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
The present study aims to isolate and identify ectoparasites, specifically hard ticks, that infest both domestic and wild rabbits. This research is motivated by the heightened sensitivity of rabbits to infestations by hard ticks, which are recognized as the primary vectors of certain blood-borne diseases, particularly Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF). The study areas were spread across five provinces in Iraq: Baghdad, Karbala, Wasit, Mosul, and Al-Anbar. A total of 85 hard ticks (42 male and 43 female) were infested by 57 rabbits (Leporidae Family), including 19 wild rabbits (hare) with an infestation rate of 100% and 38 domestic rabbits with an infestation rate of 18.42%. Total of infestation was 45.61%. The current results are the oc
... Show MoreThe present study included the collection of fresh samples of species of genus Oxalis and examined the anatomical characteristics of the stem, scape, petiole, leaf and pedicel
Samples (4th) reviewed are deposited and stored in the Iraqi Natural History Museum (INHM), and there are 4th of them. Sciurus anomalous (Güldenstädt, 1785) species are preserved and mummified. It is a Caucasian squirrel (S. anomalus) that was medium in size, with a grayish-to-chestnut color, a golden gray back, and a golden tail. It is found in the forests of East and Southeast Asia. The variety possessed for the study was previously registered in the vertebrate literature by several authors and was stored by scientific methods in the museum. As a result of the multiplication and growth of these species, and to know the environmental changes that occurred in them, they were compared with models and samples found throughout Iraq
... Show MoreIn this paper, an experimental study of the thermal performance for hybrid solar air conditioning system was carried out, to investigate system suitability for the hot climate in Iraq. The system consists of vapor compression unit combined with evacuated tube solar collector and liquid storage tank. A three-way valve was installed after the compressor to control the direction flow of the refrigerant, either to the storage tank or directly to the condenser. The performance parameters were collected by data logger to display and record in the computer by using LabVIEW software. The results show that the average coefficient of performance of hybrid solar air conditioning system (R=1) was about 2.42 to 2.77 and the average p
... Show MoreCosmetic products contain variable amounts of nutrients that support microbial growth. Most contaminants in cosmetic products include bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Achromobacter and Alcaligenes. Contaminated water is a likely source of organisms found in cosmetic products. Products such as shampoo, hand and body lotion, facial cleanser, and liquid soaps were analyzed. In this study, out of 60 cosmetic products analyzed, 26.4% were found to be contaminated. Most of the contamination was from bacteria and no fungal contamination was detected. The highest level o
... Show MoreFour species of insects, Carpophillus obsoletus Er., Carpophilus sp., Bitoma lycnformis Wall and Scatopse sp., were found in association with infected spathes of date palm with Mauginella scaettae Cav. The later fungus was the dominant species isolated in pure cultures both from diseased spathes and from contaminated insects. Bitoma lycriformis is the first record for Iraq.
The species Bostrichus capucinus (L.) (Coleoptera:Bostrichidae) was reported as a new record for Iraq. Diagnostic characters and some information are given .
There were two types of plows used widely in agricultural fields in the country. The first plow was moldboard plow, while the second one was chisel plow. There were large numbers of Iraqi farmers that used chisel plow for such farming practices. Researchers found that moldboard plows gave the highest rate of carbon dioxide emission. They observed that that with chisel plows they got the lowest carbon dioxide emission. Chisel plow saved energy as compared to moldboard plow and the cost of using the chisel plows was less than the moldboard plows. Chisel plow decreased carbon dioxide emissions from the soil and improve soil properties. The benefits of using chisel plows were more than using moldboard plows.