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
In Baghdad city, Iraq, the traffic volumes have rapidly grown during the last 15 years. Road networks need to reevaluate and decide if they are operating properly or not regarding the increase in the number of vehicles. Al-Jadriyah intersection (a four-leg signalized intersection) and Kamal Junblat Square (a multi-lane roundabout), which are two important intersections in Baghdad city with high traffic volumes, were selected to be reevaluated by the SIDRA package in this research. Traffic volume and vehicle movement data were abstracted from videotapes by the Smart Traffic Analyzer (STA) Software. The performance measures include delay and LOS. The analysis results by SIDRA Intersection 8.0.1 show that the performance of the roundab
... Show MoreBackground Birth defects are one of the causes of pediatric disability and mortality in all around the world. Data on birth defects from population-based studies originating from developing countries are lacking. Cleft lip (CL), cleft lip and palate (CLP), and isolated cleft palate (CP), collectively termed oral clefts, occur in all races, both sexes, and all socioeconomic groups and vary internationally (1). The main aim of this research is to establish the frequency of cleft lip and/or palate in the population of the Al-Ramadi City, and to characterize the demographic features of affected individuals and find possible risk factors. Materials and methods We conducted a survey of the Educational Maternal and Pediatric Hospital in Al-Ramadi
... Show MoreDetermination of the level of adipokines (obestatin, vaspin, tumor necrosis factor-? and interleukin-6)in hypo-and hyperthyroid patients from Educational Baghdad Hospital in Baghdad City was investigated. Fifty patients with hypothyroidism and Fifty patients with hyperthyroidism were selected. A control group of thirty euthyroid persons was included. Blood was collected by vein puncture and serum was separated and stored at –20C. Adipokines (obestatin, vaspin, tumor necrosis factor-? and interleukin-6) were estimated using ELISA method. The findings show a significant (p<0.05) increase in obestatin level in hypothyroid patients, while there is no significant difference in hyperthyroid patientsas compared with the euthyroid subjects.
... Show MoreBackground: Personality could be defined broadly as those characteristics of individuals that describe the pattern of feeling, cognition and behaving. Personality types can be measured by using one of personality type’s measures. Personality has been proposed to influence the oral health. The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of Personality Types on caries experience in relation to salivary testosterone hormone among teachers in Baghdad city. Materials and Methods: Female teachers (n=534) of randomly selected schools were subjected to personality questionnaire using The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator. Teachers were examined to estimate the caries experience according to the decayed-missing and filled i
... Show MoreBackground: The present work investigated the profile and biodiversity of the pathogenic streptococci species isolated from local and imported mozzarella soft cheese in Baghdad City from October 2022 to January 2023. The study aimed to examine the molecular characterization of 16Sr RNA gene in some streptococcus species isolates from mozzarella soft cheese in Baghdad city Methods: From 50 samples, 8 isolates in all were found and identified based on the VITEK, molecular, and sequencing of the 16SrRNA gene. The eight isolates represented Lactococcus cremoris. Streptococcus alactolyticus, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Streptococcus thoraltensis. The isolates were subjected to conventional PCR and electrophoresis to detect the 16SrRNA gene usi
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gingiva and bone supporting the teeth. Smoking, which is an important risk factor for periodontitis, induce oxidative stress in the body and cause an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD). This study aimed to evaluate the influence of smoking on periodontal health status by estimating the levels of salivary SOD level in non-smokers (controls) and light and heavy smokers and to test the correlation between the SOD enzyme level and the clinical periodontal parameters in each group. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of 75 male, with age ranged from 35 to 50 years. Clinically, the perio
... Show MoreIn the early 90s military operations and United Nations Special Commission “UNSCOM” teams have been destroyed the past Iraqi chemical program. Both operations led an extensive number of scattered remnants of contaminated areas. The quantities of hazardous materials, incomplete destructed materials, and toxic chemicals were sealed in two bunkers. Deficiency of appropriate destruction technology led to spreading the contamination around the storage site. This paper aims to introduce the environmental detection of the contamination in the storage site area using geospatial analysis technique. The environmental contamination level of nutrients and major ions such as sulphate (SO4), potassium (K), sodium (Na), magnesi
... Show MoreIn the geotechnical engineering applications, precise understandings are yet to be established on the effects of a foundation stiffness on its bearing capacity and settlement. The modern foundation construction uses the new available construction materials that totally change the relative stiffness of the footing structures-soil interactions such as waste material and landfill area of more residential purposes. Conventional bearing capacity equations were dealt with common rigid footing and thus cannot be used for reduced foundation rigidity. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of foundation relative stiffness on its load-displacement behaviour and the soil deformation field using compression test of a strip smooth footings on su
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