Controlling cost in construction projects is an essential issue. This study investigates the most critical problems that cause weakness in cost control in Iraqi construction projects. The quantitative technique was used by conducting a survey directed to professionals who work on construction projects. One hundred and sixty-four questionnaire forms were distributed to private sector companies, government companies, and government institutions, and the responses were subjected to the required statistical analysis. The results indicate that the most influential factors are the weakness in keeping up with the use of modern concepts, methods, and technologies, the delay in receiving the amounts due for work done from the owner, fluctuat

             Polycystic syndrome (PCOS) is a considerable infertility disorder in adolescents and adult women in reproductive age. Obesity is a vigorous risk factor related to POCS.  This study aims to evaluate the association of obesity and PCOS by investigating several parameters including:  anthropological, biochemical (lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, glucose tolerance test, and hormone levels (LH, FSH, LH/FSH ratio, Estradiol2 and Testosterone),and genetic parameters (Fat mass and Obesity associated gene (FTO) polymorphism at rs17817449) in 63 obese and non-obese PCOS women. The biochemical tests were investigated by colorimetric methods while FTO gene polymorphism was detected by PCR–RFLP.  Lipid profile, F

Abstract: In Class III malocclusion it is not easy to plan a combined orthodontic-surgical therapy or treatment with modern orthodontic methods alone. The aim of this study was to quantify the dento-alveolar compensation during puberty and adulthood for patients having moderate-severe skeletal class III malocclusion and to assess their treatment requirements. True lateral radiographs have been taken for 24 adolescent and 30 adult Iraqi orthodontic patients, followed by their cephalometric analysis. The results showed that the amount of dento-alveolar compensation differs between the maxilla and the mandible in both of the sample groups, and that the compensation becomes more marked during adulthood than during adolescence. It has been concl

Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) is a deadly fungal pathogen whose intracellular lifestyle is important for virulence. Host mechanisms controlling fungal phagocytosis and replication remain obscure. Here, we perform a global phosphoproteomic analysis of the host response to Cryptococcus infection. Our analysis reveals numerous and diverse host proteins that are differentially phosphorylated following fungal ingestion by macrophages, thereby indicating global reprogramming of host kinase signaling. Notably, phagocytosis of the pathogen activates the host autophagy initiation complex (AIC) and the upstream regulatory components LKB1 and AMPKα, which regulate autophagy induction through their kinase activities. Deletion of Prkaa1, the gene encodi

Abstract.. Quantitative characteristics of the surrounding world’s entities are expressed by the specific words – logical quantifiers. In a language, quantifiers are represented by the so-called quantifier words. Representing different degrees of the concentration of quantity, quantifier words in natural languages are positioned in a strict sequence – the quantifying scale. In terms of logic, it starts with nothingness (quantifier of meaningful nothingness), terminating at universality while in terms of language quantifier words, it is represented by the complex scale of quantifying words’ intensity. Logically speaking, this scale should start with the quantifier word ‘nothing’ to move all the way through increasing intensity ov