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.
This study aimed to determine the effect of varicocelectomy on sperm parameters, oxidant- antioxidant status and chromatin maturity percent. The current study has been conducted on 154 infertile patients complaining from varicocele and varicocelomized men in addition to 25 fertile men as control. The results revealed significant decrease (P<0.05) in sperm concentration, progressive motile sperm percent, normal sperm morphology percent, GSH, SOD1, CAT levels and chromatin maturity percent and significant increase (P<0.05) in MDA and ROS concentrations in infertile patients with varicocele when compared to fertile men. The results revealed improvement (P<0.05) of sperm parameters quality, GSH, SOD1, CAT, MDA, ROS concentration and chromatin m
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to use robust technique by trimming, as the analysis of maximum likelihood (ML) often fails in the case of outliers in the studied phenomenon. Where the (MLE) will lose its advantages because of the bad influence caused by the Outliers. In order to address this problem, new statistical methods have been developed so as not to be affected by the outliers. These methods have robustness or resistance. Therefore, maximum trimmed likelihood: (MTL) is a good alternative to achieve more results. Acceptability and analogies, but weights can be used to increase the efficiency of the resulting capacities and to increase the strength of the estimate using the maximum weighted trimmed likelihood (MWTL). In order to perform t
... Show MoreThe outbreak of a current public health coronavirus 2019 disease is a causative agent of a serious acute respiratory syndrome and even death. COVID-19 has exposed to multi-suggested pharmaceutical agents to control this global disease. Baricitinib, a well-known antirheumatic agent, was one of them. This article reviews the likely pros and cons of baricitinib in attenuation of COVID-19 based on the mechanism of drug action as well as its pharmacokinetics. The inhibitory effect of baricitinib on receptor mediated endocytosis promoter, AKK1, and on JAK-STAT signaling pathway is benefacial in inhibition of both viral assembling and inflammation. Also, its pharmacokinetic has encouraged the physicians toward the drug
... Show MoreThe effect of metal nanoparticles on the anaerobic digestion of sludge and the sludge bacterial community are still not well-understood, and both improvements and inhibitions have been reported. This study investigated the impact of 2, 10, and 30 mg/g TS silver and copper oxide nanoparticles (AgNPs and CuONPs) on the mesophilic anaerobic digestion of sludge and the bacterial community structure. The reactors were monitored for changes in tCOD, sCOD, TS, VS, biogas generation, and cell viability. Also, the relative abundance and taxonomic distribution of the bacterial communities were analyzed at the phylum and genus levels, including the genera involved in anaerobic digestion. Both AgNPs and CuONPs exhibited some inhibition on anaer
... Show MoreA new benzylidene derivative, namely N-benzylidene-5-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (BPTA), has been synthesized and instrumentally confirmed with Elemental Analysis (CHN), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray. The mutualistic complementary dependence of BPTA with TiO2 nanoparticles as anti-corrosive inhibitor on mild steel (MS) in 1.0 M hydrochloric acid has been tested at various concentrations and various temperatures. The methodological work was achieved by gravimetric measurement methods complemented with surface analysis. The synthesized inhibitor concentrations were 0.1 mM to 0.5 mM and the temper
... Show MoreThe electrical performance of bottom-gate/top source-drain contact for p-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an active semiconductor layer with two different gate dielectric materials, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Hafnium oxide (HfO2), is investigated in this work. The output and transfer characteristics were studied for HfO2, PVP and HfO2/PVP as organic gate insulator layer. Both characteristics show a high drain current at the gate dielectric HfO2/PVP equal to -0.0031A and -0.0015A for output and transfer characteristics respectively, this can be attributed to the increasing of the dielectric capacitance. Transcondactance characteristics also studied for the three organic mater
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to shed light on the importance of biofuels as an alternative to conventional energy, in addition to the importance of preserving agricultural crops, which are the main source of this fuel, to maintain food security, especially in developing countries. The increase in global oil prices, in addition to the fear of global warming, are among the main factors that draw the world’s attention to searching for alternative sources of traditional energy, which are sustainable on the one hand, and on the other hand reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, the volume of global investment in renewable energy in general, and in liquid biofuels and biomass in particular, has increased. Global fears emerged that the excessive convers
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to shed light on the importance of biofuels as an alternative to conventional energy, in addition to the importance of preserving agricultural crops, which are the main source of this fuel, to maintain food security, especially in developing countries. The increase in global oil prices, in addition to the fear of global warming, are among the main factors that draw the world’s attention to searching for alternative sources of traditional energy, which are sustainable on the one hand, and on the other hand reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, the volume of global investment in renewable energy in general, and in liquid biofuels and biomass in particular, has increased. Global fears emerged that the excessive
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