Background: Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL9) has an important role recruiting the T-lymphocytes and immune response after infection by inducing T-cells accumulation around the areas associated with infections. However, this role is poorly known in relation with Toxoplasma gondii infection and also in association with thyroid hormones, which the present study is focused on. Methods: Eighty-seven women were included in this study for the period between September 2021 and February 2022. Blood samples of uninfected healthy pregnant, in addition to aborted and pregnant women infected with toxoplasmosis, were collected. Sera were then obtained and stored at -10°C. Toxo-latex agglutination test was done, followed by detection of IgM and IgG antibodies, which were identified in sera of cases and controls using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunoassay. Finally, an ELISA test for CXCL9 and thyroid hormones tests were performed as well. Results: CXCL9 levels showed a non-significant increase in comparison with the control group. This increase was observed during the first 5 months of abortion and pregnancy. Thyroid hormones T3 and TSH were significantly higher in the aborted and pregnant women than the control group. Whereas T4 results revealed lower levels in the same group in comparison to the control group, specifically during the first 5 months of abortion and pregnancy for most of the groups. Conclusion: Determining CXCL9 chemokine levels in female patients infected with Toxoplasma gondii might play an important role in early diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis, especially during the first 5 months of abortion or pregnancy as well as thyroid hormones levels can be influenced or affected by the parasite infection, which can provide an indicator of thyroid dysfunction in general.
This research presents and discuss the results of experimental investigation carried out on geogrids model to study the behavior of geogrid in the loose sandy soil. The effect of location eccentricity, depth of first layer of reinforcement, vertical spacing, number and type of reinforcement layers have been investigated. The results indicated that the percentage of bearing improvement a bout (22 %) at number of reinforced layers N=1 and about (47.5%) at number of reinforced layers N=2 for different Eccentricity values when depth ratio and vertical spacing between layers are (0.5B and 0.75B) respectively
Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of in vitro long-term simulation of oral conditions on the bond strength of PEEK CAD/CAM lingual retainers.
Material and methods: The sample consisted of 12 PEEK CAD/CAM retainers each composed of 2 centrally perforated 3x4mm pads joined by a connector. They were treated by 98% sulfuric acid for 1 minute and then conditioned with Single Bond Universal and bonded to the lingual surface of premolar teeth by 3M Transbond TM System. Half of the retainers were artificially aged using a 30-day water storage and 5000 thermocycling protocol before bond strength testing to compare with the non-aged specimens.
Results: The artificially aged retainers showed a marginally
... Show MoreThis work deals with thermal cracking of heavy vacuum gas oil which produced from the top of vacuum distillation unit at Al- DURA refinery, by continuous process. An experimental laboratory plant scale was constructed in laboratories of chemical engineering department, Al-Nahrain University and Baghdad University. The thermal cracking process was carried out at temperature ranges between 460-560oC and atmospheric pressure with liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) equal to 15hr-1.The liquid product from thermal cracking unit was distilled by atmospheric distillation device according to ASTM D-86 in order to achieve two fractions, below 220oC as a gasoline fraction and above 220oC as light cycle o
... Show MoreThis work deals with thermal cracking of three samples of extract lubricating oil produced as a by-product from furfural extraction process of lubricating oil base stock in AL-Dura refinery. The thermal cracking processes were carried out at a temperature range of 325-400 ºC and atmospheric pressure by batch laboratory reactor. The distillation of cracking liquid products was achieved by general ASTM distillation (ASTM D -86) for separation of gasoline fraction up to 220 ºC from light cycle oil fraction above 220 ºC. The comparison between the conversions at different operating conditions of thermal cracking processes indicates that a high conversion was obtained at 375°C, according to gasoline production. According to gasoline produ
... Show MoreThis Action research aimed at Assisting Students of Faculty of Educational Sciences at Al-Quds Open University to design computerized lessons using the Power Point software and according to ADDIE model. The study sample consisted of 40 students who were taking a course titled Technology of Education during the second semester of the 2014-2015 academic year and three academic instructors . To collect the required date , the researchers used focus group technique and structured interviews to get information from the 40 students and the three academic instructors involved in the course Technology of Education in QOU /Nablus Branch. In addition to these methods, a workshop with a guiding checklist was employed t
... Show MoreThe numerical analysis was conducted to studying the influence of length to diameter ratio (L/D) on the behavior of the soil treated with sand columns treated with 8% sodium silicate for both floating and end bearing type by using finite element method (Plaxis 3D Foundation ) for isolated foundation of real dimensions. The analysis’s study indicate that in the floating type the best improvement ratio was achieved at (L/D=8) when using columns with a diameter of (0.5, 0.7), but when using columns with a diameter of 0.3 m, it was noticed that the bearing improvement ratio increases with increasing (L/d). While the results of the analysis for end bearing type show that the higher improvement ratio was achieved at (L/D=4) when using columns w
... Show MoreStudies from our laboratory have shown that Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in marijuana plant Cannabis sativa, can attenuate acute lung injury induced by Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB). In the current study, we investigated the role of THC on the metabolism of SEB-activated lymphocytes. To this end, we determined metabolic potential of SEB-activated lymphocytes treated with vehicle or THC by performing the Cell Mito Stress Test. The oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in THC-treated cells was decreased when compared to vehicle-treated group whereas the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) was similar in both the groups. Specifically, electron transport chain inhi