Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, immune mediated disease of the central nervous system, mostly affecting young adults with mean age of 30 years, twice as high in women compared to men. The etiology of MS is not fully elucidated. MS symptoms are directly related to demyelination and axonal loss, along with other psychological symptoms, can result in functional limitations, disability and reduced quality of life (QoL).  The QoL assessments in patients with a chronic disease may contribute to improving treatment and could even be of prognostic value. The goals  of this study were  to  compare the QoL of  Iraqi patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS),using three different diseas

Water stress has a negative impact on the yield and growth of crops worldwide and consequently has a global impact on food security. Many biochemical changes occur in plants as a response to water stress, such as activation of antioxidant systems. Molybdenum (Mo) plays an important part in activating the expression of many enzymes, such as CAT, POD, and SOD, as well as increasing the proline content. Mo therefore supports the defence system in plants and plays an important role in the defence system of mung bean plants growing under water stress conditions. Four concentrations of Mo (0, 15, 30, and 45 mg·L−1) were applied to plants, using two approaches: (a) seed soaking and (b) foliar application. Mung bean plants were subject

The present work included qualitative study of epiphytic algae on dead and living stems, leaves of the aquatic plant Phragmitesaustralis Trin ex Stand, in Tigris River in AL- Jadria Site in Baghdad during Autumn 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, and Summer 2015. The physical and chemical parameters of River’s water were studied (water temperature, pH, electric conductivity, Salinity, TSS, TDS, turbidity, light intensity, dissolve oxygen, BOD5, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium and plant nutrient). A total of 142 isolates of epiphytic algae were identified. Diatoms were dominant by 117 isolates followed by Cyanobacteria (13isolates), Chlorophyta (11 isolates) and Rhodophyta (1 isolate), Variations in the isolates number were rec

In this work, effects of using different evaporative cooling pads (ECPs) on the energetic and exergetic efficiency of a direct evaporative air cooler (DEAC) have been theoretically and experimentally investigated. Three types of ECPs were used, i.e., honeycomb cellulose cooler pad (HCCP), shading-cloth cooler pad (SCCP), and aspen wood wool cooler pad (AWWCP). For SCCP and AWWCP, a 3-cm pad thickness was used, while for the HCCP, three different values of pad thickness were used, i.e., 3, 5, and 7 cm. Tests were carried out using air velocities of 8, 14, and 19 m/s, measured at the DEAC outlet. Engineering equation solver (EES) used for performing the required calculations of the various parameters affecting the thermal performance of the D

The pretreatment process can be considered one of the important processes in wastewater treatment, especially coagulation process to decrease the strength of many pollutants. This paper focused on using powdered date seeds as natural coagulant in addition to chemical coagulants (alum and ferric chloride) to find the optimum dosage of each coagulant that makes efficient removal of turbidity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from domestic wastewater as a pretreatment process, then finding the optimum combined dosages of date seeds with alum, date seeds with ferric chloride that make efficient removal for both pollutants. Concerning turbidity, the optimum dosage for date seeds, alum and ferric chloride were 40 mg/l (79%), 70

The melting duration in the photovoltaic/phase-change material (PV/PCM) system is a crucial parameter for thermal energy management such that its improvement can realize better energy management in respect to thermal storage capabilities, thermal conditions, and the lifespan of PV modules. An innovative and efficient technique for improving the melting duration is the inclusion of an exterior metal foam layer in the PV/PCM system. For detailed investigations of utilizing different metal foam configurations in terms of their convective heat transfer coefficients, the present paper proposes a newly developed mathematical model for the PV/PCM–metal foam assembly that can readily be implemented with a wide range of operating condition