Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene at locations -308G/A, -857C/T, and -863C/A with the tendency of being non-responder to etanercept.

Patients and methods: Between October 2020 and August 2021, a total of 80 patients (10 males, 70 females; mean age: 50 years; range, 30 to 72 years) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving etanercept for at least six months were included. The patients were divided into two groups responders and non-responders, based on their response after six months of continuous treatment. Following polymerase chain reac

Background: Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction that results in fluctuating muscle weakness as well as significant fatigue. Disease exacerbation is a critical condition, and the predisposing factors for it need to be identified to improve preventive measures.

Objectives:  Our study aims to determine the predisposing factors for myasthenia gravis exacerbations in a group of Iraqi patients.

Subjects and Methods: A total number of 30 myasthenia gravis patients were admitted to the hospital with an exacerbation of their symptoms, determined as the development of functional disability, dysphagia, or respiratory fai

The present study attempts to shed light on some biological aspects and characteristics of Piaractus brachypomus, including some biometrics, phenotypic and feeding pattern that characterizes this species. Besides, the study touches upon the body shape and the Otolith. These fish species have recently been seen frozen in the Iraqi local market. The standard length of fish specimens in this study reach 26.55cm it exceeded the specimens of Pacu fish collected from other studies from other countries, As well the specimens weight was 632gm it exceeded other studies mentioned in this manuscript. As the irregularity in the distribution of teeth rows, especially in the lower jaw was clear in our specimens. The average weight of some skull b

Background: Hypothyroidism is the most prevalent thyroid disorders worldwide.  Hypothyroidism manifestations are wide spectrum, affecting various systems in human body including the nervous system. Hypothyroidism can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression and diminishing in attention, memory and executive function. Aim: to investigate the level of anxiety and depression in patients with hypothyroidism receiving levothyroxine treatment. Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted at Baghdad Center for Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy from March to June 2022. The study population included patients of both genders, aged 18-65 years, diagnosed with hypothyroidism, were receiving levothyroxine treatment and

Background: Sonographic examination is an important tool in assessment of normal and abnormal cervical lymph nodes. The aim of the study is to assess the distribution and the characteristic features of normal cervical lymph nodes in a sample of Syrian population. Materials and Methods: Fifty healthy Syrian subjects (25 men and 25 women) with an age of 20 -60years old, who had their cervical lymph nodes examined by ultrasound. Three hundred and two lymph nodes were detected. Lymph nodes were evaluated for their number, size, site, echogenic hilus, shape, as well as for the border sharpness. The subjects were categorized by age into four groups, (20 -30, 31 - 40 , 41 - 50 , 51- 60 years ). Statistical analysis of data was done using SP

The injection of Low Salinity Water (LSWI) as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method has recently attracted a lot of attention. Extensive research has been conducted to investigate and identify the positive effects of LSWI on oil recovery. In order to demonstrate the impact of introducing low salinity water into a reservoir, simulations on the ECLIPSE 100 simulator are being done in this work. To simulate an actual reservoir, an easy static model was made. In order to replicate the effects of injecting low salinity water and normal salinity, or seawater, the reservoir is three-phase with oil, gas, and water. It has one injector and one producer. Five cases were suggested to investigate the effect of low salinity water injection with differen

BN Rashid, Social Sciences, 2022

Piezoelectric structures are nowadays used in many different applications. A better understanding of the influence of material properties and geometrical design on the performance of these structures helps to develop piezoelectric structures specifically designed for their application. Different equivalent circuits have been introduced in the literature to investigate the behaviour of piezoelectric transducers. The model parameters are usually determined from measurements covering the characteristic frequencies of the piezoelectric transducer. This article introduces an analytical technique for calculating the mechanical and electrical equivalent system parameters and characteristic frequencies based on material properties and geom

The majority of Iraqi translator-student have problems at two main levels: the conceptual level and the productive level. From different perspectives, such problems are either related to ‘language’ or to ‘cognition’. This binary view is an indication to the implicit and interchangeable relationship between language and cognition. The relationship between cognition language and translator starts with the first language and its effect on the Iraqi translators. Identifying the effect is the aim of the present study. It is hypothesized that Iraqi students are negatively influenced by the problems and weaknesses of first language schema. This reflects the major claim and later concludes that first language instruction in the Iraq