Clinical index is needed to predict the outcome of pregnancy after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) for infertile patients. Growth differentiation factor-8 (GDF-8), also known as myostatin, is one of transforming growth factor-â superfamily localized in antral follicles in normal and PCOS ovaries but its function in female reproductive system is still unknown. Aim of the study is to assess the correlation between levels of GDF8 in follicular fluid (FF) with outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF/ICSI) in women with and without PCOS. A prospective case control study was performed enrolling (40) patients with PCOS and (40) non-PCOS women (male infertility) undergoing IVF/ICSI. The collect

Background: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical
problem that is associated with an acute-phase reaction.
Previous studies have shown that cytokines and acutephase proteins are activated and may serve as indicators for
appendicitis.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate of serum
levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in correlation to the severity
to acute appendicitis.
Methods: This is a prospective study from December 2008
to March 2009 of patients who had appendectomy in
Department of Surgery, Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital -
Baghdad/Iraq. Serum for estimating levels of interleukin-6
(IL-6) was taken pre-operatively. Depending on the
macroscopic evidence during the operation and the
histopathol

Background: Psoriasis is a common inflammatory condition worldwide, with an average prevalence ranging from 2% to 3%. However, the incidence of psoriasis varies among different ethnic groups and regions. Elevated leptin levels have been associated with increased cellular proliferation, including T-cells. Additionally, high leptin levels may stimulate the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines such as ILـ6 and TNFـα. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Apremilast on Leptin in obese psoriatic patients. Subjects and Methods: Thirty patients with psoriasis were included in This prospective cohort study to measure the levels of serum Leptin by using the ELISA technique, before and after receiving Apremilast. Result: The present work

Background: Dietary intakes are critical during pregnancy, because inadequate amounts of key nutrients may compromise fetal development or maternal health. In addition to that maternal diet could be one of the methods to select the gender of the baby. The aim of the study is to correlate the level of the minerals in the mother’s blood with the gender and wellbeing of the baby after delivery.Patients and Methods: Fifty women were involved in this study with a mean age (23.92 ± 4.75), collected from the labor room during labor in the period between December 2013 and May 2014, in Baghdad teaching hospital. After taking a full history from the women, 10 ml of blood was withdrawn from them, 2ml in EDTA tubes for lead estimation and 8 ml in pl

This study is to evaluate plasma levels of several cytokines in preeclamptic pregnancies compared to those of healthy pregnancies. Ninety pregnant women with preeclampsia (37 mild & 53 severe) and thirty healthy pregnant women were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were taken and plasma levels of IL-8, IL-10, and IFN-? were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Preeclamptic women and their severe cases but not mild cases had significantly (P<0.05) increased levels of plasma IL-8, and IFN-? as compared with healthy pregnancies. By contrast, plasma levels of IL-10 was significantly (P<0.05) increased in healthy pregnant women as compared to all groups of preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is associated with an imbalance betwe

The current research aimed to identify the cognitive-behavioral therapy on people with depression, through the following hypothesis (there are no statistically significant differences in the sample before and after cognitive-behavioral therapy). The importance of research is highlighted through the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy, to be used in treating depression, anxiety and fears by health institutions. It is also considered as a reference for psychological studies related to this topic to be added to our libraries that already suffer from a scarcity of this type of resources. The cognitive-behavioral therapy was used in the treatment of five male subjects.

The study revealed the existence of statistically significant diff

Renewal is generally considered an urgent requirement of life, and a section of its continuation, because renewal means that life exists and continues, and just as renewal is in life, renewal is in science, and in this research the issue of renewal in the science of interpretation, and showed through research that renewal in This science was an urgent demand throughout the Islamic ages, as the research showed the necessity of renewal in the material of interpretation, its method and methods, and the researcher presented the opinions of schools about renewal in the interpretation of the Noble Qur’an inferred by living models that refer to their owners.

The master sintering concept is introduced as a unifying sintering model for the initial, intermediate and final stage of sintering. The master sintering curve is independent on the time-temperature trajectory due to account for its integral. The master sintering curve is constructed on a material parameter, which is the activation energy for sintering and other curve shaping parameters, which depends on the initial state of the powder. Literature data of sintering of TiO2 compacts with two initial packing densities of 55% and 69% of theoretical is utilized for the construction of the master sintering curves. The higher initial packing density compact shows higher densification rate, which is reflected by different set of shaping paramet