Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is currently the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. Patients with PD face numerous challenges in managing their chronic condition, particularly in countries with scarce healthcare infrastructure. Objective This qualitative study aimed to delve into neurologists’ perspectives on challenges and gaps in the Iraqi healthcare system that influence the management of PD, as well as strategies to mitigate these obstacles. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with neurologists from five different Iraqi provinces, working in both hospitals and private neurology clinics, between November 2024 and January 2025. A thematic analysis approach was employed to identify the main challenge

This study was aimed to determine the mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exon 3 and 7 of estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) gene in women with breast cancer from Iraq. Different samples (blood, fresh tissue with blood from same patient, and formalin fixed paraffin embedded, FFPE) were collected from women with breast cancer. Molecular analysis exon 3 and 7 in ESR2 has been studied by using PCR. It was found exon 3 and 7 in ESR2 were revealed as a single band with size 151 and 157 bp, respectively. There was no SNP in exon 3 has been identified. While three novel polymorphisms (ACT, AGG and GCA) were detected in exon 7, the type of those polymorphisms deletion for ACT and AGG while substitution polymorphism for GCA. From this

Geotechnical engineering like any other engineering field has to develop and cope with new technologies. This article intends to investigate the spatial relationships between soil’s liquid limit (LL), plasticity index (PI) and Liquidity index (LI) for particular zones of Sulaymaniyah City. The main objective is to study the ability to produce digital soil maps for the study area and determine regions of high expansive soil. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation tool within the GIS (Geographic Information System) program was used to produce the maps. Data from 592 boreholes for LL and PI and 245 boreholes for LI were used for this study. Layers were allocated into three depth ranges (1 to 2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 6)

The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 unleashed the repressed national aspirations of the Kurdish people. After the colonial powers, especially Britain, failed to establish a homeland of scattered Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran, Iraq's Kurds managed to establish a semi-independent state in the north of the country Which lasted decades against the central authority in Baghdad in protest against what they call the forced integration of Kurds in the Iraqi state, and to obtain more rights and privileges as partners in this country. The federal region in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has become a reality, and it is eager not to strengthen its authority in return for the authority of the central government, but to annex other areas inhabited b

This study aims to identify the impact of social support on breast cancer patients’ psychological rigidity using a sample in Ramallah and al-Bireh. A descriptive correlative approach was adopted to fulfill the goals of the study and a questionnaire consisted of two criteria: social support and psychological rigidity, which was adopted as a tool for data collection for the study. In order to achieve the goals of the study, the researcher selected a convenient sample that consisted of 123 female breast cancer patients in Ramallah and al-Bireh. This sample represented 50% of the original patient population. The study showed that the average estimated percentage of social support and psychological rigidity for women with breast cancer, in

Over the past decades, several studies have examined the subcellular localization of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) P6 protein by tagging it with GFP (P6-GFP). These investigations have been essential in the development of models for inclusion body formation, nuclear transport, and microfilament-associated intracellular movement of P6 inclusion bodies for delivery of virions to plasmodesmata. Although it was shown early on that the translational transactivation function of P6-GFP was comparable to wild type P6, it has not been possible to incorporate a P6-GFP gene into an infectious clone of CaMV. Consequently, it has not been possible to formally prove that a P6-GFP fusion is comparable in function to the unmodified P6 protein. Here w

Background: The purposes of this study were to determine the photogrammetric soft tissue facial profile measurements for Iraqi adults sample with class II div.1 and class III malocclusion using standardized photographic techniques and to verify the existence of possible gender differences. Materials & methods: Seventy five Iraqi adult subjects, 50 class II div.1 malocclusion (24 males and 26 females), 25 class III malocclusion (14 males and 11 females), with an age range from 18-25 years. Each individual was subjected to clinical examination and digital standardized right side photographic records were taken in the natural head position. The photographs were analyzed using AutoCAD program 2007 to measure the distances and angles used in t

Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s