Sphingolipids are key components of eukaryotic membranes, particularly the plasma membrane. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of these lipid species is largely conserved. However, in contrast to mammals, which produce sphingomyelin, organisms such as the pathogenic fungi and protozoa synthesize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) as the primary phosphosphingolipid. The key step involves the reaction of ceramide and phosphatidylinositol catalysed by IPC synthase, an essential enzyme with no mammalian equivalent encoded by the AUR1 gene in yeast and recently identified functional orthologues in the pathogenic kinetoplastid protozoa. As such this enzyme represents a promising target for novel anti-fungal and anti-protozoal drugs. Given

This study evaluated the structural changes of enamel treated by the Regenerate system and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser against acid challenge. Thirty human enamel slabs were prepared and assigned into three groups: Group I: untreated (control); Group II: treated with the Regenerate system; and Group III exposed to CO2 laser. All specimens were subjected to an acid challenge (pH 4.5–7.0) for 14 days. Specimens were evaluated and compared at 120 points using five Raman microspectroscopic peaks; the phosphate vibrations ν1, ν2, ν3, and ν4 at 960, 433, 1029, and 579 cm−1, respectively, and the carbonate at 1070 cm−1, followed by Vickers microhardness test. The ratio of carbonate to phosphate was correlated to the equivalent mic

Thin films Tin sulfide SnS pure and doped with different ratios of Cu (X=0, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05) were prepared using thermal evaporation with a vacuum of 4*10^-6mbar on two types of substrates n-type Si and glass with (500) nm thickness for solar cell application. X-ray diffraction and AFM analysis were carried out to explain the influence of Cu ratio dopant on structural and morphological properties respectively. SnS phase appeared forming orthorhombic structure with preferred orientation (111), increase the crystallinity degree and surface roughness with increase Cu ratio. UV/Visible measurement revealed the decrease in energy gap from 1.9eV for pure SnS to 1.5 for SnS: Cu (0.05) making these samples suitable f

The enhancement of the thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance of a semi-circular solar air collector (SCSAC) is numerically investigated using porous semi-circular obstacles made of metal foam with and without longitudinal porous Y-shaped fins. Two 10 and 40 PPI porous material samples are examined. Three-dimensional models are built to simulate the performance of SCSAC: model (I) with clear air passage; model (II) with only metal foam obstacles, and model (III) with metal foam obstacles as well as porous Y-fins. COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.2 based on finite element methodology is employed. A conjugate heat transfer with a (k-ε) turbulence model is selected to simulate both heat transfer and fluid flow across the entir

To finalize any construction investment project, it would be necessary to identify the most significant problems and obstacles that lead to project reluctance and stalling. Unexpected events and conflicts may have disrupted these strategies and impacted project development. Due to the high initial investment costs of construction projects, crises can have an immediate impact, resulting in significant financial losses. The 2014 financial crisis was one of the most prominent crises that Iraq faced, which prompted the researcher to identify and evaluate those obstacles through this research and questionnaires using Pareto scientific theory to exclude factors that do not contribute to project lag. It was discovered that 28 o

Background: Aesthetic archwires are used to overcome the aesthetic problems of stainless steel wires but the color of the coating layer can be changed with time when exposed to oral environments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of color change of different aesthetic archwires from different companies under different coloring solutions. Materials and Methods: One hundred fifty samples of coated archwires from three companies (Highland, G&H and Dany) were immersed in 5 solutions (artificial saliva, turmeric, tea, coffee and Miranda) to evaluate the degree of color changes after 7, 14 and 21 days using visible spectrophotometer. Data were collected and analyzed using one way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey’s tests. Resu

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one of recent years multicarrier modulation used in order to combat the Inter Symbol Interference (ISI) introduced by frequency selective mobile radio channel. The circular extension of the data symbol, commonly referred to as cyclic prefix is one of the key elements in an OFDM transmission scheme. This paper study The influence of the cyclic prefix duration on the BER performance of an OFDM-VCPL (Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing - Variable Cyclic Prefix Length) system and the conventional OFDM system with frame 64-QAM modulation is evaluated by means of computer simulation in a multipath fading channel. The adaptation of CP is done with respect to the delay spread estimation