Heavy metal (HM) pollution has long been a significant source of environmental deterioration and a problem for the safety of food. Iraqis prefer rice over any other food, and since heavy metals have a direct impact on health, their traces in rice have drawn particular attention. Before cooking rice, it is usual in Iraq to wash and soak it. Some 55 varieties of imported and local rice were sampled from Erbil city markets in 2022 with the aim of determining the concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb before and after soaking. Standard procedure of acid digestions was applied on the raw and soaked samples. The solutions were analyzed using ICPE-9820 Shimadzu. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (in mg/kg) in the rice samples before soaking was 0.655, 0.170, 0.160, 0.387, 0.489, respectively and after soaking 0.421, 0.109, 0.115, 0.124 and 0.336, respectively. The concentration of As and Pb was found to be beyond the optimum level of 0.2 mg/kg codex standards for rice; whereas Cd and Cr were within the proposed level of codex standards. Moreover, local rice showed higher concentration of (Cd and Cr), whereas (AS and Pb) concentration in imported rice was higher. Further, results validated that rice soaking can decrease levels of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (32.5%, 40.2%, 27.9%, 61.6% and 31.3%, respectively). These findings suggest that soaking as a kitchen practice has efficiency to evaporate metals and has a great influence on the reduction of toxic heavy metals and thus reduces exposure to toxic metals in rice
The aim of this study was to measure the concentration of some heavy metals (Lead, Cadmium ,Iron and Cupper) in blood samples of workers who operate the diesel generator in Baghdad city(Dora, Harthya, Bayaa and Hay al Jameaa ) ,and their effects on Testosterone hormone. The study included two groups: the first control group consisted of 20 normal male (non workers and non smoking), and the second consisted of 20 male (generator workers). Blood samples were collected from each two groups, where each sample was divided into two parts, the first part estimated blood concentrations of heavy metals while the second tested testosterone. Data were treated statistically using (Statistical Analysis System 2012) program, and the
... Show MoreThe banks mobilize savings and channel them to the economy, whether commercial or Islamic banks and thus both contribute to increasing financial depth, the objective of this paper is to measure the contribution of the Islamic banks in increase financial depth in Iraq, and compared the role played by private commercial banks in contributing to increasing financial depth in Iraq. The paper has been applying the most used indicators of financial depth that used widely in the literatures, especially those applicable with the Iraqi economy.
The paper found via using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) that Islamic banks did not contribute to increasing financial depth in Iraq, as well as for the p
... Show MoreThis research is dealing with five sample of tomato ketchup products available in local market that were respectively as follows: Hello-Baghdad Iraq, Tiffany-Abu Dhabi, Melody-Dubai, Baidar-Saudi Arabia, and Altunsa-Turkey. Also it is dealing with four sample of sauce products available in local market that were respectively as follows: Hello-Baghdad, Iraq, Al-Badawi-Baghdad Iraq, Family-Baghdad, Iraq, and Hala-Amman Jordon. Analysis was performed on each sample three times and mean of the reading was taking. Samples were tested through terse and shorthand from lengthened steps. The spectrophotometric method used rely on theoretical and practical bases in extraction and diagnosis by UV spectrophotometer. This method in short notes, consiste
... Show MoreThis study deals with the shallow alluvial aquifer situated beneath the urban area of kirkuk city. The ancient part of the city (Shorja) is affected by seepage from local agricultural areas causing relatively high heavy metals concentration in groundwater. The selection of polluted site depended on the highest TDS value (3856 mg/L) associated with the highest heavy metal concentrations (Pb, Ni, Co and Zn) in groundwater. This study focuses on the evaluation of natural attenuation effectivity for long-term protection of groundwater quality using realistic three-dimensional reactive-transport groundwater model. The requirements of 3-dimensional reactive transport model were obtained from field observation and laboratory works, in addition
... Show MoreFive heavy metals, namely Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Pb in the surface water and through the water column were studied at 10 selected stations in the Razzazah lake and Karbala drainage canal for the period between November 1990 to October 1991*. pH and total hardness were also measured. Lead was found to be the highest in concentration as overall average values, followed by an manganese, iron, copper then cadmium at the surface as well as along the water column. All the studied metals were below or close to the maximum allowed limits of Iraqi standards for inland water. The spatial and seasonal variations were discussed.
Three hospitals were chosen for the present (Maternity hospital, Raperin hospital and Rhizgari hospital) survey within Erbil city, 36 water samples were collected at regular monthly interval periods beginning at January to December 2012. Microbial analysis was done by selective medium and biochemical tests and the isolated bacteria from those hospitals were Eshcerichia coli, Acinetobacter lowffii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxilla spp., Salmonella Typhi, Citrbtobacter freundii, Vibrio fluvials, Acinetobacter haemolyticus, Weeksella zoohelcum, Pasteurella multicida, and Pseudomonas aeroginosa. E. coli isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In vitro activities of 10 different antibiotics against E. coli isolates we
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study is to describe the extent and nature of informal tenure practices in urban areas in Iraq, through undertaking a rapid assessment in Baghdad city. The UN-HABITAT 2008 publication Secure Land Rights for All discusses the importance of access and rights to land throughout the developing world. Secure land rights are critical to development and poverty reduction, and the greatest challenge in providing secure land rights are in urban areas, where overcrowding can lead to a number of informal tenure practices ranging from individually unregistered or unauthorised housing, to large informal settlements. Access to land is a fundamental basis for human shelter, food production, and other economic activity. Secur
... Show MoreBackground: Low birth weight (LBW) is the main leading cause of infant death. It is contributing to a variety of short and long term poor health outcomes. Determination of risk factors associated with LBW is important to select a suitable action to prevent or reduce this outcome. Studies on LBW and maternal risk factors in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are scarce.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine risk factors associated with Low birth weight in Sulaimania city, Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Cases and Methods: This study was carried out in the Maternity Hospital in Sulaimania from first of July, 2019 to first of February, 2020. Participants were 300 randomly selected mothers who gave a live birth. The questionnaire form, which c
Collapsing building structures during recent earthquakes, especially in Northern and Eastern Kurdistan, including the 2003 earthquake in Cewlig; the 2011 earthquake in Van; and the 2017 earthquake near Halabja province, has raised several concerns about the safety of pre-seismic code buildings and emergency facilities in Erbil city. The seismic vulnerability assessment of the hospital buildings as emergency facilities is one of the necessities which have a critical role in the recovery period following earthquakes. This research aims to study in detail and to extend the present knowledge about the seismic vulnerability of the Rizgary public hospital building in Erbil city, which was constructed before releasing the seism
... Show MoreIn this study, four sampling stations were selected on the Tigris River (Baghdad region) in order to determine concentrations, seasonal variation and pollution intensity assessment of heavy metals (Cd, Zn and Mn) in water, sediments and Barbus xanthpterus fish in this river. The study results showed that the mean concentration of dissolved heavy metals (cadmium, zinc and manganese) were 0.004 ppm, 0.023 ppm and 0.007 ppm, respectively. Whereas, their concentrations in sediments were 1.38 ppm, 86 ppm and 231.4 ppm respectively. Irregular seasonal variation for concentrations of these metals in both sediments and water. The mean concentration of these metals in tissues of fish muscles were 0.0043 ppm, 0.0023 ppm and 0.03 ppm for cadmium, z
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