HBV and HCV are the major causes of chronic liver diseases throughout the world, and constitute a major global health risk. There is accumulated evidence that the imbalance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production may play an important role in the pathogenesis of viral hepatic infections and may influence the clinical outcome and disease progression. This study was undertaken to analyze the circulating levels of Tumor Necrotic Factor (TNF-α) and Th2 cytokine IL-10 in patients infected with Hepatitis B and C virus. The study population consisted of 30 patients with chronic HBV, in addition to other 30 patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited on their first examination at the Al-Kindy General Hospital in Baghdad city. Another 12 healthy individuals with negative hepatitis serology as normal controls were observed. TNF-α level was significantly increased in chronic HBV infected patients compared with normal controls (6.81± 1.25 vs. 5.62± 1.71 pg/ml, p= 0.001). Similarly, the levels of the TNF-α was significantly elevated in HCV patients (8.62± 0.79 pg/ml) after comparison with its level in HBV patients (p= 0.023). Serum levels of Th2 cytokines IL-10 were also elevated in chronic HBV infected patients (25.05± 3.90 pg/ml) and in HCV infected patients (28.07± 3.35 pg/ml)
Tillage tools are subject to friction and low-stress abrasive wear processes with the potential deterioration of the desired soil quality, loss of mechanical weed efficacy, and downtime for replacing worn tools. Limited experimental methods exist to quantify investigate the effect of wear-resistant coatings on shape parameters of soil-engaging tools. ASTM standard sand/rubber wheel abrasion and pin-on-disk tests are not able to simulate wear characteristics of the complex shape of the tillage tools. Even though the tribology of tillage tools can be realistic from field tests, tillage wear tests under field conditions are expensive and often challenging to generate repeatable engineeri
Flexible pavements are considered an essential element of transportation infrastructure. So, evaluations of flexible pavement performance are necessary for the proper management of transportation infrastructure. Pavement condition index (PCI) and international roughness index (IRI) are common indices applied to evaluate pavement surface conditions. However, the pavement condition surveys to calculate PCI are costly and time-consuming as compared to IRI. This article focuses on developing regression models that predict PCI from IRI. Eighty-three flexible pavement sections, with section length equal to 250 m, were selected in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, to develop PCI-IRI relationships. In terms of the quantity and severity of eac
... Show MoreA simple and accurate method to determinate furosemide (FUR) based on converting the secondary amine to primary amine with acidic hydrolysis then azotization by nitrous acid and coupled with resorcinol as a coupling agent in aqueous medium at pH 13. The optical characteristic like beers law limit found to be (0.25-2.5) μg.ml−1, detection and quantification limits (0.0196) (0.0654) μg.ml−1respectivly and Sandel sensitivity was 0.006738 μg.cm−2. The least-square method was used to evaluate the regression equation and the correlation coefficient. The resulted azo dye has a maximum absorbance at 430 nm with light oran
Neuro-ophthalmic disorders are often documented individually for each illness, with little data available on their overall incidence and pattern. The overall incidence of neuro-ophthalmic illnesses in Iraq is still not recorded. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical, demographic, and etiological features of patients seeking consultation at an Iraqi neuro-ophthalmology clinic. A prospective cross-sectional observational research was conducted at the Janna Ophthalmic Center in Baghdad, Iraq. The center serves a diverse patient population from various governorates. All newly diagnosed patients with neuro-ophthalmic disorders who visited the neuro-ophthalmological clinic, regardless of gender or age group, were included. The neuro-ophthalmo
... Show MoreThe gas sensing properties of Co3O4 and Co3O4:Y nano structures were investigated. The films were synthesized using the hydrothermal method on a seeded layer. The XRD, SEM analysis and gas sensing properties were investigated for Co3O4 and Co3O4:Y thin films. XRD analysis shows that all films are polycrystalline in nature, having a cubic structure, and the crystallite size is (11.7)nm for cobalt oxide and (9.3)nm for the Co3O4:10%Y. The SEM analysis of thin films obviously indicates that Co3O4 possesses a nanosphere-like structure and a flower-like structure for Co3O4:Y.
The sen
... Show MoreA modified chemical method was used to prepare titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), which were diagnosed by several techniques: X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, field emission scaning electron microscopy, energy disperse X-ray, and UV-visible spectroscopy, which proved the success of the preparation process at the nanoscale level. Where the titanium oxide particles have an average particle size equal to 6.8 nm, titanium dioxide particles were used in the process of adsorption of Congo red dye from its aqueous solutions using a batch system. The titanium oxide particles gave an adsorption efficiency of Congo red dye up to more than 79 %. The experimental data of the adsorption process were analyzed with kinetic models and
... Show MoreTrip generation is the first phase in the travel forecasting process. It involves the estimation of the
total number of trips entering or leaving a parcel of land per time period (usually on a daily basis);
as a function of the socioeconomic, locational, and land-use characteristics of the parcel.
The objective of this study is to develop statistical models to predict trips production volumes for a
proper target year. Non-motorized trips are considered in the modeling process. Traditional method
to forecast the trip generation volume according to trip rate, based on family type is proposed in
this study. Families are classified by three characteristics of population social class, income, and
number of vehicle ownersh
Aim: surface modification of titanium using fiber laser 1064 nm to enhance the bond strength to resin cement. Material and Methods: thirty titanium discs of 0.6 cm x 0.3 cm (diameter and thickness respectively) were categorized after preparation into three groups (n=10) as follows: control group with no surface treatment and two test groups were treated with fiber laser after estimation the appropriate parameters in the pilot study which are 81 ns pulse duration, 30,000 Hz frequency, 50 µm spot size and 10,000 mm/s scanning speed and different average power values (10 W and 20 W) depending on the tested group. Titanium discs surface characterization was performed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), a
... Show MoreAbstract
In this work, diabetic glucose concentration level control under disturbing meal has been controlled using two set of advanced controllers. The first set is sliding mode controllers (classical and integral) and the second set is represented by optimal LQR controllers (classical and Min-, ax). Due to their characteristic features of disturbance rejection, both integral sliding mode controller and LQR Minmax controller are dedicated here for comparison. The Bergman minimal mathematical model was used to represent the dynamic behavior of a diabetic patient’s blood glucose concentration to the insulin injection. Simulations based on Matlab/Simulink, were performed to verify the performance of each controll
... Show More: Porous silicon (n-PS) films can be prepared by photoelectochemical etching (PECE) Silicon chips n - types with 15 (mA /cm2), in15 minutes etching time on the fabrication nano-sized pore arrangement. By using X-ray diffraction measurement and atomic power microscopy characteristics (AFM), PS was investigated. It was also evaluated the crystallites size from (XRD) for the PS nanoscale. The atomic force microscopy confirmed the nano-metric size chemical fictionalization through the electrochemical etching that was shown on the PS surface chemical composition. The atomic power microscopy checks showed the roughness of the silicon surface. It is also notified (TiO2) preparation nano-particles that were prepared by pulse laser eradication in e
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