University of Tikrit

Despite the growing adoption of virtual reality (VR) in education, health, and gaming, empirical research on users’ cybersecurity behaviors remains scarce, leaving a critical gap in understanding how threat perceptions and individual propensities shape protective actions in these immersive spaces. This study aims to address this void by extending the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT) with privacy concerns and perceived awareness to examine the determinants of cybersecurity behavior among VR users. Data were collected from 297 VR users and analyzed using a hybrid partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) approach. The PLS-SEM results confirmed the impact of perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, distrust propensity, and risk propensity on perceived threats. Privacy concerns, perceived awareness, and perceived threats were found to significantly affect cybersecurity behavior. The ANN analysis ranked perceived threats as the most influential factor affecting cybersecurity behavior, with a normalized importance of 100%. By refining TTAT for VR contexts, this research provides theoretical advancements and practical guidance for various stakeholders to enhance user trust, reduce vulnerabilities, and promote safer adoption of immersive technologies. • Extends TTAT with privacy concerns and awareness for VR cybersecurity. • Results link severity, vulnerability, distrust, and risk to perceived threats. • Privacy concerns hinder, but awareness boosts VR cybersecurity behavior. • ANN ranks perceived threats as the top driver of cybersecurity behavior.

Encryption is one of the most important security methods in Fifth Generation (5G) networks, offering high speed and security to support enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), as well as Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC). Each algorithm (Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), ZUC, Synchronous Network-Oriented Word-oriented stream cipher, version 3G (Snow3G)) has distinct strengths and weaknesses in speed and security. Therefore, this research presents two new hybrid models: ZUC-AES (combining the speed of ZUC with the strength of AES) and SNOW3G-DES (combining the speed of SNOW3G with the strength of DES). The models were simulated in MATLAB for data up to 5,000,000 bits, the results simulating six algorithms in MATLAB showed an improvement in strength compared to conventional algorithms, with the p-value on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-22 test improving by approximately average 50% for ZUC-AES (0.4323) compared to ZUC alone (0.288). ZUC was found to be the fastest of all with time 0.85s to 1000000 bit, while the third model, ZUC-AES, achieved superior results compared to AES and DES, while closely matching Snow3G's performance. The study proposed integrating RSA into the system to encrypt keys for secure exchange and increase the strength of encryption.

This study evaluated the physiological and histological effects of Propylthiouracil (PTU) and aqueous extract of Thymus vulgaris on thyroid function and bone growth in albino rats. Thirty males were assigned to six groups: control, thyme (400 mg/kg), PTU (50 mg/kg), PTU (100 mg/kg), thyme + PTU (50 mg/kg), and thyme + PTU (100 mg/kg). Treatments continued for 60 days. Serum analysis demonstrated that PTU induced hypothyroidism, reflected by a significant reduction in T3 (255.4 ± 12.3 pg/ml in control vs. 356.1 ± 15.2 pg/ml in PTU 50 mg; p < 0.05), calcium (10.23 ± 0.44 vs. 8.92 ± 0.38 mg/dl at PTU 50 mg; p < 0.01), vitamin D3 (9.1 ± 0.41 vs. 8.24 ± 0.36 ng/ml at PTU 100 mg), and CT (43.85 ± 1.9 vs. 37.57 ± 1.8 pg/ml at PTU 100 mg). Thyme extract improved endocrine parameters (T3: 294.9 ± 13.2 pg/ml; GH: 470.8 ± 20.5 pg/ml; Ca: 10.28 ± 0.46 mg/dl) and preserved bone microarchitecture. Combined therapy markedly enhanced recovery, with significant restoration of T3 (440.8 ± 18.7 pg/ml at thyme + PTU 50 mg; p < 0.01) and Ca (10.89 ± 0.49 mg/dl at thyme + PTU 100 mg; p < 0.01). Histological evaluation confirmed follicular degeneration and trabecular thinning in the PTU groups, while thyme co-administration mitigated these alterations. Aqueous thyme extract demonstrated significant protective effects against PTU-induced thyroid dysfunction and bone degeneration. These findings highlight thyme as a promising natural therapeutic adjunct for hypothyroidism-associated bone disorders.

Thyroid hormones are closely linked to metabolic and many physiological processes in the human body. Therefore, it is expected that hypothyroidism, which is a common disease in the world, is linked to many diseases such as diabetes, liver diseases, and everything related to metabolic processes. Therefore, we also expect a link between the difference in concentrations of biochemical variables such as heparin and adipsin in the bloodstream for patients with hypothyroidism and other diseases. All sixty men patients were suffering from hypothyroidism, their ages ranged from 30 to 61 years old. After collecting the samples, thyroid hormone concentrations in blood serum were measured using the Minividas technique, while heparin and adipsin were measured using kits from Sun Long Biotech (China). There was a highly significant increase (P≤0.001) in Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH), vasopressin, and adipsin levels in the men's patient group compared to healthy men in the control group. The results showed a highly significant decrease (P≤0.001) in T4 compared with the men's control group. Hepassocin and adipsin may be relatively independent good markers for the prognosis of an active thyroid gland “hypothyroidism”.

Abstract The chemical precipitation method was used to produce nanoparticles of nano magnesium oxide and nano iron oxide. After preparing the powders, they were reinforced with epoxy polymer at specific weight ratios of each material (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 wt.%). The mold for casting the nanomaterial-reinforced polymer was prepared individually in the presence of the epoxy hardener. After leaving the castings for two weeks, they were cut according to the specifications for each required test. X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination revealed that the epoxy was in an amorphous form, while the nanopowders were crystalline. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the exact structure, peaks and valleys, and all the basic testing parameters for the raw materials and post-casting for all composites. Some mechanical properties were also tested, including impact resistance, which was 5.21 kJ/m 2 for pure epoxy, increasing to 13.12 kJ/m 2 at 10 wt.% MgO and 10.32 kJ/m 2 at 10 wt.% Fe 2 O 3 . A bending test was also performed for both powder reinforcements, and the bending load for MgO was found to be 205 g with a 1 mm deflection at 10 wt.%. With the same result, the load for Fe 2 O 3 was 202 g with the same deflection compared to epoxy, which reached 139 g. Thermal conductivity was also calculated, which achieved the best increase at a reinforcement ratio of 10 wt.% for both reinforcements, reaching 0.75 W/mK for MgO after mixing, and 0.51 W/m.K for Fe 2 O 3 .