The increasing demand for energy has encouraged the development of renewable resources and environmentally benign fuel such as biodiesel. In this study, ethyl fatty esters (EFEs), a major component of biodiesel fuel, were synthesized from soybean oil using sodium ethoxide as a catalyst. By-products were glycerol and difatty acyl urea (DFAU), which has biological characteristics, as antibiotics and antifungal medications. Both EFEs and DFAU have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The optimum conditions were studied as a function of reaction time, reactant molar ratios, catalyst percentage and the effect of organic solvents. The conversion ratio of soybea

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disorder that ultimately results in the progressive destruction of articular cartilage. The occurrence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) increases with obesity and is more common in women compared with men. Thirty patients (20 females, 10 males) clinically diagnosed with knee OA admitted to Baghdad teaching hospital between January 2015-June 2015. Patients between 35-70 year of age and 30 healthy subject (20 females, 10 males) ages matched. The results showed that increased body mass index (BMI) is a well-recognized risk factor for knee osteoarthritis, and the effect of obesity is a stronger predictor of developing knee OA symptoms in women than men. There was also a significant diffe

conversation is an oral skill in which two persons can exchange their ideas, thoughts and opinions to communicate with each other. Learners can work in pairs or groups to practice dialogues chosen by the teacher from their textbook materials or from additional resources. Nowadays, because of Corona virus infection, our college students are taught all the subjects including conversation course either via google classroom platform or any other platforms. Google meet is one of online meetings between the teacher and students, i.e., a video meet in which students and the teacher join the online meetings in a specified time to communicate, express their ideas, thoughts and feelings about what is mentioned above. In this study, the resea

Background and purpose: Animal model helps researchers to evaluate new treatment plan for human and understand pathological mechanism involved in a development of disease. The use of rats as an animal model for Alzheimer's research has become a favorite among researchers. Rats are capable in mimicking Alzheimer disease due to their intelligence and quick adaptation to nature. At present there are several methods that can be used to induce Alzheimer's animals, but each method has advantages and disadvantages. We need to learn other methods that can provide many advantages and few disadvantages. The Amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ-42) and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are thought to play an important role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. Th

Grabisch and Labreuche have recently proposed a generalization of capacities, called the bi-capacities. Recently, a new approach for studying bi-capacities through introducing a notion of ternary-element sets proposed by the author. In this paper, we propose many results such as bipolar Mobius transform, importance index, and interaction index of bi-capacities based on our approach.

In this paper, point estimation for parameter ? of Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution has been investigated by using simulation technique, to estimate the parameter by two sections methods; the first section includes Non-Bayesian estimation methods, such as (Maximum Likelihood estimator method, and Moment estimator method), while the second section includes standard Bayesian estimation method, using two different priors (Inverse Chi-Square and Jeffrey) such as (standard Bayes estimator, and Bayes estimator based on Jeffrey's prior). Comparisons among these methods were made by employing mean square error measure. Simulation technique for different sample sizes has been used to compare between these methods.

Potential data interpretation is significant for subsurface structure characterization. The current study is an attempt to explore the magnetic low lying between Najaf and Diwaniyah Cities, In central Iraq. It aims to understand the subsurface structures that may result from this anomaly and submit a better subsurface structural image of the region. The study area is situated in the transition zone, known as the Abu Jir Fault Zone. This tectonic boundary is an inherited basement weak zone extending towards the NW-SE direction. Gravity and magnetic data processing and enhancement techniques; Total Horizontal Gradient, Tilt Angle, Fast Sigmoid Edge Detection, Improved Logistic, and Theta Map filters highlight source boundaries and the

Nowhere is American author Shirley Jackson’s (1916-1965) social and political criticism is so intense than it is in her seminal fictional masterpiece “The Lottery”. Jackson severely denounces injustice through her emphasis on a bizarre social custom in a small American town, in which the winner of the lottery, untraditionally, receives a fatal prize. The readers are left puzzled at the end of the story as Tessie Hutchinson, the unfortunate female winner, is stoned to death by the members of her community, and even by her family. This study aims at investigating the author’s social and political implications that lie behind the story, taking into account the historical era in which the story was published (the aftermath of th

Nanocomposite was prepared using unsaturated polyester (UP) resin as a matrix and graphene nanoparticles as a reinforcement material in six percentage weights (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 1 and 1.5%). Mechanical, calorimetric and thermal studies were performed on the (UP) resin/graphene nanocomposite. All tests showed a clear improvement of all mechanical properties examined (hardness, flexural strength (F.S), impact strength (I.S) and tensile strength (T.S)) with increasing graphene percentage. In addition, the temperature of glass transition and thermal conductivity of this composite increased with increasing graphene content.

Fibroblast growth factors-23 (FGF-23) are a class of cell signaling proteins produced by macrophages. They have a range of roles, but they play a particularly important role in the development of animal cells, where they are essential for appropriate growth. Phosphate, which is found in the body as both organic and mineral phosphate, plays crucial roles in cell structure, communication, and metabolism. Most phosphate in the body resides in bone, teeth, and inside cells, with less than 1% circulating in serum. The aim of the study is to evaluate the levels of the Fibroblast Growth Factors-23 and phosphate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) in acromegaly patients against healthy control. A case control study Fibroblast Growth Fact