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: This study aimed to assess the effect of tooth width in malocclusion in relation to normal, crowding, and spacing dentition. Materials and methods: The sample included dental casts of some dental students and orthodontic patients; their age was (18-25) years and having three groups normal, crowding, and spacing dentition groups. The sample was equally divided to three groups normal, crowding, and spacing dentition groups, each group contained 50 maxillary and 50 mandibular casts that were further subdivided by gender; all the stone casts were measured by highly sensitive digital vernier. Results and Conclusions: Non-significant side difference was found in both dental arches in the three studied groups. Males had higher mesiodis

Background: Salivary immunoglobulin IgA plays an essential role in the immune response against dental caries. This studywas conducted to compare the salivary IgA levels and flow rate of stimulated saliva in caries active and caries free children. Materials and methods: The present study included sixty healthy children age 7-10 yearswho were divided into two groups. They were caries free and caries active children (30 children in each group). Assessment and recording of caries – experience were through the application of Decayed, Missing and Filled Tooth Index (DMFT) and (dmft) index, for permanent and deciduous teeth respectively. After dental examination, stimulated saliva samples were collected from the subjects and performed und

The present study develops an artificial neural network (ANN) to model an analysis and a simulation of the correlation between the average corrosion rate carbon steel and the effective parameter Reynolds number (Re), water concentration (Wc) % temperature (T o) with constant of PH 7 . The water, produced fom oil in Kirkuk oil field in Iraq from well no. k184-Depth2200ft., has been used as a corrosive media and specimen area (400 mm2) for the materials that were used as low carbon steel pipe. The pipes are supplied by Doura Refinery . The used flow system is all made of Q.V.F glass, and the circulation of the two –phase (liquid – liquid ) is affected using a Q.V.F pump .The input parameters of the model consists of Reynolds number , w

Parasitological examination of gills of three species of sparid fishes in the territorial waters of Iraq was performed, two diplectanid monogenoids were isolated and described; Lamellodiscus indicus Tripathi, 1959 from both Haffara seabream Rhabdosargus haffara (Forsskål, 1775) and Goldline seabream R. sarba (Forsskål, 1775) and Protolamellodiscus senilobatus Kritsky, Jiménez-Ruiz and Sey, 2000 from King soldierbream Argyrops spinifer (Forsskål, 1775). The record of the parasites is considered new to the parasite fauna of Iraq. The redescription of L. indicus for the first time which is collected from a new distribution area (Arabian Gulf). R. haffara is considered a new host record .

Aims: The present study aims at assessing mothers’ knowledge of breastfeeding in Kirkuk governorate,
besides determining the relationship between mothers’ knowledge and some of their demographic
attributes.
Methodolgy: A descriptive study was used the assessment approach and applied on mothers in Kirkuk
governorate from January 15th 2011 to July 25th
, 2011. Non-probability sampling a convenience sample of
(72) mothers, attending pediatric general hospital in Kirkuk governorate for following up the health status
of their children, was selected for the purpose of the study. A questionnaire was developed for the
purpose of the study. It was comprised of two parts; the first part includes the mothers' demographic

Suggestive ambiguity is a strategy of defense and maneuvering as it provides the speaker both protection and function. To put it differently, it helps the speaker to say whatever he likes and at the same time gives his opponents and friends the interpretation they desire. This is possible due to the flexibility of the linguistic expressions that the speaker uses. To be more clear, the context of situation, peoples' background and world knowledge interact with the significance of the linguistic expressions reaching an allusive situation where two interpretations, positive and negative, are available to the addressees. Such situation enables the addressers to implicate different ideas or messages, accusations, inciting violence, etc. The pres

Back ground: The innervations of the pineal
gland from the superior cervical ganglion have
shown some form of a chromatolysis reaction.
Objective:
1-Tracing the innervations of the pineal gland by
removing the target tissue (the pineal gland in
this study) i.e. (pinealoctomy) and removal of the
superior cervical ganglion i.e. (ganglionectomy).
2- The localization and total number of the
neurons which project into the rat pineal gland
3-The effect of pinealoctomy on the SCG after a
different time interval.
Methods: Twenty five albino rats were used in
this study, Pinealoctomy was done, then after a
different time interval ganglionectomy was done,
in order to study the Chromatolysis in their cel

Paronomasia is a recognized rhetorical device by which poets could play with words that are similar or identical in form but different in meaning. The present study aims to identify paronomasia in Arabic and English. To achieve the aim of the study, a corpus of selected verses chosen from two famous figures in Arabic and English literatures and analyzed thoroughly. The analysis of data under investigation reveals that paronomasia is a crucial aid used by poets to portrait the real world as imaginative. It further shows that the concept of paronomasia in English is not the same as in Arabic. In English, there are echoes of the Arabic jinās, i.e., there are counterpart usages of similar devices, yet English rhetoricians have not defined or c