Background: Vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency is common in different age groups in both genders especially among pregnant women and neonates where it is associated with several adverse outcomes including preeclampsia and preterm delivery.  

Objectives: To assess the extent of vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency among mothers and their neonates and some factors related to it and identify some adverse outcomes of the deficiency/ insufficiency on neonates (preterm birth and low birth weight).

Subject and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 88 Iraqi pregnant women and neonates admitted to “Al-Elwiya teaching hospital for maternity” in Baghdad- Al

In their cross-sectional study, Al-Rubaye et al studied the extent of vitamin D (VD) deficiency/ insufficiency, factors affecting its degree, and the adverse outcomes of the altered VD status among a group of mothers and their neonates from Baghdad, Iraq. They found that 96.6% of the mothers had VD deficiency/ insufficiency compared to 86.4% in their neonates. Maternal VD levels and neonatal weights were significantly correlated with neonatal VD levels. We believe that the study results need to be revised. This is based  two points listed in this letter to editor

Background: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the supporting tissues of the teeth; Smoking is an important risk factor for periodontitis induces alveolar bone loss and cause an imbalance between bone resorption and bone deposition. The purpose of this study is to detect and compare the presence of incipient periodontitis among young smokers and non-smokers by measuring the distance between cement-enamel junction and alveolar crest (CEJ-Ac) using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Material and methods: The total sample composed of fifty two participants, thirty one smokers and twenty one non-smokers (age range 14-22 years). Periodontal parameters: plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI) were recorded for all teeth exc

The present study included the microscopic and molecular identification of Entamoeba histolytica by using specific primers to detect four virulence factors possessed by Entamoeba histolytica. Virulence factors included Active Cysteine proteinase, Galactose/N-acetyl-D-galactose-lectin, Amoeba pore C and Phospholipase. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) were synthesized from Pseudomonas aeruginosa which producing Pyocyanin pigment as a reducing agent to form it. After that we studied the ability ofTiO₂NPs to inhibit virulence factors production and curing the genes responsible for encoding them by using four different dose 2 ,3, 4, 6 mg/Kg and administered by intraperitoneal injection

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women's health, with an increasing incidence worldwide. This study aimed to measure the intracellular concentration of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α), tumor suppression protein p53, and estradiol (E2) in tumor tissues of adult females with breast cancer and their relation to tumor grade, tumor size, and lymph node metastases (LNM). The study was conducted on 65 adult female participants with breast mass admitted to the operating theater in Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital and Al-Habboby Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, from January to November 2021. Fresh breast tumor tissues were collated and homogenized for intracellular biochemical analysis using the enzyme-linked immuno

Diarrhea is a real disease in childhood which could cause death. Therefore, this study was conducted to isolate Salmonella from 350 stool samples taken from children under five years in age, suffering from diarrhea during the period from March 2019 to March 2020 in Tikrit city / Iraq. The results showed the possibility to isolate ten isolates of Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica, an infection rate, represents 2.875% of the total rate of patients who suffer from diarrhea. The virulence genes were investigated for ten isolates of S. enterica subsp. enterica, the result is that all isolates possessed the genes stn, invA, lpfA with an appearance percentage of 100%, whi

98 samples were collected from various clinical sources included (Burns, wounds, urines, sputums, blood) From the city of Baghdad, After performing the biochemical and microscopic examination, 52 isolates were obtained for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 17 (32.7%) isolates from burn infection, 12 (23%) isolates from Wound infection 11 (21.2%) isolates from urine infection, 7 (13.5%) isolates of sputum and 5 (9.6%) isolates from blood. Bacteria susceptibility to form biofilm has been detectedby microtiter plate method, The results showed that 80% of the bacterial isolates were produced the biofilm with different proportions, alg D gene (alginate production) has been detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Which plays an essential role in the fo