This study assesses the short-term and long-term interactions between firm performance, financial education and political instability in the case of Malaysia Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The simultaneous insertion of financial education and political instability within the study is done intentionally to inspect the effect of these two elements in one equation for the Malaysian economy. Using the bound testing methodology for cointegration and error correction models, advanced within an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework, we examine whether a long-run equilibrium connection survives between firm performance and the above mentioned independent variables. Using this method, we uncover evidence of a positive long-term link between firm performance and financial education, as well as a negative long-term relationship between firm performance and political instability. It has been suggested that SME owners enhance financial literacy and to be cautious about political indicators of the country
The presence of heavy metals in the environment is major concern due to their toxicity. In the present study a strong acid cation exchange resin, Amberlite IR 120 was used for the removal of lead, zinc and copper from simulated wastewater. The optimum conditions were determined in a batch system of concentration 100 mg/L, pH range between 1 and 8, contact time between 5 and 120 minutes, and amount of adsorbent was from 0.05 to 0.45 g/100 ml. A constant stirring speed, 180 rpm, was chosen during all of the experiments. The optimum conditions were found to be pH of 4 for copper and lead and pH 6 for zinc, contact time of 60 min and 0.35 g of adsorbent. Three different temperatures (25, 40 and 60°C) were selected to investigate the effect
... Show MoreThis research was aimed to the purification and characterization of cytosine deaminase as a medically important enzyme from locally isolated Escherichia coli; then studying its cytotoxic anticancer effects against colon cancer cell line. Cytosine deaminase was subjected to three purification steps including precipitation with 90% ammonium sulfate saturation, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose column, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephadex G-200 column. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was increased up to 9 U/mg with 12.85 folds of purification and 30.85% enzyme recovery. Characterization study of purified enzyme revealed that the molecular weight of cytosine deaminase produced by E. coli was about 48 KDa,
... Show MoreThe severity of UTI produced by E. coli is due to the expression of a wide
spectrum of virulence factors. In this study the role of E. coli virulence determinants
in the pathogenesis of UTI in urinary catheterized and non-catheterized patients has
been evaluated. The isolates were recovered from 129 patients admitted to the
hospital. Virulence genes of E. coli were detected by polymerase chain reaction
analysis for the prevalence of these virulence factors. The targeted genetic
determinants were those coding for Type 1 fimbriae, Pyelonephritis-Associated Pili
(PAP), Antigen 43 (Ag43), α-Hemolysin and Aerobactin siderophores among the
studied isolates. The prevalence of genes fimH, papC, ang43, hlyA and iutA were<
One hundred and sixty samples from saliva and dental plaque were sellected from patients with caries active at ages from (4-65) years from Umm Qasr Primary School and Al-Ameria Specialist Dental Center in Baghdad. 15 isolates belong to Streptococcus mutans were identified by biochemical tests and Vitek 2 compact system while 22 isolates identified by using Polymerase Chain Reaction ﴾PCR﴿ techniques and sequencing of 16SrRNA with 120 bp by using 16SrRNA the result confermed that these isolates were belong to S.mutans.
In the recent years the research on the activated carbon preparation from agro-waste and byproducts have been increased due to their potency for agro-waste elimination. This paper presents a literature review on the synthesis of activated carbon from agro-waste using microwave irradiation method for heating. The applicable approach is highlighted, as well as the effects of activation conditions including carbonization temperature, retention period, and impregnation ratio. The review reveals that the agricultural wastes heated using a chemical process and microwave energy can produce activated carbon with a surface area that is significantly higher than that using the conventional heating method.
During 2011, 1900 clinical specimens (urine, wounds, burns, blood and sputum) and
240 hospital environment specimens were collected from four hospitals in
Baghdad/Medical city including: Baghdad Teaching Hospital, The Martyr Gazi Al-
Hariry Hospital, Welfare Teaching Hospital and The Burn Specialist Hospital. All
specimens were cultured and 128 Acinetobacter baumannii were obtained from
clinical and environmental specimens in a ratio of 6.05% (n=115) and 5.42%
(n=13), respectively. These isolates were identified using microscopic examination,
biochemical tests and Api 20 E system.The slide agglutination technique for rabbit
immune sera and A. baumannii bacteria was used and our data analysis revealed a
serologi
The biological diversity of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) has widely been reported to be associated with pathological progress in severe nosocomial and community-acquired infections. 250 clinical specimens included sputum, urine and swabs from wound and burns samples were collected from Al-Batool Teaching Hospital (38.4%), Baqubah Teaching Hospital (61.6%) and private laboratories in Baqubah and Diyala, Iraq. Positive rates of nosocomial acquired infection were sputum 98%, urine 96%, and swabs from wound and burns 94%, while positive rates of community acquired infection were sputum 60%, urine 60%, and swabs wound and burns 30%. Positive rates of nosocomial and community acquired infections were 96% and 48%, res
... Show MoreThe members of the family of Eentrobacteriaceae harbour a gene cluster called polyketide synthase (pks) island. This cluster is responsible for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin that might have an important role in the induction of double-strand DNA breaks, leading to promote human colorectal cancer (CRC). Eleven out of the eighty eight isolates (12.5%) were pks+, distributed as 7 (8%) isolates of E. coli, 2 (2.25%) of K. pneumoniae and 2 (2.25%) of E. aerogenes. The cytotoxic effects of selected pks+ isolates (E. coli and E. aerogenes) on HeLa cells were represented by decreasing cell numbers and enlarged cell nuclei in comparison to the untreated cells. Cyt
... Show MoreThe removal of cadmium ions from simulated groundwater by zeolite permeable reactive barrier was investigated. Batch tests have been performed to characterize the equilibrium sorption properties of the zeolite in cadmium-containing aqueous solutions. Many operating parameters such as contact time, initial pH of solution, initial concentration, resin dosage and agitation speed were investigated. The best values of these parameters that will achieved removal efficiency of cadmium (=99.5%) were 60 min, 6.5, 50 mg/L, 0.25 g/100 ml and 270 rpm respectively. A 1D explicit finite difference model has been developed to describe pollutant transport within a groundwater taking the pollutant sorption on the permeable reactive barrier (PRB), which i
... Show MoreThe main parameters and methods influencing the removal of Gentian Violet (GV) dye from aqueous media were investigated using a stachy plant in this study. The surface of the stachy plant was determined using FTIR spectra. Adsorption is influenced by the adsorbent's characteristic groups. The research took into account the usual conditions for GV dye adsorption by the stachy plant, such as the impact of contact time. Mass dosage , after 0.3 g the amount of adsorbed dye declines. Study pH and ionic strength, the results obtained showed that at pH 3 the largest adsorption of (GV) was seen, while at pH 9, the lowest adsorption was observed at 298 K, the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium constants were achieved, and the equ
... Show More