BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a proangiogenic factor that exerts different effects over stem cell survival growth, apoptosis, and adhesion. Its impact on leukemogenesis has been established by many studies. AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of plasma HGF activity on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at presentation and after remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional prospective study of 30 newly-diagnosed, adult, and AML patients. All patients received the 7+3 treatment protocol. Patients’ clinical data were taken at presentation, and patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the clinical status. Plasma HGF levels were estimated by ELISA based methods in the patients at two intervals first at diagnosis and the 2nd time after remission of disease. Plasma HGF levels were only measured once in twenty healthy control individuals. RESULTS: A statistically significant lowering in the median levels of HGF after remission induction therapy has been found when compared with those before treatment (p = 0.006) and in the group of patients who achieved complete remission in comparison with those before treatment (p = 0.005). Furthermore, a significant reduction was also demonstrated after treatment in patients presenting with extramedullary involvement (p = 0.003) and in the alive group (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Plasma HGF estimation can be a useful parameter in predicting treatment outcomes in patients with AML, and it can add potentially useful information to risk stratification parameters.
Introduction: Breast cancer is a significant global health concern, affecting millions of women worldwide. While advancements in diagnosis and treatment have improved survival rates, the impact of this disease extends beyond physical health. It also significantly influences a woman's lifestyle and overall well-being. Objectives: The current study intends to analyze the lifestyle of breast cancer patients who are receiving therapy or are being followed up at the Oncology Teaching Hospital in Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. Method: The present study uses a descriptive design with an application of an evaluation approach. A convenience sample of 100 women with breast cancer was selected from the Teaching Oncology Hospital at the Medical C
... Show MoreOsteoporosis (OP) is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density and deterioration of bone architecture, resulting in bone strength reduction and increased fracture susceptibility. Estrogen deficiency in post-menopausal women is possibly responsible for the instability between bone formation and resorption, which is managed by specific osteoclastogenic cytokines that may be leading to resorption. This study aims to estimation of the concentrations of interleukins −8, −17, −22, beside to certain parameters in blood serum and explained their roles in the development of osteoporosis pathogenicity in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods A case-control study included 108 Iraqi postmenopausal women participa
... Show MoreFounding a System to secure deposits and protecting the depositors is considered one of the important and exchanged subjects out there in the banking system/field in Iraq at the current time, and the reason behind the exchange and spread of this subject is due to the financial crisis of which the banking sector is suffering from and the stumbling of many banks, those factors have had led to the insecurity of the depositors and their mistrust towards banks, thus, it is necessary to create a system to secure deposits in which depositors would be compensated for the losses caused by the banks' failures. in addition, it could be a countermeasure system which maintains the banking stability, protects the rights of depositors and gains
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Background A case-control study was performed to explore eight pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, namely interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1Ra (IL-1 receptor antagonist), IL-12, IL-17A, IL-31, IL-33, CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10), and CXCL16, with the aim to understand their role in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) pathogenesis and evaluate their utility as markers to differentiate between diseased and healthy individuals. Among these cytokines, IL-31 and CXCL16 have not been well studied in AS. Patients and methods The study included 94 male patients with AS and 91 age-matched control males. Interleukin and chemokine levels were measured using ELISA kits. Results Serum levels of IL-17A, CXCL10, and CXCL16 were significantly ele
... Show MoreThe Dynamic Load Factor (DLF) is defined as the ratio between the maximum dynamic and static responses in terms of stress, strain, deflection, reaction, etc. DLF adopted by different design codes is based on parameters such as bridge span length, traffic load models, and bridge natural frequency. During the last decades, a lot of researches have been made to study the DLF of simply supported bridges due to vehicle loading. On the other hand, fewer works have been reported on continuous bridges especially with skew supports. This paper focuses on the investigation of the DLF for a highly skewed steel I-girder bridge, namely the US13 Bridge in Delaware State, USA. Field testing under various load passes of a weighed load vehicle was u
... Show MoreThis study was conducted in fruit production lathe house of the Department Of Horticulture And Landscape Gardening, in the station (B), College Of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University Of Baghdad, Al-Jaadria for 8 months, began from 1/3/2019 to 1/9/2019 to investigate the responses of C35 Citrus rootstock to influence of foliar spraying of zinc and irrigation with smoking-water at 2 years old saplings. the study included two factors, first factor was three concentrations of Zinc Element Z0(0 mg.l-1), Z1(50 mg.l-1) and Z2(75 mg.l-1) that sprays at leave. The second factor was watering saplings with smoke-water in three concentrations S0(0 vol.vol-1), S1(0.1 vol.vol-1) and (0.2vol.vol-1), and their interaction. The experiment was fact
... Show MoreThis study investigated the prevalence of quinolones resistance proteins encoding genes (qnr genes) and co-resistance for fluoroquinolones and β-lactams among clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Out of 150 clinical samples, 50 isolates of K. pneumoniae were identified according to morphological and biochemical properties. These isolates were collected from different clinical samples, including 15 (30%) urine, 12 (24%) blood, 9 (18%) sputum, 9 (18%) wound, and 5 (10%) burn. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) assay revealed that 15 (30%) of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin (≥4µg/ml), 11 (22%) of isolates were resistant to levofloxacin (≥8 µg/ml), 21 (42%) of isolates were re
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the apical microleakage around retrograde cavities prepared with ultrasonic technique and filled with (Biodentineâ„¢) Materials and methods: 40 extracted single rooted human permanent maxillary teeth with mature apices were selected. The roots were prepared chemo-mechanically using k-files with crown-down technique and then obturated with lateral condensation gutta-percha technique. Teeth were divided into four main groups according to the cavity preparation method either manual or ultrasonic technique: Group A (n=10): A class I retrograde cavity at root end was prepared with traditional handpeice equipped and placement of Biodentine with manual condensation. Group B (n=10):
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