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.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, originating in Turkey and cutting through both Syria and Iraq, have experienced drastic reductions in water flows in recent years due to increasing water demand, hydro-engineering projects, and climate change. The decline in water flows has led to decreased agricultural yields. Iraq reported its worst cereal harvest in a decade in 2009, indicating that with a decline in water supplies, a potential food security problem emerges. This study, therefore, addressed the effect of water availability on (1) Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and (2) Rain Use Efficiency (RUE) in the Tigris-Euphrates (T-E) basin. Results displayed that NPP increases significantly from the arid and semi-arid sites in the south to the wetter
... Show MoreIn this paper, turbidimetric and reversed-phase ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UFLC) methods were described for the quantitative determination of ephedrine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical injections form. The first method is based on measuring the turbidimetric values for the formed yellowish white precipitate in suspension status in order to determine the ephedrine hydrochloride concentration. The suspended substance is formed as a result of the reaction of ephedrine hydrochloride with phosphomolybdic acid which was used as a reagent. The physical and chemical characteristics of the complex were investigated. The calibration graphs of ephedrine were established by turbidity method. While the second method (UFLC) was conducted using the
... Show MoreIn the last few years, the literature conferred a great interest in studying the feasibility of using memristive devices for computing. Memristive devices are important in structure, dynamics, as well as functionalities of artificial neural networks (ANNs) because of their resemblance to biological learning in synapses and neurons regarding switching characteristics of their resistance. Memristive architecture consists of a number of metastable switches (MSSs). Although the literature covered a variety of memristive applications for general purpose computations, the effect of low or high conductance of each MSS was unclear. This paper focuses on finding a potential criterion to calculate the conductance of each MMS rather t
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify the role of electronic management in simplifying the work procedures at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University. The study was based on the random sample of (366) individuals. The data were collected through interviews and questionnaire. The statistical tests were applied according to the data and the study hypotheses: Cronbach’s Alpha, mean, standard deviation, Z test, ANOVA. The study concluded numbers of results: Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University applies electronic management in its administrative processes (planning, organizing, directing, controlling) to a very high level. There are substantial differences in the views of the sample me
... Show MoreThe peculiarity of worship spaces in the Islamic architecture is evident by its symbolic connotations with doctrinal connections, thus the niche has a major status in that symbolic connotation, which transformed due to the cultural interaction from a rock on the wall directed towards Mecca into an element of integrated structural entity with performative and aesthetic characteristics. The spread of the Islamic religion contributed to subjecting it to a design acculturation process, thus the problem of the research was raised by the following question: has the evolutionary tendency of acculturation been able to effect a major transformation in the niche design? The research aims at identifying the design acculturation and its translation
... Show MoreForm recurrence of financial crises phenomenon disturbing and attention , and returns the reasons so that its negative effects were sharp and dangerous , because of the nature and cause of Ncaha , threatened political and economic stability of the countries in which they occur these crises , in addition to Machmlh these crises spread of contagion across multiple channels to include other countries many developed and developing , and the reason for this to the openness of the economic and financial witnessed by the countries affected by crises and other countries concerned, the financial crisis is a case of financial turmoil appears in one of the sections of the financial system one and extends to
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The current research aims to demonstrate the relationship of correlation and influence between the independent variable strategic control through its dimensions represented by (organizational structure, human resources management, commitment to specialization, defining powers and responsibilities, values and integrity) and the dependent variable the performance of the insurance company, and the degree of arrangement of these dimensions according to their importance, as well as Detection of significant differences in the sample's response to the questionnaire paragraphs in the researched company, and the research problem
... Show MoreBackground:In this study,TiO2 layer was thermally grown as a diffusion barrier on CP Ti substrate prior to electrophoretic deposition of HA coatings, to improve the coating’s compatibility also macro and micro pores in nano Hydroxyapatite dual coatings were created and their effect on the bond strength between the bone and implant was evaluated. Materials and methods: Electrophoretic Deposition technique (EPD) was used to obtain coatings for each one of four types of Hydroxyapatite(HA)on CP Ti screws (micro HA, nano HA, dual nano HA with micro pores, dual nano HA with macro pores) where carbon particles used as fugitive material to be removed by thermal treatment to create porosity.For examination of the changes occurred on the subs
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