Pregnancy and childbirth are physiological states characterized by sudden hormonal and immunologically described changes. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of maternal variables (age, previous abortion, placental position, and fetal position) on some physiological biomarkers, such as oxytocin (OT), prolactin (PRL), cortisol, and insulin growth factor 2 (IGF -2) and some immune biomarkers such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in Iraqi women undergoing caesarean section (CS). Blood samples were collected from 48 pregnant women in the age range (16-43 years) and serum was obtained to determine the levels of the above biomarkers. The effect of maternal age on physiological biomarkers showed that OT levels increased significantly with maternal age (P≤0.001), whereas PRL, cortisol, and IGF-2 levels were not (P˃0.05), showing differences between age categories. The effect of maternal age on immune biomarkers showed that PD-1 levels decreased significantly (P<0.05) and PD-L1 and PD-1/PD-L1 levels were highly significant (P≤ 0.001), however, IL-6 level shows a non-significant (P˃0.05) difference between age categories. Regarding the effect of previous abortion, statistical analysis showed that cortisol levels were significantly (P<0.05) lower in women with previous abortion compared to women without previous abortion, while OT, PRL, and IGF-2 levels were not significantly different (P ˃ 0.05) difference between the two groups. PD-1 and PD-L1 levels showed a significant (P<0.05) decrease in women with previous abortion compared with women without abortion, while IL-6 mirror images did not differ significantly (P˃0.05) between the two groups. The effect of placenta position showed that when the placenta was in the anterior position, the PRL level was significantly increased (P≤0.001), IGF-2 level was significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the OT and cortisol levels were significantly higher (P≤0.001) compared with the posterior position There was no significant difference between the two groups (P˃0.05). When the placenta was located in the anterior compared with the posterior, the level of PD-L1 was significantly (P<0.05) lower, while the levels of PD-1 and PD -1/PD- were not significantly different (P˃0.05). L1 and IL-6 between the two groups. According to fetal position, statistical analysis showed no significant difference in all physiological and immune biomarkers when the fetus was in cephalic or breech position (P˃0.05). It can be concluded that the more maternal variables which affect on the physiological and immunological biomarkers of the women undergoing caesarean section are maternal age and a previous abortion.
Recent research has examined the improvement of physical and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramic material by small addition of excess TiO2 or BaCO3. The prepared samples sintered at different temperatures and varying soaking time. The results show that increasing the sintering temperature within 1350°C and soaking time of 10 hrs give better electrical and physical properties, which indicate the reaction is complete at higher temperature and period.
(Cu1-x,Agx)2ZnSnSe4 alloys have been fabricated with different Ag content(x=0, 0.1, and 0.2) successfully from their elements. Thin films of these alloys have been deposited on coring glass substrate at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique under vacuum of 10-5Torr with thickness of 800nm and deposition rate of 0.53 nm/sec. Later, films have been annealed in vacuum at (373, and 473)K, for one hour. The crystal structure of fabricated alloys and as deposited thin films had been examined by XRD analysis, which confirms the formation of tetragonal phase in [112] direction, and no secondary phases are founded. The shifting of main polycrystalline peak (112) to lower Bragg’s angle as compared to Cu2ZnSnSe4 angle refers to incorpora
... Show MoreThe current study aimed to evaluate the effect of the heavy metals copper, cadmium and cobalt when added individually, in combination and in combination on the growth and reproduction of the aquatic fungus Saprolegnia hypogyna.
The purpose of this work is to clarify the effect of the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) on the properties of the galaxy. A photometric study of two galaxies by surface optical measurements techniques and by using'griz filters' was performed. The scientific material that used in this work was obtained from ''SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY'' (DR7), a fuzzy color, contour maps, photometric parameters, and color indices were studied by using surface photometric technique. The work was done by Ellipse task in IRAF (Image Reduction and Analysis Facility) software from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).
In this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images. So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poo
... Show MoreIn this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images.
So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poor s
... Show MoreThe consumption of fresh fruits has increased nowadays due to the lifestyle of the consumers. Maintaining the quality and nutritional value of cut fruits during storage is difficult compared to whole fruits. Deterioration of internal and external quality usually occurs in freshly harvested fruits. It is necessary to use different techniques to maintain the quality and increase the shelf life of the freshly cut product. This research studied the effect of treating apple slices with cold plasma once and with filtered water again on quality characteristics (hardness, moisture content, sugar content, carbohydrate content, and color) after being stored for five days. The best treatment was determined using two different pressures of the plasma j
... Show MoreJet grouting is one of the most widely applied soil improvement techniques. It is suitable for most geotechnical problems, including improving bearing capacity, decreasing settlement, forming seals, and stabilizing slopes. One of the difficulties faced by designers is determining the strength and geometry of elements created using this method. Jet grouted soil-cement columns in soil are a complicated issue because they are dependent on a number of parameters such as soil type, grout and water flow rate, rotation and lifting speed of monitor, nozzle jetting force, and water to cement ratio of slurry. This paper discusses the effect of the water-cement ratio on the physical and mechanical characteristics of soilcrete. In t
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One of the most suitable materials to be used in latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTES) are Phase change materials, but a problem of slow melting and solidification processes made many researchers focusing on how to improve their thermal properties. This experimental work concerned with the enhancing of thermal conductivity of phase change material. The enhancing method was by the addition of copper Lessing rings in phase change material (paraffin wax). The effect of diameter for the used rings was studied by using two different diameters (0.5 cm and 1cm). Also, three volumetric percentages of rings addition (3%, 6% and 10%) were tested for each diameter. The discharging process was done with
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