In fish, a complex set of mechanisms deal with environmental stresses including hypoxia. In order to probe the hypothesis that hypoxia-induced stress could be manifested in varieties of pathways, a model species, mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio), were chronically exposed to hypoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 1.80±0.6mg/l) for 21 days and subsequently allowed to recover under normoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 8.2±0.5mg/l) for 7 days. At the end of these exposure periods, an integrated approach was applied to evaluate several endpoints at different levels of biological organisation. These included determination of (i) oxidative damage to DNA in erythrocytes (using modified comet assay), (ii) lipid peroxidation in liver samples by measuring the malondialdehyde production using the 2-thiobarbituric acid [i.e. thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay] and (iii) histopathological changes in gills. In addition, transcriptional expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α) and genes involved in the repair of oxidative damage to DNA (i.e. ogg1) and base excision repair (i.e. xrcc1) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in liver samples were also determined. The results suggested significantly enhanced expression of these genes in response to hypoxia compared to concurrent normoxic controls. While the expression of HIF-1α reverted to control values within 7 days exposure to normoxic condition (P < 0.05), the transcriptional expression of the two genes involved in DNA repair process remained significantly high under the recovery period, which complemented the induction of oxidative damage to DNA. Hypoxic groups showed significantly increased values for TBARS level (~2-fold) and histopathological changes in gill tissues compared to both normoxic and recovery groups. Overall, oxidative damage to DNA determined by modified comet assay reflected the observed biological responses in other tissues of the fish. Along with other parameters, this integrated experimental design further strengthens the applications of the comet assay as an important technique to assess stress-induced DNA damage in ecotoxicological studies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the UK Environmental Mutagen Society.
The rheological behavior among factors that are present in Stokes law can be used to control the stability of the colloidal dispersion system. The felodipine lipid polymer hybrid nanocarriers (LPHNs) is an interesting colloidal dispersion system that is used for rheological characteristic analysis. The LPHNs compose of polymeric components and lipids. This research aims to prepare oral felodipine LPHNs to investigate the effect of independent variables on the rheological behavior of the nanosystem. The microwave-based technique was used to prepare felodipine LPHNs (H1-H9) successfully. All the formulations enter the characterization process for particle size and PDI to ascertain the colloidal properties of the prepared nanosystem t
... Show MoreThis work aims to develop a secure lightweight cipher algorithm for constrained devices. A secure communication among constrained devices is a critical issue during the data transmission from the client to the server devices. Lightweight cipher algorithms are defined as a secure solution for constrained devices that require low computational functions and small memory. In contrast, most lightweight algorithms suffer from the trade-off between complexity and speed in order to produce robust cipher algorithm. The PRESENT cipher has been successfully experimented on as a lightweight cryptography algorithm, which transcends other ciphers in terms of its computational processing that required low complexity operations. The mathematical model of
... Show MoreBackground: Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood;it can become chronic or recurrent and affect dental health .Thus this research aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of dental caries among students with different grade of depression in relation to physicochemical characteristics of stimulated whole saliva. Materials and methods: The total sample involved for depression status assessment is composed of 800 students for both gender aged 15 years old that were selected randomly , This was performed using children depression inventory (CDI) index that divided the students into four groups of depression(low or average grade, high average grade, elevated grade and very elevated grade). The diagnosis and
... Show MoreThe prolactin hormone played role in the many autoimmune disorders. To determine the importance of high levels of prolactin in triggering rheumatoid arthritis, thirty patient's women with hyperprolactinemia aged (20-45) years old have been investigated and compared with twenty five healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure the concentration of citrulinated peptide(CCP) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA), antikeratin antibodies (AKA)and antinuclear antibodies(ANA) by indirect fluorescent assay IFAT. There was a significant elevation of CCP concentration compared with control groups (P< 0.05). The percentage of antikeratin antibodies and antinuclear antibodies was (20%, 10%) respectively, and
... Show MoreThe Present study investigated the drought in Iraq, by using the rainfall data which obtained from 39 meteorological stations for the past 30 years (1980-2010). The drought coefficient calculated on basis of the standard precipitation index (SPI) and then characteristics of drought magnitude, duration and intensity were analyzed. The correlation and regression between magnitude and duration of drought were obtained according the (SPI) index. The result shows that drought magnitude values were greater in the northeast region of Iraq.
The risk assessment for three pipelines belonging to the Basra Oil Company (X1, X2, X3), to develop an appropriate risk mitigation plan for each pipeline to address all high risks. Corrosion risks were assessed using a 5 * 5 matrix. Now, the risk assessment for X1 showed that the POF for internal corrosion is 5, which means that its risk is high due to salinity and the presence of CO, H2S and POF for external corrosion is 1 less than the corrosion, while for Flowline X2 the probability of internal corrosion is 4 and external is 4 because there is no Cathodic protection applied due to CO2, H2S and Flowline X3 have 8 leaks due to internal corrosion so the hazard rating was very high 5 and could be due to salinity, CO2, fluid flow rate
... Show MoreBackground: Powerlifters and bodybuilders use anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) especially – as many as 55 percent of elite powerlifters admitted using these agents. In contrast to numerous documented toxic and hormonal effects of AAS their impact on the structure and function of the left ventricular (LV) was not yet fully understood.
Objective : to assess the nurse-midwives practices regarding prolonging labor in Babylon Governorate hospitals . Methodology : Purposive sample of (57) nurse-midwives, which was selected from (6) hospitals included (3) General Hospital, (2) Maternity Hospital and Teaching Hospital .These nurse-midwives represented several nursing educational levels. A questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of the study, which was comprised demographic characteristics, information a bout nurse-midwives related to their ages, marital status, educational level, experience years in nursing and delivery , and attending midwi
This study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al- Diwaniya, one of cities in the southern part in Iraq. This evaluation could be used to facilitate effluent quality assessment or optimal process control of the plant. The influent reaching the plant is considered a medium to strong in strength with BOD5/COD ratio in the range 0.23 and 0.69 which can be considered an easily degradable sewage by the biological processes performed by the activated sludge unit. The quality of the effluent was found to be higher than the Iraqi standards for disposal to water bodies. The BOD5/COD ratios of the treated sewage varied over a wide range as low of 0.13 to 1.48 indicating operational problems in the plant. Regressio
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