Background: Plasma-activated water (PAW) is considered one of the emerging strategies that has been highlighted recently in the food industry for microbial decontamination and mycotoxin detoxification, due to its unique provisional characteristics. Aim: The effectiveness of PAW for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), and fumonisin B1 (FB1) detoxification in naturally contaminated poultry feeds with its impacts on the feed quality were inspected. Methods: PAW-30 and PAW-60 were utilized for feed treatment for six time durations (5, 10, 15, 20, 40 and 60 min) each. The alterations in the physicochemical properties of PAW after different time durations of plasma inducement and treatment with and without feed samples were monitored. Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was employed for estimation of mycotoxin levels and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was utilized for results confirmation. Feed composition analyses with peroxide values (PVs) estimation were implemented according to standard analytical methods. Results: The physicochemical properties of PAW showed a significant decrease (P<0.05) in pH value from 6.72 to 2.68 and a significant increase (P<0.05) in oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature from 235 mV, 5.1 μS/cm and 20.5 °C to 499.2 mV, 727.6 μS/cm and 26.8 °C, respectively after 60 min of plasma inducement in a time-dependent manner. The mycotoxins decay kinetics after PAW application were illustrated. Mycotoxins degradation efficiency significantly increased (P<0.05) with increasing water activation time. A significant increase (P<0.05) in AFB1, OTA and FB1 degradation levels was reported mainly during the first 10 min of treatment for AFB1 and the first 15 min for OTA and FB1 to record values of 28.33, 32.14 and 34.62% and 33.80, 40.70 and 43.38% after 60 min of feed exposure to PAW-30 and PAW-60, respectively. Significant differences (P<0.05) between examined mycotoxins in their degradation levels were recorded, where FB1 exhibited the highest degradation levels. Generally, feed compositions were slightly affected by PAW and fats were still having good quality. Conclusion: The possibility of PAW for degrading more than a quarter to a third of the original quantity of targeted mycotoxins in poultry feeds after 10 min of treatment with a slight effect on feed quality.
Two samples of (Ag NPs-zeolite) nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by easy hydrothermal method for 4 hours and 8 hours inside the hydrothermal autoclave at temperatures of 100°C. The two samples were used in a photoelectrochemical cell as a photocatalyst inside a cell consisting of three electrodes: the working electrode photoanode (AgNPs-zeolite), platinum as a cathode electrode, and Ag/AgCl as a reference electrode, to study the performance of AgNPs-zeolite under dark current and 473 nm laser light for water splitting. The results show the high performance of an eight-hour sample with high crystallinity compared with a four-hour sample as a reliable photocatalyst to generate hydrogen for renewable energies.
Water supply projects (WSP) requires high plan information, specialized capabilities, capable human resources, and high administrative capacity. However, in the developing countries, particularly in Iraq, these projects experience a lack of a large number of these necessities, which shows the need to identify the critical success factors (CSFs). Accordingly, the objectives of this research are to investigate the CSFs for WSP and their significance among the construction (public and private) and education sectors. To achieve this, first we have carried out a comprehensive literature review of the CSFs for WSP. Second, we administrated a questionnaire survey to 260 construction experts
In this work, the spectra for plasma glow produced by pulse
Nd:YAG laser (λ=532 and 1064nm) on Ag:Al alloy with same molar
ratio samples in distilled water were analyzed by studying the atomic
lines compared with aluminum and silver strong standard lines. The
effect of laser energies of the range 300 to 800 mJ on spectral lines,
produced by laser ablation, were investigated using optical
spectroscopy. The electron temperature was found to be increased
from 1.698 to 1.899 eV, while the electron density decreased from
2.247×1015 to 5.08×1014 cm-3 with increasing laser energy from 300
to 800 mJ with wavelength of 1064 nm. The values of electron
temperature using second harmonic frequency are greater than of<
Phosphorus is usually the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in inland receiving waters; therefore, phosphorus concentrations must be controlled. In the present study, a series of jar test was conducted to evaluate the optimum pH, dosage and performance parameters for coagulants alum and calcium chloride. Phosphorus removal by alum was found to be highly pH dependent with an optimum pH of 5.7-6. At this pH an alum dosage of 80 mg/l removed 83 % of the total phosphorus. Better removal was achieved when the solution was buffered at pH = 6. Phosphorus removal was not affected by varying the slow mixing period; this is due to the fact that the reaction is relatively fast.
The dosage of calcium chloride and pH of solution play an importa
Election study included four sites for the waters in area of Youssifiyah south of Baghdad (river water, tank water, liquefactions water, and water filtrate and seethed and purifier by alum and chloride), the samples were collected during the month of June in 2007. Temperature, electrical conductivity and acidity are measured. Also , the concentration of chloride , sulphate , carbonate , nitrate , sodium , calcium , magnesium , hard total and total dissolved substances are determined , as well as heavy metals assess environmental risk (such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe). It was also a study of bacterial totals included both total Bacteria (TB) and Total Coliform Bacteria (TC) and Fecal Coliform (FC) and Fecal Streptococci (FS). The stu
... Show MoreIn this study, the water treatment plants located on the Tigris River within Baghdad city were subjected to qualitative and quantitative assessments. Based on location, the plants from upstream to downstream are Al-Karkh, East Tigris, Al-Karamah, Al-Wathbah, Al-Wehdah, Al-Kadiseyah, Al-Dora, and Al-Rashid. Data from 2009 to 2020 on the turbidity, total dissolved solids, Alkalinity, hardness, chloride, calcium, and temperature were used in the qualitative assessment while data on the treated water production and population served were used in the quantitative assessment. The above Data was acquired from the Municipality of Baghdad. The turbidity was mainly used as a fair gauge to assess the performance of the water treatment plants in Baghda
... Show MoreIn this study, a review of variety of processes that are used in the treatment produced water prior to reuse or to responsible disposal are presented with their environmental issues and economical benefits. Samples of produced water from five locations in Rumaila oilfield/in south of Iraq were taken and analyzed for their contents of brine, some heavy metals, total suspended solids and oil and grease. Moreover, two samples of water were treated using reverse osmosis technique which showed its ability to treat such contaminated water. The results showed that the environmental impact of produced water arises from its chemical composition; i.e., its salt content, its heavy metals, and hydrocarbon contents.
Studies from our laboratory have shown that Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in marijuana plant Cannabis sativa, can attenuate acute lung injury induced by Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB). In the current study, we investigated the role of THC on the metabolism of SEB-activated lymphocytes. To this end, we determined metabolic potential of SEB-activated lymphocytes treated with vehicle or THC by performing the Cell Mito Stress Test. The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in THC-treated cells was decreased when compared to vehicle-treated group whereas the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) was similar in both the groups. Specifically, electron transport chain inhi