Various activities taking place within the city of Baghdad have significantly contributed to organic pollution in Rivers Tigris and Diyala. The present study aimed to assess some physical, chemical and biological aspects of six sites on Rivers Tigris and Diyala as they flow through the city of Baghdad. Monthly samples were collected for the period January to December, 2005. Marked differences in the physical and chemical characteristics of water were noted between the two rivers’ sites. Average values during the study period of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, particulate organic matter, nitrate, phosphate and total dissolved solids for Tigris and Diyala were 7.8,4.7; 2.4,10.4; 350.1,921.4;7.8,13.9;1.2,4.8;814,2176 mg / l respectively. The populations of two fish species, known to be present in polluted waters Silurus triostegus and Mystus pelusis, were also investigated. The two species markedly differed in their favored sites, and their numbers were significantly correlated with particulate organic matter. Average length and weight of Silurus triostegus and Mystus pelusius were respectively 40.1mm, 56.8gm and 15.3mm, 68.3gm for River Tigris, and 40.5mm, 67.5gm and 17.9mm, 73gm respectively for River Diyala. Average population densities of the major groups of benthic macro invertebrate fauna [Crustaceans, Annelids, Insects and Mollusks] were 1496, 2640, 2574 and 1744 individual/m2 respectively for River Tigris and 463, 2312, 2287 and 1700 individual/m2 respectively for River Diyala. Most invertebrate groups showed positive correlation with particulate organic matter. Despite the severity of organic enrichment in River Diyala, biotic conditions in its sites were rather similar, unlike sites on River Tigris where they significantly differed in many physical, chemical and biotic respects.
Semiconductor-based photocatalytic processes are widely applied as ecofriendly technology for degrading organic pollutants. Establishing photocatalytic heterojunctions with Z-type photocarriers transfer pathways is projected to be a superb strategy to enhance photocatalytic behavior. In this paper, novel and stable (0D/2D) heterojunctions of CoS-embedded boron-doped g-C3N4 (CoS/BCN) with a high rate of charges transfer/separation were assembled for degradation of malachite green dye (MG). The CoS/BCN photocatalyst achieves a photodegradation efficiency of 96.9 % within 1 h of LED illumination, which is 2.5 and 1.4-fold enhancement compared with bare g-C3N4 and BCN, respectively. Besides, the results of species-trapping trials exhibited that
... Show MoreCrystalline silicon (c-Si) has low optical absorption due to its high surface reflection of incident light. Nanotexturing of c-Si which produces black silicon (b-Si) offers a promising solution. In this work, effect of H2O2 concentrations towards surface morphological and optical properties of b-Si fabricated by two-step silver-assisted wet chemical etching (Ag-based two-step MACE) for potential photovoltaic (PV) applications is presented. The method involves a 30 s deposition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in an aqueous solution of AgNO3:HF (5:6) and an optimized etching in HF:H2O2:DI H2O solution under 0.62 M, 1.85 M, 2.47 M, and 3.7 M concentrations of H2O<
... Show MoreThe current research aims to identify: 1. The level of mathematical construct among the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of education and basic education. 2. The level of effective mathematical operations in both sides of the brain at the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of education and basic education. 3. The strength and direction of the correlation between the mathematical construct and effective mathematical operations on both sides of the brain at the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of Education and Basic Education. To investigate the research objectives, the researcher formulated zero-main hypothesis for each aim and from the same hypothesis, three sub-zero hypotheses are deri
... Show MoreThe beet armyworm (BAW), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops. Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides, which is threatening the beneficial community and environment. Most importantly, the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage. Therefore, alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required. The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program. To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW, we selected six plant species (Lantana camara, Aloe vera, Azadirachta indica, Cymbopogon citratus, Nicotiana tabacum ,
... Show MoreThis study involved the treatment of textile wastewater contaminated with direct blue 15 dye (DB15) using a heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like process. Bimetallic iron/copper nanoparticles loaded on bentonite clay were used as heterogeneous catalysts and prepared via liquid-phase reduction method using eucalyptus leaves extract (E-Fe/Cu@BNPs). Characterization methods were applied to resultant particles (NPs), including SEM, BET, and FTIR techniques. The prepared NPs were found with porous and spherical shapes with a specific surface area of particles was 28.589 m2/g. The effect of main parameters on the photo-Fenton-like degradation of DB15 was investigated through batch and continuous fixed-bed systems. In batch mode, pH, H2O2 dosage, DB15 c
... Show MoreIn this study, the possible protective effects of daidzein on ifosfamide-induced neurotoxicity in male rats were examined by the determination of changes in selected oxidant–antioxidant markers of male rats’ brain tissue.
Twenty-eight (28) apparently-healthy Wistar male rats weighing (120-150gm) allocated into 4 groups (n=7) were used in this study. Rats orally-administered 1% tween 20 dissolved in distilled water/Control (Group I); rats were orally-administered daidzein suspension (100mg/kg) for 7 days (Group II); rats intraperitoneally-injected with a single dose of ifosfamide (500 mg/kg) (Group III); rats orally-administered for 7 days with the daidzein (100mg/
... Show MoreIrisin is a novel myokine and adipokine, its role during pregnancy and its association with some metabolic risk factors especially pre-pregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) need more evaluation. The aim of the study is to find whether the pre-BMI could predict irisin levels during normal pregnancy and to clarify associations of irisin with some pathological parameters.
Irisin levels were estimated by ELISA in sera of 59 normal pregnant women who enrolled from December 2016 to May 2017 at Maternity Hospital, Zakho city, Kurdistan region (Iraq). Thirty-two normal-weight pregnant (pre-BMI≤24.9 kg/m2, Age=24.03 mean±3.7standard deviation) and 27 overweight/obese-pregnant (pre-BMI>25 kg/m2, Age=27.6 mean±3.9
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetic patients have been reported to be more susceptible to gingivitis and periodontitis than healthy subjects. Many intracellular enzymes like (alkaline phosphatase- (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase- (AST) and alanine aminotransferase- (ALT) that are released outside cells into the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva after destruction of periodontal tissue during periodontitis. This study was conducted to determine the periodontal health status and the levels of salivary enzymes (ALP, AST and ALT) of the study and control groups and to correlate the levels of these enzymes with clinical periodontal parameters in each study group. Subjects, Materials and Methods: One hundred subjects were enrolled in the study, with a
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