The natural radioactivity levels in water samples along the Tigris river (one of the major rivers of the world) within Baghdad city were investigated to determine and evaluate the radioactivity risks in the water of the river. The specific activity of the radionuclides (238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs) for thirty different water samples from Tigris river within Baghdad city were measured using gamma-ray spectrometer, employing a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The results showed that the average value of the specific activity for 238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs were (24.20, 16.70, 329.22, and 19.40) Bq/l, respectively. The calculated average annual effective doses for different age groups were found to be (3.80, 6.57, and 5.59) mSv/y for infants, children, and adults, respectively, which are much higher than the globally allowed annual limits of the dose (0.26, 0.2 and 0.1) mSv/y for infants, children and adults, respectively, and it has harmful effects on health.
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is resulted from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which initiated in China in December 2019. Parasites are efficient immune modulators because their ability to stimulate an immune response in infected persons. AIM: This study aims to detect if there is a probable relationship between intestinal parasitic infections and COVID-19. METHODS: Ninety patients consulted at Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital (Al-Shifa center) from October 2020 till April 2021, confirmed infection with COVID-19 by PCR. Stool examination was done for detecting intestinal parasites. RESULTS: From 90 patients, males were 63 (70%), with median age 32 years, while females were 27 (30%), with age 24–44 years. Asymptomatic pati
... Show MoreThe study investigates the water quality of the Orontes River, which is considered one of the important water recourses in Syria, as it is used for drinking, irrigation, swimming and industrial needs. A database of 660 measurements for 13 parameters concentrations used, were taken from 11 monitoring points distributed along the Orontes River for a period of five years from 2015-2019, and to study the correlation between parameters and their impact on water quality, statistical analysis was applied using (SPSS) program. Cluster analysis was applied in order to classify the pollution areas along the river, and two groups were given: (low pollution - high pollution), where the areas were classified according to the sources of pollution to w
... Show MoreIn developing countries, conventional physico-chemical methods are commonly used for removing contaminants. These methods are not efficient and very costly. However, new in site strategy with high treatment efficiency and low operation cost named constructed wetland (CW) has been set. In this study, Phragmites australis was used with free surface batch system to estimate its ability to remediate total
petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from Al-Daura refinery wastewater. The system operated in semi-batch, thus, new wastewater was weekly added to the plant for 42 days. The results showed high removal percentages (98%) of TPH and (62.3%) for COD. Additionally, Phragmites australis biomass increased significant
Pollution of the aquatic environment and the depletion of the natural resource cause imbalance in the natural balance of the river environment and contributes to the deterioration of life and the killing of living organisms. Most of the old and modern cities and urban centers were set up close to the rivers because water enters the main lifeblood and all its facilities. The proximity of cities to rivers caused environmental problems resulting from the dumping of residues of these cities to a large and continuous, these wastes include all uses of the city (industrial, agricultural, residential and commercial) and others. The accumulation of these wastes inside the rivers water kills life and makes them unsuitable for various uses to bury
... Show MoreHydrochemical study of groundwater has carried out for the Al-Khassa Sub-Basin during the October 2020 and May 2021 seasons for estimating the impacts of seasonal variation and human activity on water quality and using the isotope to determine the main source of recharge. It was found that Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) were out of the standard indicating that the groundwater environment was reduced and difficult to recover from pollution. Physical and chemical properties that were high (Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Electrical conductivity (EC), Total Hydrocarbon (THC)). Partial pollution by nitrate and phosphorous due to the use of
... Show MoreAn environmental study conducted on diatoms in Al Yusifiya river beyond its branching from Euphrates river. Four sites were selected along the river for the period from march 2013 to September 2013. The present study involved the measurement of physicochemical parameters, also the qualitative and quantities of diatoms. The studied parameters values ranged as follows: 19-44Cº and 16-30 Cº for air and water temperature respectively, 6.9-8.7, 595-1248 µS/cm, 6.4-8.0 mg/l for pH, electric conductivity and dissolved oxygen respectively. A total of 74 taxa were recorded for diatoms, where the pinnate diatom was the predominant and recorded 64 taxa while 10 taxa for centric diatoms. The total number of diatoms was 1197.55*104 cell /l. The tota
... Show MoreSediment accumulated in sewers is a major concern source as it induces numerous operational and environmental problems. For instance, during wet weather flow, the re-suspension of this sediment accompanied by the combined sewer overflow may cause huge pollutant load to the receiving water body. The characteristics of the sewer sediment are important as it shapes its behaviour and determines the extent of the pollution load. In this paper, an investigation of sewer sediment and its characterization is done for a case study in Baghdad city. Sediment depth covers more than 50% of the sewer cross-sectional area; several operational causes are comprised to cause this huge depths of sediment depositions. The testing and analysis of the s
... Show MoreIntestinal parasites present in freshwater from the Al- Fallujah, Al- Habbaniyah and Al-Alwarar, of the Euphrates river in Iraq are Cryptosporidium spp (25.3%), Giardia sp (3.3%), Eimeria sp (3.3%), Pinworm eggs (3.3%), Naegleria sp (15.3%), Lecane niwati (1.3%), Trichomonas hominis (19.3%), Acanthamoeba spp (24.6%), Entamoeba coli (20.6%), Balantidium coli (12%), Ascaris sp (3.3%), Volvox sp (26%), Chilomastix mesnili (4%), Pelomyxa palustris (2.6%), Trinema enchelys (2.6%), Actinophrys Sol (7.3%), Amobea Vespertilio (9.3%), Rhabditea (5.3%), paramecium bursaria (9.3%), cyst of cestode (6%), Oocyst protozoa (16%), Euglena gracilis (10.6%).were isolated. The study's goal was to isolate some of the parasites that pollute the Euphrat
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