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A hollow Core Slab (HCS) is a concrete component with holes that distribute throughout the slab's span, intending to reduce weight and expense and provide a lateral advantage that can be used in electrical or mechanical systems, in addition to good thermal and acoustic insulation properties. This study's main objective is to study the structural behavior of HCS produced from sustainable lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) reinforced with chopped carbon fiber (CF) under symmetrical twopoint loads. Five Hollow Core Slabs containing crushed pumice stone as coarse Lightweight Aggregate (LWA) were casted including, three HCS specimens with CF as a variable; the first is a normal HCS specimen with 0% CF, the second HCS specimen is reinforced with 0.5% carbon fiber, and the third is HCS specimen reinforced with 1.0% CF, while the remaining two HCS specimens containing replacement of a Percentage of sand with a fine lightweight aggregate (RE) as a variable and 0.5% CF, one is HCS specimen with 10% RE and the other is HCS specimen with 30% RE. Load-deflection Relationship, the first cracking and the ultimate loads, and the ductility ratio of hollow Core Slabs were studied. The results indicate that the ductility ratio of the HCS specimen with 1% carbon fiber increased by 131.5% and also the deflection at ultimate load grew by 42.5% compared with the nonfibrous specimen. At the same time, the deflection at the ultimate load is increased by using the lightweight fine aggregate (LWFA) as a replacement with a percentage (10% and 30%) of sand by 21.23% and 36.1% respectively, as compared to HCS specimen without replacement and reinforced with 0.5% CF.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to find out the extent of the impact of all kinds of affiliation (national affiliation - intellectual affiliation - political affiliation - religious affiliation) on organizational commitment through its dimensions represented by (emotional, continuous, and normative) among workers in the Union Company for Food Industries Ltd. / Industry Sugar and oil in the province of Babylon. Theoretical framework: The study touched on the theoretical aspect of the variables of the study and reviewed the most important concepts related to the variable after affiliation and organizational commitment. The company's vision of the extent of the impact of institutional affiliation in achieving organizational commitment at work. According to Avey (2009) affiliation expresses the mutual investment between the individual and the organization in the continuation of the ongoing contractual relationship, as this mutual relationship shows individual behavior more than the expected official behavior and being ignored by the organization as well as the individual's desire to give part of himself in order to contribute In the success and continuity of the organization such as (the desire to work more diligently and do it voluntarily, and take on additional responsibilities). Organizational commitment is generally defined as “the relative strength of an individual's identification with, and participation in, a specific organization” (Subramaniam & Mia; 2003, p. 3). Design/methodology/approach: The questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting the necessary data and information, and an intended sample consisted of (302) represented by (managers - assistants - and department officials - administrative departments). In Al-Ittihad Company for Food Industries Ltd., the descriptive analytical approach was mainly used in presenting and analyzing the research. The information was interpreted, and a number of statistical methods were used, such as confirmatory fact

In scientific and human research, you often search for the effect of variables on other variables, and this is what we find a lot in experimental research, as the researcher tries to know the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable or independent variables on dependent variables. It should be pointed out to a very important point, which is that statistics deals with numbers, so it is possible through these numbers and by conducting certain statistical operations to reach results for statistical significance. The researchers noted through their modest field experience as former players, and found that the previous studies were interested,especially the experimental ones, in how to produce the results in their form as significant differences between the variables, and this requires a complementary procedure to show which of these differences was more feasible in being affected by the use of exercises with auxiliary tools In learning some basic volleyball skills for beginners, The aim of the research is to describe exercises using tools that help in learning some basic volleyball skills for beginners. As the researchers used the quasi-experimental approach, for its suitability to the nature of the problem to be solved The research community, who are students of the second stage, numbering (142) students, divided into four divisions, and among those divisions, the researcher chose in a random manner and by (lottery) division (A, B), and they were divided into two groups, experimental and control, that is, by (40) students, as each group included of (20) students, and thus the proportion of the sample from the research community (28%), As these exercises were prepared using the aids and tools in the educational units, The researchers used statistical methods to process the data by using the statistical package (spss). The researchers recommended emphasizing the knowledge of the size of the impact resulting from learning the mathematical skills by using

Grape seeds were utilized as a source for nanoparticle adsorbents. The objective of this work was to prepare a nano adsorbent from grape seeds (GS) and FeCl2. The physical and chemical properties of grape seed ferrous oxide nanoparticles (GS-IONPs) were investigated. Batch adsorption was used to investigate the adsorption of cadmium from industrial water with different initial concentrations, solution pH and contact time. The adsorption isotherm data for Cd(II) on GS-IONPs were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models. The data fit the Langmuir model well, with a maximum cadmium uptake of 16.3 mg/g. It was found that %removal of cadmium decreased from 98.0% to 88.0% as the initial concentration increased. The results revealed that the prepared adsorbent was effective in Cd(II) removal.

Calcium (Ca) is a vital element in the human body as it maintains the integrity of the bone system and acts as regulatory ion. Total calcium (tCa) circulates the human body in different forms with only ionized calcium CiCa) is the physiology active fraction. Direct measurement oftCa in human serum remains the most common way of assessing calcium status in patients. The majority of clinical laboratories do not have iCa analysers but instead predict iCa from the tCa value measured in the lab. However, one of the pressing issues is the potential of underdiagnoses of Ca deficiency due to the false prediction of iCa. The adsorption properties of ion-imprinted polymers (lIPs) make them ideal for the selective removal of Calcium ions [Ca(II)] from human blood serum and the subsequent determination of iCa level. Ca(lI)-IIP was developed from two naturally formed biopolymers, cellulose and sodium alginate. The polymers were dissolved in co-solvent and casted into films, Ca(lI) ions were added to the polymer matrix using CaCh bath, the polymer films were cross-linked using Epichlorohydrin (ECH) and then the template Ca(H) ions were extracted using EDT A. The final CaCII)-HP was in the form of white, porous film with high selectivity to CaCH) ion. Taguchi method was utilized to determine the optimum adsorption conditions of the Ca(JI)-HP, the resulted optimum conditions were pH 5.9, initial concentration (50 mg/l), dosage (300 mg) and 90 min contact time. The effects of pH, dosage, initial concentration on the CaCTI)adsorption process were investigated. The kinetic study of CaCH) adsorption fitted well with the pseudo-first-order while, the adsorption isotherm is well fitted with Langmuir isotherm model. The Ca(II)-IIP has a good selectivity towards Ca(II) in the presence of one or more competing ions. The removal percentage of Ca(II) remains high in the presence of one competing ion but showed a lower removal percentage of Ca(II) ion in the presence of multiple competing ions

The heat transfer is considered to be one of the most important industrial processes as seen in all these opulent applications in energy conversion and in chemical industry. This thesis presents a CFD numerical simulation of heat transfer and fluid flow in plate-fin heat exchangers (PFHE) design to predict the fluid friction and heat transfer characteristics, and we investigate in detail the effect of longitudinal heat conduction effects using the open source CFD code OpenFOAM. Numerical tests for both the hot and cold fluid in the laminar flow regime ranging between 50 ≤ Re ≤ 2000 of the Reynolds number with different cases of geometrical parameters of the fin were performed (1, 1.1 and 1.2 mm in fin spacing; 0, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 mm in fin amplitude; 65, 100, 130 and 195 mm in fin length). The results for each case of the wavy fin with variation in fin amplitude are presented by means of a Colburn j factor and the Fanning friction factor f. The results reveal that the longitudinal heat conduction in the fins and the plates itself has a significant influence on the heat transfer performance in all cases. The CFD results are compared with available correlations in the literatures for Shah and London [1] and Chennu [2]. We also find that the available correlations for wavy fins are not suitable for the general case of the variable geometrical parameters to predict the heat transfer and pressure drop, particularly when the amplitude of the fins is small. Therefore, we have developed new correlations which extend the application range also for small fin amplitudes. Three models are presented for evaluation the heat transfer coefficient within a given range. A good agreement between the new correlations and analytical and numerical models are shown in this thesis. The CFD data of the single pair of wavy channels in the plate-fin heat exchanger were validated with the experimental data. The heat transfer performance data for both the experimental and CFD numerical results we

Presently, green environment has been the biggest challenge in building and construction industries. An alternative in promotion to green environment is an effective and efficient recycling system by reusing solid waste materials like porcelain waste (PW). Recently, due to high demand in the construction industries, consumption of sand has increased which lead to series of problems such as natural sand depletion and its negative impact on the environment. This research is to investigate the possibility of using porcelain waste as sand replacement in the concrete production. Three different samples of concrete have been casted (cubes, cylinders and beams), with different sizes, the water cement ratio adopted is 0.5 and 0.37 when superplasticizer was added with mix proportion of concrete 1:1.5:3. The sand was replaced with porcelain waste at 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 % and 50 %. Laboratory investigation were focused on examining the mechanical properties and thermal properties of the porcelain waste concrete (PWC). This involved compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity. The physical properties examined are porosity, water absorption and density. The chemical composition of PW material was completed by using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The distribution of porcelain waste particles inside the concrete were examined using optical microscope. Furthermore, mineralogical configuration of PWC were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. At 50 % replacement the compressive strength of concrete at 60 days was 56.5 MPa and 75.2 MPa for 0.5 and 0.37 w/c ratio respectively, which shows an improvement of 17.2 % and 29.2 % over the concrete with natural sand. Similarly, specific heat capacity and porosity for concrete at 60 days was shows an improvement of 29.3 %, 28.6 % and 62.8 %, 36 % for 0.5 and 0.37 w/c ratio respectively. Therefore, 50 % sand replacement with PW res

The main objective of the research is to verify the relationship and influence between the ambidextrous leadership behaviors and the strategic supremacy in the Iraqi Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, and to identify the reality of the behaviors and processes of the ambidextrous leadership prevailing among the administrative leaderships in the ministry in order to develop appropriate mechanisms and procedures that work to create a culture of ambidextrous leadership style Which enhances belonging and exclusivity among all employees and encourages creativity and innovation and directs them towards achieving strategic supremacy. Data were collected from an intentional sample of the administrative leaders working in the researched ministry and consisted of (89) respondents, and for the purpose of data analysis, and the statistical programs (SPSS, AMOS) were added by adopting statistical methods. The results showed the correctness of the correlation and influence relationships at the level of major variables and sub-dimensions, indicating the essential role of ambidextrous leadership to achieve the strategic supremacy in the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Medfly), is a highly polyphagous insect species with a host range of over 400 plant species. It is one of the most destructive horticultural insect pests which has resulted in huge pre and postharvest losses, costing billions of dollars every year for pest management. Quarantine and phytosanitary treatments are essential to ensure no live Medfly in imported and exported fruit, vegetable and hay. However, it is increasingly difficult to be clarified due to the ban of key pesticides, methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance, and chemical residues related food and consumer safety issues. Therefore, the non-chemical strategies, including the controlled atmosphere (CA), heat and low temperature and irradiation treatments have been applied for eradication of fruit flies in postharvest fruits. However, the response of Medfly to low-temperature and low-oxygen has not been extensively studied in the lab diet and blueberries. My Ph.D. research has systematically evaluated low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments of Medfly on a lab diet and two blueberry cultivars. The results demonstrated that in the lab diet, both the 1st and 3rd larval instars were the most cold-tolerant stages. In blueberries, the 3rd larval instar was the most cold-tolerant stage. In the low-oxygen/high-nitrogen treatment, the 3rd larval instar was the most tolerant stage at 25°C. No significant differences in sex ratios of survived Medfly were observed between treated and non-treated Medfly populations after both low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments. This study improved our understanding of Medfly responses to low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments. The results and knowledge will help refine current fruit fly postharvest management and develop more efficient and environmentally friendly control approaches, which will contribute to the integrated postharvest pest management strategies for Medfly.

Iraq is one of the countries demanding today to work to reduce dependence on oil rents and the trend towards economic diversification. Hence the importance of the study in the search for Islamic contracts, which comes in the forefront of tooling and its role in activating the economic movement and private sector development of small and medium enterprises. The study reached a number of conclusions, including the importance of holding tooling, because it is used in several sectors, as well as its importance for small entrepreneurs; as the entry of Islamic banks as financier of these projects., Iraq es uno de los países que hoy exige trabajar para reducir la dependencia de los alquileres petroleros y la tendencia hacia la diversificación económica. De ahí la importancia del estudio en la búsqueda de contratos islámicos, que está a la vanguardia de las herramientas y su papel en la activación del movimiento económico y el desarrollo del sector privado de las pequeñas y medianas empresas. El estudio llegó a una serie de conclusiones, incluida la importancia de tener herramientas, ya que se utiliza en varios sectores, así como su importancia para los pequeños empresarios; como la entrada de bancos islámicos como financiadores de estos proyectos.

This work concerns developing a composite material, which can be used in manufacturing prosthetic feet with a reasonable cost and satisfying mechanical properties. The characteristics were investigated by mechanical tests of tensile properties and Charpy impact strength. The study of date palm wood and its effects on the mechanical properties of polyethylene have received little attention. It was found that Young’s modulus of forty percent high density polyethylene (HDPE) filled with sixty percent of Date Palm Wood (DPW), significantly increased to eighty percent compared with pure HDPE. Moreover, the yield and ultimate stresses were improved, which was approximately two times higher than that observed for pure HDPE; the elongation at break and impact energy were decreased significantly. The characteristics exhibited by prosthetics compared to those of a human foot were investigated further. The analytical section presents the results of the static analysis by numerical methods (Finite Element method FEM), ANSYS Work bench 14 and experimental methods. Thus, the new foot was designed and the dorsiflexion was measured. Overall, the non .articulation of this type of foot is compared against Solid Ankle Cushion Heel (SACH) foot by cost and weight, so that the cost of the non .articulated foot is lower than that of the other by about sixty percent. We also found the new weight is lighter than that of by about two percent. The new model of prosthetic foot has better characteristics, which includes foot life cycle (7.5° and 1,049,135) respectively when compared with the other (6.4° and 896213) respectively.

This purpose of the study is to identify the training needs of Iraqi agricultural extension workers in three (3) provinces. The study includes a conceptual framework, analytical framework, description of the study area, sources and procedures for data collection. The statistical tools used for analyzing the data collected are descriptive analysis, ANOVA one way, T-test and Chi-square, correlation analysis, Multiple Linear Regressions and also used model Borich needs assessment for measurement training needs. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between the training needs of respondents in agricultural extension work and social demographic factors. This study revealed a significant relationship between training needs and provinces (P-value = 0.029), marital status (P-value = 0.007), number of training courses attended (P-value = 0.149), location of work (P-value = 0.007), training (X2 P-value = 0.043) and experience. Conversely, the relationship between training needs and specialization, age, gender, education level, origin, background of the family and experience in farming were found to be insignificant. T-test and Chi-Square statistical analyses were used to analyze the relationship between training needs and gender, experience in farming, family background, origin, and training courses attended. ANOVA analysis was used to analyze the relationship between training needs and provinces, specialization, work location and marital status. In addition, correlation analysis was also used to determine the relationship between training needs and age, experience in agricultural extension, education level and a number of training courses attended.

The aim of the study is to investigate determinants of the cost of Equity Field study in sample from the companies graduated in market projection for the papers financial via Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the cost of equity. As a result, share market price and times interest earned have significant impact on cost of equity. In conclusion, this indicates that financial markets in sultanate of Oman are more volatile with respect to any information.

Wood waste has been used in concrete in 19th century. Its light-weight and cost effectiveness are main recognized characteristics. To reduce the environmental burden, nowadays developed countries have opportunities to use wood waste in concrete construction. This research presents experimental program results on mechanical and physical properties of ninety-six specimens of concrete blocks units. The experimental program concluded three groups of mixes plus the control mix. In Group 1 and Group 2, sawdust waste has been used as a partial replacement of 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% by volume of cement and sand respectively. In Group 3, wood waste aggregate has been used as a partial replacement of 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% by volume of coarse aggregate. The specimens were conditioned for 28-days at 80±5% Relative humidity and 24±2°C and tested. Slump, compressive strength, water absorption, dry density, porosity and thermal conductivity tests have been conducted. The compressive strength of concrete blocks units decreased due to the effect of sawdust waste and wood waste aggregate by increasing the replacement ratio instead of cement, sand and coarse aggregate. The results showed the mixes of group1 and group2 produced structural concrete blocks units at 20% replacement ratio of sawdust waste instead of cement and sand respectively. Also, the results showed that light-weight concrete blocks units can be obtained at a 25% and 30% replacement ratio in all groups with satisfactory compressive strength. The optimum replacement ratio was about 20% in the three groups so that physical and mechanical properties were satisfactory. This may be considered a solution not only to the problem of the environment but also to the problem of economics in the design of buildings.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are proven to protect the hot section of components operated under elevated temperature. Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS) is an emerging manufacturing process that is used to produce TBCsI, It has the ability to deposit a thinner TBC that has finer microstructure than coatings deposited using traditional Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS). The coating spray parameters have a significant role in developing the coating properties and thereby the coatings failure. In this thesis work, the parameters such as the spray distance, the feed rate, and the surface velocity were varied to deposit six sets of TBC samples. The as-sprayed samples were analysed and next tested at different temperatures (1000°C, 1050°C and 1100°C) making thermal cyclic fatigue test (TCF) and thermal shock test also known as Burner Rig Test (BRT). These investigations aimed at trying to find an explanation for the effect of each varied process parameter on the deposited TBC. However the cases at 1100°C were not reliable enough to conclude. It was found that most porous coating was produced in Run 1. The porosity decreased gradually from Run 1 to the last run (Run 6) by changing the spray parameters. The failure in all cases was mainly due to the Thermally Grown Oxide (TGO) which causes cracking near the topcoat-bond coat interface. According to many cross sectional and top surface morphology SEM images taken during this work, the sintering of TBCs during thermal cycling also played a significant role in the top coat failure.

This purpose of the study is to identify the training needs of Iraqi agricultural extension workers in three (3) provinces. The study includes a conceptual framework, analytical framework, description of the study area, sources and procedures for data collection. The statistical tools used for analyzing the data collected are descriptive analysis, ANOVA one way, T-test and Chi-square, correlation analysis, Multiple Linear Regressions and also used model Borich needs assessment for measurement training needs. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between the Method Article Saleh et al.; ARJA, 3(3): xxx-xxx, 2017; Article no.ARJA.30708 2 training needs of respondents in agricultural extension work and social demographic factors. This study revealed a significant relationship between training needs and provinces (P-value = 0.029), marital status (P-value = 0.007), number of training courses attended (P-value = 0.149), location of work (P-value = 0.007), training (X2 P-value = 0.043) and experience. Conversely, the relationship between training needs and specialization, age, gender, education level, origin, background of the family and experience in farming were found to be insignificant. T-test and Chi-Square statistical analyses were used to analyze the relationship between training needs and gender, experience in farming, family background, origin, and training courses attended. ANOVA analysis was used to analyze the relationship between training needs and provinces, specialization, work location and marital status. In addition, correlation analysis was also used to determine the relationship between training needs and age, experience in agricultural extension, education level and a number of training courses attended.

This study is based on the opinions of selected Iraqi extension workers, regarding the type and amount of training they need, given their experience in the field. The Borich Needs Assessment Model was used for measuring training needs. The data were collected through questionnaires given to 300 respondents (agricultural workers) from January 15, 2016 to March 20, 2016. The results show that crop-planting courses have the greatest benefit. The greatest training need is skill and knowledge of teaching methods, while a moderately needed skill is the use of computer and information and communication technologies (ICT); management skills are the least needed training.

The study was conducted in Iraq that significantly related to the issue. To identify the training needs of the respondents in the areas of agricultural extension. Therefore, this study is important for the following considerations; it will be led by precise training objectives, which play a significant role in avoiding some of the common mistakes. Better targeting will be helpful in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of training (Muhammad, et al. 2012). A questionnaire survey was adopted for a population of 300 professionals using certified sampling techniques. To analyze the training needs of responders “Borich’s Need Assessment” model technique was used this study which focused on special skills, job satisfaction, information and scientific specialization and social demographic factors. The highest training need was found in the treatment of “name of method, with average mean =3.74, the moderate needed training was found in the treatment “use computer and ICT” (mean=3.26), and the lowest was on “management skill” (Mean = 3.15). Furthermore, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between training needs and the province, marital status, location of work, experience (r = 0.51), the number of training courses attended, special skills, job satisfaction and information.

The analysis of training needs is not a task for specialists alone. Managers today are often responsible for many forms of employees management, including the training and development of their team, and should therefore have an understanding of training needs analysis and be able to implement it successfully. There are poor skills, dismal performance, working conditions, business, job skills, communication skills and lack of courses are among the issues that confront administrators in the agriculture sector. If they currently did not have access to a microcomputer and their budgetary restraints would not allow them to purchase one in the near future, their opportunity to use inservice would be low, whereas agriculture is more dynamic nowadays. Due to the flux state of ICT, the need for training becomes necessary. The study in hand addressed training requirements for extension agents in Iraq. The objectives of this study were: 1) To describe the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents; 2) To identify the level of training needs of the respondents in the areas of agricultural extension; 3) To compare the relationship among training course, scientific specialization, and socio-demographic factors; 4) To determine the relationship between training needs of the respondents in agricultural extension work areas and socio-demographic factors, and 5) To explore the existence of significant differences in the training needs of the respondents according to the variables. This study had been conducted in three (3) selected Iraqi provinces, namely Baghdad, Wasit, and Babylon. For data collection, 300 agricultural extension officers were interviewed using survey questionnaire stratified sampling. Borich Needs Assessment Model was used in determining the structure of the training needs. The statistical analysis techniques used in the study include descriptive analysis, T-Test, Chi-Square, one-way analysis of variance ANOVA and correlation analysis. More than one-third

The role of agricultural extension in the development of agriculture throughout the world is very significant. It has remained one of the prime movers in the development of agriculture and invariably in the rural development. This paper reviewed some literature in organizational climate and its impact on the performance of agricultural extension workers in Iraq. The paper introduces some basic concepts underlying the meaning of agricultural extension, organizational climate and performance. The motivations and attentions are given to organizational climate to show through the relationship between the organizational climate and the other organizational changes, especially in the area of interaction between the individual and the regulatory environment which is determined by two basic axes. First axis is the individual’s characteristics associated to a large extent to his knowledge system and his educational and cultural experiences. The second axis represents the internal work environment which describes the distinctive features of the organization. This paper distinguishes some characteristics which are organizational structure, communication system, and the nature of the work, leadership style, decision-making styles, colleagues of work, and the nature and physical of working environment. Keywords: Organizational climate, Leadership styles, Job satisfaction, performance, Organization, Agricultural Extension Workers.

The objective of this study is to examine the training needs of agricultural extension workers in various provinces of Iraq. Validate them and develop a method of identification of training needs for agricultural extension agents. The data collected were analyzed by determination of the mean of the responses from the respondents and one-way of Variance (ANOVA). Using Borich need Assessment model for training needs, the questionnaire survey was adopted for a population of 300 professionals in clients, consultants, and contracting organizations. The majority of respondents were in all kinds of training needs were above the value of 3 meaning that all of them were strongly needed, the highest needed training was on the name of method with mean value 3.74, the moderate needed training was on use computer and ICT with mean = 3.26 and the lowest needed training was on the management with mean =3.15. The study revealed that the majority of respondents in the first categories in the age from 31 to 40 years 37.32%, experience from one to five years 40.94%, the number of training courses from 1 to 5 courses 39.86%, for the education level had a bachelor degree 71.74%, origin from the urban 80.80%, and attended training 81.16%, marital status 73.19%, the gender a male 63.77%, and specialization from agriculture department 71.38%. The results shows significant relationship with provinces, marital status, location of work, training, and the number of training courses. The Extension Agents agreed that they needed training in studies areas of their agriculture.

This paper examines the training needs of extension agents in Iraq agriculture, specifically, the practice of different extension approaches, activities, methods and principal problems of extension agents in their fieldwork. Training in any form is intrinsic to organizational effectiveness and efficiency training. The type of training given to an individual who is gainfully employed but requires certain knowledge and skills to improve his efficiency. The purposes of this paper are 1) investigating the training needs for extension agents to perform their work effectively, 2) suggesting the suitable extension method for the present agricultural extension service in Iraq, and 3) identifying the primary functions and major problems of extension agents in Iraq 4) identifying the training needs in these study according to the areas of studies. In-service training of the Extension Agents is the call of the time. Training needs were assessed using the Borich Needs Assessment Model, This Model is designed around the skills individuals and groups need to be effective in the future and are used for making human resources decisions. Through trained Agricultural Extension Agents new agricultural technology can easily and favorably be transferred to clientele. According to the centralized administration, the extension workers have being practicing mostly the training and visit system in a top-down Iraq. Due to the non-involvement of local people in the extension program planning, implementation, and decision-making process, the extension service developed inefficiently. Therefore, the extension workers, researchers, and local farmers should cooperate in the extension work, especially in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the extension program to develop the extension service in Iraq Agriculture. The local farmers should be involved in the decision-making process because they are really facing the problems in their field. All extension workers and subject matter speci

Identifying training needs of structural and component in the training industry is an important process that needs to be given a high consideration. It seems difficult to identify training requirements, because of differences in the levels of the trainer experience, skills and efficiency. In-service training of the Extension Agents is the call of the time. Training needs were assessed using the Borich Needs Assessment Model, This Model is designed around the skills individuals and groups need to be effective in the future and are used for making human resources decisions. Will be modified this model with suitable in my country to achieve goal my study. Also I design conceptual framework to explain the dependent and independent variables of the study. The data collection after completed my questionnaire, validity and reliability of the instrument and doing T-test, when collect a data, the data analysis to get result and discussion. Training should not be conducted at the time of sowing and harvesting time and lectures should be carried out during the training sessions and choose time suitable for agricultural extension workers. Thus, necessary steps should be taken to identify the unfelt needs of the agricultural extension workers and strengthen their knowledge, skills and attitudes required for performing their job efficiently.

Human activities and climate changes significantly affect our environment, altering hydrologic cycles. Several environmental, social, political, and economical factors contribute to land transformation as well as environmental changes. This study first identified the most critical factors that affect the environment in Al-Anbar city including population growth, urbanization expansion, bare land expansion, and reduction in vegetation cover. The combination of remote sensing data and fuzzy analytic hierarch process (Fuzzy AHP) enabled exploration of land transformations and environmental changes in the study area during 2001 to 2013 in terms of long and short-term changes. Results of land transformation showed that the major changes in water bodies increased radically (94 %) from the long-term change in 2001 to 2013 because of water policies. In addition, the urban class expanded in two short-term periods (2001–2007 and 2007–2013), representing net changes of 46 and 60 %, respectively. Finally, barren land showed 25 % reduction in the first period because of the huge expansion of water in the lake; a small percentage of growth gain was observed in the second period. Based on the land transformation results, the environmental degradation assessment showed that the study area generally had high level of environmental degradation. The degradation was mostly in the center and the north part of the study area. This study suggested for further studies to include other factors that also responsible for environmental degradation such as water quality and desertification threatening.

This paper provides a synthesis learning from in adult learning literature. The paper starts by looking the rationale for adult learning which has its roots on informal learning. It offers in a nutshell some benefit of learning from adult education perspective. The paper provides a substantiation of a wide-ranging perspective of learning that accommodate social aspect of life than a narrowly understood classroom learning for certification. This paper intends to identify the immediate results of learning, offer the understanding of how learning influence on outcomes and offer practical examples from previous research. Last but not the least, the paper concludes by highlighting the wide understanding of learning from an adult education perspective.

The training of agricultural extension workers is an integral part of the overall agricultural production process. It is the duty of agricultural extension agents to reach farmers scattered around the country with useful and practical information for increased agricultural production. In-service training of the extension agents is the call of the time. Training needs were assessed using the Borich Needs Assessment Model. This Model is designed around the skills individuals and groups need to be effective in the future and are used for making human resources decisions. Through trained agricultural extension agents new agricultural technology can easily and favorably be transferred to clientele. Training should not be conducted at the time of sowing and harvesting time and lectures should be carried out during the training sessions and choose time suitable for agricultural extension workers. Thus, necessary steps should be taken to identify the unfelt needs of the agricultural extension workers and strengthen their knowledge, skills and attitudes required for performing their job efficiently.

Differing from general melt polymer blending, a sophisticated electrospinning technique to produce continuous polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) hybrid fibers was employed to develop favorable fibrous networks of polymer blends for the application of drug delivery. Three typical cosolvents, consisting of chloroform (CHCl3)/acetone (C3H6O), chloroform (CHCl3)/methanol (MeOH), and dichloromethane (DCM)/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), were employed to form high- and low-molecular-weight PCL solutions at 9 and 15 wt%/v with 8 wt%/v PLA, respectively. Such systematic development focused on investigating the effects of polymeric solution variables, such as solution viscosity, polymer molecular weight, solution concentration, polymer blend ratio, and solvent types, on fiber diameters, morphological structures, and thermal properties associated with the degree of crystallinity and rates of drug release. The results show that the formation of bead-free hybrid fibers is ascribed to the increased molecular weight and concentration of polymer solutions. The molecular weight of PCL and cosolvent type have greatly influenced the degree of crystallinity and thermal parameters such as glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), crystallization temperature (Tc) of PCL components in polymer blends. Finally, the biodegradation rate is accelerated when blending PLA/PCL with a low PCL concentration of 9 wt%/v while the slower release rate of tetracycline hydrochloride drug (TCH) is revealed in the blends with a high PCL concentration of 15 wt%/v.

Document clustering is widely used in Information Retrieval however, existing clustering techniques suffer from local optima problem in determining the k number of clusters. Various efforts have been put to address such drawback and this includes the utilization of swarm-based algorithms such as particle swarm optimization and Ant Colony Optimization. This study explores the adaptation of another swarm algorithm which is the Firefly Algorithm (FA) in text clustering. We present two variants of FA; Weight- based Firefly Algorithm (WFA) and Weight-based Firefly Algorithm II (WFAII). The difference between the two algorithms is that the WFAII, includes a more restricted condition in determining members of a cluster. The proposed FA methods are later evaluated using the 20Newsgroups dataset. Experimental results on the quality of clustering between the two FA variants are presented and are later compared against the one produced by particle swarm optimization, K-means and the hybrid of FA and -K-means. The obtained results demonstrated that the WFAII outperformed the WFA, PSO, K-means and FA-Kmeans. This result indicates that a better clustering can be obtained once the exploitation of a search solution is improved.

Live recombinant influenza viruses were successfully used as HIV vaccine vectors in a mouse model. Following intranasal prime-boost vaccination, HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses were detected in the spleen, broncho-alveolar lavage, mediastinal and inguinal lymph nodes. HIV+α4β7+ CD8+ T cells contributed to protection in pseudo-challenge experiments using recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HIV antigens. This research highlights the importance of mucosal CD8+ T cells in viral immunity and emphasizes the need for additional studies to provide key insights to underpin future vaccine development.

This paper has based an interview with an Iraq Middle-aged adult female to gain her experience at how she completed an online course in Iraq. The paper presents findings from a case study which explored insights of her experience in online English programme in Iraq. The research questions focused on why Middle-aged adult learners could carry on and complete the programme, what factors supported her completion of the programme, and which conditions seemed to slow down the process. Findings from the interviews suggest that interaction in the learning, accessibility of the programme and encouragement from others were some of the factors that facilitated the completion of the programme. However, multiple roles for female students, technology related problems and disappointment were some of the major challenges for completion of the programme.

In this chapter, the effects of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles on glass fiber composite processing by incorporating them into epoxy resin were investigated. GO was synthesized from graphite powder and was mixed with epoxy resin. Three different GO contents of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 wt% were used. Epoxy/GO nanocomposite samples were tested for rheology and cure kinetics to evaluate the effects of GO content on important resin infusion processing parameters. The results show that adding GO to neat epoxy resin increased the viscosity and affected the resin cure reaction by reducing the resin gel time. After that, glass fiber composites were prepared using the resin infusion process. Samples with 0.2 wt% GO result in very slow resin infiltration time with premature resin gelation. Thirty percent increase in flexural strength and 21% increase in flexural modulus are manifested by adding GO as the secondary reinforcement to glass fiber composites.

In this paper, the effects of graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles on glass fiber composite processing by incorporating them into epoxy resin were investigated. GO was synthesized from graphite powder and was mixed with epoxy resin. Three different GO contents of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 wt% were used. Epoxy/GO samples were tested for rheology and cure kinetics to evaluate the effects of GO content on important resin infusion processing parameters. The results show that adding GO to neat epoxy resin increased the viscosity and affected the resin cure reaction by reducing the resin gel time. After that, glass fiber composites were prepared using the resin infusion process. Samples with 0.2 wt% GO result in very slow resin infiltration time with premature resin gelation. A 30 % increase in flexural strength and a 21 % increase in flexural modulus are manifested by adding GO as the secondary reinforcement to glass fiber composites.

Polylactic acid (PLA)/halloysite nanotube (HNT) composite mats were successfully fabricated via electrospinning. Composite mats reinforced by both unmodified and modified HNTs with a dispersant BYK-9076 were prepared at the HNT contents of 0, 1, 5 and 10 wt%/v. The influence of HNT content and modification was investigated comprehensively, based on several characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Typical modified Halpin–Tsai model and modified Halpin–Tsai laminate hybrid model in conventional composite theory were used, which were found difficult to predict the entire experimental data of elastic moduli for PLA/HNT composite mats, possibly arising from the nanosized effect of HNTs and some electrospun PLA nanofibres within composite mats.

The effects of atmospheric air and argon environments on thermal-induced phase transformations in electrospun TiO2 nanofibers have been investigated in situ using synchrotron radiation diffraction. Diffraction results showed that the as-synthesized TiO2 nanofibers were initially amorphous, but crystallized to form anatase and rutile after thermal annealing in air or argon at elevated temperatures. The crystallization temperature of anatase was delayed by 100 °C in argon relative to in air, and the transformation of anatase into rutile occurs faster in argon atmosphere than in air due to the formation of oxygen vacancies. Non-linear strains formed in both polymorphs and the substantial elevation of rutile thermal expansion pointed to strain anisotropy in the rutile phase and the concomitant fibre breakage.

Polylactic acid (PLA)/halloysite nanotube (HNT) composite mats were successfully fabricated via electrospinning. Their processing-structure-property relationship was investigated on the basis of several characterisation techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Composite mats reinforced by both unmodified and modified HNTs with a dispersant BYK-9067 were prepared at the HNT contents of 0, 1, 5 and 10 wt%/v. Tensile moduli and strengths of composite mats were found to significantly increase up to maximum 365% and 121%, respectively as opposed to those of electrospun PLA counterparts when using additional HNTs (particularly for modified HNTs). The SEM observation reveals that HNT inclusions have overall less remarkable impact on average fibre diameters. Additionally, fibre morphology of composite mats appears to be more uniform especially with 5 and 10 wt% modified HNTs. Moderate HNT intercalation was detected in composite mats with the increasing of d-spacing values for (020), (110) peaks, irrespective of HNT contents and modification. The DSC results confirm the effective HNT nucleation to accelerate PLA cold crystallisation process. Typical modified Halpin-Tsai model and modified Halpin-Tsai laminate hybrid model used in conventional composite theory were found difficult to predict the entire experimental data of elastic moduli for PLA/HNT composite mats, which may be ascribed to the nanosized effect of HNTs and some of electrospun PLA fibres.

The experimental characterisation of electrospun poly(lactic acid) (PLA): poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) as drug carriers, at five blend ratios from 1:0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3 and 0:1, was holistically investigated in terms of their morphological structures, crystallinity levels and thermal properties. A widely used antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) was loaded to prepared fibrous mats at TCH concentrations of 1 and 5 wt%. The additional TCH into PLA: PCL better facilitates the reduction of fibre diameter than polymer blends. Increasing the TCH concentration from 1 to 5 wt% was found to result in only a modest decrease in the crystallinity level, but a significant increase in the crystallisation temperature (Tc) for PLA within PLA: PCL blends. The infrared spectra of fibre mats confirm the successful TCH encapsulation into fibrous networks. The first order and Zeng models for drug release kinetics were in better agreement with experimental release data, indicating the release acceleration of TCH with increasing its concentration. In a typical case of PLA: PCL (1:1) loaded with 5 wt% TCH, the fibre mats apparently demonstrate more wrinkled and floppy structures and increased fibre diameters and decreased inter-fibrous spaces after 7-day in vitro fibre degradation, as opposed to those obtained after 3-h degradation.

Titanium dioxide has received much attention as an important photocatalytic material. In this paper, the effects of air and argon atmosphere on the crystallisation kinetics and phase relations in electrospun TiO2 nanofibres have been investigated using high- temperature synchrotron radiation diffraction. Diffraction results showed that as-synthesized TiO2 was amorphous initially, but when heated in air or argon atmosphere they crystallized to form anatase and rutile at different temperatures and indifferent rates. The crystallisation of anatase was delayed by 100 °C in argon when compared to in air. However, the transform rate of anatase to rutile was faster in argon than in air.

The effects of fibre content (5-30 wt%) and fibre treatment on surface morphology, tensile, flexural, thermal and biodegradable properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/coir fibre biocomposites were evaluated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and soil burial method. Similar decreasing trends were found for tensile and flexural strengths with higher strength values obtained for PLA/treated coir fibre biocomposites. 20 wt% treated coir fibres were determined to achieve optimum tensile and flexural strengths of biocomposites. Regardless of fibre treatment, the thermal stability of biocomposites is worsened with increasing the fibre content. The decreased cold crystallisation temperatures of biocomposites further confirms the effective nucleating agent role of coir fibres. The biocomposites undergo much faster degradation than PLA, with the maximum weight loss of 34.9% in treated fibre biocomposites relative to 18% in PLA after 18-day burial, arising from the hydrophilic nature of coir fibres.

Biopolymers show the excellent biodegradability and efficient release sustainability for encapsulated drugs. In particular, electrospun polymer or composite fibre mats provide greater benefits owing to their competitive release properties and large specific surface area. This research work focused on electrospun nanofibres derived from poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and PCL/ magnetic nanoparticles (MPs) solutions by carrying a therapeutic compound tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) with the potential use for medical applications. The material systems were examined to evaluate how composite constituents affected the surface morphology with the aim of drug release control. It has been found that the fibre diameter decreased considerably with the addition of TCH drug. The average fibre diameter was also reduced with additional MPs due to enhanced solution conductivity. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) proved the successful encapsulation of TCH drug. Over short-term periods, the TCH release from PCL nanofibres was higher than PCL/ MPs and PLA nanofibres; whereas, on a long-term run, TCH release from PCL became slower owing to its high degree of crystallinity. The TCH release kinetics of PCL/ TCH nanofibres were better estimated by Zeng model when compared with PLA/TCH counterparts.

Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk membangunkan empat persamaan regresi AST1, AST2, PCA1 (Analisis komponen utama) (03 musim NEM (monsun timur laut)), dan PCA2 (03 musim SWM (monsun barat daya)) untuk mengira suhu permukaan udara AST dan 03. The main objective of this study is to develop four regression equationsdenoted ASTl, AST2, PCAl (03 NEM season), and PCA2 (03 SWM season)-that will then be used to calculate the air surface temperature (AST) and total column ozone (O3).

Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk membangunkan empat persamaan regresi AST1, AST2, PCA1 (Analisis komponen utama) (O3 musim NEM (monsun timur laut)), dan PCA2 (O3 musim SWM (monsun barat daya)) untuk mengira suhu permukaan udara AST dan O3. The main objective of this study is to develop four regression equations—denoted AST1, AST2, PCA1 (O3 NEM season), and PCA2 (O3 SWM season)—that will then be used to calculate the air surface temperature (AST) and total column ozone (O3).