The typical test for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, but the chest CT scan might play a complementary role at the first detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of CT scan on patients with COVID-19 in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and to compare the accuracy of CT scan with that of RT-PCR technique. Material and Method: This is a prospective study. The patients suspicious of having COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms were registered. All patients were diagnosed by RT-PCR and chest CT. Diagnostic performance of CT was intended using RT-PCR as the reference standard in the centre of coronavirus investigation in Al-Najaf city, Iraq from March 2020 to September 2020. Results: The study population included 125 consecutive participants (males and females; mean age = 53 ± 17 years). Of the 125 participants, fever was observed in 93 (74.4%), cough was observed in 81 (64.8%), dyspnoea was observed in 47 (33%), and lymphocytopenia was observed in 89 (71.2%) subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of chest CT scan was 94% (95% confidence interval). Conclusion: The typical diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 pneumonia is by RT-PCR at the first stage of infection which can then be confirmed by chest CT.
Background: Invasion in oral cancer involves alterations in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that accompanied by loss of cell adhesion. Catenins stabilize cellular adherence junctions by binding to E-cadherin, which further mediates cell-cell adhesion and regulates proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is one of the major signaling pathways in cell proliferation, oncogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Aims of the study: to detect immunohistochemical distribution pattern and different subcellular localization of β-catenin in oral squamous cell carcinoma and relate such expression to Bryne’s invasive grading system. Materials and Methods: This study included 30 paraffi
... Show MoreBackground: The physiologic, biochemical and anatomic changes that occur during pregnancy are extensive and may be systemic or local. However, most of these changes return to pre pregnancy status six weeks postpartum. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of dental caries among preterm postpartum women and it's relation to baby birth weight and salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6). Materials and methods: 66 postpartum women were examined, 33 preterm postpartum women (study group) and 33 full term postpartum women (control group). Dental caries was recorded using, decayed, missing and filled surfaces index, also assess the decayed lesion by severity. Salivary samples were taken from all subjects to estimate salivary IL-6 levels. Babie
... Show MoreBackground: The menopause is physiological changes in women that give rise to adaptive changes at both systemic and oral level. During menopause, ovarian function declines and the production of sex steroid hormones reduces significantly affecting the oral tissues and periodontal structures leading to chronic inflammation of the gingiva, increased risk of tooth loss. Aim of study: The present study was designed to estimate the oral hygiene status in relation to salivary estradiol level among pre and post-menopausal women. Materials and Methods: Ninety women aged 48-52 years old, the control group consisted of 45 pre-menopausal women and the study group consisted of 45 post-menopause were examined for gingival index, plaque index and calcu
... Show MoreThis research involves study effect of chloride ions in concentration range (0.01 – 0.50 mol.dm-3) on the corrosion behavior of Al-Zn alloy in basic media of 1x10-3 mol.dm-3 NaOH at pH=11 and four different temperatures in the range (298-313 K). Cathodic and anodic Tafel slopes (bc &ba) and transfer coefficients (αc & αa) were calculated and the results interprets according to the variation of the rate – determining steps. The results also indicate that the chloride ions are bonded chemically in the interface as an initial step of formation of different mixed oxohydroxy – and chloro complexes. Polarization resistance (Rp) is calculates
... Show MoreThis study aimed at comparing the performance of vertical, horizontal and hybrid subsurface flow systems in secondary treatment for the effluent wastewater from the primary basins at Al-Rustumia wastewater treatment plant, Baghdad, Iraq. The treatments were monitored for six weeks while the testsduration were from 4 to 12 September 2018 under continuous wastewater feeding for chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS),ammonia-nitrogen(NH4-N) and phosphate (PO4-P) in comparison with FAO and USEPA standards for effluent discharge to evaluate the suitability of treated water for irrigation purposes. Among the systems planted with Phragmites Australia, the hybrid subsurface flow system which cons
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to construct a Mathematical model connecting the variation between the ambient temperatures and the level of consumption of kerosene in Iraq during the period (1985-1995), and use it to predict the level of this consumption during the years (2005-2015) based on the estimation of the ambient temperatures.
Literary works include, for the most part, text thresholds, which are the first entry into reading them and understanding their connotations, and (literary works) vary according to text thresholds, some of which are limited to the title and on the cover page only, and others, in addition to these two thresholds, are based on the dedication threshold too, and others ...
This study takes the story of "Mamo Zain" of the poet Ahmed Al-Khani and his translator Sheikh Muhammad Ramadan Al-Bouti as the field of study, as it is a unique literary work, which included a number of textual thresholds which supported each other and cooperated with the content of the work.
The threshold of dedication in the story of "Mamo Zain" was a spee
... Show MoreRecently, several concepts and expressions have emerged that have often preoccupied the world . around the concept of environment and sustainability. This is due to the negative and irresponsible impact of man and his innovations in various industrial and technological fieldsthat have damaged the natural environment. Architecture and cities at the broader level are some of the man made components that caused these negative impacts and in the same time affected by them. What distinguishes architectural and urban projects is the consumption of large . quantities of natural resources and production larger amounts of waste and pollution, along the life of these projects. At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-fir
... Show MoreBackground: Using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, body fat mass has been determined. The assessment of body fat mass was conducted utilizing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analysis of the pelvis and vertebral column. While it is acknowledged that osteoporosis can impact both body fat mass and bone mineral density, the particulars of this relationship currently remain uncertain. Objective: The aim of the present investigation is to assess gender differences in the effects of osteoporosis on the body fat mass of the upper and lower extremities. Method: 170 individuals participated (85 males and 85 females) in this study. Patients who presented with bone discomfort consisted of 40 males and 40 females. In addition, 90 apparently he
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