Blood lipids are important mediators of host defense during the acute phase of innate immunity. Parasites may induce significant changes in lipid parameters, as has been shown in vitro study where substitution of serum by lipid/cholesterol in medium and in experimental models (in vivo). Thus changes in lipid profile occur in patients that having active infections with most of the parasites. Toxoplasma cannot synthesize cholesterol and depends upon acquisition of low density lipoprotein (LDL)-derived from the host cell, via endocytosis mediated by the LDL receptor or the LDL receptor-related protein.The present study is conducted to evaluate the changes in lipid profile in T. gondii infected women.A total of patients included 87 aborted wom

Cladophora and Spirulina algae biomass have been used for the removal of Tetracycline (TC) antibiotic from aqueous solution. Different operation conditions were varied in batch process, such as initial antibiotic concentration, different biomass dosage and type, contact time, agitation speed, and initial pH. The result showed that the maximum removal efficiencies by using 1.25 g/100 ml Cladophora and 0.5 g/100 ml Spirulina algae biomass were 95% and 94% respectively. At the optimum experimental condition of temperature 25°C, initial TC concentration 50 mg/l, contact time 2.5hr, agitation speed 200 rpm and pH 6.5. The characterization of Cladophora and Spirulina biomass by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) indicates that the presenc

Background: Cholera has been recognized as a killer disease since earliest time. The disease is caused by infection of the small intestine by Vibrio cholerae O1 and O1391 which is characterized by severe dehydrating diarrheal condition and is one disease in modern times that is epidemic, endemic and pandemic in nature. Objective: This study was carried out to detect and isolate V. cholerae from patients suffered from watery diarrhea, which may cause severe complications such as dehydration, shock followed by death. Materials and methods: stool specimens were collected from 308 patients with watery diarrhea. These samples were tested with many criteria such as TCBS agar, gram stain, biochemical tests and VITEK-2 system to improve the isolati

Introduction: Trichophyton indotineae has emerged globally as a highly contagious, terbinafine-resistant dermatophyte causing treatment-refractory superficial mycoses, posing a significant public health threat.This study evaluated the epidemiology of dermatophytosis in Babylon Province, Iraq, and performed molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of local clinical isolates. Methods: Clinical specimens from 258 patients aged 1 to 71 years were analyzed. Following phenotypic characterization, genomic DNA was extracted from three representative isolates. Polymerase chain reaction amplified the internal transcribed spacer region, followed by DNA sequencing and neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis. Results: Tinea corporis was

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate sex differences in age-related changes to the dentoskeletal and soft tissue profile between 12-62 years of age using a superimposition-based cephalometric method. Methods: A total of 60 subjects (27 males and 33 females) were followed longitudinally. Lateral cephalograms were obtained at ages 12 (T1), 15 (T2), 30 (T3), and 62 (T4). Of note, 46 angular and linear cephalometric variables were measured using a cranial base-registered superimposition method that corrected for age-related displacement of the Nasion and Sella landmarks. Sex differences in changes between time points were analyzed using independent-samples t tests. Results: During adolescence (12-15 years of age), males exhibited great

This study was achieved to investigate the accumulation of some heavy metals included: Cadmium, Lead and Nickel in the tissues (gill, intestine, liver, muscles and skin) of Silurus triostegus Heckel, 1843 (Siluriformes, Siluridae) and its larval stage of the nematode Contracaecum sp. (Rhabditida, Anisakidae). As well as to assess the infection patterns of Contracaecum among S. triostegus specimens which were purchased fresh from the local market in Baghdad. One hundred and nine nematodes specimens in larval stage were recovered from the fish host; the overall prevalence of Contracaecum sp. was 38.6%. The sex of the host was not significantly (P ˃ 0.05) associated with the infection of this nematode. Results showed that the ov

Polymeric hollow fiber membrane is produced by a physical process called wet or dry/wet phase inversion; a technique includes many steps and depends on different factors (starting from selecting materials, end with post-treatment of hollow fiber membrane locally manufactured). This review highlights the most significant factors that affect and control the characterization and structure of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes used in different applications.    

   Three different types of polymers (polysulfone PSF, polyethersulfone PES or polyvinyl chloride PVC) were considered to study morphology change and structure of hollow fiber membranes in this review. These hollow fiber membranes were manufactured with different pro

Primary and secondary response loss , often mediated by the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs), limit treatment efficacy. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is important in optimizing infliximab therapy by correlating drug level with clinical outcomes. This study aimed to find the relationship between infliximab level, ADA presence, and clinical activity in Iraqi Crohn's disease (CD) patients. This cross-sectional study included adult Crohn's disease patients receiving maintenance infliximab (IFX) treatment. Data on demographics and clinical characteristics were collected. Infliximab level and ADA were measured using ELISA. Forty-three patients were included. Patients in remission had significantly higher infliximab levels and lower