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MULTIVARIABLE MODELLING OF PREDICTORS OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS SEROPOSITIVITY IN HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA
This study investigates the co-infection of HCV and its risk factors amongst HIV-positive patients in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Consenting HIV-positive individuals (n=188) from the HAART clinic at Sobi Specialist Hospital participated. Data was collected via structured questionnaire while Anti-HCV antibodies were determined via a 3rd-generation ELISA kit (Diagnostic Automation Inc., USA). SPSS version 21 and R-Studio 4.5.1 were used for the data analysis and multivariable logistic regression model analysis after adjusting for confounding variables at p≤ 0.05 and 95%CI for statistical significance. Participants average was 31.47±7.79 years comprising 41.5% and 58.5%. HCV seropositivity was 8.5%. Significant association with HCV infection included age (p < 0.001-AOR:4.28-CI:1.82-10.13) and marital status (p=0.026-AOR:2.65-CI:1.14-6.18). Clinically, history of jaundice (p=0.028- AOR:3.45-CI:1.09-10.84) and recent blood transfusion (p = 0.030) were also significant risk factors; whereas, surgery, tattooing, homosexual practices, and injection drug use were not. HCV-positivity was common among participants with low CD4 counts (<500 cells/mm³) at p=0.94). Similarly, anti-retroviral therapy (ART) duration showed no significant association to HCV status. This study confirms the occurrence of HIV/HCV co-infection in Ilorin, emphasizing the roles of specific sociodemographic and clinical variables. Routine HCV screening within HIV care is recommended to enable early diagnosis, optimize management and improve patient outcomes.
Copyright (c) 2026 Odebisi-Omokanye Mutiat Busayo, Suleiman Muhammed Mustapha, Abdulazeez-Bukoye Hafsat Damilola, Salaudeen Aminat Omotoke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
GUT MICROBIOTA DYSBIOSIS IN PEDIATRIC DIARRHEA: INSIGHTS FROM A PILOT STUDY IN DUHOK, KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Diarrhea in children remains a significant global health burden and is closely linked to gut microbiota dysbiosis. However, data from Middle Eastern populations, particularly Iraq, remain limited. This study aims to characterize the change of gut microbiota associated with diarrhea in Iraqi children and to identify the potential of microbial imbalance by comparison with healthy controls. Stool samples were collected from 10 children (6 with diarrhea, 4 healthy controls) at Hevi Pediatric Teaching Hospital, Duhok, Iraq. Bacterial DNA was extracted and analyzed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (V3–V4 region, Illumina NovaSeq). Sequence data were processed with QIIME2 software to assess taxonomic structure, α- and β-diversity. Comparisons between groups were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Metacoder Tree test. In this study, 241 bacterial taxa belonging to 11 phyla were identified. An enrichment in Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota was observed in cases of diarrhea, while the abundance of Firmicutes, alongside Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Akkermansia muciniphila, was reduced. Notably, beneficial SCFA-producing genera, including Blautia, Faecalibacterium, and Bifidobacterium, were significantly reduced, while Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae were increased. Elevated ratios of Bacteroidota/Firmicutes and Proteobacteria/Firmicutes (p < 0.05) were also noted. Although no statistically significant differences were observed for α-diversity, β-diversity confirmed distinct clustering of both groups of diarrheal versus healthy microbiota. Diarrhea in Iraqi children was characterized by a shift of microbiome and a marked overgrowth of Proteobacteria, along with depletion of Firmicutes and loss of SCFA-producing genera, consistent with indicators of global microbial imbalance. However, the elevated Bacteroidota suggests region-specific indicators. These population-level variations may serve as biomarkers of imbalance. Further, larger, longitudinal, multi-omic studies are required to validate these findings.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ali Y. Saeed, Bakhtyar N. Ali, Delveen R. Ibrahim, Khalid S. Ibrahim, Oaikhena E. Enimie, Imran Khan, Amir Abdulmawjood, and Zahra Naeef Ayoub https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Spondias mombin LEAVES ATTENUATE SOME BIOMARKERS OF ERECTILE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DYSFUNCTION INDUCED BY PAROXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN RATS
Spondias mombin leaf is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine to increase male sexual function, however, studies providing scientific proof are scarce. Therefore, this study examined the regulatory influence of Spondias mombin leaf ethanol extract (EESML) parameters of erectile activity in male Wistar rats. Of the thirty rats used, five of them, naïve control, as (Group A) was given distilled water while the twenty-five were first administered paroxetine orally for 21 days. After this period, they were reorganized. For seven days, the following treatments were administered to five groups of five rats each: group B received distilled water; group C received 4 mg/kg sildenafil citrate; group D received 15 mg/kg EESML; group E received 30 mg/kg EESML; and group F received 45 mg/kg EESML. On the eighth day, all animals were sacrificed under dichloromethane anesthesia. The study then assessed the inhibitory potential of EESML on Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5), Nitric oxide (NO) and arginase activity in penile and cardiac homogenates. The concentration of Troponin I and lipid profile were assessed specifically in serum as well as 17β-, 3β- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and testosterone concentration increased in parallel with the significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of PDE-5 and arginase by EESML in both tissues, which was more pronounced at higher doses. During comparison with untreated and naïve controls, the specific activities of 17β, 3β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and testosterone levels were considerably higher (p<0.05) in all EESML-treated groups. Inversely, EESML significantly decreased the amount of Troponin I in the serum. Similar trend was noticed in the serum concentration of lipids except for HDL-C which increased following treatment with EESML. EESML may be effective in reversing erectile dysfunction, as evidenced by its favorable comparison with it regulatory activity in rats treated with sildenafil citrate and naïve control, particularly in the group in which 45 mg/kg body weight of EESML was administered.
17β- and 3β- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase,
Copyright (c) 2026 Hamdalat F. Muritala, Zainab B. Lawal, Lukman A. Quadri, Hashim N. Mohammad, and Elizabeth A. Dare https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SYSTEMIC BIOMARKERS AND ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: A CASE CONTROL STUDY IN KURDISH IRAQI PATIENTS
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) continues to be a major reason for global death, with multiple systemic biomarkers implicated in its pathogenesis. This clinical study was conducted to compare biochemical, hematological, homocysteine (HCY), body mass index (BMI), age, and blood pressure (BP) biomarkers, along with detecting their correlation with HCY, between ACS and healthy persons. About 70 (38-80 years) ACS and 30 (21-75 years) healthy clients in both genders, males and females, were subjected to this study. The concentrations of creatinine, urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatine kinase (CK-MB), glucose, vitamin D, uric acid, and HCY parameters were measured. Correlation of HCY with some of the measured parameters was also detected. Significantly higher HCY, CK-MB, glucose, BP, BMI, creatinine, AST, MID, RBC, MPV, RDW-CV, and RDW-SD, but significantly lower MCV, MCH, PLT, and PCT were observed in ACS patients than in controls. The other measured parameters exhibited no significant changes between the examined groups. However, the HCY level was remarkably correlated with CK-MB but didn’t show any significant correlation with age, AST, ALT, ALP, creatinine, urea, glucose, uric acid, or vitamin D parameters. These findings confirm that hyperhomocysteinemia (HHCY) is highly related to ACS and correlates with disease severity, suggesting its potential utility as a prognostic biomarker in coronary artery disease management.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zhyar A. Sadraldin, Sarbast A. Mahmud, and Mudhir S. Shekha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
THE EFFECT OF THE NOISE STRESS AND MUSIC ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF FEMALE ALBINO RATS
Noise is considered an important environmental factor that can affect animal behaviour and productivity. Its impact varies depending on the noise intensity, pattern, duration, and frequency. This research was undertaken to determine the effect of noise stress and playing music on improving the behaviour of female rats. Seventy-five female albino rats were divided into 3 groups, with 25 rats per group. The research groups were Control (no sound exposure), classical music, and noise stress. The sound level for the classic was 80 dB with a frequency of 1 kHz using an MP3 player. The sound level of stress exceeded 150 dB. The results revealed that using classical music led to a significant reduction in the frequency of aggressive behaviours (P<0.01) and an increase in vocalisations (P<0.01). In addition, music and noise stress significantly increased grooming (P<0.05) and climbing behaviour (P<0.05). Furthermore, exposure to the use of music caused increased drinking and feeding behaviours significantly (P<0.01), whereas lying and standing behaviours were decreased (P<0.01). In conclusion, playing music, especially classical music, benefits rats’ welfare by improving their behaviour, as evidenced of decreased vocalization and increased feeding and drinking.
Copyright (c) 2026 Nizar J. Hussein, Ronak A. Meshabaz, Aqsa Sarwar, Rukayat A. Oyegoke, Fatah M. Khalaf, Rekesh S. Habib, Nawroz A. Kakarash, Samara Saad Faraj, and Samia Mohsen El-Mahdy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Growth, Antioxidant Defense, and Immune Response in Labeo rohita Fingerlings with the Dietary Vitamin C Supplementation
The study was designed to investigate the vitamin C supplementation effect on growth, oxidative stress, and immune response of Labeo rohita. Four diets 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg was designed, 480 fingerlings with the initial weight 6.11 ± 0.08 g in triplicate groups were randomly distributed into 12 fiberglass tanks for 60 days. Growth results showed that final weight (13.87 ± 0.23–19.83 ± 0.34 g), weight gain (152.6 ± 2.7–251.1 ± 3.5%), and specific growth rate (1.91 ± 0.06–2.52 ± 0.03%/day) increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing dietary vitamin C levels, while feed conversion ratio (1.81 ± 0.04–1.29 ± 0.04) decreased (p = 0.006), indicating improved feed utilization. Survival rates were 91.1 ± 2.4% in the control, whereas they reached 98.4 ± 1.4% in the 800 mg/kg group. Antioxidant enzyme showed a significant (p < 0.01) enhancement. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities increased from 25.6 ± 1.3 to 36.1 ± 1.3 U/mg protein and 12.4 ± 0.7 to 20.1 ± 0.5 U/mg protein. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels reduced significantly (p = 0.005), while glutathione (GSH) concentration increased significantly (p = 0.007) from 3.10 ± 0.13 to 4.41 ± 0.13 µmol/g tissue. Immune response parameters were also positively affected by dietary vitamin C. Lysozyme activity increased significantly (p = 0.008) from 15.4 ± 0.3 to 23.4 ± 0.6 U/mL, respiratory burst activity improved from 0.178 ± 0.006 to 0.261 ± 0.006 OD₆₃₀ nm, and phagocytic activity rose from 28.3 ± 1.4 to 41.4 ± 1.4%. Similarly, nitric oxide production increased from 4.13 ± 0.28 to 6.86 ± 0.26 µmol/L. Total protein, albumin, and globulin were also significantly raised (p < 0.05). The study concluded that dietary vitamin C can be used to increase growth, support antioxidant defense, and improve immune responses in L. rohita
Copyright (c) 2026 Zainab Asghar, Nuha Hameed Albasssam, Milat Hussain Mustafa, Hifza Afzaal, Zeliha Selamoglu, Arooj Fatima, Danish kamal, Rashid Hussain. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
EFFECTS OF DIETARY PHYTASE AND ORGANIC ACIDS ON NUTRIENT UTILIZATION AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN Clarias gariepinus
The present study was conducted to examine the effect of phytase and organic acids (OA) on growth parameters such as final body weight(g), weight gain (%) Specific growth rate (%/day), FCR, Survival (%), nutrient digestibility, body composition, and oxidative stress biomarkers in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). The six dietary treatments for 60 days were designed: control (0% OA, 0 phytase), 2% OA, 4% OA, 0% OA + phytase, 2% OA + phytase, and 4% OA + phytase, each with three replicates. The significant (p < 0.05) results were found on the inclusion of phytase and OA on growth and nutrient utilization. The highest final body weight (7.4 ± 0.3 g), weight gain (460.6 ± 31%), specific growth rate (3.3 ± 0.3%/day), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.5 ± 0.2) were found in the 2% OA + phytase group. Apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter, protein, and phosphorus were maximized at 46.7 ± 1.3%, 77.2 ± 1.4%, and 48.0 ± 1.4%, respectively (p = 0.007), while fecal phosphorus significantly decreased (0.8 ± 0.04 g/kg). Vertebral phosphorus and calcium contents were enhanced significantly (p < 0.05) in the combined supplement group. Oxidative stress markers revealed lower ROS (66.5 ± 1.8), SOD (144 ± 2.6 U/mL), and MDA (5.25 ± 0.14 nmol/mg) levels in the 2% OA + phytase group, indicating enhanced antioxidant defense (p = 0.005). These outcomes indicate that 2 OA inclusion with phytase improves growth, nutrient digestibility, mineral retention, and antioxidant balance in C. gariepinus
Copyright (c) 2026 Asma Batool; Neelam Arshad; Ayesha Shahid, Ali Hassan, Bisma Younas, Kainat Shabbir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
MODIFIED FUZZY-ROBUST RIDGE REGRESSION FOR MULTICOLLINEAR, OUTLIER-CONTAMINATED DATA
Multicollinearity is known to have a significant impact on the stability of linear regression parameter estimation, while the presence of outliers tends to compound this problem. Ridge regression helps to improve the multicollinearity problem, but it is highly sensitive to outliers. This paper proposes Modified Fuzzy Robust Ridge Regression (MFRRR), which modifies classical ridge regression by adapting the penalty parameter<!-- [if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><m:d><m:dPr><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif; mso-ascii-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-hansi-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: TR;font-style:italic;mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:dPr><m:e><m:r>k</m:r></m:e></m:d><m:r> </m:r></m:oMath><![endif]--> through modified fuzzy robust estimators based on weighted residual membership functions. The method is evaluated under challenging data conditions involving simultaneous multicollinearity, outliers, and fuzzy uncertainty. Performance is assessed using both a real body fat dataset and Monte Carlo simulations with varying sample sizes <!-- [if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><m:d><m:dPr><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif; mso-ascii-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-hansi-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: TR;font-style:italic;mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:dPr><m:e><m:r><m:rPr><m:scr m:val="roman"/><m:sty m:val="p"/></m:rPr>N</m:r><m:r>=20, 50, 100, 150, 200</m:r></m:e></m:d><m:r>,</m:r></m:oMath><![endif]--> correlation levels <!-- [if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><m:d><m:dPr><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:dPr><m:e><m:r>ρ</m:r><m:r>=0.5, 0.8, 0.99</m:r><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif;mso-ascii-font-family:"Cambria Math"; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;mso-hansi-font-family:"Cambria Math"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:1.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:TR;font-style:italic; mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:e></m:d><m:r>,</m:r></m:oMath><![endif]--> and contamination rates <!-- [if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><m:d><m:dPr><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:dPr><m:e><m:r>5%, 10%, 15%, 20%</m:r><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Cambria Math",serif; mso-ascii-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-hansi-font-family:"Cambria Math";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: TR;font-style:italic;mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><m:ctrlPr></m:ctrlPr></m:e></m:d></m:oMath><![endif]--> . MFRRR is compared to ordinary least squares (OLS), ridge regression, and robust ridge regression based on the mean absolute error (MAE) as an evaluation criterion. These findings indicate that MFRRR is always associated with smaller prediction errors and more reliable parameter estimates, especially when there is high multicollinearity and data contamination
Copyright (c) 2026 Vaman M. Salih, and Shelan S. Ismaeel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES IN SOIL AND IN THE WATER ECOSYSTEM: A REVIEW
Silver nanoparticles, which are appreciated due to their increased antibacterial, catalytic and conductive functions, are commonly employed in medical kits, cloths, cosmetics, and water filters, but their release through wastewater, biosolids, and runoff is highly dangerous as there is no regulation of their emission and transformation, such as sulfidation, aggregation, and dissolution. In soil ecosystems, AgNPs react with pH, redox conditions, organic matter, and clay, and sulfidation to Ag2S causes short-term bioavailability to decrease but increases persistence; they disrupt microbial communities, inhibit nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., Rhizobium), mycorrhizal fungi, and enzyme activities, decrease soil fertility, nutrient cycling, and plant-microbe symbiosis and cause oxidative stress in earthworms. Aquatic systems facilitate AgNP disaggregation, sedimentation, and ion release driven by organic matter and ions and cause toxicity at all trophic levels: algae experience the inhibition of photosynthesis and ROS damage, zooplankton feeding problems, and fish experience bioaccumulation, neurotoxicity and reproductive problems. Ag+ ion release leading to protein/DNA damage, Oxidative stress due to ROS, membrane peroxidation, quorum sensing disruption and systemic changes in stress, detoxification and metabolism pathways confirmed by omics is a subset of the toxicity mechanisms. Though the water body information is plentiful, soil research is still very limited; gaps still exist in long-term low dose field effects and co-contamination. The research in the future recommends mesocosm/field testing, model dynamic transformation, and the safer design of nanoparticles to guide the risk analysis and sustainable management
Copyright (c) 2026 Asma Umer, Basim. S. A. Al Sulivany, Riffat Yasin, Muhammad Jamshed, Maqbool Ahmad, Inayat Ullah Malik, Muhammad Tauqeer Riaz, Muhammad Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Luqman Tauhid, Muhammad Owais, Khizar Samiullah, Rana Mehroz Fazal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
SYNTHESIS, SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION, AND COMPARATIVE ANTIBACTERIAL SCREENING OF CONDENSATION-DERIVED Cu (II) AND Zn(II) COMPLEXES
Condensation-derived ligands and their transition metal complexes continue to attract interest due to their structural versatility and potential biological applications. In this study, the tetraaza ligand 2,5,7,10-tetraaza-1,6(1,3)-dibenzenacyclodecaphene-3,4,8,9-tetraone (TF) was synthesized via a microwave-assisted protocol and coordinated with Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. The ligand and its complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, molar conductance, NMR spectroscopy (ligand), and magnetic measurements. Metal content analysis supports a 1:1 metal–ligand stoichiometry, and the complexes are tentatively formulated as [M(TF)] (M = Cu(II), Zn(II)). Spectroscopic data indicate predominant coordination through nitrogen donor atoms, while carbonyl groups remain non-coordinating. The Cu(II) complex exhibited paramagnetic behavior consistent with a configuration; whereas, the Zn(II) analogue was diamagnetic. Antibacterial activity evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa revealed enhanced activity for the Cu(II) complex compared to the Zn(II) complex and the free ligand. Although metal coordination significantly influenced antibacterial performance, definitive structural and mechanistic investigations are required to establish detailed structure–activity relationships.
Copyright (c) 2026 Falah M. Darweesh, Muzhda Q. Qader, Sewgil S. Anwer, Lubna A. Abdulkarim, Thana Y. Yousif, and R. Ranjith Kumar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
A HYBRID HUMAN-AI WEB SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING AND CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT
This research examines the creation and implementation of an online communication and engagement platform for patients with chronic diseases and their counsellors, designed to enhance mental health support through real-time counselling and intelligent virtual assistance. The paper tackles the shortcomings of current systems, which frequently do not offer true offline functionality but instead require continuous connectivity. Our system is optimized for low-bandwidth environments, integration of AI with human interaction, and accessibility for those with limited digital access. The objective was to develop an interactive, secure, and scalable platform that merges rule-based virtual assistance with live l interaction to provide ongoing, context-sensitive care. The platform was created using Flowise, Firebase, Grop API, and SerpAPI, facilitating secure user enrolment, scheduling of appointments, group support, and immediate communication. Validation in a simulated setting confirmed its effectiveness, showing advancements in data precision, responsiveness, and information dissemination. Security was maintained through HTTPS encryption, encrypted data storage, role-based access controls, and protocols for patient consent and data anonymization. The findings indicated that integrating a Flowise-based assistance with human counsellors enhanced system flexibility, accuracy, and patient engagement. In summary, this study offers a powerful solution for addressing gaps in digital mental health provision, especially for underprivileged communities.
Copyright (c) 2026 Maaruf Mohammed Lawal, and Abdulrashid Abdulrauf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
SEROLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DIAGNOSIS OF TOXOPLASMOSIS AMONG ABORTED WOMEN IN SORAN DISTRICT, KURDISTAN- IRAQ
Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic intracellular protozoan parasite with a cosmopolitan distribution that causes severe health complications known as toxoplasmosis, especially among pregnant women and immunocompromised people. This investigation aimed to assess the prevalence of T. gondii in serum and placental tissue of aborted women in Soran city, Iraq, and its correlation with various socio-demographic characteristics, as well as associated risk factors. Blood specimens (250) from spontaneously aborted females were verified for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies by Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (CLIA). The immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique was also employed to examine placental samples for the confirmation of the parasite. The CLIA assay explored that 19.6% of women who underwent abortions showed positive anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies, indicating a past or chronic infection, while 1.2% displayed positive anti-Toxoplasma IgM, suggesting an acute or recent infection. All placental tissue from CLIA-seropositive women showed a positive reaction by IHC, indicating the presence of the parasite antigen. This study found that the highest rate of abortion occurred among women aged 26-35 years, at 22.9% (30/131). Most pregnancies ended in abortion during the first trimester. The consumption of undercooked meat was most significantly affecting the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies (P value = 0.008). In comparison, the factor influencing anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibodies was the level of education, with a P value of 0.031. This research revealed a high rate of toxoplasmosis among women who experienced pregnancy loss. It is advisable to raise awareness about risk factors and to test pregnant women during their gynecological care.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dlpak Zrar Hamad, and Bushra Hussain Shnawa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
OPTIMIZATION OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM USING SIMPLEX ALGORITHM ON MICROSOFT EXCEL
This study applies the Simplex linear programming (LP) algorithm—implemented using Microsoft Excel Solver to optimize a simulated water distribution system (WDS) through an accessible and fully reproducible spreadsheet workflow. The model represents a hypothetical urban network of 3,650 buildings arranged in a 10 × 10 grid (100 junctions, 180 pipes), and seeks to minimize installation and operational costs while satisfying hydraulic and design constraints. Hydraulic behavior was computed using the Hazen–Williams equation (C = 150), with optimization performed in Excel Solver’s Simplex LP engine and independently cross-validated using the HiGHS optimizer in Python. The optimized configuration, consisting of a 15 m reservoir elevation and 150 mm pipe diameter, reduced the total system cost from USD 375,000 in the baseline design to USD 195,000, achieving a 48% improvement while maintaining acceptable head-loss (5.59 m ≤ 20 m) and velocity (0.85 m/s within the 0.3–2.5 m/s recommended range). Although the model is limited to steady-state hydraulics, uniform pipe diameters, and simplified friction assumptions, its transparency, low computational requirements, and ease of implementation make it well suited for academic instruction, rapid preliminary design, and resource-constrained municipal environments. Sensitivity analysis (±10–15% demand; ±10% Hazen–Williams roughness coefficient C) indicates that the optimal design is robust under moderate parameter uncertainty. Future research will integrate EPANET for nonlinear hydraulic verification and extend the approach to larger networks and multi-objective optimization.
Linear Programming in Hydraulic Modeling
Copyright (c) 2026 Stephen E. Iheagwara, Ndubisi D. Ayebamieprete, Eniola P. Apalowo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR MONITORING DARK WEB ACTIVITIES
The Dark Web is a hidden part of the internet that attracts perpetrators due to its anonymity. It is used for cybercrime, illegal trading, and by terrorist groups to exchange stolen data and personal information. Current techniques for combating and identifying these concerns are weak. The primary focus of this study is on the application of artificial intelligence to monitor the Dark Web. The solution mitigates monitoring deficiencies to facilitate the timely identification of prospective threats, including data breaches and cybercrimes. The six forms of activities prioritised include cyberterrorism, terrorist activities, weapons trading, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and regular activities. The tasks carried out in this study include crawling relevant data, training machine learning models using an ensemble voting approach, and implementing a JavaScript-powered crawling engine. The AI model is tested and evaluated using data collected from various Onion sites that include both legal and illegal content. The approach used in this study gives 97% accuracy and a macro average precision of 98%. The macro average for recall and f1-score is 97%. The precision, recall and F1-Score all have the same weighted average of 97%.
Computer Science Data Science Artificial Intelligence Information Science Statistics Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2026 Abimbola G. Akintola1 , Yusuf O. Olatunde2, ∗ , Kolawole Y. Obiwusi3 , Ganiyat K. Afolabi-Yusuf3 , Muhammed A. Adebisi3 , Ayobami A. Tewogbade2 , Lawrence O. Omotosho4 , Olajide Y. Adebayo4 and Aminat A. Oladipo-Tanimowo4 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
DEEP LEARNING-BASED SKIN DISEASE DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION
Automatic classification of dermoscopy images is essential for the early diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases. However, this task is challenging due to visual similarities between disease types, variations in skin structures, and differences across disease stages. To address these difficulties, Deep Learning (DL) has emerged as a powerful approach for computer-aided dermatological diagnosis. In this study, we propose a DL framework specifically designed for skin disease classification. The model employs a lightweight ConvNeXt-Tiny architecture, combined with a two-phase hybrid data augmentation strategy and an advanced optimization pipeline. The methodology includes extensive preprocessing of dermoscopic images, followed by hybrid augmentation that merges offline transformations (spatial, pixel-level, structural) with online probabilistic methods such as MixUp and CutMix. This approach improves minority class representation and stabilizes decision boundaries. Experiments on the HAM10000 dataset show strong results: 95.21% accuracy, 93.89% precision, 89.87% recall, 98.62% specificity, 91.60% F1-score, and 98.98% AUC. These outcomes surpass baseline ConvNeXt variants and other state-of-the-art methods. The proposed framework offers a practical solution for deployment in resource-constrained clinical environments, supporting accurate and early diagnosis of skin diseases
Copyright (c) 2026 Zhehat Rebar Abdulqader, and Araz Rajab Abrahim https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
TOTAL NEUTRON YIELDS OF 9Be(a,n)12C AND 9Be(d,n)10B REACTIONS USING VARIOS ALPHA EMITTERS*
The cross-sections of 9Be(<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-IQ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">a,n)12C and 9Be(d,n)10Breactions have been calculated for alpha and deuteron energies from near threshold energy to10 MeV using recently published neutron yields as a Function of alpha and deuteron energies. An α-particle is a type of ionizing radiation consisting of two protons and two neutrons bound together, which is the same as the nucleus of a helium-4.The neutron yields Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yo (n/10⁶ d) have been calculated using the evaluated cross sections and the stopping powers by applying Simpson’s rule. For 9Be(<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-IQ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">a,n)12C reaction the total neutron yields Yn(Be)(n/s/g<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-IQ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">a-emitter/ppm) have been calculated using the various alpha emitters such as (62Sm147, 64Gd148 , 66Dy154 , 72Hf174 , 76Os186 , 78Pt190 , 84Po109 , 84Po210 , 88Ra226 ,90Th232 , 91Pa231 , 92U234 , 92U235 , 92U238 , 93Np237 , 94Pu238 , 94Pu239 , 94Pu242 , 94Pu244 ,95Am241 , 95Am243 , 96Cm243 , 96Cm244 , 96Cm245 , 96Cm246 , 96Cm247 , 96Cm248 , 97Bk247 , 97Bk248 , 98Cf248 , 98Cf249 , 98Cf250 , 98Cf251 , 98Cf252 , 99ES252 , 99Es253, 99Es254 , 100Fm257 and 101Md258.The values of Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yn(Be)(n/s/g<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Symbol; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-IQ; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">a/ppm) have found to be in good agreement with those reported previously. This work evaluates the weighted average cross sections and derives an empirical formula to calculate the stopping powers for (d,n) reactions, enabling the determination of neutron yields Yo (n/10⁶ α) and Yo (n/10⁶ d), as well as the total neutron yield Yn(Be) (n/s/gα-emitter/ppm) for the ⁹Be(α,n)¹²C reaction. For the first time, (d,n) neutron yields for various α emitters are reported, with the ⁸⁴Po²¹⁰ + ⁹Be reaction yielding ⟨Eα⟩ = 5.30458 MeV, neutron yield 557.2, alpha yield 73.05, and a minimum χ² of 0.099. Similar results for other α emitters are summarized in the table, highlighting the reliability and significance of these findings for compact neutron source applications.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dlvin Saleem Kareem, and Ramadhan Hayder Abdullah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
OCCURRENCE AND IDENTIFICATION OF FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH DRIED MEDICINAL PLANTS IN KURDISTAN REGION-IRAQ
Medicinal plants are widely used in primary healthcare; however, they are frequently affected by fungal infections, posing health risks to users. This study is concerned with the isolation and identification of fungi found on five medicinal plants (Stinging nettle, Germander, Mesquite, Millepertuis scabre, and Hawthorn) bought from herbal shops in the cities of Duhok and Zakho, Iraq. Using moist blotting paper, direct plating methods, and genetic analysis, the current study found 26 different types of fungi from seven groups, including Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Alternaria. Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Alternaria were the predominant genera. The highest frequency was 67% for Botrytrichum murorum, 67% for Alternaria atra, and the lowest frequency was 4% for Penicillium, 7% for Alternaria, demonstrating considerable heterogeneity across plant types and collecting sites. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, a commonly used DNA barcode for fungi, was used to identify the fungus. These findings offer essential insights into trends in fungal contamination and highlight the necessity of rigorous quality control protocols in the herbal medicinal plant supply chain.
Copyright (c) 2026 Kawthar R. Hussein, and Raed A. Haleem https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
PROFILES OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND VIRULENCE GENES IN Pseudomonas aeruginosa FROM BURN WOUND INFECTIONS IN ERBIL, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ
P. aeruginosa is a remarkable opportunistic bacterium that presents a significant issue in the therapeutic context, particularly within burn units. This is due to its capacity to produce catastrophic infections and apparent resistance to a variety of antimicrobial medications. The c<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">urrent study was designed to characterize clinical isolates of this bacterium from individuals suffering infections in their burn wounds in emergency hospitals in Erbil, Iraq. Isolates were recognized and analyzed via conventional microbiological approaches, automated VITEK® 2 system and molecular diagnostic techniques. Thirty isolates were collected and confirmed by amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. Antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing revealed high rates of resistance to several drugs, particularly ceftazidime, meropenem, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. Molecular analysis revealed the existence of a large number of resistance genes coupled with efflux pumps, including OprM (90%), MexB (50%), MexR (43.3%) and MexA (36.6%). In addition, PelA and PslA genes associated with biofilm formation were found in all isolates (100%) and 30% of isolates, respectively. The findings underscore the critical need for ongoing molecular research on P. aeruginosa and the imperative to stop the dissemination of multidrug resistant species. The achievement of targeted infection handling strategies is essential
isolation and identification of pseudomonas aerugenosa
Copyright (c) 2026 Glena Qasim Faris, Karim Jalal Karim, and Hayman K. Mustafa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
SOLVOTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF HIGHLY LUMINESCENT GRAPHENE QUANTUM DOTS FROM GRAPHENE OXIDE FOR DUAL APPLICATIONS IN COPPER ION SENSING AND NANOTHERMOMETRY
This research effectively produced graphene quantum dots (GQDs) utilizing a solvothermal method from graphene oxide (GO) with N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as the solvent. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses revealed that the produced GQDs primarily exhibited a spherical morphology, with uniformly distributed nanoparticles and a mean diameter of 4.12 nm. Photoluminescence (PL) studies show excitation-dependent green emission characteristics, with an emission wavelength of 551 nm under 500 nm excitation. This is associated with a high PL intensity and a quantum yield (QY) of 51.56%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed that the GQDs have a graphitic structure. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the presence of oxygen functional groups, with carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen as the primary elemental components, verifying the nitrogen doping of the GQDs. The absence of other metals shows that the synthesized GQDs have a high level of purity. The synthesized GQDs were successfully utilized as an ion sensor for detecting Cu2+ ions, highlighting their exceptional sensitivity and selectivity with a limit of detection of 0.55 µm. The GQDs also exhibit potential nanothermometric behavior, as they display a photoluminescence response that depends on temperature with a sensitivity of 1.81% °C-1 between 20 °C and 70 °C. By combining nitrogen doping with a simple solvothermal synthesis, this research produces dual-function GQDs that enable both highly sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions and reliable temperature sensing.
Copyright (c) 2026 Sitya Hishyar Ali and Diyar Sadiq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
COAGULATION-FLOCCULATION POTENTIAL OF Achatina achatina SHELL IN THE REMOVAL OF SUSPENDED SOLIDS FROM PAINT EFFLUENT
The sewage from paint is quite turbid and contains a lot of suspended and scattered particles. Achatina achatina (AA) shell’s ability to coagulate and flocculate and remove suspended particles from paint effluent was considered. The analyses included Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Surface area 64.6 m2/g; ash content 8.2 %; moisture content 11.964 %; bulk density 0.962 g/cm-3; tapped density 1.389 gcm-3; true density 1.667 gcm-3; porosity 42.29 %; pH 7.9; and pHzpc 6.9 are the results of the samples’ delineation. Optimum values obtained from varying the operating parameters are: 500mg/L AA, settling time 30 minutes and pH 8. FTIR result indicates that AA has some functional groups. XRD result indicates that AA consists of aragonite, and SEM shows different surface morphologies before and after coag-flocculation, suggesting effective coagulation. Suspended fragments in the paint effluent sample consistently declined with time, pursuant to time evolution of cluster size allotment. Coagulation period (τ1/2) lowest values of 0.05565 seconds and 0.01209 seconds were recorded at 500 mg/L and pH of 8 respectively. This study provided information on animal based coag-flocculation potential which is beneficial for environmental quality management and environmental disputation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Edith C. Unoka , Peter M. Eguvbe, Augustine C. Ogonegbu, Jude O. Otedo, Joel Okpoghono , Uduenevwo F. Evuen, Ochuko J. Abeokut, Augustine Uwague, and Anthony A. Ogbuta https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
MULTIFUNCTIONAL CARBON QUANTUM DOTS DERIVED FROM GREEN BEAN SEEDS FOR COPPER (ІІ) ION SENSING, NANOTHERMOMETRY, AND ANTIBACTERIAL APPLICATIONS
The increasing global demand for inexpensive and environmentally friendly fluorescent nanomaterials highlights the urgency of employing green synthesis approaches using biomass-based materials. Following the principles of green chemistry, the present study details a one-step hydrothermal synthesis of carbon quantum dots using green bean seeds as a carbon precursor, with no chemical additions. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed excitation-dependent fluorescence properties with a peak green emission at 532 nm when excited at 490 nm and a quantum yield of 37.1%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed uniform quasi-spherical nanoparticles (~5 nm). X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed a graphitic core. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analyses revealed surface carbonyl and hydroxyl groups, with carbon and oxygen as principal elements. The CQDs demonstrated nanosensing capability for Cu²⁺ ions, with a limit of detection of 0.1 µM via fluorescence quenching. Temperature-dependent PL studies exhibited linearity in the 20 to 65°C range with a relative thermal sensitivity of 1.17% °C-1, confirming the nanothermometer capability of CQDs. Using the serial dilution method, CQDs represent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella bacteria. Multifunctional green bean-based CQDs have excellent potential for nanoscale temperature, heavy metal sensing, and biomedical applications.
Copyright (c) 2026 Aveen Ramadhan Qasim, and Diyar Sadiq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
CURVELET-BASED FREQUENCY-AWARE FEATURE ENHANCEMENT FOR DEEPFAKE DETECTION
The proliferation of sophisticated generative models has significantly advanced the realism of synthetic facial content, known as deepfakes, raising serious concerns about digital trust. Although modern deep learning-based detectors perform well, many rely on spatial-domain features that degrade under compression. This limitation has prompted a shift toward integrating frequency-domain representations with deep learning to improve robustness. Prior research has explored frequency transforms such as Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), and Wavelet Transform, among others. However, to the best of our knowledge, the Curvelet Transform, despite its superior directional and multiscale properties, remains entirely unexplored in the context of deepfake detection. In this work, we introduce a novel Curvelet-based detection approach that enhances feature quality through wedge-level attention and scale-aware spatial masking, both trained to selectively emphasize discriminative frequency components. The refined frequency cues are reconstructed and passed to a modified pretrained Xception network for classification. Evaluated on two compression qualities in the challenging FaceForensics++ dataset, our method achieves 98.48% accuracy and 99.96% AUC on FF++ low compression, while maintaining strong performance under high compression, demonstrating the efficacy and interpretability of Curvelet-informed forgery detection
Copyright (c) 2026 Salar Adel Sabri, and Ramadhan J. Mstafa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
ROBUST COLOR IMAGE WATERMARKING BASED ON DWT AND CNN
Digital watermarking is one of the most important technologies used today for copyright protection and authentication as well as data security in the digital domain. While many existing techniques perform well under certain conditions, designing a method that is both imperceptible and robust against various attacks remains a key challenge, especially for color images. This paper proposes robust color image watermarking based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The method incorporates a U-Net architecture enhanced with Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) blocks and residual learning. The watermark is embedded in the High-Low (HL1) sub-band of the blue-difference chrominance (Cb) channel in YCbCr color space leveraging its lower perceptual sensitivity. A parallel extraction network is jointly trained using a hybrid loss function combining Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) to ensure visual quality and extraction reliability. The experiment conducted on the COCO2017 dataset thus shows that the proposed method can achieve a good of imperceptibility with PSNR reaching 45.35 dB and SSIM attaining 0.996. Moreover, it can demonstrate against a variety of attacks such as noise, compression, filtering, rotation, and cropping
Copyright (c) 2026 Aqeel H. Younus, and Abdulhakeem O. Mohammed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF SOME SPECIES OF THE GENUS Medicago L. (Fabaceae) IN KURDISTAN /IRAQ
This study provides a thorough morphological analysis of Medicago L. species in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, with the aim of discriminating taxa using a range of vegetative and reproductive traits. Variations in petiole size, leaflet morphology, floral attributes, and pod characteristics were highlighted in morphological examinations of the collected specimens. All the characteristics that were looked at showed distinct interspecific differences. Medicago polymorpha's petiole length ranged from 3.8–5.3 mm, while M. rigidula's ranged from 19–39 mm. with length-to-width ratios of 1.22 for M. radiata and 1.80 for M. noeana, there were notable variation in leaflet proportions, indicating significant shape variation. Peduncle length, in example, differed significantly between M. radiata and M. noeana, measuring 3–8 mm and 10–30 mm, respectively. As pod sizes ranged from 2.5–5.5 mm in M. minima to 13–18 mm in M. radiata, pod shape proved highly diagnostic. Additionally, species identification was made easier by variations in coil number (5–7 coils in M. minima). The identification of M. rigidula subsp. sinskiae as a new distributional record for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is a significant result of our research. Note that the taxon formerly known as M. sinskiae now has a recognized scientific designation, M. rigidula subsp. sinskiae. All things considered, the observed morphological variety highlights the genus Medicago's ecological difference and offers crucial baseline information for further taxonomic, ecological, and conservation research.
Copyright (c) 2026 Kazheen Jomaa Abdulrazaq, Shamiran Salih Abdulrahman and Jotyar Jassim Muhammed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
ASSOCIATION OF EDN1 rs10478694 POLYMORPHISM AND SERUM LEVELS OF ET-1 WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN THE DUHOK POPULATION
This study investigated the association of the Endothelin-1 (EDN1) rs10478694 polymorphism and serum ET-1 levels with coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension in the Duhok Province population. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent a significant global health burden, and understanding their genetic predispositions is critical for targeted interventions. The endothelin system, particularly ET-1, is integral in vascular tone regulation and frequently implicated in various cardiovascular conditions. We conducted a case-control study involving 202 individuals, categorized into control, CAD, hypertension, and combined CAD/hypertension groups. Genotyping for EDN1 rs10478694 was performed via PCR-RFLP, and serum ET-1 levels were quantified by ELISA. Our findings revealed statistically significant associations: the 'rr' genotype and 'r' allele exhibited higher prevalence in all patient groups compared to controls (CAD: genotype p=0.021, allele p=0.022; Hypertension: genotype p=0.022, allele p=0.015; CAD with Hypertension: genotype p=0.021, allele p=0.012). This outcome suggests an elevated genetic susceptibility associated with the 'r' allele. Furthermore, a weak positive correlation between the 'r' allele/rr genotype and serum ET-1 levels substantiated a plausible biological mechanism affecting ET-1 expression and subsequent CVD risk. These results significantly enhance our understanding of CVD genetic architecture in this distinct population, thereby facilitating improved risk stratification and personalized prevention strategies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Omer A Mohammed Ameen and Awat Mustafa Abbas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
DESIGN, INTEGRATION, AND BATTERY ENERGY DEPLETION ANALYSIS OF AN RFID-BASED ATTENDANCE SYSTEM
The need for an automated attendance management system has evolved from the limitations of traditional approaches, such as buddy punching and the time-consuming process of covering many participants. This article presents the design and integration of an RFID-based device for recording and tracking students' attendance. The gadget is linked with Google Sheets for cloud data storage. It is fabricated using an ESP32 microcontroller, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and feedback mechanisms such as an LED, an LCD, a buzzer, and a push button. The push button aids dynamic switching between multiple Google Sheets. A portable power station can power the device; hence, a differential equation model was developed to observe its battery energy depletion over various usage patterns. The results obtained using Euler’s numerical method give insights into optimizing battery life and improving the device's performance.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ernest Jude Terna, and Oluwaseun Adeyeye https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
EXPLORING THE ONCOGENIC AND TUMOR SUPPRESSIVE FUNCTIONS OF hsa-miR-125B AND hsa-miR-574 IN ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the second common type of leukemia. In leukemia, small non-coding RNAs (miRNAs) role as either tumor suppressors or oncomiRNAs. Evidence indicates an association between the dysregulation of these miRNAs and the progression and spread. An essential regulator in carcinogenesis and progression, hsa-miR-574 is up- or down-regulated by functional pathways, underlying new mechanisms. ALL prognosis and chemoresistance have both been linked to hsa-miR-125b. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was employed to analyses the expression levels of hsa-miR-125b and hsa-miR-574 in 25 ALL patients (new and follow-up cases) and 20 healthy controls. The findings indicated that the expression levels of hsa-miR-125b and hsa-miR-574 are modified in ALL, and their expression levels were markedly changed in ALL patients. The hsa-miR-125b expression level was upregulated in new cases and downregulated in follow-up cases. Conversely, hsa-miR-574 was downregulated in ALL new cases compared to controls. However, these levels increased in follow-up cases undergoing chemo-immunotherapy. The statistics derived from the ROC curve indicate that hsa-miR-125b expression in new cases had an AUC = 0.762, in follow-up cases had an AUC = 0.562, while the hsa-miR-574 expression in new cases had an AUC = 0.542 and in follow-up cases with an AUC = 0.916 were correlated with the ALL instances. The hsa-miR-125b upregulation observed in ALL suggests its potential oncogenic role. Conversely, the downregulation of hsa-miR-574 predicts a possible tumor-suppressive function, given its reduced expression. These findings highlight the significance of hsa-miR-125b and hsa-miR-574 as key regulatory molecules in ALL progression.
Copyright (c) 2026 Soran Ali Yaba, and Rebwar Muhammad Hamasalih https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
EFFECTS OF SEMI-INSULATING GALLIUM ARSENIDE SUBSTRATE ORIENTATIONS AND SPIN COATING SPEED ON THE ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE OF PANI/SI-GAAS HYBRID PHOTODETECTOR DEVICES
This article presents the influence of semi-insulating gallium arsenide (SI-GaAs) orientations and spin coating speed (rotation per minute, rpm) on the electrical performance of hybrid organic/inorganic photodetector devices. Hybrid polyaniline (PANI)/SI-GaAs/Ag photodetector devices were fabricated by depositing PANI thin films on (111) A and (111)B SI-GaAs substrates at speeds of 2000 rpm and 3000 rpm using the spin coating technique. Device performance, evaluated through current–voltage (I–V) measurements under dark conditions and illumination with 532 nm light at varying power intensities, revealed a notable dependence on both substrate orientation and spin speed. The PANI/(111)B SI-GaAs at 2000 rpm devices revealed optimal performance at 0.58 mW.cm-2 with a photo response ratio of 3.16, responsivity (R) of 0.362 mA/W, detectivity (D*) of 2.05x109 Jones, and external quantum efficiency (EQE%) of 8.44x10-2. The PANI/(111)B SI-GaAs devices fabricated at spin rates of 2000 rpm exhibit a decreasing trend in all three photodetector performance parameters with increasing light power intensity, while the PANI/(111)B SI-GaAs at 3000 rpm device increases slightly with increasing intensity, except at 0.75 mW·cm⁻², where it decreases. In contrast, the (111)A-based devices exhibited a consistent performance increase with rising light intensity from 0.58 mW.cm-2 to 1.52 mW.cm-2 across both spin rates. This approach of integrating organic and inorganic materials opens opportunities for producing flexible, high-performance, low-cost photodetectors for various optoelectronic applications
Copyright (c) 2026 Firas H. Ahmad, and Dler A. Jameel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
CHROMIUM AND WHEAT STRAW EFFECTS ON GROWTH AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SWISS CHARD (Beta vulgaris L.)
Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) is a widely spread promising leafy crop in Iraq, where majority of farmers utilized sewage water for irrigating chard, resulting in health hazards, particularly from heavy metal contaminants including chromium (Cr). This study employed a factorial experimental design to examine the effects of Cr concentrations (0, 5, 10, or 15mg.kg-1 soil) using potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) as a source of the Cr, combined with different concentrations of wheat straw (WS) (0, 1, and 2% w/w) on the growth and certain physiological and biochemical traits of the plant. The results showed that the administration of Cr at 10mg.kg-1 concentration significantly increased the percent of seed germination (83.33%), while the use of WS reduced the germination rate. Most vegetative growth characteristics responded inversely to increasing wheat straw percentage, but root performance was enhanced with Cr application of Cr. A high straw percent of 2% diminishes the performance of both roots and shoots in comparison to plants without additional WS, with the exception of leaf thickness. Shoot and root dry matter was higher in Cr15mg.kg-1. Photosynthetic pigments non-significantly affected by application of Cr and significantly decreased by added straw. Applications of Cr and WS reduced the activity of peroxidase enzyme, ascorbic acid, and the percent of total carbohydrate significantly relative to no Cr and WS-treated plants, with the exception of proline levels. This study has indicated that Cr and the phytotoxic effects of wheat straw on chard can be further utilized for sustainable chard cultivation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Bekhal E. Azeez and lkbal M. Albarzinji https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
ASPROSIN AS A PREDICTOR OF INSULIN RESISTANCE IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED PREDIABETICS IN ASSOCIATION WITH GLYCEMIC INDICES.
Prediabetes is a critical and sensitive stage between normal glucose levels and developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), in which a good control can delay T2DM progression as it is closely linked to insulin resistance. The recent discovered adipokine secreted by adipose tissues, asprosin, influence glucose production and insulin sensitivity, making it a potential biomarker for insulin resistance and diabetes risk. The aim of the current study is to compare the evaluated serum asprosin levels among prediabetics and apparently healthy individuals and examine their association with glycemic indices. This case-control study was done at Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, from October 2024 to January 2025. A total of 150 samples were collected, 75 were newly diagnosed prediabetics and 75 were apparently healthy for the control group. HbA1c%, blood sugar, insulin, and asprosin were all evaluated. Serum asprosin levels were higher in prediabetics (26.19 ± 1.49 ng/mL) compared to the control group (17.63 ± 0.51 ng/mL, p < 0.001). Within the prediabetic group, asprosin showed no significant variation across demographic or anthropometric variables, but it was significantly elevated in those with glucose levels between 140–199 mg/dL (21.95±1.25 ng/mL, p = 0.011). Moreover, asprosin was significantly higher in individuals with higher glucose levels, and strongly positively correlated with FBS, insulin, and HOMA-IR
Copyright (c) 2026 Huda N. Salih, and Sherwan F. Salih https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/