Variation of sugarcane varieties in stems yield and juice quality under the conditions of Sulaymaniyah Governorate- northern Iraq

This study aimed to investigate the effect of cultivating sugarcane varieties on the production of sugarcane juice and the purity of the juice as well as the yield of both the crop stems and the sugar under the conditions of Sulaymaniyah Governorate- northern Iraq. The space allocated for the experiment was divided according to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. It included three different varieties: CP72-2086, CP89-2143, and CP81-325. The variety CP89-2143 produced the highest increase in the mean number of total stems, reaching 55.8 stems, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest number of stems, reaching 45 stems. The variety CP89-2143 gave the lowest mean stem height, reaching 3.0 m, while the variety CP81-325 gave the highest mean stem height, reaching 3.8 m; 9 (3) The variety CP89-2143 produced the highest increase in mean stem diameter, reaching 3.4 cm, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest diameter, reaching 2.5 cm;(4) The CP89-2143 variety achieved the highest increase in mean stems yield, reaching 92.827 tons/ha, while the CP72-2086 variety gave the lowest yield, reaching 81.474 tons/ha .The CP89-2143 variety recorded the highest increase in sucrose percentage, reaching 16.0 %, while the CP72-2086 variety gave the lowest percentage, reaching 12.2 :The variety CP89-2143 recorded the highest increase in the percentage of juice purity, reaching 87.5%, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest percentage, reaching 67.6 %.The variety CP89-2143 achieved the highest increase in the mean sugar yield, reaching 15.017  tons/ha, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest yield, reaching 9.862  tons/ha

A Cross-sectional Study of Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes among Adults with Laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection with Omicron Variant

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has raised concerns due to its increased transmissibility and potential implications on clinical characteristics and outcomes in infected individuals. The aims of this report were to study the profile of SARS-CoV-2 infection with omicron variant, investigate the infection outcome, reinfection rates with associated factors, antibody levels, and explore the associations between biochemical markers and disease severity. This prospective cohort study was conducted in Duhok city in the Northern of Iraq. All volunteers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 RT–PCR and confirmed Omicron infection who were older than 18 years old and agreed to participate were recruited for this study. The study was carried out from January to April 2022. There were 234 cases of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 RT–PCR Omicron infection. The mean age was 48.12±17.3 years, 43.2% were vaccinated, and 40.2% were male. Among the recruited patients, 99.1% recovered and did not need hospitalization. In this study, (38.9%) had a history of previously confirmed COVID-19 infection. Reinfection was significantly higher in females than males (p=0.04; OR= 0.56). It was found that the IgG antibody levels were higher in patients who received Pfizer-BioNTech than in those who received other vaccines (p=0.001). The levels of IgG were also significantly higher in patients with mild infection (p=0.046), whereas the levels of D-dimer were significantly higher in patients with severe cases of the infection compared to those with mild or moderate cases (p=0.001). Additionally, the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were observed to be higher in individuals with moderate cases of infection than in mild and severe cases (0.001). Individuals who contracted the Omicron strain generally had positive outcomes. Reinfection with the Omicron variant was relatively high. IgG levels were higher in patients with mild disease, implying that they were associated with decreased disease severity. We found significant associations between D-dimer levels and the severity of the disease. Additional research is required to investigate the long-term effects of Omicron infection