Pregnancy and childbirth are physiological states characterized by sudden hormonal and immunologically described changes. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of maternal variables (age, previous abortion, placental position, and fetal position) on some physiological biomarkers, such as oxytocin (OT), prolactin (PRL), cortisol, and insulin growth factor 2 (IGF -2) and some immune biomarkers such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in Iraqi women undergoing caesarean section (CS). Blood samples were collected from 48 pregnant women in the age range (16-43 years) and serum was obtained to determine the levels of the above biomarkers. The effect of maternal age on physiological biomarkers showed that OT levels increased significantly with maternal age (P≤0.001), whereas PRL, cortisol, and IGF-2 levels were not (P˃0.05), showing differences between age categories. The effect of maternal age on immune biomarkers showed that PD-1 levels decreased significantly (P<0.05) and PD-L1 and PD-1/PD-L1 levels were highly significant (P≤ 0.001), however, IL-6 level shows a non-significant (P˃0.05) difference between age categories. Regarding the effect of previous abortion, statistical analysis showed that cortisol levels were significantly (P<0.05) lower in women with previous abortion compared to women without previous abortion, while OT, PRL, and IGF-2 levels were not significantly different (P ˃ 0.05) difference between the two groups. PD-1 and PD-L1 levels showed a significant (P<0.05) decrease in women with previous abortion compared with women without abortion, while IL-6 mirror images did not differ significantly (P˃0.05) between the two groups. The effect of placenta position showed that when the placenta was in the anterior position, the PRL level was significantly increased (P≤0.001), IGF-2 level was significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the OT and cortisol levels were significantly higher (P≤0.001) compared with the posterior position There was no significant difference between the two groups (P˃0.05). When the placenta was located in the anterior compared with the posterior, the level of PD-L1 was significantly (P<0.05) lower, while the levels of PD-1 and PD -1/PD- were not significantly different (P˃0.05). L1 and IL-6 between the two groups. According to fetal position, statistical analysis showed no significant difference in all physiological and immune biomarkers when the fetus was in cephalic or breech position (P˃0.05). It can be concluded that the more maternal variables which affect on the physiological and immunological biomarkers of the women undergoing caesarean section are maternal age and a previous abortion.
Flexible molecular docking is a computational method of structure-based drug design to evaluate binding interactions between receptor and ligand and identify the ligand conformation within the receptor pocket. Currently, various molecular docking programs are extensively applied; therefore, realizing accuracy and performance of the various docking programs could have a significant value. In this comparative study, the performance and accuracy of three widely used non-commercial docking software (AutoDock Vina, 1-Click Docking, and UCSF DOCK) was evaluated through investigations of the predicted binding affinity and binding conformation of the same set of small molecules (HIV-1 protease inhibitors) and a protein target HIV-1 protease enzy
... Show MoreThis investigation aims to explore the potential of waterworks sludge (WS), low-cost byproduct of water treatment processes, as a sorbent for removing Congo Red (CR) dyes. This will be achieved by precipitating nano-sized (MgAl-LDH)-layered double hydroxide onto the surface of the sludge. The efficiency of utilizing MgAl-LDH to modify waterworks sludge (MWS) for use in permeable reactive barrier technology was confirmed through analysis with Fourier transform infrared and X-ray diffraction. The isotherm model was employed to elucidate the adsorption mechanisms involved in the process. Furthermore, the COMSOL model was utilized to establish a continuous testing model for the analysis of contaminant transport under diverse conditions. A st
... Show MoreThis study aimed at examining the role played by the media outlets during the coverage
of the presidential election campaigns 2020 of the United States of America.
The analytical study used through a partial inventory of the research community
for almost three months from the announcement of the candidates’ names by
the major parties on August 13 to November 6، which is the official election day in
the U.S. National Public Radio Station (NPR) to achieve the objectives of the study.
The study reached a number of conclusions related to the contents، methods and
sources of media coverage of the election campaigns of the 2020 U.S. at the mentioned
station، where the researcher proposed a number of recommendations
In this paper , concrete micro-piles were used to improve the bearing capacity of the soil which is supporting the shallow foundation by using groups of (4; 6 and 9)bored short micro-piles which have, (D=0.125m and D=0.1m), and length to diameter ratio (L/D) equal to (6; 10 and 12) respectively. To calculate the bearing capacity of the micro-piles,(Tomlinson) and (Lamda) methods were used; also the soil properties were taken from Al-Muthana airport,(Al-Qyssi,2001) [1]. The results show that; increasing the number of piles and/ or the diameters and lengths; and the interaction between the bearing capacity of the shallow foundation with the bearing capacity of the pile group which leads to increasing the strength against the external loads
... Show MoreA faunistic review of the genus Chaitophorus Koch, 1854, including four species in Iraq is given; the distribution data of each species and their hosts have been recorded. In this investigation the poplar leaf aphid Ch. populialbae (Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1841) is recorded here for the first time in Iraq on popular trees Populus euphratica Oliv. during the period from November 2016 to April 2017 in Baghdad province.
A brief description for apterous viviparous female of this species is given; and a key to the species of the genus Chaitophorus is constricted.
We aimed to obtain magnesium/iron (Mg/Fe)-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanoparticles-immobilized on waste foundry sand-a byproduct of the metal casting industry. XRD and FT-IR tests were applied to characterize the prepared sorbent. The results revealed that a new peak reflected LDHs nanoparticles. In addition, SEM-EDS mapping confirmed that the coating process was appropriate. Sorption tests for the interaction of this sorbent with an aqueous solution contaminated with Congo red dye revealed the efficacy of this material where the maximum adsorption capacity reached approximately 9127.08 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models helped to describe the sorption measure
This study presents, for the first time, an innovative Jet Plasma-assisted technique for the green synthesis of TiO₂@Ag core–shell nanoparticles using chard leaf extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent. The Jet Plasma provides a highly energetic environment that accelerates nucleation and core–shell formation at low temperatures without toxic precursors. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited uniform and stable structures, as confirmed by comprehensive characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and zeta potential analysis. XRD patterns confirmed the crystalline anatase
... Show MoreAcinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii ) is considered a critical healthcare problem for patients in intensive care units due to its high ability to be multidrug-resistant to most commercially available antibiotics. The aim of this study is to develop a colorimetric assay to quantitatively detect the target DNA of A. baumannii based on unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from different clinical samples (burns, surgical wounds, sputum, blood and urine). A total of thirty-six A. baumannii clinical isolates were collected from five Iraqi hospitals in Erbil and Mosul provinces within the period from September 2020 to January 2021. Bacterial isolation and biochemical identification of isolates
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