The Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)

The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₇, and PM₁₀) was evaluated in  Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years.  The effects of  these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and  antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between w

The aim of this research is to study the effect of welded joint design (Butt joint and lap joint) on thejoint strength during tension and fatigue loading with different current of welding (40,50,60,70,80) ^per, and different type of wire welding. The result of this research is showed that the effect of fatigue loading on the type of joint is more than the effect of tension loading on it. And the butt joint welding is better than the lap joint welding during the fatigue loaded.The experimental results of the effect of W'elding current showed that more increasing and more decreasing the value of the heat input, during the welding was found to produce mechanical brittleness on the buttjoint welding during the static and dynamic loading. Also i

The present study was directed to determine the effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the weights of the testes and epididymides and the characteristics of sperm in male albino mice. Animals were orally dosed with 200 mg/kg of Ag NPs for 5,10,15 days and then during the day following the end of dosage period all animals were sacrificed, then the testes and epididymes (head and tail) were isolated and after their weights measured. Then we studied the percentage of vitality and sperm abnormalities and calculate the concentration of sperm in the testes and epididymides. The results of this study after comparing it with the control showed a statistical decrease (P<0.05) in the weights of testes and tunica albuginea for the three peri

Background: There are many congenital anomalies associated with cleft lip and/or palate. This research is to study the prevalence of congenitally missing teeth and supernumerary teeth in this population group. Materials and Method: One hundred eight cleft lip and/or palate Iraqi patients had participated in this study (57 male, 51 female), 3-12 years of age. 26 of them had orthopantomogram were within (6-12) years of age were inspected for congenitally missing teeth and supernumerary teeth. Patients whom age range 3-5 years were checked for the congenitally missing teeth by clinical examination with strongly insisting the teeth were not missed due to caries or trauma. Results: There were 19(73.076%) patients with 41 congenitally missing tee

This study aimed at identifying the extent to which the social worker used the techniques of group discussion in the professional practice with the groups of school activity in the schools of Tubas governorate in light of some variables (gender, years of experience, academic qualification). The analytical descriptive method was used due to its suitability for the objectives of the study.  A questionnaire was designed to collect data that included (30) items, distributed in three areas .The validity and reliability of the tool were verified and then distributed to the study sample.

The results of the study showed that the highest averages were in the discussion stage domain, where the pre-discussion stage was m

The objective of this study was to assess the levels of antiMullerian hormone (AMH), Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosteron,  luteinizing hormone (LH),  and estradiol (E2) as markers of spermatogenesis between fertile and infertile males. This study was conducted at (AlRamadi Teaching Hospital for maternity and children) and included 136 males partners of infertile couples. Samples were classified according to the WHO criteria of semen analysis into three groups; Azoospermia, Oligospermia, and normal(control). Assay  levels of these hormones were made in the serum and the semen of each sample. The results showed that the level of AMH in serum samples was non-significantly decreased (P>0.05) in both Azo

The study aimed to examine the phonological processing profile for students with and without reading disabilities in cycle 1 schools of basic education in the Governorate of Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The study participants included 306 students, 165 students with reading disabilities and 141 students without reading disabilities. The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) and Working Memory Test (WMT) were administered to the participants. The results of the study showed that the mean score of students without reading disabilities was higher than that of students of reading disabilities in all measures of phonological processing, and that there are statistically significant differences on the  case of students in all

Objective (s): To assess the QoL of children age from (8- lessthan13) years with acute lymphocytic leukemia undergoing chemotherapy and to find out the relationship between the QoL of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia and their illness history.

Methodology:  A descriptive study included (40) children with acute lymphocytic leukemia who were ranged between (8 - less than 13 years) at the Hematology Center in Medical City for the period from 4^th March 2021 to 1^st September 2021. The sample was non-probability (purposive) sample of children (male and female). A questionnaire designed with 2 main parts was used. The first part focused on sociodemographic characterist

In the present research a new test rig has been proposed to be suitable for different cyclic loads such as cyclic bending, cyclic torsion, proportional and non proportional loads. In this work the efforts were concentrated on the cyclic bending loads concerning cracked pipes with or without internal pulsing pressure to study crack propagation in small bore pipes (up to 1'') for transverse or inclined cracks. The rig simulates the real service conditions under different stresses by means the least dangerous case will be suggested, so the experiments were considered for copper pipe, and the results have been tabulated and drawn to demonstrate the crack growth behavior as well as to justify the outcomes practically, consequently the durabil