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Autophagy, a self-defense mechanism, has been found to be associated with drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our study was designed to investigate the role and related mechanisms of autophagy in matrine-induced apoptosis in hepatoma cells of HepG2 and Bel7402. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry analysis (Annexin V–FITC/PI double-staining assay), the activity and activating cleavages of caspase-3, -8, and -9. MTT assay and colony forming assay were used to assess the effect of matrine on growth and proliferation of HCC cells. Autophagic flux in HCC cells was analyzed using the expression of LC3BI/II and p62/SQSTM1, GFP-LC3 transfection, and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, regarding to the associated mechanisms, the effects of matrine on the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT/mTOR pathway and beclin-1 were studied. Our results showed that: (1) both autophagy and apoptosis could be induced by treatment with matrine; (2) using the autophagic inhibitor chloroquine and beclin-1 small-interfering RNA, cell apoptosis induced by matrine could be enhanced in a caspase-dependent manner; and (3) autophagy was induced via inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and up-regulation of beclin-1. In conclusion, inhibition of autophagy could enhance matrine-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells.

The research deals with the intelligent irrigation system using the Internet of Things (IoT) via Low cost and low power system on chip microcontrollers including integrated Wi-Fi with dual-mode Bluetooth ESP32. The objectives of this project are to investigate the concept of an intelligent irrigation system using the Internet of Things, to develop a system using the aforementioned controller that processes data from the soil sensor that automatically irrigates the plant and analyzes the soil status of the plants. In real-time via the smartphone connected to the Internet. The study scope focuses on cropping and horticulture. Sensors had to be installed for each plant as it was necessary to know the condition of the soil. A water pump must also be added to each plant to save water. This project requires the Blynk application which is a platform with IOS and Android apps to control Arduino, Raspberry Pi and the likes over the Internet. It’s a digital dashboard where you can build a graphic interface for your project by simply dragging and dropping widgets. Software on smartphone and hardware implementation which can detect environment condition using (DHT22: Temperature and Humidity sensor) sensor and soil moisture sensor. The results of this paper are based on the experiments performed.

The main purpose of expansion devices is reduced the higher pressure of the working fluid from the condenser pressure to the evaporator pressure. There are several kinds of expansion devices, one of these types is capillary tube which is common utilized in small size refrigeration systems. In this work, the effect of the diameter of capillary tube and mass flow rate of the refrigerant on the physical properties of the refrigerant within the capillary tube have been conducted. Moreover, an artificial neural network (ANN) technique has been utilized in order to clarify the possibility of applying this theory to the effect of such parameters on the results of the capillary tube. The study has been shown that there is a very good agreement between experimental and numerical results. The diameter and mass flow rate have impact on the length of the capillary tube, increase diameter leads to increase the capillary tube length while increase mass flow rate leads to decrease the length. Furthermore, the results shown that ANN technique can be employed to study the effect of such as parameters that considered in this on length of capillary tube. So, it can be using latter technique with accuracy 95%.

We investigate the magnetic properties of ZnCoO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from targets made containing metallic Co or CoO precursors instead of the usual Co3O4. We find that the films grown from metallic Co precursors in an oxygen rich environment contain negligible amounts of Co metal and have a large magnetization at room temperature. Structural analysis by X-ray diffraction and magneto-optical measurements indicate that the enhanced magnetism is due, in part, from Zn vacancies that partially compensate the naturally occurring n-type defects. We conclude that strongly magnetic films of Zn0.95Co0.05O that do not contain metallic cobalt can be grown by PLD from Co-metal-precursor targets if the films are grown in an oxygen atmosphere.

To the Editor. We appreciated the letter entitled “Pharmacy Education and Practice in 13 Middle Eastern Countries.”1 The letter provided some information regarding pharmacy education in Iraq. Information was obtained by reviewing the available published literature and individual university Web sites, as well as contacting program or country representatives. In 2008, Iraq had 7 public schools of pharmacy, but no private schools of pharmacy. The bachelor's degree remains the first professional degree required to enter pharmacy practice. All schools offer bachelor's degree programs and some offer the master’s degree, but no colleges or schools in Iraq offer the PhD degree in pharmaceutical science. Pharmacy schools in Iraq have both male and female students, but there are more female than male students enrolled.1 In this letter, we would like to correct, clarify, and update some important information related to pharmacy education in Iraq. Iraq has 13 public colleges of pharmacy, 9 of which were established in different Iraqi universities before 2008, as follows: Baghdad University in 19362; Mosul University in 19643; Basrah University in 19994; Kufa University in 19995; Mustansiriyah Universityin 20006; Tikrit University in 20027; Sulaimani University in 20048; Kerbala University in 20069; Hawler Medical University in 200610; Duhok University in 200911; Babylon University in 201012; Anbar University in 201113; and Thiqar University in 2012.14 In addition, Iraq has 4 private colleges of pharmacy. Two private colleges were established before 2008 and 2 otherd were established after 2008, as follows: Baghdad Pharmacy College established in 2000 by the Iraqi pharmacists union,15 Al-Yarmouk University College in 2006,16 Al-Rasheed University College in 2010,17 and Al-Rafedin University College in 2011.18 All colleges of pharmacy offered bachelor's degree programs, while 3 public colleges of pharmacy offered MSc degree program. In addition, the PhD program was offered in 1 public college of pharmacy. In 1972, Baghdad University offered MSc degree program in 4 areas of pharmaceutical sciences, while the PhD program was offered in 1975 in pharmaceutical chemistry.2 Mosul University and Mustansiriyah University offered MSc program in 1993 and 2011, respectively.3,6 From 1936 to 1994, there was a higher proportion of female students than male students, while from 1994 to 2004, there was a higher proportion of male students than female students due to some regulations related to competition between male and female students. Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq canceled these competition rules in 2004. Now, the percentage of female students in Iraqi colleges of pharmacy is higher than the percentage of male students.19

Oxazine compounds have drew the attention of many researchers to find different approaches to the synthesis of this type of compounds according to the success of their use in a wide range of pharmaceutical application during the last decades .It is also for the difference reactivity of these analogues is exhaustively depicted and illustrates the rich versatility of this class of starting material. They proved to have most of actions of a combination of other drugs. We are herein investigate the synthesis of ethyl aryloxy acetate(S1-6) from the reaction of the corresponding ethyl bromo acetate with aryl phenols .These intermediates were cyclized with antharanilic acid affording the titled compounds

The Other and Otherness (Othering) or Us and Them are one of the most contemporary complex topics which relate to organizing the kind and nature of human relationship besides involving many dangers which could represent a real threat to man's existence. This paper tries to shed some light on this flagrant and shameful literary work of Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater which deals with how discrimination is spread among human beings. At the beginning, a theoretical literary review will establish the fundamental bases of this study, including the psychological and post-colonial concepts. Then, it will study Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater as a realistic model of embodying such racial discrimination and introducing a huge abhorrent image between superior and inferior relationship and the consequences as estrangement, alienation, un-belonging feelings, etc. Finally, the study ends up with the main findings as well as suggesting a piece of advice and solution for eliminating such humiliating inferior look into the other different human being.

The article analyses the connection between modalities of letter writing and the relation between writer and addressee. We take into consideration the case of Elizabeth I of England, situated in the overall panorama of early modern European historiography. The English Queen was a prolific and skilful letter writer, endowed with an uncommon talent for foreign languages; but she was also, thanks to her role, the willing or unwilling recipient of thousands of epistles. By selecting two different corpora of letters, from and to the Queen, it is possible to explore how personal relations, degree of acquaintance, respective status and purpose of the letter influence the very structure of the genre. Journal of Early Modern Studies, Vol 3 (2014)