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.
This study aims at defining the concept of the fragile state, a term that came into existence in 2014, when the states that had internal Problems and external interventions were referred to as the failure states. However, the indicators for their designation and the criteria adopted are 12 indicators that address all aspects of the State’s duties vis-a-vis its citizens. The study examined the reasons that led to the continuation of Iraq within the fragile states, and the selection of the five years within the time limits of the study due to the factors that led to the decline of Iraq and falling back within the most fragile countries. The study dealt with the fragile state challenges to the media reality as a result of the change of it
... Show MoreThe corrosion of carbon steel in single phase (water with 0.1N NaCl ) and two immiscible phases (kerosene-water) using turbulently agitated system is investigated. The experiments are carried out for Reynolds number (Re) range of 38000 to 95000 corresponding to rotational velocities from 600 to 1400 rpm using circular disk turbine agitator at 40 0C. In two-phase system test runs are carried out in aqueous phase (water) concentrations of 1 % vol., 5 % vol., 8% vol., and 16% vol. mixed with kerosene at various Re. The effect of Reynolds number (Re), percent of dispersed phase, dispersed drops diameter, and number of drops per unit volume on the corrosion rate is investigated and discussed. Test runs are carried out using two types of
... Show MoreThis work investigates experimentally the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation of 100 mm width resting on dry gypseous soil (i.e., loose soil with 33% relative density), and subjected to an inclined load. Previous works did not study the use square skirted foundation rested on gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load. The investigated soil was brought from Tikrit city with 59% gypsum content. Standard physical and chemical tests on selected soil were carried out. Model laboratory tests were carried out to determine the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation on the load-settlement behavior of gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load with various Skirt depth (Ds) to foundation width (B) ratio
... Show MoreThe objective of the current research is to find an optimum design of hybrid laminated moderate thick composite plates with static constraint. The stacking sequence and ply angle is required for optimization to achieve minimum deflection for hybrid laminated composite plates consist of glass and carbon long fibers reinforcements that impeded in epoxy matrix with known plates dimension and loading. The analysis of plate is by adopting the first-order shear deformation theory and using Navier's solution with Genetic Algorithm to approach the current objective. A program written with MATLAB to find best stacking sequence and ply angles that give minimum deflection, and the results comparing with ANSYS.
The adsorption study of thymol, was carried out at (25±0.1) °C, using granulated surfactant modified Iraqi Na – montmorillonite clay (initiated modified bentonite); in a down-flow packed column, the modified mineral was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. A linear calibration graph for thymol was obtained, which obey Beer's law in the concentration range of 5-50 mg/L at 274 nm against reagent blank. Single-factor-at-a-time approach; showed that the equilibrium time required for complete adsorption was 45 minute with flow rate (4.0drop/ mint). The adsorption of thymol increased with rising pH of the adsorbate solution, increase of solute uptake when the initial adsor
... Show MoreThe present study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of Macaton method in improving some sensory and cognitive skills in autistic children. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher used the experimental method. The present study sample was (10) children whose ages ranged between (7-10) years and were diagnosed medically with autism disorder. The researcher randomly selected the sample and divided it into two groups: the first group consisted of (5) children representing the experimental group, and (5) children representing the control group after extracting the equivalence between the two groups in terms of age, intelligence, economic and social level and the degree of communication. The program was implemented for t
... Show MoreToday, there are large amounts of geospatial data available on the web such as Google Map (GM), OpenStreetMap (OSM), Flickr service, Wikimapia and others. All of these services called open source geospatial data. Geospatial data from different sources often has variable accuracy due to different data collection methods; therefore data accuracy may not meet the user requirement in varying organization. This paper aims to develop a tool to assess the quality of GM data by comparing it with formal data such as spatial data from Mayoralty of Baghdad (MB). This tool developed by Visual Basic language, and validated on two different study areas in Baghdad / Iraq (Al-Karada and Al- Kadhumiyah). The positional accuracy was asses
... Show MoreThe construction project is a very complicated work by its nature and requires specialized knowledge to lead it to success. The construction project is complicated socially, technically and economically in its planning, management and implementation aspects due to the fact that it has many variables and multiple stakeholders in addition to being affected by the surrounding environment. Successful projects depend on three fundamental points which are cost-time, performance and specifications. The project stakeholder's objective to achieve best specifications and the cost-time frame stipulated in the contract.
The question is, was the optimum implementation accomplished? The provision for the success of the project
... Show MoreAn innovative desalination method called electrosorption or capacitive deionization (CDI) has significant benefits for wastewater treatment. This process is performed by using a carbon fiber electrode as a working electrode to remove hexavalent chromium ions from an aqueous solution. The pH, NaCl concentration, and cell voltage were optimized using the Box-Behnken experimental design (BDD) in response surface methodology (RSM) to study the effects and interactions of selected variables. To attain the relationship between the process variables and chromium removal, the experimental data were subjected to an analysis of variance and fitted with a quadratic model. The optimum conditions to remove Cr(VI) ions were: pH of 2, a cell voltage of 4.
... Show MoreBackground: 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
... Show More