A simple, environmental friendly and selective sample preparation technique employing porous membrane protected micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) loaded with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) is described. After the extraction, the analyte was desorbed using ultrasonication and was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of OTA for coffee, grape juice and urine were 0.06 ng g−1, 0.02 and 0.02 ng mL−1, respectively while the quantification limits were 0.19 ng g−1, 0.06 and 0.08 ng mL−1, respectively. The recoveries of OTA from coffee spiked at 1, 25 and 50 ng g−1, grape juice and urine samples at 1, 25 and 50 ng mL−1 ranged from 90.6 to 101.5%. The proposed method was applied to thirty-eight samples of coffee, grape juice and urine and the presence of OTA was found in eighteen samples. The levels found, however, were all below the legal limits.
Catalytic reduction is considered an effective approach for the reduction of toxic organic pollutants from the environment, but finding an active catalyst is still a big challenge. Herein, Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst was synthesized through polyol reduction method and applied for catalytic reduction (conversion) of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst displayed an outstanding reduction activity with 99% conversion of 4-NP in 5 min with a 0.61 min−1 reaction rate (k). A number of structural characterization techniques were executed to investigate the influence of Ag on CeO2 and its effect on the catalytic conversion of 4-NP. The outstanding catalytic performances of the Ag-CeO2 catalyst can be assigne
... Show Moredue to the presence of chemoresistance and the risk of tumor recurrence and metastasis. There is a pressing necessity to develop efficient treatments to improve response for treatment and increase prolong survival of breast cancer patients. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted interest for its features as a noninvasive and relatively selective cancer treatment. This method relies on light-activated photosensitizers that, upon absorbing light, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with powerful cell-killing outcomes. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), a transcription factor, plays a key role in cancer development by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Inhibiting NF-κB can sensitize tumor cells to chemotherapeuti
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to determine the influence of environmental pH on production of biofilms and virulence genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Among 303 clinical and environmental samples 109 (61 + 48) isolates were identified as clinical and environmental P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively. Clinical samples were obtained from patients in the Al-Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad city, Iraq. Waste water from Al-Yarmouk hospital was used from site before treatment unit to collect environmental samples. The ability of prod
Background: There are several diseases in the body following recovery from COVID-19 infection because this virus operates on human genes in various types of peripheral tissue in the human body. It penetrates host cells via Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptors and may have effects on bone remodeling, leading to osteopenia or osteoporosis, which are characterized by low bone mineral density, resulting in diminished bone strength. Bone Alkaline Phpsphatase is an enzyme released into the bloodstream as a soluble homodimer after being cleaved by a phospholipase and can be utilized as a biomarker of bone development. Objective: This research was designed to investigate the alteration of bone homeostasis balance in Iraqi post-COVID-19
... Show MoreThis study was undertaken to diagnose routine settling problems within a third-party oil and gas companies’ Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) regeneration system. Two primary issues were identified including; a) low particle size (<40 μm) resulting in poor settlement within high viscosity MEG solution and b) exposure to hydrocarbon condensate causing modification of particle surface properties through oil-wetting of the particle surface. Analysis of oil-wetted quartz and iron carbonate (FeCO₃) settlement behavior found a greater tendency to remain suspended in the solution and be removed in the rich MEG effluent stream or to strongly float and accumulate at the liquid-vapor interface in comparison to naturally water-wetted particles. As su
... Show MoreThis paper presents a vibration suppression control design of cantilever beam using two piezoelectric patches. One patch was used as an actuator element, while the other was used as a sensor. The controller design was designed via the balance realization reduction method to elect the reduced order model that is most controllable and observable. the sliding mode observer was designed to estimate six states from the reduced order model but three states are only used in the control law. Estimating a number of states larger than that used is in order to increase the estimation accuracy. Moreover, the state estimation error is proved bounded. An optimal LQR controller is designed then using the estimated states with the slid
... Show MoreEco-friendly concrete is produced using the waste of many industries. It reduces the fears concerning energy utilization, raw materials, and mass-produced cost of common concrete. Several stress-strain models documented in the literature can be utilized to estimate the ultimate strength of concrete components reinforced with fibers. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data on how non-metallic fibers, such as polypropylene (PP), affect the properties of concrete, especially eco-friendly concrete. This study presents a novel approach to modeling the stress-strain behavior of eco-friendly polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete (PFRC) using meta-heuristic particle swarm optimization (PSO) employing 26 PFRC various mixtures. The cement was partia
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