The emergence of staphylococci, either coagulase negative (CNS) or coagulase positive (CPS), as important human pathogens has implied that reliable methods for their identification are of large significance in understanding the diseases caused by them. The identification and characterization of staphylococci from biopsies taken from human breast tumors is reported here. Out of 32 tissue biopsies, a total of 12 suspected staphylococci grew on mannitol salt agar (MSA) medium, including 7 fermenters and 5 non-fermenter staphylococci based on traditional laboratory methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) successfully identified seven isolates at the genus level as methicillin resistant St

In the present work, different thicknesses of CdS film were prepared by chemical bath deposition. Z-Scan technique was used to study the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients. Linear optical testing were done such as transmission test, and thickness of films were done by the interference fringes (Michelson interferometer). Z-scan experiment was performed at 650nm using CW diode laser and at 532nm wavelength. The results show the effect of self-focusing and defocusing that corresponds with nonlinear refraction n2. The effect of two-photon absorption was also studied, which correspond to the nonlinear absorption coefficient B.

Photonic Crystal Fiber Fabry–Perot Interferometers (FPI) based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was investigated in this paper in order to detect changes in photonic crystal fiber sensitivity with increasing temperature. FPI is composed of a PCF (ESM-12) solid core spliced with a single-mode fiber (SMF) on one side and a 40nm thick gold Nano film on the other. In order to obtain the SPR curve, the end of PCF can be spliced with the side of SMF before covering the gold film on the PCF. SPR results are included in the suggested sensor, based on the conclusions of the investigations. Resolution (R) is 0.0871, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is 0.1867, a figure of merit (FOM) is 0.0069, and sensitivity (S) is 1.1481 . This sensor proposed is s

Activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) markedly attenuates development of atherosclerosis in animal models. However, the underlying mechanism is not well elucidated. Here, we show that the FXR agonist, obeticholic acid (OCA), increases fecal cholesterol excretion and macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) dependent on activation of hepatic FXR. OCA does not increase biliary cholesterol secretion, but inhibits intestinal cholesterol absorption. OCA markedly inhibits hepatic cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) and sterol 12α‐hydroxylase (Cyp8b1) partly through inducing small heterodimer partner, leading to reduced bile acid pool size and al

In this study, polymeric coating was developed by incorporating nano graphene in the polymer blend with applications to oil storage tanks. The oil storage tanks samples were brought from the oil Pipeline Company / Doura refinery in Baghdad. The coating polymer was formed with a blend (epoxy resin and repcoat ZR). The proportion of mixing the mixture was 3:1:1 epoxy resin 21.06 gm: repcoat ZR 10.53 gm: hardener 10.53 gm. The blend/graphene was prepared using in stui-polymerization method with different weight percentage 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt % added to blend. The resulting solution was put in a glass tube on a magnetic stirrer for one hour at a temperature of 40 °C. The result of contact angle and water absorption the best ratio of 3wt

Background: Several pathologies of the oral cavity have been associated with stress. Dental students need to gain assorted proficiencies as theoretical knowledge, clinical proficiencies, and interpersonal dexterity which is accompanied with high level of stress. Uric acid is the major antioxidant in saliva. The aim of this study is to assess the dental caries experience among dental students with different levels of dental environment stress in relation to physicochemical characteristics of whole unstimulated saliva.

Materials and Methods: the total sample is composed of 300 dental students (73 males, 227 female) aged 22-23 years old, from collage of dentistry / university of Baghdad, from the 4t

There is of great importance to know the values of the optical constants of materials due to their relationship with the optical properties and then with their practical applications. For this reason, it was proposed to study the optical constants of amorphous silicon nanostructures (quantum well, quantum wire, and quantum dot) because of their importance in the world of optical applications. In this study, it was adopted the Herve and Vandamme (HV) model of the refractive index because it was found that this model has very good optical properties for almost all semiconductors. Also, it was carried out by applying experimental results for the energy gaps of these three nanostructures, which makes the results of the theoretical calculations

Palladium nanoparticles are produced by Polyol method. The characterization of the Pd nanoparticle has been conducted by various techniques such as SEM and AFM. The results of Pd powder showed that the particle size is directly proportional to the temperature and the reaction time. The optimum conditions for obtaining minimum nanoparticles size are 45 oC reaction temperature and 60 min reaction time and the smaller particle size achieved is equal to 25 nm. The optical limiting of smaller size nanoparticles has been studied. The palladium nanoparticles appear to be attractive candidates for optical limiting applications.

Nano γ-Al₂O₃ support was prepared by co-precipitation method by using different calcination temperatures (550, 600, and 750) ^oC. Then nano NiMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared by impregnation method were nickel carbonate (source of Ni) and ammonium paramolybdate (source of Mo) on the best prepared nano γ-Al₂O₃ support at calcination temperature 550 ^oC. Make the characterizations for prepared nano γ-Al₂O₃ support at different temperatures and for nano NiMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst like X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescent, AFM, SEM, BET surface area, and pore volume.

The N