The study aimed to examine the impact of audit committee characteristics on the practices of intellectual capital disclosure in the annual reports of Bank and Insurance companies listed on Palestine Exchange, through performing content analysis of the annual reports for the study sample which totaled thirteen companies, including six banks and seven insurance companies. To achieve the study objectives, the study employed a content analysis approach in order to analyze the content of the intellectual capital disclosure practice, in addition, the study used cross-sectional with longitudinal data for time series for a period of time between 2014-2019. The empirical results indicated that financial expertise and the number of meeting

Biosorption of lead, chromium, and cadmium ions from aqueous solution by dead anaerobic biomass (DAB) was studied in single, binary, and ternary systems with initial concentration of 50 mg/l. The metal-DAB affinity was the same for all systems. The main biosorption mechanisms were complexation and physical adsorption of metallic cations onto natural active functional groups on the cell wall matrix of the DAB. It was found that biosorption of the metallic cations onto DAB cell wall component was a surface process. The main functional groups involved in the metallic cation biosorption were apparently carboxyl, amino, hydroxyle, sulfhydryl, and sulfonate. These groups were part of the DAB cell wall structural polymers. Hydroxyle groups (–O

Since June 2020, an explosion in number of new COVID-19 patients has been reported in Iraq with a steady increment in new daily reported cases over the next 3 months. The limited number of PCR kits in the country and the increment in the number of new COVID-19 cases makes the role of CT scan examinations rising and becoming essential in aiding the health institutions in diagnosing and isolating infected patients and those in close contacts. This study will review the spectrum of CT pulmonary changes due to COVID-19 infection and estimate the CT severity score index and its relation to age, sex, and PCR test results

Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the major globally distributed pathogens, which causes chronic and recalcitrant infections due to their capacity to produce biofilms in large part. Biofilm production represents a survival strategy in these species, allowing them to endure environmental stress by altering their gene expression to match their own survival needs. In this study, we co-cultured different clinical isolates of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa as mono- and mixed-species biofilms in a full-strength Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI) and in a 1000-fold diluted Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI/1000) using Microtiter plate assay and determination of colony-forming units. Furthermore, the effect of starvation stress on the e

This numerical study explores dynamic melting as an enhancement strategy to improve heat transfer in thermal energy storage (TES) systems utilizing phase change materials (PCM) with openings. Optimizing such systems is crucial for advancing renewable energy storage and integration. A 3D model simulates RT35 PCM flowing through a shell-and-tube heat exchanger annulus. The effects of varying PCM inlet slot diameter (2.5–7.5 mm), inlet pressure (1–40 Pa), and inlet/outlet port positioning on melting fraction and temperature distributions are computationally evaluated. Results show that increasing slot diameter from 2.5 mm to 7.5 mm reduces melting time by 13.6 % (from 550 to 475 min). Raising inlet pressure from 10 Pa to 40 Pa cuts melting

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease that ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). So far, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we show that hepatic carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) is markedly reduced in NASH patients, diabetic db/db mice, and high‐fat diet (HFD)‐fed mice. Restoration of hepatic CES2 expression in db/db or HFD‐fed mice markedly ameliorates liver steatosis and insulin resistance. In contrast, knockdown of hepatic CES2 causes liver steatosis and damage in chow‐ or Western diet‐fe

The fluorescence emission of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and Acriflavine dyes in PMMA polymer have been studied by changing the irradiation and exposure time of laser light to know the effect of this parameter. It was found that the fluorescence intensity decreases in the polymer samples doped dyes as the exposure time increases and then reaches stabilization at long times, this behavior called photobleaching, which have been shown in liquid phase less than solid phase. Using 2nd harmonic with wavelength 530 nm laser, the photobleaching effect in the two dye-doped polymers different solvent but same was studied. It was observed that photobleaching of by different solution and by using dip spin coating the photobleaching seem in liquid phase more

The fluorescence emission of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and Acriflavine dyes in PMMA polymer have been studied by changing the irradiation and exposure time of laser light to know the effect of this parameter. It was found that the fluorescence intensity decreases in the polymer samples doped dyes as the exposure time increases and then reaches stabilization at long times, this behavior called photobleaching, which have been shown in liquid phase less than solid phase. Using 2nd harmonic with wavelength 530 nm laser, the photobleaching effect in the two dye-doped polymers different solvent but same was studied. It was observed that photobleaching of by different solution and by using dip spin coating the photobleaching seem in liquid phase

Background: The main purpose of this study is to find if there is any correlation between the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) in gingival crevicular fluid with its serum level in chronic periodontitis patients and to explore the differences between them according to the probing depth. Materials and methods: Forty seven male subjects enrolled in this study. Thirty males with chronic periodontitis considered as study group whom further subdivided according to probing depth into subgroup 1 with pocket depth ≤6mm, subgroup 2 with pocket depth >6mm. The other 17 subjects considered as controls. For all subjects, clinical examination where done for periodontal parameters plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP),