Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials

Afamin, which is a human plasma glycoprotein, a putative multifunctional transporter of hydrophobic molecules and a marker for metabolic syndrome. Afamin concentration have been proposed to have a significant role as a predictor of metabolic disorders. Since NAFLD is associated with metabolic risk factors, e.g., dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and visceral obesity, it is considered as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. The objective of this study is to determine Afamin levels in hypothyroid patients with and without fatty liver disease and compare the results with controls. Also to study the relationship of Afamin level with the Anthropometric and Clinical Features (Age, Gender, BMI and Duration of Hypothyroidism) , Serum

The purpose of this study was to measure serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP7), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), Growth Hormone (GH), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and insulin in acromegaly patients and healthy controls. The acromegaly group had 60 patients, while the population group had 30 people who had never had acromegaly before. The concentration of IGFBP7, IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin were determined. The results of the present study indicate that IGFBP7 level in the acromegaly group was significantly lower (1.690.07 ng/mL vs. 2.740.12 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.001). IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin concentrations were also significantly higher in acromegaly patients. The diagnostic accuracy (2.194) was exce

Various visual media are becoming an increasingly important and active instrument of communication. This fact has led some political parties and leading personalities in Iraq to make use of them as an accepted forum for the discussion of public affairs usually in a manner that conforms to their declared policy. They have to draw as much popular support as they could for the causes which they fight for. As a result, a state of great confusion has been created from the contradictory statements made by the contending parties and gave left grave consequences on all types of the audience receiving them. The problem of the study can be summarized in one major question: What is the opinions of the audience as regards the statements made by the

The organizational integration forms a necessity according to McKinsey model, especially for service organizations. In the context of various service sector developments, importance adoption of compact mechanisms by these organizations to upgrade their services has increased and senior management must be more aware of environmental, competitive and developmental requirements. It gets more important when it shows in an organization seeking at excellence of making services within its policies and strategies. Subject organizational integration dimensions (strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, shared values, and skills) are effective components in directing behaviors of employees and organization. This motivated both researcher

The study seeks to clarify the role of International Auditing Standard No. (320) of the relative importance in determining responsibility for planning and implementing the process of auditing financial statements and expressing neutral technical opinion through the analytical procedures of the auditor, whose responsibility is to obtain appropriate and reliable audit evidence that helps the auditor to form a general conclusion about whether The financial statements were consistent with the auditor's understanding of the entity. The relative importance contributes to defining the important accounts that help to set priorities for the auditor to set the necessary analytical procedures for these accounts. One of the most important co

Industrial effluents loaded with heavy metals are a cause of hazards to the humans and other forms of life. Conventional approaches, such as electroplating, ion exchange, and membrane processes, are used for removal of copper, cadmium, and lead and are often cost prohibitive with low efficiency at low metal ion concentration. Biosorption can be considered as an option which has been proven as more efficient and economical for removing the mentioned metal ions. Biosorbents used are fungi, yeasts, oil palm shells, coir pith carbon, peanut husks, and olive pulp. Recently, low cost and natural products have also been researched as biosorbent. This paper presents an attempt of the potential use of Iraqi date pits and Al-Khriet (i.e. substances l

In this research the specifications of Iraqi drinking bottled water brands are investigated throughout the comparison between local brands, Saudi Arabia and the World Health Organization (WHO) for bottled water standard specifications. These specifications were also compared to that of Iraqi Tap Water standards. To reveal variations in the specifications for Iraqi bottled water,  and above mentioned standards some quality control tools are conducted for more than 33% of different bottled water brands (of different origins such as spring, purified,..etc) in Iraq by investigating the  selected quality parameters registered on their marketing labels. Results employing Minitab software (ver. 16) to generate X bar,

Electronic Commerce (EC) is an important field due to the many advantages it involves. This study aims to discuss the constraints surrounding educated Iraqi women which results overall lack of entering the EC and to give us additional insight into why they are avoiding entering this world. Results reveal that lack of awareness, lack of government policy and support, language, security and trust are the most important factors that contributes to EC adoption in addition to many other factors

Background: This study aimed to determine the gender of a sample of Iraqi adults using the mesio-distal width of mandibular canines, inter-canine width and standard mandibular canine index, and to determine the percentage of dimorphism as an aid in forensic dentistry. Materials and methods: The sample included 200 sets of study models belong to 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females) with an age ranged between 17-23 years. The mesio-distal crown dimension was measured manually, from the contact points for the mandibular canines (both sides), in addition to the inter-canine width using digital vernier. Descriptive statistics were obtained for the measurements for both genders; paired sample t-test was used to evaluate the side difference of