Leishmania species are the causative agent of a tropical disease known as leishmaniasis. Previous studies on the old world species Leishmania major, showed that the amastigotes form which resides inside the macrophage of the vertebrate host, utilize host’s sphingolipids for survival and proliferation. In this study, gene expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) subunit two (MmLCB2) of the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7), which is the first enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis, was detected in both infected and non-infected macrophages. This was detected under condition where available sphingolipid was reduced, with the new world species Leishmania mexicana. Results of qPCR analysis showed that there was no difference in the expression of MmLCB2 in infected and non-infected macrophages, under normal and serum-reduced media, suggesting that host sphingolipid did not up-regulated during infection. This can be concluded as a difference between the Old and New world Leishmania on the level of host-parasite interaction.
Zinc-air fuel cells (ZAFCs) are a promising energy source that could compete with lithium-ion batteries and perhaps proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) for next-generation electrified transportation and energy storage applications. In the present work, a flow-type ZAFC with mechanical rechargeable was adopted, combined with an auxiliary cell (electrolyzer) for zinc renewal and electrolyte recharge to the main cell. In this work a practical study was performed to calculate the cell capacity (Ah), as well as study the electrolysis cell efficiency by current efficiency, and study the effective parameters that have an influence on cell performance such as space velocity and current density. The best parameters were selected to
... Show MoreThe n-type Au thin films of 500nm thickness was evaporated by thermal evaporation method on p-type silicon wafer of [111] direction to formed Au/Si heterojunction solar cell. The AC conductivity, C-V and I-V characteristics of fabricated c-Au/Si diffusion heterojunction-(HJ) solar cell, has been studied. The first methods demonstrated that the AC conductivity due to with diffusiontunneling mechanism, while the second show that, the heterojunction profile is abrupt, the heterojunction parameters have been played out, such as the depletion width, built-in voltage, and concentration. And finally the third one show that the c-Au/Si HJ has rectification properties, and the solar cell yielded an open circuit voltage of (Vic) 0.4V, short circuit c
... Show MoreSilicon nanowire arrays (SiNWs) are created utilizing the metal-assisted chemical etching method with an Ag metal as a catalyst and different etching time of 15, 30, and 60 minutes using n-Si (100). Physical properties such as structural, surface morphology, and optical properties of the prepared SiNWs are studied. The diameter of prepared SiNWs ranged from 20 to 280 nm, and the reflectance in the visible part of the wavelength spectrum was less than 1% for all prepared samples. The obtained energy gap of prepared SiNWs was around 2 eV, which is higher than the energy gap of bulk silicon. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has diffraction peaks at 68.70o for all prepared samples. The heterojunction solar cell was fabricated based on the
... Show MoreSilver Indium Aluminum Selenium AgIn1xAlxSe2 AIAS for x=01 thin films was deposited by thermal evaporation at RT and different︣︢︡ ︠︣1thickness 100 150 and 200 nm on the glass Substrate and p2Si wafer to produce AIAS/p3Si heterojunctionsolarcell4 Structural optical electrical and photovoltaicproperties6 are investigated for the samples XRD analysis reveals that all the deposited AIAS films show polycrystalline structure without any change due to increase of thickness Average diameter and roughness calculated from AFM images shows an increase in its value with increasing thickness The optical absorbance and transmittance for samples are measured using a spectrometer type UV Visible 1800 spectra1photometer to study the energy6gap The
... Show MoreAgInSe2 (AIS) thin films solar cell involving of n-type AgInSe2 and Si of p-type substrate by using thermal evaporation method. The influence of annealing of the preparation AgInSe2 were considered to find the best properties of solar device. Thin film AIS have been deposited under the vacuum of 1.5*10-6 Torr with (400) nm thickness at R.T and annealing temperatures (473,573) K. Polycrystalline tetragonal structure for AIS thin films from XRD and increasing of surface roughness from AFM, energy gap values decreasing with increasing annealing temperatures, all films were negative type, I-V characteristics show increasing of efficiency with increasing of annealing temperatures.
Background. Gene polymorphisms affect etanercept’s pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and side effects. This effect is evidenced by the extensive genetic variation in the drug’s targets. Objectives. This study aims to find the association between different genotypes of the promoter region of the TNF-α gene at -308G/A(rs1800629), -857C/T(rs1799724), -863 C/A(rs1800630), -1031 T/C (rs1799964), -806 C/T (rs4248158) and -376 G/A (rs1800750) and the side effects of ETN that occurred to Iraqi RA patients. Method. The trial included patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had been using ETN for at least six months. The participants were from the Baghdad Teaching Hospital Rheumatology Unit. The PCR was sequenced to determine the polymo
... Show MoreIn this research (100* 40* 4 cm) solar cell panel was used in Baghdad at autumn season (2010), to get best solar cell panel angles experimentally, and then a mirror (40*50 cm) is use to concentrate incident sunlight intensity on a panel. At first case we get (Tilt angle ?P =60°and Surface Azimuth angle ?P =36°E) is the best angles and other case, we add a mirror at angle = 120° at bottom of panel, then we get output power (27.48watt) is bigger than without using a mirror (25.16watt). We can benefit from these cases in variety applications.
The electrode in the microbial fuel cell has a significant effect on cell performance. The treatment of the electrode is a crucial step to make the electrode surface more habitable for bacteria growth, thus, increases the power production as well as waste treatment. In the current study, two graphite electrodes were treated by a microwave. The first electrode was treated with 100W microwave energy, while the second one was treated with 600W microwave energy. There is a significant enhancement in the surface of the graphite anode after the pretreatment process. The results show an increase in the power density from 10 mW/m2 to 15 mW/m2 with 100w treatment and to 13.47 mW/m2 with 600w treatment. An organic
... Show More(1) Background: Plant flavonoids are efficient in preventing and treating various diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of hesperidin, a flavonoid found in citrus fruits, in inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammation, which induced lethal toxicity in vivo, and to evaluate its importance as an antitumor agent in breast cancer. The in vivo experiments revealed the protective effects of hesperidin against the negative LPS effects on the liver and spleen of male mice. (2) Methods: In the liver, the antioxidant activity was measured by estimating the concentration of glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT), whereas in spleen, the concentration of cytokines including IL-33 and TNF-α was measured. The in vitro expe
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