Abstract Background: The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2) proto-oncogene is overexpressed or amplified in approximately 15%-25% of invasive breast cancers. Approximately 35% of HER2-amplified breast cancers have coamplification of the topoisomerase II-alpha (TOP2A) gene encoding an enzyme that is a major target of anthracyclines. Hence, the determination of genetic alteration (amplification or deletion) of both genes is considered as an important predictive factor that determines the response of breast cancer patients to treatment. The aims of this study are to determinate TOP2A status gene amplification in a set of Iraqi patients with breast cancer that have had an equivocal (2+) and positive HER2/neu by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and to compare the results with estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu status. Patients and methods: A cross-sectional prospective study done on 53 patients with invasive breast carcinoma. Twenty-six out of total 53 cases were positive HER2/neu (3+), the remaining 27 equivocal HER2-IHC (2+) cases reanalyzed using dual-color chromogenic in situ hybridization (ZytoVision) probe kit for further identification of HER2/neu gene amplification. Using chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH), TOP2A gene status determination was done for all cases. Results: There is a direct significant correlation between TOP2A gene amplification and HER2/neu positivity, P < 0.05 in that 15 (39.4%) out of 38 positive HER2/neu cases were associated with topoisomerase gene amplification. Regarding relation of topoisomerase gene to hormone receptor status (ER and PR), there was a significant negative relationship between the gene and ER receptor status. The higher level of gene amplification was noticed in ER and PR negative cases in about 13 (43.3%) and 14 (48.2%) for ER and PR, respectively. Conclusion: TOP2A gene status has a significantly positive correlation with HER2/neu status while it has a significantly negative correlation with hormone receptor status.
Background Depression is one of the most common medical illnesses worldwide. Medical students during their training will be subjected to many stressors, both mentally and emotionally. Objectives Assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students and to identify any association between depressive symptoms and some socio-demographic factors.
In view of the large profits made by the sex trade on the one hand, and the minor penalties imposed on the traffickers (brokers) compared with the severe penalties imposed on the drug trade and illegal weapons, on the other hand, this trade has become popular and spread in most countries of the world, and the cornerstones of this trade and A safe haven for them is hotels, especially luxury ones with international brands where their guests are rich and some may look for sex for money. Given the great physical and psychological damage to the victims, this research highlights the civil liability of hotels towards these victims in US and Iraqi law.In order not to limit the
... Show MoreThe High Power Amplifiers (HPAs), which are used in wireless communication, are distinctly characterized by nonlinear properties. The linearity of the HPA can be accomplished by retreating an HPA to put it in a linear region on account of power performance loss. Meanwhile the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex signal is very rough. Therefore, it will be required a large undo to the linear action area that leads to a vital loss in power efficiency. Thereby, back-off is not a positive solution. A Simplicial Canonical Piecewise-Linear (SCPWL) model based digital predistorters are widely employed to compensating the nonlinear distortion that introduced by a HPA component in OFDM technology. In this paper, the genetic al
... Show MoreRheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects mainly the synovial membranes and articular structures and is characterized by chronic, systemic inflammation involving multiple joints.Being a synovial joint, the Temporomandibular Joint is subject to the same disorders affecting other synovial joints, including RA.Beside it was considered as a specific serological marker for diagnosing RA disease ,antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide have proven to be associated with joints destruction, though; it may play a potential role in the prediction of the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine individuals (69) were enrolled in this study, forty nine (49) were patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a
... Show MoreBackground: Color stability of glass ionomers (GIs) could be affected by many factors such as pH and consumption of liquid medications like antibiotics. Most common antibiotics used during childhood are amoxicillin suspension (AM.S) and azithromycin suspension (AZ.S) which have acidic and basic pH respectively. Aim: to evaluate and compare the effect of AM.S and AZ.S on color stability of nano resin-modified GI. Methods: Thirty disc of nano resin-modified glass ionomer (2mm height x 4mm diameter) were divided into three groups (n=10 for each) and independently exposed to AM.S, AZ.S, and artificial saliva (A.S.). Color stability was evaluated in triplicate by VITA Easyshade® before and after three immersion protocols, repeated over a thr
... Show MoreThe complexity and partially defined nature of jet grouting make it hard to predict the performance of grouted piles. So the trials of cement injection at a location with similar soil properties as the erecting site are necessary to assess the performance of the grouted piles. Nevertheless, instead of executing trial-injected piles at the pilot site, which wastes money, time, and effort, the laboratory cement injection devices are essential alternatives for evaluating soil injection ability. This study assesses the performance of a low-pressure laboratory grouting device by improving loose sandy soil injected using binders formed of Silica Fume (SF) as a chemical admixture (10% of Ordinary Portland Cement OPC mass) to di
... Show MoreObjective: The aim of the present study is to assess the practices of nurses towards standard precautions at Azady
Teaching Hospital in the City of Kirkuk.
Methodology: A descriptive study, which uses the assessment approach and it was conducted on nurses from January
18th, 2009 to September 30th, 2009, using non-probability sampling a purposive sample of (37) subject (male and
female nurses) who worked at surgical wards in Azady Teaching Hospital in Kirkuk city was selected. Two study
instruments were utilized for proper data collection [questionnaire and observational checklist]; a questionnaire was
developed for the purpose of the study. It was comprised of two parts which included the nurses' demographic
characte
In this study, gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector was used to measure the specific activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in soil samples collected from IT1 oil reservoirs in Kirkuk city, northeast Iraq. The “spectral line Gp” gamma analysis software package was used to analyze the spectral data. 226Ra specific activity varies from 9 0.34 Bq.kg-1 to 17 0.47 Bq.kg-1. 232Th specific activity varies from 6.2 0.08 Bq.kg-1 to 18 0.2 Bq.kg-1. 40K specific activity varies from 25 0.19 Bq.kg-1 to 118 0.41 Bq.kg-1. The radiological hazard due to the radiation emitted from natural r
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