Drying kinetic, thermodynamic and quality analyses of infrared drying of truffle slices.

Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are the most important part for making a suitable tool for drying agricultural products. Moreover, calculation of the energy required for the drying of product, the properties of the rehydration ratio, the food appearance changes, and the evaluation of the microstructure of food are crucial. Since the thermodynamic properties of truffle slices have not yet been reported, this study aims to establish a mathematical model to describe drying process of agriculture product, evaluate the effective moisture diffusion coefficient (D), determining the activation energy (E) to elucidate the thermodynamic characteristics, measure color characteristics, and rehydration ratio (RR) during the drying process of truffle slices.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) seeds accelerates wound healing in rats: Possible molecular mechanisms.

Wound healing is a complex, intricate, and dynamic process that requires effective therapeutic management. The current study evaluates the wound healing potentials of methanolic extract of Cuminum cyminum L. seeds (CCS) in rats.

Assessment and Assay Comparison for Detection of Antimicrobial Residues in Freshwater Aquaculture Fish in Erbil Governorate, Iraq.

The excessive and uncontrolled application of antibiotics in the fish farming industry, coupled with a lack of health monitoring and medication practices, is a driving force behind the escalating development of antimicrobial resistance. The present study assessed and compared qualitative field diffusion (QFD) and disk diffusion (DD) assays for the detection of antimicrobial residues (ARs) in diverse freshwater aquaculture fish. A total of 380 freshwater aquaculture fish (160 fresh and 180 frozen) samples were systematically collected between January and June 2021 from various retail stores located in Erbil Governorate, Iraq.

Validity of cold storage and heat treatment on the deactivation of isolated from fish meat markets.

is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans when handling or consuming improperly cooked fish meat. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of thermal treatment on isolates. Different heat treatment methods are used to determine the best methods for controlling , isolated from fish meat, which include microwave, low-temperature long-time, and high-temperature short-time methods.

Recent advances in carbon quantum dots for gene delivery: A comprehensive review.

Gene therapy is a revolutionary technology in healthcare that provides novel therapeutic options and has immense potential in addressing genetic illnesses, malignancies, and viral infections. Nevertheless, other obstacles still need to be addressed regarding safety, ethical implications, and technological enhancement. Nanotechnology and gene therapy fields have shown significant promise in transforming medical treatments by improving accuracy, effectiveness, and personalization.

Sinomenine accelerate wound healing in rats by augmentation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunuhistochemical pathways.

Sinomenine (SN) is a well-documented unique plant alkaloid extracted from many herbal medicines. The present study evaluates the wound healing potentials of SN on dorsal neck injury in rats. A uniform cut was created on Sprague Dawley rats (24) which were arbitrarily aligned into 4 groups receiving two daily topical treatments for 14 days as follows: A, rats had gum acacia; B, rats addressed with intrasite gel; C and D, rats had 30 and 60 mg/ml of SN, respectively.

Simultaneous estimation of total phenolic and alkaloid contents in the tea samples by utilizing the catechin and caffeine oxidation signals through the square-wave voltammetry technique.

This work outlines the simultaneous estimation of the total phenolic and alkaloid contents in the tea samples by using catechin (C) and caffeine (CAF) oxidation signals at a non-modified boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. Two irreversible oxidation peaks, about + 1.03 (for C) and + 1.

Evaluating the health risks of heavy metal pollution in dust storms in the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

This study examined the heavy metal content in dust storm samples from Erbil, Iraq, along with four other locations. Using ICP-MS, Cd, Ni, Cr, Hg, Pb, Zn, Mn, Cu, Co, Fe and As were determined. The health risks due to exposure to these metals through ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact were assessed for both adults and children.

Optimum drying conditions for ginger ( Roscoe) based on time, energy consumption and physicochemical quality.

The effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on moisture removal characteristics of ginger in a convective dryer was investigated. The slabs were dried by practicing sonication durations of 0, 15 and 30 min at different levels of the air temperature and velocity. Following increasing the sonication duration and air temperature, required time and energy to dehydrate the samples were decreased.

Pinostrobin attenuates azoxymethane-induced colorectal cytotoxicity in rats through augmentation of apoptotic Bax/Bcl-2 proteins and antioxidants.

Objectives: Pinostrobin (5-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone; PN) is a natural active ingredient with numerous biological activities extensively utilized in tumour chemotherapy. The present study investigates the chemo-preventive potentials of PN on azoxymethane-mediated colonic aberrant crypt foci in rats.

Methods: Sprague Dawley rats clustered into five groups, normal control (A) and cancer controls were subcutaneously injected with normal saline and 15 mg/kg azoxymethane, respectively, and nourished on 10% tween 20 and fed on 10% tween 20; reference control (C), injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethane and injected (intraperitoneal) with 35 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); D and E rat groups received a subcutaneous injection of 15 mg/kg azoxymethane and nourished on 30 and 60 mg/kg of PN, respectively.

Genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 omicron sublineage BA.5.2.1 in Erbil/Iraq.

Due to several mutations in its genomic sequence, particularly in the spike protein region, the recently-discovered SARS-CoV-2 variant B.5.2.

Development of Gefitinib-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Breast Cancer: Physicochemical Evaluation, Stability, and Anticancer Activity in Breast Cancer (MCF-7) Cells.

In the current study, the toxic effects of gefitinib-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (GFT-loaded SLNs) upon human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) were investigated. GFT-loaded SLNs were prepared through a single emulsification-evaporation technique using glyceryl tristearate (Dynasan™ 114) along with lipoid 90H (lipid surfactant) and Kolliphore 188 (water-soluble surfactant). Four formulae were developed by varying the weight of the lipoid™ 90H (100-250 mg), and the GFT-loaded SLN (F4) formulation was optimized in terms of particle size (472 ± 7.

Mechanisms of anti-ulcer actions of (L.) in ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats.

Peptic ulcer disease is the greatest digestive disorder that has increased incidence and recurrence rates across all nations. Prangos pabularia (L.) has been well documented as a folkloric medicinal herb utilized for multiple disease conditions including gastric ulcers.

Ion-pair vortex assisted liquid phase micro-extraction coupled with UV-visible spectrophotometry for the determination of mesalazine in pharmaceutical formulations.

This study demonstrates an effective, simple, and selective method for monitoring mesalazine in pharmaceutical formulations using liquid phase micro-extraction (LPME) and spectrophotometry. Combining LPME with spectrophotometry is an efficient method for analysing various compounds in different matrices. This method is based on extracting the ion-pair formed between the blue indophenol produced by the oxidative reaction of mesalazine and syringic acid in an alkaline medium and a quaternary ammonium salt into a micro-volume of organic solvent.

Boric Acid (Boron) Attenuates AOM-Induced Colorectal Cancer in Rats by Augmentation of Apoptotic and Antioxidant Mechanisms.

Boric acid (BA) is a naturally occurring weak Lewis acid containing boron, oxygen, and hydrogen elements that can be found in water, soil, and plants. Because of its numerous biological potentials including anti-proliferation actions, the present investigates the chemopreventive possessions of BA on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in rats. Thirty laboratory rats were divided into 5 groups: negative control (A) received two subcutaneous inoculations of normal saline and nourished on 10% Tween 20; groups B-E had two injections of 15 mg/kg azoxymethane followed by ingestion of 10% Tween 20 (B, cancer control), inoculation with intraperitoneal 35 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil injection (C, reference group), or ingested with boric acid 30 mg/kg (D) and 60 mg/kg (E).

AutoBar: Automatic Barrier Coverage Formation for Danger Keep Out Applications in Smart City.

Barrier coverage is a fundamental application in wireless sensor networks, which are widely used for smart cities. In applications, the sensors form a barrier for the intruders and protect an area through intrusion detection. In this paper, we study a new branch of barrier coverage, namely (WBC).

Frequency and seasonality of viable in drinking water in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen.

is an important and common bacterial pathogen in humans. The accumulated evidence of the existence of in water from different environmental sources suggests a water-borne transmission route. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of in different water sources used by human populations in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen.

Qualitative, energy and environmental aspects of microwave drying of pre-treated apple slices.

In the present research, response parameters such as specific energy consumption (SEC), thermal efficiency (TE), energy efficiency (EF), drying time (DT), greenhouse gas (GHG) emission (such as CO and NO), and quality features (color variation and shrinkage) were modeled by response surface methodology (RSM) for apple slices dried in a microwave dryer under ultrasonication (30 ℃-10 min) and blanching (80 °C-2 min) pretreatments. Also, RSM was applied to optimize two independent parameters including microwave power and sample thickness in the levels 100, 200, and 300 W and 2, 4, and 6 mm, respectively. The results indicated the significant influence (P < 0.

Development and application of fragment-based de novo inhibitor design approaches against Plasmodium falciparum GST.

Context: Modulation of disease progression is frequently started by identifying biochemical pathway catalyzed by biomolecule that is prone to inhibition by small molecular weight ligands. Such ligands (leads) can be obtained from natural resources or synthetic libraries. However, de novo design based on fragments assembly and optimization is showing increasing success.

Depressive Symptoms in Caregivers of Hospice Cancer Patients.

Family members and close friends provide countless hours of care for patients enrolled in hospice care. They do so without pay, often sacrificing their own financial well-being and health in the process. This study asks 4 research questions: (1) What is the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among caregivers of hospice cancer patients? (2) What demographic and contextual factors (such as relationship with patient) are related to the severity of depressive symptoms among caregivers of hospice cancer patients? (3) Are caregiver quality of life and caregiver burden associated with depressive symptoms? and (4) Is baseline depression associated with change in depression over time? This was a secondary analysis of data collected in a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Aromatic Fingerprints: VOC Analysis with E-Nose and GC-MS for Rapid Detection of Adulteration in Sesame Oil.

Food quality assurance is an important field that directly affects public health. The organoleptic aroma of food is of crucial significance to evaluate and confirm food quality and origin. The volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions (detectable aroma) from foods are unique and provide a basis to predict and evaluate food quality.

Development and Evaluation of Nanoformulations Containing Timur Oil and Rosemary Oil for Treatment of Topical Fungal Infections.

The pervasiveness of fungal infections is an issue for skin health globally, and there are a reported 40 million cases in developed and developing countries. Novel drug delivery systems provide better therapeutic efficacy over conventional drug therapy due to their lower side effects and toxicity. Furthermore, combinations of essential oils can represent alternative therapies for fungal infections that are resistant to synthetic drugs.

Environmental Engineering Applications of Electronic Nose Systems Based on MOX Gas Sensors.

Nowadays, the electronic nose (e-nose) has gained a huge amount of attention due to its ability to detect and differentiate mixtures of various gases and odors using a limited number of sensors. Its applications in the environmental fields include analysis of the parameters for environmental control, process control, and confirming the efficiency of the odor-control systems. The e-nose has been developed by mimicking the olfactory system of mammals.

New spectrophotometric and smartphone-based colorimetric methods for determination of atenolol in pharmaceutical formulations.

Novel spectrophotometric and smartphone-based colorimetric methods were developed and validated for the estimation of atenolol (ATE) in pharmaceutical formulations. The measurement procedure is based on the de-diazotization reaction, in which ATE is able to inhibit the diazotized sulfanilic acid from reacting with 8-hydroxy quinoline (8-HQ) in a basic medium. As a result, the formation of red-orange color azo-dye is hindered, and the color intensity is decreased proportionally to concentration of ATE.