In this work, CdS/TiO2 nanotubes composite nanofilms were successfully synthesized via electrodeposition technique. TiO2 titania nanotube arrays (NTAs) are commonly used in photoelectrochemical cells as the photoelectrode due to their high surface area, excellent charge transfer between interfaces and fewer interfacial grain boundaries. The anodization technique of titanium foil was used to prepare TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode. The concentration of CdCl2 played an important role in the formation of CdS nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) shows that the CdS nanoparticles were well deposited onto the outer and inner of nanotube at 40 mM of CdCl2. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses wer

Plastic soil exhibits unfavorited geotechnical properties (when saturation), which causes negative defects to engineering structures. Different attempts (included various materials) were conducted to proffer solutions to such defects by experimenting in practical ways. On one hand, these attempts aimed to improve the engineering characteristics of plastic soil, and on the other hand, to use problematic waste materials as a stabilizer, like cement kiln dust, and to reduce environmental hazards. This paper explored the shrinkage, plasticity, and strength behavior of plastic soil enhanced with cement dust. The cement dust contents were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by dry weight of soil. An experimental series of shrinkage and p

Enhancing quality image fusion was proposed using new algorithms in auto-focus image fusion. The first algorithm is based on determining the standard deviation to combine two images. The second algorithm concentrates on the contrast at edge points and correlation method as the criteria parameter for the resulted image quality. This algorithm considers three blocks with different sizes at the homogenous region and moves it 10 pixels within the same homogenous region. These blocks examine the statistical properties of the block and decide automatically the next step. The resulted combined image is better in the contras

Herein, an efficient inorganic/organic hybrid photocatalyst composed of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) decorated with Cd0.5Zn0.5S solid solution semiconductor was constructed. The properties of prepared ZIF- [email protected] nanocomposite and its components (ZIF-67 and Cd0.5Zn0.5S) were investigated using XRD, FESEM, EDX, TEM, DRS and BET methods. The photocatalytic activity of fabricated [email protected] nanocomposite were measured toward removal of methyl violet (MV) dye as a simulated organic contaminant. Under visible-light and specific conditions (photocatalyst dose 1 g/l, MV dye 10 mg/l, unmodified solution pH 6.7 and reaction time 60 min.), the acquired [email protected] photocatalyst showed advanced photocatalytic activity

Immunosuppressive cytokines are the main components of the tumor microenvironment and perform a vital function in controlling the immune response to malignant neoplasms.The objective: to study the influence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) on the development of breast tumors in women.Materials and methods. The concentration of cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β3 in blood serum was determined in 40 women with benign breast tumors, 40 women with malignant breast tumors, and 40 healthy patients without breast pathology, who were included in the control group.Breast cancer (BC) patients were divided into two groups; the first group included patients with the II stage of BC, who were considered to have a low le

The study aimed to evaluate the benefits of transferrin saturation percentage (TSAT) and serum ferritin in assessing body iron status, which can influence erythropoietin treatment in patients with ESRD. Forty end-stage renal disease patients on regular hemodialysis participated in this study. Clinical data were obtained. Serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, ferritin, albumin, creatinine, and C-reactive protein were investigated. Thirty healthy people were enrolled as a control group. ESRD patients had a mean age of 45.1±13.9 years, with 60% being males. They exhibited significantly lower hematocrit (25.3±6.5%), and higher platelet (285.7±148.1x10^9/L) and WBC (9.4±3.1x10^9/L) counts compared to healthy contro

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and sulphur foam added either at direct seeding or at transplanting decreased the effects of nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) on eggplant growth, and improved plant health. Experiments were conducted to study the possible interactions between the Mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mossae and Gigaspora spp.) and sulphur foam to control M. javanica on eggplant at seed or seedling stage. Experiment at seed stage treated with Mycorrhiza or sulphur foam alone or together stimulated the growth and reduced Nematode infestation significantly. Treated plant at seedling stage increased plant growth and reduced the number of galls /gm of root system. The interaction between Mycorrhiza and sulpher foam treatments was not significant

The genus of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz, 1829 is one of the most diverse and widespread genera of the family Buprestidae of some 700 described species distributed throughout the world. In Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan region, about 4 species had been recorded so far, many of these species are sympatric, share larval host plants, and are difficult to reliably separate morphologically. The current study investigates species limits and relationships among the recognized species occurring within the Erbil Province; mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase (COX I) molecular analysis confirmed the monophyly of two Chrysobothris species, Ch. affinis (Fabricius, 1794) and Ch. chrysostigma (Linnaeus, 1758). Implications of the resultant larval mor