Abstract Aim: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which affects communication and social interaction of children. It is a heterogeneous disease with various clinical presentations. Some genes are involved in its pathogenesis. It has been suggested that environmental exposure to lead can increase the risk of autism. The aim of our study was to compare blood lead levels among autistic and non-autistic children. Material and Method: This retrospective study included 107 children (60 with autism and 47 without autism) referred from the different Iraqi provinces, in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017, to the poisoning consultation center in Baghdad. Data collection including age, gender, residence, referral source, family history and blood lead levels was taken from their medical records. Results: No significant differences were noticed between the prevalence of autism and both of age (P=0.843) and gender (P=0.699). The majority of children have no family history of autism (85%). Mean blood lead level for all participants was 16.01 μg/dl. The statistically significant difference in lead level was found between autistic and non-autistic children (17.38± 1.86 μg/dl in autism group versus 14.27± 1.57 μg/dl in non-autism group) with a P value of 0.001. Discussion: Mean blood lead level was high in all participants, compared to the international values, which might indicate a high level of lead exposure in Iraqi children due to environmental pollution. Autistic children have higher lead levels than non-autistic ones and this might explain the role of lead in the etiology of autism.
Training and retraining of teachers have become a central issue in Iraq recently especially in-service training of English teachers on the new curricula (Iraq opportunities). English teachers should be objectively evaluated and assessed.
A sample of (40) trained teachers of English is included in the study and a questionnaire is used as the main instrument of the study.
The main findings of the study were the following:
1. The trainees were serious in training on the new course (item 6) the programme helped increase their information (item 4) and motivate them towards better teaching (item 3). The aims of the programme were clear (item1). The programme helped develop their teaching skills (item 2) and was comprehensive (item 5).
Foreign trade receives a good deal of economists' attention for its active contribution to economic growth, and imports of goods and services that could not be produced locally constitute an important share of the local economy. Agricultural imports constitute an important share of the total imports due to their role in fulfilling the needs of local markets; however, the agricultural sector in Iraq contributes no more than a limited share of the country's need, which has encouraged the import of a variety of fruits, vegetables and strategic crops and different types of red and white meat. For the sake of identifying the factors affecting the demand on agricultural imports in Iraq, the following factors has been analyzed: th
... Show MoreVocational education has great importance to comprehensive national development as it provides intermediate cadres able of operating the factories and laboratories in the farms and fields beside the work in the fields of health, service, administration and commercial. Due to the importance of this type of education in society, it is necessary to do a qualitative reform of vocational education in order to make the educational staffs get the necessary basic expertise to adapt the requirements of the labor market and try to rearrange and organize the workforce through put long-term economic and social policy through certain planning open to the workforce. The workforces structure according to gradual expansion in all the national ec
... Show MoreThe quality of groundwater should be improved by keeping safe water sources from contaminants in protective way by doing regular measuring and checkup before it supplied for usage. Private Wells do not receive the same services that wells supplying the public do. Well owners are responsible for protecting their drinking water. This work was carried out in Badra city, Iraq from December 2017 to May 2018, six wells water were investigated to determine the general characteristics of wells as well as studying the effect of environmental factors on the quality of water. The average of six wells were eleven parameters that is out of permissible limits were EC, Sal., Alk., TH, TDS, Na, Ca, Cl, SO4, Fe, Zn (4402-5183 /cm, 2.76-3.9 ppt
... Show MoreThe harvest of hydrocarbon from the depleted reservoir is crucial during field development. Therefore, drilling operations in the depleted reservoir faced several problems like partial and total lost circulation. Continuing production without an active water drive or water injection to support reservoir pressure will decrease the pore and fracture pressure. Moreover, this depletion will affect the distribution of stress and change the mud weight window. This study focused on vertical stress, maximum and minimum horizontal stress redistributions in the depleted reservoirs due to decreases in pore pressure and, consequently, the effect on the mud weight window. 1D and 4D robust geomechanical models are
Abstract
Indeed, being busy with the understanding of religion is the best sort of worship that the almighty God has given each period of time a number of scholars and wise men. They receive what has been passed down to them from their great ancestors, and those who are willing to learn will learn, their students preserve their knowledge through teaching and writing. Thus, the scholars were pioneers in this field due to the value and importance of their knowledge. They have strived in learning, explaining, and writing new subjects.
One of those scholars is sheikh (Abdulrahman Al-Penjweni) who passed away 1319 AH in one of the villages of the city of Sulaimani in Iraq. He was one of the wisest scholars, a br
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