Nowadays, the use of natural bio-products in pharmaceuticals is gaining popularity as safe alternatives to chemicals and synthetic drugs. Algal products are offering a pure, healthy and sustainable choice for pharmaceutical applications. Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can survive in different environmental conditions. Algae have many outstanding properties that make them excellent candidate for use in therapeutics. Algae grow in fresh and marine waters and produce in their cells a wide range of biologically active chemical compounds. These bioactive compounds are offering a great source of highly economic bio-products. The present review discusses the phytochemical and bioactive compounds present in algae biomass and their potent biological activities. The review focuses on the use of alga in therapy and their pharmaceutical applications with special reference to the possible preventive and therapeutic role of algae against COVID-19.
Background: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected
... Show MoreThe present paper aims at investigating the linguistic image portrayed by UNICEF reports on the Iraqi child from a critical discourse analysis perspective during Covid19 pandemic (2020). The paper attempts to fill a gap in research literature concerning the linguistic construction of the Iraqi child by the UNICEF reports during the critical health crisis of Covid19. Van Leeuwen’s (2008) approach of social actor representation has been adopted for this purpose. From Van Leeuwen’s approach, the category of determination (single determination and overdetermination) has been selected to be the main analytical tool for its high compatibility with the set of objectives put forward to figure out how such a globally effective and
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: COVID-19 is resulted from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which initiated in China in December 2019. Parasites are efficient immune modulators because their ability to stimulate an immune response in infected persons. AIM: This study aims to detect if there is a probable relationship between intestinal parasitic infections and COVID-19. METHODS: Ninety patients consulted at Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital (Al-Shifa center) from October 2020 till April 2021, confirmed infection with COVID-19 by PCR. Stool examination was done for detecting intestinal parasites. RESULTS: From 90 patients, males were 63 (70%), with median age 32 years, while females were 27 (30%), with age 24–44 years. Asymptomatic pati
... Show MoreNews headlines are key elements in spreading news. They are unique texts written in a special language which enables readers understand the overall nature and importance of the topic. However, this special language causes difficulty for readers in understanding the headline. To illuminate this difficulty, it is argued that a pragmatic analysis from a speech act theory perspective is a plausible tool for a headline analysis. The main objective of the study is to pragmatically analyze the most frequently employed types of speech acts in the news headlines covering COVID-19 in Aljazeera English website. To this end, Bach and Harnish's (1979) Taxonomy of Speech Acts has been adopted to analyze the data. Thirty headlines have been collected f
... Show MoreBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu
... Show MoreThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on emergencies and pain among orthodontic patients attending a teaching hospital. The study was conducted among orthodontic patients receiving active orthodontic treatment or in a retention period at the College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad, Iraq. Their participation was voluntary, and they filled out an Arabic-translated questionnaire. The survey included general information, orthodontic problems, and a numerical rating scale for pain assessment. We used descriptive and inferential statistics (frequencies and intersecting frequencies), chi-square test and linear regression. Out of 75 orthodontic patients, only 54 (15 males and 39 females) were included in the s
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
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This study aims to identify maternal death cases caused by Coronavirus infection 2019 pneumonia, including disease progression, fetal consequences, and the fatality cause.
Patients and methodology: A retrospective case collection of Iraqi pregnant women in their second and third trimesters diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and died due to it.
The four cases were all of a young age, had a brief complaint period, and had no comorbidities. Fever, dyspnea, and fatigue were the most common symptoms. Hypoxia was present in all cases and was the cause of mortality in three cases, with thromboembolism being a potential cause in the fourth. Prelabour membrane breakup, fetal growth restriction, and fetal death are al
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