This paper examines Gloria Naylor's Mama Day (1988) that shows the mixing of African and American culture. Afro-American authors reject the Eurocentric hypothesis that slavery had ended the Afro-American cultural engagement in Africa. African Americans represent an essential fabric of American society, sharing many traditions, habits, and traits with the American society. Yet, at the same time, Naylor portrays Afro-American individuals in Mama Day as a separate unit with a unique and rich culture. These mannerisms expose a kind of resistance, appreciation to her African identity, history, and roots. A tale of a conjure woman located in Willow Springs' mythical isle, Mama Day, highlights the mystical, storytelling, and folkloristic customs. The events center upon the heading character Mama Day. The novel's main character is derived from the African culture, the wise goddess. She utilizes unique means derived from the African culture and applies them to cure Willow Springs residents.
Susceptibility to the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently been associated with ABO blood groups in patients of different ethnicities. This study sought to understand the genetic association of this polymorphic system with risk of disease in Iraqi patients. Two outcomes of COVID-19, recovery and death, were also explored. ABO blood groups were determined in 300 hospitalized COVID-19 Iraqi patients (159 under therapy, 104 recovered, and 37 deceased) and 595 healthy blood donors. The detection kit for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) RNA (PCR-Fluorescence Probing) was used in the diagnosis of disease.
The ciliate species isolated from midgut and hindgut of Rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden, 1827), identified as Nyctotherus hardwickii was collected from many regions of Baghdad, Iraq. The current study deals with a description and comparison of the morphology and morphometric characters of this species for the first time in Iraq.
Background: In advanced diabetes mellitus, serum levels of the most hormones are altered due to several interplaying mechanisms. Objective: To assess the relation of serum leptin and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Patients and Method: Serum leptin levels and its relation to lipid profile were estimated in 62 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy attending the National Diabetes Center in Al- Mustansiriya University, and (26) healthy individuals considered as control group. The diabetic patients were classified into three groups, (24) pathients with normoalbuminuria (21) patients with microalbuminuria and (17) patients with macroalbuminuria. Fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, Hb A1c %, lipid profile (Total c
... Show MoreThe objective of this work was to study the effect of oral administration of Cyperus esculentus (CE) and its alcoholic extract on sperm function parameters in prepubertal mice as a model for human .The animals were divided into three groups each contains 6 animals .Group 1 was treated with 150 mg/ kg body weight /day of crude CE, group 2 was treated with same dose of alcohol extract of CE and group 3 regarded as control throughout six weeks period. The results showed a significant (p> 0.05) increase in the mean of sperm concentration ,sperm motility percent and progressive sperm motility between treated groups and control . There was no differences among groups in the mean of sperm normal morphology and sperm viability . No significa
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In this study, the effect of carboxylic methyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium dodcyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as an aqueous solution on the drag reduction was investigated. Different concentrations of (CMC) and (SDBS) such as (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 ppm) were used to analyze the aqueous solution properties, including surface tension, conductivity, and shear viscosity. The optimum four concentrations (i.e., 50, 100, 200, and 300 ppm) of fluid properties were utilized to find their effect on the drag reduction. Two different PVC pipe diameters (i.e., 1" and 3/4") were used in this work. The results showed that blending CMC with SDBS gives
... Show MoreThe bacterial contamination of lipsticks and face cream may become a great important matter in the medical laboratories. The present study was designed to determine the types of bacterial contamination in the face cream and lipsticks of undergraduate students. Also, the study aimed to determine the sensitivity of the isolated bacteria against many antibacterial agents. The study included 190 swabs samples from 190 face cream and lipsticks samples of the females’ students from five departments in the Medical Technology Institute, Almansour, Middle Technical University were collected in February 2018. The swab samples were collected with sterile condition and cultured on enriched Blood agar and MacConkey agar. Serial dilutions were made up
... Show MoreDust samples have been collected from three areas in Baghdad during dust storm occurred in 18th of June 2009 to characterize elemental particle size and composition by different techniques. The x-ray diffraction detected six minerals those are calcite, and quartz, present as a major components, dolomite, kaolinite, gypsum and plagioclase present as miner components .EDX detected some normal elements presented in local soil except traces of lead , nickel, and chromium. The particle size analysis by a set of sieves have revealed that the majority particle distribution was between (32 and 45)μm . To isolate the aerosol size, PM10 buoyancy method of powder in water showed a signifying amounts of particulate size .Scheerer’s method was app
... Show MoreThe current study aims to investigate the relationship between lipid peroxidation, represented by seminal malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and integrity of sperm plasma membrane, represented by the hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test score, in infertile men. One hundred and twenty Iraqi men (20 fertile and 100 infertile) shared in this study during their attendance to the High Institute for Infertility Diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technologies/Al- Nahrain University. The mean age of the fertile men was (30.46±0.78) years while the mean age of infertile men was (32.58±0.64) years with the duration of infertility (5.36±0.33) years. Semen samples were collected and the parameters of seminal fluid analysis were assessed; also, the HOS
... Show MoreImmunosuppressive cytokines are the main components of the tumor microenvironment and perform a vital function in controlling the immune response to malignant neoplasms.The objective: to study the influence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) on the development of breast tumors in women.Materials and methods. The concentration of cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β3 in blood serum was determined in 40 women with benign breast tumors, 40 women with malignant breast tumors, and 40 healthy patients without breast pathology, who were included in the control group.Breast cancer (BC) patients were divided into two groups; the first group included patients with the II stage of BC, who were considered to have a low le
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