Gene expression analysis in response to salt stress in wheat (triticum aestivum) and cytogenetic derivatives of wheat and the salt tolerant wheat grass, lophopyrum elongatum

Comparative gene expression analysis was carried out to identify salt-stress responsive genes in T. aestivum and cytogentic stocks derived from T. aestivum x Lophopyrum elongatum crosses. A microarray consisting of 5728 cDNA amplicon probes was used in two gene expression profiling experiments. The first experiment examined the transcriptional profile of roots of the T. aestivum cultivar Norstar treated with 150 mM NaCl + 15mM CaCl 2 over a time course of 72 hours. The microarray analysis with Norstar revealed that there are 229 genes with significantly altered expression in salt treated plants. The second experiment compared gene expression profiles in wheat and wheat derivatives with different degrees of salt tolerance. Comparisons were made of roots of 150 mM NaCl + 150 mM CaCl 2 treated Chinese spring wheat, the amphiploid derived from a Chinese Spring Wheat x L elongatum cross and the disomic substitution line 3E(3A) of Chinese Spring in which chromosome 3A of wheat was replaced with chromosome 3E of L. elongatum. The analysis revealed that there are 212 genes that are significantly regulated in at least one genotype under salt stress and 42 genes have differences in regulation under salt stress between genotypes indicated by significant genotype by treatment interaction. Microarray analysis provided a practical tool for monitoring salt responsive genes in both experiments

LEXICAL ERRORS IN COMPOSITION WRITING BY 2nd YEAR IRAQI EFL LEARNERS AT AL- NISOUR UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Among the various types of errors in written compositions, lexical errors possess the highest number of errors occurring in learners’ written compositions. In line with this background, this a qualitative study was designed to identify and categorize the lexical errors committed by 2nd year Iraqi EFL learners at Al- Nisour University College in composition writing. The study also seeks to examine their possible causes and implications for teaching practice. The elicitation technique was applied. A Corpus of 40 second-year Iraqi students’ academic writing was accessed and examined to identify the main lexical writing errors following James\u27s Model (1998) which was later modified by Hemchua and Schmitt (2006). The lexical errors were classified into categories, and some suggestions were given. It is hoped that the results could provide some guidance for both Iraqi EFL learners and teachers in terms of reducing errors in composition writing and facilitating smoother communication. Keywords: Lexical errors; Error analysi

On CSO-Compact Space

The aim of this paper is to introduces and study the concept of CSO-compact space via the notation of simply-open sets as well as to investigate their relationship to some well known classes of topological spaces and give some of his properties

A Pragmatic Study of Barak Obama's Political Propaganda

This study investigates, pragmatically, the language of  five electoral political propaganda texts delivered by Barak Obama.  It attempts to achieve the following aims:(1) identifying the speech acts used in political propaganda, (2) showing how politicians utilize Grice's maxims and the politeness principle in issuing their propaganda, (3)analyzing the   rhetorical devices used in  political propaganda. To achieve the aims of this study, it is hypothesized that:(1) The speech acts of  statement, assertion,  and advice   can be used  in political propaganda, (2) the cooperative principle and the politeness principle are frequently observed in political propaganda, (3) persuasion, metaphor, repetition, and manipulation are the rhetorical devices used in  political propaganda.  The following procedures have been followed:(1) reviewing the literature about political propaganda  along with  some pragmatic notions such as speech acts, the cooperative principle, politeness strategies, and some rhetorical devices such as persuasion, metaphor, repetition, and manipulation that are relevant to the aims of the study, (2)  analyzing  five electoral political propaganda texts according to a model developed by this study.    The findings of the analysis verify the above mentioned hypotheses. Keywords: Propaganda,  election, pragmatics, rhetori

Gene expression analysis in the roots of salt stressed wheat and the cytogenetic derivatives of wheat combined with the salt-tolerant wheatgrass, Lophopyrum elongatum

Lophopyrum elongatum is among one of the most salt tolerant members of the Triticeae; important genetic stocks developed from crosses between wheat and L. elongatum provide a unique opportunity to compare gene expression in response to salt stress between these highly related species. The octaploid amphiploid contains the entire genome of T. aestivum and L. elongatum, and the wheat disomic substitution line DS3E(3A) has chromosome 3A of wheat replaced by chromosome 3E of L. elongatum. In this study, microarray analysis was used to characterize gene expression profiles in the roots of three genotypes, Triticum aestivum, the octaploid amphiploid, and the DS3E(3A) substitution line, in response to salt stress. We first examined changes in gene expression in wheat over a time course of three days of salt stress, and then compared changes in gene expression in wheat, the T. aestivum x L. elongatum amphiploid and in the DS3E(3A) substitution line after three days of salt stress. In the time course experiment, 237 genes had a 1.5 fold or greater change at least once out of three time points assayed in the experiment. The comparison between the three genotypes revealed 304 genes with significant differences in changes of expression between the genotypes. Forty two of these genes had at least a two-fold change in expression in response to salt treatment; 18 of these genes have signaling or regulatory function. Genes with significant differences in induction or repression between genotypes included transcription factors, protein kinases, ubiquitin ligases and genes related to phospholipid signaling

Total L-carnitine and insulin resistance in non-obese and obese Iraqi women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most frequent endocrine illnesses affecting reproductive - age women. L-carnitine has important roles in oxidative stress, energy production and glucose metabolism. It affects insulin resistance as decreased plasma carnitine level has been well reported in type II diabetes mellitus. Hence, it means L-carnitine may reduce insulin resistance which is found in PCO disease. Objective: This study aims to measure the level of L-carnitine and insulin resistance in both obese and non- obese patients with PCOS. Patients and Methods: Sixty women within the reproductive age with PCOS (30 obese and 30 non- obese) were recruited from the Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital from June 2016 to June 2017. The data collected for each case included: Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, obstetrical, medical, and medication history as well as ultrasound results. A physical examination was done to evaluate the clinical signs of hyperandrogenism. Biochemical measurements included fasting blood sugar, leutinizing hormone, follicular stimulating hormone, Testosterone and lipid profile were measured together with total L-carnitine (using L-Carnitine Assay Kit Sigma-Aldrich Co.). Insulin resistance was diagnosed according to National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III). PCOS is diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. Results: This study revealed that insulin resistance (IR) was present in 51.7% of PCOS patients, which was higher in obese PCOS patients (73.3%) than  in the non-obese (30%). Age of patients, serum cholesterol, LH, and FSH were not related to IR. High mean BMI, waist circumference, FBS and triglyceride were significantly associated with IR (p < 0.05), while low serum HDL and L-Carnitine were associated with IR (p < 0.05). The mean serum total L-carnitine in this study was 34.03μmol/L. Obese women had lower carnitine levels than non-obese women and low serum L-Carnitine was associated with IR. Serum triglyceride, FBS and testosterone were correlated negatively with serum L-carnitine (p < 0.05) and serum HDL correlated positively with serum L-carnitine (p value = 0.001). Conclusions: The mean value of serum total L-carnitine among the non-obese PCOS women was higher than among the obese ones. Low serum L-carnitine is associated with insulin resistanc

Urban regeneration through post-war reconstruction: Reclaiming the urban identity of the old city of Mosul

This paper attempts to shed light on conserving local architectural heritage through the redevelopment and reconstruction of a city suffering from post-war devastation while maintaining local identity. The city of Mosul is the 2nd largest city in Iraq, with a population of 1.8 million in the year 2014 before the ISIS occupation of the area. This study intends to recommend urban regeneration strategies, to be taken upon during the redevelopment of the old city of Mosul. A set of strategies that may ensure the preservation of the urban identity of the area, while redeveloping and coping with today’s environmental, socio-economic and political changes. A thorough theoretical analysis was carried out by the researchers to conclude a set of indicators of urban regeneration strategies to ensure memory, identity, and development. The recommendations emphasized the integration of the new designs with the old urban fabric, also harmonizing the physical environment with the original buildings whether withstanding or destructed. They also referred to the importance of buildings with historical and symbolic values and their role in reclaiming the urban identity and promoting the sense of belonging

Homonymy Related English Vocabulary Learning: Investigating the Difficulties of the Third Year Students

Homonymy, as a type of lexical relations between words, is a significant linguistic phenomenon which has received a lot of attention in recent years. English contains numerous homonymous forms with different meanings, which often cause confusion for EFL/ESL learners. In line with that, this research was carried out primarily to investigate the linguistic difficulties of learning and teaching homonymy in English in the Yemeni context. Hence, this data-oriented descriptive study was designed to investigate the difficulties in learning using homonymous English words as the data of the study. A total sample of 80 third-year English major students and 20 of their teachers at the Faculty of Education, Aden, University of Aden, were selected randomly as the subjects for this study. The qualitative and quantitative data required for this investigation were collected by employing two research instruments: a diagnostic test and a questionnaire. The major findings of the study revealed that phonological and orthographical identities of homonymic words, ‘unrelatedness’ of meanings, similarity in pronunciation, insufficient vocabulary size and knowledge, inadequate practice, poor focus in the course materials and stereo-typed teaching methodology contribute to learner difficulties with homonymy. Significantly, the literature survey and the findings of this work would be a modest contribution to vocabulary teaching and learning with special reference to homonymy

The illusion and the Reality in Friedman's Short Story "Beautiful Scars

This paper probes the bad effects of being a model girl whose life gets entrapped between illusion and reality. The paper illuminates those bad effects (being an ideal woman, making real friends and lovers, and modeling career, behavior and style) of illusion respectively, depending on Friedman's short story "beautiful scars". These bad effects of illusion contrast with reality that Friedman shown through the faith in Jesus, real friendship, real love.Sheshowed the complete reality of human beingsviathe death of themain character "Jade". The paper presented the findings that the writer explainedby making the contrast between illusion of life and reality of death to focus on the problems of modeling life. Finally, Friedman approved that there is no everlasting beauty, no real friendship in the life of appearance, no real love in the life of temptations and modeling career is not a perfect one as being thought by young girls. 

Quality of life, jaw function and aesthetics in patients treated with orthognathic surgery in comparison with a control group - A controlled and long-term follow-up study

Objective: To study the quality of life, jaw function and aesthetics in patients, at least 10 years after they have completed orthognathic treatment, in comparison with a control group. Material and Methods: The sample was retrieved from a previous study by Abrahamsson et al. The treatment group consisted of 94 consecutive patients (59 women and 35 men) with dentofacial deformities who were referred to Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden for orthognathic surgery. The average age of the treatment group was 22.4 ±7.6 years. The control group consisted of 53 individuals (30 women and 23 men, with mean age 23.4 ± 7.3) and was recruited from the Department of Oral Diagnostics in Dentistry University in Malmö and at the Public Dental Service in Oxie. A questionnaire including Oral health impact profile (OHIP-14), Jaw functional limitation scale (JFLS-8) and Orofacial aesthetic scale (OAS-8) supplemented with two questions directed to the treatment group was sent out to both the treatment and the control group. Result: The response rate was 57% (n=54) in the treatment group and 53% (n=28) in the control group. According to the result from OHIP-14 the quality of life was better in the treatment group in comparison with the control group. However, jaw function and orofacial aesthetics were comparable between the groups according to the results from JFLS-8 and OAS-8. The majority of the patients in this study were very satisfied with the result of orthognathic surgery at 10 years follow-up. Conclusion: Orthognathic treatment has been shown to be a successful treatment not only in term of jaw function and aesthetic but also in enhanced quality of life