Effects of Crude Oil Spillage on the Physico-chemical Properties of Soil, Tarjan, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Kurdistan is a new oil producing region in the Middle East, and the oil wells are located in or near farm-lands. Crude oil spillage is a big threat to the soil fertility, which is especially important for farming. Spillage occurs due to the pipeline rupture, and traffic accidents involving tankers which are very common in Kurdistan. The physico-chemical properties of soil are susceptible to alteration when polluted with crude oil, and this issue is not been studied well in Kurdistan. The intent of this paper is to study the effects of crude oil spillage on the physico-chemical properties of soil in Tarjan village, Kurdistan region-Iraq. For this purpose soil samples were collected in the Tarjan area, tested in a laboratory, and compared to non-polluted soil sample. The pH values of the soil samples remained almost the same. The electrical conductivity, and salinity increased. The amount of sulfate increased, the amount of potassium decreased. The amount of lead increased. The changes in these parameters in the soil affected plant growth in the spillage area, as there was no sign of vegetation on the affected soils. There was a positive correlation between salinity and lead and negative correlation between pH, electrical conductivity, potassium ions and sulphate ions. Keywords: Crude oil, Soil, pH, EC, Salinity, Sulfate, Potassium, Lea

Separation of Sediment Contents and Water from Crude Oil of Khurmala and Guwayer Oil Fields in Kurdistan Region by using Centrifuge Method

The present research paper is aimed at determining water and sediment contents in crude oil by using centrifuge method in laboratory in which ASTM D 4007-02 is used to analyze the samples. Furthermore, water and sediment contents in crude oil should be removed because for custody transfer process purchasers prefer to pay only for crude oil and want to minimize the quantity of water and sediment contents in crude oil. Presence of water and sediment contents in crude oil creates problems such as corrosion of equipment when dealt in oil industry along with the problem of oil viscosity. We examined sixteen samples. Four samples were taken from Guwayer oil site area and remaining four from Khurmalla oil site area. These samples were analyzed properly at MNR laboratory in Kurdistan Region-Iraq. The crude oils is considered as the best if it contains less water and sediment content and the vice versa is for the worst quality of crude oil .The method is easy and sharp to check the quantity of sediments and water in crude oil samples in lab and this quantity helps to tell the quality of crude oil

Focused Ion Beam Tomography

To study the fundamental effect of shape and morphology of any material on its properties, it is very essential to know and study its morphology. Focused ion beam (FIB) tomography is a 3D chemical and structural relationship studying technique. The instrumentation of FIB looks like that of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), but there is a major difference in the beam used for scanning. For SEM, a beam of electrons is used with scanning medium whereas in FIB, a much focused beam of ions is used for scanning. FIB can be used for lithography and ablation purposes, but due to advancements and high-energy focused beam, it is nowadays being used as a tomographic technique. Tomography is defined as imaging by sectoring or cross-sectioning any desired area. The hyphenation of FIB with energy-dispersive spectrometry or secondary ion mass spectrometry can give us elemental analysis with very high-resolution 3D images for a sample. This technique contributes to acquaintance of qualitative and quantitative analyses, 3D volume creations, and image processing. In this chapter, we will discuss the advancements in FIB instrumentation and its use as 3D imaging tool for different samples ranging from nanometer (nm)-sized materials to micrometer (μm)-sized biological samples

Incidence of Depression and Anxiety among Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction during COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective:  This study aimed to assess the incidence of anxiety and depression among AMI patients during COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. Material & Method:  This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 27 to June 2, 2020, at the Cardiology ward of Dera Ghazi Khan Teaching Hospital.  Total 611 patients selected through convenience sampling. The patients were requested to respond to Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and demographic information. An independent samples t test was applied for comparisons. Results:  Patients’ age was ranging from 41 to 79 years, with a mean age of 52.35 ± 5.12. There was a high frequency of anxiety (51.72%) and depression (34.86%) among AMI patients. A significant difference was observed in the level of anxiety (p = 0.001) and depression (p = 0.000) among male and female patients. Conclusion:  The present study findings affirmed that increased level of anxiety and depression are prevalent in AMI patients. Additionally, both anxiety and depressive symptoms were more common in female patients. Keywords:  COVID-19, Anxiety, Depression, Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)

Pre-Formulation Study for Palatable Microbeads of Lycopene

Lycopene is a widely used nutraceuticals for its antioxidant property but the molecule has poor aqueous solubility, high instability, and extremely low intestinal permeability leading to its poor bioavailability. In the present study, pre-formulation study was carried out to prepare sodium alginate microbeads with the intention to deliver an effective amount of lycopene for high absorption through oral route. A thorough physical characterization and spectral analysis were done to understand the characteristic of lycopene such as its melting point, UV spectrophotometric analysis, chromatography through reverse phase HPLC. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were adopted to know the interaction of sodium alginate with lycopene. Box-Behnken design (version 9.0.2.0, Stat Ease Inc, USA) was used to analyse the effect of formulation variables such as sodium alginate (%), glutaraldehyde (%) and stirring speed on lycopene entrapment and its loading into microbeads. The adopted preformulation strategy revealed that lycopene was a crystalline powder with a sharp melting point at 155oC and the prominent functional groups were present in the sample. UV and HPLC analysis revealed precise quantitation and authenticity of lycopene. Excipient compatibility also revealed inertness of sodium alginate. Response surface morphology revealed significant effect of alginate, glutaraldehyde and stirring speed on formation of best composition. Therefore, it is concluded that lycopene can be formulated as microbeads for oral drug delivery. Keywords: lycopene, sodium alginate, permeation, absorption, microbead

Successful Transplantation of Primary Hepatocytes from DsRed Mice into Fah-/-;Scid/Scid Mice; A Future In Vivo Model System for Receiving Human Hepatocytes

We have developed a system for studying hepatocellular growth potential in which liver cells are introduced into the diseased livers of Fah-/-; Scid/Scid double knockout mice. To use this system to study cell transplantation, DsRed  liver cells were introduced into severe immunodeficient Fah-/-; Scid/Scid double knockout  mice. In regenerated recipient livers, up to 20% of the mouse liver is repopulated by DsRed mouse hepatocytes demonstrating the creation of a functional mouse liver in which parenchyma is derived from DsRed mouse hepatocytes. The severe immunodeficient Fah-/-;Scid/Scid double knockout mice provide a tool for studying hepatocellular biology. Keywords: Human Hepatocytes, Transplantation, DsRed and Fah-/-;Scid/Scid Mice

Xenia studies in exotic and indigenous almond (Prunus amygdalus L.) varieties of Kashmir, India

Pollination is very important to obtain an economic yield, and the selection of pollinizer with suitable quality and quantity of pollen is an essential practice in different fruit plants. The effects of pollen parent on kernel and nut characters are known to occur in several nut crops and to determine the best pollinizer and effect of pollen source on the nut and kernel quality of almond (Prunus amygdalus L.). The present investigation was carried out at the experiment farm of Dryland Agriculture Research Station (DARS), SKUAST-Kashmir for two consecutive years, i.e. 2008 and 2009. Various cross combinations were made among nine almond (three exotic and six indigenous) varieties/selections which are compatible with each other. Their nut and kernel characteristics were determined and observed maximum nut weight (2.21 g), nut length (39.78 mm) and nut breadth (20.33 mm), kernel weight (1.28 g), kernel length (28.63 mm) and kernel breadth (12.61 mm) and shelling percentage (57.99 %). In the present study it has been observed that the parent with big nut and kernel size and weight influenced the nut and kernel size; nut and kernel weight of the recipient parent significantly (p?0.05)

Prevalence of hepatitis delta virus infection among hepatitis b virus surface antigen positive patients circulating in the largest province of pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection is well known to induce a spectrum of acute and chronic liver diseases which further advance to cirrhosis, fulminant hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis D virus super-infection among hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive individuals in the highly populated province of Pakistan which is not well known.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sera samples were subjected to HBsAg and anti-HDV screening and finally anti-HDV and HBsAg positive coinfected samples were used for HDV active RNA confirmation using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of total 200 HBsAg positive samples by rapid device, 96 (48%) were also found reactive for HBsAg using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Out of these HBsAg ELISA positive samples, 80 (88.8%) were anti-HDV ELISA positive which were then subjected to PCR. The amplification results further confirmed 24 (30%) samples to be HDV RNA positive. HDV super-infection was more common in male patients than female patients (81% VS 19%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current study shows a high prevalence rate of HDV-HBV co-infection in Pakistan that tends to increase over time.</p

Mixed-location cerebral microbleeds as a biomarker of neurodegeneration in a memory clinic population

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in the lobar and deep locations are associated with two distinct pathologies: cerebral amyloid angiopathy and hypertensive arteriopathy. However, the role of mixed-location CMBs in neurodegeneration remains unexplored. We investigated the associations between strictly lobar, strictly deep and mixed-location CMBs with markers of neurodegeneration. This study recruited 477 patients from a memory clinic who underwent 3T MRI scans. CMBs were categorized into strictly lobar, strictly deep and mixed-location. Cortical thickness, white matter volume and subcortical structural volumes were quantified using Free-Surfer. Linear regression models were performed to assess the association between CMBs and cerebral atrophy, and the mean difference (β) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. In the regression analyses, mixed-location CMBs were associated with smaller cortical thickness of limbic region [β=-0.01; 95% CI=-0.02,-0.00, p=0.007) as well as with smaller accumbens volume [β=-0.01; 95% CI=-0.02,-0.00, p=0.004) and presubiculum region of hippocampus [β=-0.01; 95% CI=-0.02,-0.00, p=0.002). Strictly lobar CMBs were associated with smaller total white matter volume [β=-0.03; 95% CI=-0.04,-0.01, p<0.001] and with region specific white mat