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
A new flow injection spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of copper ion Cu(II) in water samples (tap water and river water).The proposed method based on the formation of red complex [Cu(L)2(NO3)2] which has a maximum absorption at λmax=490 nm. Linear range for Cu (II) was from 5-70μg/mL with detection limit 2.55μg/mL. The effect of physical and chemical parameters were evaluated .The proposed method was applied successfully for determination of copper (II) in the tap and river water. [Cu(L)2(NO3)2] complex was prepared in a (2:1) mole ratio as ( reagent: copper (II)).The analytical reagent formed by reaction of thymol with 4-aminoantipyrine at room temperature. The metal complex was characterized by IR, UV-Visi
... Show MoreObjective: To assess the impact of pregnant women’s depression state upon their pregnancy outcome Methodology: A descriptive purposive study was used to assess the impact of pregnant women’s depression state on their pregnancy outcomes. The study was conducted from (22nd \ September \ 2020 to 15th \ February \ 2021). A non-probability sample (purposive sample) was selected from 100 women. Data were collected through an interview with the mother in the counseling clinic, during the third trimester of pregnancy, as well as after childbirth in the labour wards to assess the outcome of pregnancy. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages). Results: The most important thing observed in this study was the ne
... Show MoreBreast cancer is the most diagnosed form of malignant tumour in Iraqi women. Tamoxifen and trastuzumab are highly effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
This study's objectives were to define the patient's belief in tamoxifen or trastuzumab when used as adjuvant therapy and to determine the variation in belief between the two medications in a sample of Iraqi breast cancer patients.
The cross-section survey was conducted using the BMQ-Specific questionnaire. Ninety-seven participants (sixty-seven tamoxifen, thirty trastuzumab) participated in this study.
The mean of specific-necessity scale for tamoxifen was (3.7) and for trastuzumab (4). The findings showed a high necessity for both medicines, and there wer
... Show MoreThirty-four dolomite and dolomitic limestone samples were collected from Aqra – Bekhma (It is difficult to separate the two formations as they are intervening) Formation in Bekhma Gorge area near Shaqlawa in northern Iraq. Alizarin red - s was used to distinguish calcite from dolomite. The saddle dolomite was recognized as a virtually rough crystalline material with milky-white or rosy color when seen in outcrop. In addition, we observed a pearl luster and a characteristically marred crystal building that is, in principle, described as damaged crystal faces with cleavage planes, while microscopically it appeared as a widespread extinction. The crystal faces, although well advanced, are frequently pavement-like facets.
In project management process, the objective is to define and develop a model for planning, scheduling, controlling, and monitoring different activities of a particular project. Time scheduling plays an important role in successful implementation of various activities and general outcome of project. In practice, various factors cause projects to suffer from time delay in accomplishing the activities. One important reason is imprecise knowledge about time duration of activities. This study addresses the problem of project scheduling in uncertain resource environments, which are defined by uncertain activity durations. The study presents a solution of the levelling and allocation problems for projects that have some uncertain ac
... Show MoreThe approach of green synthesis of bio-sorbent has become simple alternatives to chemical synths as they use for example plant extracts, plus green synthesis outperforms chemical methods because it is environmentally friendly besides has wide applications in environmental remediation. This paper investigates the removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) using green tea nano zero-valent iron (GT-NZVI) in an aqueous solution. The synthesized GT-NZVI was categorized using SEM, AFM, BET, FTIR, and Zeta potentials techniques. The spherical nanoparticles were found to be nano zero-valent, with an average size of 85 nm and a surface area of 2.19m2/g. The results showed that the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin depends on the initial pH (2.5-10),
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
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