Measurement of some Air Pollutantsin Printing Units and Copy Centers Within Baghdad City

إن انبعاث المواد الدقائقية من الأوراق المتناهية الصغر فضلا عن الأحبار والمذيبات العضوية خلال عملية تشغيل ماكينات الطباعة والاستنساخ تشكل خطرا على صحة الإنسان بالأخص بعد التعرض طويل الأمد في بيئات العمل المغلقة . أجريت الدراسة الحالية في بعض دور الطباعة ومراكز الاستنساخ في مدينة بغداد خلال شهري شباط ونيسان، وأثبتت الدراسة حدوث مشكلة تلوث الهواء فيما يتعلق بمحتويات الرصاص والزنك في جميع مواقع الدراسة .تم تحديد تركيز الرصاص والزنك والنحاس من خلال جمع العينات بوساطة جهاز جمع عينات الهواء وبعدها تم ترشيح العينات وهضمها وتحديد نسبة العناصر الثقيلة بوساطة جهاز المطياف الذري اللهبي، أما المواد الدقائقية تم قياسها بوساطة جهاز قياس الدقائق العالقة في الهواء ، واستعمل جهاز قياس الغازات الملوثة للهواء لقياس غاز ثنائي أكسيد لنتروجين وثنائي أكسيد الكبريت وأول أكسيد الكربون والمركبات العضوية المتطايرة . سجل أعلى تركيز للرصاص والزنك في هواء المطابع (2.75 مايكرو غرام/م3 ) و (51.95 مايكرو غرام /م3) على التوالي . بالمقابل سجل أعلى قيمة معنوية نحاس في  هواء مكاتب الاستنساخ (0.65 مايكرو غرام /م3) مقارنة بدور الطباعة . سجل أعلى تركيز للمواد الدقائقية الناعمة (PM2.5) التي يكون قطرها أقل من 2.5 مايكرو متر(44.50 مايكرو غرام /م3) في دور الطباعة يليها أعلى تركيز للمواد الدقائقية الخشنة المستنشقة(PM10)  التي يتراوح قطرها بين 2.5 الى 10 مايكرو متر والدقائق الكلية العالقة (477.66 و667.00 مايكرو غرام /م3) في دور الطباعة على التوالي . أظهرت النتائج أعلى تركيز لغاز أول أكسيد الكربون CO (6.13 جزء في المليون) والمركبات العضوية المتطايرة ((VOCs (21.88 جزء في المليون) في دور الطباعة بينما سجل أعلى تركيز لغاز ثنائي أكسيد النتروجين(NO2)  (1.44 جزء في المليون) في مراكز الاستنساخ . تجاوزت تركيز الرصاص والزنك والنحاس والمواد الدقائقية PM2.5و PM1والدقائق الكلية العالقة المستويات المسموح بها في جميع مواقع الدراسة على عكس مستويات أول أكسيد الكربون وثنائي أكسيد النتروجين وثنائي أكسيد الكبريت والمركبات العضوية المتطايرة التي كانت ضمن محددات جودة الهواء المسموح بها .Emissions of particulate matter from nanopapers as well as inks and organic solvents during the printing operationand copying machines constitute a threat to human health, especially with long time exposure in closed working environments. The present study was conducted in some printing houses and copying centers of Baghdad city during February and April  .The studyproved the occurrence of an air pollution problem concerning lead and zinc contents in all the study sites. The levels of Pb, Zn and Cu were collected by low volume sampler from the air of the study sites then filter papers digested and determined the heavy metals by flame atomic spectrophotometer. Particulate matter was measured by Aerocet, Microtector  meter device was used to measure nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds . The highest concentrations of lead and zinc were recorded in the printing houses air (2.75μg/m3) and (51.95μg/m3) respectively. In contrast,copper concentration in the copying offices air recorded a significantly higher value (0.65μg/m3) (P>0.05) as compared to that in printing houses. Fine particulate matter(PM2.5)(particles diameter < 2.5 μm) hasrecorded the highest concentration (44.50μg/m3) in printing houses, followed by the highest concentrations of inhalable coarse particulate matter (PM10)  (particles with diameter  of 2.5 to 10 μm)  and total suspended particulates (TSP)(the total of solid particles) (477.66 and 667.00μg/m3) respectively in printing houses. The results obviously showed the highest concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) (6.13 ppm) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (21.88 ppm) in  printing houses, while nitrogen dioxide (NO2) recorded its highest concentration (1.44 ppm) in copy centers. Lead, zinc, copper, PM2.5, PM10 and TSP concentrations exceeded the permissble levels in all study sites converselywith the levels of carbon monoxide , nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide(SO2) and volatile organic compounds that were within permissible air quality standards

Antiproliferative Activity of Plant Extracts Used Against Cancer in Traditional Medicine

Forty four extracts from sixteen plants used traditionally as anticancer agents were evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activity against Hep-2, MCF-7, and Vero cell lines. Plants were fractionated using ethanol, methanol, chloroform, n-hexane, distilled water, and butanol. The antiproliferative activity was measured by MTT assay. TLC was used to identify active fractions. The apoptotic activity of active fractions was determined using TUNEL colorimetric assay. 20 of these extracts demonstrated significant antiproliferative activity against one or more of the cell lines. These extracts were prepared from Ononis hirta, Inula viscosa, Salvia pinardi, Verbascum sinaiticum and Ononis sicula. Methanol fractions of Ononis hirta (aerial parts) and Inula viscosa (flowers) were the most active fractions against MCF-7 cells with IC50 of 27.96 and 15.78 μg/ml respectively and they were less toxic against other cell lines. Other extracts showed lower activity against cancer cell lines. TLC analysis showed the presence of flavonoids and terpenoids in active plants while alkaloids were detected in Ononis hirta (aerial parts) extracts. Ononis hirta (aerial parts) and Inula viscosa (flowers) extracts exerted their antiproliferative activity by inducing apoptosis in cancer cell lines. Further studies are necessary for detailed chemical characterization and more extensive biological evaluation of the most active ingredients

Antimicrobial, Cytotoxicity and Phytochemical Screening of Jordanian Plants Used in Traditional Medicine

Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of fifty one extracts of different parts of 14 plants were studied. Ethanol, methanol, aqueous, butanol, and n-hexane extracts were tested against three Gram negative, two Gram positive bacteria, and two fungi. Cytotoxicity and phytochemical screening were determined using MTT and TLC assays, respectively. Of the fifty one extracts, twenty two showed activities against different microorganisms with MICs ranging from 62.5 to 1000 µg/mL. The highest activity (100% inhibition) was for a butanol extract of Rosa damascena receptacles against Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus cereus (MIC of 62.5 and 250 µg/mL) respectively. Butanol extract of Narcissus tazetta aerial parts and aqueous extract of Rosa damascena receptacles were both active against Candida albicans (MIC of 125 µg/mL). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited by butanol, aqueous extracts of Rosa damascena receptacles and butanol extract of Inula viscosa flowers (MIC of 500, 500, and 250 µg/mL) respectively. Rosa damascena receptacles and Verbascum sinaiticum flowers ethanol extract showed lowest cytoxicity against Vero cell line (IC50 of 454.11and 367.11). Most toxic was the ethanol extract of Ononis hirta aerial parts (IC50 72.50 µg/mL). Flavonoids and terpenoids were present in all plants. Ononis hirta and Narcissus tazetta contained alkaloids. The results validate the use of these plants and report for the first time bioactivity of Rosa damascena receptacles and further justifies the use of such screening programs in the quest for new drugs

Antiproliferative, Antimicrobial and Apoptosis Inducing Effects of Compounds Isolated from Inula viscosa

molecule

Antibiotic Resistance of Staphylococcus Sp. Isolated from Air, Surface, Food and Clinical samples Collected from Baghdad Hospital

أجريت الدراسة في مستشفيات مدينة بغداد من جانب الكرخ وجانب الرصافة.ثم إجراء مقارنة بين المستشفيات المتمثلة في مستشفى دائرة المدينة الطب (مستشفى الحروق التخصصي) ومستشفى الكرامة (ردهات الحروق). الدراسة كانت داخل وحدات المستشفى المتمثلة في ردهه العمليات رقم 1 وردهة العمليات رقم 2 والصيدلة الاستشارية وغرفة الطوارئ وغرفة الاستقبال وردهه النساء وردهه الرجال. تم أخذ عينات من داخل كل الوحدات المذكورةمنالسطوح، والغذاء، والهواء، والمرضى. وهكذا فإن عدد العينات المعزولة من المكورات العنقودية.تصبح 81 عينة منها 45 تابعة لمستشفى الكرامة ردهات الحروق و36تابعة لمستشفى دائرة مدينة الطب مستشفى الحروق التخصصي. من خلال الدراسة، وجد أن أكثر مضادات الجراثيم مقاومة للمكورات العنقودية هي (CLR، P، AMP) بنسبة 99.99٪ لعينات المرضى، تليها (P، MET) بنسبة 92.30٪ للعينات المعزولة من الهواء وأخيرًا العينات المعزولة من الأسطح والمواد الغذائية بينت المضادات AMP)، MET) نسبة 85.71٪. وكانت أعلى مقاومة للبكتيريا المعزولة من مستشفى الكرامة حيث أظهرت النتائج أن أعلى مقاومة للمضادات الحيوية ا في العينات السريرية للمضادات (AMP، SX، (E) عينات السطوح للمضادات (E، P) عينات الغذاءللمضادات (P) عينات الهواء للمضادات حيث كان معدل المقاومة 100.00 ٪للمضادات الحيوية المذكورة أعلاه.Staphylococcus Sp.is the most common type of bacteria found in contamination place, we design this study to compare the contamination accident between two hospitals in Baghdad.One of them isthe Burns Specialist Hospital in the Medical CityinRusafa and another one is Al-Karama Hospital in Karkh. The samples were collected fromOperativeWard No1 (OW1), Operative Ward No2 (OW2), Consulting Pharmacy (CP), Emergency Room (ER), Reception Room (RR), Women's Ward (WW) and Men's Ward (MW).The samples were taken from inside each clinical unit, surfaces, food, and air. The results showed that the number of samples containing Staphylococcus sp. bacteria is 81, including 45 belonging to Al-Karama Burns Ward Hospital and 36 belonging to the Medical City Hospital, Burns Special Hospital. The results of Medical City Hospital showed that Staphylococcus sp.isolates resist many antibiotics, 99.99% of the isolatesfrom patient samples were resistant to(CLR, P, AMP); 92.30% of the isolates from air samples were resistant to(P, MET) and 85.71%of isolates from surfaces and food samples were resist for (AMP, MET). Also the results of Al-KaramaHospital showed that the highest resistance in the staphylococcus sp.isolateswere in patient samplesfor (AMP, SXT), in surface samples for (E), in food samples for (E,P) and in air samples for (P) and the resistance rates were 100% to all these antibiotics

An Environmental Study on Phytoplankton (Diatoms) in Al-Yusifiya River, Iraq

An environmental study conducted on diatoms in Al Yusifiya river beyond its branching from Euphrates river. Four sites were selected along the river for the period from march 2013 to September 2013. The present study involved the measurement of physicochemical parameters, also the qualitative and quantities of diatoms. The studied parameters values ranged as follows: 19-44Cº and 16-30 Cº for air and water temperature respectively, 6.9-8.7, 595-1248 µS/cm, 6.4-8.0 mg/l for pH, electric conductivity and dissolved oxygen respectively. A total of 74 taxa were recorded for diatoms, where the pinnate diatom was the predominant and recorded 64 taxa while 10 taxa for centric diatoms. The total number of diatoms was 1197.55*104 cell /l. The total number values were ranged as follows:( 28.3-48.6) *104 cell /l in the first site ,( 33.6-51.5) *104 cell /l in the second site,( 39.8-67.2) *104 cell /l in the third site and ( 22.3-38.0) *104 cell /l in the fourth site. Two species Asterionellaformosa Hassall and Diploneispuella Schumann were noticed in site 2 only, while C. prostateBerkeleyfound in all studied sites expect in site 1. StephaenodicushantzschiiGrunow and Didymosphenia geminate (lyngb.) Schmidtwere recorded in sites 1 and 3, Anomoeoneissp was recorded in sites 1 and 4 only. The Mastogloiasp was noticed only in sites 2 and 4

Application of Water Pollution Index for Assessment of Tigris River Ecosystem *Corresponding Author

Physical and chemical parameters and the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were investigated for water quality assessment of Tigris River, Iraq. With exceptions of Cr and Pb the investigated heavy metals were observed to be within the recommended value for rivers maintaining system and general water from pollution. The results of Pollution index (PI) suggest that the site 3 located in the downstream is more seriously polluted by heavy metals than other sites, attributed to the feeding river input and this site is considerably affected by Different anthropogenic activities

Environmental Assessment of Heavy Metal Distribution in Sediments of Tigris River within Baghdad City *Corresponding Author

This work contributes to the monitoring of Tigris river pollution by assessing the degree of heavy metals pollution in the sediment samples. The order of the mean concentrations of examined heavy metals: Cr>Zn>Ni >Pb>Cu>Cd. The results indicated that the entire tested heavy metal exhibit higher values than ISQG for fresh water sediments. Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Contamination Factor (CF), Degree of Contamination (C d ) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) were applied to evaluated heavy metals contamination in the sediment samples. Based on Igeo the sediment of Tigris river within the study area can be considered to be a strongly to extremely polluted with Cd, while the Igeo values of Pb show moderately polluted degree. With respect to specific sites, high EF values (e.g., 97.89 for Cd, 9.73 for Pb, 5.07 for Cr, 3.98 for Ni, 2.90 for Cu and 2.52 for Zn) are found at Site 3, which was located at the downstream and continuously receives a vast amount of wastewater and other wastes of the city. According to the calculated C d values, the pollution levels for the sites in the following order: 3>1>2, suggesting that the site located in the downstream is more seriously polluted by heavy metals than other sites, attributed to the feeding river input. Furthermore, site 3 displayed the highest PLI value and reflects the highest presence of all the examined heavy metals; indicating that this site is considerably affected by different anthropogenic activities. Copy Right, IJAR, 2014,. All rights reserved Introduction Heavy metals pollution mostly from anthropogenic activities represents a serious problem for human health International Journal of Advanced Research (2014), Volume 2, Issue 8,[947][948][949][950][951][952] 948 mineral particulates, and organic matter in various stages of decomposition. Thus, this investigation was conducted to assess the level of heavy metal concentrations and sediment quality in the Tigris River and to look at the natural and anthropogenic input of heavy metals and to draw attention to relationships among heavy metals pollution in the study area. Materials and Methods Study area Tigris River is one of the major twin rivers in Iraq, sharing with Euphrates River as the main water resources for different uses, since they pass through the most important cities in the country Sample collection, preparation and analysis Sediment samples were taken from the selected sites during November 2013 to May 2014. The samples were brought back to the laboratory of Environmental Research Center, University of Technology. These samples were air dried, homogenized and sieved through a 2-mm polyethylene sieve to remove large debris, stones and pebbles, after they were disaggregated with a porcelain pestle and mortar. Then sediment samples were stored in clean selfsealing plastic bags for further analysis. To estimate the total heavy metal content, sediment samples were wetdigested with aqua-regia (1:3 HNO 3 +HCl). The digested samples are cooled and filtered through whatman No.42 filter paper and then the volumes were made up to 100 ml using volumetric flask

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally