Catalytic microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass is gaining popularity as an alternative to fossil fuels due to health, environmental, climate, and economic issues. This study conducted a catalytic pyrolysis process of the Albizia plant's branches using an Iraqi clay catalyst (bentonite) focusing on the variables including the biomass-particle size, experimental time, microwave power level, and the catalyst-to-biomass ratio. The physical and chemical properties of the resulting biofuel were analyzed presented by HHV, acidity, density, viscosity, GC-MS, FTIR for bio-oil and SEM, EDX, BET, HHV, FTIR for biochar. The study revealed that addition of bentonite as a catalyst led to enhanced production of biogas produced from 5% to 45% and decreased the power level used from 700 W to 450 W. Also, it raised the production of bio-oil generated with less power level and duration time. The addition of catalyst also affected the characteristics of bio-oil produced such as reducing the acidity by increasing its pH from 5 to 5.7, lowering the viscosity from 4.8 to 3.3 cSt, and the density from 1045 to 1039.2 kg/m3. Adding catalyst increased the percentage of aromatic and alcoholic substances in the bio-oil which led to improve the calorific value from 19.5 to 23 MJ/kg. Additionally, the biochar properties also improved, where the surface area and pore volume increased from 0.5512 to 40.384 m2/g and 0.00011 to 0.0361cm3/g respectively. The higher heating value was raised from 23.5 to 25 MJ/kg also. CH4 is also increased from 3.6 to 8.6% which is one of the essential fuel gasses.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by hepatic fat accumulation in individuals consuming little or no alcohol, has become highly prevalent globally. Oxidative stress plays a central role in instigating inflammation and cell death pathways driving NAFLD progression. This case–control study aimed to elucidate the association between circulating levels of the pivotal non-enzymatic antioxidants – coenzyme Q10 and vitamins E and C – and liver injury parameters among 60 Iraqi NAFLD patients versus 30 healthy controls. NAFLD diagnosis entailed over 5% hepatic steatosis on ultrasound excluding other etiologies. Patients spanned three age groups: 20–29, 30–39, an
ervical cancer is one of the most frequently diag nosed malignancies representing the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in females’ worldwide, with approximately 500,000 new cases diagnosed and 280,000 deaths occurring each year. Mxi1, an antagonist of c-Myc, maps to human chromosome 10q24-q25, a region altered in a substantial fraction of prostate tumors, in prostate cancer, where a high frequency of loss and mutation of the MXI1 gene has been reported. The aim of present study was to find out the possible association of exon deletion of MXI1 gene with incidence of cervical abnormalities and cancers in some Iraqi married women. The present study include collection of 120 scraping cervical cells samples from women clinically di
... Show MoreObjective: To determine the prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Iraqi repatriated
prisoners of Iran-Iraq war, and the relationship with demographic factors.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out from Oct. 18th, 2009 through Jan. 10th, 2010. A nonprobability
based snowball sampling technique was used to recruit 92 Iraqi repatriated prisoners of war
(IRPOWs) who had visited Ministry of Human Rights. A data collection instrument was constructed that
consisted of six demographic characteristics, and eight items to measure the level of PTSD in POWs. Data were
collected with the constructed instrument during a brief interview. Data were analyzed through the application of
descriptive statist
Background Many antidiabetic medications with distinct modes of action are available, The sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are among the most recent oral antihyperglycemic medications. The American Diabetes Association recommends metformin, a biguanide medication, as the first option for oral control of type 2 diabetes because it has demonstrated promise in this regard. Aim of the study To evaluate and compare the effects of metformin and SGLT-2 inhibitors on general urine parameters in T2DM patients from Iraq. Method a prospective cohort study where 101 adult patients of both sexes aged under 70 years and newly diagnosed with T2DM, patients were divided into two groups, Metformin group (n=52), where metformin was p
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to diagnose the level of awareness and response of the researched sample to the concept of enlightened leadership and strategic alignment, as well as to measure the strength and weakness of the relationships between the independent variable of enlightened leadership and the dependent variable of strategic alignment with its dimensions. Thus, the research problem was defined by the main question of identifying the role played by enlightened leadership in achieving strategic alignment in a number of private Iraqi commercial banks. In light of this, the hypothetical research model was designed, embodying the relationship between the research variables. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted, and a ques
... Show MoreBackground: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of mortality among women in Iraq forming 23% of cancer related deaths. The low survival from the disease is a direct consequence to the advanced stages at diagnoses. Aim: To document the composite stage of breast cancer among Iraqi patients at the time of diagnosis; correlating the observed findings with other clinical and pathological parameters at presentation. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study enrolling the clinical and pathological characteristics of 603 Iraqi female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The composite stage of breast cancer was determined according to UICC TNM Classification System of Breast Cancer and the Ameri
... Show MoreBackground: Lateral cephalometric radiography is commonly used as a standard tool in orthodontic assessment and treatment planning. This study aimed to determine the tongue and surrounding space area in a sample of Iraqi adults with class I dental and skeletal pattern. Materials and methods: The study included thirty healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females) with an age ranged between 23-34 years and class I dental and skeletal pattern with no history of any sleep related disorders. The assessed cephalometric measurement included length and height of the tongue and position of hyoid bone from cervical line. Descriptive statistics were obtained for the data. Genders difference was evaluated by independent sample t-test. Results: There wer
... Show MoreAnkylosing spondylitis (AS) represents one kind of advanced arthritis formed via inflammatory stimuli long-term in the spin‘s joints. Interleukin (IL)-29 (interferon- lambda1(IFN- λ1)), interleukin (IL)-28A (interferon- lambda 2 (IFN- λ2)) and interleukin (IL)-28B (interferon- lambda 3(IFN-λ3)) are three interferon lambda (IFN- λs) molecules that have recently been identified as new members of the IFN family. IL-28B expression in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is not well understood. 150 male healthy controls ((HC) and 160 males with AS as patients group participated in this study. Serum level and gene polymorphism were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Sanger sequencing for IL-28B, respectively. The results showed
... Show MoreRecently, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was considered as one of the autoimmune diseases that the genetic and environmental factors contributed in the disease etiological profile. According to the environmental factors, infectious agents have been concluded to have a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of SLE. Chlamydia pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are among these infectious agents that have been suggested to be involved in the etiology of SLE. Accordingly, the current study was designed to assess the anti-C. pneumoniae and anti-M. pneumoniae IgG antibody status by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the sera of 64 Iraqi SLE females' patients and 32 Iraqi healthy females as controls. The patients' group were distribu
... Show MoreBackground: The gene responsible for encoding the protein of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) has been found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in different ethnic populations. But the association of +49A/G CTLA-4 polymorphism with susceptibility of RA among Iraqi Arab populations has not yet been determined. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients were examined, 67 of them were males (mean age 54.71 ± 10.4 years), while 167 were examined for the control group, of whom 64 were males and the rest were females. CTLA-4 DNA genotyping was carried on to determine the +49 A/G (rs231775) polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Enzyme-linked immuno
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