A survey of wheat grain from 120 fields in Sulaimanyah province, Kurdistan region, Iraq was undertaken in 2017. We evaluated the concentrations of phosphorus (P), Zn and phytic acid (PA) and the estimated Zn bioavailability in wheat grain grown in the calcareous soils of the region. Concentrations of P in wheat grain were higher than the recommended value of 3570 mg kg− 1; PA was within the range of other countries but Zn concentration in 88% of wheat grain samples fell below the value recommended for human nutrition of 41.6 mg kg− 1. Bioavailable Zn intake (mg d− 1) was estimated assuming bread consumption of 300 g day− 1 in the region. Considering PA and Zn intake suggested only 21.5 ± 2.9% of whole grain flour Zn was bioavailable. Thus the effective Zn intakes from whole wheat was only 1.25–2.05 mg d− 1 for the local population. Typical dietary Zn was below recommended levels (11 mg d− 1), due to low soil Zn uptake by wheat and the large concentrations of PA in wheat grains, probably from over-use of phosphate fertilizer.

The study of heavy metals in the human diet is important due to their dual effects as either essential or toxic to the human body. In this study, we determined the concentration of selected heavy metals in common potato and corn chips brands in Iraq markets. Ten common brands were selected and analyzed for their concentrations of the studied heavy metals by ICP-MS. The results shown that the average heavy metals level in potato and corn chips in (mg kg-1±SD) were 2.68±0.67 and 2.96±3.00 for Mn, 4.64±1.99 and 5.82±5.45 for Fe, 0.29±0.33 and 1.36±0.95 for Cu and 2.84±1.26 and 6.26±1.67 for Zn respectively. Corn chips were found to contain higher heavy metals than potato chips. The daily consumption of heavy metals from potato and corn chips (20 g daily intake) is lower than the recommended level set by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. Also, Daily intake of these metals is lower than the oral suggested amount and the upper tolerable daily intake set by the US. The contamination risk for the Iraqi population especially children from heavy metals exposure by this study performs to be non-significant, emphasizing the need to conduct more studies and confirm examining of heavy metals in foodstuffs especially chips brands.

Phosphorus is the second macronutrient which is vital for plants normal growth. In the calcareous soils, the adsorption is the main process that controls P availability to plants. This paper reviews the P adsorption phenomenon in the calcareous soils of Iraqi Kurdistan. In this study, the P adsorption capacity of the selected soils was determined by adding 10 mL of 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg P L-1 as (KH2PO4) to 1.0 g of soil and shaken for 12, 24 and 48 hours on horizontal shaker constantly. The suspensions at each period of incubation centrifuged and filtered then 1nalysed for P which represented the equilibrium P concentration. The minimum adsorption 4.42±0.44 mg kg-1 was recorded for soil4 with 50 mg P L-1 applied solution and 12 h of incubation while the maximum adsorption 124±0.05 mg Kg-1 was recorded for soil3 with 200 mg P L-1 applied solution at 48 h of incubation. These results indicate that P adsorption increased with increasing applied amount of P and time of incubation. Results also showed that the Freundlich model was the best fitted according to the greater values of R2 which was ranged from 0.7619 to 0.9984 compared to 0.738-0.9882 for Langmuir model and 0.7171-0.9986 for Temkin model. These results also suggest that in the studied soils P adsorbed through physical adsorption rather than chemical reaction and then decrease P availability in soil.

A total of 10 samples involving five bread and five rice types and five cooked rice were selected. The iron and Zn contents were analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS), and phytic acid content was analyzed using a rapid colorimetric method using a spectrophotometer. Phytic acid to Fe and Zn molar ratios were also determined using their molar weight to determine the potential bioavailability of selected nutrients. A one-way ANOVA test was used to statistically analyze the means differences between the phytate and mineral contents between the bread and rice samples. The variation of Fe and Zn (mg kg-1) in the bread samples was 24.1-65.6 and 13.3-22.8, in row rice was 10.8 to 45.3 and 8.66-17.4, and in cooked rice was 10.0-45.2 and 6.03-15.5 respectively. The PA concentration in (g 100g-1) was 0.77-1.14 for bread, 0.61-1.10 for row rice, and 0.31-0.77 for cooked rice. And also, PA/Fe and PA/Zn ratios were 2.58-6.01 and 8.07-13.4 for bread, 0.25-1.35, and 39.7-110 for row rice, and 0.11-0.89 and 23.0-125 for cooked rice, respectively. The results indicated that soaking and cooking processes caused the reduction in the Fe, Zn, and PA concentrations by 22.4, 5.54, and 27.7 %, respectively. These results from PA/Fe and PA/Zn molar ratios show that Fe had moderate bioavailability while Zn had low bioavailability. The results may be valuable for generate cultivars of wheat and rice varieties with suitable concentrations of PA and micronutrients, which can lead to the improvement of micronutrient-rich cultivars to reduce malnutrition.

The expansion of urbanization and the lack of open spaces in cities, urban green spaces have become very important, especially in recent decades. Among urban green spaces, parks are important because they have leisure and recreational functions, and the favorable physical and mental effects on humans have been proven today. Depreciation of materials, park equipment, destruction of vegetation and lifestyle changes over time have changed the needs and desires of the people and caused the old parks do not meet the needs of citizens. Today, improving parks is a new approach that makes parks matches the demands human beings have evolved over time with the advancement of technology. Shadi Park in Iraq is one of the regional urban parks; the lack of its design, as well as the wear and tear of some uses, lack of optimal lighting system and various uses by different age groups reduces the number of visits. In this research, based on field perceptions of the park and public opinion polls, prioritization and solutions to strengthen the presence of people has been pointed out. The results of the questionnaire indicate the priority of people's demands, the most important of which include: building a sports venue for women, proper service of restaurants and cafes during the day and night, the presence of swimming pools and fountains in the park, parking at the entrances, space allocation to hold cultural and artistic festivals.