Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for fungal infections, including onychomycosis. The study aims to determine the prevalence of toenail onychomycosis in diabetic patients and its correlation with associated factors, identify the causative agents and compare the fungal culture findings with the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) findings of diagnosing 6 fungal isolates. A total of 126 diabetic patients were included between November 2020 to June 2021. Nail samples were subjected to potassium hydroxide 20%. Culture was done on Sabouraud dextrose agar medium (SDA), both with and without cycloheximide. Identification of non-dermatophytic molds was based on colony characteristics, colony reverse, cello-tape flag method and slide culture technique. Molecular analysis was done to make sure of the identification of 6 fungal isolates. Out of 126 cases, 106 (84.1%) had toenails onychomycosis. Non-dermatophytic molds (NDM) were the most common isolates 75 (70.8%), followed by yeasts 8 (7.5%) and mixed infections 23 (21.7%). Distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (DLSO) was the most frequent clinical type 90 (85%). Onychomycosis was found to correlate significantly with advancing age, type 2 diabetes, its duration and clinically abnormal nails. However, there was no significant correlation with gender and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C). When the results obtained by RT-PCR were compared with the results obtained by fungal culture, a 100% match of the isolates was found.
A new, accurate, precise and economic two spectrophotometric methods for determination of Paracetamol (Par), Ibuprofen (Ibu), and Caffeine (Caf) were suggested. Those methods were the first and second ratio derivative spectrum using a double devisor. Par, Ibu, and Caf showed many useful peaks for their quantified determination. The validity of all analysis modes for determination of the three compounds, peak to baseline, peak area and peak to peak were according to ICH. The linearity of two methods was between 5 µg/ml as a lower concentration and 50 µg/ml as the highest concentration for three compounds. Recovery percentage was around 100% and relative standard deviation was less than 2.6%. The methods were applied successfully in the
... Show MoreThe biological diversity of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) has widely been reported to be associated with pathological progress in severe nosocomial and community-acquired infections. 250 clinical specimens included sputum, urine and swabs from wound and burns samples were collected from Al-Batool Teaching Hospital (38.4%), Baqubah Teaching Hospital (61.6%) and private laboratories in Baqubah and Diyala, Iraq. Positive rates of nosocomial acquired infection were sputum 98%, urine 96%, and swabs from wound and burns 94%, while positive rates of community acquired infection were sputum 60%, urine 60%, and swabs wound and burns 30%. Positive rates of nosocomial and community acquired infections were 96% and 48%, res
... Show MoreRecommender Systems are tools to understand the huge amount of data available in the internet world. Collaborative filtering (CF) is one of the most knowledge discovery methods used positively in recommendation system. Memory collaborative filtering emphasizes on using facts about present users to predict new things for the target user. Similarity measures are the core operations in collaborative filtering and the prediction accuracy is mostly dependent on similarity calculations. In this study, a combination of weighted parameters and traditional similarity measures are conducted to calculate relationship among users over Movie Lens data set rating matrix. The advantages and disadvantages of each measure are spotted. From the study, a n
... Show MoreBackground: Ultrasound guided core needle biopsy is becoming a gold standard in the work up of suspicious breast lesion. In Iraq, radiologists are not taking the lead in core needle biopsy performance.
Objectives: To evaluate the radiologist performance of core needle biopsy highlighting the precession and accuracy of the procedure, the concordance of ultrasound and histopathology, and identifying challenges facing the radiologist during the procedure.
Subjects and Methods: A prospective study involving a total of 50 patients with ultrasound (US) BIRADS IV or V. Ultrasound guided core needle biopsy was performed for each patient. Surgical pathol
... Show MoreBackground: It's believed that HBD-3 is involved in the tissue remodeling process of articular cartilage. Also, HBD-3 has anti-inflammatory properties. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assay human beta-defensine-3 (HBD-3) in serum from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and investigate its correlation with proinflammatory cytokines. Methods: In this case-control study, fifty-eight RA patients were aged 20–65 years, and 29 age-matched healthy subjects (HS) had no inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The disease activity score-28 joint erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) was used to measure RA activity. CRP, ACPA, HBD-3, TNF-α, and IL-1β were assessed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA). Res
... Show MorePolyimide/polyaniline nanofiber composites were prepared by in situ polymerization with various weight percentages of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), proved the successful preparation of PANI nanofiber composite films. In addition, thermal stability of PI/PANI nanofiber composites was superior relative to PI, having 10 % gravimetric loss in the range of 623 °C to 671 °C and glass transition temperature of 289 °C to 297 °C. Furthermore, the values of the loss tangent tanδ and AC conductivity σAC of the nanocomposite films were notably higher than those of pure polyimide. The addition of 5 wt.% to 15 wt.% PANI
The rapid increase in the number of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia represents one of the major challenges to the health and social care systems. Early detection of AD makes it possible for patients to access appropriate services and to benefit from new treatments and therapies, as and when they become available. The onset of AD starts many years before the clinical symptoms become clear. A biomarker that can measure the brain changes in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in early detection of AD. Damage in the brain due to AD leads to changes in the information processing activity of the brain and the EEG which ca
... Show MoreCommon walnut (