Pathological blood clot in blood vessels, which often leads to cardiovascular diseases, are one of the most common causes of death in humans. Therefore, enzymatic therapy to degrade blood clots is vital. To achieve this goal, bromelain was immobilized and used for the biodegradation of blood clots. Bromelain was extracted from the pineapple fruit pulp (Ananas comosus) and purified by ion exchange chromatography after precipitation with ammonium sulphate (0-80 %), resulting in a yield of 70%, purification fold of 1.42, and a specific activity of 1175 U/mg. Bromelain was covalently immobilized on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), with an enzyme loading of 71.35%. The results of the characterization of free and immobilized bromelain demonstrated that the optimum pH for free and immobilized bromelain activity was 7.0, while the pH range of stability was from 5.0 to 8.5 and 4.0 to 9.0, respectively. The optimum temperature for free and immobilized bromelain activity was 45ºC, whereas the stability was 15 to 50°C and 15 to 55°C, respectively. The immobilized bromelain activity was decreased after the fifth reuse, and the storage period of the free and immobilized bromelain was decreased after 6 and 123 days, respectively. Casein was the best substrate-free bromelain, and fibrin was the best substrate for immobilized bromelain. The results of the purification of polyphenol oxidases (PPO) from potatoes by ion exchange chromatography gave a yield of about 54 %, a purification fold of 1.27, and a specific activity of 2804 U/mg. The current study showed that the immobilized bromelain can significantly biodegrade human blood clots in vitro, while the PPO enzyme has no significant effect on blood clots.
Aim: To evaluate the side effects of Tamsulosin hydrochloride in fertility of experimental rats. Materials and methods: three groups of mice were used. First and second groups were injected [intraperitoneal (I.P.)] daily for 42 with 8 and 16 µg /kg mouse body weight (kg.b.wt) of Tamsulosin hydrochloride, respectively. Third group was injected with PBS (control). Several biological and histopathological studies were conducted on rat groups. Results: Significant decrease in number, motility and viability of epididymal sperm post injection with 16 µg /kg.b.wt, while injection with 8 µg /kg.b.wt reduced significantly, percentage of viability of sperm as compared with the control group. High percentage of abnormal sperm was observed in mice t
... Show MoreIn this work, a novel single-slope solar distillator of floating perforated absorber inserted with wicks (cotton ribbons), and a stepped distillator are designed and manufactured with the aim of developing the conventional distillator. They are examined experimentally at Baghdad, Iraq (33.3°N Latitude, 44.4°E Longitude) in order to enhance the freshwater productivity and the efficiency of the conventional distillator. Results showed that the daily productivity and efficiency of the stepped distillator are higher than that for conventional solar distillator by 30% and 36.19% respectively. The daily productivity and thermal efficiency for the distillator with the floating absorber are higher than that for the conventional distillator by 16%
... Show MoreA large amount of thermal energy is generated from burning hazardous chemical wastes, and the temperature of the flue gases in hazardous waste incinerators reaches up to (1200 °C). The flue gases are cooled to (40°C) and are treated before emission. This thermal energy can be utilized to produce electrical power by designing a system suitable for dangerous flue gases in the future depending on the results of much research about using a proto-type small steam power plant that uses safe fuel to study and develop the electricity generation process with water tube boiler which is manufactured experimentally with theoretical development for some of its parts which are inefficient in experimental work. The studied system gen
... Show MoreActivities associated with mining of uranium have generated significant quantities of waste materials containing uranium and other toxic metals. A qualitative and quantitative study was performed to assess the situation of nuclear pollution resulting from waste of drilling and exploration left on the surface layer of soil surrounding the abandoned uranium mine hole located in the southern of Najaf province in Iraq state. To measure the specific activity, twenty five surface soil samples were collected, prepared and analyzed by using gamma- ray spectrometer based on high counting efficiency NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The results showed that the specific activities in Bq/kg are 37.31 to 1112.47 with mean of 268.16, 0.28 to 18.57 with
... Show MorePhotonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are greatly used
for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and
characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on Mach-
Zehnder Interferometer (MZI), which operates in reflection mode.
The humidity sensor operation based on the adsorption and
desorption of water vapour at the silica-air interface within the PCF.
The fabrication of this sensor is simple, it only includes splicing and
cleaving the PCF with SMF.PCF (LMA-10) with a certain length
spliced to SMF (Corning-28).
The spectrum of PCFI exhibits good sensitivity to humidity
variations. The PCFI response is observed for a range of humidity
values from (27% RH to 85% RH), the positi
Plastic soil exhibits unfavorited geotechnical properties (when saturation), which causes negative defects to engineering structures. Different attempts (included various materials) were conducted to proffer solutions to such defects by experimenting in practical ways. On one hand, these attempts aimed to improve the engineering characteristics of plastic soil, and on the other hand, to use problematic waste materials as a stabilizer, like cement kiln dust, and to reduce environmental hazards. This paper explored the shrinkage, plasticity, and strength behavior of plastic soil enhanced with cement dust. The cement dust contents were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by dry weight of soil. An experimental series of shrinkage and p
... Show MoreThe purpose of this paper is to understand the best processes that are currently used in managing talent in Australian higher education (HE) and to examine the policies in terms of talent management processes (TMPs) that are derived from objective one. Pragmatic benefits for academic institutions focused on enhancing talent.
This study selects the mixed method as its research design. In the qualitative study, there were three methods: brainstorming, focus group and individual interviews, followed by the quantitative questionnaire
In engineering, the ground in seismically active places may be subjected to static and seismic stresses. To avoid bearing capacity collapse, increasing the system's dynamic rigidity, and/or reducing dynamic fluctuations, it may be required to employ deep foundations instead of shallow ones. The axial aptitude and pipe pile distribution of load under static conditions have been well reported, but more study is needed to understand the dynamic axial response. Therefore, this research discusses the outputs of the 3D finite element models on the soil-pile behavior under different acceleration intensities and soil states by using MIDAS GTS NX. The pipe pile was represented as a simple elastic, and a modified Mohr-Coulomb mode
... Show MoreExperimental research was carried out on eight reinforced concrete beams to study the embedded length of the longitudinal reinforcement. Six beams were casted using self compacted concrete, and the two other beams were casted using normal concrete. The test was carried out on beams subjected to two point loads. The strain and the slip of the main reinforcement have been measured by using grooves placed during casting the beams at certain places. The measured strain used to calculate the longitudinal stresses (bond stress) surrounding the bar reinforcement, The study was investigated the using of self compacted concrete SCC on the embedded length of reinforcing bars, and comparing the results with normal concrete. The test results show th
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