This study investigates the boundary between the Upper Cretaceous Kometan (Turonian–Campanian) and Shiranish (Late Campanian–Maastrichtian) formations at the Sarchinar and Goizha surface sections in the Sulaymaniyah area, northeastern Iraq, in order to refine their biostratigraphic framework and reconstruct the depositional evolution across the formation boundary. The two formations are characterized by thin- to medium-bedded chalky and marly limestones overlain by blue to grey marls and marly limestones, which record a transition from outer-shelf to upper-bathyal ramp carbonates into deeper hemipelagic basinal deposits within the Zagros fold–thrust belt. A total of 100 rock samples were collected from the exposed successions

Au nanoparticle-functionalized (TiO2)1−x(ZnO:MgO)x nanocomposite thin films (0≤x≤0.3) were effectively produced by chemical spray pyrolysis and annealed at 600 °C. The effects of ZnO incorporation and Au nanoparticle modification on the films' structural, optical, and antibacterial properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–Vis spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). XRD analysis confirms the formation of polycrystalline anatase TiO2 and shows a composition-dependent structural development with increasing ZnO concentration. The optical experiments revealed increased transmittance and a progressive widening of the optical band gap from 3

This study includes adding chemicals to gypseous soil to improve its collapse characteristics. The collapse behavior of gypseous soil brought from the north of Iraq (Salah El-Deen governorate) with a gypsum content of 59% was investigated using five types of additions (cement dust, powder sodium meta-silicate, powder activated carbon, sodium silicate solution, and granular activated carbon). The soil was mixed by weight with cement dust (10, 20, and 30%), powder sodium meta-silicate (6%), powder activated carbon (10%), sodium silicate solution (3, 6, and 9%), and granular activated carbon (5, 10, and 15%). The collapse potential is reduced by 86, 71, 43, 37, and 35% when 30% cement dust, 6% powder sodium meta-silicate, 10% powder activated

Activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) markedly attenuates development of atherosclerosis in animal models. However, the underlying mechanism is not well elucidated. Here, we show that the FXR agonist, obeticholic acid (OCA), increases fecal cholesterol excretion and macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) dependent on activation of hepatic FXR. OCA does not increase biliary cholesterol secretion, but inhibits intestinal cholesterol absorption. OCA markedly inhibits hepatic cholesterol 7α‐hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) and sterol 12α‐hydroxylase (Cyp8b1) partly through inducing small heterodimer partner, leading to reduced bile acid pool size and al

Despite extensive investigations, an effective treatment for sepsis remains elusive and a better understanding of the inflammatory response to infection is required to identify potential new targets for therapy. In this study we have used RNAi technology to show, for the first time, that the inducible lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 2 (LPCAT2) plays a key role in macrophage inflammatory gene expression in response to stimulation with bacterial ligands. Using siRNA- or shRNA-mediated knockdown, we demonstrate that, in contrast to the constitutive LPCAT1, LPCAT2 is required for macrophage cytokine gene expression and release in response to TLR4 and TLR2 ligand stimulation but not for TLR-independent stimuli. In addition, cells transfe

Near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fibers reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement is one of the techniques for reinforcing masonry structures and is considered to provide significant advantages. This paper is composed of two parts. The first part presents the experimental study of brick masonry walls reinforced with NSM CFRP strips under combined shear-compression loads. Masonry walls have been tested under vertical compression, with different bed joint orientations 90° and 45° relative to the loading direction. Different reinforcement orientations were used including vertical, horizontal, and a combination of both sides of the wall. The second part of this paper comprises a numerical analysis of unreinforced brick masonry (URM) wa

Nine new compounds of 2-amino-5-chlorobenzothiazole derivatives were synthesized. These new compounds were formed through the reaction of 2-amino-5-chlorobenzothiazole 1 with ethyl chloroacetate and KOH, which gave an ester derivative 2, followed by refluxing compound 2 with hydrazine hydrate to afford hydrazide derivative 3. The reaction of compound 3 with CS₂ and KOH gave 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol derivative 4, and then the reaction of compound 2 with thiosemicarbazide to produce compound 5  then treated it with 4%NaOH led to ring closure to provide 1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol derivative

The paper is concerned with the state and proof of the existence theorem of a unique solution (state vector) of couple nonlinear hyperbolic equations (CNLHEQS) via the Galerkin method (GM) with the Aubin theorem. When the continuous classical boundary control vector (CCBCV) is known, the theorem of existence a CCBOCV with equality and inequality state vector constraints (EIESVC) is stated and proved, the existence theorem of a unique solution of the adjoint couple equations (ADCEQS) associated with the state equations is studied. The Frcéhet derivative derivation of the "Hamiltonian" is obtained. Finally the necessary theorem (necessary conditions "NCs") and the sufficient theorem (sufficient conditions" SCs") for optimality of the stat

SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 which is the causative agent of spreading coronavirus disease 2019 that is known as COVID-19 pandemic, the disease leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases- 9 (MMP-9) plays several important physiological functions. This enzyme could also be implicated in the "cytokine storm" in some way, which may represent one of the possible scianrios during coronavirus infection, in addition to its role in the mechanism of lung fibrosis on molecular basis.. The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) are well characterized for controlling the activity of MMPs in extracellular matrix remodeling. They also considered as signaling molecules anal