Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were elevated significantly (P<0.001) in newly diagnosed BC patients compared with control, while the level of TAC and CAT activity were observed to be statistically declined (P<0.001). Furthermore, the BC patients on TAM treatment have shown highly significant levels of serum TOC (P<0.05) and TAC (P<0.001) with a significant reduction (P<0.001) in CAT activity compared with control. In TAM-treated patients compared with newly diagnosed BC patients, the TOC level was decreased, the TAC level was increased, the OSI level was decreased and the CAT activity was decreased. The results indicate a strong and aggressive association between oxidative stress and the first onset of BC, as well as the tendency of TAM drug to improve the levels of TOC, TAC, and OSI in BC patients, but it had a reduction influence on CAT activity.
One of the most severe problems with flexible asphalt pavements is permanent deformation in the form of rutting. Accordingly, the practice of adding fiber elements to asphalt mix to improve performance under dynamic loading has grown significantly in order to prevent rutting distress and ensure a safe and long-lasting road surface. This paper explores the effects of a combination of ceramic fiber (CF), a low-cost, easily available mineral fiber, and thermal insulator fiber reinforced to enhance the Marshall properties and increase the rutting resistance of asphalt mixes at high temperatures. Asphalt mixtures with 0%, 0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25% CF content were prepared, and Marshall stability and wheel tracking tests were employed to stu
... Show MoreRecently, Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) consider one of the major fields of study in educational institutions, caused by the necessity to identify their knowledge value and success. Hence, based on the updated DeLone and McLean’s Information Systems Success Model (DMISSM), this study set out to assess the success of the Perceived Usefulness of Knowledge Management Systems (PUKMS) in Iraqi universities. To achieve this objective, the quantitative method is selected as the research design. In total, 421 university administration staff members from 13 Iraqi private universities were conducted. This study highlights a number of significant results depending on structural equation modeling which confirms that system, information, and s
... Show MoreThe removal of COD from wastewater generated by petroleum refinery has been investigated by adopting electrocoagulation (EC) combined with adsorption using activated carbon (AC) derived from avocado seeds. The process variables influencing COD removal were studied: current density (2–10 mA/cm2), pH (4–9), and AC dosage (0.2–1 g/L). Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to construct a mathematical model of the EC/AC process. Results showed that current density has the major effect on the COD removal with a percent of contribution 32.78% followed by pH while AC dosage has not a remarkable effect due to the good characteristics of AC derived from avocado seeds. Increasing current density gives be
... Show MoreThis work deals with the preparation of a zeolite/polymer flat sheet membrane with hierarchical porosity and ion-exchange properties. The performance of the prepared membrane was examined by the removal of chromium ions from simulated wastewater. A NaY zeolite (crystal size of 745.8 nm) was prepared by conventional hydrothermal treatment and fabricated with polyethersulfone (15% PES) in dimethylformamide (DMF) to obtain an ion-exchange ultrafiltration membrane. The permeate flux was enhanced by increasing the zeolite content within the membrane texture indicating increasing the hydrophilicity of the prepared membranes and constructing a hierarchically porous system. A membrane contain
The presence of construction wastes such as clay bricks, glass, wood, plastic, and others in large quantities causes serious environmental problems in the world. Where these wastes can be used to preserve the natural resources used in construction and reduce the impact of this problem on the environment, it also works to reduce the problem of high loads of concrete blocks. Clay bricks aggregate (AB) can be recycled as coarse aggregate and replaced with volumetric proportions of coarse aggregate by ( 5% and 10%), as well as the use of clay brick powder (PB) by replacing its weight of cement (5% and 10%) and reduced in the manufacture of concrete blocks (blocks). Four mixtures will be prepared and tested to learn how to re
... Show MoreBiosorption of cadmium ions from simulated wastewater using rice husk was studied with initial concentration of 25 mg/l. Equilibrium isotherm was studied using Langmuir, Freundlich, BET and Timken models. The results show that the Freundlich isotherm is the best fit model to describe this process with high determination coefficient equals to 0.983. There was a good compliance between the experimental and theoretical results. Highest removal efficiency 97% was obtained at 2.5g of adsorbent, pH 6 and contact time 100 min.