Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iraq and the United Kingdom. While the disease is frequently diagnosed among middleaged Iraqi women at advanced stages accounting for the second cause of cancer-related deaths, breast cancer often affects elderly British women yielding the highest survival of all registered malignancies in the UK. Objective: To compare the clinical and pathological profiles of breast cancer among Iraqi and British women; correlating age at diagnosis with the tumor characteristics, receptor-defined biomarkers and phenotype patterns. Methods: This comparative retrospective study included the clinical and pathological characteristics of (1,940) consecutive female patients who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from 2014 to 2016 in Iraq (Medical City Teaching Hospital, Baghdad: 635 cases) and UK (John Radcliffe, Oxford and Queen's, BHR University Hospitals: 1,305 cases). The studied parameters in both groups comprised the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis, breast cancer histologic type, grade, tumor size, lymph node status, clinical stage at presentation, Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR) and HER2 positive tumor contents and the receptor defined breast cancer surrogate subtypes. Results: The Iraqi patients were significantly younger than their British counterparts and exhibited higher trend to present at advanced stages; reflected by larger size tumors and frequent lymph node involvement compared to the British (p<0.00001). They also had worse receptor-defined breast cancer subtypes manifested by higher rates of hormone receptor (ER/PR) negative, HER2 positive tumor contents, Triple Positive and Triple Negative phenotypes (p<0.00001). Excluding HER2 status, the significant differences in the clinical and tumor characteristics between the two populations persisted after adjusting for age among patients younger than 50 years. Conclusion: The remarkable differences in the clinical and tumor characteristics of breast cancer between the Iraqi and British patients suggest heterogeneity in the underlying biology of the tumor which is exacerbated in Iraq by the dilemma of delayed diagnosis. The significant ethnic disparities in breast cancer profiles recommend the prompt strengthening of the national cancer control plan in Iraq as a principal approach to the management of the disease.
Some new norms need to be adapted due to COVID-19 pandemic period where people need to wear masks, wash their hands frequently, maintain social distancing, and avoid going out unless necessary. Therefore, educational institutions were closed to minimize the spread of COVID-19. As a result of this, online education was adapted to substitute face-to-face learning. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Malaysian university students’ adaptation to the new norms, knowledge and practices toward COVID-19, besides, their attitudes toward online learning. A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit 500 Malaysian university students from January to February 2021 through social media. For data collection, all students
... Show MoreThe current study is designed to investigate the histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of the thyroid gland in adult male Sciurus anamalus. This study found that the thyroid gland of the Caucasian squirrel is located in the neck area, below the larynx, on both sides of the trachea. It has two lobes (right and left) with cylindrical shape. The histological studies revealed that the thyroid gland is surrounded by a capsule which consists of connective tissue and forming of two layers which are outer layer and inner layer, and a layer of adipose tissue appears overlapping the outer layer. The inner tissue of the gland consists of follicles with different shapes and sizes, and is lined with simple cuboidal epithelial tissue (foll
... Show MoreSteel-concrete-steel (SCS) structural element solutions are rising due to their advantages over conventional reinforced concrete in terms of cost and strength. The impact of SCS sections with various core materials on the structural performance of composites has not yet been fully explored experimentally, and in this work, both slag and polypropylene fibers were incorporated in producing eco-friendly steel-concrete-steel composite sections. This study examined the ductility, ultimate strength, failure modes, and energy absorption capacities of steel-concrete-steel filled with eco-friendly concrete, enhanced by polypropylene fiber (PPF) to understand its impact on modern structural projects. Eco-friendly concrete was produced by the partial
... Show MoreBackground: Fluoridated acrylic resin material can present more stable properties when compared with conventional one.The most widely used fluoride –containing substance added to dental resin materials is sodium fluoride (Naf). This study evaluated the effect of Naf in different concentration to the acrylic resin denture base material and its effect on tensile strength ,modules of elasticity with long –term water immersion (after 4 months immersion in de-ionized water) Materials and methods: Eighty specimens from dumbbells shaped metal pattern for tensile strength test were preparedaccording to ISO 527: 1993 plastic –Determination tensile properties ,in dimensions(60mm, 12mm, 3 ± 0.2mm) length, width and depth respec
... Show MoreThe study was conducted during spring seasons of 2000 and 2001.The aim was to study the changes in the moisture content of sunflower plants during growth stages under hardening conditions to drought tolerance .Agricultural practices were made according to recommendation. Asplit-split plots design was used with three replications. The main plots included irrigation treatments:irrigation to100%(full irrigation),75and50%of available water. The sub plots were the cultivars Euroflor and Flame.The sub-sub plots represented four seed soaking treatments: Control (unsoaked), soaking in water ,Paclobutrazol solution(250ppm),and Pix solution(500ppm). The soaking continued for 24 hours then seeds were dried at room temperature until they regained t
... 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
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In the present study, composites were prepared by Hand lay-up molding. The composites constituents were epoxy resin as a matrix, 6% volume fractions of glass fibers (G.F) as reinforcement and 3%, 6% volume fractions of preparation natural material (Rice Husk Ash, Carrot Powder, and Sawdust) as filler. Studied the erosion wear behavior and coating by natural wastes (Rice Husk Ash) with epoxy resin after erosion. The results showed the non – reinforced epoxy have lower resistance erosion than natural based material composites and the specimen (Epoxy+6%glass fiber+6%RHA) has higher resistance erosion than composites reinforced with carrot powder and sawdust at 30cm , angle 60
... Show MoreThis study investigated the outcome of Alstonia boonei stem bark on liver enzymes after inducing the Wistar albino rats with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). This effect of plant extract was compared with silymarin – a drug commonly used for the treatment of chronic hepatocyte disorder. The plant sample was extracted with ethanol; acute toxicity study of the extract was performed on eighteen Wistar mice, while 30 rats were sacrificed for liver enzymes assay. The rats were divided into six clusters: each cluster has five rats, culster 1 served as control and was given 2 mL/kg b.w - distilled water; clusters 2 – 6 were CCl4 induced. Cluster 2 was untreated but served as the negative control while cluster 3 wa
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