Al-Mustansiriyah Journal of Science

Background: El NIÑO phenomenon is a global climate phenomenon that occurs as a result of the interaction between the surface of the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere directly above it. Objective: This study investigates whether El NIÑO 3.4 affects some of the climatic parameters in some Iraqi cities. Methods: A record surface data (2007-2017) of relative humidity, maximum and minimum air temperature was used from the Iraqi meteorological and seismology organization for seven selected meteorological stations, sea surface temperature anomalies from the royal Netherlands meteorological institute, and the reanalysis data of air temperature (1980-2022) from the national centers for environmental prediction and national center for atmospheric research. The climatic parameters data for seasonal and mean monthly are analyzed to understand the general trend, and the statistical relationships are investigated. Results: The result shows a decrease in relative humidity for Kirkuk and Nasiriya stations. Also, there is an increase in the general trend of the maximum and minimum temperatures for Kirkuk, Nasiriya, Basra, Baghdad, Al-Hay, and Mosul stations. The influence of the NIÑO 3.4 index on Iraq's climate, temperature, and relative humidity was minimal. The impact of the NIÑO 3.4 index on the maximum and minimum temperatures within the daily and monthly values, in general, was a weak positive correlation. The correlation between the NIÑO 3.4 index and the maximum and minimum temperatures during the spring and winter seasons is positive, while it is a negative correlation in the summer and autumn seasons. Conclusions: The main conclusion illustrated that the effect of the NIÑO 3.4 has a limited impact on the surface values of relative humidity and maximum and minimum air temperatures because there is a lag time in the response when the change of sea surface temperature anomalies starts to happen; it takes a month or more time until its impacts reach Iraq.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) should be considered an emerging clinical threat. Because these isolates are resistant to nearly all commonly used antibiotics, control of their spread is important. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of non-thermal plasma on the CRKP isolates from Iraqi patients. Methods: A total of 150 specimens were collected from different clinical sources. Thirty isolates of K. pneumoniae were obtained in this study. The antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted using Kirby-Bauer’s disk diffusion method before exposing the isolates to non-thermal plasma for 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 seconds at a temperature of 37 °C for 24 hours. Results: The results of the study suggested that K. pneumoniae isolates exhibited differential antibiotic susceptibility following treatment with a nonthermal plasma. Both piperacillin, ceftazidime, and imipenem demonstrated increased efficacy 15 seconds after exposure with an inhibition rate of 100%, while ciprofloxacin and gentamicin showed optimal efficacy with inhibition rates of 97% and 90%, respectively. However, amikacin displayed resistant phenotypes at 15 seconds with an inhibition rate of 87%, and the inhibition rate with tetracycline and cefepime was the same at 83%; as for the time of 30 seconds and above, all nine tested antibiotics showed an inhibition rate of 100%. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the important impact of nonthermal plasma on the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of K. pneumoniae isolates. Understanding the role of nonthermal plasma in antibiotic resistance can help in developing more effective strategies for controlling infections caused by multi-resistant organisms. Further research is needed to clarify the underlying processes and their implications for treatment.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that affects women’s breast tissue, leading to uncontrollably aberrant cell proliferation. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of Caspase-8, mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) in pathogenicity of breast cancer (newly diagnosed and under treatment). Methods: A pilot study was conducted in the main medical hospital in Baghdad (Baghdad medical city-oncology teaching hospital). A total of 60 blood samples were collected from women with breast cancer aged 25-65 years old in addition to 28 blood samples were withdrawn from apparently healthy women aged match with patients. Samples were divided into three groups: 30 newly diagnosed patients suffered from breast cancer without treatment, 30 patients under treatment with chemotherapy (Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide) (60 mg/m²), and 28 healthy control individuals. Three mL peripheral blood samples were withdrawn from each participant. The serum was isolated, and an ELISA assay was carried out to determine the serum level of the studied parameters. Results: The result showed a significant increase in the serum level of Caspase-8, MLKL and RIPK1 in all patients (newly diagnosed) versus control, and a significant decrease in the serum level of Caspase-8, MLKL and RIPK1 in all patients (under treatment) versus control, the results were (0.12±0.01, 1.11±0.18, 0.54±0.09), (2.35±0.28, 5.98±0.61, 0.72±0.14), and (0.11±0.01, 0.797±0.243, 0.129±0.030) ng/mL respectively. Also, the result showed a significant difference in the serum level of patients according to age, stage, grade and hormonal status of some understudied parameters. Conclusions: High serum levels of Caspase-8, MLKL and RIPK1 were found in Iraqi females with breast cancer with significant relation depending on grade, stage and hormonal status of breast cancer. While levels for Casp-8, MLKL, and RIPK1 were recorded in patients under treatment, it can be concluded that the studied marker may be considered a good predictor marker for therapeutic response in breast cancer patients.

Background: The polymer’s improved properties enable its application in numerous fields. Different concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), citric acid (C6H8O7), and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) were added to aqueous solutions of the following polymers: Polyacrylamide (PAM), Polyanionic cellulose low viscosity (PACLV), Carboxymethylcellulose low viscosity (CMCLV), and Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), It was added to know the effect of the additives on the polymers of the samples studied and which ones improve the properties of the polymers more than others. Objective: The objective of this work is to improve certain physical properties of the polymers used in the samples. Methods: The weights of the droplets of the solutions were measured, and the time of its flow. Surface tension and surface tension force and energy were calculated, and relative viscosity, specific viscosity, reduced viscosity, inherent viscosity, and intrinsic viscosity were calculated. Results: The results obtained indicate an increase in the surface tension, where the change in concentrations of citric acid (C6H8O7) caused the largest increase to the surface tension of the solutions, while the surface tension of the solutions increased less when changing the concentrations of NaHCO3 and the increase in surface tension in the case of changing the concentrations of NaCl was less than changing the concentrations of both C6H8O7 and NaHCO3. Also, the relative viscosity of the polymer solutions increased. Conclusions: The effect of increasing concentrations of NaCl and C6H8O7 and NaHCO3 in the solutions were in different quantities depending on the polymer they affect, and this diversity and difference in the effect of the additives can be used in many fields such as those in the medical or industrial field, scientific research and oil fields.

Background: To achieve long-term performance and sustainability of the applications and maintain the continuity of the so-called wireless sensor networks (WSNs), especially in extreme conditions, energy problem must be solved Objective: This research is centered on the integration of a routing protocol designed to conserve energy for WSNs, namely the intelligent formation protocol (IFP). Accordingly, the main objective of the protocol is to reduce the overall “energy consumption” and hence maximize the “network lifetime.” Methods: The IFP divides the network into clusters and select cluster head based on two parameters: location and remaining energy. Every cluster head collects data from nodes in its cluster and sends the collected data to the base station. The nodes with higher energy are chosen for cluster head to balance the load and save energy of the nodes. Further, to reduce overall energy consumption, “a multi-hop routing” strategy is used to forward data from CHs to the base station. Results: It is also found from simulation outcomes that IFP has minimal energy consumption than conventional protocols which in turn enhances the network’s lifetime. Conclusions: This protocol improves WSNs performance and therefore appropriate for use in applications such as monitoring of environment and health. Thus, the intended protocols such as IFP concentrating on “energy-saving” enhance the performance and maintenance of WSNs in different practical scenarios.

Background: Given the vast amount of data generated daily on the Internet, numerous cryptosystems have been developed to ensure data confidentiality using symmetric, asymmetric, or hybrid encryption techniques. However, many of these systems suffer from limitations such as slow execution times and large key sizes. Objective: This paper presents a novel cryptosystem for text data encryption that integrates elliptic curve cryptography with chaotic functions to enhance data confidentiality and security. Methods: The proposed system utilizes elliptic curve points and pseudo-random numbers generated from a hybrid chaotic map (a fusion of the logistic map, sine map, and piecewise linear chaotic map) to derive short key sizes. Various analyses, including frequency histograms, correlation coefficients, and key sensitivity tests, are conducted to demonstrate the system’s robustness and reliability. Results: The analyses confirm that the fusion of chaotic functions makes the system highly sensitive to initial conditions, thus providing strong protection against unauthorized access. Conclusions: By integrating elliptic curve cryptography with chaotic functions, the proposed cryptosystem effectively addresses the limitations of existing systems, offering enhanced data confidentiality and security through the use of short key sizes and strong sensitivity to initial conditions.

Background: The proliferation of digital devices, such as smartphones, TVs, tablets, and laptops, has raised concerns about the potential long-term impact on eye health, particularly from blue light emitted by screens. Related studies suggested that prolonged exposure to blue light may contribute to visual impairments or discomfort. Objective: This research introduces an innovative machine learning approach aimed at diagnosing such visual impairments by automatically detecting the iris center in images using a combination of the Haar Cascade Classifier and Circular Hough Transform algorithm. Methods: The proposed methodology has three phases. The first is the development of a diverse facial image dataset from various datasets through three steps: designing an AdaBoost-based cascaded classifier that identifies the face and the region around the eyes; subsequently, iris boundaries are labeled, where an optimized Hough Transform approach determines its center. Further, the model segments the eye into three regions to ascertain the iris position cause for the deviation of eyes. Finally, RBFN is used to classify five classes of eye strabismus with high accuracy on a horizontal axis. Results: The proposed system presents very promising results with an accuracy equal to 97.5%, precision 0.97834, specificity 0.33333, and recall 0.99632 in iris center coordinates extraction of five classes of horizontal strabismus classification. These findings were validated over two different datasets in order to prove the strength of this model in detecting eye disorders under different light and photo scenarios. Conclusions: This method may be acting like a bridge between computer vision and ophthalmology in ocular health assessment and treatment. Further improvements may open further horizons regarding automated eye detection and diagnosis.

Background: Nanoparticle synthesis uses the green synthesis of nickel nanoparticles (Ni-NPs) because of its low cost, safety, environmental friendliness, simplicity, and ability to treat environmental pollution. Objective: The goal of this work is to make Ni-NPs from Lawsonia inermis (henna) extract so that they can kill bacteria by the diffusion method. Methods: We synthesized Ni-NPs using the hydrothermal method, determining their structure and optical properties through XRD patterns, FESEM images, and UV-visible spectrum analysis. However, the study of the effect of Ni-NPs synthesized from henna extract on antibacterial activity is ongoing. Results: the XRD pattern results proved that the Ni-NPs were synthesized without any other impurities. The FESEM results revealed that the Ni-NPs exhibited a nano-spherical-like shape, with nano-diameters ranging from 11.16 to 401 nm. The optical properties of Ni-NPs are determined by the UV-visible spectrum. The absorbance value of the Ni-NPs synthesized using the henna leaves extract exhibited from 250-290 nm in the UV–Vis spectrum. The inhibition of zone values between 29 and 34 mm on antibacterial activity using Ni-NPs. Conclusions: The results for the diffusion technique showed that because of its improved structure and optical properties, Ni-NPs are a very effective activity material for bacteria.