An increasing interest is emerging in identifying natural products to overcome drug resistance in cancer patients. In this context, the present study was conducted to investigate the cytotoxic effects of neem plant (Azadirachta indica) oil in three different biological models (breast cancer cell lines, Allium cepa root tip, and mice vital organs). The cytotoxic potential of the neem oil was evaluated with two human cell lines (MCF7 and MDA-MB231) and an Allum cepa root tip bioassay. Histopathological analysis was conducted on the neem oil-treated and untreated control mice. The results revealed an anti-proliferative effect for neem oil on both estrogen receptor-positive (MCF7) and estrogen receptor-negative (MDA-MB231) breast cancer cell lines with an IC50 value of 45.7 and 60 µg/ml, respectively. Also, a significant (p ≤ 0.001) reduction in the average mitotic index and elevated levels of cytogenetic abnormalities were observed in A. cepa root tips treated with different concentrations of neem oil extract compared to untreated roots. Moreover, very low to undetectable histopathological changes in the vital organs (liver and spleen) of mice administered with 15 mg/ml neem oil were also observed. The findings of this study suggest that neem oil extract has the potential to inhibit the growth of different rapidly dividing biological models (breast cancer cell lines and A. cepa root tips) with minimal toxicity to the vital organs of the exposed mice. This could be explored further for the development of novel therapeutics to address the problem of drug resistance associated with different malignancies.
This project introduces a prospective material for photonic laser applications. The material is olive oil which is classified as organic compound, having a good nonlinear optical properties candidate to be used in photonic applications. A high purity sample of olive oil has been used. The theoretical calculation to generate third harmonic wave using olive oil has been determine using MATLAB program. THG (λ=355nm) intensity has been determined at two cases of sample thicknesses 1mm and 10mm. The minimum threshold incident intensity to obtain THG intensity are equal Iω=7530 mW/cm2 at L=1mm and Iω= 6220 mW/cm2 at L=10mm. The possibility of generation of third harmonic in olive oil inside
... Show MoreThe world is confronted with the twin crisis of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation caused by fossil fuel usage. Biodiesel produced from renewable feedstocks such as Jatropha seed oil or animal fats by transesterification offers a solution. Although biodiesel has been produced from various vegetable oils such as Jatropha seed oil, the reaction kinetics studies are very few in literature, hence the need for this study. Jatropha curcas seed oil was extracted and analyzed to determine its free fatty acid and fatty acid composition. The oil was transesterified with methanol at a molar ratio of methanol to oil 8:1, using 1% sodium hydroxide catalyst, at different temperature
... Show MoreChanging oil-wet surfaces toward higher water wettability is of key importance in subsurface engineering applications. This includes petroleum recovery from fractured limestone reservoirs, which are typically mixed or oil-wet, resulting in poor productivity as conventional waterflooding techniques are inefficient. A wettability change toward more water-wet would significantly improve oil displacement efficiency, and thus productivity. Another area where such a wettability shift would be highly beneficial is carbon geo-sequestration, where compressed CO2 is pumped underground for storage. It has recently been identified that more water-wet formations can store more CO2. We thus examined how silica based nanofluids can induce such a wettabil
... Show MoreIn this study two types of extraction solvents were used to extract the undesirable polyaromatics, the first solvent was furfural which was used today in the Iraqi refineries and the second was NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone).
The studied effecting variables of extraction are extraction temperature ranged from 70 to 110°C and solvent to oil ratio in the range from 1:1 to 4:1.
The results of this investigation show that the viscosity index of mixed-medium lubricating oil fraction increases with increasing extraction temperature and reaches 107.82 for NMP extraction at extraction temperature 110°C and solvent to oil ratio 4:1, while the viscosity index reaches to 101 for furfural extraction at the same extraction temperature and same
This study aimed to evaluate the reservoir petrophysical properties (porosity, water saturation, and permeability) for optimal flow unit assessment within the Sadi Formation. Utilizing open hole logging data from five wells, the Sadi formation was divided into two rock units. The upper unit (A) is 45-50 meters thick, mainly consisting of limestone, mainly consisting of shaly limestone at the lower part. The lower unit (B) has a thickness of approximately 75-80 meters and is primarily composed of limestone, further subdivided into three subunits (B1, B2, B3). The average water resistivity is 0.04 ohm-m, and the average mud filtrate resistivity is 0.06 ohm-m. The Pickett plot was utilized to determine Archie parameters (tortuosit
... Show MoreAn innovative two-step noncatalytic esterifcation technique was proposed to synthesize alkyl esters from free fatty acids simulated in waste cooking oil, as a pretreatment process for biodiesel production, without adding any catalyst under normal conditions of pressure and temperature. The efect of methanol:oil molar ratio, reaction time, mixing rate, and reaction temperature were investigated. The results confrmed that the conversion of the reaction was increased when increasing the methanol molar ratio and decreased in prolonged reaction temperature. High conversion (94.545%) was successfully achieved at optimized conditions of 115:1, 65:1 methanol:oil molar ratio in the frst step and second step, respectively, other conditions i
... Show MoreRutting is mainly referring to pavement permanent deformation, it is a major problem for flexible pavement and it is a complicated process and highly observed along with many segments of asphalt pavement in Iraq. The occurrence of this defect is related to several variables such as elevated temperatures and high wheel loads. Studying effective methods to reduce rutting distress is of great significance for providing a safe and along-life road. The asphalt mixture used to be modified by adding different types of additives. The addition of additives typically excesses stiffness, improves temperature susceptibility, and reduces moisture sensitivity. For this work, steel fibres have been used for modifying asphalt mixture as they incorp
... Show MoreAccurate prediction of river water quality parameters is essential for environmental protection and sustainable agricultural resource management. This study presents a novel framework for estimating potential salinity in river water in arid and semi‐arid regions by integrating a kernel extreme learning machine (KELM) with a boosted salp swarm algorithm based on differential evolution (KELM‐BSSADE). A dataset of 336 samples, including bicarbonate, calcium, pH, total dissolved solids and sodium adsorption ratio, was collected from the Idenak station in Iran and was used for the modelling. Results demonstrated that KELM‐BSSADE outperformed models such as deep random vector funct
Background: The cells of periodontium contain many intracellular enzymes like (alkaline phosphatase ALP) that are released outside into the saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) after destruction of periodontal tissue. The aim of study was to determine the activity of this enzyme in saliva and its relation to the salivary flow rate, PH and clinical periodontal parameters in patients with chronic periodontitis. Subject, Materials and methods: Sample population consist of 75 individuals ;divided into four groups , the first group (15):control subject, the second group (20):mild chronic periodontitis, the third group(20) moderate chronic periodontitis and the fourth group (20) sever chronic periodontitis, Measurements of plaque index (PL
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