Objectives: Umbilical cord blood can be taken at birth and largely gives indication of fetal and maternal conditions. The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between sex hormones in cord blood and birth weight of newborns and pregnancy complications. Methods: Fifty cord blood samples were collected from newborns at labor room of Baghdad Teaching Hospital between May and October 2018. Blood was withdrawn from their mothers for lead analysis. Five milliliters (ml) of cord blood was taken, 3 ml was used for testosterone and estradiol analysis (using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and 2 ml for lead measurement by lead care analyzer. Newborns weight and head circumference were measured. Delivered women were divided into four groups: Women with normal pregnancy, women with pre-eclampsia, diabetic women and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women. Results: There was no significant difference in age between women in all groups (P > 0.05). Birth weights, estradiol, and testosterone were significantly different between groups. Estradiol was higher in cord blood of newborns of PCOS women (P < 0.05) than others. Testosterone was higher in cord blood of babies of PCOS and pre-eclampsia women compared with those of diabetes (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between male and female neonates regarding cord estradiol (3596.27 ± 1934.69, 3714.57 ± 1581.47 pg/ml respectively), and testosterone (393.18 ± 87.14, 361.43 ± 102.14 ng/ml respectively) (P > 0.05). Maternal lead levels correlated positively with cord lead (r = 0.905, P < 0.05), which correlated negatively with head circumference (r = −0.766, P < 0.05). Birth weight correlated negatively with estradiol (r = −0.295), but positively with testosterone (r = 0.006) (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Cord blood estradiol and testosterone levels do not differ between males and females. Estradiol was high in cord blood of PCOS mothers. Testosterone was high in cord blood of PCOS and pre-eclampsia mothers. The increase in cord lead causes decrease in babies head circumference.
Piroxicam (PIR) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug of oxicam category, used in gout, arthritis, as well as other inflammatory conditions (topically and orally). PIR is practically insoluble in water, therefore the aim is prepare and evaluate piroxicam as liquid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system to enhance its dispersibility and stability. The Dispersibilty and Stability study have been conducted in Oil, Surfactant and Co-surfactant for choosing the best materials to dissolve piroxicam. The pseudo ternary phase diagrams have been set at 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 as well as 4:1 ratio of surfactants and co-surfactants, also there are 4 formulations were prepared by using various concentrations of transcutol HP, cremophore EL and triacetin
... Show MoreReflection cracking in asphalt concrete (AC) overlays is a common form of pavement deterioration that occurs when underlying cracks and joints in the pavement structure propagate through an overlay due to thermal and traffic-induced movement, ultimately degrading the pavement’s lifespan and performance. This study aims to determine how alterations in overlay thickness and temperature conditions, the incorporation of chopped fibers, and the use of geotextiles influence the overlay’s capacity to postpone the occurrence of reflection cracking. To achieve the above objective, a total of 36 prism specimens were prepared and tested using an overlay testing machine (OTM). The variables considered in this study were the thickness of the
... Show MoreThis study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of Iraqi sumac seeds (Rhus coriaria. L) (Anacardiaceae). Total phenolic compounds and flavoniods were determined in three different sumac seed extracts (SSE) (aqueous,ethanolic and methanolic extract). For extraction Antioxidant activity of SSE were evaluated by various antioxidant assays, including total antioxidant capacity, reducing power,by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, nitric oxide scavenging, Hydroxyl radical scavenging, and metal ion chelating activities. These various antioxidant activities were compared with ascorbic acid as a standard antioxidant.The results showed that the three(SSE), contained large amounts of phenolic and flavonio
... Show MoreABSTRACT: Polypyrrole and polypyrrole / silver nanocomposites were fabricated by in-situ polymerization employing Ammonium Persulphate as an oxidizing agent. Nanocomposites were synthesized by combining polypyrrole and silver nanoparticles in various weight percentages (0.1%, 0.5%, 3%, 5% and 7% wt.). Crystallographic data were collected using X-ray diffraction. PPy particles were found to have an orthorhombic symmetry. In contrast, PPy/Ag nanocomposites were reported to have monoclinic structure. The crystallite size was determined by XRD using Scherrer equation and considered to be within 49 nm range. DC conductivity of pelletized samples was evaluated in the temperature range of 323.15k to 453.15k. The conductivity displayed an
... Show MoreTwo unsupervised classifiers for optimum multithreshold are presented; fast Otsu and k-means. The unparametric methods produce an efficient procedure to separate the regions (classes) by select optimum levels, either on the gray levels of image histogram (as Otsu classifier), or on the gray levels of image intensities(as k-mean classifier), which are represent threshold values of the classes. In order to compare between the experimental results of these classifiers, the computation time is recorded and the needed iterations for k-means classifier to converge with optimum classes centers. The variation in the recorded computation time for k-means classifier is discussed.
The objective of this study was to investigate the release profile of different fat and water soluble bases using diazepam as a model drug , and then to develop a satisfactory formula with a rapid release of diazepam from suppository bases .The study was conducted using theobroma oil ,glycerol-gelatin and glycerol-PEG1540 bases using conventional mold method for preparation .while the later base was utilized to incorporate diazepam ( buffered solution ) in a hollow type suppositories. The results indicated that all types of bases can be utilized to formulate diazepam as rectal suppositories with acceptable disintegration time ( 12, 10, 6, and 6min.), respectively . While 100% of the released drug had been shown differen
... Show MoreThis study explores the role of nanomaterials in the performance of asphalt binders and mixtures. Two commonly available nanomaterials, i.e., nanosilica (NS) and nanoalumina (NA), were used at contents of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% by weight of asphalt binder. A set of experiments was carried out at the binder level to investigate properties such as penetration, softening point, aging-related mass loss, nanomaterial dispersion (storage stability), and workability (rotational viscosity). In addition, the suitability of NS and NS was also assessed through the testing of nanomodified asphalt mixtures, which focused on Marshall properties, the resilient modulus, moisture susceptibility, permanent deformation, and fatigue resistance. The findings in
... Show MoreThe undetected error probability is an important measure to assess the communication reliability provided by any error coding scheme. Two error coding schemes namely, Joint crosstalk avoidance and Triple Error Correction (JTEC) and JTEC with Simultaneous Quadruple Error Detection (JTEC-SQED), provide both crosstalk reduction and multi-bit error correction/detection features. The available undetected error probability model yields an upper bound value which does not give accurate estimation on the reliability provided. This paper presents an improved mathematical model to estimate the undetected error probability of these two joint coding schemes. According to the decoding algorithm the errors are classified into patterns and their decoding
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