Introduction: A Pap test can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in the vagina and uterine cervix. Cervical cancer is the easiest gynecologic cancer to be prevented and diagnosed using regular screening tests and follow-up. This study aimed to estimate the cytological changes and the precancerous lesions using Pap smear test and visual inspection of the cervices of Iraqi women, and also to determine the possible relationship of this cancer with patients’ demographic characteristics. Methods: The study included 140 women aged (18-67) years old referred to the National Cancer Research Center (NCRC), Baghdad, Iraq, during the period 2011-2016. Both visual inspections of the uterine cervix and Papanicolaou smear screening were performed for all of the participants. Results: Only 14% of the women under study were in postmenopausal, and 86% were in premenopausal period. Visual inspection of the cervix showed that 48.6% of the women had erosion lesions. Upon cytology examination, 92.8% of the women showed non-specific inflammation, 70% revealed reactive squamous metaplasia, 27% had Koilocytotic atypia, and 17% suffered from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) or low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL). Contraception was used by 68% of those women, while 34.3% of them used pills. Most women, 79%, had multiple births. The abnormal vaginal discharge occurred in 34% of the participants that is why they attended the center compared with only 25.7% who came for routine checking. Finally, 67% of the participated women did not make this test previously. Conclusion: We conclude routine screening and Pap smear testing for uterine cervix and vagina might be useful especially for sexually active women for preventing the occurrence of precancerous and later cancerous lesions in these organs.
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Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process comprising cellular and molecular events which result in cells shifting from an epithelial to a mesenchymal phenotype. Periodontitis is a destructive chronic disease of the periodontium initiated in response to a dysbiotic microbiome, and dominated by Gram-negative bacteria in the subgingival niches accompanied by an aberrant immune response in susceptible subjects. Both EMT and periodontitis share common risk factors and drivers, including Gram-negative bacteria, excess inflammatory cytokine production, smoking, oxidative stress and diabetes mellitus. In addition, periodontitis is characterized by down-regulation of key epithelial markers such as E-cadherin together with up-regulation of
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Statement of the Problem. The use of orthodontic fixed appliances may adversely affect oral health leading to demineralizing lesions and the development of gingival problems. Aims of the Study. The study aimed to coat orthodontic archwires with chlorhexidine hexametaphosphate nanoparticles (CHX-HMP NPs) and to evaluate the elusion of CHX from CHX-HMP NPs. Materials and Methods. A solution of CHX-HMP nanoparticles with an overall concentration of 5 mM for both CHX and HMP was prepared, characterized (using atomic force microscope and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy), and used to coat orthodontic stainless steel (SSW) and NiTi archwires (NiTiW). The coated segments were characterized (using scanning electron microscopy
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This research paper aimed to quantitively characterize the pore structure of shale reservoirs. Six samples of Silurian shale from the Ahnet basin were selected for nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. Experimental findings showed that all the samples are mainly composed of mesopores with slit-like shaped pores, as well as the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda pore volume ranging from 0.014 to 0.046 cm3/ 100 g, where the lowest value has recorded in the AHTT-1 sample, whereas the highest one in AHTT-6, while the rest samples (AHTT-2, AHTT-3, AHTT-4, AHTT-5) have a similar average value of 0.03 cm3/ 100 g. Meanwhile, the surface area and pore size distribution were in the range of 3.8 to 11.1 m2 / g and 1.7 to 40 nm, respectively.
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The outstanding evidence of phthalimide pharmacophore in securing enhanced biological activities had encouraged further research and development into phthalimide-based derivatives as potential new drugs. In this study, phthalimide core was hybridized with aldehydes giving integrated imines displaying different types of functionalities and at alternating positions. The resulting compounds, therefore, provide an innovative window to explore possible differential biological effects as antioxidants and anticancer agents. A total of sixteen compounds were synthesized, and each was verified by FT-IR, H NMR, C NMR, and MS characterization. Herein, a facile single-step synthesis method was employed substituting the conventional two-step che
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Currently, one of the topical areas of application of machine learning methods is the prediction of material characteristics. The aim of this work is to develop machine learning models for determining the rheological properties of polymers from experimental stress relaxation curves. The paper presents an overview of the main directions of metaheuristic approaches (local search, evolutionary algorithms) to solving combinatorial optimization problems. Metaheuristic algorithms for solving some important combinatorial optimization problems are described, with special emphasis on the construction of decision trees. A comparative analysis of algorithms for solving the regression problem in CatBoost Regressor has been carried out. The object of
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In this work, a novel single-slope solar distillator of floating perforated absorber inserted with wicks (cotton ribbons), and a stepped distillator are designed and manufactured with the aim of developing the conventional distillator. They are examined experimentally at Baghdad, Iraq (33.3°N Latitude, 44.4°E Longitude) in order to enhance the freshwater productivity and the efficiency of the conventional distillator. Results showed that the daily productivity and efficiency of the stepped distillator are higher than that for conventional solar distillator by 30% and 36.19% respectively. The daily productivity and thermal efficiency for the distillator with the floating absorber are higher than that for the conventional distillator by 16%
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Heat transfer process and fluid flow in a solar chimney used for natural ventilation are investigated numerically in the present work. Solar chimney was tested by selecting different positions of absorber namely: at the back side, front side, and at the middle of the air gap. CFD analysis based on finite volume method is used to predict the thermal performance, and air flow in two dimensional solar chimney under unsteady state condition, to identify the effect of different parameters such as solar radiation. Results show that a solar chimney with absorber at the middle of the air gap gives better ventilation performance. A comparison between the numerical and previous experimental results shows fair agreement.
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