This study was designed to assess short-term therapeutic effectiveness and psychological adverse effects of combination of pegylated interferon α-2a and ribavirin in Iraqi chronic hepatitis C patients. For this purpose fifty newly diagnosed chronic hepatitis C patients divided into three groups A, B and C, treated with equal doses of pegylated interferon α-2a (180 μg/week) and different doses of ribavirin (1200, 1000 and 800 mg/day respectively) and followed up for 12 weeks of starting treatment (prospective groups). Twenty healthy subjects were selected to be a normal group for the purpose of comparison. The results at week 12 (the time of achieving EVR) showed 100% complete EVR (cEVR) in group A, 94.4% cEVR and 5.6% null response in group B, 88.9% cEVR and 11.1% partial response in group C. The prevalence of major depression 3 months after starting treatment, in group A was 28.6%, while in groups B and C were the same (27.8%). In conclusion, combination therapy with Pegylated interferon α-2a and ribavirin is highly effective in early eradication of hepatitis C virus in Iraqi chronic hepatitis C patients and can be used relatively safely, and development of major depressive symptoms occurred frequently.

Floristic study of Olea- Acacia semi evergreen arid montane forest conducted during summer, 2011 indicated that there were 110 species belonging to 51 families. The families include 45 dicots and 5 monocots, four Bryophytes, one Peridophytes, algae and lichens. The flora is divisible into 92 dicots, 18 monocots, four bryophytes,some algae and lichens. Poaceae had the maximum species.

Çatalca, located on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea, is a rural district of Istanbul having the temperate climate. Landuse involves farming and forestry. This study makes a contribution and revises the applicability of two medium spatial resolution satellite sensors, NOAA AVHRR NDVI and MODIS (Terra) NDVI, for prediction to potential forest resource management in Çatalca district of Turkey on various spatial scales. The NOAA AVHRR NDVI sensor was chosen in view of its unique value for long-term climate impact studies. The MODIS (Terra) sensor, as a newer generation sensor specifically designed for, inter alia, terrestrial applications, since it provides the opportunity for observations at higher spatial and spectral resolution compared to NOAA AVHRR (NDVI). The required data preparation for the integration of MODIS data into GIS is described with a focus on the projection from the MODIS/Sinusoidal projection to the national coordinate systems. However, its low spatial resolution has been an impediment to researchers pursuing more accurate classification results. This paper summarizes a set of remote sensing applications of NOAA AVHRR NDVI/MODIS (Terra) NDVI datasets in estimation and monitoring of seasonal and inter annual ecosystem dynamics which were designed for forest resource management and can be implemented over Turkey.

Sudan is an agricultural country with fertile land, plenty of water resources, livestock, forestry resources, and agricultural residues. Energy is one of the key factors for the development of national economies in Sudan. An overview of the energy situation in Sudan is introduced with reference to the end uses and regional distribution. Energy sources are divided into two main types; conventional energy (biomass, petroleum products, and electricity); and non-conventional energy (solar, wind, hydro, etc.). Sudan possesses a relatively high abundance of sunshine, solar radiation, and moderate wind speeds, hydro, and biomass energy resources. Application of new and renewable sources of energy available in Sudan is now a major issue in the future energy strategic planning for the alternative to the fossil conventional energy to provide part of the local energy demand. Sudan is an important case study in the context of renewable energy. It has a long history of meeting its energy needs through renewables. Sudan’s renewables portfolio is broad and diverse, due in part to the country’s wide range of climates and landscapes.

Women have had a long history in asserting their rights. It is a commonly accepted view that the male-dominated patriarchal society and power structure would usually keep the position of women low. This powerless situation of women has itself made them to look for a way out and liberation. Reformation thinking, feminist movements, freedom struggle have all contributed in awakening their consciousness. Women empowerment refers to strengthening women’s position in social economic and political power structure of the society. It also implies capacity building with the leading role plagued by the State and non-state organizations.

The paper focuses on security issues that are associated with the database system that are often used by many firms in their operations. The rapid development and proliferation of Information technology has offered many opportunities for integrated business operations. It has enabled business enhances their efficiency and effectiveness in operations such as customer care, sales, human resources and production. However, these developments have served to bring issues of security. Many firms are falling victims of cyber crimes. These are malicious people who target their data and compromise its integrity. This is occasioned by unauthorized access, which makes data lose its integrity and lastly operations of the business are affected negatively. This paper will tackle various issues in database security such as the goals of the security measures, threats to database security and the process of database security maintenance.

TVET at the beginning of its implementation is more focused on the formation of skilled workers in technical fields that focus on the skills of the hands (hands-on skills). However, the passage of time and technological developments demand change for change needs to be done in the TVET to form a generation that has a variety of skills, not only in technical skills and knowledge, but in producing future leaders of integrity. Therefore, this article is planned to discuss some aspects of management perspectives in upgrading the employability of TVET graduates from TVET. From reviews articles, TVET management seems to be more successful by considering the criteria of relevance to the labour market (one that meets employer¡¯s needs and expectations), access for trainees, quality of delivery, standardization, inclusion of soft skills, and funding for the system is secure and uninterrupted. In conclusion, the key to this success is that the TVET system be adapted to a specific country.

Access to a regular supply of safe water is a basic human right but many people are denied. This study investigated the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of well water installed close to septic tank in some location in Lagos metropolis. Samples were collected from five (5) wells from each location (Ikorodu, Mushin, Shomolu, Itire and Ilasamaja) during the rainy season when ground water intrusion is high. The well water were analyzed for pH, temperature, Total Solid, Dissolved Solid, Suspended Solid, Alkalinity, Acidity, Total Hardness, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Sulphate, Manganese, Cadmium, Zinc (Zn), Total coliform count and Total Bacteria count. pH, temperature, TS were determined immediately in the sample. Analysis of the heavy metals was done using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics. All the physical, chemical and microbial properties investigated except pH, Total Solid, DO, BOD and the coliform and bacteria count in the sampled well water were within the specified limit of WHO and hence, not suitable for domestic purposes for which they are presently used for in some of the residential area in the study area. Contamination from intrusion from septic tanks and runoff from storm water could account for these differences in sampled water and WHO Limits. Where affordable, water must be treated before consumption and Public enlightenment on water quality should be encouraged to foretell the looming danger from water contamination/pollution.

Introduction - This is an overview of results, presented at APCOM workshops since 2001, achieved at systematic measurements on samples of oxide films on tubes of Zr1Nb, ZIRLO and Zry-4W, used for fuel cladding in light water reactors, which had been grown in the Research Institute UJP [1] at VVER conditions in water of 360°C with various times from one day up to 4 years. In a high temperature aqueous environment oxides are formed by diffusion of oxygen ions through the built-up layer, combining with zirconium ionized by electron emission [2]. The corrosion of the zirconium is due to oxide formation by the transfer of electrons from the metal to the water, whereby oxygen ions flow in the opposite direction. Thus the corrosion rate depends largely on the electron motion, which is governed by the conductivity of the oxide layer. The investigation of the electrical properties of the oxide is therefore of interest for the understanding of the corrosion resistance of the Zircaloys. It is well known [2,3,4] that ZrO2 is predominantly an electronic high-resistivity semiconductor with a low amount of ionic conduction (over room temperature). The band gap is approximately 5 eV, the work function 4.0 eV and the relative permittivity 22.

Reducing weight while increasing or maintaining strength of products is getting to be highly important research issue in this modern world. Composite materials are one of the material families which are attracting researchers and being solutions of such issue. In this project reducing weight of vehicles and increasing or maintaining the strength of their spare parts is considered. As leaf spring contributes considerable amount of weight to the vehicle and needs to be strong enough, a single E-glass/Epoxy leaf spring is designed and simulated following the design rules of the composite materials considering static loading only. The constant cross section design of leaf springs is employed to take advantages of ease of design analysis and its manufacturing process. And it is shown that the resulting design and simulation stresses are much below the strength properties of the material, satisfying the maximum stress failure criterion. The designed composite leaf spring has also achieved its acceptable fatigue life. This particular design is made specifically for light weight three wheeler vehicles. Its prototype is also produced using hand lay-up method.