| 1. |
- Beyer, J., et al.
(author)
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Maintaining success, reducing treatment burden, focusing on survivorship: highlights from the third European consensus conference on diagnosis and treatment of germ-cell cancer
- 2013
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In: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041 .- 0923-7534. ; 24:4, s. 878-888
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In November 2011, the Third European Consensus Conference on Diagnosis and Treatment of Germ-Cell Cancer (GCC) was held in Berlin, Germany. This third conference followed similar meetings in 2003 (Essen, Germany) and 2006 (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) [Schmoll H-J, Souchon R, Krege S et al. European consensus on diagnosis and treatment of germ-cell cancer: a report of the European Germ-Cell Cancer Consensus Group (EGCCCG). Ann Oncol 2004; 15: 1377-1399; Krege S, Beyer J, Souchon R et al. European consensus conference on diagnosis and treatment of germ-cell cancer: a report of the second meeting of the European Germ-Cell Cancer Consensus group (EGCCCG): part I. Eur Urol 2008; 53: 478-496; Krege S, Beyer J, Souchon R et al. European consensus conference on diagnosis and treatment of germ-cell cancer: a report of the second meeting of the European Germ-Cell Cancer Consensus group (EGCCCG): part II. Eur Urol 2008; 53: 497-513]. A panel of 56 of 60 invited GCC experts from all across Europe discussed all aspects on diagnosis and treatment of GCC, with a particular focus on acute and late toxic effects as well as on survivorship issues. The panel consisted of oncologists, urologic surgeons, radiooncologists, pathologists and basic scientists, who are all actively involved in care of GCC patients. Panelists were chosen based on the publication activity in recent years. Before the meeting, panelists were asked to review the literature published since 2006 in 20 major areas concerning all aspects of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of GCC patients, and to prepare an updated version of the previous recommendations to be discussed at the conference. In addition, similar to 50 E-vote questions were drafted and presented at the conference to address the most controversial areas for a poll of expert opinions. Here, we present the main recommendations and controversies of this meeting. The votes of the panelists are added as online supplements.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Al-Maliki, Laheab A., et al.
(author)
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Perception of climate change effects on water resources : Iraqi undergraduates as a case study
- 2022
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In: Arabian Journal of Geosciences. - : Springer. - 1866-7511 .- 1866-7538. ; 15:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Developing countries suffer from the effects of climate change on water resources more than other countries. This paper aims to specify the undergraduates’ knowledge about climate change effects on water resources. This study was conducted through a questionnaire distributed using Google form in May 2021. Descriptive analysis was used to display the level of awareness, and then the correlation between the respondents’ gender, stage, and scientific specialization were analyzed. The results showed that the general knowledge for all questionaries ranged between 40 and 50 %. Moreover, a weak positive correlation with the highest Spearman’s rho of 0.15 was shown for the students’ gender with their understanding of climate change main cause by 0.06 for the academic stage versus knowledge of climate change causes. Moreover, the results indicated a weak role for university education in exchange for a prominent role for television and social media in raising awareness. The research recommends integrating the Environmental Education (EE) programs into the Iraqi educational systems as it proposes a systematic educational method through which climate change and other environmental problems may be addressed holistically at all educational levels.
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| 4. |
- Al-Maliki, Laheab A., et al.
(author)
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Perceptions about water pollution among university students : A case study from Iraq
- 2021
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In: Cogent Engineering. - UK : Taylor & Francis. - 2331-1916. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study intends to evaluate university students’ awareness regarding water pollution in Iraq to show the environmental education contribution in reducing water pollution. The study was conducted in Wasit university, Wasit province, Iraq by field questionnaire survey with 388 students from the civil engineering department and engineering college. The questionnaires were divided according to the pollution causes into industrial, agricultural and sewage water pollutants. The data were analyzed utilizing the thematic analysis to assess environmental knowledge and awareness of water pollution risks. The results show that most students have high interest in environmental conservation, yet, a lack of education in general environmental education, as the educational curriculum focuses on theoretical aspects more than the practical ones. The results also show that the media role is inactive concerning environmental awareness of water pollution. This study provides a scientific view of policymakers for potential future conditions to find solutions that achieve sustainability goals.
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| 5. |
- Hashim, Ahmed, et al.
(author)
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Pattern of novel psychoactive substance use among patients presented to the poison control centre of Ain Shams University Hospitals, Egypt : A cross-sectional study
- 2022
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In: Heliyon. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-8440. ; 8:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) are relatively new substances in the illicit drug market, notpreviously listed in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC). Strox and Voodoo are consideredsome of the most popular blends of NPS in the Egyptian drug market.Objectives: The current study was conducted to assess NPS's use pattern: Voodoo and Strox among acutelyintoxicated patients presented to the poison control center of Ain Shams University Hospitals (PCC- ASUH).Methods: A single center based cross-sectional study was carried out in the PCC-ASUH among acutely intoxicatedpatients presenting to the emergency department (ED) over four months (from January–April 2019. using apreviously adopted and validated Fahmy and El-Sherbini socioeconomic scale (SES). Data were presented asmean, median and range as appropriate. Both smoking and crowding indexes were calculated and presented aspreviously reported.Results: Fifty-one patients were presented to the ED of PCC-ASUH during the study period. A total of 96.1% (n ¼49) were males. The mean age was 25 7.5 years. The most common NPS used was Strox: 54.9% (n ¼ 28),followed by Voodoo: 27.4% (n ¼ 14). Neurological and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were the most frequentpresentations. The most common motive behind NPS use was the desire to give a trial of new psychoactivesubstances. The mean SES score was 35.1 13.17. Most patients have the preparatory as the highest education36.0% (n ¼ 18).Conclusions: NPS use is common among young males in preparatory education from different social classes,starting it most commonly as a means to experiencing a new high. Neurological and GI manifestations are themost common presenting symptoms of NPS intoxication.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Jasim, Ihsan Abbas, et al.
(author)
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Geographically weighted regression model for physical, social, and economic factors affecting the COVID-19 pandemic spreading
- 2022
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Nature. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 29:34, s. 51507-51520
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aims to analyze the spatial distribution of the epidemic spread and the role of the physical, social, and economic characteristics in this spreading. A geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was built within a GIS environment using infection data monitored by the Iraqi Ministry of Health records for 10 months from March to December 2020. The factors adopted in this model are the size of urban interaction areas and human gatherings, movement level and accessibil-ity, and the volume of public services and facilities that attract people. The results show that it would be possible to deal with each administrative unit in proportion to its circumstances in light of the factors that appear in it. So, there will not be a single treatment for all areas with different urban characteristics, which sometimes helps not to stop social and economic life due to the imposition of a comprehensive ban on movement and activities. Therefore, there will be other supportive policies other than the ban, depending on the urban indicators for each region, such as reducing external movement from it or relying on preventing public activities only.
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| 8. |
- Kareem, Sabreen L., et al.
(author)
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Water quality assessment and phosphorus effect using water quality indices : Euphrates River- Iraq as a case study
- 2021
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In: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier. - 2352-801X. ; 14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most rivers in developing countries are facing water contamination problem. Therefore, saving water quality by complying with the industrial, drinking, and agricultural allowable standard limits has been difficult. This study aims to assess Shatt Al-Kufa water quality as one branch of the Euphrates River by calculating three types of water quality indices in two cases, excluding and including the phosphate (PO4) consentration, as it was the parameter that most met the standard. The used water quality indices are the Weight Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI), the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) and the Oregon Water Quality Index (OWQI). Fifteen parameters were analyzed, including pH value, Biological Oxygen Demand, Turbidity, Total Hardness, Orthophosphate, Sulphate, Nitrate, Alkalinity, Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Chloride, Dissolved Oxygen, Calcium and Total Dissolved Solids. The results show that the average WAWQI for three stations, including PO4, were 33.79, 43.75 and 37.62, which is good water. However, in excluding PO4, the water quality was characterized as very poor depending on the resulting values (86.62, 88.86 and 91.91, respectively). The CCMEWQI values for three stations were 63.83, 60.40 and 55.69, including PO4, so the water quality was fair and marginal. According to OWQI, the water quality for three stations was very poor in two cases since the OWQI value less than 59. Pearson correlation shows a good link, especially total hardness and total dissolved solids with salt.
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| 9. |
- Al-Bahrani, Hussein Shakir, et al.
(author)
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Groundwater detection and classification using remote sensing and GIS in Najaf, Iraq
- 2022
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In: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier. - 2352-801X. ; 19
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Due to the shortage of fresh surface water caused by climate change, groundwater has become a vital water supply for household, agricultural, and industrial use. Alternative methods for determining groundwater depth, amount, and quality at a lower cost and less effort are critical. This study aims to determine the depth and kind of groundwater in Najaf City, Iraq, using Aqua detector remote sensing device. Thirty-nine sample locations were chosen in rural and urban regions to cover the city’s 441.23 square kilometres. Five geographic models of groundwater depth and type were created using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method in ArcGIS software. The results indicate that groundwater is available across the study region, beginning at 100 m and lower depths. Additionally, it has been found that the nature of groundwater fluctuates with the location and depth. The findings of this study aid in selecting wells locations and depths in the study region that generate maximum quality and quantity of groundwater.
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| 10. |
- Al-Maliki, Laheab A, et al.
(author)
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Climate change impact on water resources of Iraq (a review of literature)
- 2022
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In: Water Resources in Iraq: Perspectives and Prognosis (ICWRPP 2022). - : Institute of Physics (IOP).
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Maintaining natural processes and supporting social and economic growth depend heavily on water supplies. However, Future climate is predicted to bring higher temperatures, which will increase evapotranspiration; lower precipitation totals; and changes in the seasonal pattern of precipitation. Iraq is more vulnerable to climate change than other nations due to the underdeveloped and fragile water management systems there, as well as the country's desert and warmer environment and increasing sensitivity to extreme weather events. The present work aims to analyse the literature dealing with climate change's effects on water resources in Iraq. The Scopus database was searched using the keywords (Iraq, models of climate change, and water resources). Most models study the effect of high temperatures and evaporation on water resources using different tools, the most important of which are SWAT, LARS-WG, and HEC-HM. The analysis of previous studies shows that the results of all the literature concordant that Iraq is on the verge of severe water scarcity due to high temperatures and the resulting decrease in rainfall, increase in evaporation, decrease in vegetation cover and increase in desertification.
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| 11. |
- Al-Mamoori, Sohaib Kareem, et al.
(author)
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Chloride, Calcium Carbonate and Total Soluble Salts Contents Distribution for An-Najaf and Al-Kufa Cities’ Soil by Using GIS
- 2019
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In: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. - : Springer. - 0960-3182 .- 1573-1529. ; 37:3, s. 2207-2225
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The main objective of the paper is to create geotechnical maps for three soil chemical properties in An-Najaf and Kufa cities’ soil by utilizing of GIS tools. This properties are the chloride concentration, calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) and total soluble salts where they affect the durability of reinforced structural elements. This paper provides an easy accurate way to represent soil properties levels for different depths of soil and create reliable database that will help engineers and decision makers. The data included in this paper were collected for (464) boreholes with depths up to 35 m distributed on residential areas in all of An-Najaf and Kufa cities. Arc-Map of GIS 10.2.1 was used to produce the maps. It has been concluded that chloride content in the soil of the study area range from - 0.01 to 0.99% and with an average of 0.5. The maximum value found in at depth 4–6 m while the minimum value found in location at depth 4–6, 8–10 and 14–16 m. The chloride content in most of An-Najaf province has exceeded the permissible limit and for all, this required taking percussions to protect foundations. While calcium carbonate content in the soil of the study area range from 53 to 0.18 and with an average of 26.6. The maximum and the minimum values found at depth 4–6 m. Calcium carbonate content is within the permissible limits in most locations except in some locations.
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| 12. |
- Al-Mamoori, Sohaib Kareem, et al.
(author)
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Horizontal and Vertical Geotechnical Variations of Soils According to USCS Classification for the City of An-Najaf, Iraq Using GIS
- 2020
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In: Geotechnical and Geological Engineering. - Switzerland : Springer. - 0960-3182 .- 1573-1529. ; 38:2, s. 1919-1938
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The unified soil classification system (USCS) first proposed by Casagrande and subsequently developed by the Army Corps of Engineers. It widely used in many building codes and books. An-Najaf city is the most important city in Iraq due to its religious and spiritual value in the Muslim world, so it is fast expanding and continuous developing city in Iraq. The data from 464 boreholes in the study area for depths of 0–26 m have been used. 13 Soil samples were collected from each borehole with 13 depths level (0–26) m with 2 m intervals. The USCS was applied to the soil samples from 13 depth levels borehole. This research aims to create a geodatabase for soil properties for An-Najaf. The ArcGIS 10.5 software was used to interpolate the spatial data to produce 33 geotechnical maps for fine soil, coarse soil and USCS for 13 depth levels. For numerical soil data, Ordinary Kriging has been used for interpolation mapping of Fine and Coarse percentage data for each depth. For non-numerical (nominal) soil data (USCS class), the Indicator Kriging method is used. The results show that the coarse soil occupied 85–95% for depth 0–16 m and consist of (SP, SP-SM, SM) while fine soil occupied 5–15% consisting of (OL, CH, ML) subsequently, this soil when compacted has a permeability of pervious to semi impervious, good shearing strength, low to very low compressibility and acceptable workability as a construction material. The results also show that after 16 m depths until 26 m, the fine soil percentage increased to 40% with a coarse soil percentage of 60%, indicating changes in soil characteristics as the permeability became semi-pervious to impervious, fair shearing strength, medium compressibility and fair workability as a construction material. The study results will provide help and saving time, efforts and money in preliminary engineering designs.
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| 13. |
- Al‑Mamoori, Sohaib Kareem, et al.
(author)
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Statistical analysis of the best GIS interpolation method for bearing capacity estimation in An-Najaf City, Iraq
- 2021
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In: Environmental Earth Sciences. - : Springer. - 1866-6280 .- 1866-6299. ; 80:20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The presence of an economical solution to predict soil behaviour is essential for new construction areas. This paper aims to investigate the ultimate interpolation method for predicting the soil bearing capacity of An-Najaf city-Iraq based on field investigation information. Firstly, the engineering bearing capacity was calculated based on the in-site N-SPT values using dynamic loading for 464 boreholes with depths of 0–2 m, using the Meyerhof formula. The data then were classified and imported to the GIS program to apply the interpolation methods. Four deterministic and two geostatistical interpolation methods were applied to produce six bearing capacity maps. The statistical analyses were performed using two methods: the common cross-validation method by the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE), where the results showed that ordinary kriging (OK) is the ultimate method with the least RMSE and highest R2. These results were confusing so, the backward elimination regression (BER) procedure was applied to gain the definite result. The results of BER show that among all the deterministic methods, the IDW is the optimal and most significant interpolation method. The result of geostatistical methods shows that EBK is the best method in our case than the OK method. BER also applied to all six methods and shows that IDW is the ultimate significant method. The results indicate no general ultimate interpolation method for all cases and datasets type; therefore, the statistical analyses must be performed for each case and dataset.
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| 14. |
- Jasim, Ihsan Abbas, et al.
(author)
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Do the population density and coverage rate of transit affect the public transport contribution?
- 2022
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In: Cogent Engineering. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2331-1916. ; 9:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The article tried to study the public transport role as one of the means that contribute to sustainable urban development by investigating the effect of the coverage rate for public transport on the number of those who use public transport in the neighbourhoods of Kut city. This article investigates the link between public transportation and supportive urban design trends. The research spatial and temporal limits are represented by the municipal boundaries Al-Kut city, which are shown in the master plan of the city for the period 2008–2012. The results showed a positive but weak relationship between public transport (variable factor) and the proportion of public transport coverage and population density (independent factors). These factors do not explain the apparent, which is confirmed by the high Bo value and its great reliability, and this result is inconsistent with the hypothesis that states a positive effect between public transport and the coverage rate. However, this relationship is abnormal and indicates an imbalance in the distribution of land uses and the provision of services in the structure of Kut city. Furthermore, it is a negative indicator of the city’s structure, where a good and efficient structure requires a strong relationship. As for public transport passengers, they seem to be restricted by this for poor services.
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| 15. |
- Kareem, Sabreen L., et al.
(author)
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Optimum location for landfills landfill site selection using GIS technique: Al-Naja city as a case study
- 2021
-
In: Cogent Engineering. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2331-1916. ; 8:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Solid waste is one of the leading environmental problems affecting human lives. Selecting a landfill where waste is disposed of is a complicated issue that related to many factors and regulations. In this study, the optimal sanitary landfill site for An-Najaf city was assessed using the GIS and weight criteria method. Eight appropriate criteria were selected, which are: urban area, rivers, roads, soil types, elevation, wind, slope, and archaeological, historical and religious sites. Moreover, the weighting of the criteria by using experts’ opinion and previous similar literature. The “weighted overlay tool” is then applied to get a map of the significance index for selected landfill sites. Seven suitable sites with an area of 177,762,986 m2 and form 0.62% from the total city area can accommodate the solid waste generated for a period, not less than ten years10 years.
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| 16. |
- Name, Ihsan Abbas Jasim, et al.
(author)
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Spatial analyses model for the public transportation and the urban form relationship
- 2023
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In: AIP Conference Proceedings. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 0094-243X .- 1551-7616. ; 2651:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lack of analys is tools that respond to spatial heterogeneity and the failure to adopt them as tools to assess problems, and the low life quality of Iraqi c ities represent this study's problem. Hence, this study aims to analyze the relationship b etween public transportation and urban form patterns using spatial analys is and shed light on the contribution of spatial analysis as practical planning tools to increase the public transport contribution. The importance of the study can be summarised in the following two reasons; the first is the adoption of a new model for spatial analyzes, which is weighted geographical regression. The second reason is the attempt to activate public transport. Therefore, it should be known that makes public transportation more attractive to the user, both for new areas and future development. The study hypothesis includes that spatial analyzes are more appropriate tools for studying spatial phenomena and are compatible with postmodernity. Finally, the current study introduced a demographic and good urban design that fac ilitates the residents' access to public transport services.
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| 17. |
- Qazi, Sohaib A., et al.
(author)
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A High-Resolution Reconfigurable Sigma-Delta Digital-to-Analog Converter for RF Pulse Transmission in MRI Scanners
- 2017
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In: 2017 IEEE NORDIC CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS CONFERENCE (NORCAS): NORCHIP AND INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF SYSTEM-ON-CHIP (SOC). - : IEEE. - 9781538628447
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners Radio Frequency (RF) signals are important to accurately excite target tissues. RF signals depend on Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) output which depends on sequence numbers issued from control room. This paper presents a sigma-delta modulator (SDM), followed by a DAC architecture that can be reconfigured while an MRI scanner is operating and pipelining is not required. The reconfigurable SDM is implemented in a 65nm CMOS technology and operates at an oversampling ratio (OSR) of 64 times. The modulator clocks at 2 GHz frequency with a 1.2-V supply voltage. The modulator occupies an area of 2 9 x 3 2 sq.mu m and consumes 319.1 mW. The proposed SDM-DAC is well-suited for the RF transmitter in the MRI scanner. The reconfigurability feature allows to select different resolutions for various types of RF pulses and can thereby target specific tissues more accurately. (1)
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| 18. |
- Qazi, Sohaib A., et al.
(author)
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ASIC modelling of SENSE for parallel MRI
- 2019
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In: Computers in Biology and Medicine. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0010-4825 .- 1879-0534. ; 109, s. 53-61
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is widely used in medical diagnostics and image reconstruction is a vital part of MRI systems. In Parallel MRI (pMRI), imaging process is accelerated by acquiring less data (undersampled) using multiple receiver coils and offline reconstruction algorithms are applied to reconstruct the fully sampled image. In this research, an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) model of SENSE (a pMRI algorithm) is presented which reconstructs the image from the undersampled data right on the data acquisition module of the scanner. The proposed ASIC HDL architecture is compared with SENSE reconstruction model implemented on FPGAs, Multi-core CPU and Graphics Processing Units. The proposed architecture is validated using simulated brain data with 8-channel receiver coils and a human cardiac dataset with 20-channel receiver coils. The quality of the reconstructed images is analyzed using Artifact Power (0.0098), Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (53.4) and Structured Similarity Index (0.871) which validate the quality of the reconstructed images using the proposed design. The results show that the proposed ASIC HDL SENSE reconstruction model is similar to 8000 times faster as compared to the multi-core CPU reconstruction, similar to 700 times faster than the GPU implementation and similar to 16 times faster as compared to the FPGA reconstruction model. The proposed architecture is suitable for image reconstruction right on the data acquisition system of the scanner and will open new ways for faster image reconstruction on portable MRI scanners.
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| 19. |
- Rasool, Mohammed Hamid, et al.
(author)
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Estimation of Uplift Pressure Equation at Key Points under Floor of Hydraulic Structures
- 2021
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In: Cogent Engineering. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2331-1916. ; 8:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most of the hydraulic structures rest on an impervious foundation to reserve water at the upstream side. The water heads difference leads to water movement from the higher to the lower head through the porous soil layer beneath the foundation, generating an uplift pressure under the structure floor. In this study, a new method is presented to estimate the uplift pressures at key points by performing sub-surface flow analysis using the Analysis SYStem (ANSYS) software. Then a statistical analysis to validate the proposed equations is conducted using the SPSS software. The case study for this research is a barrage in Kufa city-Iraq. The used data to implement this study was water levels, soil permeability, and length of imperious foundation. The obtained results show good outcomes from using the proposed method to develop uplift pressure equations. The comparison of the current study results with Khosla’s equation showed good agreement where the coefficient of determination (R2) and the standard error of estimation (SEE) for the equations were between (99.9–97.8) and (0.024–0.11), respectively.
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| 20. |
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