Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was significantly increased (P≤0.05) in the treated infected-macrophages after 24 and 48 hours post treated. Furthermore, the infectivity index was calculated for ex vivo amastigote-macrophage infection and the results showed a significant decrease in the percentage of invasion at higher concentrations of Lupeol at all periods of incubation (P≤0.05); whereas, the average of amastigotes per cell in lupeol-treated macrophages increased significantly (P≤0.05) only after 48hours of incubation. The results indicate that lupeol has the potential to enhance anti-leishmanial nitric oxide production by macrophages, enabling them to eliminate intracellular amastigote forms of the parasite. Further details on effect of Lupeol can be studied as a promising anti-leishmanial compound.
Many waste materials can be repurposed effectively within asphalt concrete to enhance the performance and sustainability of pavement. One of these waste materials is sawdust ash (SDA). This study explores the beneficial use of SDA as a substitute for limestone dust (LD) mineral filler in asphalt concrete. The replacement rate was 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% by weight of total mineral filler. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to assess the surface morphology of Sawdust (SD), SDA, and LD. In addition, a series of tests, including Marshall stability and flow, indirect tensile strength,moisture susceptibility, and repeated uniaxial loading tests, were conducted to examine the performance characteristics of asphalt mixtures of diffe
... Show MoreIn Australia, most of the existing buildings were designed before the release of the Australian standard for earthquake actions in 2007. Therefore, many existing buildings in Australia lack adequate seismic design, and their seismic performance must be assessed. The recent earthquake that struck Mansfield, Victoria near Melbourne elevated the need to produce fragility curves for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Australia. Fragility curves are frequently utilized to assess buildings’ seismic performance and it is defined as the demand probability surpassing capacity at a given intensity level. Numerous factors can influence the results of the fragility assessment of RC buildings. Among the most important factors that can affe
... Show MoreDepletion of fossil fuel is one of the main reasons why the bioethanol has become popular. It is a renewable energy source. In order to meet the great demand of bioethanol, it is best that the bioethanol production is from cheap raw materials. Since the golden shower fruit is not being utilized and is considered as waste material, hence, this study was conducted to make use of the large volume of the residue as feedstock to test its potential for bioethanol extraction.The main goal of this study is to obtain the most volume of bioethanol from the golden shower fruit liquid residue by the factors, days of fermentation (3, 5, and 7 days) and sugar concentration (15, 20 and 25 brix) of the liquid residue. Also, part of the study is to compu
... Show MorePre-eclampsia is the most common medical complication of pregnancy associated with increased maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Its exact etiology is not known, although several evidences indicate that various elements might play an important role in pre-eclampsia. This study was carried out to analyze and to compare the concentration of calcium, in mild pre-eclampsia and in normal pregnant women , and to determine the effect of oral supplementation with calcium on mild pre-eclampsia , and whether this effect is related to the change in the level of serum calcium. Forty- five women in the third trimester of pregnancy were selected to participate in this study and divided into: fifteen apparently healthy, normo
... Show MoreThree hundred samples of washing water of vegetables were collected from women aged ( 15- 6o) years from different area in Baghdad governorate and its suburbs include two rural area ( Jaddria in Baghdad university and Al –Wagif in Rashdia) and two urbane area (Mansoure and Escan) . The samples were examined by precipitation method and then by staining method ( Lugols –Iodine stain) . The percentage of infection of intestinal parasites 36.3% include 15.3% for urban area and 57.3% in rural area and a significant difference was found between those groups . .The results showed also increased in the prevalence of parasitic infection in group age (15 -30) year .Also the results showed only 109 sample infected with eight specie
... Show MoreA mathematical eco-epidemiological model consisting of harvested prey–predator system involving fear and disease in the prey population is formulated and studied. The prey population is supposed to be separated into two groups: susceptible and infected. The susceptible prey grows logistically, whereas the infected prey cannot reproduce and instead competes for the environment’s carrying capacity. Furthermore, the disease is transferred through contact from infected to susceptible individuals, and there is no inherited transmission. The existence, positivity, and boundedness of the model’s solution are discussed. The local stability analysis is carried out. The persistence requirements are established. The global behavior of th
... Show MoreThe acute phase response is a major pathophysiologic phenomenon that accompanies inflammation whether acute or chronic. Complement (C3 and C4) and C - reactive protein (CRP) are positive acute phase proteins (+ ve APPs ). Their production takes place in hepatocyte and the blood concentration of these parameters are increased in osteoarthritis (OA). Chloroquine (CQ) is a diprotic weak base traditionally used to treat malaria. Recently the phosphate salt of CQ is used to decrease this type of (+ve APPs) . In this study, patients who suffered from knee osteoarthritis (KOA) are treated with oral dosage form of chloroquine phosphate (CQP) for one month, twice daily. Our results demonstrate that CQP improves the patient status by decreas
... Show Moren-Hexane conversion enhancement was studied by adding TCE (Trichloro-ethylene) on feed stream using 0.3%Pt/HY zeolite catalyst. All experiments were achieved at atmospheric pressure and on a continuous laboratory unit with a fixed bed reactor at a temperature range 240-270◦C, LHSV 1-3h-1, H2/nC6 mole ratio 1-4.
By adding 435 ppm of TCE, 49.5 mole% conversion was achieved at LHSV 1h-1, temperature of 270ºC and H2/nC6 mole ratio of 4, while the conversion was 18.3 mol% on the same catalyst without adding TCE at the same conditions. The activation energy decreased from 98.18 for pure Pt/HY zeolite to 82.83 kJ/mole by adding TCE. Beside enhancement the activity, selectivity and product distribution enhanced by providing DMB (Dimethyl b
The CdSe pure films and doping with Cu (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 4.0wt%) of thickness 0.9μm have been prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrate. Annealing for all the prepared films have been achieved at 523K in vacuum to get good properties of the films. The effect of Cu concentration on some of the electrical properties such as D.C conductivity and Hall effect has been studied.
It has been found that the increase in Cu concentration caused increase in d.c conductivity for pure CdSe 3.75×10-4(Ω.cm)-1 at room temperatures to maximum value of 0.769(Ω.cm)-1 for 4wt%Cu.All films have shown two activation energies, where these value decreases with increasing doping ratio. The maximum value of activation energy was (0.319)eV f