Grass trimming operation is widely done in Malaysia for the purpose of maintaining highways. Large number of operators engaged in this work encounters high level of noise generated by back pack type grass trimmer used for this purpose. High level of noise exposure gives different kinds of ill effect on human operators. Exact nature of deteriorated work performance is not known. For predicting the work efficiency deterioration, fuzzy tool has been used in present research. It has been established that a fuzzy computing system will help in identification and analysis of fuzzy models fuzzy system offers a convenient way of representing the relationships between the inputs and outputs of a system in the form of IF-THEN rules. The paper presents a fuzzy model for predicting the effects of noise pollution on human work efficiency as a function of noise level, exposure time and age of the operators.
Adversity and psychosocial stress are involved in aging through the following pathways. psychological stress enhances the nerve system to secrete endocrine mediators (hormones). Mitochondrial respiration mediates energy production stimulated by binding to these hormones to their receptors. Energy produced by mitochondria accelerates metabolism and, in its turn, leads to increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) of free radicals. Cellular stress and accumulation of damage can result from an excess of ROS. Accumulation of damage comprises damages in telomeric and nontelomeric DNA, in addition to mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA damage plays an important role in increasing the pathway of p53/p21. The expression of the PGC-1α gene is inhi
... Show MoreThe effect of adding sand on clayey soil shear strength is investigated in this study. Five different percentage of clay-sand mixtures are used; 100% clay with 0% sand termed 100C, 60% clay with 40% sand termed 60C-40S, 30% clay with 70% sand termed 30C-70S, 15% clay with 85% sand termed 15C-85S, and as well as 100% sand termed 100S. The used clay was obtained from Baghdad city in Iraq and classified as CH soil, while the used sand was taken from Al-Khider area from Iraq and classified as SW soil. The initial dry unit weight for all mixtures is 16 kN/m3. The results show that the variations of the soil shear strength properties with soil components content changes
This work includes the geographical distribution variation and notes for the habitat of Iraqi blind snakes Leptotyphlops macrorhynehus. Typhlops braminus, and Typhlops vermicularis. A key was also given for the identification of these three snakes.
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasite, this disease considers a major health problem among worldwide. Treatments available are expensive or with cytotoxic side effect. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of an herbal new compound, called artemisinin, derived from a Chinese plant called Artemisia annua. Various concentrations were studied in vitro against L. tropica amastigotes by chamber counting to investigate its effect on the proliferation of promastigotes. Three incubation periods were adopted (24, 48, 72) hours. The results showed a significant decrease in surviving promastigotes, in parallel with the normal parasite count of untreated promastigotes, along the periods studied. This stu
... Show MoreObjectives: Teenage pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) offers a real challenge to the health system and needs a special care. We aimed to evaluate possible obstetrical and neonatal adverse events of different treatment protocols in adolescent GDM including lifestyle, metformin (MTF), and insulin. Methods: All teen pregnant women ≤ 19 years old visiting Baghdad Teaching Hospital throughout four years (from June 1, 2016 till May 31, 2020) diagnosed with GDM were included in this cohort study and followed-up closely throughout pregnancy and after delivery. Included adolescents were put on lifestyle alone during the first week of presentation. Adolescents who reached target glucose measurements were categorized i
... Show MoreThe bearing capacity of layered soil studies was carried out with various approaches such as experimental, theoretical, numerical, and combination of them. This work is focused on the settlement and bearing capacity of shallow foundations subjected to the vertical load placed on the surface of layered soils. The experimental part was performed by manufacturing soil cubic container (570 mm x 570 mm x 570 mm). A model square footing of width 60 mm was placed at the surface of the soil bed. The relative density of sand was constant at 60%, and the clay was prepared with a density of 19.2 (kN/m3) and water content of 14.6%. PLAXIS 3D FEM was used to simulate the experimental tests and performing a parametric study. The results showed
... Show MoreIn this work we present a technique to extract the heart contours from noisy echocardiograph images. Our technique is based on improving the image before applying contours detection to reduce heavy noise and get better image quality. To perform that, we combine many pre-processing techniques (filtering, morphological operations, and contrast adjustment) to avoid unclear edges and enhance low contrast of echocardiograph images, after implementing these techniques we can get legible detection for heart boundaries and valves movement by traditional edge detection methods.
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasite, this disease considers a major health problem among worldwide. Treatments available are expensive or with cytotoxic side effect. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of an herbal new compound, called artemisinin, derived from a Chinese plant called Artemisia annua. Various concentrations were studied in vitro against L. tropica amastigotes by chamber counting to investigate its effect on the proliferation of promastigotes. Three incubation periods were adopted (24, 48, 72) hours. The results showed a significant decrease in surviving promastigotes, in parallel with the normal parasite count of untreated promastigotes, along the periods studied. Th
... Show More