This study aimed to measure the alterations in serum zinc (Zn) and acute phase
proteins ( C-reactive protein and Ceruloplasmin) concentrations in patients with
visceral leishmaniasis (VL). A total of 62 individuals were enrolled in this study :
52 individuals were infected with visceral leishmaniasis and 10 individuals as
healthy control. Serum zinc levels were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in patient
group(76.25 ± 4.59 μg/dl ) when compared with healthy control (103.75 ± 3.77
μg/dl ) . C-reactive protein , as a mediator of innate immunity, removed damaged
cells by activating the classical complement pathway revealed elevated levels in
patients (4.36± 0.23mg/l ) when compared with the healthy control (2

Celery (Apium graveolens L. ; family : Apiaceae) was often used as a spice in daily food. However, this plant contains many antioxidant compounds useful for attenuating neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease. Planting celery in the form of microgreens harvested 15 days was expected to increase the content of bioactive compounds. In the current study, we intended to evaluate the neuromodulatory potential of methanol extract of celery microgreens on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster Meigen : family Drosophilidae ; ordo : Diptera) which were exposed to paraquat. Neuroprotective capacity was assessed by survival rate, locomotor performance, lipid peroxidation and dopamine content after being treated wi

This paper studies the effects of stiffeners on shear lag in steel box girders with stiffened flanges. A three-dimensional linear finite element analysis using STAAD.Pro V8i program has been employed to evaluate and determine the actual top flange stress distribution and effective width in steel box girders. The steel plates of the flanges and webs have been modeled by four-node isoparametric shell elements, while the stiffeners have been modeled as beam elements. Different numbers (4, 8, and 15) for the steel stiffeners have been used in this study to establish their effects on the shear lag and longitudinal stresses in the flange. Using stiffeners reduced the magnitude of the top flange longitudinal stresses about 40%, but did

Global warming has had considerable effects on vital ecosystems, which has also been caused by increased temperatures and CO₂ that follow changes in different abiotic factors, which poses threats to mangrove forests environment. This research was conducted to examine the physiological and morphological characteristics of the Rhizophora apiculata mangrove regarding higher air temperature for the variety of tree species that respond to climate change. Seedlings were cultivated for three months in regulated growth chambers with three varying temperatures of 38°C, 21°C under CO₂ at 450 ppm, and ambient CO₂ concentration i.e., 450 ± 20 ppm under average temperature at 28°C as the control condition

Zinc sulfide(ZnS) thin films of different thickness were deposited on corning glass with the substrate kept at room temperature and high vacuum using thermal evaporation technique.the film properties investigated include their absorbance/transmittance/reflectance spectra,band gap,refractive index,extinction coefficient,complex dielectric constant and thickness.The films were found to exhibt high transmittance(59-98%) ,low absorbance and low reflectance in the visible/near infrared region up to 900 nm..However, the absorbance of the films were found to be high in the ultra violet region with peak around 360 nm.The thickness(using optical interference fringes method) of various films thichness(100,200,300,and 400) nm.The band gap meas

In this research, a new technique is suggested to reduce the long time required by the encoding process by using modified moment features on domain blocks. The modified moment features were used in accelerating the matching step of the Iterated Function System (IFS). The main disadvantage facing the fractal image compression (FIC) method is the over-long encoding time needed for checking all domain blocks and choosing the least error to get the best matched domain for each block of ranges. In this paper, we develop a method that can reduce the encoding time of FIC by reducing the size of the domain pool based on the moment features of domain blocks, followed by a comparison with threshold (the selected  threshold based on experience

Cosmetic products contain variable amounts of nutrients that support microbial growth. Most contaminants   in   cosmetic   products   include bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella,   Achromobacter   and   Alcaligenes. Contaminated water  is  a  likely  source  of organisms found in cosmetic products. Products such as shampoo, hand and body lotion, facial cleanser,  and liquid soaps were analyzed. In this study, out of 60 cosmetic products analyzed, 26.4% were found to be contaminated.    Most of the contamination was from bacteria and no fungal contamination was detected.  The highest level o

Asphalt pavement properties in Iraq are highly affected by elevated summer air temperatures. One of these properties is stiffness (resilient modulus). To explain the effect of air temperatures on stiffness of asphalt concrete, it is necessary to determine the distribution of temperatures through the pavement asphalt concrete layers. In this study, the distribution of pavement temperatures at three depths (2cm,7cm, 10cm) below the pavement surface is determined by using the temperature data logger instrument. A relationship for determining pavement temperature as related to depth and air temperature has been suggested. To achieve the objective of this thesis, the prepared specimens have been tested for indirect tension in accordance with

تشكل  التغيرات الحاصلة في اسعار النفط تحديا" حقيقيا" لاستمرار عملية النمو في العراق, وامام الحكومة فرصة كبيرة لإيجاد حلول ناجعة لمشكلة تزايد عجز الموازنة العامة من خلال اللجوء الى اصدار ادوات الدين العام الداخلي والخارجي, وهذا يتطلب بناء استراتيجية لإقامة وتطوير سوق السندات الحكومية في العراق, لتتمكن الحكومة من خلاله توفير مصادر تمويل اضافية, تسهم في تمويل الانفاق الاستثماري الحكومي ودعم النمو ودعم

The present study is undertaken to evaluate the effects of hypothyroidism induced by carbimazol in male rat reproductive system. Rats were treated with carbimazol (80 and 160 mg/kg body weight) daily for two, four, six, and eight weeks, while control rats were given distilled water orally. The results of these experiments are: 1-Treatment with carbimazol produced increase in body weight of treated animals. This increase was not statistically significant even at high concentrations. 2-Decrease in testicular weight  was observed during all administration points. This decrease was aggravated proportional to duration and dose (p≤0.001). 3-Results of most intervals showed significant decrease in epididymal-head weight, while no sig