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.
Integrating Renewable Energy (RE) into Distribution Power Networks (DPNs) is a choice for efficient and sustainable electricity. Controlling the power factor of these sources is one of the techniques employed to manage the power loss of the grid. Capacitor banks have been employed to control phantom power, improving voltage and reducing power losses for several decades. The voltage sag and the significant power losses in the Iraqi DPN make it good evidence to be a case study proving the efficiency enhancement by adjusting the RE power factor. Therefore, this paper studies a part of the Iraqi network in a windy and sunny region, the Badra-Zurbatya-11 kV feeder, in the Wasit governorate. A substation of hybrid RE sources is connected to this
... Show MoreWe are, today, facing a torrent of information, ideas, images and videos due to advances of communication technology and electronic publishing. In addition to the proliferation of social networking sites that allow individuals to use them and participate in their channels without any restrictions limiting their freedom in publishing. Due to these sites many terms have emerged like alternative media which use internet and its various techniques to serve its objectives notably the freedom of expression without restrictions. This research studies the phenomenon of interactive media i.e. alternative media through Facebook along with the freedom that makes it spreading in the society and the relation of individual freedom with social diversit
... Show MoreObjective: To assess the role of tumour necrosis factor alpha level and genotyping in susceptibility to leishmaniasis.Method: The case-control study was conducted from March to July 2021 at Baqubah Teaching Hospital, Diyala, Iraq,and comprised patients of cutaneous leishmaniasis in group A and healthy controls in group B. The serum level andsingle nucleotide polymorphisms of tumour necrosis factor-alpha rs41297589 and rs1800629 were compared betweenthe groups. Data was analysed using SPSS 28.Results: Of the 150 subjects, there were 75(50%) in group A; 39(52%) males and 36(48%) females with mean age23.91±13.14 years. The remaining 75(50%) subjects were in group B; 38(50.7%) males and 37(49.3%) females withmean age 22.84±4.35 years.
... Show MoreMycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of the major world health issue, tuberculosis (TB). The cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been implicated in protection against TB in the early stages of the disease. TNF-α is an effective cytokine in the killing of intracellular M. tuberculosis. This study inducted to investigate whether there is any relationship between levels of TNF-α in sera of TB patients and their recovery, and is there any difference in the level of this cytokine in sera of female and male TB patients. This study included 29 patients with pulmonary TB (18 female and 11 male), their ages ranging from 37 to 59 years. All of them received first line TB therapy. They were consulted at Pasture Center during Septem
... Show MoreThis study examined the adsorption behavior of anionic dye (orange G) from aqueous solution onto the raw and activated a mixture of illite, kaolinite and chlorite clays from area of Zorbatiya (east of Iraq).The chemical treatment involved alkali and acid activation. The alkali activation obtained by treated the raw clay (RC) with 5M NaOH (ACSO) and the acid activation founded by treated it with 0.25M HCl (ACH) and 0.25M (ACS). The thermal treatment carried out by calcination the produce activated clay at 750oC for acid activation and 105oC for alkali activation. Batch
... Show MoreThe lead-acid battery has become so dependable in its used applications of automobile starting, emergency lighting and telecommunications, which left an impression that no further investigation is necessary or desirable. While there has been slow continuous improvements in lead-acid battery performance and mainly limited to design and material engineering. This work is mainly devoted to the properties of the active mass of the positive electrode and the acid/water ratio during the manufacturing process. A field study is carried out at the State Battery Manufacturing Company located in Baghdad, to prepare batches of lead mono-oxide with predefined quantities of liquid additives (i.e. sulfuric acid and water). Quality control and laborator
... Show MoreThis paper provides an identification key to the species of Orthetrum Newman, 1833 (Odonata, Libellulidae), including six species that were collected from different localities in Iraq.
The species of O. anceps (Schneider, 1845) is registered as a new record in Iraq; the most important characters which are used in diagnostic key are included
Controlling public expenditures is one of the main objectives of the public budget. The public budget often suffers from a deficit, whether in developed or developing countries, because expenditures are usually greater than the revenues generated. This requires the existence of financial rules that are adhered to by the government, which in turn leads to discipline. Fiscal policy leads to a reduction in the obligations incumbent on the government. Adhering to the financial rules would correct the course of fiscal policy in Iraq, with the need to direct oil revenues in the years of financial abundance when global oil prices rise to sovereign funds similar to other rentier countries, which contributes to maintaining the stabi
... Show MoreIn this study, dependence of gamma-ray absorption coefficient on the size of Pb particle size ranging from 200µm up to 2.5mm, using different weights of each particle size. The results show that gamma-ray attenuation coefficient is inversely proportional with the size of Pb particle size due to the reduction of the spaces between the lead particles.