Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research (KJAR)
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Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its Associated Risk Factors among symptomatic Residents of Sulaimani city, Kurdistan region, Iraq, 2020
Get PDFHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria are a microaerobic Gram negative that colonizes in the gastric and duodenum of human. It can cause prolong infection in the human life if not treated. Many of the studies showed that infection by H. pylori can cause some important gastrointestinal illness, such as peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Recurrence is generally considered as H. pylori recrudescence infection after one year of eradicated treatment. There are many factors involved in the H pylori reinfection, such as the epidemiology of H. pylori infection, condition of the live, development of economical state, and health conditions. The Objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence and determine the risk factors of infection by H. pylori bacteria in dyspeptic patients in Sulaimani city. And the Aims are to estimate prevalence of the Helicobacter pylori and patients’ characteristics in Sulaimani city. This is a cross-sectional study, using a Urea breath test or stained the gastric sample with Giemsa stain, which is including adult participants aged (12-87) years during the period starting from 1 January until 31 December 2020 on Iraqi male and female patients were visiting –Center for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Sulaimani, city, Iraq. Three hundred and four patients were included, all of them underwent Urea breath test only but eighty-one of the participants underwent endoscopy and stained the gastric sample with Giemsa stain. Urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori was positive in54.9% which have significant correlation with risk factor findings. Results: the incidence rate of H. pylori infection in our study is 54.9%, and mean age of the study participants was (40.49 ±16.39) one hundred and ninety-one cases 62.8% were female and 113 cases 37.2%were male. Infection by H. pylori bacteria is rife in dyspeptic patients; and is more common in the age group of 31-40 years. One of noninvasive test to diagnosis H. pylori is Urea breath test. In conclusions the rate of helicobacter pylori infection in our study is 54.9% among the symptomatic patients, and the overall incidence of H. pylori UBT and Giemsa stain detection rate were 73.4 and 26.6% respectively.  
LoRa: A Proposed Connectivity Technology for Internet of Things Applications in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Get PDFThe Internet of Things (IoT) has become one of the most important trends of this century. Recent advances in many different communication technologies and protocols, and access to low-cost and low-power microcontrollers and sensors have made it more prevalent.
Globally, most IoT adoption comes from developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Western Europe, and East Asia, as these countries have a well-established nationwide IoT infrastructure. In contrast, the IoT application in developing countries such as Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) remains restricted as deployment faces main challenges. On the one hand, selecting the right technology for IoT applications can be complicated with so many IoT connectivity technologies such as Cellular, Wi-Fi, Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), Bluetooth, and ZigBee on the market. On the other hand, the main impediment seems to be the lack of IoT infrastructure technologies in developing countries.
In this paper, a comparative study on the main LPWAN technologies has been carried out in terms of cost and coverage of the network and range to become connectivity technology for IoT applications in the KRI. Based on the study, LoRa technology has been presented and proposed as the optimal connectivity technology to establish an IoT infrastructure for the KRI. The proposed network enables the deployment of IoT applications easier and faster. In addition, various LoRa based IoT applications have been proposed that benefit many sectors. A potential application has been set out as a case study to show case the significance of the new infrastructure.
The proposed LoRaWAN infrastructure can accommodate a vast range of applications and will revolutionize IoT applications in the KRI as it enables data transmission over a long distance while using extremely low power
A New Asymmetric Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme for Cloud Banking Data
Get PDFMost banks in our time still use the common traditional systems of high cost and relatively slow, we are now in the era of speed and technology, and these systems do not keep pace with our current age, so saving cost and time will be considered a fantastic thing for banks. The way to that is to implement cloud computing strategies with Considering data security and protection when it comes to using the cloud. The best solution to protect data security on the cloud is fully homomorphic encryption systems. The time it takes to encrypt and decrypt data is one of the main barriers it faces. Our current research provides a new algorithm for a publicly-keyed encryption system to keep bank data from tampering and theft when stored on the cloud computing platform, and our new system achieves fully Homomorphic Encryption, which allows mathematical operations to be performed on the encrypted text without the need for the original text. The security of the new system depends on the issue of analyzing huge integers, which reach 2048 bits, to their prime factors, which are considered almost impossible or unsolvable. A banking application has also been created that encrypts the data and then stores it on the cloud. The application allows the user to create accounts and deposits, transfer and withdraw funds, and everything related to banking matters
Utilizing Statistical Tests for Comparing Machine Learning Algorithms
Get PDFThe mean result of machine learning models is determined by utilizing k-fold cross-validation. The algorithm with the best average performance should surpass those with the poorest. But what if the difference in average outcomes is the consequence of a statistical anomaly? To conduct whether or not the mean result differences between two algorithms is genuine then statistical hypothesis test is utilized. Using statistical hypothesis testing, this study will demonstrate how to compare machine learning algorithms. The output of several machine learning algorithms or simulation pipelines is compared during model selection. The model that performs the best based on your performance measure becomes the last model, which can be utilized to make predictions on new data. With classification and regression prediction models it can be conducted by utilizing traditional machine learning and deep learning methods. The difficulty is to identify whether or not the difference between two models is accurate
Potassium Adsorption Phenomenon in Calcareous Soils of Shahrazur Plain
Get PDF A laboratory study for adsorption of potassium (K) determination was conducted on six soils located in Sharazur plain from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2021 using the batch technique method. Potassium (K) adsorption isotherms were achieved by equilibrating 5.0 g of soil samples with eight grades of K (0 to 300 mg L-1) as KCl in 50 ml of 0.01M CaCl2 solution. To match the data of adsorption, Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin adsorption isotherms were used. The results show that the amount of adsorbed K ranged between (45.78 to 52.49) % added K. The Freundlich model fit the equilibrium K adsorption data better for the Serwan location of soil (silty loam), as demonstrated by a greater coefficient of determination (R2 =0.90). The value of heterogeneity factor 1/n for the Freundlich model ranged from (0.34 to 0.47) kg mg-1, which was less than one. The sorption processes for all of the studied soils were normal adsorption. The constant of the Langmuir isotherm (KL) aligned from (0.107 to o.425) L mg-1. Smaller KL values mean that more adsorbed K would be transformed to a non-exchangeable form, either through the creation of crystalline K or through ion occultation. The RL values indicate the type of isotherm, the values of RL> 1 that means the adsorption nature to be unfavorable. The Temkin equilibrium binding constant (AT) was high for all studied soils except the soils of Bestan Sur and Grdigo locations, the high value of AT indicates high binding energy. The Temkin constant (bT) ranged from (10.46 to 13.47) J mole-1 that was related to the nature of the adsorption energy, a positive value indicates that the adsorption process is exothermic.
 
Pear Fruits Ripening Response to Ethylene and Temperature Treatments
Get PDFA factorial experiment with complete randomized design carried out in Erbil governorate, Iraq on two varieties of pears (Pyrus communis L.) spadona and compote cv. to investigate the effects of ethylene and temperature treatments on fruits ripening. The experiment includes four treatments; the control (cold storage at 0±1 C° and 85-90 relative humidity), the second was putting the fruits in ambient temperature with exposure to ethylene gas (300 mg/l) for 24 hours, third and fourth treatments were putting the fruits in the ripening cabinet at 20 C° either for 8 days, or 12 days. Results indicate that compote variety was differing significantly in decreasing weight loss and fruits firmness and increasing fruits peel pigments content and peroxidase enzyme activity compared to spadona variety. Slower ripening process was gained from cold storage treatment where the fruits remain non-ripened compared to other treatments, whereas ripening fruits at 20C° for 12 days fastened the ripening process by giving highest TSS, and lowest fruits firmness, in addition to percent of weight loss. For the condition of northern Iraq, the best treatment for ripening pear fruits is treating with ethylene gas or ripening the fruits at 20C° for 8 days
Kalar1 and Kalar2, Newly Released Wheat Varieties for Cultivation under Rain-fed Conditions
Get PDFImproving new varieties plays an important role to increase the productivity of wheat grain yield in Iraq. Garmian region as a semi-arid area is extremely suffering with low wheat yield production as a result of continuing yield potential reduction of the local cultivars over the time. This project was conducted at the Directory of Garmian Agricultural Research to develop new cultivars through four field trials from 2009 to 2013. In the selection phase, 50 lines of Facultative and Winter Wheat Observation Nurseries (16th FAWWON-IR) were screened, and three superior lines (SL1; CH75479/SARDARI-HD74, SL2; CATBERD/CNO79*2/HEF1, and SL3; ID800994.W/VEE/5/CA8055/4/ROMTAST/BON/3/DIBO//SU) to the best local check (Aras) for grain yield, thousand grain weight, anthesis date and plant height were selected for testing in three field trials of comparison phase. Averaging over years, the results of this project significantly confirmed that two of the selected lines (SL1 and SL2) performed superior (4.24 and 4.73 t h-1, respectively) to the local check (Aras; 2.83 t h-1) with regards to grain yield production by about 50-60% (P < 0.001). This superiority of the selected lines compared to the local check was due to significant longer spike through increasing grain number (P < 0.001), and wider flag-leaf area which leads to assimilate more CO2 to the grain during grain filling duration (P < 0.01). Based on these results, the superior genotypes (SL1 and SL2) were then qualified for identification and officially released (Reference Number 192, dated November 21, 2018) as new cultivars namely Kalar1 (SL1) and Kalar2 (SL2) by the National Committee for Recording and Protecting Agricultural Varieties in Iraq for the climate of Garmian region
Design and Implementation of a Chatbot for Kurdish Language Speakers Using Chatfuel Platform
Get PDFChatbot is a software agent that is used to conduct intelligent conversations between machines and humans. Chatbots are mostly depend on Natural Language Processing (NLP). In this paper, the design and implementation of a chatbot are provided to help Kurdish speakers in using online conversations via texts to find answers instead of direct contact with human agents. The NLP-based software agent is implemented using the Chatfuel platform. Chatfuel uses artificial intelligence to communicate with humans by simulating human conversations through voice commands or texts. The proposed chatbot is tested on an electronic tourist guide that helps visitors to the religious places in the mountainous village of Barzanja that is located in Iraqi Kurdistan. The case study is conducted by using three-hundred questions and answers. One hundred volunteers participated in this study. The participant asks a question and the bot provides an answer if it recognizes the question, otherwise it provides a default answer along with a suggestion of how to use the system properly. The data of these experiment is collected, analyzed, and problems regarding Kurdish language are detected. Designing software agents for processing Kurdish texts faces many challenges. Kurdish texts have not yet been processed using natural language processing (NLP). In addition, Kurdish font disorder and the lack of standardized keyboards and writing styles makes processing Kurdish text difficult. Furthermore, Kurdish language consists of variety of different dialects with different typing styles. In this research, we specifically focus on the design of a software agent for the Central Kurdish (Sorani) dialect. We managed to solve some of the problems related to the Kurdish language and suggest solutions to others. 
Influence of Light Intensity on Tobacco Responses to Drought Stress
Get PDFThe influence of high irradiance, drought stress and their cross-talk were explored in tobacco plants (Nicotiana tobaccum) grown under low light (250 ?mol m-2 s-1) irradiance (LL) and high (1600 ?mol m-2 s-1) irradiance (HL) then exposed to water deficient condition for 7 or 14 days. The detached leaves of HL-treated plants showed less water loss compared to LL plants. The HL-treated and 7 days drought-stressed plants had higher fresh and dry weights, as well as water content than the LL and drought-stressed leaves. The survival rate in 21 days drought-stressed plants after 3 days of re-watering was 50% in HL-grown and 0% in LL-grown plants.
A transcriptome profiling analysis of the tobacco responses to light intensity highlights the increased abundance of a large group of drought-related transcripts including DROUGHT-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING FACTORS (DREBs), C-REPEAT/DROUGHT-RESPONSIVE BINDING FACTOR 1 (CBF1), GLYCINE-RICH RNA BINDING PROTEINS (GRPs), WRKY33 and MYCs transcription factors, as well as zeaxanthin epoxidase, which play as a regulator of plant responses to water deficient condition.
These findings identify light-dependent changes in the cell redox state that limit water loss and enhance plant responses to drought stress
Assessment of Hepatic Mineral Composition in Sheep, Cattle, Chicken, and Fish in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region-Iraq
Get PDFLiver mineral concentrations of 232 samples from slaughtered animals, including lamb, yearling, sheep, and cattle, checkin, and fish were detrmined, using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, to provide data regarding to the liver mineral concentrations (mg/kg dry weight). The mean liver Zn and Co liver conentrations of lambs (286, 1.9), yearling (233, 1.7), sheep (254, 1.8), and cattle (276, 1.8) in majority samples were adequate, while liver Pb concentrations of mentioned animals (45.3, 48.1, 46.4, 39.6) mg/kg respectively were high and exceeded toxic levels. In checkin, the mean liver Cu, Zn, and Co were also adequate, with the mean values of (26.4), (298.8), and (1.8) mg/kg respectively. Though, the mean liver Fe concentration (2257.0 mg/kg) was high, and liver Pb concentration (6.2 mg/kg) was reched toxic level. In fish, for majority liver samples, the mean concentration of Cu (191.8), Fe (6800.0), Zn (202.8), Co (3.3), Pb (8.6), and Ni (6.3) were high and toxic. In conclusion, liver Pb (and Ni only in fish) concentration in all studied animals for the majority of examined sample were higher than normal and toxic. Wherese, other studied minerals in majority of liver samples were adequate. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are problems on animal and human health (due to high concentration of Pb and Ni) would be raised at present from the consumption of ovine, bovine, checkin, and fish slaughtered from the city of Erbil