The current study was conducted on 100 females who were divided into two main groups; 60 with breast cancer and 40 healthy controls. Blood samples were collected from both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer and healthy women. The samples were appropriately processed for the analysis of trace elements (zinc, copper, and lead) by using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). The results showed a highly significant decrease (p< 0.01) in the mean serum level of zinc of in both pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer women (71.7 + 5.1 and 70.4 + 5.4 µg/dL, respectively) compared with healthy controls (89.7 + 10.2 and 97.5 + 13.2 µg/dL, respectively) . Also, a highly significant elevation (p< 0.01) in the mean serum level of copper (157.2 + 13.9 µg/dL and 157.4 +11.9 µg/dL, respectively) was found in pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer women as compared to healthy controls (122.2 + 15.5 µg/dL and 112.2 + 15.8 µg/dL, respectively). Furthermore, a highly significant elevation (p< 0.01) in the mean blood level of lead (20.7 + 2.5 µg/dL and 19.9 + 1.7 µg/dL, respectively) was found in pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer women compared to healthy controls (15.1 + 2.0 µg/dL and 14.6 + 2.3 µg/dL, respectively). It is concluded that the disturbance in the homeostasis of some trace elements (zinc, copper, and lead) may lead to the development and even progression of breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women.
Background: Differentiation between malignant and benign vertebral compression fracture is often problematic. This is precisely difficult in elderly who are predisposed to benign compression caused by osteoporosis .Establishing correct diagnosis is of great importance in determining the treatment andprognosis.A study was performed to determine which magnetic resonance imaging findings are useful in discrimination between metastatic and acute osteoporotic compression fractures of the spine. Recently MRI is being increasingly used for evaluation of these fractures.Objectives: The aim of this study is to establish the correct diagnosis of malignant and benign compression vertebral fracture by MRI to determine treatment and prognosis.Methods
... Show MoreThis study investigates the improvement of Iraqi atmospheric gas oil characteristics which contains 1.402 wt. % sulfur content and 16.88 wt. % aromatic content supplied from Al-Dura Refinery by using hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process using Ti-Ni-Mo/γ-Al2O3 prepared catalyst in order to achieve low sulfur and aromatic saturation gas oil. Hydrodearomatization (HDA) occurs simultaneously with hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process. The effect of titanium on the conventional catalyst Ni-Mo/γ-Al2O3 was investigated by physical adsorption and catalytic activity test.Ti-Ni-Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared under vacuum impregnation condition to ensure efficient pr
... Show MoreHydatid disease is a zoonotic infection caused by Echinococcus species. The cystic form of this infection mostly involves liver and lung. Hydatid disease of the parotid gland even in endemic regions is a very rare entity that may be easily overlooked in daily practice. Herein, I present a case report of a 60-year-old Iraqi female patient who presented with a progressively painless mass in her right parotid. It was diagnosed radiologically as a hydatid cyst and was excised successfully. Histopathologic examination of the resected specimen confirmed the hydatid cyst. This case emphasizes the importance of considering hydatidosis in the differential diagnosis of any parotid mass, especially in endemic countries.
 
... Show MoreCracking of soils affects their geotechnical properties and behavior such as soil strength and stability. In this paper, 2D Electrical Resistivity Imaging Method, as a non-invasive technique, was adopted to investigate the effect of soil cracks of a centemetric scale on resistivity of sandy soil. The electrical resistivity measurements were carried out using ABEM SAS 300C Terrameter system at a laboratory scale using Wenner array. The measurements were interpreted using horizontal profiles, forward modeling and 2D inverse resistivity sections. The results showed that soil cracks cause significant changes in soil resistivity. These changes can be attributed to the high resistivity contrast between the highly resistive air-filled cracks an
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Background: The use of osseointegrated fixtures in dentistry has been demonstrated both histologically and clinically to be beneficial in providing long term oral rehabilitation in completely edentulous individual. Most patients suffer from denture instability; particularly with mandibular prosthesis, the use of dental implant will be benefit significantly from even a slight increase in retention. The concept of implanting two to four fixtures in a bony ridge to retain a complete denture prosthesis appealing therefore, as retention, stability and acceptable economic compromise to the expanse incurred with the multiple fixture supported fixed prosthesis. Materials and methods in this study the sample were eight patients selected from a hosp
... Show MoreTwo dimensional meso-scale concrete modeling was used in finite element analysis of plain concrete beam subjected to bending. The plane stress 4-noded quadrilateral elements were utilized to model coarse aggregate, cement mortar. The effect of aggregate fraction distribution, and pores percent of the total area – resulting from air voids entrapped in concrete during placement on the behavior of plain concrete beam in flexural was detected. Aggregate size fractions were randomly distributed across the profile area of the beam. Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed to treat the discontinuities problems result from double phases of concrete and cracking that faced during the finite element analysis of concrete beam. Crac
... Show MoreImage classification is the process of finding common features in images from various classes and applying them to categorize and label them. The main problem of the image classification process is the abundance of images, the high complexity of the data, and the shortage of labeled data, presenting the key obstacles in image classification. The cornerstone of image classification is evaluating the convolutional features retrieved from deep learning models and training them with machine learning classifiers. This study proposes a new approach of “hybrid learning” by combining deep learning with machine learning for image classification based on convolutional feature extraction using the VGG-16 deep learning model and seven class
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