Optic Disc (OD) localization is a basic step for the screening, identification and appreciation of the risk of diverse ophthalmic pathologies such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.In fact, the fundamental step towards an exact OD segmentation process is the success of OD localization. This paper proposes a fully automatic procedure for OD localization based on two of the OD most relevant features  of high-intensity value and vasculature convergence. Merging ofthese two features renders the proposed method capable of localizing the OD within the variously complicated environments such as the faint disc boundary, unbalanced shading, and the existence of retinal pathologies like cotton wall and exudates,which usually share the same

Extraction and identification of parsley (Petroselinum sativum) seeds flavonoids (apigenin), as well as evaluation its anticancer efficacy was the main aim of the current study. Thin layer chromatography results clarified that apigenin is the major flavonoid in parsley seeds. The cytotoxic effect of apigenin in mammary adenocarcinoma (AMN3) bearing mice was manifested through significant (P ≤ 0.01) reduction in tumor volume and growth rate inhibition (90.8 %) after 24 days of oral administration at a dose of 300 mg/kg body weight. The volume of tumor in the treated group reached 1354.8 mm³ while the recorded size of the control was 14758 mm³. Transplanted cancer mice showed a significant (P ≤ 0.01) elevation in concentration of liver,

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases in immunocompromised organ transplant patients; it has been linked with the elevated arterial blood pressure. This study aimed to find a relationship between CMV antibody titers and blood pressure elevation by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure CMV IgG levels in the serum of 60 patients with high blood pressure, in comparison to 30 healthy persons with normal blood pressure as a control. All patients and control were 25-50 years old. The results showed that CMV antibody titers were higher in those who undergo blood pressure elevation. This finding supports the hypothesis that; the common CMV infection may leads to i

The acute phase response is a major pathophysiologic phenomenon that accompanies inflammation whether acute or chronic. Complement (C3 and C4) and C - reactive protein (CRP) are positive acute phase proteins (+ ve APPs ). Their production takes place in hepatocyte and the blood concentration of these parameters are increased in osteoarthritis (OA). Chloroquine (CQ) is a diprotic weak base traditionally used to treat malaria. Recently the phosphate salt of CQ is used to decrease this type of (+ve APPs) . In this study,  patients who suffered from knee osteoarthritis (KOA) are treated with oral dosage form of chloroquine phosphate (CQP) for one month, twice daily. Our results demonstrate that CQP improves the patient status by decreas

With the growing number of patient’s being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis each year it is becoming ever more important to find the cause for these neurological disorders. The present study attempts to shed light on one of the factors that may play a role as a causative agent in these neurological diseases by finding a correlation between the Herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 in patients with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis by detecting the virus in these patients using immunological techniques. Sixty patients with neurological diseases (40 patients with Multiple sclerosis and 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease) who’s ages ranged from (17-76) years have been investigated.  Samples wer

Biofilm formation (BF) is one of the most important virulence factors of
Candida spp. The aim of this study was to detect the prevalence of genes
responsible in biofilm formation of C. albicans by conventional PCR technique.
Among 49 vaginal specimens (VC), C. albicans was the most predominant species
in percentage 22/49 (45%) and 27(55%) were non albicans. Out of 47 oral
specimens (OS), 22/47(47%) were C. albicans, whereas 25(53%) were non albicans.
At the present study; all C. albicans were biofilm producers with variable strength,
out of 44 BF producers, 18 (40.9%) were low biofilm (LBF) with significant
differences (P<0.05) between HVS and OS, 25 (56.8%) moderate or high biofilm
(HBF) and just one isolat

Background: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is the result of aninitial episode of acute otitis media and is characterized by a persistent discharge from the middle ear through a tympanic perforation for at least 2 weeks duration. It is an important cause of preventable hearing loss, particularly in the developing world.Methods. 1. To get an overview on the bacterial ear infection profile in general 2. To assess the antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonal infection (PS) particularly since it is usually the commonest infection to cause otitis media and the most difficult to treat due to the problem of multi drug resistance... A cross sectional study was done which included 405 patient of CSOM patients196 (48%) case were males ,209 (52

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women worldwide and in Iraq. Proliferation rates of neoplastic process can be useful in predicting prognosis, aggressiveness of cancers and to guide treatment protocols in clinical practice.
Objectives: To evaluate the role of Ki67 as a proliferative marker through analysing the associations between Ki67 with the clinic-pathological parameters, hormone receptors and Her2/neu expression.
Patients and methods: Forty paraffin blocks belonging to patient with breast carcinoma and ten blocks with benign diseases were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study and used for the immunohistochemical assessment of hormone receptors, Her2/neu and Ki67.
Results: Mean age of

Background: The high prevalence of head injury among civilian populations and the provision of the adequate hospitals services have become matters of worldwide concern. Brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) have been shown to be of highly resistant to systemic factors and toxic or metabolic derangements, making them particularly useful in differentiating reversible brain-stem dysfunction from that due to structural disruption.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the changes in   brainstem evoked response (BAER( in patient with moderate closed head injury and   assessing again these changes in BAER six months later as follow up indices.

Objective(s): Ramadan is the Holy month of the Muslims, where they are required to abstain from food and drinks
from dawn till the beginning of night. This study was conducted in Ramadan to investigate the effect of fasting on
hematological incidences, lipid profile, renal and liver function tests among healthy adult males.
Methodology: The present study was carried out in Ramadan – 1431 of Higira (August-September 2010). The study
sample was 56 healthy adult males. Five samples of blood were taken at five intervals (Before, at day 1, 15, 28 and
after Ramadan). Estimation was done for hematological markers, (hemoglobin, white blood cells count, platelet
count); renal function tests (blood urea, serum uric acid, serum