Medulloblastomas and ependymomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. However genetic abnormalities associated with their development and prognosis remain unclear. Recently two gene fusions, KIAA1549–BRAF and SRGAP3–RAF1 have been detected in a number of brain tumours. We report here our development and validation of RT-RQPCR assays to detect various isoforms of these two fusion genes in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues of medulloblastoma and ependymoma. We examined these fusion genes in 44 paediatric brain tumours, 33 medulloblastomas and 11 ependymomas. We detected both fusion transcripts in 8/33, 5/33 SRGAP3 ex10/RAF1 ex10, and 3/33 KIAA1549 ex16/BRAF ex9, meduloblastomas but none in the 11 ependymomas examined. This investigation provided evidence to the value of RT-RQPCR assays for the detection of these fusion genes in large-scale studies on FFPE tissues. The study also reports the first detection of RAF fusion genes in meduloblstomas.
Heart failure (HF) is characterized by family history and clinical examination combined with diagnostic tools such as electrocardiogram, chest x-ray and an assessment of left ventricular function by echocardiography. An early diagnosis of heart failure is still based on symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue and signs of fluid overload. Serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) is cardiac biomarker has emerged as potential predictor of heart failure. It is used as a sensitive biomarker in diagnosis and assessment severity of heart failure. This study assed the diagnostic value of (NT-pro BNP), in Iraqi children patients with heart failure and its correlation with LVEF% especially in emergency rooms of hospitals.Ninety (90) consecut
... Show MoreA simple , sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method for the trace determination of bismuth (III) has been developed .This method is based on the reaction of bismuth (III) with arsenazo(III) in acid solution (pH=1.9) to form a blue water soluble complex which exhibits maximum absorption at 612nm .Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range of 2-85 ?g bismuth (III) in a final volume of 20 mL( i.e. 0.1 – 4.25?g.mL-1) with a correlation coefficient of (0.9981) and molar absorptivity 1.9×104 L.mol-1.cm-1 . The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) are 0.0633 and 0.0847 ?g.mL-1 , respectively . Under optimum conditions,the stoichiometry of the reaction between bismuth (III) and arsenazo(III) r
... Show MoreIn this study, the results of the uranium concentrations and specific activity in 10 rice samples are described using a solid-state track detector (CR-39). Samples were collected from various local Iraqi markets with different origins (Iraq, India, America, and Thailand). Our findings found that the results of uranium concentration in all studied samples are ranging from (0.55 ± 0.28 to 1.74 ± 0.31) ppm with a weighted average of (1.24 ± 0.99) ppm. Also, results demonstrate that the specific activity values of the studied samples swing between values of (6.88 ± 3.52 and 21.49 ± 3.85) Bq/Kg. The obtained results of the studied rice samples are indicated that it is less than the acceptable limit of those studies established by ma
... Show MoreInsulin like growth factor-1 has metabolic and growth-related roles all over the body and is strongly associated and regulated by growth hormone. It is produced by almost any type of tissue, especially the liver. The study aimed to measure insulin like growth factor in growth hormone deficient patients and find its relation with other studied parameters. The Subjects in the study were 180 studied in the National Diabetic Center for Treatment and Research/Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad/Iraq for the period from November 2021 to April 2022. Blood was drawn and investigated for the levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, LH, and FSH. Also testosterone and statistical analysis was carried out to find the potential correlations. The results relived t
... Show MoreObesity is an escalating health problem in developing countries. One to ten children worldwide are overweight in a report showed by the International Obesity Task Force. Ghrelin, orexigenic peptide, has 28 amino acids, it is considered the greatest remarkable promotion in the last two decades for understanding the physiological changes of action regulating food intake and hunger. Obestatin is a 23-amino acid peptide nearly connected to ghrelin that secures from substitutio
... Show MoreThe typical test for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, but the chest CT scan might play a complementary role at the first detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity of CT scan on patients with COVID-19 in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and to compare the accuracy of CT scan with that of RT-PCR technique. Material and Method: This is a prospective study. The patients suspicious of having COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms were registered. All patients were diagnosed by RT-PCR and chest CT. Diagnostic performance of CT was intended using RT-PCR as the reference sta
... Show MoreThe impacts of the inflammatory process on neoplasia development were observed in many cancer, it has a great role in the etiology, development and progression of invasive colorectal tumors. This study was designed to investigate the BRAF mutation and assist the clinicopathological parameter in some Iraqi bowel inflammation and colorectal cancer patients. Thirty patients were enrolled in this study (15 suffering bowel inflammation and 15 having colorectal cancer). BRAF gene was screened for the presence of mutations using PCR technique and direct sequencing. .The results revealed no BRAF mutation in position 1799 for exon fifteen in both samples of bowel inflammation and colorectal cancer. These results were confirmed previous arti
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