Cover crops (CC) improve soil quality, including soil microbial enzymatic activities and soil chemical parameters. Scientific studies conducted in research centers have shown positive effects of CC on soil enzymatic activities; however, studies conducted in farmer fields are lacking in the literature. The objective of this study was to quantify CC effects on soil microbial enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolase, and dehydrogenase) under a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation. The study was conducted in 2016 and 2018 in Chariton County, Missouri, where CC were first established in 2012. All tested soil enzyme levels were significantly different between 2016 and 2018

Soil water use and water storage vary by vegetative management practices, and these practices affect land productivity and hydrologic processes. This study investigated the effects of agroforestry buffers (AB), grass buffers (GB), and biofuel crops (BC), relative to row crops (RC) on soil water use for a claypan soil in northern Missouri, USA. The experiment located at the Greenley Memorial Research Center included RC, AB, GB, and BC established in 1991, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively. Soil water reflectometer sensors installed at 5‐, 10‐, 20‐, and 40‐cm depths monitored soil water from April to November in 2017 and 2018. Results showed significant differences in weekly volumetric water content (VWC) among treatments for all fou

Identification of pathogens and locating their inocul¬um source (S) are the first strategies toward successful disease management program the pretransplating seedl¬ing damping - off problem on vegetable crops was found to be caused by Pythium aphanidermatum and Rhizocto¬nia solani. Both fungi were isolated from peat (moss) for the first time in Iraq. In addition, considerable num¬ber of pathogenic fungi was found as contaminants in soil samples from Alrashidiah vegetable covered farming station. Among the isolated fungi were: Pythium apha¬nidermatum, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani phialophora spp., Cephalisporium spp Rizopus stolonfier and Botrytis cine¬rea, in addition to several

Tamoxifen citrate (TAM) is one of the most regularly used therapy in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Although it is a successful treatment, there is a problem with its bioavailability, accordingly this study was designed to improve TAM solubility and reduce its associated toxicity. TAM-Loaded poly (D, L-lactide –co- glycolide) nanostructure (TAM-loaded PLGA) has been synthesized and employed both in vitro and in vivo experiments. The blood hemolysis induced by TAM- loaded PLGA was 4.6 % at 200 µg mL^-1, indicating that this nano-construct led to increased red blood cell protection. DNA molecule integrity was assessed and results indicated that DNA strands were protected from destruction at 200 µg mL^-1. T

A laboratory experiment has been carried out in the College of Science-University of Salahaddin to study the effect of different levels (0,5,10 and 15%) and sizes(250 and 1000µm) of walnut seeds residues and (160mg.kg^-1) phosphorus fertilization on the concentration of phosphorus availability and alkaline phosphatase activity in calcareous soil during 15 and 30 days period of incubation, the experimental design in factorial complet randomize design (C.R.D) with three replications. The results indicated that the application of different levels of walnut seed residues decreases the concentration of phosphorus availability and alkaline phosphatase activity, however the results revealed that combination between levels and sizes o

     The electrical resistivity method is one of the geophysical methods for detecting weak subsurface zone. The 2D resistivity data were used to compare three electrode configurations, Wenner, Dipole-dipole, and Schlumberger, to detect weak subsurface zones along a profile south of Baghdad near the Bismayah pumping station. The results show many zones of low resistivity that may be weak zones. A dipole-dipole array is a large number of measurements and is more sensitive than others. The Wenner-Schlumberger array has a depth also higher than other arrays. Wenner array has higher signal strength than other arrays. Because it is more sensitive to horizontal and vertical structures, the dipole-dipole array is the optimum for mapping sub

In the present work, the radioactivity of ten soil specimens has been measured, which were gathered from various sites from AL-Taimeem area in Al-Anbar province, The qualitative activity of natural radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for soil specimens were evaluated by utilizing gamma-ray spectroscopy with NaI(Tl) detector of (3"×3") dimension. The results revealed that, the qualitative activity, for ²³⁸U was varied from (14.730 Bq/kg) to (28.070 Bq/kg), for ²³²Th was varied from (16.510 Bq/kg) to (29.480 Bq/kg), for ⁴⁰K was varied from (143.820 Bq/kg) to (231.550 Bq/kg) ,with an average values of (21.152±2.98 Bq/kg) , (24.219±3.93 Bq/kg), (190.720±22.20 Bq/kg), success