Sphingolipids are key components of eukaryotic membranes, particularly the plasma membrane. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of these lipid species is largely conserved. However, in contrast to mammals, which produce sphingomyelin, organisms such as the pathogenic fungi and protozoa synthesize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) as the primary phosphosphingolipid. The key step involves the reaction of ceramide and phosphatidylinositol catalysed by IPC synthase, an essential enzyme with no mammalian equivalent encoded by the AUR1 gene in yeast and recently identified functional orthologues in the pathogenic kinetoplastid protozoa. As such this enzyme represents a promising target for novel anti-fungal and anti-protozoal drugs. Given

Combining ultrasonic irradiation and the Fenton process as a sono-Fenton process, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in refinery wastewater was successfully eliminated using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The impact of two main influential operational parameters (iron dosage and reaction time) on the COD removal from wastewater generated by an Iraqi petroleum refinery facility was explored. Removal of 85.81% was attained under the optimal conditions of 21 minutes and 0.289 mM of  concentration. Additionally, the results revealed that the concentration of has the highest effect on the COD elimination, followed by reaction time. The high R² value (96.40%) validated the strong fit of the mo

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Iraq have experienced low performance due to the limited usage of accounting information systems (AIS) and the inability to exploit knowledge of management capabilities (KMC). These deficiencies have led to competitive pressures in the marketplace that have adversely affected their sales and production. This study investigates the role of AIS in terms of operation support, knowledge support, regulatory support, and the role of KMC, including knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer, and knowledge utilized to enhance organizational performance in Iraqi SMEs. The target population was managers and owners in SMEs using AIS in Iraq’s cities. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was use

The research discussed the possibility of adsorption of Brilliant Blue Dye (BBD) from wastewater using 13X zeolite adsorbent, which is considered a byproduct of the production process of potassium carbonate from Iraqi potash raw materials. The 13X zeolite adsorbent was prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction that showed a clear match with the standard 13X zeolite. The crystallinity rate was 82.15% and the crystal zeolite size was 5.29 nm. The surface area and pore volume of the obtained 13X zeolite were estimated. The prepared 13X zeolite showed the ability to remove BBD contaminant from wastewater at concentrations 5 to 50 ppm and the removal reached 96.60% at the lower pollutant concentration. Adsorption measurements versus tim

For this research, the utilisation of electrocoagulation (EC) toremove theciprofloxacin (CIP) and levofloxacin (LVX) from aqueous solutions was examined. The effective removal efficiencies are 93.47% for CIP and 88.00% for LVX, under optimum conditions. The adsorption isotherm models with suitable mechanisms were applied to determine the elimination of CIP and LVX utilizingtheEC method. Thefindingsshowed the adsorption of CIP and LVX on iron hydroxide flocs followed the Sips isotherm, with correlation coefficient values (R2) of 0.939 and 0.937. Threekinetic models were reviewed to determine the accurate CIP and LVX elimination methods using the EC method. The results showed that itfittedfor the second-order model, which indicated that the c

Biologically active natural compounds are molecules produced by plants or plant-related microbes, such as endophytes. Many of these metabolites have a wide range of antimicrobial activities and other pharmaceutical properties. This study aimed to evaluate (in vitro) the antifungal activities of the secondary metabolites obtained from Paecilomyces sp. against the pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. The endophytic fungus Paecilomyces was isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves and cultured on potato dextrose broth for the production of the fungal metabolites. The activity of Paecilomyces filtrate against the radial growth of Rhizoctonia solani was tested by mixing the filtrate with potato dextrose agar medium at concentrations of 15%,