Background: Chronic cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it has additional cardiac adverse effects independent of coronary atherosclerosis. Patient and Methods: After informed consent and perm- ission from the review board of the hospital, 80 healthy subjects who were classified as smokers or non-smokers were included in the study. They were examined by standard echocardiography protocol which was followed by two-dimensional speckle tracking to assess the functions of the right ventricle. Results: The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was significantly reduced in smokers as compared to non-smokers (P < 0.05). The tricuspid flow peak late diastolic velocity (A wave) was significantly higher in smokers (P < 0.05, and hence the E/A ratio was signif- icantly lower (P < 0.05). The tissue Doppler imaging examination of right ventricular free wall showed that the peak systolic velocity of right ventricular (RV) free wall (S’), and the peak early diastolic velocity of RV free wall (E’) were significantly lower in smokers when compared to the control group (P < 0.05 for both). The global longit- udinal strain (GLS) assessed by 2D-speckle tracking echo- cardiography was also significantly reduced in smokers (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that chronic cigarette smoking causes alterations in long-axis systolic and diast- olic functions of right ventricle in healthy young subjects. These changes can be detected early with 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography.
We aimed to obtain magnesium/iron (Mg/Fe)-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanoparticles-immobilized on waste foundry sand-a byproduct of the metal casting industry. XRD and FT-IR tests were applied to characterize the prepared sorbent. The results revealed that a new peak reflected LDHs nanoparticles. In addition, SEM-EDS mapping confirmed that the coating process was appropriate. Sorption tests for the interaction of this sorbent with an aqueous solution contaminated with Congo red dye revealed the efficacy of this material where the maximum adsorption capacity reached approximately 9127.08 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models helped to describe the sorption measure
Coupling reaction of 2-amino benzoic acid with 8-hydroxy quinoline gave bidentate azo ligand. The prepared ligand has been identified by Microelemental Analysis,1HNMR,FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Treatment of the prepared ligand with the following metal ions (ZnII,CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio and at optimum pH, yielded a series of neutral complexes of the general formula [M(L)2]. The prepared complexes have been characterized by using flame atomic absorption, (C.H.N) Analysis, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic methods as well as conductivity measurements. The nature of the complexes formed were studied following the mole ratio and continuous variation methods, Beer's law obeyed over a concentration ra
... Show MoreHumanity is confronted with a growing array of environmental challenges that demand immediate attention and cannot be disregarded. One of the issues the world faces is air pollution, which presents a significant risk to both the environment and human well-being. The capitalist system has a great impact on the exacerbation of air pollution and environmental deterioration. This impact is reflected in Caryl Churchill’s post-apocalyptic play Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen (1971). The play presents a futuristic scenario in which humanity faces grave consequences due to the polluting practices of capitalism and the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. It depicts a future in which environmental degradation drives people
... Show MoreIn this study, a low-cost biosorbent, dead mushroom biomass (DMB) granules, was used for investigating the optimum conditions of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Ni(II) biosorption from aqueous solutions. Various physicochemical parameters, such as initial metal ion concentration, equilibrium time, pH value, agitation speed, particles diameter, and adsorbent dosage, were studied. Five mathematical models describing the biosorption equilibrium and isotherm constants were tested to find the maximum uptake capacities: Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Sips, and Khan models. The best fit to the Pb(II) and Ni(II) biosorption results was obtained by Langmuir model with maximum uptake capacities of 44.67 and 29.17 mg/g for these two ions, respectively, w
... Show MoreA phytoremediation experiment was carried out with kerosene as a model for total petroleum hydrocarbons. A constructed wetland of barley was exposed to kerosene pollutants at varying concentrations (1, 2, and 3% v/v) in a subsurface flow (SSF) system. After a period of 42 days of exposure, it was found that the average ability to eliminate kerosene ranged from 56.5% to 61.2%, with the highest removal obtained at a kerosene concentration of 1% v/v. The analysis of kerosene at varying initial concentrations allowed the kinetics of kerosene to be fitted with the Grau model, which was closer than that with the zero order, first order, or second order kinetic models. The experimental study showed that the barley plant designed in a subsu
... Show MoreThe doping process with materials related to carbon has become a newly emerged approach for achieving an improvement in different physical properties for the obtained doped films. Thin films of CuPc: C60 with doping ratio of (100:1) were spin-coated onto pre-cleaned glass substrates at room temperature. The prepared films were annealed at different temperatures of (373, 423 and 473) K. The structural studies, using a specific diffractometry of annealed and as deposited samples showed a polymorphism structure and dominated by CuPc with preferential orientation of the plane (100) of (2θ = 7) except at temperature of 423K which indicated a small peak around (2θ = 3
A phytoremediation experiment was carried out with kerosene as a model for total petroleum hydrocarbons. A constructed wetland of barley was exposed to kerosene pollutants at varying concentrations (1, 2, and 3% v/v) in a subsurface flow (SSF) system. After a period of 42 days of exposure, it was found that the average ability to eliminate kerosene ranged from 56.5% to 61.2%, with the highest removal obtained at a kerosene concentration of 1% v/v. The analysis of kerosene at varying initial concentrations allowed the kinetics of kerosene to be fitted with the Grau model, which was closer than that with the zero order, first order, or second order kinetic models. The experimental study showed that the barley plant designed in a subsu
... Show MoreThe present study stresses two of the most significant aspects of linguistic approach: Pragmatics” and the “Speech Act Theory”, revealing its importance and the stages and levels of development through Hebrew language’s speech acts analysis including (political speech, the Holy Bible, Hebrew stories).
Chronologically, Pragmatics has always been the center of linguists’ interests due to its importance in linguistic decryptions, particularly, through “Speech Act Theory” that has been initiated and developed by the most prominent philosophers and linguistics.
The prese
... Show MoreCoupling reaction of 2-amino benzoic acid with 8-hydroxy quinoline gave bidentate azo ligand. The prepared ligand has been identified by Microelemental Analysis,1HNMR,FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Treatment of the prepared ligand with the following metal ions (ZnII,CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio and at optimum pH, yielded a series of neutral complexes of the general formula [M(L)2]. The prepared complexes have been characterized by using flame atomic absorption, (C.H.N) Analysis, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic methods as well as conductivity measurements. The nature of the complexes formed were studied following the mole ratio and continuous variation methods, Beer's law obeyed over a concentration range
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