In this study water quality was indicated in terms of Water Quality Index that was determined through summarizing multiple parameters of water test results. This index offers a useful representation of the overall quality of water for public or any intended use as well as indicating pollution, water quality management and decision making. The application of Water Quality Index (WQI) with sixteen physicochemical water quality parameters was performed to evaluate the quality of Tigris River water for drinking usage. This was done by subjecting the water samples collected from eight stations in Baghdad city during the period 2004-2010 to comprehensive physicochemical analysis. The sixteen physicochemical parameters included: Turbidity, Alkalinity (TA), Total Hardness (TH), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), pH value, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Sulphate (SO4-2), Chloride (Cl-), Total Solids (TS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Nitrite (NO2-), Nitrate (NO3-), Ammonia (NH3), and Orthophosphate (PO4-3). The average annual overall WQI was 224.32 through the study period. The high value of average annual overall WQI obtained is a result of the high concentrations of turbidity, total hardness, electrical conductivity, and total solids which can be attributed to the various human activities taking place at the river banks. From this analysis the quality of the Tigris River is classified as "very poor quality" ranging poor water at the river upstream near Al-Karhk WTP and unsuitable for drinking at the river downstream near Al-Wahda WTP and would need further treatment. The present study demonstrated the application of WQI in estimating and understanding the water quality of Tigris River. WQI appears to be promising in water quality management and a valuable tool in categorizing pollution sources in surface waters.
This paper experimentally investigates the heating process of a hot water supply using a neural network implementation of a self-tuning PID controller on a microcontroller system. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm employed in system tuning proved very effective, as it is simple and fast optimization algorithm. The PSO method for the PID parameters is executed on the Matlab platform in order to put these parameters in the real-time digital PID controller, which was experimented with in a pilot study on a microcontroller platform. Instead of the traditional phase angle power control (PAPC) method, the Cycle by Cycle Power Control (CBCPC) method is implemented because it yields better power factor and eliminates harmonics
... Show MoreWater contamination is a pressing global concern, especially regarding the presence of nitrate ions. This research focuses on addressing this issue by developing an effective adsorbent for removing nitrate ions from aqueous solutions. two adsorbents Chitosan-Zeolite-Zirconium (Cs-Ze-Zr composite beads and Chitosan-Bentonite-Zirconium Cs-Bn-Zr composite beads were prepared. The study involved continuous experimentation using a fixed bed column with varying bed heights (1.5 and 3 cm) and inlet flow rates (1 and 3 ml/min). The results showed that the breakthrough time increased with higher bed heights for both Cs-Ze-Zr and Cs-Bn-Zr composite beads. Conversely, an increase in flow rate led to a decrease in breakthrough time. Notab
... Show MoreFour major factories (Petroleum Refineries Company, Detergents Plant, Thermal Power Plant, and Gaseous Power Plant) are located to the north of Baiji City. They release pollutants in form of gases, liquids and solids; they find their way to the surrounding environment. To assess the environmental pollution of the area, 18 samples of surface soil distributed around the industrial establishments were collected and analyzed to determine the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) components which are often targets in the environmental checking. Identification and quantification of the 16 PAHs components was accomplished using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) had a model Shimadzu LC-10 AVP. The total concentratio
... Show MoreVarious heavy metals, cations and anions of the Tigris River water in Baghdad regionwere studied during the winter, spring, summer and autumn of 2009, for 4 samplingsites. In the present investigation the levels of studied heavy metals, cations and anionswere found in the range of (0.011-0.333 mg/L) for As, in the water samples(undetectable-0.0043 mg/L) for Sb,( 0.011-0.080 mg/L) for Ti, (0.150-0.730 mg/L) forV, (0.01-1.06 mg/L) for Fe, (0.1-0.4 mg/L) for Zn, (0.011-0.15 mg/L) for Pb, (0.01-0.05mg/L) for Cd, (0.01-0.04 mg/L) for Ni, (50-290 mg/L) for Ca, (97-270 mg/L) for Mg,(0.65-1.74 mg/L) for K, (11-38.33) for Na, (35-113 mg/L) for Cl, (150-256 mg/L) forHCO3, (96-479 mg/L) for SO4, (0.93-3.9 mg/L) for NO3 and (undetectable - 0.360 mg/L)f
... Show MoreThe Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used as a measure of land surface greenness based on the assumption that NDVI value is positively proportional to the amount of green vegetation in an image pixel area. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data set of Landsat based on the remote sensing information is used to estimate the area of plant cover in region west of Baghdad during 1990-2001. The results show that in the period of 1990 and 2001 the plant area in region of Baghdad increased from (44760.25) hectare to (75410.67) hectare. The vegetation area increased during the period 1990-2001, and decreases the exposed area.
Psoriasis is a dermatological, chronic, immune-mediated condition. Psoriasis symptoms are not associated with physical burden only, but it may also have psychosocial effects on patients, diminished cognitive control, poor body image and impairments in everyday life. The value of quality of life is important since improving it is the principal goal for non-curative disease. The aim of the current study was to evaluate quality of life in a sample of Iraqi patients with psoriasis. This study is a cross-sectional study that involved 300 already diagnosed psoriasis patients who attended to the center of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical City/Baghdad. The mean age of patients was (35.156 ±10.549 years). The Arabic version of Dermatology Li
... Show MoreSocial factors may affect the available sources of toxic substances and causes of poisoning, and these factors may change over time. Additionally, understanding the characteristics of poisoning cases is important for treating such patients. Therefore, the present study investigated the characteristics of poisoning cases in Baghdad Poisoning Consultation Center (PCC) and Forensic Medicine Institute (FMI). Data on all poisoning cases reported in PCC and FMI during 2013 were retrospectively obtained from medical records. Total of 1131 reports of poisoning cases (1082 from PCC and 49 from FMI) were analyzed according to age, sex, geographical distribution and causes of poisoning according to the type and class of poisoning agent. The results
... Show MoreBackground: Herbs are being widely explored to discover alternatives to synthetic antibacterial agents.Small Cardamom often referred to as queen of spices because of its very pleasant aroma and taste, have a history as old as human race. Most people use cardamom as a spice and are largely unaware of its numerous health benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of water and alcoholic cardamom extracts on sensitivities, growth, and adherence of Mutans streptococci in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this study, saliva was collected from ten volunteers (College students 18-22 years). Agar well technique was used to study the sensitivities of Mutans streptococci to different concentrations of s
... Show MoreBackground: Spices and herbs have been used by many cultures to enhance the flavor and aroma of food and for their medicinal value. Black cardamom is one of these spices widely used in cooking because of its unique taste and powerful flavor. The aim of study was to test the effect of black cardamom on Mutans Streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) and de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Dried fruits of black cardamom were extracted by using alcohol (70% ethanol). Saliva was collected from seven volunteers. Agar well technique with different concentrations of black cardamom extracts was used to test the sensitivities of Mutans Streptococci, as well black cardamom extracts effect on viable counts of Mutans Streptococ
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