Phytoplankton community is a model for of monitoring aquatic systems and interpreting the environmental change in aquatic systems. The present study aimed to forecast environmental parameters that drive the change of phytoplankton community structure in the lake. The present study was carried out in Baghdad Tourist Island Lake (BTIL) for the period From October 2021 to May 2022. The study included the quality and quantity of phytoplankton, moreover, the highest and lowest value of the physical and chemical parameters were (Water temperature (13-30 °C), Light penetration (94-275cm), electric conductivity (837-1128 µS/cm), salinity (0.5-0.7 ‰), pH (7-8.2), total alkalinity (126-226 mg CaCO3/L), total Hardness (297-395 mg CaCO3/L), Calcium (62-98 mg/L), Magnesium (59-75mg/L), Sodium (45-77 mg/L), Potassium (4-9 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (6-9 mg/L), total dissolved solids (586-777 mg/L), total phosphorus (0.1-0.7 mg/L), total nitrogen (0.2-3 mg/L). Monthly samples were taken from the subsurface water from three sampling sites in the Lake and the results and presented as dry and wet seasons. A total of 127 algal taxa was identified in the dry and wet seasons with the dominancy of diatoms (Nitzschia, Gomphonema, Navicula, Ulnaria) and followed by Cyanophyceae (Oscillatoria, Merismopedia) and Chlorophyceae (Cladophora), while Dinophyceae (Ceratium, Gymnodinium), and Euglenophyceae (Euglena) were uncommon. The lowest total cell number of phytoplankton was 221cell*104 /L in the first site during the wet season, while the highest total cell number of phytoplankton was recorded at the third site with 323×104 cells/L in the dry season. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed the impact of environmental parameters on phytoplankton community structure. Therefore, the changes in phytoplankton species were noticed in the present study in comparison with previous periods and this finding is a warning of alteration in the environmental condition of the lake.
Carbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreIn this study, simple, low cost, precise and speed spectrophotometric methods development for evaluation of sulfacetamide sodium are described. The primary approach contains conversion of sulfacetamide sodium to diazonium salt followed by a reaction with p-cresol as a reagent in the alkaline media. The colored product has an orange colour with absorbance at λmax 450 nm. At the concentration range of (5.0-100 µg.mL-1), the Beer̆ s Low is obeyed with correlation coefficient (R2= 0.9996), limit of detection as 0.2142 µg.mL-1, limit of quantification as 0.707 µg.mL-1 and molar absorptivity as 1488.249 L.mol-1.cm-1. The other approach, cloud point extraction w
... Show MoreTriticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye grown for use as animal feed. In Florida, due to its soft coat, triticale is highly vulnerable to Sitophilus oryzae L. (rice weevil) and there is interest in development of methods to detect early-instar larvae so that infestations can be targeted before they become economically damaging. The objective of this study was to develop prediction models of the infestation degree for triticale seed infested with rice weevils of different growth stages. Spectral signatures were tested as a method to detect rice weevils in triticale seed. Groups of seeds at 11 different levels (degrees) of infestation, 0–62%, were obtained by combining different ratios of infested and uninfested seeds. A spectrophotometer wa
... Show MoreThis work describes the enhancement of phenol red decolorization through immobilizing of laccase in chitosan and enzyme recycling. Commercial laccase from white rot fungus, Trametesversicolor (Tvlac), was immobilizedin to freshly prepared chitosan beads by using glutaraldehyde as a cross linker. Characterization of prepared chitosan was confirmed by FTIR and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Tvlac (46.2 U/mL) immobilized into chitosan beads at 0.8 % glutaraldehyde (v/v) within 24 hrs. Synthetic (HBT) and natural (vanillin) mediators were used to enhance dye decolorizoation. It was found that 89 % of phenol red was decolorized by chitosan beads within 180 min. in the absence of enzyme and mediator, while decolorization percenta
... Show MoreThis assay rapidly detects chlorpromazine hydrochloride using its ability to reduce gold ions to form nanoparticles. Its low cost, resilience to interferences and short analysis time could facilitate environmental monitoring and biomedical analysis.
Equilibrium and rate of mixing of free flowing solid materials are found using gas fluidized bed. The solid materials were sand (size 0.7 mm), sugar (size0.7 mm) and 15% cast iron used as a tracer. The fluidizing gas was air with velocity ranged from 0.45-0.65 m/s while the mixing time was up to 10 minutes. The mixing index for each experiment was calculated by averaging the results of 10 samples taken from different radial and axial positions in fluidized QVF column 150 mm ID and 900 mm height.
The experimental results were used in solving a mathematical model of mixing rate and mixing index at an equilibrium proposed by Rose. The results show that mixing index increases with inc
... Show MoreHookah smoking has become very popular in Iraq among women and men. Hookah tobacco contains natural radioactive elements, such as radon, radium, and uranium, as well as toxic elements, such as polonium, which are released during the combustion of tobacco and are inhaled by smoking. Most reviews focus on hookah tobacco, and only a few have investigated the blood of hookah smokers. In this study, a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon, radium, and polonium concentrations and conduct risk assessments in female hookah smokers of different ages. The results show that the concentrations of radon-222, polonium-218, and polonium-214 varied between 61.62 and 384.80, 5.45–33.64 on the wal
The current trend worldwide is searching plant extracts towards prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of Alpinia galanga leaves (ALE), Alpinia galanga rhizomes (ARE), Vitis vinifera seeds (VSE), Moringa oleifera leaves (MLE), Panax ginseng leaves (PLE) and Panax ginseng rhizomes (PRE) ethanolic extracts on human neuroblastoma (SHSY5Y) cells. The 1‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging of VSE and MLE were 81% and 58%, respectively. Ferric‐reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of ALE and MLE (33.57 ± 0.20 and 26.76 ± 0.30 μmol Fe(ΙΙ)/g dry wt., respectively) were higher than for the other extracts. Liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time‐of‐fli
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