Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the new respiratory virus SARS-CoV2. It has a tropism in the lung tissues where excess target receptors exist. Periostin plays a role in subepithelial fibrosis associated with bronchial asthma. Since the Coronavirus's target is the human respiratory system, Periostin has been recently described as a valuable new biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease in patients with COVID-19 lung involvement. Objectives: To assess the level of Periostin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and to correlate its role in disease severity and prognosis. Subjects and Methods: Periostin serum levels were measured for 63 patients attending three main COVID

Background: Prophylaxis methods are used to mechanically remove plaque and stain from tooth surfaces; such methods give rise to loss of superficial structure and roughen the surface of composites as a result of their abrasive action. This study was done to assess the effect of three polishing systems on surface texture of new anterior composites after storage in artificial saliva. Materials and methods: A total of 40 Giomer and Tetric®N-Ceram composite discs of 12 mm internal diameter and 3mm height were prepared using a specially designed cylindrical mold and were stored in artificial saliva for one month and then samples were divided into four groups according to surface treatment: Group A (control group):10 specimens received no surfa

The uniform flow distrbiution in the multi-outlets pipe highly depends on the several parameters act togather. Therefor, there is no general method to achieve this goal. The  goal of this study is to investigate the proposed approach that can provide significant relief of the maldistribution. The method is based on re-circulating portion of flow from the end of the header to reduce pressure at this region . The physical model consists of main manifold with uniform longitudinal section having diameter of 152.4 mm (6 in), five laterals with diameter of 76.2 mm (3 in), and spacing of 300 mm. At first, The experiment is carried out with conventional manifold, which is a closed-end. Then, small amount of water is allowed

ABSTRACT Background:Hydrogen absorption and related degradation in the mechanical properties of Ni-Ti based orthodontic wires has been demonstrated following exposure to fluoride prophylactic agents. This study was designed to investigate the effects of three fluoride containing agents on the load deflection characteristics of heat activated nickel titanium arch wires during unloading phase. Material and method: Eighty specimens of heat activated nickel titanium arch wires were obtained from Ortho Technology Company, half of which had a 0.016 inch round and 0.019x0.025 rectangular. Ten specimens from both wire size were immersed in one of the tested fluoride prophylactic agents (neutral sodium fluoride gel, stannous fluoride gel or phos-flu

<p>The current work investigated the combustion efficiency of biodiesel engines under diverse ratios of compression (15.5, 16.5, 17.5, and 18.5) and different biodiesel fuels produced from apricot oil, papaya oil, sunflower oil, and tomato seed oil. The combustion process of the biodiesel fuel inside the engine was simulated utilizing ANSYS Fluent v16 (CFD). On AV1 diesel engines (Kirloskar), numerical simulations were conducted at 1500 rpm. The outcomes of the simulation demonstrated that increasing the compression ratio (CR) led to increased peak temperature and pressures in the combustion chamber, as well as elevated levels of CO₂ and NO mass fractions and decreased CO emission values un

An experimental study was conducted on pressure drop of water flow through vertical cylindrical packed beds in turbulent region and the influence of the operating parameters on its behavior. The bed packing was made of spherical and non-spherical particles (spheres, Rasching rings and intalox saddle) with aspect ratio range 3.46  D/dp  8.486 obtaining bed porosities 0.396 0.84 and Reynolds number 1217  21758. The system is consisted of 5 cm inside diameter Perspex column, 50 cm long; distilled water was pumped through the bed with flow rate 875, 1000, 1125, 1250,1375 and 1500 l/h and inlet water temperature 20, 30, 40 and 50 ˚C. The packed bed system was monitored by using LabVIEW program, were the result

The primary objective of current study was to evaluate the effects of different anastrozole dosages on the physiological performance, hematological profile, and serum biochemical parameters of broiler roosters. A total of Twenty-six Lohmann Brown roosters were randomly assigned to four treatment groups. The first group (T1) served as the control and received no anastrozole, while the other groups (T2, T3, and T4) were administered 0.2 mg, 0.4 mg, and 0.6 mg of anastrozole per day, respectively. The first and second groups consisted of six birds each, while the third and fourth groups had seven. The results demonstrated a significant improvement (P ≤ 0.05) in several physiological and biochemical parameters in the group receiving 0.6 mg of

This study aims to determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and
Entamoeba moshkovskii by three methods of diagnosis (microscopic examination, cultivation and PCR) that
were compared to obtain an accurate diagnosis of Entamoeba spp. during amoebiasis. Total (n=150) stool
samples related to patients were (n = 100) and healthy controls (n= 50). Clinically diagnosed stool samples
(n=100) were collected from patients attending the consultant clinics of different hospitals in Basrah during
the period from January 2018 to January 2019. The results showed that 60% of collected samples were
positive in a direct microscopic examination. All samples were cultivated on different media; the Bra

Densities ρ and viscosities η for several concentrations of amino acids (Serine, Cysteine and Threonine) at different temperatures (298.15, 303.15 and 308.15K) have been measured. On the basis of these data, the apparent molal volumes v , partial molal volumes at infinite dilution v , slope Sv , Gibbs free energy of activation for viscous flow of solution ∆G1,2 and Jones – Dole Bcoefficients were calculated the nature of solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions have been discussed in terms of the values of v , v , Sv and B-coefficents