The current study introduces a novel technique to handle electrochemical localized corrosion in certain limited regions rather than applying comprehensive cathodic protection (CP) treatment. An impressed current cathodic protection cell (ICCPC) was fabricated and firmly installed on the middle of a steel structure surface to deter localized corrosion in fixed or mobile steel structures. The designed ICCPC comprises three essential parts: an anode, a cathode, and an artificial electrolyte. The latter was developed to mimic the function of the natural electrolyte in CP. A proportional-integrated-derivative (PID) controller was designed to stabilize this potential below the ICCPC at a cathodic potential of −850 mV, which is crucial for prote

A case–control study (80 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection and 96 controls) was performed to evaluate the association of an IL12A gene variant (rs582537 A/C/G) with HBV infection. Allele G showed a signifcantly lower frequency in patients compared to controls (31.2 vs. 46.9%; probability [p]=0.009; corrected p [pc]=0.027) and was associated with a lower risk of HBV infection (odds ratio [OR]=0.49; 95% confdence interval [CI]=0.29–0.83). A similar lower risk was associated with genotypes CG (17.5 vs. 29.2; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.08–0.81; p=0.02) and GG (10.0 vs. 16.7; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.07–0.91; p=0.036), but the pc value was not signifcant (0.12 and 0.126, respec‑ tively). Serum IL35 levels showed signifcant difere

A small number of researches were done in the design and synthesis of enkephalin analogues that are able to resist degradation effect of proteolytic enzymes with good bioavailability and half-lives.Through studying structure activity relationships we tried to incorporate phthalyl group, tryptophan and lysine amino acids in different positions in the basic backbone structure of the naturally occurring opioid Leu⁵- and Met⁵- enkephalin, in the hope that such insertion of these amino acids could induce interesting addition in the biological activity of these analogues with enhancement of their bioavailability, in addition to decrease side effects as addiction liability.

These synthesized peptides are:

Homosexuality is one of the important topics that have emerged in recent times in the Islamic and Arab world, as the topic was in the past one of the taboos and majorities and one of the topics that arouse disgust and is talked about secretly and practiced secretly as well.But today, with international and organizational support for this anomaly and its misrepresentation under the name of gender once again and gender again. It began to spread in all countries of the world, including Islamic and Arab countries, and with the presence of associations and influential people in the legislative and judicial authorities of countries that protect and defend homosexuals. Writing on this subject has become a necessity and a duty; to warn against the

The recent escalation in Southeast Asia showed that the region is on the verge of political and economic crises through the United States and its allies imposing economic sanctions against China, and a military escalation that may begin with China’s invasion of Taiwan, especially since two-thirds of the American forces in the world are located in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

The United States claims that it is ready to defend the island of Taiwan in the event of the start of Chinese military operations, but the reality shows that the United States supports Taiwan militarily by equipping it with modern weapons to defend itself. Supporting Taiwan economically by engaging it in trade agreements with US allies in the r

Confocal microscope imaging has become popular in biotechnology labs. Confocal imaging technology utilizes fluorescence optics, where laser light is focused onto a specific spot at a defined depth in the sample. A considerable number of images are produced regularly during the process of research. These images require methods of unbiased quantification to have meaningful analyses. Increasing efforts to tie reimbursement to outcomes will likely increase the need for objective data in analyzing confocal microscope images in the coming years. Utilizing visual quantification methods to quantify confocal images with naked human eyes is an essential but often underreported outcome measure due to the time required for manual counting and e

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long

Background: Type two diabetic patients have higher risk of cardiovascular and periodontal disease. Furthermore, patients with more severe periodontal disease have higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess the association between periodontal health status and the risk of vascular disease in type 2 diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: One hundred type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and fifty apparently healthy males were enrolled in this study. Oral examinations conducted were; plaque Index, calculus index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level. For the assessment of vascular risk, arterial stiffness index was used. Results: According to arterial stiffness index, type 2 diabetic p