The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM7, and PM10) was evaluated in Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years. The effects of these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between workers exposed to the PM as compared to the control group. However, differentiated white blood cells count revealed a significant increase of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in exposed workers in comparison with the control group. However, both MDA and glutathione peroxidase showed a highly significant increase in the workers ass compared to the control group. Thus, we may conclude that the concrete plant workers are exposed to a higher risk of oxidative stress that could lead to alterations in hematological parameters, enzymatic activities, and MDA level.
Recent studies have revealed some conflicting results about the health effects of caffeine. These studies are inconsistent in terms of design and population and source of consumed caffeine. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the possible health effects of dietary caffeine intake among overweight and obese individuals.
In this cross-sectional study, 488 apparently healthy individuals with overweight and obesity were participated. Dietary intake was assessed by a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and
The efforts embedded in this paper have been devoted to designing, preparing, and testing warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures and comparing their behavior against traditional hot mix asphalt mixtures. For WMA preparation, the Sasobit wax additive has been added to a 40/50 asphalt binder with a concentration of 3%. An experimental evaluation has been performed by conducting the Marshall together with volumetric properties, indirect tensile strength, and wheel tracking tests to acquire the tensile strength ratio (TSR), retained stability index (RSI), and rut depth. It was found that the gained benefit of reduction in mixing and compaction temperatures was reversely associated with a noticeable decline in Marshall properties and moisture s
... Show MoreFrequently, load associated mode of failure, rutting and fatigue, are the main failure types found in some newly constructed roads within Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and some suburban areas. The use of excessive amount of natural sand in asphalt concrete mixes which is attractive to local contractors could be one of the possible causes to the lack of strength properties of the mixes resulting in frustration in the pavement performance. In this study, the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes with two natural sand types, desert and river sands, were evaluated. Moreover, five replacement rates of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% by weight of the fine aggregate finer than 4.75 were used. The performance properties including moisture susc
... Show MoreThe study included calculating levels of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel, chromium, and iron in the Baghdad Belt region using geochemical indicators, including the Integrated Pollution Index (IPI) and the Risk Index (RI). Data variations were observed between the agricultural and industrial areas studied, reflecting differences in heavy metal levels. The highest concentrations of lead (89 mg/kg), cadmium (1.9 mg/kg), zinc (133 mg/kg), copper (77 mg/kg), nickel (91 mg/kg), chromium (100 mg/kg), and iron (25,000 mg/kg) were recorded in Abu Ghraib. Pollution indices showed moderate to severe levels, ranging from 1.23 in Al-Tarmiya to a maximum of 2.28 in Abu Ghraib.
Objective: Detection the level of YKL-40 biochemical marker and vitamin D level in sera of Iraqi uterine cancer
females' patients.
Methodology: This study included 90 female volunteers, 30 of them were healthy volunteers who were
considered as a control group, while sixty serum samples were collected from women patients suffering from
uterine tumors (30 malignant and 30 fibroid benign tumors), benign cases were considered as a disease
control group for malignant tumors. The average age of those females was 30-75 years, which matched the
control group. All the samples were collected from Azady hospital in Kirkuk and the gynecologic department at
Medical City in Baghdad during October /2012 to May /2013. All the serum
The performance of composite prestressed concrete beam topped with reinforced concrete flange structures in fire depends upon several factors, including the change in properties of the two different materials due to fire exposure and temperature distribution within the composition of the composite members of the structure. The present experimental work included casting of 12 identical simply supported prestressed concrete beams grouped into 3 categories, depending on the strength of the top reinforced concrete deck slab (20, 30, and 40 MPa). They were connected together by using shear connector reinforcements. To simulate the real practical fire disasters, 3 composite prestressed concrete beams from each group were exposed to high t
... Show MoreThis study aims to predict the organic pollution produced from the presence of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and determination it's concentrations (µg/L , ppb) in Tigris river water by a collection twenty-seven water samples from a selected three stations with nine sampling sites and three depths of water (5 cm , 2 m and 4 m) each site for 4.6 km distance of a geographic studied area which is located between the ( Al-Senak and AL-Sarrafiah bridges ) at Baghdad city – Iraq on May, 2012. The geographic location was determined with a Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) software program. The concentrations of fourteen components (PAHs) were performed using the reverse phase
... Show MoreThe specimens of Camponotusxerxes Forel, 1904 were collected from different localities in Iraq; the purpose of morphological study of this species in details throughout the present study.
The description was based on major workers belonging to this species, also some notes of polymorphism in workers have been mentioned; the most important of morphological features are illustrated and figured.
A case-control study was performed to examine age, gender, and ABO blood groups in 1014 Iraqi hospitalized cases with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 901 blood donors (control group). The infection was molecularly diagnosed by detecting coronavirus RNA in nasal swabs of patients.
Mean age was significantly elevated in cases compared to controls (48.2 ± 13.8