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Inorganic halide perovskites, such as CsPbI3, have unique optoelectronic properties which made them promising candidates for several applications. Unfortunately, these perovskites undergo rapid chemical decomposition and transformation into yellow δ-phase. Thus, the synthesis of stable cesium lead iodide perovskites remains an actual challenging field and it is imperative to develop a stabilized black phase for photovoltaic applications. For this purpose, a surfactant ligand was used to control the synthesis of inorganic perovskite CsPbI3 nanoparticles. Herein we demonstrate a new avenue for lead halide perovskites with the addition of either hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or silica nanoparticles to maintain in the first place; the stability of the α-CsPbI3 phase, and later on to boost their photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). The prepared perovskites were characterized using UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and X-Ray diffraction technique. Results show higher stability of α-CsPbI3 phase and improvement in PLQY % to reach 99% enhancement in presence of CTAB. Moreover, the photoluminescence intensity of CsPbI3 nanoparticles was higher and was maintained for a longer duration in the presence of CTAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge Graphs (KGs) have gained considerable attention recently from both academia and industry. In fact, incorporating graph technology and the copious of various graph datasets have led the research community to build sophisticated graph analytics tools, which has extended the application of KGs to tackle a plethora of real-life problems in dissimilar domains. Despite the abundance of the currently proliferated generic KGs, there is a vital need to construct domain-specific KGs. Further, quality and credibility should be assimilated in the process of constructing and augmenting KGs, particularly those propagated from mixed-quality resources such as social media data. For example, the amount of the political discourses in social media is overwhelming yet can be hijacked and misused by spammers to spread misinformation and false news. This paper presents a novel credibility domain-based KG Embedding framework. This framework involves capturing a fusion of data related to politics domain and obtained from heterogeneous resources into a formal KG representation depicted by a politics domain ontology. The proposed approach makes use of various knowledge-based repositories to enrich the semantics of the textual contents, thereby facilitating the interoperability of information. The proposed framework also embodies a domain-based social credibility module to ensure data quality and trustworthiness. The utility of the proposed framework is verified by means of experiments conducted on two constructed KGs. The KGs are then embedded in low-dimensional semantically-continuous space using several embedding techniques. The effectiveness of embedding techniques and social credibility module is further demonstrated and substantiated on link prediction, clustering, and visualisation tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given increasing importance of tertiary reservoirs in the Middle East, the Miocene (Upper Aquitanian to mid-Langhian) Dam Formation in eastern Saudi Arabia was cored along a 40 km transect, to develop a high-resolution sequence framework, and examine the role played by astronomical forcing, moderate glacio-eustasy (20- to 40-m sea-level changes), and tectonic deformation in this distal foreland setting. The Dam Formation (up to 80 m thick) contains updip siliciclastics which interfinger downdip with marine carbonates. Siliciclastic facies include paleosol-capped, red mudrock (mudflat), green and gray mudrock (near-shore siliciclastic lagoon), rare mud clast–bearing sandstone (fluvial), and massive very fine to medium sandstone (terrestrial sand sheets, rare tidal channels). Carbonate facies include brecciated carbonates (paleosols), lime/clay-clast quartz wackestone (lag gravel), carbonate laminites and microbial heads and mounds (tidal flat and shallow subtidal), argillaceous quartzose marl (near-shore lagoon), peloid mudstone-wackestone (restricted lagoon), variably quartzose skeletal peloid mudstone to packstone (open lagoon), oolitic grainstone (hypersaline beach, tidal channel), mollusk packstone (hypersaline lagoon border), and foram-mollusk packstone-grainstone (seagrass meadows). The Dam Formation contains eight sequences, each of which contains 2 to 4 parasequence sets or individual parasequences. Sequences and individual parasequences are capped by paleosols and/or erosion surfaces, and microbial laminite caps are rare. Bases of parasequences locally are veneered with ravinement gravel lags or siliciclastics beneath shallowing-upward subtidal carbonates, and lack intercalated deeper water facies. Statistical analysis of core-gamma ray (API) vs depth (m) shows that accumulation rates were ~ 3 to 4 cm/kyr, considerably faster than long-term accommodation rates (~ 1.2 cm/kyr), indicating deposition occurred for only 40% of the time, the remainder of the time being non-depositional during many short-term lowered sea levels, evidenced by the coeval oceanic δ18O curve. Spectral analysis of the core-gamma ray logs show astronomical forcing within the eccentricity, obliquity, and precessional bands. Spectral analysis indicates that the eight Dam sequences (average 10 m thick, range < 5 to 18 m) are a mix of long-term obliquity (~ 1.2 Myr) and long-term eccentricity (400 k.y.) cycles. The 3- to 4.4-m sets/parasequences are short term (~ 100 kyr) cycles, and the 0.7- to 1.25-m parasequences are obliquity and precessional cycles. Given the updip position of the study area, repeated glacio-estutatic sea-level changes caused repeated shallow flooding (< 20 m) and emergence, which generated paleosol-bounded or erosionally capped sequences and parasequences. Although the distal foreland was undergoing synsedimentary deformation and slow but locally variable subsidence, which influenced variable thickness of units, astronomically driven glacio-eustasy was the dominant influence on timing of sequence and parasequence development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online social networks have established virtual platforms enabling people to express their opinions, interests and thoughts in a variety of contexts and domains, allowing legitimate users as well as spammers and other untrustworthy users to publish and spread their content. Hence, it is vital to have an accurate understanding of the contextual content of social users, thus establishing grounds for measuring their social influence accordingly. In particular, there is the need for a better understanding of domain-based social trust to improve and expand the analysis process and determining the credibility of Social Big Data. The aim of this paper is to determine domain-based social influencers by means of a framework that incorporates semantic analysis and machine learning modules to measure and predict users' credibility in numerous domains at different time periods. The evaluation of the experiment conducted herein validates the applicability of semantic analysis and machine learning techniques in detecting highly trustworthy domain-based influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the effect of formative Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) on the undergraduate medical students' performance in a subsequent summative- OSCE assessment. Methods: In a randomized single-blind trial, 130 fifth year medical students at Raparin hospital, Erbil were assigned to intervention (n=61) and control group (n=69). Formative-OSCE was performed for the intervention group in pediatric module with feedback on their performance versus standard pediatric module for the control group. Students' clinical performance was assessed by a summative-OSCE. Multiple regression was used to predict the summative-OSCE score depending on the participation in formative- OSCE along with the other factors. Results: Eleven students were excluded because of early drop-out, leaving 119 students for analysis. The summative-OSCE mean score (out of a total score of 100) in intervention group 64.6 (10.91) was significantly lower as compared to the control group 69.2 (10.45). Conclusion: Single formative-OSCE does not necessarily lead to better performance in subsequent summative-OSCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disturbances in women and is divided into different phenotypes. The aim of study is to compare the clinical and hormonal parameters among the four phenotypes of PCOS based on the Rotterdam criteria and with control group.Methods: Women with PCOS (n = 263) confirmed based on the Rotterdam criteria and 263 women with no evidence of PCOS were recruited as controls using observational case-control study. Evaluation of clinical and hormonal parameters, and differences in anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) were compared between four phenotypes of PCOS and controls.Results: Women with phenotype A (olig-anovulation (O) + hyperandrogenism (H) + polycystic ovary morphology (P)) had significantly larger waist than phenotype D (O + P) and higher body mass index than phenotype C (H + P). The LH/FSH ratio was significantly higher in phenotype A than phenotype D and controls along with significantly higher serum total testosterone levels in phenotype A compared to the phenotype B (O + H), C, D, and controls. AMH was significantly higher with phenotype A, C, and D than in women phenotype B and controls.Conclusions: The highest AMH levels were found in phenotype A. Phenotype B similar to controls had significantly low AMH compared to other three PCOS phenotypes. Women in the phenotypes D and controls showed significantly lower levels of LH/FSH ratio, total testosterone, and free androgen index, and higher levels of FSH and SHBG compared with phenotype A (P < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, AMH and LH were predictors for PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Considering the low content in breast milk breastfed infants might be at particular risk for depleted iron stores after the first months of life. This study evaluates the association of the mode of milk feeding and the timing of complementary food (CF) introduction with parameters of iron status in term healthy infants in Germany.Methods: In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, parents recorded all foods consumed by their infants from the age of 8 weeks onwards. Mothers were advised on the German food-based dietary guidelines for infants. Accordingly, CF was introduced between the fifth and seventh month of age. Blood samples were taken at 4 and at 10 months of age for analyses of iron status parameters. Iron depletion was defined as serum ferritin <12 ng/mL.Results: The iron intake was lower in breastfed infants (n = 50) than in formula fed (n = 23) with decreasing differences during the course of infancy. At 10 months of age, most iron parameters were not associated with the mode of milk feeding or the timing of CF introduction. At this age, the iron depletion prevalence was >34% without general differences according to the mode of milk feeding or the timing of CF introduction.Conclusion: The high prevalence of depleted iron stores observed in both breastfed and formula-fed infants illustrates the need for further studies to improve our understanding of the optimal iron intake and sensitive parameters of iron status in infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reference tissue-based quantification of brain PET data does not typically include correction for signal originating from blood vessels, which is known to result in biased outcome measures. The bias extent depends on the amount of radioactivity in the blood vessels. In this study, we seek to revisit the well-established Logan plot and derive alternative formulations that provide estimation of distribution volume ratios (DVRs) that are corrected for the signal originating from the vasculature. Results: New expressions for the Logan plot based on arterial input function and reference tissue were derived, which included explicit terms for whole blood radioactivity. The new methods were evaluated using PET data acquired using [C]raclopride and [F]MNI-659. The two-tissue compartment model (2TCM), with which signal originating from blood can be explicitly modeled, was used as a gold standard. DVR values obtained for [C]raclopride using the either blood-based or reference tissue-based Logan plot were systematically underestimated compared to 2TCM, and for [F]MNI-659, a proportionality bias was observed, i.e., the bias varied across regions. The biases disappeared when optimal blood-signal correction was used for respective tracer, although for the case of [F]MNI-659 a small but systematic overestimation of DVR was still observed. Conclusions: The new method appears to remove the bias introduced due to absence of correction for blood volume in regular graphical analysis and can be considered in clinical studies. Further studies are however required to derive a generic mapping between plasma and whole-blood radioactivity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In Alzheimer's disease (AD), increased metabolism of monoamines by monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) leads to the production of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are thought to contribute to disease pathogenesis. Inhibition of the MAO-B enzyme may restore brain levels of monoaminergic neurotransmitters, reduce the formation of toxic ROS and reduce neuroinflammation (reactive astrocytosis), potentially leading to neuroprotection. Sembragiline (also referred as RO4602522, RG1577 and EVT 302 in previous communications) is a potent, selective and reversible inhibitor of MAO-B developed as a potential treatment for AD. Methods: This study assessed the relationship between plasma concentration of sembragiline and brain MAO-B inhibition in patients with AD and in healthy elderly control (EC) subjects. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans using [C]--deprenyl-D radiotracer were performed in ten patients with AD and six EC subjects, who received sembragiline each day for 6-15 days. Results: At steady state, the relationship between sembragiline plasma concentration and MAO-B inhibition resulted in an E of ∼80-90 % across brain regions of interest and in an EC of 1-2 ng/mL. Data in patients with AD and EC subjects showed that near-maximal inhibition of brain MAO-B was achieved with 1 mg sembragiline daily, regardless of the population, whereas lower doses resulted in lower and variable brain MAO-B inhibition. Conclusions: This PET study confirmed that daily treatment of at least 1 mg sembragiline resulted in near-maximal inhibition of brain MAO-B enzyme in patients with AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With its rapid introduction in 2009, concerns about the safety of the H1N1 vaccines have been raised. Data were especially limited on the pediatric safety of H1N1 vaccine in Saudi Arabia.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the safety of the H1N1 vaccine (Pandemrix(®)) in children and examine the feasibility of obtaining information on possibly associated adverse reactions using mobile telephone contact with child caregivers.Methods: A cohort study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients were included if they were aged between 6 and 18 years and had received one dose of the H1N1 vaccine. A control group involved children from the same school system who had not received the vaccine. Six months following vaccination, a clinical pharmacist called the caregiver of the child to ask about hospitalization, emergency room visits and events related to H1N1 vaccine administration using a standardized questionnaire.Results: Caregivers of 372 school-age children were contacted. The response rate was 97% (n = 359). A total of 169 children who received at least one dose of the H1N1 vaccine were compared with 190 children in the control group who had not received the vaccine. Controlling for age, sex, education and use of medications, the odds ratio (OR) of hospitalization or emergency room visits for children within the 6 months after vaccination relative to the unvaccinated children was 1.25 (95% CI 0.47, 3.35). The risk of influenza-like symptoms was significantly reduced in vaccinated children compared with unvaccinated children (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.41, 0.99).Conclusion: School-age children in Saudi Arabia who received the H1N1 vaccine did not have an increased risk of hospitalization or emergency room visits. Larger studies are needed to confirm these results. Proactive pharmacovigilance is important in assessing the safety of vaccines and other medications. It is feasible to collect information on adverse drug reactions using mobile telephones, a method that can be of benefit in both developed and developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adequate pain control through sedation and anesthesia for emergency procedures is a crucial aspect of pediatric emergency care. Resources for administering such anesthesia are extremely limited in many low-income settings. Methods: Non-anesthetist providers in Western Kenya were trained in the use of a ketamine-based sedation and anesthesia package for non-anesthetists, Every Second Matters for Mothers and Babies-Ketamine™ (ESM-Ketamine). Data on use and safety of this package for emergent and urgent pediatric procedures was collected. Providers were surveyed as to what they would have done for similar procedures if the ESM-Ketamine package were unavailable. Results: Ninety procedures were completed for 77 pediatric patients utilizing the ESM-Ketamine package. Of these, 29 (32.2 %) cases were orthopedic reductions, 19 (21.1 %) were incision and drainage, and 19 (21.1 %) were debridement and irrigation of burns. Remaining cases included cesarean section, repair of perineal tear, foreign body removal, arthrocentesis, laceration repair, exploratory laparotomy, excision of mass, paracentesis, and circumcision. There were no serious adverse events in any of the cases, 17 % experienced minor adverse events including hypersalivation, hallucinations, or brief, self-resolving, oxygen desaturations. Providers were surveyed for 80 of the 90 cases as to what they would have done in the absence of the ESM-Ketamine package: in 26 cases (32.5 %), they reported they would proceed with the procedure without any anesthesia or analgesia; in 15 (18.75 %), they reported they would significantly delay the procedure while waiting for an anesthetist; in 13 (16.25 %), they reported they would attempt referral to another facility; and in 26 (32.5 %), they reported they would try using an alternate form of analgesia, primarily acetaminophen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, and/or diazepam. All surveyed providers reported they would use the ESM-Ketamine package again in similar cases. Conclusions: The ESM-Ketamine package, through the use of a simplified protocol and checklist, allows for safe analgesia and anesthesia in children by non-anesthetists in a resource-limited setting for selected emergent and urgent procedures. This package addresses a significant gap in the availability of anesthesia services in low-income settings that would otherwise result in significant delays to procedures or proceeding with painful procedures with inadequate analgesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Imaging of the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is a potential tool for examining microglial activation and neuroinflammation in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). [F]FEMPA is a novel high-affinity second-generation TSPO radioligand that has displayed suitable pharmacokinetic properties in preclinical studies. The aims of this study were to quantify the binding of [F]FEMPA to TSPO in AD patients and controls and to investigate whether higher [F]FEMPA binding in AD patients than in controls could be detected in vivo. Methods: Ten AD patients (five men, five women; age 66.9 ± 7.3 years; MMSE score 25.5 ± 2.5) and seven controls (three men, four women; age 63.7 ± 7.2 years, MMSE score 29.3 ± 1.0) were studied using [F]FEMPA at Turku (13 subjects) and at Karolinska Institutet (4 subjects). The in vitro binding affinity for TSPO was assessed using PBR28 in a competition assay with [H]PK11195 in seven controls and eight AD patients. Cortical and subcortical regions of interest were examined. Quantification was performed using a two-tissue compartment model (2TCM) and Logan graphical analysis (GA). The outcome measure was the total distribution volume ( V). Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the effect of group and TSPO binding status on V. Results: Five AD patients and four controls were high-affinity binders (HABs). Three AD patients and three controls were mixed-affinity binders. V estimated with Logan GA was significantly correlated with V estimated with the 2TCM in both controls ( r = 0.97) and AD patients ( r = 0.98) and was selected for the final analysis. Significantly higher V was found in the medial temporal cortex in AD patients than in controls ( p = 0.044) if the TSPO binding status was entered as a covariate. If only HABs were included, significantly higher V was found in the medial and lateral temporal cortex, posterior cingulate, caudate, putamen, thalamus and cerebellum in AD patients than in controls ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: [F]FEMPA seems to be a suitable radioligand for detecting increased TSPO binding in AD patients if their binding status is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Imaging the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is considered a potential tool for in vivo evaluation of microglial activation and neuroinflammation in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). (( R)-1-(2-chlorophenyl)- N-[C]-methyl- N-(1-methylpropyl)-3-isoquinoline caboxamide ([C]-( R)-PK11195) has been widely used for PET imaging of TSPO and, despite its low specific-to-nondisplaceable binding ratio, increased TSPO binding has been shown in AD patients. The high-affinity radioligand N-(5-fluoro-2-phenoxyphenyl)- N-(2-[F]fluoroethyl-5-methoxybenzyl)acetamide ([F]FEDAA1106) has been developed as a potential in vivo imaging tool for better quantification of TSPO binding. The aim of this study was to quantify in vivo binding of [F]FEDAA1106 to TSPO in control subjects and AD patients. Methods: Seven controls (five men, two women, age 68±3 years, MMSE score 29±1) and nine AD patients (six men, three women, age 69±4 years, MMSE score 25±3) were studied with [F]FEDAA1106. PET measurements were performed on an ECAT EXACT HR system (Siemens Medical Solutions) in two 60-min dynamic PET sessions with a 30-min interval between sessions. Arterial blood radioactivity was measured using an automated blood sampling system for the first 5 min and using manually drawn samples thereafter. Quantification was performed using both kinetic analysis based on a two-tissue compartment model and Logan graphical analysis. Outcome measures were total distribution volume ( V) and binding potential ( BP= k/ k). An estimate of nondisplaceable distribution volume was obtained with the Logan graphical analysis using the first 15 min of PET measurements ( V). Binding potential ( BP) was also calculated as: V/ V − 1. Results: No statistically significant differences in V k/ k or BP were observed between controls and AD patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that TSPO imaging with [F]FEDAA1106 does not enable the detection of microglial activation in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Transdermal buprenorphine patches provide comparable pain relief to that of low-potency opioids in elderly individuals. However, specific data on their use in elderly individuals is limited. This study investigated and compared the PK of buprenorphine transdermal patches in elderly (≥75 years) versus younger (50-60 years) individuals. Methods: This was a multiple-dose, open-label, parallel-group study in healthy volunteers split into two age groups (younger, 50-60 years; elderly, ≥75 years) with 37 individuals in each. Study participants received two consecutive 7-day buprenorphine 5 μg/h transdermal patch applications, and blood samples were collected on the week of the second patch application [day 7 (predose), days 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14] to determine PK at steady state. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined for buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine. Safety was assessed by analyzing adverse events, hematology, clinical chemistry, urine analysis, vital signs, electrocardiogram (ECG), and physical examinations. Results: The area under the plasma concentration-time curve at steady state (AUC), measured over one dosing interval, was similar for elderly [mean ± standard deviation (SD) 9,940 pg/h/ml (4,827 pg/h/ml] and younger [mean ± SD 11,309 (3,670 pg/h/ml] individuals. Bioequivalence was not demonstrated between groups, which may be attributable to the relatively high level of variability in individual plasma profiles. More adverse events were reported by younger (216) than elderly (164) study participants. Conclusions: No dosage alterations are necessary for PK reasons when treating elderly people with buprenorphine transdermal patches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the important public health problems affecting maternal and child health is postpartum depression (PPD). It generally occurs within 6-8 weeks after childbirth. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) using a Kurdish version of Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) and to analyze the risk factors for postpartum depression in a population of puerperal Kurdish women in Erbil city. Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between 20th of June and 30th of November 2010, in 14 antenatal care units of primary health centers, in Erbil city, Kurdistan region, Iraq. The sample of the study included 1,000 puerperal women (6-8 weeks postpartum), ranging in age from 14 to 48 years. Data were collected after interviewing the women using a questionnaire designed by the researchers, and the Kurdish version of the EPDS. Chi square test of association and the logistic regression tests were used in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of postpartum depression was 28.4%. Logistic regression analysis showed that the factors found to be associated with PPD were: physical or sexual abuse, delivery by cesarean section, history of past psychiatric illness, and family history of past psychiatric illness; while marriage with no previous agreement, and high socio-economic level were associated with lower levels of PPD. Conclusion: The Kurdish version of the EPDS can be successfully used to screen depression in a Kurdish population of puerperal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to assess whether extrinsic neural regulation of antroduodenal motor function is present in preterm neonates. Antroduodenal motor patterns were recorded in 48 infants during fasting and after a 10 ml/kg/15 min orograstric feeding. Plasma concentrations of pancreatic polypeptide were determined before and after each feeding. Of 48 infants, 24 had adult like duodenal motor responses to feeding, and they released pancreatic polypeptide postprandially. When 18 of these 24 infants were given atropine, their heart rates increased. Feedings, however, now failed to trigger adultlike duodenal motor responses or postprandial release of pancreatic polypeptide. Those 24 infants who lacked adultlike responses failed to release pancreatic polypeptide postprandially. When a subset of 10 of these infants was given atropine, feedings failed to trigger adultlike motor responses or release of pancreatic polypeptide. We conclude that extrinsic neural regulation of duodenal motor patterns is present in only about half of preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider fault-tolerant routing algorithms in hypercube multicomputer networks. In particular, one of the most quoted adaptive fault-tolerant routing algorithm for hypercubes in the literature is studied in detail and its limited ability to route messages in the presence of some fault patterns (i.e., combination of node and link faults), is pointed out. A modified algorithm is proposed and its performance, using simulation, is compared to that of the above mentioned algorithm. It is shown that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing one in terms of its ability to route routable messages around the hypercube in the presence of node and/or links faults. This improvement is achieved while using the same average path length or even improving it. Illustrative examples are shown in support of such improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each of the major native halophytes was found to grow in soils with a definite range of total soluble salts. The descending ranking of the various species for soil salinity and ground water mineral content, when they were dominant, was: Halocnemum strobilaceum, Suaeda spp., Seidlitzia rosmarinus, and Cressa cretica. Salsola vermiculata indicates low salinity in sandy soils and low to high salinity in heavier soils. Prosopis farcta and Alhagi maurorum can grow in both saline and non-saline soils. As expected, non-halophytic communities were mostly found in the northern part of Iraq. All halophytes were found in soils with a ground water depth ranging from 0.6 to 2.0 meters, except Salsola vermiculata which could be used as an indicator of a ground water depth greater than 2 meters. Plant indicators of soil texture and recommendations concerning the possibility of reclaiming halophyte-inhabited soils are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]