Phytophagous stink bugs (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) are economically important insect pests of fruit, vegetable, nut and field crops. This study was carried out during the season of 2013 in orchards within Erbil city, to follow the stink bug Mustha spinulosa (Lefebvre, 1831) seasonal fluctuation on some fruit trees: olive, plum, apricot, pear, apple and almond.
The stink bug reaches its maximum abundance throughout the second week of August (38.2/tree) coinciding with mean temperature and relative humidity of 33.40C and 28.14% respectively, and the highest total mean of the number of the insect was recorded on the olive trees (181.8/tree). The study reveals that the stink bug attacked 22 trees (fruit and forest) while it has not atta

In cooling water systems, cooling towers play a critical role in removing heat from the water. Cooling water systems are commonly used in industry to dispose the waste heat. An upward spray cooling water systems was especially designed and investigated in this work. The effect of two nanofluids (Al₂O₃/ water, black carbon /water) on velocity and temperature distributions along reverse spray cooling tower at various concentrations (0.02, 0.08, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 wt.%) were investigated, beside the effect of the inlet water temperature (35 ,40, and 45 ͦ C) and water to air flow ratio (L/G) of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.  The best thermal performance was found when the working solution contained 0.1 wt.% for each of Al₂

Production and characterization of methionine γ- lyase from Pseudomonas putida and its effect on cancer cell lines

In the present study, activated carbon supported metal oxides was prepared for thiophene removal from model fuel (Thiophene in n-hexane) using adsorptive desulfurization technique. Commercial activated carbon was loaded individually with copper oxide in the form of Cu₂O/AC. A comparison of the kinetic and isotherm models of the sorption of thiophene from model fuel was made at different operating conditions including adsorbent dose, initial thiophene concentration and contact time. Various adsorption rate constants and isotherm parameters were calculated. Results indicated that the desulfurization was enhanced when copper was loaded onto activated carbon surface. The highest desulfurization percent for Cu₂O/AC and o

Four new complexes of Pd(II), Pt(II) and Pt(IV) with DMSO solution of the ligand 8-[(4-nitrophenyl)azo]guanine (L) have been synthesized. Reaction of the ligand with Pd(II) at different pH gave two new complexes, at pH=8, a complex of the formula [Pd(L)2]Cl2.DMSO (1) was formed, while at pH=4.5,the complex[Pd(L)3]Cl2.DMSO (2) was obtained. Meanwhile, the reaction of the ligand with Pt(II) and Pt(IV) revealed new complexes with the formulas[Pt(L)2]Cl2.DMSO (3)and [Pt(L)3]Cl4.DMSO (4) at pH 7.5 and 6 respectively.
All the preparations were performed after fixing the optimum pH and concentration. The effect of time on the stability of these complexes was checked. The stoichiometry of the complexes was determined by the mole ratio and Job

Two field experimسents were conducted in one of the fields of the Agriculture Division of Ain Al-Tamr /Holy Karbala Governorate at two sites of different textures during the agricultural season 2020/2021. The first site has sandy loam texture (gypsum soils). The second site has loamy sand texture (calcareous soils). The factors of the study included: The first factor included two types of soil, gypsum and calcareous soil. The second factor is the tillage systems (no-tillage, spring spike harrows, disc harrows, and mold board plow). The experiment was designed in the two study sites according to the RCBD with three replications. The Valley type center pivot irrigation system was evaluated before planting, three speeds, 30, 50 and 100% of th

Studies were conducted to screen eight sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) genotypes for their allelopathic potential against weeds and wheat crop, which customarily follows sunflower in Iraq. All sunflower genotypes significantly inhibited the total number and biomass of companion weeds and the magnitude of inhibition was genotype dependent. Among the eight genotypes tested, Sin-Altheeb and Coupon were the most weed-suppressing cultivars, and Euroflor and Shumoos were the least. A subsequent field experiment indicated that sunflower residues incorporated into the field soil significantly inhibited the total number and biomass of weeds growing in the wheat field. Sunflower genotypes Sin-Altheeb and Coupon appeared to inhibit total weed number

Hypertension is identified as one of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). There is growing evidence showing that oxidative stress plays a major role in hypertension. Increased production of reactive oxygen species and decrease bioavailability of antioxidant have been demonstrated in experimental and human hypertension. The present study was directed to determine the beneficial effect of the antioxidant vitamin C in patients with essential hypertension treated with the calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) or with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (enalapril). Ninety six patients (50 females and 46 males) with essential hyp