This paper reports an evaluation of the properties of medium-quality concrete incorporating recycled coarse aggregate (RCA). Concrete specimens were prepared with various percentages of the RCA (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The workability, mechanical properties, and durability in terms of abrasion of cured concrete were examined at different ages. The results reveal insignificant differences between the recycled concrete (RC) and reference concrete in terms of the mechanical and durability-related measurements. Meanwhile, the workability of the RC reduced vastly since the replacement of the RCA reached 75% and 100%. The ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) results greatly depend on the porosity of concrete and the RC exhibited higher poros

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative aging disease, with idiopathic PD being most common. Gastrointestinal tract disorders (GITD) and microbiota changes may trigger idiopathic PD. Neurotoxins from microbiota can travel from the gut to the brain via the brain-gut axis (BGA), leading to α-syn protein misfolding and dopaminergic neuron death. Methods: The aim of the current study was to investigate the link between PD and GITD by measuring several biochemical and immunological markers in 142 patients. The biochemical markers measured were vitamins B6, B12, and D, calcium, serotonin, ghrelin, dopamine, and α-syn protein. The immunological markers included transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), tu

Contracting cancer typically induces a state of terror among the individuals who are affected. Exploring how chemotherapy and anxiety work together to affect the speed at which cancer cells multiply and the immune system’s response model is necessary to come up with ways to stop the spread of cancer. This paper proposes a mathematical model to investigate the impact of psychological scare and chemotherapy on the interaction of cancer and immunity. The proposed model is accurately described. The focus of the model’s dynamic analysis is to identify the potential equilibrium locations. According to the analysis, it is possible to establish three equilibrium positions. The stability analysis reveals that all equilibrium points consi

         Cosmetic products must be safe for use by consumers , It is also regulated and required the legislation of countries all over the world .  In this study out of 80 cosmetic products analyzed and 32.5% were found to be contaminated .Products such as mascara, lip pencil and eye pencil were analyzed . The contaminants including bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylocoocus epidermidis , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia   which were ranging  in number  from (10³-10⁴ ) C.F.U. /ml and fungi such as Penicillium spp. , <

Background Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a life-threatening condition caused by the presence of microorganisms, generally caused by a range of bacteria in the blood. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarkers of pediatric BSI. Methodology The study was conducted on 150 blood samples collected from the patient who admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad. During the period from November 2020 to March 2021, ninety blood samples from them were positive culture and 60 blood samples were negative culture (control group). The isolates were identified depending on the morphological, microscopic examination, and biochemical tests.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common disease and cause of death globally. The aim of the study is investigation and detection of some bacterial interfering with CRC occurrence and progression. The study conducted between September 2022 till February 2023, a total of 50 specimens were collected from confirmed CRC patients. In addition, 50 stool specimens were collected from Healthy volunteers, considers as control group. Isolation and identification of bacteria in all collected specimens were done by using cultural and differential media (blood agar, macconkey agar and Pfizer agar), as well as the VITEK- 2 compact system. The bacterial species, in the specimens of control were ( Escherichia coli 50 (86.20%), Klebsiella Pneumoni

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory condition that primarily affects the skin, hair, and joints and is associated with significant humanistic and economic consequences. This work induced psoriasis in mice using an imiquimod 5% cream, an immune response modifier that can cause psoriasis-like skin inflammation when given orally. Paquinimod is prepared as an ointment and has been topically given to mice before imiquimod application. In this study, albino mice were allocated into five groups and treated as follows: the control group received only a daily application of cream based on shaved back (62.5mg/2cm) with a daily topical dose of ointment for 14 consecutive days with the oral vehicle. The Imiquimod group received a daily topical

Elevated Interleukin-13 (IL-13) may play an important role in the pathophysiology of COVID-19, yet, the attenuated response did not notice across all severe cases. Susceptibility to asthma in specific populations is associated with several SNPs of multifunctional cytokines, such as IL-13, IL-31 and IL-33. This prospective case-control study is designed to investigate the extent of genetic susceptibility in subsets of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 by targeting the variants of interleukin IL-13rs20541 polymorphism in relation to disease susceptibility and severity of clinical presentation. One hundred samples were obtained from the throat, nasopharyngeal and nasal swabs enrolled in this study. Eighty samples of the throat, nasopharyngeal and

This study was conducted to evaluate the hydrocarbon biodegradation abilities of Enterobacter cloacae, Staphylococcus aureus, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and Pentoae species which were isolated from different diesel-contaminated soil samples. The isolates were identified by the Vitek 2 system. Fourier-transform spectroscopy (FT-IR) tested the potential of these isolates to biodegrade the diesel according to the peak areas, a significant decrease in the area of the peaks at 2856-2928 cm−1 corresponds to aliphatic hydrocarbons. The appearance of small peaks at 900-1032 cm−1 refers to substituted benzene derivative compounds. An appearance of some new peaks at 3010- 3030 cm−1 which indicate the presence of alcohol (-OH) and ketones (RC=O)