Glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) play a role in the detoxification of environmental chemicals and mutagens, such as those inhaled during tobacco smoking. There have been conflicting reports concerning GST polymorphisms as risk factors in the development of lung cancer. No studies focused on Arab populations exposed to Waterpipe (WP) tobacco smoke have been undertaken. Here Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and gene sequenc- ing were applied to analyze allelic variations in GSTP1-rs1695 and -rs1138272 amongst 123 lung cancer patients and 129 controls. The data suggest that WP smoking raised the risk of lung cancer more than three-fold (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.1–6.0; p < 0.0001). However, there was no s

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study which was carried out to examine the influence of the size and the layout of the web openings on the load carrying capacity and the serviceability of reinforced concrete deep beams. Five full-scale simply supported reinforced concrete deep beams with two large web openings created in shear regions were tested up to failure. The shear span to overall depth ratio was (1.1). Square openings were located symmetrically relative to the midspan section either at the midpoint or at the interior boundaries of the shear span. Two different side dimensions for the square openings were considered, mainly, (200) mm and (230) mm. The strength results proved that the shear capacity of the dee

The physical and elastic characteristics of rocks determine rock strengths in general. Rock strength is frequently assessed using porosity well logs such as neutron and sonic logs. The essential criteria for estimating rock mechanic parameters in petroleum engineering research are uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus. Indirect estimation using well-log data is necessary to measure these variables. This study attempts to create a single regression model that can accurately forecast rock mechanic characteristics for the Harth Carbonate Formation in the Fauqi oil field. According to the findings of this study, petrophysical parameters are reliable indexes for determining rock mechanical properties having good performance p

SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 which is the causative agent of spreading coronavirus disease 2019 that is known as COVID-19 pandemic, the disease leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases- 9 (MMP-9) plays several important physiological functions. This enzyme could also be implicated in the "cytokine storm" in some way, which may represent one of the possible scianrios during coronavirus infection, in addition to its role in the mechanism of lung fibrosis on molecular basis.. The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) are well characterized for controlling the activity of MMPs in extracellular matrix remodeling. They also considered as signaling molecules anal

The study investigates the relationship between the volatility of the Iraqi Stock Exchange Index (ISX), and the volatility of global oil prices benchmarks, Brent and West Intermediate Texas (WTI), in additional to the Iraqi Oil, Basra Crude Light (BSL) which represents the most exported Iraqi oil and the major influential factor on the Iraqi governmental revenues. Using monthly data covering the period: 1/2005-12/1205, econometrical and technical tools represented by Co-incretion, Vector Error Correction Model – VECM, Granger Causality, and Bollinger band were employed in order to explore the relationship between the variables.

The econometric analysis revealed the impact of the oil prices volatility on

     Bimetallic Au –Pt catalysts supporting TiO2 were synthesised using two methods; sol immobilization and impregnation methods. The prepared catalyst underwent a thermal treatment process at 400◦ C, while the reduction reaction under the same condition was done and the obtained catalysts were identified with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It has been found that the prepared catalysts have a dimension around 2.5 nm and the particles have uniform orders leading to high dispersion of platinum molecules .The prepared catalysts have been examined as efficient photocatalysts to degrade the Crystal violet dye under UV-light. The optimum values of Bimetallic Au –Pt catalysts supp

جريت دراسة مختبرية لمعرفة تأثير الزيت الطيار لقشور ثمار نبات النارنج الصفرC. aurantium تجاه النمو السطحي للفطريات Penicillium expansum، Aspergillus flavus و Fusarium oxysporum ، أظهرت نتائج الفعالية التثبيطية للزيت الطيار تأثيراً معنويا متفاوتاً في الفطريات المشمولة بالدراسة، إذ كان الزيت الطيار أكثر تأثيرأَ في الفطر P. expansum تلاه الفطر A. flavus ،في حين كان الفطر oxysporum F.أقل حساسية تجاه الزيت الطيار. بصورة عامة اظهر الزيت الطيار تأثيرا تثبيطيا

Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) enterococci have become a major problem in recent times and have been reported increasingly around the world. Lytic phages infect bacteria leading to rapid host death with limited risk of phage transduction, underlining the increasing interest in potential phage therapy in the future. Objective (s): The aim of this study is to use phage therapy as alternative approach for treatment of Enterococcus faecalis infections that recorded as MDR in Iraq to tackle this problem. Materials and Methods: Thirty E. faecalis isolates were collected from patients with different infectious diseases such as urinary tract infection (UTI), diabetic foot, septicemia, and wound infections. The isolation of specific l