Leishmania is the causative agent of leishmaniasis, a widely distributed disease. Amastigote forms of Leishmania are intracellular and reside within the macrophage of the vertebrate host. Previous studies showed that certain Leishmania species may scavenge host factors for survival, specially sphingolipids, the key element of the eukaryotic membranes. In this study we have investigated the survival of new world L. mexicana amastigotes in murine macrophage cell-line in the presence and absence of foetal bovine serum (FBS). Results showed that there was no significance in the infectivity of amastigotes and also the number of parasite per cell; such findings suggest that L. mexicana amastigotes have its own pathway of sphingolipid intake and c

Evaluating a reservoir to looking for hydrocarbon bearing zones, by determining the petrophysical properties in two wells of the Yamama Formation in Siba field using Schlumberger Techlog software. Three porosity logs were used to identify lithology using MN and MID cross plots. Shale volume were calculated using gamma ray log in well Sb-6ST1 and corrected gamma ray in well Sb-5B. Sonic log was used to calculate porosity in bad hole intervals while from density log at in-gauge intervals. Moreover, water saturation was computed from the modified Simandoux equation and compared to the Archie equation. Finally, Permeability was estimated using a flow zone indicator. The results show that the Yamama Formation is found to be mainly limest

This study investigates consecutive reaction assisted by pervaporation for the first time. It studies the saponification of diethyladipate DA with sodium hydroxide NaOH solution synchronous with separating ethanol from the reaction mixture through an aqueous – organic membrane. The effect of time on some variables such as: permeated ethanol concentration EtOH wt%, separation factor (α), concentration of NaOH solution CB in the reaction medium and the conversion of DA to monoethyladipate (the intermediate product) was studied. It was shown that EtOH wt% and the conversion increased with increasing time unlike CB but (α) showed the existence of maximum value during the time of experiment. The process of reaction assisted by pervaporation

The electronic structure of zinc blend indium gallium phosphide In0.5Ga0.5P nanocrystals which have dimension (2-2.8 nm) is investigated using the density functional theory coupled with large unit cell (LUC) for the different size core (8 ,16,54,64) atoms respectively. The investigated properties include total energy, energy gap, conduction band, valence band, cohesive energy, ionicity and density of state etc. as a function of core size and lattice constant. Results show the shape effect of increasing the core size and lattice constant on these electronic properties

Background: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the esthetic smile in sample of Iraqi adults and to assess the gender differences. Materials and Methods: 100 persons (50malesand 50 females had class I normal dental and skeletal selected for this study.Clinical examination and digital photograph with posed smile were performed for each individual. Six linear soft tissue parameters in each photograph using AutoCAD program 2011. Five visual and four quantitative evaluations of the smile were studied for eachsubject. The smile arch and index, buccal corridor spaces (BCSs) were studied.Descriptive statistics of the measurements were calculated. Independent student’s ttestswere used to evaluate the gender differences. Statistics: Desc

 This research was to determine the effect of rare earth metal (REM) on the as-cast microstructure of Mg-4Al alloy. The rare earth metal used here is Lanthanum to produce Mg-4Al-1.5La alloy. The microstructure was characterized by optical microscopy. The phases of this alloy were identified by X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of Mg-4Al consists of α-Mg and grain boundaries with precipitated phase particles. With the addition of Lanthanum, three distinct phases were identified in the X-ray diffraction patterns of the as cast Mg-4Al-1.5La:  Mg, Al₁₁La₃, Al₄La. The Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase was not detected. The addition of Lanthanium increases the hardness and dec

In this study, the effect of construction joints on the performance of reinforced concrete beams was experimentally investigated. Seven beam specimens, with dimensions of 200×100×1000 mm, were fabricated. The variables were considered including; the location and configuration of the joints. One beam was cast without a joint (Reference specimen), two specimens were fabricated with a one horizontal joint located either at tension, or compression zone. The fourth
beam had two horizontal joints placed at tension, and compression area. The remaining specimens were with one or two inclined joints positioned at the shear span or beam’s mid-span. The specimens were subjected to a monotonic central concentrated loading until the failure. T