Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
Objective: To assess the Impact of Socio-economic status on age at menarche among secondary school students at
AL-Dora city in Baghdad, Iraq.
Methodology: This is a cross sectional study with multi-stage sampling was carried out during the period from the
3
th of December2013 to 12th of March 2014. The Sample comprised of 1760 girls, 1510 girls from urban area and
250 from rural area was included in the study. In first stage, selection of schools was done, and one class was
selected randomly from each level of Education, The data collection through a special questionnaire which Contain
the age of girl by year, class level, birth order, number of household, number of rooms, residency (urban/rural),
education level
Objectives: The study aim to evaluate nursing performance during nasogastric tube feeding in neonatal intensive care unit. Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at al–Batool Teaching Hospital, for the purpose of evaluate of quality of nursing performance for premature baby during nasogastric tube feeding in neonatal intensive care unit. The study consumed the period from 4th of December 2017 to the 24nd of April 2018, Non-probability purposive sample of (25) nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit. The data were collected through the use of Observational instrument which consist of socio-demographic characteristics, quality of nursing care. Results: The study shows that the majority
... Show MoreThe aim of the current study was to develop a nanostructured double-layer for hydrophobic molecules delivery system. The developed double-layer consisted of polyethylene glycol-based polymeric (PEG) followed by gelatin sub coating of the core hydrophobic molecules containing sodium citrate. The polymeric composition ratio of PEG and the amount of the sub coating gelatin were optimized using the two-level fractional method. The nanoparticles were characterized using AFM and FT-IR techniques. The size of these nano capsules was in the range of 39-76 nm depending on drug loading concentration. The drug was effectively loaded into PEG-Gelatin nanoparticles (≈47%). The hydrophobic molecules-release characteristics in terms of controlled-releas
... Show MoreBackground: Fruits and their by-products are the primary sources of bioactive chemicals in plants. Because of its phytochemical richness, Annona squamosa fruits have gained the alertness of people willing in health-promoting diets. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the cytocompatibility effect of ethanolic crude extract of Annona squamosa pulp against a human normal cell line as a mouthwash for children. Material and method: The ethanolic extract of Annona squamosa pulp was extracted using the ultrasonic method and then lyophilized to make it powder. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) test was performed to investigate the cytotoxic activity of the pulp extract on a human normal cell l
... Show MoreIn this research, the theme for employing a simple and sensitive method is to employ a new Schiff base ligand (N’-(4- (dimethyl amino) benzylidene)-3, 5-dinitrobenzohydrazide) to estimate Ni (II) to form orange complex (N-(4-(dimethyl amino) benzylidene)-3, 5-dinitrobenzohydrazide nickel (II) chloride) in acid medium (hydrochloric acid), it gives an absorption peak at the wavelength 485 nm. The preferred conditions were studied to form the complex and obtain the highest absorbance including concentration of Schiff base ligand, the best medium for complex formation, effects of addition sequence on complex formation, the effect of temperature on the absorbance of the complex formed, and the setting time of the formed complex. The obtained r
... Show MoreActivated carbon derived from Ficus Binjamina agro-waste synthesized by pyro carbonic acid microwave method and treated with silicon oxide (SiO2) was used to enhance the adsorption capability of the malachite green (MG) dye. Three factors of concentration of dye, time of mixing, and the amount of activated carbon with four levels were used to investigate their effect on the MG removal efficiency. The results show that 0.4 g/L dosage, 80 mg/L dye concentration, and 40 min adsorption duration were found as an optimum conditions for 99.13% removal efficiency. The results also reveal that Freundlich isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models were the best models to describe the equilibrium adsorption data.
Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the orthodontic bond strength and enamel-preserving ability of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticles-containingself-etch system following exposure to various ageing methods. Materials and Methods. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAp) were incorporated into an orthodontic self-etch primer (SEP, Transbond™ plus) in three different concentrations (5%, 7%, and 9% wt) and tested versus the plain SEP (control) for shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores, and enamel damage in range-finding experiments using premolar teeth. The best-performing formulation was further exposed to the following four artificial ageing methods: initial debonding, 24 h water storage, one-month water stora
... Show MoreAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow (spongy tissue in the center of bone). In ALL, too many bone marrow stem cells develop into a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. These abnormal lymphocytes are not able to fight infection very well. The aim of this study was to investigate possible links between E3 SUMO-Protein Ligase NSE2 [NSMCE2] and increase DNA damage in the childhood patients with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Laboratory investigations including hemoglobin(Hb) ,white blood cell (WBC) , serum total protein , albumin ,globulin , in addition to serum total antioxidant activity (TAA) , Advanced oxidation protein products(AOPP) and E3 SUMO-Protein Ligase NSE2[NSMCE2]. Blood samples
... Show MoreAssessing water quality provides a scientific foundation for the development and management of water resources. The objective of the research is to evaluate the impact treated effluent from North Rustumiyia wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on the quality of Diyala river. The model of the artificial neural network (ANN) and factor analysis (FA) based on Nemerow pollution index (NPI). To define important water quality parameters for North Al-Rustumiyia for the line(F2), the Nemerow Pollution Index was introduced. The most important parameters of assessment of water variation quality of wastewater were the parameter used in the model: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen dem
