Smoking has been accepted as a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancer, ulcers and osteoporosis. Tobacco smoke contains many oxidants and free radicals that can cause damage to lipids, proteins, DNA, carbohydrates and other biomolecules. In vivo, antioxidant nutrients which include vitamin C, selenium (Se), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) play a crucial role in defending against oxidant damage. The present study was designed to investigate the influence of cigarette smoking on serum Zn, Cu ,PCV,W.B.Cs., and BMI. Eighty healthy men (40 smokers and 40 non-smokers) from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, volunteered to participate in this study. Two overnight fasting blood samples were collected from all volunteers. Serum concentrations of trace elements were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The statistical method of t-test and ANOVA was used to identify differences between the cigarette’s smoker and non-smoker group. Mean body mass index (BMI) was different for the smoker and non-smoker group. Mean of PCV for smoker was significantly (p<0.01) higher than those of non-smokers. The mean count of W.B.Cs., was similar for both smokers and non-smokers The serum zinc levels of smokers were significantly (P<0.05) lower than those of non-smokers. Smokers had significantly no difference in serum copper concentration compared with non-smokers.
The finite element method has been used in this paper to investigate the behavior of precast reinforced concrete dapped-ends beams (DEBs) numerically. A parametric investigation was performed on an experimental specimen tested by a previous researcher to show the effect of numerous parameters on the strength and behavior of RC dapped-end beams. Reinforcement details and steel arrangement, the influence of concrete compressive strength, the effect of inclined load, and the effect of support settlement on the strength of dapped-ends beams are examples of such parameters. The results revealed that the dapped-end reinforcement arrangement greatly affects the behavior of dapped end beam. The failure load decreases by 25% when
... Show MoreGroupwise non-rigid image alignment is a difficult non-linear optimization problem involving many parameters and often large datasets. Previous methods have explored various metrics and optimization strategies. Good results have been previously achieved with simple metrics, requiring complex optimization, often with many unintuitive parameters that require careful tuning for each dataset. In this chapter, the problem is restructured to use a simpler, iterative optimization algorithm, with very few free parameters. The warps are refined using an iterative Levenberg-Marquardt minimization to the mean, based on updating the locations of a small number of points and incorporating a stiffness constraint. This optimization approach is eff
... Show MoreIn the lifetime process in some systems, most data cannot belong to one single population. In fact, it can represent several subpopulations. In such a case, the known distribution cannot be used to model data. Instead, a mixture of distribution is used to modulate the data and classify them into several subgroups. The mixture of Rayleigh distribution is best to be used with the lifetime process. This paper aims to infer model parameters by the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm through the maximum likelihood function. The technique is applied to simulated data by following several scenarios. The accuracy of estimation has been examined by the average mean square error (AMSE) and the average classification success rate (ACSR). T
... Show MoreIn this research, the focus was on estimating the parameters on (min- Gumbel distribution), using the maximum likelihood method and the Bayes method. The genetic algorithmmethod was employed in estimating the parameters of the maximum likelihood method as well as the Bayes method. The comparison was made using the mean error squares (MSE), where the best estimator is the one who has the least mean squared error. It was noted that the best estimator was (BLG_GE).
The current study is considered a field study to measure the level of satisfaction of the academic programs of Media Masters students. That was accomplished through surveying the attitudes of the students who are enrolled in the faculties of media at the following universities: (Petra University, The Middle East University (MEU), and Al-Yarmouk University). Those students were enrolled in the master’s program within the formal educational system during the second semester of the academic year (2015 – 2016). This survey aims to identify the services, facilities and academic programs provided by the concerned faculties. It, also, aims to identify the public relations, administrative, educational and services aspects of those faculties.
... Show MoreThe issue of Palestinian prisoners inside the prisons of the Israeli occupation is considered
a humanitarian issue par excellence، as it affects every Palestinian family as a
result of the absence of a husband، wife or son.
Almost no Palestinian house is vacant without one or more prisoners، and even women،
children and the elderly are not spared from these arrests.
The problem of the study was to identify the role of public relations in the Ministry
of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs in educating the Palestinian public about the
issue of prisoners، the nature of this role and the means used to bring support and
solidarity with this important and sensitive issue through the applied study on the
employee
The study involved 45 male and 45 females of diabetic patients type- ?? aged from 40-69years , and with the same numbers of males and females for control , all the patients and controls were without any periodontal diseases and without any systemic disease. Diabetic patients were divided in to three groups according to the degree of periodontitis , and the inflamed gingiva of all groups of diabetic patients were treated with the dried fruits powder (crude) of medicinal plants Quercus robur , Thuja occidenalis , Terminalia chebula, Anethum graveolens , respectively and mixture. Some immunological and antimicrobial factors (IgA, Lactoferrin , Lysozyme ) , were detected in serum and saliva of diabetic patients and the control
... Show MoreIndustry represents a cornerstone of the process of economic development and a measure of progress and contribute to increased prosperity and high standard of living.
The researcher analyzed the productivity indicators in industrial facilities large and small at several time periods ranging from 1970 to 2009, according to the economic situation that prevailed in each period.
Different impact of periods under discussion, it made Iraq the cash surpluses during the period 70-1980 then the effects of the war after 1980 and the economic blockade since 1990, and the subsequent events of the year
... Show MoreThe arise of Islam as a multidimensional changing phenomenon with its own revolutionary and comprehensive character was inherent with a lot of alterations in social aspects , and this is explicit particularly in the scope of urban life and town planning . Essentially, Islamic style of life has its own urban identity. The urbanization process in Islam has been developed across two integrated sides, the first one concerned on ideational and theoretical aspects , while the other associated with practice .Many urban centers emerged during the Islamic era since the erection of Basrah , the first Islamic town in the middle of the 7th. centaury. Some contemporary urban concepts , both environmental and social could be noticed in Islamic
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