Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contaminated sites at Al-Rumaila Iraqi oil fields have been characterized as a part of soil remediation project. Activity of radium isotopes in contaminated soil have been determined using gamma spectrometer High Purity Germanium detector (HPGe) and found to be very high for Al-Markezia, Al-Qurainat degassing stations and storage area at Khadhir Almay region. The activity concentration of samples ranges from 6474.11±563.8 Bq/kg to 1232.5±60.9 Bq/kg with mean value of 3853.3 Bq/kg for 226Ra, 843.59±8.39 Bq/kg to 302.2±9.2 Bq/kg with mean value of 572.9 Bq/kg for 232Th and 294.31±18.56 Bq/kg to 156.64±18.1 Bq/kg with mean value of 225.5 for 40K. Six hazard indexs radium equivalent, representative level index, adsorbed dose rate in air, annual effective dose equivalent, external hazard index, and internal hazard indexes were calculated to estimate the potential radiological health risk in soil and dose rate associated with it and found to be high. Screening of contaminated soil was performed to evaluate the feasibility of particle size separation. The fractions obtained varied between 75 µm (200 mesh) to 300µm (48 mesh).The results show that the largest weight percent in fine particle size cut ( -75, -125+75, -250+125) µm is 73.9% and all radium isotopes are concentrated in 37.5µm particle size while small fluctuations are observed in the other particle size cuts.
ABSTRACT
Two compounds were isolated from the fruit part of Rhus coriaria that grow wildly or cultivated in the north of Iraq. The compounds were separated by preparative high-Performance Liquid Chromatography and their structures were established based on detailed spectroscopic techniques like FTIR and LC-MS/MS.
Keywords: Rhus coriaria, Preparative HPLC, LC-MSMS, FTIR
Yeasts are distributed in all environments and have been reported as potential biocontrol agents against various phytopathogenic fungi. To investigate their enzymatic and biological activities, 32 yeasts were isolated from 15 date vinegar samples. Evaluation of the antagonistic activities of isolated yeasts against the plant pathogens Fusarium oxysporium, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Macrophomina phaseolina indicated that there are two yeasts had the highest inhibitory effect against plant pathogens, these yeasts identified as Kluyveromyces marxianus and Torulaspora delbrueckii using traditional and molecular methods. These yeast isolates were tested for fungal cell wall degrading enzymes (in vitro), and results indicated that the
... Show MoreSixty urine samples were collected from women with urinary tract infection in different ages. The aims of this study were determined the dominancy of pathogens isolated from urine of women with UTI and evaluating the antibacterial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil against these pathogenic isolates. Identification of bacteria was done on Chromogenic orientation agar while disc diffusion method was used for determination the sensitivity of bacterial isolates to antibiotics and Agar well diffusion method was used for evaluation the antibacterial effect of Rosemary essential oil on these isolates. The results showed that 50% of women infected with Escherichia coli, it was dominants in ages above 15 years old while Staphylococc
... Show MoreSixty urine samples were collected from women with urinary tract infection in different ages. The aims of this study were determined the dominancy of pathogens isolated from urine of women with UTI and evaluating the antibacterial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil against these pathogenic isolates. Identification of bacteria was done on Chromogenic orientation agar while disc diffusion method was used for determination the sensitivity of bacterial isolates to antibiotics and Agar well diffusion method was used for evaluation the antibacterial effect of Rosemary essential oil on these isolates. The results showed that 50% of women infected with Escherichia coli, it was dominants in ages above 15 years old while Staphyl
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to enhance the mechanical properties of the glass ionomer cement GIC (dental materials) by adding Zirconium Oxide ZrO2 in both micro and nano particles. GIC were mixed with (3, 5 and 7) wt% of both ZrO2 micro and nanoparticles separately. Compressive strength (CS), biaxial flexural strength (BFS), Vickers Microhardness (VH) and wear rate losses (WR) were investigated. The maximum compression strength was 122.31 MPa with 5 wt. % ZrO2 micro particle, while 3wt% nanoparticles give highest Microhardness and biaxial flexural strength of 88.8 VHN and 35.79 MPa respectively. The minimum wear rate losses were 3.776µg/m with 7 wt. % ZrO2 nanoparticle. GIC-contai
... Show MoreRestoration of degraded lands by adoption of recommended conservation management practices can rehabilitate watersheds and lead to improving soil and water quality. The objective was to evaluate the effects of grass buffers (GBs), biomass crops (BCs), grass waterways (GWWs), agroforestry buffers (ABs), landscape positions, and distance from tree base for AB treatment on soil quality compared with row crop (RC) (corn [
Soil fertility is a crucial factor in measuring soil quality, it indicates the extent to which soil can support plant life. Soil fertility is measured by the amount of macro and micronutrients, pH, etc. Soil nutrients are depleted after each harvest and therefore must be added. To maintain soil nutrient levels, fertilizer is added to the soil. Adding fertilizer in the precise amount is a matter of great importance because excess or insufficient application can harm plant life and reduce productivity. The use of modern technology is a solution to this problem. Although automated techniques for sowing, weeding, crop harvesting, etc. have been proposed and implemented, none of the techniques are aimed to maintaining soil fertility. The study a
... Show MoreFor design purposes, it`s necessary to know the compression rate of soil layers which might be happened when it`s subjected to effective stresses. Also, it`s essential to know the rate of flow through soil mass specially for the design of marine structures or earth embankment. These two important behavior could be predicted from the coefficient of consolidation (Cv) and the coefficient of permeability (k). This study shows the effect of cutback asphalt stabilization on Cv and k and other compressibility factors, the investigation was done for silty clay samples, specimens were prepared by mixing the soil with different percentage of asphalt from (0-10)% and subjected to one-dimensional consolidation test of 50mm diameter and 20mm height wer
... Show MoreA high settlement may take place in shallow footing when resting on liquefiable soil if subjected to earthquake loading. In this study, a series of shaking table tests were carried out for shallow footing resting on sand soil. The input motion is three earthquake loadings (0.05g, 0.1g, and 0.2g). The study includes a reviewing of theoretical equations (available in literatures), which estimating settlement of footings due to earthquake loading, calibration, and verification of these equations with data from the shaking table test for improved soil by grouting and unimproved soil. It is worthy to note that the grouting materials considered in this study are the Bentonite and CKD slurries. A modification to the seismic set
... Show MoreThe semiempirical (PM3) and DFT quantum mechanical methods were used to investigate the theoretical degradation of Indigo dye. The chemical reactivity of the Indigo dye was evaluated by comparing the potential energy stability of the mean bonds. Seven transition states were suggested and studied to estimate the actually starting step of the degradation reaction. The bond length and bond angle calculations indicate that the best active site in the Indigo dye molecule is at C10=C11. The most possible transition states are examined for all suggested paths of Indigo dye degradation predicated on zero-point energy and imaginary frequency. The first starting step of the reaction mechanism is proposed. The change in enthalpy, Gibbs free energ
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