Immunosuppressive cytokines are the main components of the tumor microenvironment and perform a vital function in controlling the immune response to malignant neoplasms.The objective: to study the influence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) on the development of breast tumors in women.Materials and methods. The concentration of cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β3 in blood serum was determined in 40 women with benign breast tumors, 40 women with malignant breast tumors, and 40 healthy patients without breast pathology, who were included in the control group.Breast cancer (BC) patients were divided into two groups; the first group included patients with the II stage of BC, who were considered to have a low le

One-hundred and twenty Iraqi women (60 single women and 60 married women) with age ranges from (17-49) years have been involved in this study to estimate the levels of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as markers of ovarian aging. The descriptive data [age, body mass index (BMI), age at menarche, duration of menarche] have been recorded. Blood samples were collected from the studied women to determine the levels of AMH and FSH. The results revealed non-significant (p>0.05) differences in levels of AMH and FSH between single women and married women. A significant negative correlation was observed between AMH levels and age in single women (r=-0.519, p<0.05) and married women (r=-0.433, p<0.05). A no

Bacteria strain H8, which produces high amount of exopolysaccharide (EPS), was isolated from soil, and identified as strain of Azotobacter chrococcum by its biochemical /physiological characteristics, EPS was extracted, partially purified and used as bioflocculant. The biochemical analysis of the partially purified EPS revealed that it was an alginate. analysis of EPS by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) show that the -OH groups present in bioflocculant are clearly seen at 3433.06 cm-1, the peaks attributed to the -CH3 groups present at 2916.17 cm-1 , and some distinct peaks such as carboxyl group showed strong absorption bands at 1604.66 cm-1, 1411.80 cm-1 and 1303.79 cm-1 indicate the chemical structure of alginate. The effe

Gas sensors are essential for detecting noxious gases that have a detrimental effect on people's health and welfare. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are the fundamental component of gas detectors. CQDs and graphene (Gr) were prepared using the electrochemical method. The gas sensitivity of these materials was evaluated at different temperatures (150, 200, 250 °C) to assess their effectiveness. Subsequently, experiments were conducted at different temperatures to ascertain that the combination of CQDs and Gr, with various percentages of Gr and CQDs, exhibited superior gas sensitization properties compared to CQDs alone. This was evaluated based on criteria such as sensitivity, recovery time, and reaction time. Interestingly, the combination was

The current study performs an explicit nonlinear finite element simulation to predict temperature distribution and consequent stresses during the friction stir welding (FSW) of AA 7075-T651 alloy. The ABAQUS® finite element software was used to model and analyze the process steps that involve plunging, dwelling, and traverse stages. Techniques such as Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation, adaptive meshing, and computational feature of mass scaling were utilized to simulate sequence events during the friction stir welding process. The contact between the welding tool and workpiece was modelled through applying Coulomb’s friction model with a nonlinear friction coefficient value. Also, the model considered the effect of nonlin

Low grade crude palm oil (LGCPO) presents as an attractive option as feedstock for biodiesel production due to its low cost and non-competition with food resources. Typically, LGCPO contains high contents of free fatty acids (FFA), rendering it impossible in direct trans-esterification processes due to the saponification reaction. Esterification is the typical pre-treatment process to reduce the FFA content and to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The pre-treatment of LGCPO using two different acid catalysts, such as titanium oxysulphate sulphuric acid complex hydrate (TiOSH) and 5-sulfosalicylic acid dihydrate (5-SOCAH) was investigated for the first time in this study. The optimum conditions for the homogenous catalyst (5-SOCAH) wer