Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the new respiratory virus SARS-CoV2. It has a tropism in the lung tissues where excess target receptors exist. Periostin plays a role in subepithelial fibrosis associated with bronchial asthma. Since the Coronavirus's target is the human respiratory system, Periostin has been recently described as a valuable new biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease in patients with COVID-19 lung involvement. Objectives: To assess the level of Periostin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and to correlate its role in disease severity and prognosis. Subjects and Methods: Periostin serum levels were measured for 63 patients attending three main COVID-19 Control Centers in Baghdad, compared to 25 healthy subjects, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from January 2021 to April 2022. Results: Serum levels of Periostin among studied groups with (mild - moderate, severe - critical, post-COVID, and controls) were (17.3, 664, 597, and 48) ng/dl respectively. The serum concentration of Periostin was highly significant in (severe- critical and post-COVID) than in other groups. Conclusions: The elevated level of serum Periostin in COVID-19 patients correlated with disease severity and post-COVID lung complications. The high Periostin level is consistent with high inflammatory markers, which might be used as an indicator of COVID-19 severity and predict a bad prognosis.
In this paper, we establish the conditions of the occurrence of the local bifurcations, such as saddle node, transcritical and pitchfork, of all equilibrium points of an eco-epidemiological model consisting of a prey-predator model with SI (susceptible-infected) epidemic diseases in prey population only and a refuge-stage structure in the predators. It is observed that there is a transcritical bifurcation near the axial and free predator equilibrium points, near disease-free equilibrium point is a saddle-node bifurcation and near positive (coexistence) equilibrium point is a saddle-node bifurcation, a transcritical bifurcation and a pitchfork bifurcation. Further investigations for Hopf bifurcation near coexistence equilibrium point
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the apical microleakage around retrograde cavities prepared with ultrasonic technique and filled with (Biodentineâ„¢) Materials and methods: 40 extracted single rooted human permanent maxillary teeth with mature apices were selected. The roots were prepared chemo-mechanically using k-files with crown-down technique and then obturated with lateral condensation gutta-percha technique. Teeth were divided into four main groups according to the cavity preparation method either manual or ultrasonic technique: Group A (n=10): A class I retrograde cavity at root end was prepared with traditional handpeice equipped and placement of Biodentine with manual condensation. Group B (n=10):
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetes mellitus (DM) could be regarded as a set of chronic metabolic disorders which have a common aspect of hyperglycemia. The resistance in the peripheral actions of insulin or impaired insulin secretion could be the reason hepcidin which is a peptide hormone derived from liver, in systemic iron homeostasis is an essential regulator, and its lopsided production participates in the pathogenesis of iron disorders in spectrum. Osteoporosis often accompanies many diseases like ß-thalassemia, hemochromatosis, sickle liver diseases, cell disease and hemosiderosis featured by iron overload, evidences suggest that Iron overload and iron deficiency are suggested by evidences that they affect bone in a negative way, acting
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the apical microleakage around retrograde cavities prepared with ultrasonic technique and filled with (Biodentineâ„¢) Materials and methods: 40 extracted single rooted human permanent maxillary teeth with mature apices were selected. The roots were prepared chemo-mechanically using k-files with crown-down technique and then obturated with lateral condensation gutta-percha technique. Teeth were divided into four main groups according to the cavity preparation method either manual or ultrasonic technique: Group A (n=10): A class I retrograde cavity at root end was prepared with traditional handpeice equipped and placement of Biodentine with manual condensation. Group B (n=10):
... Show MoreBackground: The miswak is a teeth cleaning twig made from a twig of the Salvadora persica tree (known as arak in Arabic).A traditional alternative to the modern toothbrush, it has a long, well-documented history and is reputed for its medicinal benefits. It also features prominently in Islamic hygienical jurisprudence. Materials and methods: Twenty maxillary first premolars were treated with the selected solutions which included siwak water extract (5%, 10%) and sodium fluoride 0.05% for 2minutes once daily for 20 days interval, deionized water was used as control negative. Then the concentration of the dissolved calcium ion in the etching solution of 2N HCL was measured. Results: The least amount of the dissolved calcium ion was registere
... Show MoreBackground: Nutritional status during childhood is very important for individual development and growth. Nutrition has local and systemic effect on the oral health by affecting dental health and salivary composition. This study was aimed to determine effect of iron, sodium and potassium ions in saliva on the nutritional status and to determine the effect of nutritional status on caries severity among preschool children. Material and Methods: The sample consists of 90 children aged 4 and 5 years of both genders, selected from 6 kindergartens in Al-Resafa aspect of Baghdad province. Children classified according to their nutritional status into three groups (normalweight, underweight and overweight). Nutritional status was determined by usi
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to indicate the degree of arrangement of the tax branches discussed and the level of efficiency of their performance according to the dimensions approved in the tax diagnostic tool (TADAT). The checklist has been approved as a main tool in collecting data and information from the tax branches of the General Authority for Taxes and the number (8) branches represented by (Karrada , Karakh Center, Al-Rusafa, New Baghdad, Al-Dora, Karakh Al-Tafim, Al-Kadhimiya, Al-Bayaa), The statistical program (spss) was used to calculate the weighted arithmetic media, and we reached the research to a number of conclusions, the most important of which were: - Each of the subsections (Karkh Al-Ahram and Karrada) achieved an
... Show MoreThis research introduce a study with application on Principal Component Regression obtained from some of the explainatory variables to limitate Multicollinearity problem among these variables and gain staibilty in their estimations more than those which yield from Ordinary Least Squares. But the cost that we pay in the other hand losing a little power of the estimation of the predictive regression function in explaining the essential variations. A suggested numerical formula has been proposed and applied by the researchers as optimal solution, and vererifing the its efficiency by a program written by the researchers themselves for this porpuse through some creterions: Cumulative Percentage Variance, Coefficient of Determination, Variance
... Show MoreThe current research aims to determine the extent of the impact of the strategic direction to the business process reengineering, in the Office of the Ministry of Oil To reach that goal was a sample of community research study consisted (50) members of the senior leadership represent the problem in organization researched in the ambiguity of the strategic direction of knowledge of the compatibility of the strategic direction with Business Process Reengineering and used questionnaire, interview and observation to obtain the information needed to search was addressing data by the statistical system spss percentage and the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation .
... Show MoreAn expression for the transition charge density is investigated where the deformation in nuclear collective modes is taken into consideration besides the shell model transition density. The inelastic longitudinal form factors C2 calculated using this transition charge density with excitation of the levels for Cr54,52,50 nuclei. In this work, the core polarization transition density is evaluated by adopting the shape of Tassie model together with the derived form of the ground state two-body charge density distributions (2BCDD's). It is noticed that the core polarization effects which represent the collective modes are essential in obtaining a remarkable agreement between the calculated inelastic longitudinal F(q)'s and those of experimen
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