Ecosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem services (as determined by 30 interviews with residents of the Marshes) included the trading of fish, harvested plants, water buffalo milk, and fodder were collected across six months in 2014. We valued the ecosystem services within the CM (40,000 ha) over a 6-month period to have a total value of 860,078.23 USD. This estimated total value was the sum of 86,637.25 USD from harvested plants, 551,334.80 USD from trading fish, 167, 303.70 USD from trading water buffalo milk, and 54,804.00 USD from trading fodder. The average income per individual in Iraq in 2014 was 6720 USD (World Bank data - https://data.worldbank.org/country/iraq): thus, the CM provided an average salary for 256 people. Our results provided greater understanding of the ecosystem services contributed by the Central Marshes and has highlighted the crucial role of nature in supporting sustainable well-being for humans living in the area. In addition, the results can be used to enhance local policy, to aid management plans of the National park, and to estimate lost and damage that could result from impact of climate change on the area.
Background: Denture cleansing is an important step that can prevent the spread of infection and improve a patient's health, the durability of the dentures, and the overall quality of life; therefore, it is necessary to choose a suitable cleanser that, in addition to being effective, does not have an unfavorable effect on the qualities of the denture base resin itself when used for an extended period. Aim: This research aims to assess the effects of ozonated water on the surface roughness and hardness of heat-cured acrylic resin by immersion technique. Materials: Sixty bars shapemade of heat-cured acrylicweremanufactured.Thirty samples for every test, including: (surface hardness and surface roughness). Then, these samples were divided into
... Show MoreObjective(s): To evaluate youth's health risk behaviors in Baghdad City and to determine the relationship between such behaviors and the youth's demographic characteristics of age, gender and grade. Methodology: A descriptive study, using the evaluation approach, is carried out to evaluate youth's health risk behaviors in Baghdad City for the period of January 26th 2016 to May 20th 2016. A non-probability "purposive" sample of (160) University students is selected for the purpose of the study from four groups of colleges (medical, engineering, sciences, and education) and it is equally distributed of
Itraconazole (ITZ) is an antifungal drug (BCSII) used for the treatment of local and systemic fungal infections. Furthermore, ITZ used as an antifungal prophylaxis for immunocompromised patients.
The objective of the study is to overcome the two problems of low and pH dependent solubility of ITZ by its preparation as floating microparticles.
Firstly, pH-dependent floating microparticles were prepared using oil in water solvent evaporation method, from which the best one (F7) selected as a best pH-dependent formula with composition of ITZ (200mg),EC (800mg), HPMC 15cps (200mg) and safflower oil (2ml) .Then, F7 was compared with the selected Relatively pH-independent ITZ floating microparticles formula wit
... Show MoreBackground: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a common disease, and a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in all races. The pleiotropic effects of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) such as modulation of cell survival, mineralization and inflammation, make it an interesting candidate mediator in the progression and destabilization of atherosclerotic lesions.Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the role of RANKL in the pathogenesis of ACS.Methods: The levels of RANKL were measured by ELISA method in sera of 60 ACS patients, 31 patients with unstable angina (UA) and 29 patients with myocardial infarction (MI) in comparison with 20 apparently healthy controls.Results: Current data indicate
... Show MoreSelexipag is an orally selective long-acting prostacyclin receptor agonist, which indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is practically insoluble in water ( class II, according to BCS). This work aims to prepare and optimized Selexipag nanosuspensions to achieve an enhancement in the in vitro dissolution rate. The solvent antisolvent precipitation method was used for the production of nanosuspension, and the effect of formulation parameters (stabilizer type, drug: stabilizer ratio, and use of co-stabilizer) and process parameter (stirring speed) on the particle size and polydispersity index were studied. SLPNS prepared with Soluplus® as amain stabilizer (F15) showed the smallest particle size 47nm wi
... Show MoreThis paper aims to shed light on adaptive reuse in traditional architecture (TA) in Erbil, Iraq.
An inductive approach and qualitative method were used in this study. The inductive research approach was used because there was no clear image of adaptive reuse in traditional cafés (TCs) in Erbil. Besides, there are no studies of TCs in Erbil particularly. Thus, there is a lack of knowledge about what adaptations took place in TCs in Erbil. The qualitative method extracted themes and issues from case studies of four TCs in Erbil citadel'
Al-Chibayish Marsh (CM) is considered as the major part of Central Marshes area of this marsh is 1050 Km². The water quality of these marshes is suffering from salt accumulation due to intensive dam construction, limited supply of water from sources, climate change impacts, and the absence of outlet flow from these marshes, specifically at low flow periods. So, the current research aims to assess and improve these marshes' hydraulic behavior and water quality and define the best location for outlet drains. Field measurements and laboratory tests were conducted for two periods (November 2020 and February 2021) to define the (TDS) concentrations at nine different locations. Samples were also examined for water's phy
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