In this study, biodiesel was prepared from chicken fat via a transesterification reaction using Mussel shells as a catalyst. Pretreatment of chicken fat was carried out using non‐catalytic esterification to reduce the free fatty acid content from 36.28 to 0.96 mg KOH/g oil using an ethanol/ fat mole ratio equal to 115:1. In the transesterification reaction, the studied variables were methanol: oil mole ratio in the range of (6:1 ‐ 30:1), catalyst loading in the range of (9‐15) wt%, reaction temperature (55‐75 °C), and reaction time (1‐7) h. The heterogeneous alkaline catalyst was greenly synthesized from waste mussel shells throughout a calcin

In this paper, silicon carbonitried thin films were prepared by the method of photolysis of the silane (SiH4) and ethylene (C2H4) gases, with and without ammonia gas (NH3), which is represented by the ratio between the (PNH3) and (PSiH4 + PC2H4 + PNH3), (which assign by the letter X), X has the values (0, 0.13, 0.33). This method carried out by using TEA-CO2 laser, on glass substrate at (375 oC), deposition rate (0.416-0.833) nm/pulse thin film thickness of (500-1000) nm. The optical properties of the films were studied by using Absorbance and Transmittance spectrums in wavelength range of (400-1100) nm, the results showed that the electronic transitions is indirect and the energy gap for the SiCN films increase with increasing of nitrog

Introduction: Biocides are commonly used for disinfection in a variety of contexts. They are generally used to avoid infection by controlling biofilm on medical equipment. However, the literature lacks information on the effect of biocide on efflux pump gene expression. Objective: To determine the influence of biocide on biofilm development and efflux pump acrA and ramA gene expression. Methodology: The microtiter plate method was used to identify biofilm development in 80 isolates of K. pneumoniae. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of three biocides (quaternary ammonium compound (QAC), chlorohexidine digluconate, and chloroxylenol) were estimated. The effect of QAC on the intensity and viability of biofilms was investigated as we

Iodine-doped polythiophene thin films are prepared by aerosol assisted plasma jet polymerization at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The doping of iodine was carried out in situ by employing iodine crystals in thiophene monomer by weight mixing ratios of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7%. The chemical composition analyses of pure and iodine-doped and heat-treated polythiophene thin films are carried out by FTIR spectroscopy studies. The optical band gaps of the films are evaluated from absorption spectrum studies. Direct transition energy gaps are determined from Tauc plots. The structural changes of polythiophene upon doping and the reduction of optical band gap are explained on the basis of the results obtained from FTIR spectroscopy, UV–V

Steel-concrete-steel (SCS) structural element solutions are rising due to their advantages over conventional reinforced concrete in terms of cost and strength. The impact of SCS sections with various core materials on the structural performance of composites has not yet been fully explored experimentally, and in this work, both slag and polypropylene fibers were incorporated in producing eco-friendly steel-concrete-steel composite sections. This study examined the ductility, ultimate strength, failure modes, and energy absorption capacities of steel-concrete-steel filled with eco-friendly concrete, enhanced by polypropylene fiber (PPF) to understand its impact on modern structural projects. Eco-friendly concrete was produced by the partial

Background: Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived mitral annular displacement (MAD) utilizes the speckle tracking technique to measure strain vectors, which provides accurate estimates of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Objectives: To validate the accuracy of mitral annular displacement (MAD), assessed by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), as a surrogate for determination of left ventricular systolic function in comparison to 2-Dimensions Simpson method in patients with different heart diseases.Methods : This cross-sectional study included patients who referred to outpatient department of Ibn Albitar Center for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad, Iraq, between October 2012 and April 2013. STE continuously tracked annular

The use of medicinal plants in the treatment of harmful impacts of xenobiotics in animals is attracting an increasing attention in recent times. The aim of the current study is to assess the preventive potential of Costus afer aqueous leaves extract (CAAE) in treating metabolic aberrations imposed by crude oil contaminated diet in
Wistar albino rats. Six groups of rats were treated as follows: A = Normal diet; B=Normal diet + 100 mg/kg body weight of CAAE; C =Normal diet + 200 mg/kg body weight of CAAE; D= Crude oil contaminated diet; E= crude oil contaminated diet + 100 mg/kg body weight of CAAE, F = crude oil contaminated diet + 200 mg/kg body weight of CAAE. After thirty days of exposure to the diet and administration of the corres

     This research deals with the effect of gallium oxide and cerium oxide as dopants on the structural and optical characteristics of tin oxide. Gallium and cerium oxide doped tin oxide was prepared with different doping concentrations (0, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) wt. pure and doped tin oxide thin films were prepared by the pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and UV-Visible spectrophotometer were employed to investigate both oxides doping effects. Results showed that all prepared samples have poly-crystalline structure with a preferred plane of crystal growth along (110), where the crystal size grew from 40.3 nm to 64.5 nm and to 43.5 nm for Ga₂O₃ and CeO₂ doped tin oxide thin films, res