In fish, a complex set of mechanisms deal with environmental stresses including hypoxia. In order to probe the hypothesis that hypoxia-induced stress could be manifested in varieties of pathways, a model species, mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio), were chronically exposed to hypoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 1.80±0.6mg/l) for 21 days and subsequently allowed to recover under normoxic condition (dissolved oxygen level: 8.2±0.5mg/l) for 7 days. At the end of these exposure periods, an integrated approach was applied to evaluate several endpoints at different levels of biological organisation. These included determination of (i) oxidative damage to DNA in erythrocytes (using modified comet assay), (ii) lipid peroxidation in liver samples by measuring the malondialdehyde production using the 2-thiobarbituric acid [i.e. thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay] and (iii) histopathological changes in gills. In addition, transcriptional expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α) and genes involved in the repair of oxidative damage to DNA (i.e. ogg1) and base excision repair (i.e. xrcc1) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in liver samples were also determined. The results suggested significantly enhanced expression of these genes in response to hypoxia compared to concurrent normoxic controls. While the expression of HIF-1α reverted to control values within 7 days exposure to normoxic condition (P < 0.05), the transcriptional expression of the two genes involved in DNA repair process remained significantly high under the recovery period, which complemented the induction of oxidative damage to DNA. Hypoxic groups showed significantly increased values for TBARS level (~2-fold) and histopathological changes in gill tissues compared to both normoxic and recovery groups. Overall, oxidative damage to DNA determined by modified comet assay reflected the observed biological responses in other tissues of the fish. Along with other parameters, this integrated experimental design further strengthens the applications of the comet assay as an important technique to assess stress-induced DNA damage in ecotoxicological studies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the UK Environmental Mutagen Society.
A total of 437 individuals of Turbellarin Platyhelminthes were sorted from benthic samples collected monthly for a period of seven months( April to November 2013 ) from AL-Dalmage lake, a part of middle section for main outfall drain south of Baghdad. They were identified as Gyratrix hermaphroditus, Stenostomum leucops ,Stenostomum unicolar and Stenostomum bryophilum ,The relative abundance of worms decreased during hot season which (May to September) ,where they start rising again. The species were studied alive , the identification criteria were illustrated by photos. G. hermaphroditus was the most abundant species among the four species.
Long memory analysis is one of the most active areas in econometrics and time series where various methods have been introduced to identify and estimate the long memory parameter in partially integrated time series. One of the most common models used to represent time series that have a long memory is the ARFIMA (Auto Regressive Fractional Integration Moving Average Model) which diffs are a fractional number called the fractional parameter. To analyze and determine the ARFIMA model, the fractal parameter must be estimated. There are many methods for fractional parameter estimation. In this research, the estimation methods were divided into indirect methods, where the Hurst parameter is estimated fir
... Show MoreRegistration techniques are still considered challenging tasks to remote sensing users, especially after enormous increase in the volume of remotely sensed data being acquired by an ever-growing number of earth observation sensors. This surge in use mandates the development of accurate and robust registration procedures that can handle these data with varying geometric and radiometric properties. This paper aims to develop the traditional registration scenarios to reduce discrepancies between registered datasets in two dimensions (2D) space for remote sensing images. This is achieved by designing a computer program written in Visual Basic language following two main stages: The first stage is a traditional registration p
... Show MoreRecently, important efforts have been made in an attempt to search for the cheapest and ecofriendly alternatives adsorbents. In the present work, waste molasses from Iraqi date palm (Zahdi) had been used as a provenance to produce charcoal for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from water. The optimum prepared charcoal was obtained at 150 C, by increasing temperature to 175 C, the charcoal had almost converted to ash. The obtained charcoal have been inspected for properties using scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), porosity and surface area. Adsorption data were optimized to Langmuir and Freundlich and adsorption parameters have been evaluated. The thermodynamic parameters like a change
... Show MoreThis study was designed to evaluate the ability of bioemulsifier to inhibit the growth of some pathogenic microorganisms. Fourteen isolates belonged to Serratia sp. were collected and tested for their ability to produce bioemulsifier. Results showed that Serratia marcescens S10 (isolated from the gut of the American cockroach) had the highest ability to produce bioemulsifier, among 14 isolates belong to Serratia spp. and it had the ability to inhibit the growth of some microorganisms. The production of bioemulsifier was detected by determination of emulsification index (E24%), qualitative drop-collapse test, emulsification activity (E.A) and measuring the surface tension (S.T). The results of bioemulsifier produced by Serratia marcescens S1
... Show MorePrediction of the structural response of reinforced concrete to the time-dependent, creep and shrinkage, volume changes is complex. Creep is usually determined by measuring the change, with time, in the strain of specimens subjected to a constant stress and stored under appropriate conditions. This paper brings into view the development of creep strain for four self-compacting concrete mixes: A40, AL40, B60 and BL60 (where 40 and 60 represent the compressive strength level at 28 days and L indicates to Portlandlimestone cement). Specimens were put under sustained load and exposed to controlled conditions in a creep chamber (ASTM C512). The test results showed that normal strength Portland-limestone mixes have yielded lower ultimate c
... Show MoreThe charge transfer at C23H17F8N8O2PRu, C44H30BF4N5O4Ru, C56H52CL5N5OOsP2 and C76H88F80N24O11P10Ru4 nitrosyl complexes are investigation and studies theoretically using the quantum consideration. Charge transfer behavior largely rely to the electric properties of nitrosyl complexes system whose depending on the main important parameters for the transmission rate constant such that: orientation transition energy, overlapping coupling coefficient, driving force energy, height barrier and Temperature T (K). Data results have been evaluated using a MATLAB program. Results show that rate of charge transfer increases due to increases the orientation transition energy.
Construction projects are complicated in nature and require many considerations in contractor selection. One of the complicated interactions is that between performance with the project size, and contractor financial status, and size of projects contracted. At the prequalification stage, the financial requirements restrict the contractors to meet minimum limits in financial criteria such as net worth, working capital and annual turnover, etc. In construction projects, however, there are cases when contractors meet these requirements but show low performance in practice. The model used in the study predicts the performance by training of a neural network. The data used in the study are 72 of the most recent roadw
... Show MoreThin films whose compositions can be expressed by (GeS2)100-xGax (x=0, 6,12,18) formula were obtained by thermal evaporation technique of bulk material at a base pressure of ~10-5 torr. Optical transmission spectra of the films were taken in the range of 300-1100 nm then the optical band gap, tail width of localized states, refractive index, extinction coefficient were calculated. The optical constants were found to increase at low concentration of Ga (0 to12%) while they decreases with further addition of Ga. The optical band gap was found to change in opposite manner to that of optical constants. The variation in the optical parameters are explained in terms of average bond energy
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