Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials and Methods: Fifty Iraqi women having babies born with NTDS, referred to the genetic clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, were included in this study (the study group) as well as 37 healthy women having normal children (the control group). This study was conducted from November, 2002 till October, 2003. Analysis of total serum homocysteine level for all women was done using a computerized HPLC system. Results : the age of women in both groups was comparable (mean+SD in the study group was 26.2+5.14 years vs. 26.3+4.57 years in the controls). Among the study group, 4 (8%) had normal tHcy level; 44 (88%) had mildly elevated level, and only 2 (4%) had moderately elevated tHcy level, while all (100%) women in the control group had their tHcy level within normal level. This difference was statistically highly significant (p<0.001). Conclusions : Women become at an increased risk of delivering a baby with NTD when having an elevated tHcy level in their sera, and that tHcy level is an important marker in maternal serum that is associated significantly with pregnancy outcome.
The robot arm is the most popular robotic form used in industry. Thus, it is crucial to make a system programming which could controlled the movement of each part in the industrial robot to make it works properly. One of the simplest models of the robot arm is EDARM ED-7100 which has a controller to control the movement of the robot arm manually. In this study, the robot controller has been redesigned in order to improve this robot's function. The new controller system used AT89S52 microcontroller which has wire connected to the robot hand. A function has been added with this controller to improve the system of controlling and becomes better than the previous system (only manually). The functions of the new system include three mo
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Moisture damage is one of the most significant troubles that destroy asphaltic pavement and reduces road serviceability. Recently, academics have noticed a trend to utilize fibers to enhance the efficiency of asphalt pavement. This research explores the effect of low-cost ceramic fiber, which has high tensile strength and a very high thermal insulation coefficient, on the asphalt mixture's characteristics by adding three different proportions (0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25%). The Marshall test and the Tensile Strength Ratio Test (TSR) were utilized to describe the impact of ceramic fiber on the characteristics of Marshall and the moisture susceptibility of the hot mix asphalt mixture. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microsc
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Background: Although the new treatment methods developed in recent years are aiming to minimize the need for cooperation of the patients; however, the latter still important factor the treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the cooperation level of Class III maloc-clusion patients with orthodontic treatment. Materials and methods: This study followed a cross-sectional style; the targeted population was patients with Class III malocclusion who were treated with three different types of orthopaedic appliances. Four questionnaires were delivered to the patient, patient’s parents, and orthodontists. Statistical analyses of the study were performed with SPSS 20.0 software. Descriptive analyses were presented using fre-quency, percenta
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Hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) is a biomimetic sequence memory algorithm that holds promise for invariant representations of spatial and spatio-temporal inputs. This article presents a comprehensive neuromemristive crossbar architecture for the spatial pooler (SP) and the sparse distributed representation classifier, which are fundamental to the algorithm. There are several unique features in the proposed architecture that tightly link with the HTM algorithm. A memristor that is suitable for emulating the HTM synapses is identified and a new Z-window function is proposed. The architecture exploits the concept of synthetic synapses to enable potential synapses in the HTM. The crossbar for the SP avoids dark spots caused by unutil
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Cerium (III), Neodymium (III) and Samarium (III) Complexes existent a wide range of implementation that stretch from their play in the medicinal and pharmaceutical area because of their major significant pharmacological characteristic such as antifungal, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial ,anti-human immunodeficiency virus ,antineoplastic, anti-inflammation,inhibition corrosion,in some industrial (polymers, Azo dye).It is likely to open avenuesto research among various disciplines such as physics, electronics, chemistry and materials science by these complexes that contain exquisitely designed organic molecules.This paper reviews the definition, importance and various applications of Cerium (III), Neodymium (III) and Samarium (III) Complexes anddi
... Show MoreHeat transfer process and fluid flow in a solar chimney used for natural ventilation are investigated numerically in the present work. Solar chimney was tested by selecting different positions of absorber namely: at the back side, front side, and at the middle of the air gap. CFD analysis based on finite volume method is used to predict the thermal performance, and air flow in two dimensional solar chimney under unsteady state condition, to identify the effect of different parameters such as solar radiation. Results show that a solar chimney with absorber at the middle of the air gap gives better ventilation performance. A comparison between the numerical and previous experimental results shows fair agreement.
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This research presents a new study in reactive distillation by adopting a consecutive reaction . The adopted consecutive reaction was the saponification reaction of diethyl adipate with NaOH solution. The saponification reaction occurs in two steps. The distillation process had the role of withdrawing the intermediate product i.e. monoethyl adipate from the reacting mixture before the second conversion to disodium adipate occurred. It was found that monoethyl adipate appeared successfully in the distillate liquid. The percentage conversion from di-ester to monoester was greatly enhanced (reaching 86%) relative to only 15.3% for the case of reaction without distillation .This means 5 times enhancement . The presence of two layers in both the
... Show MoreS Khalifa E, N Adil A, K Nabeel O…, 2008
Heat transfer process and fluid flow in a solar chimney used for natural ventilation are investigated numerically in the present work. Solar chimney was tested by selecting different positions of absorber namely: at the back side, front side, and at the middle of the air gap. CFD analysis based on finite volume method is used to predict the thermal performance, and air flow in two dimensional solar chimney under unsteady state condition, to identify the effect of different parameters such as solar radiation. Results show that a solar chimney with absorber at the middle of the air gap gives better ventilation performance. A comparison between the numerical and previous experimental results shows fair agreement.
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