Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasite in immune-compromised persons. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in psoriasis patients is investigated. In addition, the treatment effect on psoriasis patients infected with toxoplasmosis through evaluating Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) cytokine levels is studied. Blood samples were collected from 130 individuals who involved 60 control samples and 70 samples with psoriasis. They attended Medical City Hospital in Baghdad province from October 2017 - February 2018. Then, the anti- T. gondii antibodies (IgM and IgG) and TNF- α in the sera were determined via the enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay. The highest rate of anti-Toxoplasma IgG was in psoriasis patients before treatment, it was 45 (64.29%) compared with the control which was 33 (55.00%), while the highest sero-positive rate of T. gondii IgM in the control group was 14 (23.33%) compared with patients with psoriasis 10 (14.29%). The highest rate of toxoplasmosis was in the age group (21-30) years in psoriasis patients which was 14 (31.82%). In addition, the TNF- α levels in psoriatic patients before treatment were 180.2±2.2 µg/ml, and after treatment were 223.3±41.1 µg/ml compared with the healthy control group 90.5±1.9 µg/ml. These findings suggest that incidental rate of toxoplasmosis is higher in psoriasis patients. Thus, the incidental rate of toxoplasmosis could be considered as an indication to the high risk of psoriasis.
In this study, the use of non-thermal plasma theory to remove toxic gases emitted from a vehicle was experimentally investigated. A non-thermal plasma reactor was constructed in the form of a cylindrical tube made of Pyrex glass. Two stainless steel rods were placed inside the tube to generate electric discharge and plasma condition, by connecting with a high voltage power supply (up to 40 kV). The reactor was used to remove the contaminants of a 1.25-liter 4-cylinder engine at ambient conditions. Several tests have been carried out for a ranging speed from 750 to 4,500 rpm of the engine and varying voltages from 0 to 32 kV. The gases entering the reactor were examined by a gas analyzer and the gases concentration ratio
... Show MoreDuring COVID-19, wearing a mask was globally mandated in various workplaces, departments, and offices. New deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) based classifications were proposed to increase the validation accuracy of face mask detection. This work introduces a face mask model that is able to recognize whether a person is wearing mask or not. The proposed model has two stages to detect and recognize the face mask; at the first stage, the Haar cascade detector is used to detect the face, while at the second stage, the proposed CNN model is used as a classification model that is built from scratch. The experiment was applied on masked faces (MAFA) dataset with images of 160x160 pixels size and RGB color. The model achieve
... Show MoreThis study included the isolation and identification of Aspergillus flavus isolates associated with imported American rice grains and local corn grains which collected from local markets, using UV light with 365 nm wave length and different media (PDA, YEA, COA, and CDA ). One hundred and seven fungal isolates were identified in rice and 147 isolates in corn.4 genera and 7 species were associated with grains, the genera were Aspergillus ,Fusarium ,Neurospora ,Penicillium . Aspergillus was dominant with occurrence of 0.47% and frequency of 11.75% in rice grains whereas in corn grains the genus Neurospora was dominant with occurrence of 1.09% and frequency 27.25% ,results revealed that 20 isolates out of 50 A. flavus isolates were able
... Show MoreProtection of the oil pipelineswhich extracted from the wells was found to shut the well and prevent the leakage of oil when broken using safety valve. This valve is automatically activated by loss of pressure between the well and pipelines, which take the pressure, signal from hydraulic pressure sensor through pressure control valve which has constant or variable value but it is regulated manually. The manual regulatory process requires the presence of monitoring workers continuously near the wells which are always found in remote areas. In this paper, a smart system has been proposed that work with proportional pressure control valve and also electronic pressure sensor through Arduino controller, which is programmed in a way that satisfie
... Show MoreIn this research, the mechanism of cracks propagation for epoxy/ chopped carbon fibers composites have been investigated .Carbon fibers (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) by weight were used to reinforce epoxy resin. Bending test was carried out to evaluate the flexural strength in order to explain the mechanism of cracks propagation. It was found that, the flexural strength will increase with increasing the percentage weight for carbon fibers. At low stresses, the cracks will state at the lower surface for the specimen. Increasing the stresses will accelerate the speed of cracks until fracture accorded .The path of cracks is changed according to the distributions of carbon fibers
New Fe(II),Co(II),Ni(II),Cu(II) and Zn(II) Schiff base complexes which have the molar ratio 2:1 metal to ligand of the general formula [M2( L) X4] (where L=bis(2-methyl furfuraldene)-4-4`-methylene bis(cyclo-hexylamine) ) were prepared by the reaction of the metal salts with the ligand of Schiff base derived from the condensation of 2:1 molar ratio of 2-acetyl furan and 4-4`-methylene bis (cyclohexylamine). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis using atomic absorption spectrophotometer ,molar conductance measurements, infrared, electronic spectra,and magnetic susceptibility measurement. These studies revealed binuclear omplexes. The metal(II) ion in these complexes have four coordination sites giving the most ex
... Show MoreThe extract of fig fruit has shown significant medical usefulness in various fields. The entrance of nanotechnology into the field of medicinal and pharmacology has shown remarkable advantages. Plants contain diverse molecules thatcan reduce metals, and provide a safe, eco-friendly approach for synthesizing nanoparticles. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been reported to possess an antimicrobial effect against some strains of bacteria and moulds. We have aimed to synthesize IONPs from fig fruit extract and investigate the influence of fig extract and IONPs in wound healing of mice. UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the IONPs that were produced
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