Microbiological contamination by fungi impacts the quality and safety of wheat grain storage. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of cold plasma in restricting the growth of the fungus, Aspergillus niger, which was isolated from wheat grains. A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating at atmospheric pressure generated cold plasma that was used to treat the fungus, and the impact of this treatment was investigated at various periods  1, 2, 4, 6, and 15 minutes. The results revealed a highly significant decrease in the growth and number of spores of Aspergillus niger compared to the controls. This study revealed an efficient technique for enhancing wheat grain storage that could be a foundation for further large-scale studies.

Water has been acknowledged as one of the key issues of humanity in modern society and worldwide economic advancements, especially with the continuing reductions in fresh-water supply. Solar energy, which is abundant as well as widely available in various fields, has the potential to solve the global challenges of long-term freshwater and energy reduction. Researchers are attempting to address the problem in a variety of methods. Due to the fact that solar energy is the foundation for freshwater, several researches have applied it for improving the effectiveness of solar desalination, evaporation, and wastewater treatment. One of the novel methods used for achieving this is known as “hydrogel,” which comes in a variety of forms. As a un

The present study aims to establish an empirical correlation between biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the sewage flowing in Al-Diwaniyah wastewater treatment plant. The strength of the wastewater entering the plant varied from medium to high. High concentrations of BOD5 and COD in the effluent were obtained due to the poor performance of the plant. This was observed from the BOD5 /COD ratios that did not confirm with the typical ratios for the treated sewage. Regression equations for BOD5 and COD removal percentages were suggested which can be used to evaluate rapid effluent assessment after the treatment processes or optimal process control to improve the performance of wastewater treatment plants.

Background: Hyperlipidemia is an elevated fat (lipids), mostly cholesterol and triglycerides, in the blood. These lipids usually bind to proteins to remain circulated so-called lipoprotein. Aims of the study: To determine taste detection threshold and estimate the trace elements (zinc) in serum and saliva of those patients and compare all of these with healthy control subjects. Methods: Eighty subjects were incorporated in this study, thy were divided into two groups: forty patients on simvastatin treatment age between (35-60) years, and forty healthy control of age range between (35-60) years. Saliva was collected by non-stimulated technique within 10 minutes. Serum was obtained from each subject. Zinc was estimated in serum and saliva

In an earlier paper, the basic analytical formula for particle-hole nuclear state densities was derived for non-Equidistant Spacing Model (non-ESM) approach. In this paper, an extension of the former equation was made to include pairing. Also a suggestion was made to derive the exact formula for the particle-hole state densities that depends exactly on Fermi energy and nuclear binding energies. The results indicated that the effects of pairing reduce the state density values, with similar dependence in the ESM system but with less strength. The results of the suggested exact formula indicated some modification from earlier non-ESM approximate treatment, on the cost of more calculation time

The biological effects of pulsed N2-laser on the old world screw-worm fly, Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve in the pupal stage were investigated. Different laser parameters were involved in this work. The old pupae of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days were exposed to laser radiation during 10, 30 and 60 second with repetition rate 10, 20 and 30 pulse/second. The percent of normal adults emergence (female and male) was investigated. The results showed that the adults emergence was highly decreased as the repetition rate and exposure time increased when the pupae irradiated for 1, 2 and 3 days old as compared with 4 and 5 days. The results also indicated that the pupal period was significantly increased of irradiated pupae for 1, 2, 3 and 4 days old, whi

Background: Dental implants provide a unique treatment modality for the replacement of lost dentition .This is accomplished by the insertion of relatively inert material (a biomaterial) into the soft and hard tissue of the jaws, there by providing support and retention for dental prostheses. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) is an effective tool used to prompt bone repair and modeling post surgery; this has referred to the biostimulation effect of LLLT. The aims of this study were to evaluate the immmunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor -beta (TGF-β) in experimental and control groups with mechanical test. Materials and Methods: Thirty two adult New Zealand white rabbits use

Pure cadmium oxide films (CdO) and doped with zinc were prepared at different atomic ratios using a pulsed laser deposition technique using an ND-YAG laser from the targets of the pressed powder capsules. X-ray diffraction measurements showed a cubic-shaped of CdO structure. Another phase appeared, especially in high percentages of zinc, corresponding to the hexagonal structure of zinc. The degree of crystallinity, as well as the crystal size, increased with the increase of the zinc ratio for the used targets. The atomic force microscopy measurements showed that increasing the dopant percentage leads to an increase in the size of the nanoparticles, the particle size distribution was irregular and wide, in addition, to increase the surfac