Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

Acromegaly is ametabolic disorder characterized by an acquired progressive somatic disfigurement, mainly involving the face, extremities and many other organs, that are associated with systemic manifestations, caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone and a resultant persistent elevation of insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations. In more than 90% of cases originates from a monoclonal benign pituitary adenoma. Aim of this study to assess the level of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in saliva of acromegalic patients, and to compare it with the basal levels of serum IGF-I. Sixty specimens of serum and saliva collected from two groups of subjects (forty acromegalic patients and twenty healthy persons). The specimens were

Background: Chronic kidney disease is a worldwide health problem, with adverse outcomes of cardiovascular disease and premature death, can be divided into five stages, depending on how severe the damage is to the kidneys, or the level of decrease in kidney function, the final stage of chronic kidney disease is called end-stage renal disease, salivary immunoglobulin A is the main immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions, including tears, saliva, colostrum and secretions from the genitourinary tract gastrointestinal tract, prostate and respiratory epithelium . It is also found in small amounts in blood.This study aimedto measuresalivary flow rate and salivaryimmunoglobulin Alevels in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis treatment

Background: The immune system of the oral cavity suffers alterations due to fixed orthodontic treatment which act as potent stimulus for oral secretory immunity. The aims of this study are to estimate the effect of fixed orthodontic appliance on the level of salivary sIgA at different time intervals, and to verify the gender difference. Materials and method: The patient's history, clinical examination, and fixed orthodontic appliances were placed for 30 Iraqi orthodontic adult patients had class II division 1 and/ or class I malocclusion (15 males and 15 females) aged 18-25 years old. The unstimulated whole saliva was collected from each sample immediately before wearing fixed appliance (control group T0 as base line), and after 2 weeks (T1

74 fanners were randomily selected from the Lc:ital. of 406 fanners using the Modern Irrigation System up to November , 2000 , for the purpose of wide adoptation of such system. Rcsults indicated according to the data which has been obtained and statistically analysed by the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program showed that the majority of the farmers adopted this new system of irrigation due to the increase in the yield up to 5" .

Background: Since the invention of laser in 1960, lasers have been developed and approved in many fields. Lasers can now be regarded as practical tools with unique properties that have been utilized effectively in several applications in fields of medical and biological sciences.Objectives: The aim of the current study was to preparation of vaccines (live attenuated and killed) by irradiation of the bacteria by the low level diode laser.Methods: six bacterial isolates were isolated from human samples of diabetic foot infections, which used for preparation of vaccines. The experiment was conducted on fifteen adult male rabbits; they were divided into three groups with 5 rabbits each. Blood samples were collected from the marginal ear vein

Communicating effectively by gaining productive skills in a classroom setting is one of the critical goals of learning the English language. The current study was conducted to explore the correlation of EFL learners’ level of academic intelligence with their productive skills. The study tries to find an answer to what is the correlation between EFL learners’ academic intelligence and level of production skills. The study population represents EFL students at the departments of English language of the Iraqi Colleges of Education for the academic year (2022-2023). The sample includes 310 EFL students selected from the 3rd year of the Department of English of the College of Education, Ibn-Rushd for Human Sciences/University of Bagh