Pesticides serve a crucial function in contemporary farming practices, safeguarding agricultural crops against pest infestations and boosting production outputs. However, indiscriminate use has caused environmental and human health damage. This study aimed to develop and validate a gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) methodology for the direct and routine analysis of spiromesifen residues in soil, leaves, and tomato fruits. The proposed method prioritizes simplicity by avoiding derivatization steps, offering advantages over existing approaches that utilize lengthy multi-step extraction or derivatization prior to GC analysis. A key novelty of this work is the development of a QuEChERS extraction coupled directly to GC-FID without further clean-up or chemical treatment steps, rendering the method more convenient and accessible for routine monitoring applications. Factors evaluated included: sample solvent; inlet and column temperature profiles; inlet type; sample volume; and injection technique. Recovery and matrix effect studies were conducted by fortifying tomato, leaf, and soil matrices at three different concentrations (0.5, 1, and 10 µg ml-1). Quadruplicate analyses (n = 4) yielded mean recoveries of 98.74% (fruits), 93.92% (leaves), and 94.18% (soil), confirming efficient extraction. Matrix effects were negligible at -7.9%, -7.8%, and -5.3%, respectively. The chromatographic linearity of the developed GC-FID method was excellent over the 0.002–20 µg ml-1 range with R2 > 0.9979. The method demonstrated good precision, with inter- and intra-day RSD% ranging from 0.06–1.8%, below the 3% limit. GC-MS analysis confirmed spiromesifen identification. Under greenhouse conditions, residual levels were 1.39 mg/kg in soil, 8.24 mg/kg in tomato, and 3.39 mg/kg in leaves. Dissipation followed first-order kinetics with a half-life of 1.6 days. The optimized GC-FID method is promising for monitoring spiromesifen usage and guiding agricultural practices. © (2024), (Iranian Chemical Society). All rights reserved.
This study detects the presence of an important flavonoid "Casticin" in the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. grown in Iraq. The pharmaceutical importance of Casticin arise from its consideration as anti-tumor substance and have cytotoxic effects, and the absence of any study concerning Casticin content of this medicinal plant in Iraq, gave this study its importance. This study concerned with the extraction, identification, isolation and purification of Casticin from the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus L. The extraction of this compound was carried out using two methods. Identification of this compound was done by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) in which three different solvent system has been tried. This identif
... Show MoreFadak farm project was selected to conduct this study in and to evaluate the state of quality and health indices in term of soil physical properties, where this farm is located in Holly Najaf Governorate. Some physical properties (soil texture, mean weight diameter, bulk density, porosity, infiltration rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity and available water) were selected to assess the quality then health indices, Results showed that classes of moderate and poor soil health were dominated in lands of this farm for physical properties It was noted that the class good of soil health wasnot collaterally appeared in areas for the physical characteristics.
A new colorimetric-flow injection method has been developed and validated for the detection of Cefotaxime sodium in pharmaceutical formulations. This method stands out for its rapid and sensitive nature. The formation of a brown-colored complex between Cefotaxime sodium and the Biuret reagent in a highly alkaline environment serves as the basis for the detection. The intensity of this colored complex is measured using a custom-built Continuous Flow Injection Analyzer, enabling accurate quantification of Cefotaxime sodium. Optimization studies of the chemical and physical parameters such as dilution of Biuret reagent, effect of the medium basicity, flow rate, sample loop and others have been investigated. The calibration gra
... Show MoreSoil invertebrates community an important role as part of essential food chain and responsible for the decomposition in the soil, helps soil aeration , nutrients recycling and increase agricultural production by providing the essential elements necessary for photosynthesis and energy flow in ecosystems.The aim of the present study was to investigate the soil invertebrates community in one of the date palms plantation in Aljaderia district South of Baghdad, , and their relationships with some physical and chemical properties of the soil , as Five randomly distributed replicates of soil samples were collected monthly. Invertebrates samples were sorted from the soil with two methods, direct method to isolate large invertebrates and indirec
... Show MoreThe Combined Economic Emission Dispatch (CEED) problem is crucial for optimizing power system operation by minimizing costs and emissions while ensuring grid stability and meeting demand. This paper addresses the complex, nonlinear, and nonconvex nature of CEED, arising from factors like valve-point effects and transmission losses, which necessitates efficient metaheuristic algorithms. We introduce an Improved Zebra Optimization Algorithm (IMZOA), an enhanced bio-inspired technique integrating advanced adaptive foraging and dynamic defense mechanisms, along with a cubic function for CEED modeling, to improve search efficiency and convergence. IMZOA demonstrates significant numerical improvements, achieving up to a 0.80 % cost reduction for
... Show MorePiezoelectric structures are nowadays used in many different applications. A better understanding of the influence of material properties and geometrical design on the performance of these structures helps to develop piezoelectric structures specifically designed for their application. Different equivalent circuits have been introduced in the literature to investigate the behaviour of piezoelectric transducers. The model parameters are usually determined from measurements covering the characteristic frequencies of the piezoelectric transducer. This article introduces an analytical technique for calculating the mechanical and electrical equivalent system parameters and characteristic frequencies based on material properties and geom
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