SJUOZ is the scientific journal of the University of Zakho with p-ISSN: 2663-628X, e-ISSN: 2663-6298 and DOI: doi.org/10.25271/sjuoz. SJUOZ is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed, double-blind and open-access journal. It aims to cover broader scientific research activities in the field of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer sciences. It is also committed in making genuine contributions to the science researches by providing an open access platform. Publication advantages in SJUOZ: 1- Free publication charges for international authors. 2- Constructive peer-review. 3- Open access journal (global visibility). 4- Easy online submission. 5- Time to first decision 10-20 days. 6- Free English language proofreading.
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EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LIGHT TYPES AND EXPOSURE DURATIONS ON STOMATAL CHARACTERISTICS IN TWO CULTIVARS OF CARNATION (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)
A study was conducted to examine the effects of different light types, colors, and exposure durations on the morphological and stomatal characteristics of two carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) cultivars, Ormea and Moonlight, cultivated under controlled greenhouse conditions, during the period of (2024 - 2025) at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Duhok, to understanding how Light quality and photoperiod play a crucial role in regulating stomatal density, size, and function, which are vital for key physiological processes such as transpiration and photosynthesis. The results indicate that specific light treatments significantly influence both morphological traits and stomatal parameters. The highest leaf number, leaf length, and leaf area per plant, were measured under 14-hour incandescent lighting (42.872 leaves/plant, 13.050 cm, and 25.801 cm2), respectively, followed by 14h LED-mix (39.37leaves/plant, 12.020 cm and 24.218cm2), respectively. Similarly, the longest leaf observed on the Ormea cultivar (12.336 cm) when exposed to 14 hours of incandescent light significantly outperformed other treatments. While the results of the interaction between cultivar and light on stomatal density and number showed that the Moonlight cultivar could achieve higher stomatal densities and stomatal numbers when exposed to 14 hours of incandescent. On the other hand, the Ormea and Moonlight cultivars showed the highest significant increase in stomatal densities (96.482 and 95.587) in the lower epidermis when exposed to 14 hours of incandescent lights. In the Ormea cultivar, growing under incandescent light for 14h caused a notable increase in both stomatal length and width (24.978 and 13.389 µm), followed by stomatal length and width (24.533 and 13.067 µm), respectively, under LED-mix for 14h
Copyright (c) 2025 Layla Shaaban Mohammed, Nashwan Yousif Edo, Sajid Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
IMPACT OF VARYING AMOUNTS OF PEANUT (Arachis hypogaea) MEAL ON RAINBOW TROUT (Oncorhynchus mykiss) DIETS INSTEAD OF SOYBEAN MEAL ON THE ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION AND BIOMAGNIFICATION FACTORS IN FILLETS
In this study, the effects of using different ratios of peanut meal (PNM) instead of soybean meal in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) diet on elemental composition and biomagnification factor (BMF) were evaluated for 12 weeks. Three experimental diets containing 50% (PNM50), 75% (PNM75), and 100% (PNM100) peanut meal were prepared. In the study, two control groups were fed a commercial feed (CF) and a diet containing 0% PNM (C), respectively. The CF had the greatest Ca/P ratio and the highest Se, Ca, and P levels, and these values were also significantly different from the other experimental diets. The PNM75 diet had significantly higher Mn and Cu values (p<0.05). Fe, Mg, and Na levels increased with the increasing level of PNM ratios. The PNM100 group had the highest values of these elements. At the end of the study, the CF group had high BMF of K, Mg, Mn, and Cu elements. Compared with the C group, rainbow trout fillets in the CF group had high BMFs of Ca, Fe, Na, and Se. The BMF of the P element was high in PNM75 group. In summary, the element values of rainbow trout fillets did not have an adverse effect when using PNM instead of soybean meal in their diets
Copyright (c) 2025 Dilara Kaya Öztürk, İsmihan Karayücel, Seval Dernekbaşi, Keriman yürüten özdemir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
HONEY BEE FORAGERS AND SOME BEE PRODUCTS AS POTENTIAL BIOINDICATORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION WITH HEAVY METALS
Heavy metals are persistent pollutants traveling through the environment-from their industrial source into the atmosphere, soil, and water-and finally into the food chain. They pose the greatest danger to human and animals. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are good bioindicators of environmental pollution because they accumulate heavy metals in their bodies and products, although showing no immediate effect. Bee-related samples (foragers, honey, and pollen) collected from five sites in Duhok Province in May 2025 were investigated. The assessment confirmed the presence of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) in varying concentrations. Pb levels varied between 0.0003 and 0.0024 mg/kg, while the greatest amount of Pb was detected in pollen. One pollen sample contained Zn levels as high as 20.365 mg/kg. Cu levels fluctuated but didn’t show significantly either across locations or sample types. Cr levels were determined to be within WHO-recommended levels, while traces of Cd and Fe were well below the safety limits. Some pollen and honey samples from L2 and L3 showed higher amounts than safety standards, but most were below the limits. The results indicate that pollen and honey are more prone to metal accumulation, confirming contamination at a much lower level
Copyright (c) 2025 Nora Mohammed Salih, Zahra Naeef Ayoub https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ENHANCING GROWTH PERFORMANCE, ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE, AND IMMUNE RESPONSE IN STRIPED CATFISH (Pangasius hypophthalmus) THROUGH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION WITH Aloe vera: A SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE APPROACH
A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary Aloe vera leaf powder supplementation on growth performance, hematological parameters, antioxidant status, and immune responses in Pangasius hypophthalmus. A total of 300 juvenile striped catfish with an initial weight of 14.2±0.13 g was randomly allocated to five dietary treatments containing 0% (control), 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% Aloe vera leaf powder, with three replicates per group. Results reveal significant dose-dependent enhancements in growth parameters, with the 2% Aloe vera group exhibiting the highest final weight 72.21±1.54 g, weight gain 371.1±4.5%, and specific growth rate (3.21 ± 0.03%/day), alongside the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.54 ± 0.01) (p<0.05). Hematological analysis revealed enhanced red blood cell count (2.32±0.06 ×10⁶/μL), hemoglobin levels (9.0±0.3 g/dL), and white blood cell count (66.5±2.1 ×10³/μL) in the 2% group. Antioxidant enzyme activities (Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) increased by 52.1%, 36.2%, and 27.8%, respectively, while malondialdehyde levels decreased by 31.8% related to the (control; p<0.05). Immune parameters were also significantly elevated, including lysozyme activity (14.3±0.5 U/mL) and phagocytic index (33.87±1.3%). These findings indicate that 2% Aloe vera supplementation optimally enhances growth, physiological resilience, and disease resistance in P. hypophthalmus, offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic additives in aquaculture
Copyright (c) 2025 Rana Mehroz Fazal, Arooj Fatima, Basim. S. A. Al Sulivany, Rashid Hussain, Ali Hassan, Ayesha Shahid, Kiran Ashiq, Muhammad Owais https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS FOLIAR APPLICATION OF HUMIC ACID IN ENHANCING GROWTH AND YIELD OF SUGARCANE (Saccharum officinarum L.) VARIETIE
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is a crop of significant agro-industrial value. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foliar application of humic acid at different concentrations (0, 10, and 15 g per 4 L water) on the growth and yield performances of three sugarcane varieties (CP72-2086, CP89-2143, and CP81-325), additionally it was to ensure of growing sugarcane because for the first time it has been tested in the Erbil environment. The experiment was done in 15 April 2024, at Grdarasha Field, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences. The results indicated that CP81-325 var. superior to other varieties for all parameters. Also, growth and yield were significantly improved in the interaction treatment (S3H1), so the maximum values of plant height, internode length and total fresh yield were (3.79m, 35.00cm and 0.88 kg cane-1), respectively. Similar result of total fresh yield (0.88 kg cane-1), was recorded by the CP89-2143 var. when humic acid at the concentration of (15 g 4L-1 water) added to the plants, while in the control treatment (S2H0) just about (0.69 kg cane-1). Mostly, humic acid 10 g 4L-1 water showed the significant role in response for all varieties. Applying humic acid is necessary, it is not only for enhancing productivity but also for soil improvement and environment protection
Copyright (c) 2025 Rabar Fatah Salih, Shizar Dara Abdullah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
POLLEN MICROMORPHOLOGY OF FOUR Onobrychis SPECIES (Fabaceae) FROM THE KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Polleniferous materials of four Onobrychis species were used in this study. Two different microscopes and one-way ANOVA analysis were applied. The pollen grains were tricolpate, isopolar, and consistently radially symmetrical. The value of the polar axis/equatorial diameter ranged from prolate to perprolate, which were categorized as tiny or medium in size. Exine sculpture patterns varied significantly when scanning electron microscopy was used: Onobrychis megataphora, O. crista-galli, and O. caput-galli have reticulate patterns; O. galegifolia has micro-reticulate perforates. The pollen morphology of O. caput-galli was noticeably perprolate due to its maximum polar axis/equatorial diameter value (2.02 µm). The O. crista-galli had the lowest polar axis/equatorial diameter value (1.37 µm), showing its prolate pollen morphology. A one-way ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) in the morphological features of polar length and equatorial diameter. The O. megataphros was primarily circular to ovoid-triangular in form, and O. caput-galli had a triangular outline. The two remaining species had circular shapes in polar view. In equatorial view, two species had elliptic-elongated shapes, while others had rectangular-obtuse outlines. Thus, these micromorphological dissimilarities indicate variations among taxa, and they can be used as taxonomic characters to identify and delimit Onobrychis species
Copyright (c) 2025 Chareen Mohammed Darweesh , Shamiran Salih Abdulrahman, Jotyar Jassim Muhammed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
DIETARY TURMERIC (Curcuma longa) ENHANCES GROWTH, ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE, AND IMMUNITY IN Cirrhinus mrigala
Aquaculture is pivotal in addressing global food security, yet intensive practices compromise fish health and productivity. This study investigated the efficacy of dietary turmeric (Curcuma longa) supplementation as a natural alternative in Cirrhinus mrigala, a species critical to South Asian aquaculture. A 60-day feeding trial evaluated four diets: control (0% turmeric), 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% turmeric inclusion. Results demonstrated that 1.0% turmeric significantly enhanced growth performance, with a 28% increase in final body weight (19.6 ± 1.4 g vs. 15.7 ± 1.1 g in control; p< 0.01) and improved feed conversion ratio (1.4 ± 0.2 vs. 1.7 ± 0.2; p= 0.004). Antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, GPx) increased by 34–53%, while lipid peroxidation (MDA) decreased by 29% (p = 0.001), indicating robust oxidative stress mitigation. Immunological assays revealed a 65% rise in lysozyme activity and 70% higher phagocytic capacity (p< 0.01), underscoring turmeric’s immunostimulatory potential. The hepatosomatic index decreased by (1.3 ± 0.2% vs. 1.4 ± 0.2%; p = 0.038), suggesting increased metabolic efficiency. These findings highlight 1.0% turmeric as the optimal dosage, offering a sustainable strategy to augment aquaculture productivity while reducing reliance on antibiotics
Copyright (c) 2025 Ali Hassan, Kajeen hassan jasim, Nizar J. Hussein, Ayesha Shahid, Muhammad Owais https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ENHANCING NONLINEAR EQUATION SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF VARIANT NEWTON’S AND HALLEY’S METHODS
This work presents a new iterative method for solving single-variable nonlinear equations. The method achieves ninth-order convergence with just three derivative evaluations per step, offering both accuracy and lower computational cost. Unlike slower bracketing methods, it builds on faster open methods, though these may sometimes fail to converge. By blending ideas from Newton's and Halley's methods, the new approach provides strong performance, as shown by a detailed convergence analysis and MATLAB tests. Compared to existing techniques, it finds solutions in fewer steps and less time, making it especially effective for difficult nonlinear problems
MSC2020 Classification: 65A05 (Tables in numerical analysis),65B99(Acceleration of convergence in numerical analysis),65H05(Nonlinear algebraic or transcendental equations).
Copyright (c) 2025 Kazhal Mohammed Ali, Bayda Gh. Fathi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
GREEN-SYNTHESIZED ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FROM VERJUICE (Vitis vinifera) EXHIBIT HEPATOPROTECTIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS AGAINST CARBON TETRACHLORIDE -INDUCED TOXICITY IN MALE RATS
Drug-induced liver injury, particularly that caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), poses significant clinical challenges due to oxidative stress and limited therapeutic options. This study investigated the hepatoprotective and antioxidant potential of green-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using verjuice extract from unripe grapes in a CCl₄–induced rat model. The ZnO-NPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analyses. Twenty male Wistar rats were assigned to four groups: control, CCl₄ toxicity (1 mL/kg twice weekly for 4 weeks), co-treatment (CCl₄ + ZnO-NPs 50 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks), and ZnO-NP post-treatment (CCl₄ for 4 weeks followed by ZnO-NPs 50 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks). ZnO-NPs significantly restored superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels to near control values, while normalizing alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities. Histopathological evaluation confirmed near-complete recovery of hepatic and renal architectures. These results demonstrate that verjuice-synthesized ZnO-NPs exert potent antioxidant and regenerative effects through the preservation of endogenous defenses and promotion of tissue repair, and the green synthesis approach offers an eco-friendly, biocompatible nanotherapeutic strategy with promising applications for drug-induced liver injury
Copyright (c) 2025 Pola Z. Aziz , Treefa F. Ismail https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
FORMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF DOMPERIDONE-LOADED LIQUID SNEDDS: CHARACTERIZATION AND IN-VITRO EVALUATION
This research concentrated on developing and optimizing domperidone-loaded Self- nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) to enhance solubility, stability, and availability. Domperidone (DOM), a lipophilic drug characterized by its limited solubility in water, was integrated into SNEDDS formulations utilizing a range of oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants. Solubility studies indicated that orange oil exhibited the highest solubility for DOM at (47.94 mg/mL ± 0.085) against oils, Cremophor EL among surfactants, and Transcutol HP against cosurfactants. The solubility enhancement can be attributed to the formation of nanoemulsions, which effectively diminish particle size and enhances surface area, leading to improved dissolution and accelerated absorption. The optimization of the formulation was conducted utilizing a pseudo-ternary phase diagram, twelve successful formulations were evaluated and characterized for self-emulsification, stability, and drug release. In-vitro characterization demonstrated that F1 formula (Orange oil+ Cremophor EL+ Transcutol HP) using (2:8, oil: S.mix ratio) released DOM at rates up to 3.7 times greater than those of commercial products. The rapid emulsification times, ranging from (13.75 ± 0.528 to 32.17 ± 1.193 seconds), consistent droplet sizes, and a low PDI (0.28 ± 0.03 to 0.68 ± 0.2) have significantly improved bioavailability
Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System
HMU- collage of pharmacy- Pharmacutic department
Copyright (c) 2025 Sara Taha Rasool , Adnan Burhan Qader https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EFFECT OF SLC19A1 GENE POLYMORPHISM AND HAPLOTYPES ON IDIOPATHIC RECURRENT PREGNANCY LOSS AMONG WOMEN IN DUHOK CITY
Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) affects 1-2% of women of reproductive age and is defined as two or more consecutive losses before 20 weeks of gestation. Idiopathic RPL, which has no known etiology, is increasingly linked to genetic factors, particularly genes involved in folate metabolism. The SLC19A1 gene encodes the reduced folate carrier (RFC1), which is necessary for cellular folate transport. Polymorphisms in this gene may impair folate absorption and homocysteine regulation, potentially leading to poor pregnancy outcomes. This study investigated the relationship between SLC19A1 gene polymorphisms (rs1131596, rs1051266, rs12659) and haplotypes with idiopathic RPL in women from Duhok, Iraq. A case-control study included 70 women with idiopathic RPL and 70 age-matched healthy controls. Genotyping was performed using ARMS-PCR and RFLP-PCR, and statistical analysis was carried out using chi-square, t-tests, and logistic regression. There was no significant association between RPL and the -43T>C or 80G>A polymorphisms. The 696C>T variant showed a marginal association (p = 0.041), with the TT genotype more frequent among RPL cases. Although this suggests a potential link, the result should be interpreted cautiously. Haplotype analysis revealed minimal linkage disequilibrium and no significant associations
Copyright (c) 2025 Hozheen Abdulrahman Darweesh, Adil Abozaid Eissa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A PRUNED VGG16 WITH HYBRID PREPROCESSING AND DATA BALANCING FOR ROBUST AND INTERPRETABLE LUNG CANCER CLASSIFICATION
Lung cancer is the most common and deadliest type of cancer globally, creating a critical need for diagnostic tools that are not only accurate but also practical for clinical integration. This study introduces a robust, computationally efficient, and interpretable deep learning framework using Computed Tomography (CT) images to address limitations in existing models, such as high computational costs, poor data quality, and a lack of transparency. Our approach utilizes a VGG16 architecture, streamlined through structured pruning, which reduced the parameter count from 138.3M to 26.6M without compromising performance. We developed a hybrid pipeline with dual filtering and adaptive CLAHE to enhance image quality, while data diversity and imbalance were mitigated using hybrid augmentation and SMOTE. The model was trained with a rigorous strategy, including four-fold cross-validation and dual-phase fine-tuning with a dynamic learning rate, ensuring stable convergence. On a primary single-source dataset, the model achieved a test accuracy of 0.9910 and a Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) of 0.9845. To validate real-world applicability, the framework was tested on a large multi-source dataset, demonstrating strong generalization with a balanced accuracy of 0.9693 and an MCC of 0.9427. Model interpretability was confirmed using Grad-CAM visualizations to highlight clinically relevant regions. This framework provides a highly accurate, computationally efficient, and generalizable solution with significant potential for clinical deployment as a reliable diagnostic aid
Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE)
Copyright (c) 2025 Marwa Salih Ramadhan, Mohammed Ahmed Shakir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF CUBIC-QUINTIC NONLINEAR SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION
This paper is devoted to investigating and comparing the variational iteration method (VIM) and the residual power series method (RPSM) for solving the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (CQNLSE) initially developed to elucidate the propagation of pulses in optical fibers. Next, we use the initial conditions to get the numerical solutions of the CQNLSE. We compared the known exact solutions with the approximate results obtained using both the VIM and RPSM. The exact solution and the results from RPSM are evaluated against those from VIM. The findings demonstrated that VIM outperformed RPSM in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and ease of implementation for solving the CQNLSE. In addition, the current results are shown graphically and in the table
Cubic-Quintic Nonlinear Schrödinger equation
65A05 (Tables in numerical analysis), 65N99 (Numerical Analysis), 35Q60 (Partial differential equations).
Copyright (c) 2025 KAZHEEN Hasan Omar, Fadhil H. Easif https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ASSESSMENT OF SOME HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION IN WINTER WHEAT CROP (Triticum aestivum l.) GROWN IN SOIL AROUND INDUSTRIAL AREA WITHIN DUHOK CITY, KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a crucial staple grain for global food security, but the accumulation of harmful trace metals can compromise its safety. This study investigated the concentrations of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) in wheat grains and soil from various locations near an industrial area in Duhok City, from February and June 2024. The metal concentrations in wheat grains were found to range from 0.539±0.0231 to 1.035±0.0028 mg/kg for lead, 0.417±0.0085 to 0.5666±0.0063 mg/kg for zinc, 0.2203±0.0033 to 0.2723±0.0016 mg/kg for copper, and 0.004±0.001 to 0.0293±0.0038 mg/kg for cadmium., The result showed that the levels of Zn, Cu, and Cd in wheat grain were within the permissible limit according to the World Health Organisation WHO Codex Alimentarius. This suggests that industrial pollutants pose significant health risks to populations living near contaminated environments. The results of agricultural soil samples collected from the industrial area showed that the area has been slightly contaminated with toxic metals. There were considerable variations (P<0.05) in the concentrations of metals across the study locations. P-values for Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd in both soil and wheat grains indicate that industrial emissions and transformation are significant sources of contamination
Copyright (c) 2025 Biryar M. Mustfa, Musher R. Ahmed Albarwary https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
IMPACT OF VITAMIN D STATUS, IRON PROFILES, AND TRACE ELEMENTS IMBALANCES ON CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS IN WOMEN WITH SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM
The main aim of this study was to elucidate the impact of vitamin D, iron profile, and trace elements imbalances on cardiometabolic risk factors in newly diagnosed women with subclinical hypothyroid. Fifty newly diagnosed subclinical hypothyroid (SCHT) females, aged 18-50 years, and 40 healthy females matched in age with patients were enrolled in the present study. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Free thyroxin (FT4), Free triiodothyronine (FT3), vitamin D, and serum ferritin were measured using an electrochemiluminescence assay. Lipid profile, serum iron (Fe), and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) were analyzed by a photometric measuring unit. Serum zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), and copper (Cu) were quantified using a colorimetric method. The current study indicated a significant increase in cardiometabolic risk factors such as fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile, Triglyceride-glucose index (TyGi), and Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in SCHT, in contrast to the healthy group. Furthermore, a strong association was noted between elevated TSH and lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, AIP, and TyGi. Additionally, a substantial association was indicated between reduced vitamin D, ferritin, magnesium levels, and elevated copper levels with cardiometabolic risk factors. The current study concluded that low vitamin D, ferritin, magnesium levels, and elevated copper levels are linked with cardiometabolic risk factors in females diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism. Reduced vitamin D, magnesium levels, disrupted iron metabolism, and elevated serum copper were linked to heightened atherogenic risk and metabolic abnormalities
Copyright (c) 2025 Chiman H. Sulaiman, Lina Y. Mohammed, Mohammed A. Hami https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
DIAMETER INCREMENT ESTIMATIONS OF Pinus brutia Ten. FORESTS STAND OF DUHOK GOVERNORATE, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ
Pinus brutia Ten., a native eastern Mediterranean conifer, is prominent in northern Iraq and has enormous importance in the stability of ecosystems, biodiversity, and landscape protection. This study was conducted on Calabrian pine populations sampled from three ecologically differentiated sites in Duhok Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Fifteen trees were selected, five per site, four of which will be used in a model calibration and one will be used for validation. Partial stem analysis was conducted by extracting cross-sections at breast height diameter. Despite the small sample size, the dataset provided sufficient observations for reliable statistical modeling. A systematic model selection framework was employed, incorporating tests of model assumptions, goodness of fit metrics, residual diagnostics, the Salih index to enhance the precision of Ohtomo’s test, R² interpretation, the Furnival index, and the Bias percent test. Allometric regression models were developed using STATGRAPHICS Centurion 19 software, and both homogeneous and heterogeneous forms were assessed. A t-test confirmed the reliability of the calibration models. Site-specific equations were derived based on the best-fitting regression forms: a curvilinear model was selected for both Zawita (Di = 6.2 − 1.2119 × ln(D)) and Atrush (Di = 14.8 − 2.8561 × ln(D)), while a square root transformation yielded the best fit at Belkef (Di = 14.1 − 1.7501 × √D)
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdulaziz Jameel Younis, Tariq Kurko Salih https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT USING CROSS IN DUHOK GOVERNORATE, KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
This study was conducted in the Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A total of eleven natural water samples were collected from different water sources, including Rivers, lakes, wells, and drainage canals. All samples were analyzed in triplicate to ensure accuracy and reproducibility. Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻), major Cations: Calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), Sodium (Na⁺), and Potassium (K⁺) were determined. Sodium (Na) levels ranged from 0.075 to 34.883 mmolc L⁻¹, with Kashi exhibiting the highest concentration, while the lowest one was registered in the Khabur River 0.075 mmolc L⁻¹). Potassium (K) concentration was generally low across all samples, with a mean of 3.253 mmol/L. Khabur River had the lowest across all samples (0.055 mmolc L⁻¹). The highest was in Hishkarow (0.63 mmolc L⁻¹). Calcium levels vary widely from 1.05 to 5.4 mmolc L⁻¹, with Bedol River showing the highest Ca concentration. Magnesium levels were higher than Ca in some samples. Qasara well 2 had the highest magnesium (Mg) concentration (6.00 mmolc L⁻¹), while the lowest was determined in Bedol River (0.6 mmolc L⁻¹). The adjusted Ca concentrations ranged from 0.907 to 3.548 mmolc L⁻¹, with the highest value in Duhok Dam. Highest Kashi EC (4.290 dS. m⁻¹) indicates very high salinity, which may affect water usability for irrigation, in contrast to the lowest in Bedol River (0.406 dS. m⁻¹), which suggests good water quality with low dissolved salts. Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) was the highest for Kashi (17.082), indicating a high risk of soil dispersion if used for irrigation; however, the lowest was (0.056) for Khabur River, suggesting no salinity hazard. CROSS values ranged from 0.091 to 18.368, and CROSS (using adj. Ca) ranged from 0.103 (Khabure River) to 24.341 in (Kashi). The results highlighted variation in all parameters, influencing the suitability of these water sources for irrigation. The best water source for agriculture is the Khabur River, which has the lowest Na, EC, and SAR values, making it the best choice. The worst water source is Kashi, which has extremely high sodium, EC, and SAR values, making it unsuitable for irrigation. Municipal and Dam water, generally moderate in all parameters, making them safer for multiple uses. In contrast, well water varies but tends to have higher magnesium levels
Copyright (c) 2025 Sipal M. Yousif , Khalida A. Hassan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EVALUATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS, ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSES, AND BIOCHEMICAL DYSREGULATION IN OBESE VS. NON-OBESE ADULT MALES
Obesity is a major public health concern linked to metabolic disturbances and increased oxidative stress. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of obesity on oxidative–antioxidant balance in adult males. Comparative cross-sectional study was done at Zakho General Hospital, Iraq, from October 2024 to January 2025, involving 90 males aged 18–44 years, distributed into obese body mass index (BMI) ≥30 and non-obese body mass index (BMI) <25 groups. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for biochemical, and oxidative stress parameters using Cobas auto-analyzers and spectrophotometric methods. Obese individuals exhibited significantly higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FI), lipid profile, Liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)), Kidney function parameters (urea, creatinine and uric acid), High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in comparison with controls. Concentrations of Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were elevated, whereas magnesium (Mg) was decreased in the obese group. Antioxidant markers (glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase) were significantly reduced in obese group. Strong negative correlations are observed between oxidative markers and most anthropometric and biochemical parameters. Obesity in adult males is associated with impaired antioxidant defense and alterations in trace elements, emphasizing the oxidative stress burden in obese individuals and the need for early preventive strategies
Prostate cancer, Oxidative stress, Antioxidants, SOD, PC
Copyright (c) 2025 Sozdar Ayoub Adil, Lina Yousif Mohammed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
MULTI-CLASSIFICATION OF EYE DISEASES USING A CNN-HARALICK HYBRID FRAMEWORK
The detection and classification of eye diseases, including Diabetic Retinopathy, Cataract, and Normal conditions, are critical in medical imaging for early diagnosis and treatment. This study proposes a hybrid CNN-Haralick model, leveraging the lightweight MobileNetV2 CNN architecture for spatial feature extraction and Haralick texture features extraction for texture analysis to enhance the accuracy of eye disease classification. A dual-branch architecture is employed, which fuses features from both the Convolutional Neural Network and the Haralick-based texture analysis at an early stage. The model is evaluated on a dataset consisting of images from multiple sources. Experimental results show that the hybrid CNN-Haralick model achieves an overall accuracy of 98% on the validation set, outperforming traditional CNN models. The model demonstrates exceptional performance, with a macro average F1-score of 98% for the three classes, and AUC-ROC scores of 100% for each category. The confusion matrix and classification report further validate the model's capability to accurately classify eye diseases, providing reliable decision support for clinicians. Additionally, the model's effectiveness is discussed in comparison with existing works, highlighting its superior performance in terms of both accuracy and computational efficiency.
computer science artificial intelligence
Copyright (c) 2025 Oluwaseyi Ezekiel Olorunshola, Nanji Emmanuella Lakan, Fatimah Adamu-Fika, Joshua Caleb Ishaya https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
THE SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, DFT-OPTIMIZATION, BIOLOGICAL ASSAYS, AND HEAVY METAL STUDIES OF A NEW TETRA DENTATE DERIVATIVE LIGAND AND ITS COMPLEXES
A new tetra dentate derivative ligand [(E)-N-((E)-(2-(((Z)-1-hydroxybutylidene) amino) phenyl) (isopropylimino) methyl) butyrohydrazonic acid] [N3O] type has been prepared from the condensation process of equimolar 2-aminobenzohydrazide, isopropyl amine and followed by another addition of butyric acid. Spectroscopic techniques as FT-IR, UV-visible, Mass spectrum, 1H,13C-NMR, T.L.C., Melting point, Conductivity measurements, Magnetic moment, DFT-optimization studies and other methods have been used to characterize the ligand and its new complexes with the general formula [L(M2)Cl3.H2O] (where M= NiII, CoII, CuII, MnII, CdII, and ZnII). Studying biological activity for the ligand and its complexes against two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacteria . The formed compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activity against two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacteria which are Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The developed ligand and its metal complexes performed well versus both kinds of bacteria Scheme 1
Copyright (c) 2025 Kwestan Namiq Aziz , Eman Ibrahim Alsalihi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
HYBRID TECHNIQUE FOR SOFTWARE DEFECT PREDICTION USING MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES
Human errors during software development lead to many defects, which emphasizes the importance of early detection and minimization. However, existing approaches often fall short in delivering accurate, scalable, and generalizable predictions due to challenges such as class imbalance, feature extraction limitations, and computational inefficiencies. This study proposes a hybrid method using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNNs) + Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) for feature extraction, addressing class imbalance with Adaptive Synthetic Sampling (ADASYN) and subsequent training using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGboost), to predict software defects. The proposed approach was evaluated on five publicly available datasets (CM1, MC1, KC1, PC1, and PC4) and compared with state-of-the-art (SOTA) models. Experimental results demonstrated that the hybrid model significantly outperforms traditional XGBoost-based models in terms of recall, F1-score, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), addressing the shortcomings of existing methods. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, with notable performance metrics achieved across all datasets. For example, on the MC1 dataset, the model attained an accuracy of 0.9980, a precision of 0.9971, a recall of 0.9988, an F1-score of 0.9980, and an AUC-ROC of 0.9999. On the KC1 dataset, it achieved an accuracy of 0.9344, a precision of 0.9265, a recall of 0.9375, an F1-score of 0.9320, and an AUC-ROC of 0.9839. The model achieves better performance than traditional machine learning methods and separate deep learning models, especially in the areas of recall and AUC-ROC. This research presents a robust solution through hybrid approaches that address class imbalance and maintain high predictive accuracy for software development process tasks, offering insights into the trade-offs between machine learning and deep learning methods.
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Jumare Haruna, Darius T. Chinyio , Martin, E. Irhebhude, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
INTEGRATING CNN AND DICTIONARY MECHANISMS FOR EFFECTIVE LOOP CLOSURE DETECTION
Loop closure detection (LCD) remains a critical challenge in visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), particularly in environments with repetitive structures or sparse textures where traditional methods suffer from perceptual aliasing and computational inefficiency. This paper presents a robust and scalable LCD framework that integrates a lightweight Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with a dictionary-based voting mechanism, optimized for accuracy and real-time performance in resource-constrained settings. The proposed CNN architecture, featuring a single convolutional layer with 32 filters, achieves 98% classification accuracy on the Greenhouse Scene Dataset-a structured agricultural environment. Complementing the CNN, a dynamic dictionary tracks class frequencies to detect loop closures via adaptive thresholding, eliminating the need for complex feature matching or geometric verification. Experimental results demonstrate real-time operation (0.076 seconds per 70 frames) and resilience to spatial distortions, maintaining 92% accuracy under pixel-level shifts. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our approach reduces computational overhead and memory usage
Copyright (c) 2025 Ayda Mohammed Sharif, Sadegh Abdollah Aminifar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EVALUATION OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS AND CORRESPONDING DOSE RATES IN SOIL SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM DUHOK PROVINCE, KURDISTAN REGION-IRAQ
ABSTRACT: One of the significant concerns in daily human life is exposure to elevated levels of natural background radiation, both outdoors and indoors. This radiation primarily originates from primordial radioisotopes such as Uranium, Thorium, and Potassium, which emit harmful gamma rays. This study examines the activity concentrations of natural radioisotopes Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 in soil samples collected from various locations in the Duhok Governorate, northern Iraq. To the best of our knowledge, comprehensive studies on these three radioisotopes in this region are limited, highlighting the novelty of this work. Gamma-ray spectrometry using a high-purity NaI(Tl) detector was employed to measure activity concentrations. Several radiological parameters were assessed, including the radium equivalent activity (Raeq), indoor and outdoor absorbed dose rates (Din, Dout), internal and external hazard indices (Hin, Hex), and annual effective dose rates (AEin, AEout). Results showed average concentrations of 30 Bq/kg for Ra-226, 56 Bq/kg for Th-232, and 145 Bq/kg for K-40. While Ra-226 and K-40 levels were within global safety limits, Th-232 exceeded recommended values, raising potential health concerns
Copyright (c) 2025 Azhen H. Jarjes, Shayma Ahmed, Walat A. H. Alhamdi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ON NIL-SYMMETRIC RINGS AND MODULES SKEWED BY RING ENDOMORPHISM
The symmetric property plays an important role in non-commutative ring theory and module theory. In this paper, we study the symmetric property with one element of the ring and two nilpotent elements of skewed by ring endomorphism on rings, introducing the concept of a right - -symmetric ring and extend the concept of right - -symmetric rings to modules by introducing another concept called the right - -symmetric module which is a generalization of -symmetric modules. According to this, we examine the characterization of a right - -symmetric ring and a right - -symmetric module and their related properties including ring and explore their connections to other classes of rings and modules. Furthermore, we investigate the concept of - -symmetric on some ring extensions and localizations like Dorroh extension, Jordan extension and module localizations like
Copyright (c) 2025 Ibrahim Adnan Mustafa, Chenar Abdulkareem Ahmed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
PHYTOREMEDIATION POTENTIAL OF Catalpa bignonioides IN CRUDE OIL-CONTAMINATED SOILS: EVIDENCE FROM DUHOK, KURDISTAN REGION
Phytoremediation is a promising method for cleaning crude oil-contaminated soils. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of Catalpa bignonioides seedlings for remediating soil polluted with 1% and 2% (w/w) crude oil. One- and two-year-old seedlings were grown for eight months under contaminated conditions. Plant growth parameters, crude oil degradation percentage, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), and nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) levels in both soil and plant shoots were measured. The seedlings successfully grew in contaminated soil, with no plant mortality observed, despite some leaf yellowing and necrosis. Chlorophyll a remained unaffected, while chlorophyll b significantly decreased. Plant height, shoot and root biomass were significantly reduced at 2% oil concentration. Soil pH slightly decreased, while EC and OM increased with contamination. TPH analysis showed complete removal of 10 hydrocarbon fractions (C3–C8, C10–C14), with degradation rates ranging from 70.37% to 84.02%. Crude oil significantly affected soil N and P levels but not K; in plant tissues, only N was significantly altered. Two-year-old seedlings exhibited greater growth and higher N and K content than younger plants. These findings confirm the species’ potential for phytoremediation of crude oil-contaminated soils
Copyright (c) 2025 Dereen Jaladet Albeyboni, Bayan Hazim Ahmeda, Ramadhan Omer Hussainb https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
DEEP LEARNED FEATURE TECHNIQUE FOR HUMAN ACTION RECOGNITION IN THE MILITARY USING NEURAL NETWORK CLASSIFIER
Assessing military trainee in an obstacle crossing competition requires an instructor to go along with participants or be strategically placed. These assessments sometimes suffer from fatigue or biasedness on the part of instructors. There is the need to have a system that can easily recognize various human actions involved in obstacle crossing and also give a fair assessment of the whole process. In this paper, VGG16 model features with neural network classifier is used to recognize human actions in a military obstacle-crossing competition video sequence involving multiple participants performing different activities. The dataset used was captured locally during military trainees’ obstacle-crossing exercises at a military training institution to achieve the objective. Images were segmented into background and foreground using a Grabcut-based segmentation algorithm. On the foreground masked images, features were extracted and used for classification with neural network. This method used the VGG16 model to automatically extract deep learned features at the max-pooling layer and the input presented to neural network classifier for classification into the various classes of human actions achieving 90% recognition accuracy which is at training time of 104.91secs. The accuracy obtained showed 3.6% performance improvement when compared to selected state-of-the-art model. The model also achieved 90.1% precision value and recall of 90.2%. Although many studies have focused on human recognition action recognition in several application areas, this study introduced a novel model for real time recognition of fifteen different classes of complex actions involving multiple participants during obstacle crossing competition in a military environment leveraging on the strength of deep learning and neural network classifier. This study will be of immense unbiased benefit to the military in the assessment of a trainee’s performance during training exercises or competitions.
Copyright (c) 2025 Adeola O Kolawole, Martins E Irhebhude, Philip O Odion https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADOMIAN DECOMPOSITION METHOD AND VARIATIONAL ITERATION METHOD FOR SOLVING SASA-SATSUMA EQUATION
The Sasa-Satsuma equation is an integrable higher-order nonlinear Schrodinger equation. In this paper, two schemes are proposed to study numerical solutions of the Sasa-Satsuma nonlinear Schrödinger equation with initial conditions using the Adomian decomposition method and the variational iteration method. Both approaches produce quickly convergent series for each scheme with particularly important features. The present results have been displayed graphically and, in a table, to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of those techniques. The results obtained by the Adomian decomposition method are compared with the exact solution as well as the results obtained by variational iteration method. A comparison between the two approaches reveals that the Adomian decomposition approach is closer and more efficient than the variational iteration approach
Adomian Decomposition Method, Hirota-Satsuma coupled kdv systems, Sumudu Transform method.
Copyright (c) 2025 Knier A. Salih, Saad A. Manaa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
SIMULATION DESIGN OF HYBRID RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AT THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAKHO, IRAQ
Utilising renewable energy sources (RESs) instead of conventional power generation methods is crucial for mitigating climate change and global warming. As in other cities of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, the national electricity outage crisis persists in Zakho, and power production via various sources remains necessary. In this study, the optimisation program 'Hybrid Optimisation Model for Electric Renewables' HOMER Pro has been utilised to simulate two solar energy systems: grid-connected and off-grid. The systems are modelled for installation on the roof of the College of Science building at Zakho University, Iraq, which operates for 6 hours daily, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Sunday to Thursday, while electricity consumption is extremely low during the summer weekends. Our findings confirm that the on-grid system is the more favourable option, with a cost of energy (COE) of $0.0194/kWh and a net present cost (NPC) of $295,544. On the other hand, the stand-alone design has a COE of $0.159/kWh and an NPC of $699,14. Moreover, the on-grid model derives 96% of its energy from renewable sources; whereas, the grid-independent design achieves 91.2%
Copyright (c) 2025 Bilind Shukri Sadiq , Kamil M. Yousif https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
CARDIOVASCULAR BIOMARKERS, TYG INDEX AND TG/HDL-C RATIO IN SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM PATIENTS
Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is characterized by exhibiting a normal value of free thyroxine (T4) and excessive blood thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration. SCH may be regarded as a prevalent concern of the emergence of overt hypothyroidism and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Disturbance in irisin, visfatin, NADPH oxidase, triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) ratio, and triglyceride glucose (TyG) index are associated with an increased cardiometabolic risk. The present study aimed to investigate serum levels of visfatin, irisin, NADPH oxidase (gp91phox), TyG index, TG/HDL-c ratio, and anti-TPO in patients with SCH in comparison to apparently healthy individuals. A study of the case-control method was carried out at Vin Specialist Laboratory, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, involving 146 subjects, including 73 newly diagnosed subclinical hypothyroid patients and 73 healthy controls. Biochemical tests such as glucose, TSH, FT4, FT3, Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase (anti-TPO), TG, and HDL-C were analyzed using Cobas6000 (Roche), whereas, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to estimate the value of serum visfatin, NADPH oxidase (gp91phox) and irisin. There was significantly a higher mean serum level of NADPH oxidase in 73 patients with SCH compared to that of 73 healthy individuals (8.73±2.89 ng/mL, 6.41±1.23 ng/mL, P=0.004). Mean serum levels of visfatin (41.29±8.16 ng/ml) and NADPH oxidase (8.73±2.89 ng/ml) were elevated in subclinical hypothyroid patients in comparison with healthy individuals with significant differences (p<0.001 and p=0.001), whereas, the mean serum level of irisin (15.78±2.64 ng/ml) was reduced in the SCH patients compared to healthy individuals (p=<0.001). The study found that, in contrast to healthy control individuals, patients with subclinical hypothyroidism had lower levels of serum irisin and higher mean values of TG/HDL-C, visfatin, TyG index, and NADPH oxidase
Copyright (c) 2025 Barhav I. Abdullah , Sherwan F. Salih https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
STUDY OF SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BRIQUETTES FROM DIFFERENT FOREST WOODY BIOMASS COLLECTIONS IN KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
By using forest waste, energy sustainability can be improved, and biomass briquettes offer a sustainable and eco-friendly substitute for fossil fuels. This study examines the physical characteristics of briquettes made from various woody biomass species, as a result of assessing factors including the amount of moisture, density, shatter resistance, tumble resistance, and resistance to water penetration. Also, to identify ideal production circumstances, in both tree species (Quercus infectoria and Pinus brutia). Factors were particle size (2 and 4 mm), moisture levels (6, 9, and 12%), and briquetting temperature (330 and 350 °C). According to the results, Quercus infectoria briquettes processed at 350 °C, with particle sizes of 2 mm and moisture levels of 6%, showed enhanced physical characteristics and combustion efficiency. Longer burning times were caused by higher compactness, and storage stability was improved by resistance to water penetration. These results offer insightful information for the biofuel sector, assisting producers in improving their methods of production to produce premium, environmentally friendly biomass briquettes. The study advances the larger objective of lowering reliance on energy sources that are not renewable and advancing sustainable energy solutions by enhancing the durability and efficiency of biomass fuels. The findings support more investigation into improving biomass briquetting procedures for increasing environmental and financial advantages
Mukdadiyah Injana Effloresces Bulk Density Chemical and Michanical
Copyright (c) 2025 Dilgash Fayeq Yaseen, Aree Adel Abdulqader, Ahmed Saieed Abdulla https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0