Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic fluor-surfactant chemical used widely in products that resist oil, heat, grease, stains, and water. It is also used in producing other fluoropolymers. The main sources of exposure to PFOA are water, soil, and animal-origin food (meat, fish, and dairy products). The aim of this study to evaluate the renal function following oral gavage of sub-lethal dose of PFOA in diabetic and non-diabetic guinea pigs. The experiment run for 4 weeks, total of 40 male guinea pigs, (Cavia porcellus), were randomly selected and grouped into four equal groups. The first group (G1) served as the negative control; 2nd group (G2) alloxan induced diabetic, 3rd group (G3) non-diabetic was exposed to PFOA at 100 mg/kg BW orally/daily and 4th Group (G4) was diabetic guinea pig exposed to PFOA at 100 mg/kg BW orally/daily. Serum creatinine and histopathological alterations in the kidney tissue were evaluated. Serum creatinine concentrations were significantly increased (P<0.05) in G3 and G4 exposed to PFOA. High serum creatinine levels were suggesting impairment in kidney function. Impaired kidney function was confirmed through histopathological changes such as glomerular atrophy, severe necrosis, and degeneration of renal tubular epithelium in guinea pigs that received PFOA in G3 and G4. In conclusion, the results confirmed that PFOA was associated with renal damage and elevated creatinine concentrations in diabetic and non-diabetic animals since PFOA itself can contribute to diabetes.
Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii ) is considered a critical healthcare problem for patients in intensive care units due to its high ability to be multidrug-resistant to most commercially available antibiotics. The aim of this study is to develop a colorimetric assay to quantitatively detect the target DNA of A. baumannii based on unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from different clinical samples (burns, surgical wounds, sputum, blood and urine). A total of thirty-six A. baumannii clinical isolates were collected from five Iraqi hospitals in Erbil and Mosul provinces within the period from September 2020 to January 2021. Bacterial isolation and biochemical identification of isolates
... Show MoreThe melting duration in the photovoltaic/phase-change material (PV/PCM) system is a crucial parameter for thermal energy management such that its improvement can realize better energy management in respect to thermal storage capabilities, thermal conditions, and the lifespan of PV modules. An innovative and efficient technique for improving the melting duration is the inclusion of an exterior metal foam layer in the PV/PCM system. For detailed investigations of utilizing different metal foam configurations in terms of their convective heat transfer coefficients, the present paper proposes a newly developed mathematical model for the PV/PCM–metal foam assembly that can readily be implemented with a wide range of operating condition
... Show MoreThe predatory bush crickets Saga ephippigera Fischer Von Waldheim, 1846 is the largest Iraqi orthopterans and one of the most active and successful predators in the Kurdistan region. The nymphs and adults prey on all the stages of various species of insects. Twelve adult specimens were collected from Erbil Province during May 2018 and June 2021. Morphological structures of the adult insects were described and illustrated in details; important taxonomic characteristics of body regions with their appendages were chosen; and the results indicated the importance of morphological characteristics which confirmed the identification of this species correctly.
Virtual reality, VR, offers many benefits to technical education, including the delivery of information through multiple active channels, the addressing of different learning styles, and experiential-based learning. This paper presents work performed by the authors to apply VR to engineering education, in three broad project areas: virtual robotic learning, virtual mechatronics laboratory, and a virtual manufacturing platform. The first area provides guided exploration of domains otherwise inaccessible, such as the robotic cell components, robotic kinematics and work envelope. The second promotes mechatronics learning and guidance for new mechatronics engineers when dealing with robots in a safe and interactive manner. And the thir
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to show the concepts of nuclear shape and the geometrical picture to the even-even nuclei of 164,166,168E isotopes in the context of the Interacting boson Model IBM-1. The energy spectra were calculated and the effective charge values (eB) of the electromagnetic transition strength were obtained and used to calculate the B(E2) values of the electromagnetic transitions and the quadrupole moment Q of 2+ -states. The Hamiltonian parameters were calculated by taking in account the properties of these nuclei. Comparison were made with the available experimental data and included in tables. The geometrical picture of these nuclei were looked at by calculating the deformation which were represented by the potentia
... Show MoreThe possibility of using activated carbon developed from date palm seeds wastes as a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to remove copper from polluted shallow groundwater was investigated. The activated carbon has been developed from date palm seeds by dehydrating methods using concentrated sulfuric acid. Batch tests were performed to characterize the equilibrium sorption properties of new activated carbon in copper-containing aqueous solutions, while the sandy soil (aquifer) was assumed to be inert. Under the studied conditions, the Langmuir isotherm model gives a better fit for the sorption data of copper by activated carbon than other models. At a pilot scale, One-dimensional column experiments were performed, and an integrated model ba
... Show More