Natural bitumen (NB) is a highly precious material and has drawn increasing attention due to its unique properties, especially since it is available in large quantities and has been used in limited fields. In this research, the exploitation of NB from sulfur springs as an alternative energy resource in the production of asphalt pavement is evaluated. It can be concluded from the experimental results that the chemical composition and surface morphology of NB samples are different from those of base asphalt. Besides, the rheological properties of virgin NB are not sufficient for paving work. To overcome this obstacle, NB from five different springs is modified with limestone filler (LSF) to enhance its properties. LSF is a natural material an

Thirty uropathogenic E. coli isolates were isolated from hospitalized and non hospitalized patients, complaining of urinary tract infections, of Al-Kadhymia Teaching Hospital and subjected to tRNA extraction. A method of tRNA extraction was modified by adding sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) instead of urea. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two methods of staining, ethidium bromide staining and silver staining, as well as spectrophotometric detection were used.

Perennial biofuel and cover crops systems are important for enhancing soil health and can provide numerous soil, agricultural, and environmental benefits. The study objective was to investigate the effects of cover crops and biofuel crops on soil hydraulic properties relative to traditional management for claypan soils. The study site included selected management practices: cover crop (CC) and no cover crop (NC) with corn/soybean rotation, switchgrass (SW), and miscanthus (MI). The CC mixture consisted of cereal rye, hairy vetch, and Austrian winter pea. The research site was located at Bradford Research Center in Missouri, USA, and was implemented on a Mexico silt loam. Intact soil cores (76‐mm diam. by 76‐mm long) were taken from the

Thin films of CuPc of various thicknesses (150,300 and 450) nm have been deposited using pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature. The study showed that the spectra of the optical absorption of the thin films of the CuPc  are two bands of absorption one in the visible region at about 635 nm, referred to as Q-band, and the second in ultra-violet region where B-band is located at 330 nm. CuPc thin films were found to have direct band gap with values around (1.81 and 3.14 (eV respectively. The vibrational studies were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Finally, From open and closed aperture Z-scan data non-linear absorption coefficient and non-linear refractive index have been calculated res

The presence of alkaloids in Crassula ovata is a topic that is still unexplored, as there are no published studies on the matter. This study demonstrates the presence of an alkaloid compound (and its class) for the first time in Crassula ovata. The plant material was defatted with n-hexane, and a Soxhlet apparatus was used for the extraction process, while the acid-base method was used for the isolation of alkaloids from the chloroform fractions. The quaternary alkaloid was precipitated from the aqueous layer spontaneously, in high quantity. By using standard spectroscopic methods (including liquid chromatography - mass spectroscopy) we were able to clarify the structure of the precipi¬tated compound as a tetrahydroprotoberberine a

Three strain of Bacillus cereus were obtained from soil sours Laboratories of Biology Department/ College of Science/ University of Baghdad. The bacteria secreted extracellular xylanase in liquid cultur the test ability of xylanase production from these isolates was studied semi quantitative and quantitative screening appeared that Bacillus cereus X3 was the highest xylanase producer. The enzyme was partial purification 191 fold from cultur by reached step by 4 U/mg proteins by ammonium sulfat precipitation 80%, Ion exchang DEAE-cellulos chromatography Characterization study of the partial purifation enzyme revealed that the enzyme had a optimum activity pH8 and activity was stable in the pH rang (8-10) for 30min. maximal activity was attai

Hazardous materials, heavy metals, and organic toxins released into the environment have caused considerable harm to microbes, plants, animals, and humans. Wastewater is one of the most contaminated ecosystems due to heavy metals emitted mostly by human activity. Bioremediation of wastewater is an ecologically acceptable and cost-effective method of removing heavy metals from sewage; the general purpose of this study is to analyse the dependability of anaerobic sludge biomass in removing sulfur compounds and heavy metals from waste water. The anaerobic sludge biomass evaluated in this work was taken from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Al-Rustumiya, Baghdad, and grown in the mineral medium for anaerobic growth. In serum bottl

The synthesis of zeolite NaX from locally available kaolin has been studied. The operating conditions for zeolite NaX production from kaolin with good crystallinity were as follows; a gel formation step of metakaolin in alkaline medium in presence of additional silica to crystallize the zeolite was achieved at 60 oC for 1 hr,and with stirring. In ageing step of the reactants at room temperature for 5 days and crystallization step at 87±2 oC for 24 hr. The catalytic activity of catalyst prepared from local kaolin was studied by using cumene cracking as a model for catalytic cracking and compared with standard HY zeolite and HX zeolite catalysts. The activity test was carried out in a laboratory continuous flow unit with fixed bed reactor