Background: Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived mitral annular displacement (MAD) utilizes the speckle tracking technique to measure strain vectors, which provides accurate estimates of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Objectives: To validate the accuracy of mitral annular displacement (MAD), assessed by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), as a surrogate for determination of left ventricular systolic function in comparison to 2-Dimensions Simpson method in patients with different heart diseases.Methods : This cross-sectional study included patients who referred to outpatient department of Ibn Albitar Center for Cardiac Surgery, Baghdad, Iraq, between October 2012 and April 2013. STE continuously tracked annular

Records of two regionalized variables were processed for each of porosity and permeability of reservoir rocks in Zubair Formation (Zb-109) south Iraq as an indication of the most important reservoir property which is the homogeneity , considering their important results in criterion most needed for primary and enhanced oil reservoir .Z and F tests that were calculated for the two above mentioned properties of pair units of Zubair Formation have shown the difference in depositional energy and different diagenesis between units IL and AB , DJ and AB , and the similarity in grains size , sorting degree , depositional environment and pressure gradients between IL and AB units , LS and IL units ; also the difference in the properties above betw

Background: Soft Laser has been advantageous in medical applications and is widely used in clinical practice. It is applied because it doesn’t cause the significant thermal effects or tissue hurt when irradiated. The blood response to low power laser radiation provides information about processes of laser radiation interaction with live creatures. Objective: The aim of the current work was to evaluate the laser-induced changes of in vitro erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in patients with breast cancer by irradiating a human blood sample using a green laser and comparing its effects before and after irradiation with the same power density (100mW/c

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long

Objective(s): To assess the effect of removable partial dentures on the abutment teeth in comparison with that of the
remaining dentition, and to investigate the effect of regular check up on periodontal health for patients using this
type of prosthesis.
Methodology: One hundred patients wearing removable partial dentures for at least three years included in the
study. Teeth used as direct or in direct retainers for the removable partial denture were considered as the study
group, while the remaining dentition in the same jaw was considered as the control group. The following periodontal
parameters were registered for each tooth, plaque and gingival indices, clinical attachment level and tooth mobility.
Patients were

Objective(s): To determine the impact of health education program toward their end-stage renal failure (ESRF)
patients’ knowledge through a follow-up approach each two months post program implementation for six months.
Methodology: "Follow-up" longitudinal design by using time series approach of data analysis and the application of
pre-post tests approach for the study group and the control group. The study is conducted in Al-Shahid Ghazi Hariri
Teaching Hospital for Surgical Specialties/Centre for Disease and Renal Transplant, and Al-Khayal private Hospital for
renal disease and transplantation during the period from August, 29th
, 2010 through February, 28th
, 2011. To achieve
the objectives of the study, purp

Quercetin, one of the flavonoids family member, can be found in many vegetables, fruits, and beverages with a noticeable nutritional pharmacological properties. This study was aimed to evaluate the ability of quercetin to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that induced lethal toxicity in vivo, and to elucidate the importance of the quercetin as an antitumor agent in breast cancer cell line MCF-7.In vivo experiments included the effect of hesperidin and LPS on the liver and spleen of male mice. In the liver, the antioxidant activity was measured by estimating the concentration of glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT), while in the spleen, the concentration of cytokines was measured including IL-33 and TNF-α. In vitro experiments included MTT

The physicochemical behaviour of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) in water and ethanol-water mixture in the presence and absence of ZnSO₄ were studied by measuring the conductivity at 298.15 K. The pre-micellar (S₁) and post-micellar slopes (S₂) were obtained and calculated the degree of dissociation (α) and the critical micelle concentration (cmc). With an increase in ethanol content, the cmc and α of DTAB increased whereas, in the presence of ZnSO₄, the cmc and α decreased. By using cmc and α, thermodynamic properties as the standard free energy of micellization ( ) were evaluated. With an increase in ethanol content, the negative values of  are decreased indicating less spont

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common, highly heritable inflammatory arthritis affecting primarily the spine and pelvis. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between the rs27044 polymorphism in Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase-1 (ERAP-1) with the susceptibility and severity of AS correlated with some biochemical markers such as hematological parameter (Erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR)) and immunological parameters (C-reactive protein (CRP), Human leukocyte antigen-B27 (HLA-B27), Interlukin-6 (IL-6) and Interlukin-23 (IL-23)), and oxidative stress parameters (Glutathione (GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA)) in a sample of Iraqi population. A total of 60 blood samples were collected from AS patients requited Rhe

Delays and disruption are a common issue in both community and personal building programs The problem exists all throughout the world, but it is particularly prevalent in Iraq, where millions of dollars are squandered each time as a outcome. Delays and interruptions may have serious consequences not just for Iraq's construction plans, but also for the country's economic and social status. While numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the factors driving delays and disruption in Iraqi construction projects, slight consideration has been given to by what means project management implements and approaches have affected the occurrence of project delays and disruption. After analyzing the crucial reasons for delays and instability in