMO), Oscil·lació Àrtica (AO) i Oscil·lació de l'Atlàntic Oriental (EA). A la IP es troba una correlació positiva significativa (p <0,01) entre la mitjana anual de les temperatures extremes càlides i l’índex anual de WeMO. També es troba una correlació negativa significativa (p <0,01) entre el nombre de dies freds i l'índex anual de NAO. A Iraq, s’ha obtingut una correlació significativa positiva (p <0,01) entre la mitjana anual de temperatures extremes càlides i l’índex anual de EA. Els mecanismes subjacents a l'aparició de temperatures extremes càlides per a episodis extrems específics ocorreguts a la IP s'han analitzat utilitzant el model a gran escala HYSPLIT i el model mesoescalar Weather Research and Forecast (WRF). Per a l'episodi que es va produir el 10 d'agost de 2012, que va afectar simultàniament al nombre més gran de punts del període, l’estudi sinòptic mostra una situació de bloqueig associada a una configuració ‘omega’, que provoca recirculació de massa d’aire. L’anàlisi de l’únic episodi càlid que va afectar a un sol punt de la malla, el 15 d’agost de 2012, mostra que les condicions sinòptiques i/o mesoescalars no van diferir substancialment de les que es van donar en els punts circumdants al punt de l’extrem càlid