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 (
The aim of this work is to study reverse osmosis characteristics for copper sulfate hexahydrate (CuSO4.6H2O), nickel sulfate hexahydrate (NiSO4.6H2O) and zinc sulfate hexahydrate (ZnSO4.6H2O) removal from aqueous solution which discharge from some Iraqi factories such as Alnasser Company for mechanical industries. The mode of operation of reverse osmosis was permeate is removed and the concentrate of metals solution is recycled back to the feed vessel. Spiral-wound membrane is thin film composite membrane (TFC) was used to conduct this study on reverse osmosis. The variables studied are metals concentrations (50 – 150 ppm) and time (15 – 90 min). It was found that increasing the time results in an increase in concentration of metal in p
... Show MoreThe present work involves studying the effect of electrolyte composition [@1= 0.5 wt.% NH4F / 5% H2O / 5% Glycerol (GLY)/ 90% Ethylene Glycol (EG)] and [ @2= 0.5 wt. % NH4F / 5% H2O / 95% Ethylene Glycol (EG)] on the structural and photoelectrochemical properties of titania nanotubes arrays (TNTAs). TNTAs substrates were successfully carried out via anodization technique and were carried out in 40 V for one hour in different electrolytes (@1, and @2). The properties of physicochemical of TNTAs were distinguished via an X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), an Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance. The photoelectrochemical response of TNTAs was evaluated
... Show MoreThe present work involves studying the effect of electrolyte composition [@1= 0.5 wt.% NH4F / 5% H2O / 5% Glycerol (GLY)/ 90% Ethylene Glycol (EG)] and [ @2= 0.5 wt. % NH4F / 5% H2O / 95% Ethylene Glycol (EG)] on the structural and photoelectrochemical properties of titania nanotubes arrays (TNTAs). TNTAs substrates were successfully carried out via anodization technique and were carried out in 40 V for one hour in different electrolytes (@1, and @2). The properties of physicochemical of TNTAs were distinguished via an X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), an Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance. T
... Show MoreStable isotope (?18O, ?D) values were determined along with the chemical compositions at 10 different locations along the Tigris river between Baghdad-Ammara cities of Iraq. The physico-chemical parameters and isotopic data were measured. The sampling site represents 34 % of total Tigris river in the republic of Iraq. The systematically increased in values of stable isotope as move from the downstream of the river and the most significantly appears at Kut lake. This increase occurs as a result of several factors, viz. (a) evaporation occurs low water level in the river and its tributaries, and (b) return flow water to the river from irrigation water in groundwater systems. The change in ion distribution and in the isotopic values related di
... Show MoreIn this study abundance and composition of zooplanktons in the Indus River Estuary was conducted to examine habitat characteristics and its impact on tiny organisms. Overall 30,656 individuals were identified and segregated into seven major groups including Copepods, Cnidarians, Decapods, Mollusk, Pisces, Amphipods and Chaetognaths. For better understanding they were further divided into eighteen planktonic categories. Among them Lucifer spp. comprises of 52.21% was the most abundant group with a peak appeared in March whereas Chaetognaths were rarely observed in the entire study period. Species diversity exhibited a mixed trend with the highest values (0.776) of dominance observed in spring (March). The results of Canonical Corresponden
... Show Moreملخص البحث: تناول البحث الحالي:(أنظمة التكوين الجمالي للكتابات والنصوص في النحت العربي المعاصر)، عددا من الأفكار الأساسية التي تمثل المادة النظرية لتفسير ظاهرة الكتابة في الفن بشكل عام وفي فن النحت بشكل خاص، ولكشف أنظمة التكوين الجمالي وأنواعها المتعددة من خلال فحص بعض النصوص البصرية للفنانين العرب المعاصرين، فقد جاء هذا البحث في أربعة فصول. خصص الفصل الأول: الإطار المنهجي للبحث لبيان مشكلة البحث، وأهم
... Show MorePanax ginseng (PG), one of the most widely used herbal medicines, has demonstrated various beneficial effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer impacts. Naturally occurring ginsenosides in the ginseng plant inhibit cell proliferation and significantly reduce liver damage induced by certain chemicals. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a primary mycotoxin due to its hepatotoxic, immunotoxic, and oncogenic effects in animal models and humans. In this study, we examined the effects of assorted doses of PG aqueous crude extract on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 and 7 (MMP-1 and MMP-7) in the kidney, spleen, and liver of experimental AFB1-exposed mice, using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Mice were orally administered
... Show MoreVitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear transcription factor that controls gene expression. Its impaired expression was found to be related to different diseases. VDR also acts as a regulator of different pathways including differentiation, inflammation, calcium and phosphate absorption, etc. but there is no sufficient knowledge about the regulation of the gene itself. Therefore, a better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic factors regulating the VDR may facilitate the improvement of strategies for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with dysregulation of VDR. In the present investigation, a set of databases and methods were used to identify putative functional elements in the VDR locus. Histone modifications, CpG I
... Show MoreThe aim of this paper is to design fast neural networks to approximate periodic functions, that is, design a fully connected networks contains links between all nodes in adjacent layers which can speed up the approximation times, reduce approximation failures, and increase possibility of obtaining the globally optimal approximation. We training suggested network by Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm then speeding suggested networks by choosing most activation function (transfer function) which having a very fast convergence rate for reasonable size networks. In all algorithms, the gradient of the performance function (energy function) is used to determine how to
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