Catalytic microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass is gaining popularity as an alternative to fossil fuels due to health, environmental, climate, and economic issues. This study conducted a catalytic pyrolysis process of the Albizia plant's branches using an Iraqi clay catalyst (bentonite) focusing on the variables including the biomass-particle size, experimental time, microwave power level, and the catalyst-to-biomass ratio. The physical and chemical properties of the resulting biofuel were analyzed presented by HHV, acidity, density, viscosity, GC-MS, FTIR for bio-oil and SEM, EDX, BET, HHV, FTIR for biochar. The study revealed that addition of bentonite as a catalyst led to enhanced production of biogas produced from 5% to 45% and decreased the power level used from 700 W to 450 W. Also, it raised the production of bio-oil generated with less power level and duration time. The addition of catalyst also affected the characteristics of bio-oil produced such as reducing the acidity by increasing its pH from 5 to 5.7, lowering the viscosity from 4.8 to 3.3 cSt, and the density from 1045 to 1039.2 kg/m3. Adding catalyst increased the percentage of aromatic and alcoholic substances in the bio-oil which led to improve the calorific value from 19.5 to 23 MJ/kg. Additionally, the biochar properties also improved, where the surface area and pore volume increased from 0.5512 to 40.384 m2/g and 0.00011 to 0.0361cm3/g respectively. The higher heating value was raised from 23.5 to 25 MJ/kg also. CH4 is also increased from 3.6 to 8.6% which is one of the essential fuel gasses.
: Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behavior that causes significant adverse health effects. Cigarette smoke contains chemicals, many of which are lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to apoptosis and autophagy. To estimate the association of Cigarette smoking with the autophagy and immunity, technology of real time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) for gene expression of (LC3A, LC3B, LC3C, myd88) was used. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized to measurement the amount of TNF-α protein. The ratios of LC3A/LC3B and LC3B/LC3C were calculated to estimate the autophagy flux. The results indicate the expression of LC3B, LC3C and Myd88 genes in smokers is increased significantly (p
... Show MoreTo determine the association between cigarette smoking and oxidative stress, a study was conducted in the period from January 2020 to April 2021, at College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized for measurement the antioxidant enzymes including: Glutathione superoxide (GPX) and catalase (CAT) and the biomarker of lipid peroxidation Malondialdehyde (MDA). Also, the gene expression of Nrf2 and HO-1were determined by using RT-PCR technique. The results indicate lower level of both GPX and CAT (p ≤ 0.001) in smokers compared with non-smokers. While the result of MDA indicate higher level in smokers (p≤0.001) compared with nonsmokers. The Nrf2 and HO-1 gene exp
... Show MoreNine fish specimens of Thryssa setirostris (Broussonet, 1782) were collected from the Arabian Gulf, during the period from July 2015 to April 2016. Because of the scarcity of this fish and overlapping and ambiguous of its taxonomic characters with other Thryssa spp., a detailed taxonomic study was conducted. The present study includes the most important meristic and morphometric characteristics.
The mean of the total length of the specimens was 149.67 mm; dorsal fin consists of 12 rays, anal fin with 34-37 rays and pectoral fin with 12-13 rays; Gill rakers were 4 upper,1 medial an.10 lower. The most important character that isolates T. setiristis from
... Show MoreThe control of water represents the safe key for fair and optimal use to protect water resources due to human activities, including untreated wastewater, which is considered a carrier of a large number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial species. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antibiotic-resistance to E. coli in Tigris River by the presence of resistance genes for aminoglycoside(qepA( ,quinolone (gyrA), and sulfa drugs( dfr1 ,dfr17) due to the frequent use of antibiotics and their release into wastewater of hospitals. Samples were collected from three sites on Tigris River: S1( station wastewater in Adhamiya), S2 (station wastewater in Baghdad Medical city hospital), S3 (station wastew
... Show MoreThe aim of the present research is to study different protein fractions in sera of children and adolescent with β –thalassemia major and minor and to compare the results with that of healthy control.One hundred fifty children and adolescents were enrolled in this study,including 50 patients with β- thalassemia major , 50 patients with β- thalassemia minor as pathological control group and another apparently 50 healthy individuals as a control group. The age of all studied groups ranged from (4-18)years.Total protein, albumin and immunoglobulins were estimated in sera of all subjects. A Significant decrease was found in the total protein and albumin&nb
... Show Morethe association between celiac disease and viral infection
Key words:Jasminumsambac, Volatile oil, Antioxidant.
The negative impact of oral diseases on the function, economy, and general health of the population is well‐documented. In the last decades, evidence linking increased expression of depression and oral diseases/conditions has significantly increased. The aim of this study is to assess the association between oral disease/conditions and self‐reported symptoms of depression individuals.
A specially designed questionnaire was distributed via social media for 1 week. It consisted of two main sections; the first section was dedicated to collect demographic variables and self‐reported symptoms