765 research outputs found
Host genetic background influences the response to the opportunistic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection altering cell-mediated immunity and bacterial replication
No full textPseudomonas aeruginosa is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections including pneumonia, bloodstream, urinary tract, and surgical site infections. The clinical outcome of P. aeruginosa infections may be extremely variable among individuals at risk and patients affected by cystic fibrosis. However, risk factors for P. aeruginosa infection remain largely unknown. To identify and track the host factors influencing P. aeruginosa lung infections, inbred immunocompetent mouse strains were screened in a pneumonia model system. A/J, BALB/cJ, BALB/cAnNCrl, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeOuJ, C57BL/6J, C57BL/6NCrl, DBA/2J, and 129S2/SvPasCRL mice were infected with P. aeruginosa clinical strain and monitored for body weight and mortality up to seven days. The most deviant survival phenotypes were observed for A/J, 129S2/SvPasCRL and DBA/2J showing high susceptibility while BALB/cAnNCrl and C3H/HeOuJ showing more resistance to P. aeruginosa infection. Next, one of the most susceptible and resistant mouse strains were characterized for their deviant clinical and immunological phenotype by scoring bacterial count, cell-mediated immunity, cytokines and chemokines profile and lung pathology in an early time course. Susceptible A/J mice showed significantly higher bacterial burden, higher cytokines and chemokines levels but lower leukocyte recruitment, particularly neutrophils, when compared to C3H/HeOuJ resistant mice. Pathologic scores showed lower inflammatory severity, reduced intraluminal and interstitial inflammation extent, bronchial and parenchymal involvement and diminished alveolar damage in the lungs of A/J when compared to C3H/HeOuJ. Our findings indicate that during an early phase of infection a prompt inflammatory response in the airways set the conditions for a non-permissive environment to P. aeruginosa replication and lock the spread to other organs. Host gene(s) may have a role in the reduction of cell-mediated immunity playing a critical role in the control of P. aeruginosa infection. These results now provide a basis for mapping genomic regions underlying host susceptibility to P. aeruginosa infection
Host genetic background influences the response to the opportunistic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection altering cell-mediated immunity and bacterial replication
No full textPseudomonas aeruginosa is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections including pneumonia, bloodstream, urinary tract, and surgical site infections. The clinical outcome of P. aeruginosa infections may be extremely variable among individuals at risk and patients affected by cystic fibrosis. However, risk factors for P. aeruginosa infection remain largely unknown. To identify and track the host factors influencing P. aeruginosa lung infections, inbred immunocompetent mouse strains were screened in a pneumonia model system. A/J, BALB/cJ, BALB/cAnNCrl, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeOuJ, C57BL/6J, C57BL/6NCrl, DBA/2J, and 129S2/SvPasCRL mice were infected with P. aeruginosa clinical strain and monitored for body weight and mortality up to seven days. The most deviant survival phenotypes were observed for A/J, 129S2/SvPasCRL and DBA/2J showing high susceptibility while BALB/cAnNCrl and C3H/HeOuJ showing more resistance to P. aeruginosa infection. Next, one of the most susceptible and resistant mouse strains were characterized for their deviant clinical and immunological phenotype by scoring bacterial count, cell-mediated immunity, cytokines and chemokines profile and lung pathology in an early time course. Susceptible A/J mice showed significantly higher bacterial burden, higher cytokines and chemokines levels but lower leukocyte recruitment, particularly neutrophils, when compared to C3H/HeOuJ resistant mice. Pathologic scores showed lower inflammatory severity, reduced intraluminal and interstitial inflammation extent, bronchial and parenchymal involvement and diminished alveolar damage in the lungs of A/J when compared to C3H/HeOuJ. Our findings indicate that during an early phase of infection a prompt inflammatory response in the airways set the conditions for a non-permissive environment to P. aeruginosa replication and lock the spread to other organs. Host gene(s) may have a role in the reduction of cell-mediated immunity playing a critical role in the control of P. aeruginosa infection. These results now provide a basis for mapping genomic regions underlying host susceptibility to P. aeruginosa infection
Quality Assurance for Iraqi Bottled Water Specifications
No full textIn this research the specifications of Iraqi drinking bottled water brands are investigated throughout the comparison between local brands, Saudi Arabia and the World Health Organization (WHO) for bottled water standard specifications. These specifications were also compared to that of Iraqi Tap Water standards. To reveal variations in the specifications for Iraqi bottled water, and above mentioned standards some quality control tools are conducted for more than 33% of different bottled water brands (of different origins such as spring, purified,..etc) in Iraq by investigating the selected quality parameters registered on their marketing labels. Results employing Minitab software (ver. 16) to generate X bar, and Pareto chart. It was found from X bar charts that the quality parameters of some drinking bottled water brands are not within Iraqi standards set by the “Central Agency for Standardization and Quality Control” such as pH values, Fe, Na, and Mg concentrations.
While the comparison of previously mentioned standard specifications through radar chart many important issues are detected such as the absence of lower limits the whole bottled water quality parameters such as for Na and Mg also the radar chart shows that Iraqi bottled and tap water specifications are almost equal in their quality values. Also the same chart pictured the limited range of Iraqi specifications compared to that of Saudi Arabia, and WHO and the need to introduce other water specifications such as K, Na, etc. This confirms the need to improve Iraqi bottled water specifications since it was introduced on 2000.
These results also highlighted the weakness of quality assurance activities since only 33 % of the investigated companies registered the whole water quality specifications as shown in Pareto chart. Other companies do not register any quality characteristics. Also certain companies should be stopped due to non-conforming specifications, yet these companies are still producing and selling their products in the local market. Quality assurance requires continually monitor the reliability (accuracy and precision processes) of Iraqi drinking bottled water companies to match the Iraqi Specification Standards, and those companies should continually approve “How good (accurate and precise) is their product( water quality) produced?”
Study and Analysis Emissions Specifications for Iraqi Automobiles
No full textفي هذا البحث تم التركيز على التلوث البيئي الناتج من احتراق وقود السيارات اذ قارنت الدراسة المواصفات القياسية العراقية مع المواصفات القياسية الاوربية للحدود العليا المسموحة لانبعاثات غازات العادم. حيث ظهرت الكثير من الاختلافات بين المواصفة العراقية والمواصفة الاوربية كون المواصفة العراقية محدودة ولا تشمل جميع الغازات المنبعثة من العادم على العكس من الاوربية، بالاضافة الى ان المواصفة العراقية تعتمد على الانبعاثات الناتجة من المركبات في ظروف التشغيل المثالية في حين المواصفة الاوربية يكون في ظروف تشغيلية مختلفة. هذه الدراسة اجريت على 35 مركبة اذ تم التحقق من الانبعاثات الناتجة من المركبات باستخدام جهاز تحليل العادم ومناقشة التباين في المواصفة العراقية حيث تم دراسة النتائج باستخدام مخططات السيطرة النوعية (X- bar) وتمثيلها بيانياً باستخدام برنامج (Minitab 2016).
وكذلك استخدم مؤشر مقدرة العملية لقياس الانبعاثات الناتجة من المركبات ومدى مطابقتها للمواصفات القياسية. حيث أظهرت النتائجبواسطة مخططات السيطرة النوعية أن حوالي 30٪ من انبعاثات السيارات خارج حدود المواصفات القياسية العراقية، وهذا بدوره يؤثر سلبا على البيئة العراقية لأن الانبعاثات تؤثر بشكل مباشر وغير مباشر على البيئة وصحة الإنسان. ان ضمان الجودة يتطلب الرصد المستمر والتفتيش الدوري للمركبات للحد من الانبعاثات الضارة الناتجة احتراق الوقود وبالتالي يجب تحديث المواصفات القياسية العراقية بما يتلائم مع البيئة العراقية.In this research, focused on the environmental pollution from fuel combustions of automobiles, the study compared the maximum allowable limits for Iraqi emissions standard specification with the European emissions standard specification. Whereas many different between the Iraqi specification and European specification. The first one is limited unlike the second specification, which is dealt with all polluting gases, as well as differences in the measuring units between them. The Iraqi specification measures the emissions in ideal conditions while the European depends on the measurement on different operational conditions.
This study was conducted on 35 automobiles, the emissions data was obtained by using an exhaust gas analyzer and represented by using a qualitative control tool ( - control charts); Minitab software version 2016 was used to generate quality control charts.
Process capability index applied to measure the degree to which emissions meets the standard specifications.
The results by control charts showed that about 30% of the automobiles emissions exceed the limits of the Iraqi standard specifications. This in turn affects negatively to the Iraqi environment, because emissions affect directly and indirectly to the environment and human health.
Quality assurance requires continuous monitoring and Periodic inspections of automobiles to minimize and reduces harmful emissions from fuel combustion; therefore must be updated specification, as appropriate with the Iraqi environment
Relations with Turkey as determinant of Iraqi Kurdistan economic security
No full textThe main goal of that paper is to look into economic security of Iraqi Kurdistan in context of its relations with Turkey. In order to achieve the aim, author firstly adequate explained to research below definitions of what is economic security. Next, it presents underlying conditions of economy of Iraqi Kurdistan. For further considerations very important roles are crises − humanitarian and economic, that is important ingredient, that can generate dangers for surroundings of Iraqi Kurdistan. Another factor was history of Iraqi Kurds and Turkey, with political and economic context. Before conclusion there is described challenges for Iraqi Kurdistan resulting from economic relationship with Turkey. Author conclude that the key aspects shaping the economic security of Iraqi Kurdistan are relations with Turkey which can be considered both − as a chance and a threat to Iraqi Kurdistan economic security
Iraqi perspectives project: a view of Operation Iraqi Freedom from Saddam's senior leadership.
No full textOperation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) overthrew Saddam's regime and opened up one of the world's most secretive governments to outside analysis, presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity for military leaders and historians to delve deep into the decision-making processes of a former adversary. This study presents a comprehensive historical analysis of the forces and motivations that drove our opponent's decisions through dozens of interviews with senior Iraqi military and political leaders and by making extensive use of thousands of official Iraqi documents. The author and his team have crafted a substantive examination of Saddam Hussein's leadership and its effect on the Iraqi military decision-making process
Contextualizing the Plight of Iraqi Women
No full textThe fact that Iraqi women are living under abhorrent conditions often leads to generalized depictions of these women as faceless victims. The author draws attention to the stories and life-courses of individual Iraqi women, as these do not only give a human face to their plight, but also reveal how women have been further marginalized during the U.S. occupation. Set against this background it becomes understandable why so many Iraqi women are nostalgic for a past that was far from peaceful
Deception and Britain's road to war in Iraq
No full textEver since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there has been a widely shared public perception in the UK and beyond that the British government lied in making the case for war. One major theme has been the view that the Blair government lied about the strength of the intelligence about alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the extent of the WMD capabilities claimed by that intelligence. A second theme that has received less attention has been the view that the Blair government lied in claiming that its actions at the United Nations (UN) were aimed at securing peaceful Iraqi compliance with its disarmament obligations. Instead, most think that the UK was actually committed to a policy of regime change by force and did not want the ‘UN route’ to produce a peaceful outcome. The article argues that the conceptual focus of the discussion needs to be broadened from lying to also considering deception by omission and deception by distortion as part of a campaign of organized political persuasion. It argues that, on the WMD intelligence, it is now apparent that a campaign of deceptive organized political persuasion was conducted by UK officials. With respect to the UN route, there is mounting evidence that the Blair government ran a campaign of deception on this issue as well to pave Britain’s road to war in Iraq
Iridoids Isolation from a Phytochemical Study of the Medicinal Plant Teucrium parviflorum Collected in Iraqi Kurdistan
No full textHerbal medicines are still widely practiced in Kurdistan Region-Iraq, especially by people living in villages on mountainous regions. Among plants belonging to the genus Teucrium (family Lamiaceae), which are commonly employed in the Kurdish traditional medicine, we have analyzed, for the first time, the methanol and aqueous methanol extracts of T. parviflorum aerial parts. The plant is mainly used by Kurds to treat jaundice, liver disorders and stomachache. We aimed to determine the phytochemical profile of the extracts and the structures of the main components, so to provide a scientific rationale for the ancient use of the plant in the ethno-pharmacological field. TLC analysis of the two extracts on silica gel and reversed phase TLC plates, using different visualization systems, indicated similar contents and the presence of phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids and sugars. The chlorophyll-free extracts exhibited weak/no antimicrobial activities against a panel of bacteria (MICs = 800–1600 µg/mL) and fungal strains (MICs ≥ 5 mg/mL). At the concentration of 600 µg/mL, the methanol extract showed moderate antiproliferative effects against A549 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines in the MTS assay. Moreover, both extracts exhibited a significant dose-dependent free radical scavenging action against the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical (EC50 = 62.11 and 44.25 μg/mL, respectively). In a phytochemical study, a high phenolic content (77.08 and 81.47 mg GAE/g dry extract, respectively) was found in both extracts by the Folin–Ciocalteu assay. Medium pressure liquid chromatographic (MPLC) separation of the methanol extract on a reversed phase cartridge eluted with a gradient of MeOH in H2O, afforded two bioactive iridoid glucosides, harpagide (1) and 8-O-acetylharpagide (2). The structures of 1 and 2 were established by spectral data, chemical reactions, and comparison with the literature. Interestingly, significant amounts of hepatotoxic furano neo-clerodane diterpenoids, commonly occurring in Teucrium species, were not detected in the extract. The wide range of biological activities reported in the literature for compounds 1 and 2 and the significant antiradical effects of the extracts give scientific support to the traditional use in Iraqi Kurdistan of T. parviflorum aerial parts for the preparation of herbal remedies
Iraqi Christian Theater
No full textDespite the religious and social insecurities that Iraqi Christians have faced in their homeland, theater has always been part of their triumphs over persecutions. Iraqi Christians use theater to bring together their community by sharing their experiences and stories thereby helping build a cultural and political identity as Iraqi Christians. This graduate project presents audio recordings of Al Hadiqa (The Garden, Arabic 1998) by Moafak Sawa Mikha Asmaru; Wahem el Maraia (The Illusions of the Mirrors, Arabic 2004) by Ramzi Hermis Sulaca Yaco; Amyrta Myusarta (The Captive Princess, English and Aramaic 2013) written by Sarhad Jammo. The aim of this graduate project is to preserve these three plays in digital record as well as reproduction of texts since they are representative of Iraqi Christian dramas previously unknown in the English-speaking world. The author has obtained permission for the fair use of these materials from all playwrights. Selecting these Iraqi Christian plays required an extensive research due to scarce information. Nonetheless, there were several websites that pertain to Iraqi Christian culture and society such as Ankawa, where the necessary information to conclude this project was extracted from. A small number of playwrights have staged their works in the city of Baghdad including The Garden in 1998 by Moafak Sawa and The Illusion of Mirrors by Ramzi Hermis Sulaca Yaco in 2004 and for the diaspora immigrant population of Iraqi Christians in the U.S.A, Sarhad Jammo’s The Captive Princess in 2013. These three plays have been recorded by the Iraqi Christian actors in San Diego area for this graduate project. The audio files are uploaded to be accessed through CSU, Northridge’s Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD).California State University, Northridge. Department of Theatre.Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-57
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