Heavy metal (HM) pollution has long been a significant source of environmental deterioration and a problem for the safety of food. Iraqis prefer rice over any other food, and since heavy metals have a direct impact on health, their traces in rice have drawn particular attention. Before cooking rice, it is usual in Iraq to wash and soak it. Some 55 varieties of imported and local rice were sampled from Erbil city markets in 2022 with the aim of determining the concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb before and after soaking. Standard procedure of acid digestions was applied on the raw and soaked samples. The solutions were analyzed using ICPE-9820 Shimadzu. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (in mg/kg) in the rice samples before soaking was 0.655, 0.170, 0.160, 0.387, 0.489, respectively and after soaking 0.421, 0.109, 0.115, 0.124 and 0.336, respectively. The concentration of As and Pb was found to be beyond the optimum level of 0.2 mg/kg codex standards for rice; whereas Cd and Cr were within the proposed level of codex standards. Moreover, local rice showed higher concentration of (Cd and Cr), whereas (AS and Pb) concentration in imported rice was higher. Further, results validated that rice soaking can decrease levels of As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb (32.5%, 40.2%, 27.9%, 61.6% and 31.3%, respectively). These findings suggest that soaking as a kitchen practice has efficiency to evaporate metals and has a great influence on the reduction of toxic heavy metals and thus reduces exposure to toxic metals in rice
Introduction/Aim. Seminal fluid analysis (SFA) plays a crucial role in helping infertility clinics diagnose the underlying reason of male infertility. The aim of the study was to investigate seminal fluid patterns of male partners of an infertile couple with apparently fertile female partners. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and December 2022. Patients were attending consultations for delayed conception for more than 12 months with apparently fertile female partner. Results. Four hundred fifty-three patients were included in the study. The distribution of patients according to age groups showed that 277 patients were young, aged 21 - 30 years (61%). Two hundred sixty-two (58%) patien
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The research aims to identify the effect of the training program that is based on integrating futuristic thinking skills with classroom interaction patterns on mathematics teachers in order to provide their students with creative solution skills. The research sample consisted of 31teachers (15 teachers for the experimental group and 16 for the control groups). The researcher developed a measure for the academic self-efficacy consisting of (39) items. Its validity, reliability, coefficient of difficulty and discriminatory power were estimated. To analyze the findings, the researcher adopted the Mann-Whitney (U) test and the effect size, and the findings were as follows: There is a statistically significant difference at the significance leve
... Show MoreThroughout Agriculture has mostly relied on the use of natural fertilizers throughout human history, which are compounds that increase the nitrogen levels in the soil. Modern agriculture was made possible by the introduction of synthetic fertilizers at the end of the 19th centuryproduction of agriculture. Their application enhanced crop yields and sparked an agricultural revolution unlike anything the world had ever seen.In the near future, synthetic fertilizers are anticipated to continue to have a significant impa ct on human life, both positively and negatively. They are frequently utilized for producing all t ypes of crops and are essential to plant growth. The significance of synthetic fertilizers is their ability to provide the soil w
... Show MoreThe cost-effective carbon cross-linked Y zeolite nanocrystals composite (NYC) was prepared using an eco-friendly substrate prepared from bio-waste and organic adhesive at intermediate conditions. The green synthesis method dependent in this study assures using chemically harmless compounds to ensure homogeneous distribution of zeolite over porous carbon. The greenly prepared cross-linked composite was extensively characterized using Fourier transform infrared, nitrogen adsorption/desorption, Field emission scanning electron microscope, Dispersive analysis by X-ray, Thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. NYC had a surface area of 176.44 m2/g, and a pore volume of 0.0573 cm3/g. NYC had a multi-function nature, sustained at a long-
... Show MoreLaboratory studies were conducted at the biological control unit, college of Agriculture, University of Baghdad to evaluate some biological aspects of the predator Chilocorus bipustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), which is considered one of the most important predators on many insect pests, especially the scale insect, Parlatoria blanchardi, (Homoptera: Diaspididae) on date palms. The results showed that biological parameters of the predator were varied according to different degree of temperature. Egg incubation period was significantly different and reached to 7.5 and 5.44 day at 25 and 30°C respectively, Fertility was the same 100% at both temperature degrees. Larval growth periods were 17.41 and 16.12 day as well as the mortality du
... Show MoreIn this study, the Halder-Wagner method was used for an analysisX-ray lines of Tio2 nanoparticles. Where the software was used to calculate the FWHM and integral breath (β) to calculate the area under the curve for each of the lines of diffraction. After that, the general equation of the halder- Wagner method is applied to calculate the volume (D), strain (ε), stress (σ), and energy per unit(u). Volume (β). Where the value of the crystal volume was equal to (0.16149870 nm) and the strain was equal to (1.044126), stress (181.678 N / m2), and energy per unit volume (94.8474 J m-3).The results obtained from these methods were then compared with those obtained from each of the new paradigm of the HalderWagner method, the Shearer developm
... Show MoreABSTRACT Backgrounds: Maxillary canine impaction is complicated and time consuming to treat, for being highly diverse in inclination and location; it may be a companied by root resorption of the neighboring teeth. CBCT has been used for its' diagnostic reliability in localization of impacted canine and revealing its' serious local complications. Objectives: Localization of maxillary impacted canine using cone beam computed tomography for assessment of angulation, distance from occlusal plane, alveolar width and proximity to adjacent teeth. Subjects and Methods: The study sample was 33 subjects 16 females and 17 males attended to Al-Wasitti general hospital in Baghdad city-Oral and maxillofacial radiology department for CBCT scan investigati
... Show MoreBackground: With the increase in composite material use in posterior teeth, the concerns about the polymerization shrinkage has increased with the concerns about the formation of marginal gaps in the oral cavity environment. New generation of adhesives called universal adhesive have been introduced to the market in order to reduce the technique sensitive bonding procedures to give the advantage of using the bonding system in any etching protocol without compromising the bonding strength. The aim of the study was to study marginal adaptation of two universal adhesives (Single bondâ„¢ Universal and Prime and Bond elect) using 3 etching techniques under thermal cycling aging. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight sound maxillary first premola
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