Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) play a role in the detoxification of environmental chemicals and mutagens, such as those inhaled during tobacco smoking. There have been conflicting reports concerning GST polymorphisms as risk factors in the development of lung cancer. No studies focused on Arab populations exposed to Waterpipe (WP) tobacco smoke have been undertaken. Here Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and gene sequenc- ing were applied to analyze allelic variations in GSTP1-rs1695 and -rs1138272 amongst 123 lung cancer patients and 129 controls. The data suggest that WP smoking raised the risk of lung cancer more than three-fold (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.1–6.0; p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant association between individual GSTP1 polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer. In contrast, analysis of the rs1695 and rs1138272 combination suggested that the risk of lung cancer was raised more than two-fold for carriers of the GSTP1-rs1695 (G) allele (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.0–6.4; p < 0.05), however, the presence of the GSTP1-rs1138272 (T) allele, in addition to GSTP1-rs1695, did not significantly change the risk ratio (OR2.8; 95% CI 1.4–5.7; p < 0.004). WP tobacco smokers who carried the GSTP1-rs1695, but not GSTP1-rs1138272, allele were similarly susceptible to lung cancer (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.1–5.3; p < 0.03). Hence, the results suggest that smoking WP tobacco and carrying GSTP1-rs1695 polymorphisms are risk factors for lung cancer in Arab Iraqi males.
Gelatin is a valuable substance that is known to have a complex 3D structure, but it has limited adsorption efficiency, which limit its application at physiological temperature. In this paper, gelatin was improved by the addition of glutaraldehyde (GTA) to enhance its ability to adsorb dye in aqueous solution. The adsorption experiments were conducted under different conditions, such as the amount of adsorbent, the concentration of the dye, and the temperature. The study found that the qe by GTA-GE (4.978 to 23.056 mg/g) and GE (4.8 to 21.333 mg/g) increased with the increase of initial dye concentrations but decreased with the amount of adsorbent. The parameters at equilibrium were at a pH of 4 and a dose of adsorbent of 100 mg in
... Show MoreOxidative stress plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of peripheral artery disease (PAD). This study aimed to investigate the effect of clopidogrel on oxidative stress in PAD patients. Seventy subjects were divided into three groups: PAD patients before treatment (B-PAD), PAD patients after treatment with clopidogrel (A-PAD), and healthy controls. Serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and oxidized protein were measured. SOD activities were also determined. The results showed that SOD activities, and SOD specific activities were significantly decreased in PAD patients compared to healthy individuals. After treatment with clopidogrel, SOD activities, and SOD specific activities were continuous
... Show MoreConstruction contractors usually undertake multiple construction projects simultaneously. Such a situation involves sharing different types of resources, including monetary, equipment, and manpower, which may become a major challenge in many cases. In this study, the financial aspects of working on multiple projects at a time are addressed and investigated. The study considers dealing with financial shortages by proposing a multi-project scheduling optimization model for profit maximization, while minimizing the total project duration. Optimization genetic algorithm and finance-based scheduling are used to produce feasible schedules that balance the finance of activities at any time w
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
... Show MoreThe undetected error probability is an important measure to assess the communication reliability provided by any error coding scheme. Two error coding schemes namely, Joint crosstalk avoidance and Triple Error Correction (JTEC) and JTEC with Simultaneous Quadruple Error Detection (JTEC-SQED), provide both crosstalk reduction and multi-bit error correction/detection features. The available undetected error probability model yields an upper bound value which does not give accurate estimation on the reliability provided. This paper presents an improved mathematical model to estimate the undetected error probability of these two joint coding schemes. According to the decoding algorithm the errors are classified into patterns and their decoding
... Show MoreIn this study, the response and behavior of machine foundations resting on dry and saturated sand was investigated experimentally. In order to investigate the response of soil and footing to steady state dynamic loading, a physical model was manufactured. The manufactured physical model could be used to simulate steady state harmonic load at different operating frequencies. Total of (84) physical models were performed. The parameters that were taken into considerations include loading frequency, size of footing and different soil conditions. The footing parameters were related to the size of the rectangular footing and depth of embedment. Two sizes of rectangular steel model footing were used (100 200 12.5 mm) and (200 400 5.0 mm).
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