The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of rK39,
ELISA and IFA tests for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis using blood
samples. Samples were collected from 146 suspected patients and 30 healthy
individual as control. The results showed 52 (35.62%), 58 (39.73%) and 71
(48.64%) positive samples by rK39, ELISA and IFA , respectively. IFA test showed
a higher sensitivity (48.63%) than ELISA and rk39 dip stick (39.72%) and (35.61%)
respectively. The highest sensitivity of agreement (K: 0.912) was found between
rK39 dipstick and ELISA. Therefore, we suggest the application of rK39 dipstick
and ELISA methods in endemic areas of visceral leishmaniasis for early and
accurate diag

Background: Obesity is an evolving major health problem in both developed and developing countries. Traditional obesity indices as body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio are well known measures to identify obese subjects, however, neck circumference as an index of upper-body obesity was found to be a simple and time-saving screening measure that can be used to identify obesity and the likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients.
Aim: to investigate the relationship of neck circumference (NC) to obesity and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: The study group included 90 type 2 diabetic subjects (48 men and 42 women) aged 30-68 years. The subjects were those w

A twisted-fin array as an innovative structure for intensifying the charging response of a phase-change material (PCM) within a shell-and-tube storage system is introduced in this work. A three-dimensional model describing the thermal management with charging phase change process in PCM was developed and numerically analyzed by the enthalpy-porosity method using commercial CFD software. Efficacy of the proposed structure of fins for performing better heat communication between the active heating surface and the adjacent layers of PCM was verified via comparing with conventional longitudinal fins within the same design limitations of fin material and volume usage. Optimization of the fin geometric parameters including the pitch, numb

     The glucagon-like peptide-1 is secreted by intestinal L cells in response to nutrient ingestion. It regulates the secretion and sensitivity of insulin while suppressing glucagon secretion and decreasing postprandial glucose levels , additionally, glucagon-like peptide-1 delays gastric emptying and suppresses appetite. The impaired secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 has negative influence on hyperlipidemia, diabetes  and insulin resistance related diseases the levels of its secretion change with the intake of different nutrients. Some drugs also have influence on GLP-1 secretion .

Background: Candida albicans is a prevalent commensal that can cause severe health problems in humans. One such condition that frequently returns after treatment is oral candidiasis. Aim: the goal of this research is to evaluate the efficiency of 940 nm as a fungicidal on the growth of Candida albicans in vitro. Material and Methods: In vitro samples (fungal swabs) were taken from the oral cavity of 75 patients suffering from oral thrush. Following the process of isolating and identifying Albicans. The samples are divided into four groups:(Group 1): Suspension of C. albicans was put in a solution of saline as a control group. (Group 2): Suspension of C. albicans that had been treated with nystatin. (Group 3): Suspension of C. albica

In this paper we proposed the method of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) determination of some essential trace elements in medicinal herbs and vitamin-mineral complexes at the level of 10⁰-10¹ mg/ml. To increase sensitivity and selectivity of the determination we simple and effective approach based on the extraction of metal ions from aqueous solutions with chemically modified polyurethane foam sorbents followed by direct XRF analysis. The conditions of sorption preconcentration of Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) ions with modified sorbents were optimized. The proposed approach is used for the determination of trace elements in several kinds of medicinal herbs (coltsfoot leaves, nettle leaves and yarrow herb) and vitamin-mineral

This study focuses on cation and anion concentrations and their distribution in the Dibdibba aquifer in the Zubair area at Basra city, southern Iraq to assess the groundwater quality for the agricultural purpose. The physicochemical properties (TSS, Ec, pH, cation and anion concentrations) of the groundwater samples through
18 wells was measured. Results showed that the dominant groundwater type is Na, Mg, Ca-Chloride type. The Magnesium Hazard, Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Na%, total dissolved solid, Electrical conductivity and pH were used to assess the suitability of groundwater for irrigation purposes.. The assessment results indicate that the groundwater is characterized by no Mg-harmful, excellent

     In this study, a detailed comparative analysis of four different potential energy functions is elaborated. These potential energy functions namely are Morse, Deng-Fan, Varshni, and Lennard-Jones. Furthermore, a mathematical representation for long-range region is elucidated. As a study case, four diatomic molecules (CO, N₂, P₂, and ScF) in their electronic ground states were chosen. Subsequently, the corresponding dissociation energy as well as some spectroscopic parameters were calculated accordingly.

The aim of this study was to investigate the disturbances of some liver enzymes like GPT and GOT level in different groups of women infected with toxoplasmosis. This study was performed on 600 apparently healthy women (pregnant, miscarriage and single) collected from different hospitals in Baghdad, AL-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and Fatima AL-Zahra Hospital for Obstetric and children and Hay Hiteen clinic during November 2013 till April 2014. The detection of toxoplasmosis was done by a preliminary screening test LAT and the positive percentage was (29.55%), (30.36%) and (40.08%) for pregnant, miscarriage and single women respectively. While, the confirmation of positive results of LAT was done by ELISA-IgG and the results were (40%), (41.