Radon and its daughters are of the natural radioactive decay of the uranium series. Exposure to radon gas leads to lung cancer, so the risks are significantly higher for smokers than for non-smokers. Therefore, the risk of radon increases for both active and passive smokers. The radioactivity of alpha particles emitted by radium 226, the main source of radon 222, has become harmful because its prevalence and inhalation increase with increased smoking. In this study, a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon, radium, and uranium concentrations and then calculate risk parameters in seven cigarette-smoking females in vitro study of human blood samples, and three normal females with no actual and passive cigarette smoking. The radon concentrations in blood samples varied from 147.36±0.08 Bq/kg to 659.92±0.04 Bq/kg with an average of 316.83±150.42 Bq/kg, the radium concentration varied from 13.55±0.27 Bq/kg to 60.70±0.13 Bq/kg with an average value 29.05±13.84 Bq/kg, and uranium concentration varies from 11.89±0.29 ppm to 53.23±0.14 ppm with an average value 25.47±12.13 ppm. The annual effective dose ranged from 4.42±0.48 to 12.57±0.28 mSv/y with average value of 8.35±3.10 mSv/y. The annual risk cases of lung cancer varied from 79.50±.0.11 to 226.26±0.07 with an average value of 150.22±55.78 per million people. The results deal with the radioactive effect of female cigarette smokers as a risk factor for lung cancer. Most of the results exceed the permissible international limits. Hence, human health and their life are at risk of radioactivity resulting from cigarette smoking that is concentrated in the blood of female smokers examined in this work.
This paper presents a computer simulation model of a thermally activated roof (TAR) to cool a room using cool water from a wet cooling tower. Modeling was achieved using a simplified 1-D resistance-capacitance thermal network (RC model) for an infinite slab. Heat transfer from the cooling pipe network was treated as 2-D heat flow. Only a limited number of nodes were required to obtain reliable results. The use of 6th order RC-thermal model produced a set of ordinary differential equations that were solved using MATLAB - R2012a. The computer program was written to cover all possible initial conditions, material properties, TAR system geometry and hourly solar radiation. The cool water supply was considered time
... Show MoreThe ability of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to uptake three pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, mefenamic acid and metronidazole) from two types of soil (clay and sandy soil) was investigated in this study to explore the human exposure to these pharmaceuticals via the consumption of beans. A pot experiment was conducted with beans plants which were grown in two types of soil for six weeks under controlled conditions. During the experiment period, the soil pore water was collected weekly and the concentrations of the test compounds in soil pore water as well as in plant organs (roots, stems and leaves) were weekly determined.
The results showed that the studied pharmaceuticals were detected in all plant tissues; their concentration
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the principal nosocomial causative agents. This bacterium has the capability to resist wide range of antibiotics and it is responsible for many diseases like skin, nose and wounds infection. In this study, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR was applied with ten random primers to examine the molecular diversity among methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in the hospitals and to investigate the genetic distance between them. 90 Isolates were collected from clinical specimens from Iraqi hospitals for a total of 90 isolates. Only 10 strains (11.11%) were found to be MRSA. From these 10 primers, only 9 gave clear amplification products. 91 fragment l
... Show MoreNH3 gas sensor was fabricated based on deposited of Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs-OH) suspension on filter paper substrates using suspension filtration method. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the MWCNTs film were characterized by XRD, AFM and FTIR techniques. XRD measurement confirmed that the structure of MWCNTs is not affected by the preparation method. The AFM images reflected highly ordered network in the form of a mat. The functional groups and types of bonding have appeared in the FTIR spectra. The fingerprint (C-C stretch) of MWCNTs appears in 1365 cm-1, and the backbone of CNTs observed at 1645 cm-1. A homemade sensi
... Show MoreThis study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn2+) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm2, time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis
... Show MoreThis study depicts the removal of Manganese ions (Mn2+) from simulated wastewater by combined electrocoagulation/ electroflotation technologies. The effects of initial Mn concentration, current density (C.D.), electrolysis time, and different mesh numbers of stainless steel screen electrodes were investigated in a batch cell by adopting Taguchi experimental design to explore the optimum conditions for maximum removal efficiency of Mn. The results of multiple regression and signal to noise ratio (S/N) showed that the optimum conditions were Mn initial concentration of 100 ppm, C.D. of 4 mA/cm2, time of 120 min, and mesh no. of 30 (wire/inch). Also, the relative significance of each factor was attained by the analysis of variance (ANO
... Show MoreErratum for Organic acid concentration thresholds for ageing of carbonate minerals: Implications for CO2 trapping/storage.
A new, simple, sensitive and fast developed method was used for the determination of methyldopa in pure and pharmaceutical formulations by using continuous flow injection analysis. This method is based on formation a burgundy color complex between methyldopa andammonium ceric (IV) nitrate in aqueous medium using long distance chasing photometer NAG-ADF-300-2. The linear range for calibration graph was 0.05-8.3 mmol/L for cell A and 0.1-8.5 mmol/L for cell B, and LOD 952.8000 ng /200 µL for cell A and 3.3348 µg /200 µL for cell B respectively with correlation coefficient (r) 0.9994 for cell A and 0.9991 for cell B, RSD % was lower than 1 % for n=8. The results were compared with classical method UV-Spectrophotometric at λ max=280 n
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