To determine the association between cigarette smoking and oxidative stress, a study was conducted in the period from January 2020 to April 2021, at College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized for measurement the antioxidant enzymes including: Glutathione superoxide (GPX) and catalase (CAT) and the biomarker of lipid peroxidation Malondialdehyde (MDA). Also, the gene expression of Nrf2 and HO-1were determined by using RT-PCR technique. The results indicate lower level of both GPX and CAT (p ≤ 0.001) in smokers compared with non-smokers. While the result of MDA indicate higher level in smokers (p≤0.001) compared with nonsmokers. The Nrf2 and HO-1 gene exp

Piperine, a crystalline alkaloid compound isolated from Piper nigrum, piper longum, and other types of piper, has had many fabulous pharmacological advantages for preventing and treating some specific diseases, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimetastatic, antithyroid, immunomodulatory, antitumor, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's, and improving the bioavailability of other drugs. However, its potential for clinical use through oral usage is hindered by water solubility and poor bioavailability. The low level of oral bioavailability is caused by low solubility in water and is photosensitive, susceptible to isomerization by UV light, which causes piperine concentration to decrease. Many different

     A novel, safe and efficient method was developed to encapsulate a blend of essential oils (EOs) into biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs). The biodegradable and biocompatible nanoparticles were made from chitosan (CH) and lecithin (LE) . The quality of the essential oils was verified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The synthesis of nanoparticles included emulsification, followed by sonication, homogenization, and extrusion. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the nanoparticles were spherical in shape with sizes ranging from 25 to 70 nm, while dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed high negative zeta potentials. The stability of the final formula was evaluated in gastric and intes

Background: Obesity is becoming the healthcare epidemic world wide.Obesity is associated with reduced life expectancy, increased morbidity and mortality, and greater healthcare costs.Bariatric surgery is the only effective treatment for morbid obesity and is gaining increasing popularity. There has been a steady rise in the numbers and types of bariatric operations done worldwide in recent years butnon of prove to be ideal .Animal studies and use of animal models are significant element in the evolution of medical knowledge and the use of animals as a model for bariatric surgery is of importance to study the mechanisms of these operationsa and also help to develop new technique in management of obesity.Objectives:Study of effects of slee

          In this work, the optical emission characteristics of the ZnO plasma were presented. The plasma parameters: electron temperature (T_e), electron density( n_e), plasma frequency (f_p) and Debye length (λ_D) were  studied with  a spectrometer that collects the spectrum ZnO plasma in air produced by Nd:YAG laser,(λ=1064 nm) at ratio X=0.5 in the range of energy of (700-1000 mJ), duration (10 ns). The Boltzmann plot methodwas employed to calculate the electron temperature (T_e), while the Stark broadening  was used to determine the electron density (n_e), Debye duration (λ_D), and plasma frequency (f_p).  T_e, ne, and f_p

This study consists of two parts, field and experimental. In field part; cadmium concentrations were measured in soil and parsley Petroselinum crispum samples of five different agricultural areas in Baghdad city. These areas were located in Al-Rashdiah, Tounis quarter, Al-Shamasiah quarter, Al-Itaifiah and Al-Twaithah. Soil cadmium concentrations were (1.72, 1.25, 1.52, 3.45 and 3.33) mg/kg in Al- Rashdiya, Tunis quarter, Al- Shamasiya quarter, Al- Attaifiya and Al-Tuaithah respectively, while concentrations in parsley were (0.28, 0.26, 0.28, 0.39 and 0.38) mg/kg respectively. Experimentally, five groups of albino mice males (10 mice each) were administered with different concentrations of cadmium (0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 7.5) mg Cd/kg

In this study, the response and behavior of machine foundations resting on dry and saturated sand was investigated experimentally. In order to investigate the response of soil and footing to steady state dynamic loading, a physical model was manufactured. The manufactured physical model could be used to simulate steady state harmonic load at different operating frequencies. Total of (84) physical models were performed. The parameters that were taken into considerations include loading frequency, size of footing and different soil conditions. The footing parameters were related to the size of the rectangular footing and depth of embedment. Two sizes of rectangular steel model footing were used (100 200 12.5 mm) and (200 400 5.0 mm).

Oral swab samples were collected from 120 children (ages between one month- 10 years) who were infected with oral thrush and 30 healthy children. The percentages of isolated yeasts and Bacteria were 66.6% and 96.6% respectively. The dominate yeast and bacteria were Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus with of 78.7% and 34.4% respectively. Results revealed that the highest percent of infection with oral thrush disease was 32.5% in children within the age of 1-2 months.