Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was significantly increased (P≤0.05) in the treated infected-macrophages after 24 and 48 hours post treated. Furthermore, the infectivity index was calculated for ex vivo amastigote-macrophage infection and the results showed a significant decrease in the percentage of invasion at higher concentrations of Lupeol at all periods of incubation (P≤0.05); whereas, the average of amastigotes per cell in lupeol-treated macrophages increased significantly (P≤0.05) only after 48hours of incubation. The results indicate that lupeol has the potential to enhance anti-leishmanial nitric oxide production by macrophages, enabling them to eliminate intracellular amastigote forms of the parasite. Further details on effect of Lupeol can be studied as a promising anti-leishmanial compound.
Baghdad Metro is a vital project to fulfill the rapidly increased traffic volume requirements. The proposed metro will connect both sides of Baghdad City, passing under the Tigris River. This study is employed finite elements software (PLAXIS 3D) to evaluate the seepage force developed around the sub-river segment during different construction stages and for other water levels of Tigris. The study found that when the water level changes from maximum to minimum, the developed seepage force decreases by (8 to 13%) and (22 to 27%) respectively. The seepage forces were found to be maximum during the excavation stage. The concrete lining process led to a noticeable reduction in seepage forces at all locations. The study also
... Show MoreA novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreHeterocyclic compounds are crucial for medicinal chemistry and the development of therapeutic agents like broad-spectrum antibiotics. This study devised a facile procedure to synthesize novel antimicrobial bicyclic heterocycles from 2-mercapto-3-phenylquinazolin-4(3H)-one. Advanced analytical techniques including 1 H and 13C NMR, elemental analysis, and FT-IR spectroscopy characterized the intricate chemical structures of the products. In vitro assays tested the heterocycles against aerobic and anaerobic bacterial strains using fluconazole and ciprofloxacin as antifungal and antibacterial controls. Results demonstrated the formidable broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities of the synthesized compounds, with growth inhibition
... Show MoreCryptography algorithms play a critical role in information technology against various attacks witnessed in the digital era. Many studies and algorithms are done to achieve security issues for information systems. The high complexity of computational operations characterizes the traditional cryptography algorithms. On the other hand, lightweight algorithms are the way to solve most of the security issues that encounter applying traditional cryptography in constrained devices. However, a symmetric cipher is widely applied for ensuring the security of data communication in constraint devices. In this study, we proposed a hybrid algorithm based on two cryptography algorithms PRESENT and Salsa20. Also, a 2D logistic map of a chaotic system is a
... Show MoreThe temperature control process of electric heating furnace (EHF) systems is a quite difficult and changeable task owing to non-linearity, time delay, time-varying parameters, and the harsh environment of the furnace. In this paper, a robust temperature control scheme for an EHF system is developed using an adaptive active disturbance rejection control (AADRC) technique with a continuous sliding-mode based component. First, a comprehensive dynamic model is established by using convection laws, in which the EHF systems can be characterized as an uncertain second order system. Second, an adaptive extended state observer (AESO) is utilized to estimate the states of the EHF system and total disturbances, in which the observer gains are updated
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to detect the best operating conditions that effect on the removal of Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ ions from aqueous solution using date pits in the batch adsorption experiments. The results have shown that the Al-zahdi Iraqi date pits demonstrated more efficient at certain values of operating conditions of adsorbent doses of 0.12 g/ml of aqueous solution, adsorption time 72 h, pH solution 5.5 ±0.2, shaking speed 300 rpm, and smallest adsorbent particle size needed for removal of metals. At the same time the particle size of date pits has a little effect on the adsorption at low initial concentration of heavy metals. The adsorption of metals increases with increas
... Show MoreRealistic implementation of nanofluids in subsurface projects including carbon geosequestration and enhanced oil recovery requires full understanding of nanoparticles (NPs) adsorption behaviour in the porous media. The physicochemical interactions between NPs and between the NP and the porous media grain surface control the adsorption behavior of NPs. This study investigates the reversible and irreversible adsorption of silica NPs onto oil-wet and water-wet carbonate surfaces at reservoir conditions. Each carbonate sample was treated with different concentrations of silica nanofluid to investigate NP adsorption in terms of nanoparticles initial size and hydrophobicity at different temperatures, and pressures. Aggregation behaviour and the
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