Coronavirus 2 is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been linked to leukocyte infiltration and chemokine activation during inflammatory responses. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) family are thought to dampen the proinflammatory effects of these MMPs. The molecular pathways of lung fibrosis are mediated by MMPs and TIMPs. In this study, we sought to investigate the probable link between MMPs, specifically MMP-3, TIMP-2, and COVID-19. The study included 58 COVID-19 patients and 30 apparently healthy individuals matched in terms of age and sex. Multiplex real- time PCR was used to detect the ORF1ab, E, and N genes of

Feature selection (FS) constitutes a series of processes used to decide which relevant features/attributes to include and which irrelevant features to exclude for predictive modeling. It is a crucial task that aids machine learning classifiers in reducing error rates, computation time, overfitting, and improving classification accuracy. It has demonstrated its efficacy in myriads of domains, ranging from its use for text classification (TC), text mining, and image recognition. While there are many traditional FS methods, recent research efforts have been devoted to applying metaheuristic algorithms as FS techniques for the TC task. However, there are few literature reviews concerning TC. Therefore, a comprehensive overview was systematicall

In the present study, the physical characteristics of elastomer (EL) blend with natural polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Dexrin (D), Arabic gum (AG), and corn starch (CS) based on high-density fiberboard wood adhesives were investigated. The EL blends were prepared by dissolving AG, D, PVA, and CS in deionized water at 70 °C for 1 h under magnetic stirring continuously until the solution was clear, and blends were made with a weight of 60/40 (w/w); then were cast into a mold with a 20 cm diameter and left at room temperature for 24 h to ensure complete water removal and drying of the samples. The prepared EL and EL blend structures, adhesion strengths, roughness, wettings, and dielectric strengths, were investigated. The modifi

Road-side dust samples were collected during August in 2020 from selected areas of, Al-Rusafa, Baghdad, Iraq. A sedimentological and mineralogical analysis of street dust was conducted. Three areas were selected to study street dusts which are Al-Baladitat, Al-Obaidi and Ziona. The laboratory analyses were done in the Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Baghdad. The heavy metal contents were determined in the roadside dust using XRF Method. It was found that the dust is of muddy texture, and is believed to be transmitted with the various storms blowing on Baghdad or by the wheels of Cars. The results of mineralogical investigation revealed that the dust samples composed of quartz, feldspar, calcite, gypsum and s

      Genistein (GEN) is one of the predominant dietary isoflavones found in legumes such as soybeans. Genistein has been recommended as an osteoporosis treatment for postmenopausal women and elderly men, with the intention of reducing cardiovascular disease and hormone-dependent malignancies. Therefore, two sensitive and simple methods for quantifying it in the supplements preparation were developed.The first method (A) comprised employing the surfactant Triton X-114 to extract the result of the diazotization reaction with 4-Aminoacetophenone(4AMA) utilizing a cloud point extraction technique. The product was extracted using micelles of a non-ionic surfactant (TritonX-114) and then spectrophotometrically detected at a specified wa

In this study, vegetable tanned leather waste of cow (VTLW-C) is used as adsorbent for removing methyl violet 10B dye from aqueous solution. The VTLW-C adsorbent was characterized by FTIR and SEM in order to evaluate its surface properties before using in adsorption experiments. Batch adsorption method was applied to study the effect of different factors such as weight of leather waste, time of shaking, and starting concentration of methyl violet 10B dye. Different isothermal models such as Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D–R) were used to analyze the experimental data. Kinetic study proceeds using (PFO) kinetic model and (PSO) kinetic model. The results showed better agreement with the Freundlich model; this means

Medical images play a crucial role in the classification of various diseases and conditions. One of the imaging modalities is X-rays which provide valuable visual information that helps in the identification and characterization of various medical conditions. Chest radiograph (CXR) images have long been used to examine and monitor numerous lung disorders, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, atelectasis, and hernia. COVID-19 detection can be accomplished using CXR images as well. COVID-19, a virus that causes infections in the lungs and the airways of the upper respiratory tract, was first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan Province, China, and has since been thought to cause substantial airway damage, badly impacting the lungs of affected persons.