Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of the major world health issue, tuberculosis (TB). The cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been implicated in protection against TB in the early stages of the disease. TNF-α is an effective cytokine in the killing of intracellular M. tuberculosis. This study inducted to investigate whether there is any relationship between levels of TNF-α in sera of TB patients and their recovery, and is there any difference in the level of this cytokine in sera of female and male TB patients. This study included 29 patients with pulmonary TB (18 female and 11 male), their ages ranging from 37 to 59 years. All of them received first line TB therapy. They were consulted at Pasture Center during September 2012, at Baghdad city, Iraq. TNF-α level in sera was estimated by ELISA. Data were analyzed using Two sample T test for measuring the differences between the groups., no significant difference (p= 0.198) was found in serum TNF-α concentration between TB patients (mean= 8.09 pg/ml) and in control group (mean= 5.62 pg/ml). On the other hand no significant difference was found between serum TNF-α concentration in male TB patients (mean= 8.42 pg/ml, p= 0.71) and female TB patients (mean= 7.89 pg/ml). As a conclusion, TNF-α level in TB patients may associate with recover of the patient after treatment. On the other hand no relationship was found between the levels of TNF-α in TB patients’ sera and their gender.
Shear wave velocity is an important feature in the seismic exploration that could be utilized in reservoir development strategy and characterization. Its vital applications in petrophysics, seismic, and geomechanics to predict rock elastic and inelastic properties are essential elements of good stability and fracturing orientation, identification of matrix mineral and gas-bearing formations. However, the shear wave velocity that is usually obtained from core analysis which is an expensive and time-consuming process and dipole sonic imager tool is not commonly available in all wells. In this study, a statistical method is presented to predict shear wave velocity from wireline log data. The model concentrated to predict shear wave velocity fr
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A total of 258 voluntary blood donors (males 101; females 157) in the age range of 18-52 yr among males and 18-55 yr among females were examined for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG), and (IgM) by immunological technique (Enzyme linked Immunosorbant Assay) during the period from March 2009 to April 2010. This study covered a wide range of factors including immunological, age ,sex , place of residence and symptoms that may have a possible relationship with toxoplasmosis. Results presented in this study showed clearly that 38 (14.7%) of individuals participated in this study having IgG Toxoplasma Ab, among those 10 samples (9.9%) were males and 28 samples (17.8%) were females. Moreover, we found the prevalence of IgM seropositivity in th
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Time-domain spectral matching commonly used to define seismic inputs to dynamic analysis in terms of acceleration time history compatible with a specific target response spectrum is used in this study to investigate the second-order geometric effect of P-delta on the seismic response of base-isolated high-rise buildings. A synthetic time series is generated by adjusting reference time series that consist of available readings from a past earthquake of the 1940 El Centro earthquake adopted as an initial time series. The superstructure of a 20-story base isolated building is represented by a 3-D finite element model using ETABS software. The results of the base isolated building show that base isolation technique significantly reduces inter-s
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The current trend worldwide is searching plant extracts towards prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of Alpinia galanga leaves (ALE), Alpinia galanga rhizomes (ARE), Vitis vinifera seeds (VSE), Moringa oleifera leaves (MLE), Panax ginseng leaves (PLE) and Panax ginseng rhizomes (PRE) ethanolic extracts on human neuroblastoma (SHSY5Y) cells. The 1‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging of VSE and MLE were 81% and 58%, respectively. Ferric‐reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of ALE and MLE (33.57 ± 0.20 and 26.76 ± 0.30 μmol Fe(ΙΙ)/g dry wt., respectively) were higher than for the other extracts. Liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time‐of‐fli
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The present study was conducted in the Tigris River within Baghdad (University of Baghdad campus). The study included some physicochemical parameters and qualitative of epiphytic algae on the host plant (Ceratophyllum demersum) during summer season 2013. The results revealed that the study area was alkaline, hard and oxygenated water. A total of 105 taxa of epiphytic algae was identified. Bacillariophyceae diatoms composed 44.7% of the total and were represented by 42.4% of the order Pennales and 1.9 %of the order Centrales. Chlorophyceae composed 32.3%, followed by Cyanophyceae composed 22.8 % of the total. The total number of epiphytic algae was fluctuated among the study period. Most of the identified algae were benthos type and a few
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In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles (α-Fe₂O₃ NPs) were prepared using a readily available chili pepper plant extract from local markets. This study aims to evaluate the magnetic properties of α-Fe₂O₃ prepared in green chemistry from Capsicum plant extract. After several simple preparatory steps, such as washing and cutting, they were treated with an inorganic complex (potassium hexacyanoferrate) (K3[Fe(CN)₆]). In the first analytical step, the in vitro detection of the plant extract solution after reaction with the potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) complex revealed characteristic adsorption bands of the cyanide group, which disappeared upon complexation. The iron oxide NPs were characterized using various methods, including X
... Show MoreStick-slip is kind of vibration which associated with drilling operation in around the bottom hole assembly (BHA) due to the small clearance between drill string & the open hole and due to the eccentric rotating of string. This research presents results of specific experimental study that was run by using two types of drilling mud (Fresh water Bentonite & Polymer), with/without Nanoparticle size materials of MgO in various ratios and computes the rheological properties of mud for each concentration [Yield point, plastic viscosity, Av, PH, filter loss (30 min), filter cake, Mud Cake Friction, Friction Factor]. These results then were used to find a clear effects of Nanoparticle drilling mud rheology on stick - slip strength by sev
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