: Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle behavior that causes significant adverse health effects. Cigarette smoke contains chemicals, many of which are lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to apoptosis and autophagy. To estimate the association of Cigarette smoking with the autophagy and immunity, technology of real time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) for gene expression of (LC3A, LC3B, LC3C, myd88) was used. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was utilized to measurement the amount of TNF-α protein. The ratios of LC3A/LC3B and LC3B/LC3C were calculated to estimate the autophagy flux. The results indicate the expression of LC3B, LC3C and Myd88 genes in smokers is increased significantly (p

Portland Cement is manufactured by adding 3% gypsum to clinker which is produced by grinding, pulverizing, mixing, and then burning a raw mix of silica, and calcium carbonate. Limestone is the main source of carbonates, while clay collected from arable land is the main source of silica. The marl in the Euphrates Formation was studied as an alternative to arable lands. Nine boreholes drilled and penetrated the marl layer in selected locations at the Kufa cement quarry. Forty-one samples of marl from boreholes and four samples of limestone from the closed area were collected. The chemical content of the major oxides and the hardness of the marl layer was very encouraging as a raw material for Portland Cement as they are SiO2 (17.60),

Bathyplectes curcurlionis (Thomson) is the sole parasitoid encountered in west Baghdad parasitising larvae of alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (GylIenhal). Percent of parasitisation did not exceed 8% in 1989 and 1990 and overall rate of parasitisation was 5%. Additional reduction in percent of parasitisation caused by presence of the fungal pathogen Erynia phytonomi. High survival percent of weevil's larvae under the study conditions explains why this insect is a key pest of alfalfa. Suggestions were made to inhance the role of B. curcurtionis in controlling the weevil.

This study aims to evaluate drinking water quality at the Al Wahda plant (WTP) in Baghdad city. A conventional water treatment plant with an average flow rate of 72.82 MLD. Water samples were taken from the influent and effluent of the treatment plant and analyzed for some physicochemical and biological parameters during the period from June to November 2020. The results of the evaluation indicate that treated water has almost the same characteristics as raw water; in other terms, the plant units do not remove pollutants as efficiently as intended. Based on this, the station appears to be nothing more than a series of water passage units. However, apart from Total dissolved solids, the mean values of all parameters in the study were

Antibacterial Activity of Bioactive Glass 45S5 and Chitosan Incorporated as Fillers into Gutta Percha, Ahmed I AL-Jobory*, Raghad AL-Hashimi

In earthquake engineering problems, uncertainty exists not only in the seismic excitations but also in the structure's parameters. This study investigates the influence of structural geometry, elastic modulus, mass density, and section dimension uncertainty on the stochastic earthquake response of a multi-story moment resisting frame subjected to random ground motion. The North-south component of the Ali Gharbi earthquake in 2012, Iraq, is selected as ground excitation. Using the power spectral density function (PSD), the two-dimensional finite element model of the moment resisting frame's base motion is modified to account for random ground motion. The probabilistic study of the moment resisting frame structure using stochastic fin

Toxicity with advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is a major problem in uremic patients. Treatment with peritoneal dialysis (PD) exacerbates AGE formation as a result of bioincompatibility of the conventional peritoneal dialysis fluid (PDF). The presence of glucose degradation products (GDPs) in PDF is the main cause of its bioincompatibility. Carnosine is an endogenous dipeptide with a powerful antiglycation/antioxidant activity. In an attempt to improve PDF biocompatibility, we evaluated the effect of carnosine in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) incubated with PDF or GDPs in vitro. Methods: HPMC were incubated for short or prolonged time with PDF in the presence or absence of carnosine. Similarly, HPMC were incubated in the s