High-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) is a recognized marker of myocardial injury in acute coronary syndromes, but its utility in chronic coronary syndromes (CCS) remains unclear. Midkine (MK), a heparin-binding growth factor, plays a role in inflammation and vascular remodeling in atherosclerosis. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of serum hs-cTnI and MK in determining the severity of coronary artery obstruction in patients with CCS. The study included 125 subjects undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) at the Iraqi Center of Heart Disease/ Medical City/Baghdad, from March to December 2024. Subjects were classified into three groups based on CAG findings: no CAD, 1- or 2-vessel disease, and 3-vessel or left main disease. Serum levels of hs-cTnI and MK were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the laboratories of Department of Biochemistry/College of Medicine/ Baghdad University. Median serum levels of both biomarkers differed significantly across all groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated good diagnostic performance for both biomarkers in differentiating moderate (Group II) from severe disease (Group III). For hs-cTnI, a cutoff of 354.4 pg/mL yielded 90% sensitivity and 92% specificity; for MK, a cutoff of 2.75 ng/mL yielded 90% sensitivity and 85% specificity. Logistic regression revealed that the two biomarkers together explained 75% of the variance in CAD severity. Combining the two markers offered a slight improvement in diagnostic accuracy compared to using either alone. In conclusion, serum hs-cTnI and MK levels may help predict CAD severity in CCS and support early risk stratification before CAG.
Globally, chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a significant public health concern, characterized by high rates of morbidity and mortality. To assess the risk of kidney damage, researchers have identified tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) and fatty acid-binding protein-1 (FABP-1) as valuable biomarkers. This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of specific biomarkers in assessing CKD and its associated mechanisms in Iraqi patients. The study was conducted from December 2023 to May 2024. Ninety subjects, aged 48–65 years; including 60 patients with CKD (38 male and 22 female) attended the Baghdad Teaching Hospital/ Medical City/ Dialysis Unit- Baghdad, Iraq. In addition, 30 healthy people (15 male an
... Show MoreBackground: This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of long-term results of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) techniques in specialized eye care center in Iraq.
Subjects and Method: This is a prospective study of 650 patients from July 2014 to July 2019 with nasolacrimal duct obstruction in Ibn Al Haitham Eye Teaching Hospital. A preoperative questionnaire was done, then one month, three months, six months and one year postoperatively. The success of surgery defined as follow; Absence of epiphora completely, Resolve of dacryocele or mucocele or any new attack of daryocystitis, Appearance of fluorescein dye from nose in fluorescein disappearance test, Successful irriga
... Show MoreLasmiditan (LAS) is a recently developed antimigraine drug and was approved in October, 2019 for the treatment of acute migraines; however, it suffers from low oral bioavailability, which is around 40%.
This study aimed to improve the LAS bioavailability via formulation as nanoemulsionbased in situ gel (NEIG) given intranasally and then compare the traditional aqueous-LASsuspension (AQS) with the two successful intranasal prepared formulations (NEIG 2 and NEIG 5) in order to determine its relative bioavailability (F-relative) via using rabbits.
Value Engineering is an analytical study on projects or services using a specific procedure and a multidisciplinary working group, works for the identification and classification of the project functions; either for a better perfuming of these functions or to lessen the total project cost or the two together. Value Engineering main aim is on finding innovative alternatives, without effecting the basic requirements of the project, its methodology based on the functional balancing between the three elements of production "performance, quality and cost". This methodology based on the "functional analysis", had shown high possibilities in solving any problem facing the production procedure , achieve better investment for available re
... Show MoreBackground: Stress urinary incontinence is a frequent urological disease in women; it has a great influence on an individual’s wellbeing and places a significant economic strain on any health service. The placement of urodynamic diagnostic tests in the evaluation route is an important clinical research concern in this field.
Objective: to find out whether the duration of stress urinary incontinence is associated with the finding of bladder outlet obstruction in urodynamic study or not.
Subjects and Methods: A descriptive study. With enrolled female patients had symptomatic Stress urinary incontinence as their primary complain. All the included patients w
... Show MoreWarfarin dosing is challenging due to a multitude of factors affecting its pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). A novel personalised dosing algorithm predicated on a warfarin PK/PD model and incorporating CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotype information has been developed for children. The present prospective, observational study aimed to compare the model with conventional weight-based dosing. The study involved two groups of children post-cardiac surgery: Group 1 were warfarin naïve, in whom loading and maintenance doses were estimated using the model over a 6-month duration and compared to historical case-matched controls. Group 2 were already established on maintenance therapy a
The Weibull distribution is considered one of the Type-I Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution, and it plays a crucial role in modeling extreme events in various fields, such as hydrology, finance, and environmental sciences. Bayesian methods play a strong, decisive role in estimating the parameters of the GEV distribution due to their ability to incorporate prior knowledge and handle small sample sizes effectively. In this research, we compare several shrinkage Bayesian estimation methods based on the squared error and the linear exponential loss functions. They were adopted and compared by the Monte Carlo simulation method. The performance of these methods is assessed based on their accuracy and computational efficiency in estimati
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