Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel and a good substitution for the fossil fuel. However, the purity of this fuel is a major concern that challenges researchers. In this study, a calcium oxide based catalyst has been prepared from local waste eggshells by the calcination method and tested in production biodiesel. The eggshells were powdered and calcined at different temperatures (700, 750, 800, 850 and 900 °C) and periods of time (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hr.). The effect of calcination temperature and calcination time on the structure and activity of the solid catalyst were examined by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Brunaure-Emmett-Teller (BET). The optimum catalyst performance was obtained at 900 °C

    The examination of gills of the common carp Cyprinus carpio revealed the presence of two species of the family Trichodinidae belonging to the genus Dipartiella (Raabe, 1959) Stein, 1961 namely D. indiana Saha and Bandyopadhyay, 2017 and D. kazubski Mitra and Bandyopadhyay, 2009 for the first time in Iraq from Al-Graiat location on the Tigris River at Baghdad city. This also represents the first record of the genus Dipartiella from fishes of Iraq. The descriptions and measurements of these two parasite species as well as their illustrations were given.

Background: The polymethyl methacrylate is the most reliable material for the construction of complete and partial dentures, despite satisfying esthetic demand itsuffered from having unsatisfactory properties like impact strength and transverse strength. This study was designed to improve the impact strength and transverse strength of heat cure acrylic resin by adding untreated and oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fibers and investigate the effect of this additive on some properties of acrylic resin materials. Materials and methods: Untreated and oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fibers was added to PMMA powder by weight 2.5 %. Specimens were constructed and divided into 5 groups according to the using tests; each group was subdivided

Background: Adipose derived-mesenchymal stem cells have been used as an alternative to bone marrow cells in this study. Objective: We investigated the in vitro isolation, identification, and differentiation of stem cells into neuron cells, in order to produce neuron cells via cell culture, which would be useful in nerve injury treatment. Method: Mouse adipose mesenchymal stem cells were dissected from the abdominal subcutaneous region. Neural differentiation was induced using β-mercaptoethanol. This study included two different neural stage markers, i.e. nestin and neurofilament light-chain, to detect immature and mature neurons, respectively. Results: The immunocytochemistry results showed that the use of β-mercaptoethanol resulted in

The current study was designed to explore the association between the pigments production and biofilm construction in local Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. Out of 143 patients suffering from burns, urinary tract infections (UTI), respiratory tract infections and cystic fibrosis obtained from previous study by Mahmood (2015), twenty two isolates  (15.38%) were identified  from (11) hospitals in Iraq, splitted  into three provinces, Baghdad, Al-Anbar and Karbala for the duration of June 2017 to April 2018.  Characterization was carried out by using microscopical, morphological and biochemical methods which showed that all these isolates belong to P. aeruginosa.  Screening of   biofilm production isolates was carried out by usi