Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a key role in innate immune response activation against viruses. TLR7, one of the TLRs family, is potentially important in controlling viral infection and the production of vaccines against the virus. The wide spectrum of discrepancy in response to antiviral drugs among different populations which is emerged by some pandemics like COVID-19 might be due to their different TLR7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The present study aimed to investigate the consequences of 401 non-synonymous missense SNPs (nsSNPs) within TLR7 on its protein structure, stability, and function by using specific bioinformatics tools. Seven bioinformatics tools were used to investigate 401 TLR7 nsSNPs from the dbSNP database. The results showed that the six variations, rs1171508003 (R262H), rs35160120 (F580S), rs968155471 (H587Q), rs202028806 (Y871D), rs1331496205 (W933S), and rs181600414 (R1004W), were found to be extremely deleterious by all of the employed bioinformatics tools. All six variations showed an impact on the protein’s structure, function, and stability. Among them, Y871D (rs202028806) and R1004W (rs181600414) were revealed as the most damaging nsSNPs. This study suggested that the predicted six damaging variants of TLR7 could indirectly or directly destabilize the structure of protein and deviate its function to some extent.
Zernike Moments has been popularly used in many shape-based image retrieval studies due to its powerful shape representation. However its strength and weaknesses have not been clearly highlighted in the previous studies. Thus, its powerful shape representation could not be fully utilized. In this paper, a method to fully capture the shape representation properties of Zernike Moments is implemented and tested on a single object for binary and grey level images. The proposed method works by determining the boundary of the shape object and then resizing the object shape to the boundary of the image. Three case studies were made. Case 1 is the Zernike Moments implementation on the original shape object image. In Case 2, the centroid of the s
... Show MoreIn this work we experimentally investigated SWCNTs and MWCNTs to increase their thermal conductivity and electrically functionalization process using different reagents ((nitric acid, HNO3 followed by acid treatment with H2SO4), then washed with deionized water (DW) and then treated with H2O2 via ultrasonic technique. Then repeated the steps with MWCNTs and compare their results in an effort to improve experimental conditions that efficiently differentiate the surface of the single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi walled carbon nanotubesi(MWCNTs) that less nanotubes destroy and to enhance the properties of them and also to reduce aggregation in liquid. the results were prove by XRD, and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The FTIR sp
... Show MoreSnS nanobelt thin films were deposited on glass substrates in acidic solution by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The belt-like morphologies of as-deposited SnS thin films were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman measurements were carried out to confirm the crystal structures and phase purities of SnS nanobelt thin films. The morphologies and phase purities of SnS thin films were influenced greatly by the tin and sulfur precursors. The bandgaps of SnS nanobelts were determined to be 1.39–1.41 eV by UV–vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Current-voltage ((I-V)) and current-time ((I-T)) characteristics were studied to demon
... Show MoreThis paper presents an IoT smart building platform with fog and cloud computing capable of performing near real-time predictive analytics in fog nodes. The researchers explained thoroughly the internet of things in smart buildings, the big data analytics, and the fog and cloud computing technologies. They then presented the smart platform, its requirements, and its components. The datasets on which the analytics will be run will be displayed. The linear regression and the support vector regression data mining techniques are presented. Those two machine learning models are implemented with the appropriate techniques, starting by cleaning and preparing the data visualization and uncovering hidden information about the behavior of
... Show MoreIn the literature, several correlations have been proposed for bubble size prediction in bubble columns. However these correlations fail to predict bubble diameter over a wide range of conditions. Based on a data bank of around 230 measurements collected from the open literature, a correlation for bubble sizes in the homogenous region in bubble columns was derived using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling. The bubble diameter was found to be a function of six parameters: gas velocity, column diameter, diameter of orifice, liquid density, liquid viscosity and liquid surface tension. Statistical analysis showed that the proposed correlation has an Average Absolute Relative Error (AARE) of 7.3 % and correlation coefficient of 92.2%. A
... Show MoreIn this study a combination of two basics known methods used to daily prediction of solar insolation in Baghdad city, Iraq, for the first time, the harmonic and the classical linear regression analyses, thus it is called HARLIN model. The resulted prediction data compared with basics data for Baghdad city for two years (2010-2011), where the model showed a great success application in the accurate results, compared with the linear famous and well known model which is used the classical linear Angstrom equations with various formulations in many previous studies.
One of the most severe problems with flexible asphalt pavements is permanent deformation in the form of rutting. Accordingly, the practice of adding fiber elements to asphalt mix to improve performance under dynamic loading has grown significantly in order to prevent rutting distress and ensure a safe and long-lasting road surface. This paper explores the effects of a combination of ceramic fiber (CF), a low-cost, easily available mineral fiber, and thermal insulator fiber reinforced to enhance the Marshall properties and increase the rutting resistance of asphalt mixes at high temperatures. Asphalt mixtures with 0%, 0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25% CF content were prepared, and Marshall stability and wheel tracking tests were employed to stu
... Show MorePandemic COVID-19 is a contagious disease affecting more than 200 countries, territories, and regions. Recently, Iraq is one of the countries that have immensely suffered from this outbreak. The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is also prone to the disease. Until now, more than 23,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the region. Since the onset of the COVID-19 in Wuhan, based on epidemiological modelling, researchers have used various models to predict the future of the epidemic and the time of peak, yielding diverse numbers in different countries. This study aims to estimate the basic reproductive number [R0] for COVID-19 in KRI, using the standard SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Removed) epidemic model. A system of non
... Show MoreThe most common cause of upper respiratory tract infection is coronavirus, which has a crown appearance due to the existence of spikes on its envelope. D-dimer levels in the plasma have been considered a prognostic factor for COVID-19 patients.
The aim of the study is to demonstrate the role of COVID-19 on coagulation parameters D-dimer and ferritin with their association with COVID-19 severity and disease progression in a single-center study.
This study uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to examine the constitutive relationships of the Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) residual tensile strength at elevated temperatures. The objective is to develop an effective model and establish fire performance criteria for concrete structures in fire scenarios. Multilayer networks that employ reactive error distribution approaches can determine the residual tensile strength of GFRP using six input parameters, in contrast to previous mathematical models that utilized one or two inputs while disregarding the others. Multilayered networks employing reactive error distribution technology assign weights to each variable influencing the residual tensile strength of GFRP. Temperatur
... Show More