Kurdistan Journal of Applied Research (KJAR)
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Assessing the Impact of Modified Initial Abstraction Ratios and Slope Adjusted Curve Number on Runoff Prediction in the Watersheds of Sulaimani Province.
Get PDFA popular way for describing the link between storm rainfall depth and direct runoff is the curve number (CN) method. It is a straightforward approach that has been extensively studied and widely adopted. However, there has been less focus on the impact of slope and the initial abstraction ratio, which is a crucial factor for accurately estimating direct runoff when utilizing the soil conservation service- Curve Number (SCS-CN) method. The initial abstraction ratio is typically assumed to be 0.20, as initially proposed by the method's developers. In this study, we analyzed daily rainfall data from seventeen watersheds in different physiographic locations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, recorded between 2022 and 2023. Our aim was to assess the effect of slope adjusted curve number and modified the initial abstraction ratio (0.1) on estimation of direct runoff. The results demonstrated that adjusting the CN for slope and using a modified initial abstraction ratio increased the estimated runoff compared to the original method (without adjustment for slope and initial abstraction ratio=0.2). Therefore, when applying the SCS-CN method, it is crucial to correct the CN for slope in steeper areas and consider the initial abstraction ratio rather than relying on the suggested value of 0.2. this study highlights the importance of considering local conditions and estimating the initial abstraction ratio based on specific watershed characteristics to enhance the accuracy of direct runoff estimation using the CN method
Expression and Purification of the Full Length and N-Terminal Truncated Variants of Insect CYP6Z2 in the Cytosol of Escherichia Coli for Potential 3D Experimental Studies
Get PDFCytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) offer innate resistance defence for malaria vectors against the insecticides permitted by WHO to be used in vector control tools. P450s can detoxify broad substrates and simultaneously metabolise them, thus the availability of experimental three-dimensional structures of these key insecticide detoxifiers is vital to improving our knowledge of their enzyme activities. Despite the importance of this family of proteins in insecticide resistance, there are no available experimental three-dimensional structures of insect P450 yet. For this investigation, a carboxy-terminal Histidine-tagged recombinant CYP6Z2 was heterologously expressed in E. coli to generate a soluble holoprotein suitable for an experimental three-dimensional structure. The expressed enzyme was purified from the cytosol of E. coli via the combination of various purification techniques and cholic acid sodium salt. Two truncated N-terminal signal peptides: short deletion of 11 amino acids and long deletion of 23 amino acids of the hydrophobic domain, were created to prevent aggregation, improve solubility, and facilitate crystallisation. The CYP6Z2 (full length) produced a holoprotein with a P450 protein concentration of 0.60 nmol/mL, whereas the two truncated CYP6Z2 isoforms produced only the inactive species with no peak at 450 nm. We conclude that the hydrophobic signal peptide region of the insect Cytochrome P450s seems sensitive and indispensable to ensuring 3-D folding and stability
Soil Respiration in Anthropogenic Disturbed Ecosystems Compared to Deciduous Forests in the Urban Industrial Area
Get PDFIn urban industrial area, mining activity directly affects the dynamic of carbon, and consequently, the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The main objective of this research is to study the impact of most important abiotic environmental factors on soil respiration in post-coalmine ecosystems. The moisture and temperature of the soil, along with CO2 outflow from the soil, were measured over three consecutive seasons, using 92 samples from coalmine heaps and 10 samples from deciduous forests in the same urban industrial region. Based on a survey of 396 species, a cluster analysis distinguished all deciduous and 22 forest plots grown on coalmine heaps from herbaceous plots from same coalmine heaps. The lowest soil respiration rate (0.62 mg CO2 per hour per square meter) was recorded in the herbaceous vegetation class on coalmine heaps, compared to (0.76 mg and 0.96 mg) from coalmine-heap forests and deciduous forests, respectively. Species richness and diversity positively affected soil respiration in heap herbaceous plots, though this effect was less pronounced in forests grown on coalmine heaps and in deciduous mixed forests. Unlike soil water content, soil temperature negatively correlated with soil respiration on coalmine heaps, diverging from the well-studied positive impact of soil temperature and respiration in deciduous mixed forests. Our spatial and temporal analyses emphasize that the water content of the substrate is the most significant abiotic element that affects the soil respiration on coalmine heaps positively during early vegetation succession
Evaluation of the Implementation of WHO Infection Prevention and Control Core Components Among Health Care Facilities
Get PDFPrograms for infection prevention and control comprise a range of action plans, including antiseptic regulations, a healthcare worker training program, and the monitoring of healthcare-associated infections. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the World Health Organization’s implementation of infection prevention and control programs level in Ranya tertiary and healthcare facilities. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Eight healthcare institutions in the Ranya administration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from February 2023 to the end of August 2023 using the World Health Organization Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Framework (IPCAF) checklist. The IPCAF consists of eight segments and each part has a score of 100, hence with the greatest score of 800. The respondents in this study were the heads of facilities and employees engaged in IPC-related tasks. The results show that 6 Healthcare staff (75%) had basic IPC levels, and they scored 235, 207.5, 222.5, 330, 362.5, and 347.5 out of 800 points respectively. Further, 2 Healthcare staff (25%) had inadequate IPC levels, and they scored 200 and 180 points. In addition, among the 8 IPC core components, the built environment and materials/equipment at the facility level (C8) had the highest scores, while minimum scores were observed in education, training (C3) and healthcare-associated infection surveillance (C4). In conclusion, the Ranya HCF facilities have certain working IPC aspects without appropriate implementation; further, practically all components need significant improvement
Microbial and Inflammatory Salivary Biomarkers of Periodontal Diseases
Get PDFRecent data reveals that severe periodontal diseases affect approximately 19% of global adult populations, impacting more than 1 billion individuals universally, ranking it as the sixth most predominant human disease. Diagnosis and treatment plans for periodontal disease entirely depend solely on the assessment of traditional clinical parameters. However, these parameters are not sensitive and are subject to error. Hence, microbial and inflammatory biomarkers of periodontal diseases in saliva have attracted of interest. This review aims to evaluate the salivary components as potential diagnostic tools for periodontal diseases. In addition to periodontal pathogens, interest in salivary biomarkers of periodontal disease is increasing, and a number of biomarkers have the potential to be accurate indicators of disease and the effectiveness of therapy. The most up to date studies examining the microbial and inflammatory biomarkers with both diagnostic and prognostic values in saliva were reviewed for the purpose of this study. It is apparent that saliva has many advantages over other oral fluids such gingival crevicular fluid and mouth rinse as a tool for diagnosis of periodontal disease. Biomarkers can identify and quantify periodontal risk through objective measures. Further, the combination of biomarkers seems to enhance the diagnostic and prognostic value of the biomarkers. Amongst the microbial biomarkers of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Tannerella forsythia are widely used with some promising results. Whereas, the inflammatory salivary biomarkers of IL-1β and MMP-8 are widely used for diagnosing periodontitis and predicting the future treatment outcome
Epidemiology of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli: A Mini Review
Get PDFDiarrheal diseases are a significant public health challenge, leading to high numbers of morbidity and mortality globally. Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) strains exhibit a complex spectrum, ranging from benign gut inhabitants to severe pathogens causing intestinal and extraintestinal diseases. This review focuses on elucidating DEC epidemiology, emphasizing research conducted worldwide. A comprehensive review searched for relevant studies on DEC's impact, using keywords like "diarrheagenic Escherichia coli," "DEC pathotypes," and "epidemiology" in databases like PubMed. Inclusion criteria covered 67 studies on virulence, pathogenesis, detection, and geographic diversity. Studies globally indicate variable prevalence rates for DEC. Enteropathogenic E. coli is prominent in Bangladesh (17.2% prevalence), relying on intimin, Bundle-forming pilus, and the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, prevalent in the US and Europe (up to 1.5% outbreak rates in the US), utilizes Shiga toxin and the LEE pathogenicity island. Enteroaggregative E. coli, notably in Africa (Kenya, 13.5% prevalence), employs multilocus enzyme electrophoresis analysis, Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST-1), adherence mechanisms, and biofilm formation. Enterotoxigenic E. coli is highly prevalent in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (Bangladesh, 6% prevalence), producing colonization factors and enterotoxins. Enteroinvasive E. coli is common in Asian developing countries like Bangladesh, relying on invasion genes and a large plasmid. Conversely, Europe exhibits notably low prevalence rates, with Enterohemorrhagic E. coli prevalence falling below 1%, especially in the UK. This review underscores the global prevalence of DEC, emphasizing the need for a global approach to disease management. Understanding the distinct virulence factors and pathogenesis of various DEC pathotypes is crucial for developing targeted intervention
Association of HLA-B27 Gene and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Analysis of Potential Role as a Predictive Biomarker
Get PDFRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a predominant inflammatory arthritis in human. The function of HLA-B27 gene in other types of arthritis has been studied, however, its function in RA is unclear. This study investigated the relative expression of HLA-B27 gene in RA patients compared to normal control and assesses its suitability as a biomarker for early detection of RA. Bioinformatics analysis was used to determine the profile of HLA-B27 gene in different human tumors to demonstrate the possible involvement of HLA-B27 in both RA and cancer; and also, to discover its functional association with other human genes. Samples of human blood from RA patients and healthy individuals were collected, and RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and qPCR were carried out to detect relative expression of HLA-B27. ROC analysis was undertaken to investigate HLA-B27 diagnostic performance; GENT2 platform was used to compare HLA-B27 expression levels in different human tumors, and gene-gene interaction network was generated using GeneMANIA to identify correlation of HLA-B27 with other human genes. The qPCR analysis demonstrated an increase in the HLA-B27 expression by 1.65 fold in RA compared to normal control. ROC analysis indicated that HLA-B27 expression could efficiently differentiate RA from normal, supporting its potential use as diagnostic molecular biomarkers. The GENT2 revealed that HLA-B27 expression levels vary across different tumor types, most notably in heart tissue. The gene-gene interaction network revealed that KIR3DL1, KIR3DS1, LILRB1, B2M and LILRA1 were the leading genes showing the highest correlations with the HLA-B27. Our results indicate that HLA-B27 gene is involved in the RA pathogenesis and it can be used as a molecular biomarker for the diagnosis of RA. Our findings could lead to the discovery of novel diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies
The Dependence of Water and Gas Breakthrough on the Choice of Model Parameters in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Using Sector and Full Reservoir Models
Get PDFAssessing fractures in carbonate reservoirs is crucial due to their substantial impact on reservoir permeability. Understanding the characteristics of these fractures is vital for optimizing oil production. Additionally, extremely heterogeneous and anisotropic permeability distribution within the natural fractured reservoir is often caused by the complexity of a fracture network. Therefore, accurate reservoir modelling and simulation must be conducted in order to achieve ultimate recovery. In this paper, a sector model has been developed based on the studied example field, and its results are compared with the full reservoir model to find out the degree of resemblance between their outputs. The study area has four natural fracture compartments, with an average reservoir height of 95m and WOC and GOC depths of 685 m and 590 m, respectively. A dual-porosity and single-permeability modelling system was used to simulate the properties of the reservoir rock. This model was derived from the Petrel layercake model. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out to look into the relationships between field performance and the well. The outcomes of both models demonstrated that matrix permeability and fracture dimension had a significant impact on the early breakthrough of water and gas to comparable, huge extents. Other factors, such as aquifer size and WOC, show a moderate impact on water and gas breakthrough as well as final recovery
Effects of Adding Clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.) Seed Extract on Oxidative Stability, Microbial Activity, and Sensory Attributes in Beef Patties During Refrigerated Storage
Get PDFThe study investigated the impact of clove seed extract (CSE) at concentrations of 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30% on the oxidative stability, microbial activity, and sensory quality of beef patties stored at 4°C for 10 days. The extract was obtained using ethanol (70%) and incorporated into the patties. Lipid oxidation was assessed through malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, microbial counts (aerobic plate count, coliform, and Pseudomonas spp. were recorded, and sensory evaluation measured color, taste, and overall acceptance. Results highlighted the effectiveness of 0.30% CSE in significantly reducing MDA levels, with values of 0.606 mg/kg compared to 0.657 mg/kg in the control group on Day 10. Microbial growth was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner; for instance, aerobic plate counts decreased from 5.31 to 4.68 Log10 colony forming unit (CFU)/g, and coliform counts declined from 2.92 to 2.57 Log10 CFU/g at 0.30% CSE. Pseudomonas spp. also showed reduced numbers, stabilizing the patties' microbial quality. Sensory tests revealed that CSE-treated patties retained better color, flavor, and acceptability over time than untreated samples. Overall, the study concluded that 0.30% CSE significantly improved oxidative stability, inhibited microbial activity, and preserved sensory quality, thereby enhancing the shelf life of beef patties. These findings suggest that clove seed extract can serve as a natural, effective alternative to synthetic preservatives, promoting both product safety and consumer appeal
Effective Facial Expression Recognition System Using Artificial Intelligence Technique
Get PDFFacial expressions are the most basic non-verbal method people use to communicate feelings, intentions and reactions without words. Recognizing these facial expressions accurately is essential for a variety of applications — such as tools that use our faces to interact with computers (human-computer interaction, or HCI), security systems and emotionally intelligent artificial intelligence technologies. As the complexities surrounding these relationships have become better understood, it has allowed us to develop increasingly more complex systems for identifying and detecting facial expressions of different emotions. This paper presents an improved performance of the Facial Expression Recognition (FER) systems via augmentation in Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms, two renowned artificial intelligence techniques possessing disparate strengths. ANNS are inspired by the neural architecture of human brain capable of learning and recognizing patterns in unchartered data after trained examples, on the other hand GAs come from fundamental principles underlying natural selection perform optimization process based-on evolutionary methods which includes fitness evaluation, comparison, selection, crossover, and mutation. The research is an effort to mitigate the problems pertaining with conventional methods, like overfitting and generalization fault in order design FER model which has potential for performing much more accurately. A hybrid ANN-GA model that uses Petri Nets and production systems is proposed for the real-time video sequence analysis with high precision in predicting different dynamic facial activities of anger, surprise, disgust, joy, sadness and fear from emotion faces. Importantly, results on the study show that this integrated model has a large-scale promoting effect in emotion detection upon varied scenes and is therefore generalizable to many domains from security and surveillance over biomedicine up to interactive AI-driven systems. Implications for implementing real-time and context-aware recognition of human emotions based on AI technologies are far-reaching as they demonstrate the potential that hybrid AI systems offer at enhancing emotion deciphering