Al-Rustamiyah plant is the oldest and biggest sewage treatment plant in Iraq; it locates in the south of Baghdad city. The plant suffers from serious problems associated with overflow and low capacity. The present work aims to upgrade the heart of biological treatment process through suggesting the use of membrane bioreactor; (MBR). In this work, fouling of membrane during sewage treatment has been analyzed experimentally and theoretically by fouling mechanisms. Aeration has been applied in order to control fouling through producing effective diameters of air bubbles close to the membrane walls. Effect of air flow rate on flux decline was investigated. Hermia's models were used to investigate the fouling mechanisms. The results showed th

The study included the extraction of volatile oil from Mentha piperita which was 1.3 % in the leaves and flowers . Volatile oil of the Mentha piperita leaves had special aromatic odour, pale yellow color, slightly pungent taste . The specific gravity and refractive index were (0.9794) and ( 1.464) respectively. The inhibition activity of the Mentha piperita Volatile oil extracts were studied on some pathogenic microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, and Klebsiella pneumoniae . The result showed that the volatile oil had an inhibition effect on the growth of all microorganisms, and it gave the higher inhibition effect on the growth of S. aureus in which the inhibition zone reached to 2

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) offers small loans with easy repayment system and till now these institutions have served millions of needy people around the globe. This study highlights the hurdles influence the smooth working and growth of Microfinance institution in Egypt. The structured interviews were conducted from the top and mid-level managers of MFI's. This study revealed that interest rate, political and economic conditions, corruption, customer outreach, competition and technology are the important elements for MFI's success. It is evident that lack of use of technology and less importance drawn on customer outreach programs are the main challenges of MFI's in Egypt. This study provides a roadmap for practitioners and strategic

The toxicity effect of some heavy metals (Lead, Cadmium, Copper, and Zinc) on the growth of alga Scenedesmus dimorphus which belongs to the Division of Chlorophyta was studied and depended on the total cell number . The growth rate and doubling time were also calculated accordingly in present of absent of the the heavy metals . There were differences in toxic effects of the metals (p<0.05) . The growth was decreased gradually with alga when exposured to Lead at 15,20 and 25 mg/l in comparison with the control , mean while 30 mg/l caused an acute decrease in growth . Treating the alga with 0.05,0.1,0.5 mg/l concentration of Cadmium the number of cells decreased while at 1 mg/l the effect was more pronounced . As for Copper the conc

Pre-breakdown phenomenon was investigated within the two, non-mixed dielectric liquids; transformation oil and cresol. Finite element technique was used to follow the initiation and growth of plasma channels (streamer discharge) within pin-plane configuration. That was done for different spacing between the pin-electrode and the liquid-liquid interface. Streamer growth model assumed that, the streamer initiation occurs at the region of the highest value of electric field. Our study shows that the streamer initiates at the tip of the pin and growths toward the other electrode. The study shows, too, that the streamer path controlled by the difference of permittivity of the two liquids and spacing distance of the liquid-liquid interface fro

An isolate of Leishmania major was grown on the semisolid medium and incubated at 26ºC. The isolate was irradiated by He: Ne laser (632.8 nm, 10 mW) at exposure times (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) minutes in their respective order. The unirradiated groups represent control group. Growth rate and percentage of viability were examined during six days after irradiation. The change in these two parameters reflects the effect of irradiation on the parasite. The results refers that the general growth effected by irradiation in comparison with un irradiation group, The growth rate of parasite decrease with increasing the exposure time in comparison with control group. Parasite viability decrease with irradiation and the percentage of living cell dec

In this study, the radon gas concentration as well as the annual effective dose in leaves of the Malvasylvestris (Khabbaz) plant used in the traditional treatment and as food in Iraq, for this, it is necessary to evaluate the concentrations radon gas, which were measured using solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) CR-39 technique.  The  concentration and annual effective dose in samples were collected from Baghdad city ranged from minimum to maximum value 15.815 , 0.498 , 54.445 , 1.717  respectively, while the values of  concentration and annual effective dose in a sample collected from Karbala are 15.297 ,0.482 . These values of  concentration and annual effective dose less were compared with th

Background: Cardiomyopathy (CM) is a cardiac muscle disorder that can lead to heart failure (HF). It has several phenotypes, including dilated, hypertrophic, and restricted. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a crucial part in the development and advancement of CM. Objective: This study aimed to measure the concentration of certain cytokines [Interleukin- 1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α)] in the serum of Iraqi patients with CM. Materials and Methods: Sixty CM patients and 30 healthy individuals with age ranged from 40 to 70 years old were enrolled in this study through their presence at Iraqi Center for Heart Diseases, Ghazy Al-Hariri Hospital for Surgical Specialties in the Medical City in Baghdad. The st