Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves the narrowing of the lung airways and excessive mucus production. Resveratrol (RES), a polyphenolic stilbene, is known to control asthmatic attacks via different molecular mechanisms. However, no studies have examined the effect of resveratrol on the microbiome in the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma mouse model. In this study, we induced asthma in BALB/c mice by injecting OVA followed by 7 days treatment with RES. Plethysmography showed that the expiratory resistance in the lung tissue was significantly reduced in the RES treated group, while mean volume, peak expiratory flow, and frequency of respiration was increased. Histopathological examination of the lungs of the RES-treated group showed significant reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration and led to restoration of normal lung tissue architecture. In addition, there were significant increases in the expression of the genes encoding tight-junction molecules (claudin-1 and cadherin-18) in the RES-treated group. We performed 16S rRNA microbial analysis of cecal flushes and pulmonary tissues, which showed that RES treatment alters the gut microbiome by significantly increasing the level of Bacteroides acidifaciens spp. compared to disease controls. In addition, there was a significant increase in Akkermansia muciniphila (AM) species within the lungs after RES treatment. AM is a gram-negative, non-spore-forming bacterium known to induce mucus degradation. Since asthma is characterized by an increase in mucus in the lungs, we concluded that RES improves asthma in OVA-induced mouse model by significantly increasing AM and preventing mucus build-up in the lungs.
Background: Scientific education aims to be inclusive and to improve students learning achievements, through appropriate teaching and learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) system, a student centered method, started in the second half of the previous century and is expanding progressively, organizes learning around problems and students learn about a subject through the experience of solving these problems.Objectives:To assess the opinions of undergraduate medical students regarding learning outcomes of PBL in small group teaching and to explore their views about the role of tutors and methods of evaluation. Type of the study: A cross-sectional study.Methods: This study was conducted in Kerbala Medical Colleges among second year students
... Show MoreBackground: Prosthodontic services have changed markedly due to an introduction of new materials, techniques and treatment options. The aim of this study were to identify the type of materials and the methods used by dental practitioners in their clinics to construct conventional complete dentures and to specify the type and design for removable partial dentures (RPDs); and to then compare them with those taught in dental schools. Materials and methods: A total of 153 dental practitioners in Sulaimani city completed a written questionnaire. The questionnaire included 19 questions regarding complete and RPDs fabrication. Results: Most of the practitioners provide complete dentures (81.6%) and RPDs (95.3%) in their clinics. Polyvinyl silox
... Show MoreHerpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common human pathogen that causes severe infections in newborns and immunocompromised patients. Conjunctivitis or corneal epithelial keratitis is caused by HSV type 1 all over the world and at all times of the year. The present study was aimed at detecting HSV in patients suffering from conjunctivitis. One hundred and ten (110) clinical samples (90 patients and 20 controls, both males and females) of eye conjunctiva swabs were collected from patients of different ages. The samples were analyzed using qPCR and ELISA techniques. The qPCR results revealed that HSV was present in 47 (52.2%) of the 90 patients who were infected. Of these patients, 25 (48.0%) were males and 22 (57.8%) were females, indicati
... Show MoreMetadiscourse markers are means for organizing a writer’s information and create a connection with her/his readers. When students write, they usually focus on one type of these markers that is the interactive markers and belittling the use of the other type which is the interactional markers. That is to say, they emphasize on presenting and organizing their information only. Therefore, this study is conducted to bridge this gap. The researchers have selected 18 thesis abstracts. Nine of them are written by Iraqi students of English and the rest by American students. The aims of the study are to examine the types and sub-types of metadiscourse markers used by American and Iraqi students; investigate comparatively the impact of the metad
... Show MoreUntreated municipal solid waste (MSW) release onto land is prevalent in developing countries. To reduce the high levels of harmful components in polluted soils, a proper evaluation of heavy metal concentrations in Erbil's Kani Qrzhala dump between August 2021 and February 2022 is required. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of improper solid waste disposal on soil properties within a landfill by assessing the risks of contamination for eight heavy elements in two separate layers of the soil by using geoaccumulation index (I-geo) and pollution load index (PLI) supported. The ArcGIS software was employed to map the spatial distribution of heavy element pollution and potential ecological risks. The I-geo values in summe
... Show More<span lang="EN-US">Iraqi people have been without energy for nearly two decades, even though their geographic position provides a high intensity of radiation appropriate for the construction of solar plants capable of producing significant quantities of electricity. Also, the annual sunny hours in Iraq are between 3,600 to 4,300 hours which makes it perfect to use the photovoltaics arrays to generate electricity with very high efficiency compared to many countries, especially in Europe. This paper shows the amount of electric energy generated by the meter square of crystalline silicon in the photovoltaic (PV) array that already installed in 18 states in Iraq for each month of the year. The results of the meter-square of PV arr
... Show MoreBackground: Tooth eruption is a more general process, however, which includes certain posteruptive tooth movements. There are two fundamental requirements for both tooth eruption to occur: (1) Require soft tissue, intervening between tooth structure and alveolar bone, which plays an important role in regulating the remodeling of adjacent tissues. (2) Require bone turnover that is temporally and spatially regulated to facilitate specific translocations of teeth through alveolar bone These amniotic stem cells are multipotent and able to differentiate into various tissues, which may be useful for human application and recently it used in many medical branches. CD34 is an endothelial marker that is extensively used in immunohistochemistry a
... Show MoreFirstly, in this study, a brief updated description and applications of different solar collectors used in renewable energy systems for supplying electric and thermal energy was presented. Secondly, an attempt was made to utilize tilting orientation of solar collector for maximizing collector energy with time in respect to horizontal orientation. For energy calculation, global solar radiation was used since they are directly related. For that purpose, field measurements of half-hourly radiation on two flat panels of tilting and horizontal orientations were carried out throughout 8-month period under local climate of Baghdad. Then, energy gain and radiation level averages were calculated based on the field radiation
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Cutting forces are important factors for determining machine serviceability and product quality. Factors such as speed feed, depth of cut and tool noise radius affect on surface roughness and cutting forces in turning operation. The artificial neural network model was used to predict cutting forces with related to inputs including cutting speed (m/min), feed rate (mm/rev), depth of cut (mm) and work piece hardness (Map). The outputs of the ANN model are the machined cutting force parameters, the neural network showed that all (outputs) of all components of the processing force cutting force FT (N), feed force FA (N) and radial force FR (N) perfect accordance with the experimental data. Twenty-five samp
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