Studies 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 inhibitors namely, oligomycin, FCCP and rotenone+antimycinA were added to measure ATP-linked respiration, maximal respiration and non-mitochondrial respiration, respectively. THC treatment led to a significant decrease in the basal respiration, ATP production, proton (H+) leak, maximal respiration, spare respiratory capacity and nonmitochondrial respiration. We also performed the Mito Fuel Flex assay to measure the dependency, capacity and flexibility of cells to oxidize glucose, glutamine and fatty acids. Treatment with inhibitors, BPTES and etomoxir showed a decline in the OCR in SEB+vehicle treated cells demonstrating that glutamine and/or fatty acids serve as major source of fuel in these cells when compared to SEB+THC treated group. However, when UK5099 was added, THC- and vehicle-treated cells showed a reduced response thereby indicating that glucose dependency was similar in both the groups. Together, THC modulates metabolic functions of activated lymphocytes which may affect their signaling, differentiation and toxicity.
Baghdad city has been faced numerous issues related to freshwater environment deteriorations due to many reasons, mainly was the discharge of wastewater without adequate treatment. Al-Rustamiya Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) have been constructed among many plants in Baghdad city to reduce the amount of wastewater discharged into natural environment and its subsequent adverse effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the plant which consist of a conventional activated sludge (CAS) and sequencing batch reactors (SBR) systems as secondary treatment units and its ability to meet Iraqi specifications. A reliability level determination and analysis also were conducted to find the plant's stability an
... Show MoreBackground: The surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus varies from wide excision and laying the wound open or excision with primary closure or excision with the use of skin graft in some special cases.
Objectives: The objectives of this study is to determine the efficacy of treating non complicated pilonidal sinus disease with minimal excision and primary closure technique, complications and recurrence rate.
Patients and methods: This is a prospective study conducted in shahid ahmed ismaiel hospital in rania – As sulaimania IRAQ during the period from December 2013 to January 2016 and was carried on one hundred (100) consecutive patients with non complicated non recurrent pilonidal sinus patients who were treated with minimal exci
There is a great operational risk to control the day-to-day management in water treatment plants, so water companies are looking for solutions to predict how the treatment processes may be improved due to the increased pressure to remain competitive. This study focused on the mathematical modeling of water treatment processes with the primary motivation to provide tools that can be used to predict the performance of the treatment to enable better control of uncertainty and risk. This research included choosing the most important variables affecting quality standards using the correlation test. According to this test, it was found that the important parameters of raw water: Total Hardn
Inefficient wastewater disposal and wastewater discharge problems in water bodies have led to increasing pollution in water bodies. Pollutants in the river contribute to increasing the biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (SS), total dissolved solids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and toxic metals render this water unsuitable for consumption and even pose a significant risk to human health. Over the last few years, water conservation has been the subject of growing awareness and concern throughout the world, so this research focused on review studies of researches that studied the importance of water quality of wastewater treated disposal in water bodies and modern technology to management w
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent joint inflammation, which is a defining feature of this chronic inflammatory condition. Considerable advancements have been made in the field of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medicines (DMARDs), which effectively mitigate inflammation and forestall further joint deterioration. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) drugs, which are a class of biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), have been efficaciously employed in the treatment of RA in recent times Adalimumab, a TNF inhibitor, has demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing disease symptoms and halting disease progression in patients with RA. However, its use is associated with major side effects and high costs. In addition,
... Show MoreIn this study, successive electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) processes were used to minimize some of the major pollutants in real wastewater, such as organics (detected by chemical oxygen demand (COD)), and turbidity. The wastewater utilized in the present study was collected from the Midland Refinery Company in Baghdad-Iraq. The performance of the successive batch EC-EO processes was studied by utilizing Graphite and Aluminum (Al) as monopolar anode electrodes and stainless steel (st.st.) as the cathode. The Taguchi experimental design approach was used to attain the best experimental conditions for COD reduction as a major response. Starting from chemical oxygen demand COD of (600 ppm), the effects of current densi
... Show MoreThis study was undertaken to diagnose routine settling problems within a third-party oil and gas companies’ Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) regeneration system. Two primary issues were identified including; a) low particle size (<40 μm) resulting in poor settlement within high viscosity MEG solution and b) exposure to hydrocarbon condensate causing modification of particle surface properties through oil-wetting of the particle surface. Analysis of oil-wetted quartz and iron carbonate (FeCO₃) settlement behavior found a greater tendency to remain suspended in the solution and be removed in the rich MEG effluent stream or to strongly float and accumulate at the liquid-vapor interface in comparison to naturally water-wetted particles. As su
... Show MoreIn this study, successive electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) processes were used to minimize some of the major pollutants in real wastewater, such as organics (detected by chemical oxygen demand (COD)), and turbidity. The wastewater utilized in the present study was collected from the Midland Refinery Company in Baghdad-Iraq. The performance of the successive batch EC-EO processes was studied by utilizing Graphite and Aluminum (Al) as monopolar anode electrodes and stainless steel (st.st.) as the cathode. The Taguchi experimental design approach was used to attain the best experimental conditions for COD reduction as a major response. Starting from chemical oxygen demand COD of (600 ppm), the effects of current density (C
... Show MoreUsing sodium4-((4,5-diphenyl-imidazol-2-yl)diazenyl)-3-hydroxynaphthalene-1-sulfonate (SDPIHN) as a chromogenic reagent in presence of non-ionic surfactant (Triton x-100) to estimate the chromium(III) ion if the wavelength of this reagent 463 nm to form a dark greenish-brown complex in wavelength 586 nm at pH=10,the complex was stable for longer than 24 hours. Beer's low, molar absorptivity 0.244×104L.mol-1.cm-1, and Sandal's sensitivity 0.021 µg/cm2 are all observed in the concentration range 1-11 µg/mL. The limits of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), respectively, were 0.117 µg/mL and 0.385µg/mL. (mole ratio technique, job's method) were employed to
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