Heavy metals can be released from cooking stewpots into food, causing food contamination and posing a risk to human health. This research study investigated the release of heavy metals into food from stewpot cookers used in Gharyan, Libya. As well as, investigating the effect of scratches, acidic food, and storage on the concentrations of those metals. Eight new and used cooking stewpots (with scratches) made of: (Tefal, stainless steel, copper and aluminum) were collected, and then fresh tomato juice was cooked in these stewpots and left in the refrigerator for six days, the samples were digested and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) to measure the concentration of the heavy metals: (cadmium, lead, iron, copper and zinc). Results showed that cadmium and lead concentrations were less than the detection limit of the AAS instrument, except for one sample (old Tefal stewpot with scratches), in which the lead concentration was (0.046ppm). The concentration of iron, copper and zinc in the samples was less than the maximum limit allowed by WHO/FAO; except for one sample in which the iron concentration exceeded that value (old copper pot with scratches) and its value was (2.892ppm). The results of the descriptive statistical analysis showed that the average concentration of iron (0.493 ppm) was higher than that of zinc and copper (0.054 ppm), (0.016 ppm), respectively. In addition, the rate of leakage of those elements from old (scratched) cookware was higher than that from the new ones made from the same material, and the concentration of these elements increases significantly when these stewpots contain scratches, since that increases the rate of leakage of those metals, especially in acidic food such as tomatoes.

The battle against COVID-19 does not always end when recovery is declared. Many individuals confirmed recovered from COVID-19 continue to experience a variety of symptoms. The aim of this study was to shed more light on COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 symptoms in Libya. Two hundred and twenty Libyan individuals (58% female; 42% male), who recovered from COVID‐19, were asked to answer a questionnaire that was performed to inquire about the presence of COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, comorbidities and demographic data were included. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (20%), diabetes (16%), and lung disease (08%). The main COVID-19 symptoms were headache (56%), anosmia and ageusia (52%), Arthralgia (48%), cough (46%) and fever (41%). While the post-COVID-19 symptoms were fatigue (64%), sleep disorders (52%), insomnia, anxiety, depression (42%), and anosmia and ageusia (32%). Persistent COVID and its related long-term complications may continue to affect patients and their families.

Thyroid function is impaired by diabetes, resulting into thyroid disorders, accompanied by the alteration of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) levels. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of vitamin D supplementation on TSH and total T4 levels in serum of Libyan patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with thyroid disorders. A total of 180 subjects were recruited and distributed into two groups: 80 participants in control group (43 females and 37 males), with an age range of 26-72 years, and 100 participants in T2DM patient group (54 females and 46 males), with an age range of 26-63 years. Each T2DM patient received a monthly intramuscular injection of 200000 ng/ml vitamin D for three months. Glucose, vitamin D, total T4 and TSH levels were determined in serum samples of healthy subjects and of T2DM patients (pre- and post-administration of vitamin D). After the T2DM group received vitamin D supplementation, the mean of vitamin D level increased in the T2DM, while the mean of glucose level decreased. Most importantly, the mean of total T4 level for patients increased significantly (p ˂ 0.05) from 1.34 to 8.23 g/dL, both of which were lower than the control group mean 10.99 g/dL. In contrast, the mean of TSH level for patients decreased significantly (p ˂ 0.05) from 11.77 to 2.71 mU/L, and both values were greater than the control group mean 2.01 mU/L. ANOVA results showed that age, gender, and body mass index had no significant individual interactions (p > 0.05) with vitamin D supplementation on total T4 and TSH levels. Vitamin D supplementation had a beneficial role on total T4 and TSH levels in serum of Libyan T2DM patients with thyroid disorders.

ABSTRACT

Natural polymers with improved structure have been securing increasing value in the industry as they

are abundant, cheap, and biodegradable. Graft copolymerization is one of the effective ways to

enhance the properties of natural polymers. Starch based graft copolymers are becoming increasingly

important due to their remarkable adhesion, high water absorbency, and biodegradability. Methyl

methacrylate (MMA) grafted onto starch by using the ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a redox

initiator in the presence of nitric acid in aqueous medium to form grafted copolymer (Starch-g-

PMMA) was investigated. The grafting reaction was carried out under stream of nitrogen gas. The

impact of different reaction parameters to achieve the highest percent grafting (%G) has been studied

by determining the initiator concentration, monomer concentration, time (hours), nitric acid

concentration, and polymerization temperature. The % G was found to be 97%. Evidence of grafting

was characterized and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The peaks at

1736.70 cm-1 and 3449.78 cm-1 indicates that MMA has been successfully grafted to starch. %G was

found to be decreased at higher than 70°C, after 2 hours of reaction time, with an increase of MMA

monomer concentration, initiator concentration, and with HNO3 concentration. The highest percent

grafting was obtained at the parameters of 1 g starch, 70°C, 2 hours, 2 mmol CAN, 140 mmol MMA

and 0.4 mmol HNO3

Abstract:

This study investigated the potential use of olive pomace (OP) as an adsorbent to

reduce the concentration of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solutions. The effect of

some important parameters on the process of adsorption was examined, including

pH, adsorbent weight, temperature, contact time, agitation speed, and the initial

concentration of MO. The results showed that the optimum concentration of MO was

10 ppm and the optimum pH = 2, indicating that the process of MO adsorption on the

surface of the OP was better in acidic medium. The equilibrium time was 80 min at a

speed of 100 rpm. The results of the study showed the significant role of OP weight,

agitation speed, temperature and the contact time in increasing the adsorption

efficiency. On comparing the pseudo first order and pseudo second order models, the

results showed that the pseudo second order model fitted the experimental data well.

The study also included testing of Langmuir and Freundlich models on the

adsorption isotherm data, and it was found that experimental data obey the

Freundlich isotherm. To sum up, the study showed that OP has high adsorption

efficiency to remove MO by applying a simple, inexpensive method.

Abstract- Many methods have been applied in order to reduce nitrate concentration in aqueous solutions, among them

is the adsorption onto the surface of agricultural wastes. In this study, batch experiments were carried out to investigate

the adsorption of nitrate onto olive pomace (OP), a solid by-product of olive oil industry. To achieve this, six parameters

were studied by varying only one parameter at a time. These parameters were the effect of: pH, contact time,

temperature, adsorbent weight, agitation speed and nitrate concentration. The optimum pH was found to be 5, while the

optimum time was 75 minutes. Nitrate removal percentage was found to increase with increasing adsorbent weight or

temperature, with 92.5% of nitrate removed by using 2 g of OP and 48% of nitrate was removed at 60ºC. Generally,

agitation speed increased the nitrate removal percentage, while high initial concentration of nitrate was found to decrease

its removal percentage. These findings, combined with the low cost of OP and its abundance, suggest that OP is a

potential adsorbent for nitrate removal provided that the optimum conditions are applied. Applying this method for

nitrate removal will make drinking water safer to drink and wastewater safer to discharge.