Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K

Fibroblast growth factors-23 (FGF-23) are a class of cell signaling proteins produced by macrophages. They have a range of roles, but they play a particularly important role in the development of animal cells, where they are essential for appropriate growth. Phosphate, which is found in the body as both organic and mineral phosphate, plays crucial roles in cell structure, communication, and metabolism. Most phosphate in the body resides in bone, teeth, and inside cells, with less than 1% circulating in serum. The aim of the study is to evaluate the levels of the Fibroblast Growth Factors-23 and phosphate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) in acromegaly patients against healthy control. A case control study Fibroblast Growth Fact

Background: since December 2019, China and in particularly Wuhan, faced an unprecedented an outbreak challenge of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Clinical characteristics of Iraqi patients with COVID-19 and risk factors for mortality needed to be shared with the health care providers to improve the overall disease experience. Methods: prospective, single-center study recruited patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to Al-Shifaa Isolation Center / Baghdad Medical City between the mid of March and the end of April 2020 until had been discharged or had died. Demographic data, information on clinical signs, symptoms, at presentation, treatment, have been collected

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19, a respiratory syndrome. It causes inflammation and damages several organs in the body. miRNAs play a role in regulating the infection resulting from SARS-CoV-2. MicroRNA-155, a kind of microRNA linked to viral defences, can affect the immune responses during COVID-19. Objectives: Examination of the involvement of microRNA-155 in the development and severity of COVID-19, as well as finding the correlation between microRNA-155 and viral load (copies/mL) in severe cases of the disease. Materials and Method: A case-control research study was performed between October 2022 and June 2023. It included a cohort of 120 hospitalised individuals with severe cases of COVID-19, together with 115 individu

Writing plays an effective role in developing one's thinking and
enhancing Learning. It is, in fact, a means of widening one's own views about
the world for the numerous uses that it can serve (Samuel, 1988:28).
In regard to the unquestionable significance of writing in the teaching –
Learning process, the traditional approach seems to be far from being able to
put such significance into practice. Traditionalists give priority to formulating
students' ideas before using prescribed rhetorical framework and then
submitting the written product for grading. Emphasis is, therefore, limited to the
prewriting stage where a certain topic is explored, and the role of the teacher is
confined to assigning the topic and

Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to rifampicin is mainly mediated through mutations in the rpoB gene. The effects of rpoB mutations are relieved by secondary mutations in rpoA or rpoC genes. This study aims to identify mutations in rpoB, rpoA, and rpoC genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and clarify their contribution to rifampicin resistance. Seventy isolates were identified by acid-fast bacilli smear, Genexpert assay, and growth on Lowenstein Jensen medium. Drug susceptibility, testing was performed by the proportional method.  DNA extraction, PCR, and sequencing were accomplished for the entire rpoA, rpoB, and

Background: Animal bites in humans are an important public health problem. Most of these bites are dog bites. Dog bites in humans are a complex problem embracing public health and animal welfare, both in developed and developing nations. .
Al-kindy Col Med J Vol.8 No.2 2012 P: 149
Objectives: in order to estimate the magnitude of the problem and to understand the epidemiological characteristics of dog bite victims registered in Baghdad city regarding their age, sex, number of registered dog bite victims per month and year along the studied period ( 2006-2010) and also to sniff out any seasonal variation in dog bite attacks .
Methods: A across-sectional study was carried out during January (2011), in the Anti-Rabies clinic of (Pa

The response of floating stone columns of different lengths to diameter ratio (L/D = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) ratios exposed to earthquake excitations is well modeled in this paper. Such stone column behavior is essential in the case of lateral displacement under an earthquake through the soft clay soil. ABAQUS software was used to simulate the behavior of stone columns in soft clayey soil using an axisymmetric finite element model. The behavior of stone column material has been modeled with a Drucker-Prager model. The soft soil material was modeled by the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion assuming an elastic-perfectly plastic behavior. The floating stone columns were subjected to the El Centro earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.1 an

The main challenge of military tactical communication systems is the accessibility of relevant information on the particular operating environment required for the determination of the waveform's ideal use. The existing propagation model focuses mainly on broadcasting and commercial wireless communication with a highs transceiver antenna that is not suitable for numerous military tactical communication systems. This paper presents a study of the path loss model related to radio propagation profile within the suburban in Kuala Lumpur. The experimental path loss modeling for VHF propagation was collected from various suburban settings for the 30-88 MHz frequency range. This experiment was highly affected by ecological factors and existing