Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is considered a standard treatment for nephrolith or kidney stones measuring less than 20 mm. Anatomical, machine-related, and stone factors play pivotal roles in treatment outcomes, the latter being the leading role. This paper examined the relationship between stone density on native CT scans and ESWL treatment to remove renal stones concerning several treatments. One hundred and twenty patients (64 males and 56 females) were enrolled and completed the study from April 2019 to September 2020. Inclusion criteria were a single renal pelvis stone of 5–20 mm to be treated for the first time in adult patients with no urinary or musculoskeletal anatomical abnormalities. We assessed patients' renal function and obtained stone characteristics using a native CT scan. Patients were then scheduled for ESWL by the same machine and operator under fluoroscopy, with two-week intervals between treatment sessions when more than one treatment session was required. Before each new session, a new KUB-US was performed to reevaluate the stone. One hundred and twenty patient records were analyzed, 64 (53.3%) males and 56 (46.7%) females, with a mean age of 38.6 years and a mean stone size of 13.15 mm. Treatment with ESWL cleared stones in 76 (63.3%) patients, while 44 (36.7%) failed the treatment. The mean stone density in patients whose stones were cleared was significantly lower (661
A field-pilot scale slow sand filter (SSF) was constructed at Al-Rustamiya Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Baghdad city to investigate the removal efficiency in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical oxygen demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Chloride concentrations for achieving better secondary effluent quality from this treatment plant. The SSF was designed at a 0.2 m/h filtration rate with filter area 1 m2 and total filter depth of 2.3 m. A filter sand media 0.35 mm in size and 1 m depth was supported by 0.2 m layer of gravel of size 5 mm. The secondary effluent from Al-Rustamiya STP was used as the influent to the slow sand filter. The results showed that the removal of BOD5, COD, TSS, and Chloride were
... Show MoreThe present study evaluates the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract as monotherapy on the glycemic status, insulin resistance (IR), body mass index (BMI), and visceral adiposity index (VAI), in addition to the inflammatory markers, oxidative status and leptin level in patients with metabolic syndrome in comparison with metformin.
The study is a randomized, double-blind pilot study conducted during the period May to September, 2020. Fifty patients were recruited in the study and they were allocated into two groups (25 per each group): Ginkgo biloba and Metformin groups, they received (120 mg Ginkgo biloba extract/ capsule) and (500 mg Metformin/ capsule) respectively; orally as a single dose for 90 days. Blood samples were taken at z
... Show MoreObjective: The goal of this research is to load Doxorubicin (DOX) on silver nanoparticles coupled with folic acid and test their anticancer properties against breast cancer. Methods: Chitosan-Capped silver nanoparticles (CS-AgNPs) were manufactured and loaded with folic acid as well as an anticancer drug, Doxorubicin, to form CS-AgNPs-DOX-FA conjugate. AFM, FTIR, and SEM techniques were used to characterize the samples. The produced multifunctional nano-formulation served as an intrinsic drug delivery system, allowing for effective loading and targeting of chemotherapeutics on the Breast cancer (AMJ 13) cell line. Flowcytometry was used to assess therapy efficacy by measuring apoptotic induction. Results: DOX and CS-Ag
... Show MoreBackground/Objectives: Nonsurgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) is the gold-standard technique for treating periodontitis. However, an individual’s susceptibility or the inadequate removal of subgingival biofilms could lead to unfavorable responses to NSPT. This study aimed to assess the potential of salivary and microbiological biomarkers in predicting the site-specific and whole-mouth outcomes of NSPT. Methods: A total of 68 periodontitis patients exhibiting 1111 periodontal pockets 4 to 6 mm in depth completed the active phase of periodontal treatment. Clinical periodontal parameters, saliva, and subgingival biofilm samples were collected from each patient at baseline and three months after NSPT. A quantitative PCR assay was us
... Show MorePresent investigation aimed to study plasma BNP hormone estimation as predictor of brain stroke and neurocognitive in relative with other limitations in CKD patient. The case control experimental study was conducted on CKD patient at Yarmuk Hospital at Baghdad Province, Iraq from February to April 2020. The results showed that there were significant variances (P< 0.05) between CKD patients and control group, there was significant increase in BNP hormone and cystatin-C levels at patient, while ihematological parameters were significantly decreased. The parameters of lipid profile were significantly increased (P<0.05). The result revealed that there was relationship between BNP hormone level and CKD. This support that BNP level is related wit
... Show MoreBackground: Incorporation of chemical additives has long been a technique used to improve properties of the gypsum products. The purpose of this work was to study the effects of adding a combination of gum Arabic and calcium hydroxide to a type III dental stone and type IV improved die stone with different proportion. The effect on water/powder ratio, and surface hardness was determined. Material and method: Both material stone and die stone were blended with two proportion of additives so that each material was mixed twice but with different proportion of gum Arabic (0.1% and 0.2%) and calcium hydroxide (0.5 % and 0.3%). Data for hardness were subjected to two-way analysis of variance. Results: The results revealed that the chemical additi
... Show MoreBackground: Alginate impression material is the irreversible hydrocolloid material that is widely used in dentistry. The contact time between alginate and gypsum cast could have a detrimental effect on the properties of the gypsum cast. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of various contact time intervals of Alginate impressions & type III dental stone on surface properties of stone cast. Materials and Methods: Time intervals tested were 1hour, 6 hours and 9 hours. Surface properties of stone cast evaluated were surface detail reproduction, hardness and roughness. Surface detail reproduction was determined using cylindrical brass test block in accordance with ISO 1563. Surface roughness was measured by profilometer
... Show MoreImage compression is a serious issue in computer storage and transmission, that simply makes efficient use of redundancy embedded within an image itself; in addition, it may exploit human vision or perception limitations to reduce the imperceivable information Polynomial coding is a modern image compression technique based on modelling concept to remove the spatial redundancy embedded within the image effectively that composed of two parts, the mathematical model and the residual. In this paper, two stages proposed technqies adopted, that starts by utilizing the lossy predictor model along with multiresolution base and thresholding techniques corresponding to first stage. Latter by incorporating the near lossless com
... Show MoreSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were
... Show More