Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is a significant global health burden with variable prevalence influenced by metabolic, genetic, and infectious factors. Increasing evidence suggests that Gram-positive bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus species, contribute to gallstone pathogenesis through enzymatic activity and biofilm formation. Objectives: To characterize Gram-positive bacteria within gallstones from Iraqi patients, evaluate their biofilm-forming capacity, and analyze the relationship between bacterial colonization, gallstone type, and cholesterol levels. Methods: A total of 100 gallstones were obtained from patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy between October 2024 and March 2025. Stones were

The presence of alkaloids in Crassula ovata is a topic that is still unexplored, as there are no published studies on the matter. This study demonstrates the presence of an alkaloid compound (and its class) for the first time in Crassula ovata. The plant material was defatted with n-hexane, and a Soxhlet apparatus was used for the extraction process, while the acid-base method was used for the isolation of alkaloids from the chloroform fractions. The quaternary alkaloid was precipitated from the aqueous layer spontaneously, in high quantity. By using standard spectroscopic methods (including liquid chromatography - mass spectroscopy) we were able to clarify the structure of the precipi¬tated compound as a tetrahydroprotoberberine a

Etodolac is choice of drug for pain and inflammation but has major side effects of gastric ulcers that are due to free carboxylic group. Etodolac belongs to the chemical class of non-selective COX-inhibitor but preferentially COX-2 inhibitor. Here the ester linked mutual prodrugs of etodolac with phytophenols like vanillin, carvacrol, umbelliferone, guaiacol, sesamol and syringaldehyde were synthesized. All the prodrugs were characterized by IR-spectroscopy, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and mass spectrometry. Among the synthesized prodrugs, the Eto-van, Eto-umbe, Eto-sesa and Eto-syr showed improved analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity compared to etodolac. All the synthesized prodrugs showed less ulcerogenic side effects co

Preparation and Characterization of Maleate, Tartarate,and Phthalate Modified Pectin

This research paper aimed to quantitively characterize the pore structure of shale reservoirs. Six samples of Silurian shale from the Ahnet basin were selected for nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. Experimental findings showed that all the samples are mainly composed of mesopores with slit-like shaped pores, as well as the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda pore volume ranging from 0.014 to 0.046 cm3/ 100 g, where the lowest value has recorded in the AHTT-1 sample, whereas the highest one in AHTT-6, while the rest samples (AHTT-2, AHTT-3, AHTT-4, AHTT-5) have a similar average value of 0.03 cm3/ 100 g. Meanwhile, the surface area and pore size distribution were in the range of 3.8 to 11.1 m2 / g and 1.7 to 40 nm, respectively.

Porous Silicon (PS) layer has been prepared from p-type silicon by electrochemical etching method. The morphology properties of PS samples that prepared with different current density has been study using atom force measurement (AFM) and it show that the Layer of pore has sponge like stricture and the average pore diameter of PS layer increase with etching current density increase .The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated the nanocrystaline of the sample. Reflectivity of the sample surface is decrease when etching current density increases because of porosity increase on surface of sample. The photolumenses (PL) intensity increase with increase etching current density. The PL is affected by relative humidity (RH) level so we can use

The synthesis of zeolite NaX from locally available kaolin has been studied. The operating conditions for zeolite NaX production from kaolin with good crystallinity were as follows; a gel formation step of metakaolin in alkaline medium in presence of additional silica to crystallize the zeolite was achieved at 60 oC for 1 hr,and with stirring. In ageing step of the reactants at room temperature for 5 days and crystallization step at 87±2 oC for 24 hr. The catalytic activity of catalyst prepared from local kaolin was studied by using cumene cracking as a model for catalytic cracking and compared with standard HY zeolite and HX zeolite catalysts. The activity test was carried out in a laboratory continuous flow unit with fixed bed reactor