Background: Fifteen percent of small for gestational age are small as a result of fetal growth restriction, which could be due to maternal, placental or fetal factors. It is an important clinical problem associated with increase perinatal mortality and morbidity. Leptin is a protein that produced by many tissues including the placenta (syncytiotropholoast). Dysregulation of leptin metabolism may be implicated in preeclampsia and IUGR pathogenesis.
Aim of the study: To study the trend of leptin level alteration in maternal serum and cord blood in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction and its relation with fetal outcome.
Methods: An Analytic, cross- sectional study conducted in Al-Elwyia Maternity Teaching Hospital and Alkindy College of Medicine, from October 2009 to June 2010. Sixty seven pregnant women were included and they were divided into two groups: The first group (A) included 34 pregnant women with Intrauterine growth restricted fetuses with and without maternal diseases and the second group (B), included 33 pregnant women with normal pregnancies. Samples from maternal blood and umbilical cord blood were obtained at the time of delivery and leptin level was measured by Enzyme linked immunesorbant assey (ELISA) test.
Results:Umbilical cord leptin level was significantly lower in group A (medain1ng/ml) compared with group B (median10.2ng/ml); P<0.001, and maternal serum leptin was also significantly lower in group A (median19.8ng/ml) compared to control group B (median31.8ng/ml), P 0.042.
Newborn weight for age (Z score) and maternal body mass index were the most important and the only statistically significant determinants of cord blood leptin, while only maternal body mass index had a strong and statistically significant positive association with maternal serum leptin.
In group A, there was a linear correlation between cord blood leptin and placental weight, P<0.001, and a linear correlation between Apgar score at 5minutes and cord blood leptin level, P<0.001.
Conclusion: Women who had growth restricted fetuses had significantly lowered umbilical cord leptin level and maternal serum leptin level than women who had normal fetuses and the outcome of such fetuses could be related to leptin level.
A significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreFreshwater mussels are a guild of stationary, suspended-feeding species; they perform significant ecological functions like nitrogen cycling, bioturbation that gives oxygen and habitat that other creatures need to survive, and increasing water clearance by filtration. Knowledge of the freshwater mussel Unio tigridis Bourguignat, 1852, distribution, and molecular study in Iraq was inadequate. In the current study, this species of freshwater Mussels belonging to the family Unionidae was collected from different locations in the Greater Zab River, from April 2022 to November 2022. The average water temperature of the site was arranged between (17.8 to 36.1 C°). All previous studies in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq were based on morphologic
... Show MoreTannin acyl hydrolase as the common name of tannase is an inducible extracellular enzyme that causes the hydrolysis of galloyl ester and depside bonds in tannins, yielding gallic acid and glucose. The main objective of this study is to find a novel gallic acid and tannase produced by
In this study, Yogurt was dried and milled, then shaked with distilled water to remove the soluble materials, then again dried and milled. Batch experiments were carried out to remove hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions. Different parameters were optimized such as amount of adsorbent, treatment time, pH and concentration of adsorbate. The concentrations of Cr6+ in solutions are determined by UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Maximum percentage removal of Cr6+ was 82% at pH 2. Two equilibrium adsorption isotherms mechanisms are tested Langmuir and Freundlich, the results showed that the isotherm obeyed to Freundlich isotherm. Kinetic models were applied to the adsorption of Cr6+ ions on the adsorbents, ps
... Show MoreThis paper presents an experimental study for strengthening existing columns against axial compressive loads. The objective of this work is to study the behavior of concrete square columns strengthening with circulation technique. In Iraq, there are significantly more reinforced rectangular and square columns than reinforced circular columns in reinforced concrete buildings. Moreover, early research studies indicated that strengthening of rectangular or square columns using wraps of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) provided rather little enhancement to their load-carrying capacity. In this paper, shape modification technique was performed to modify the shape (cross section) of the columns from square columns into circular colu
... Show MoreConcrete columns with hollow-core sections find widespread application owing to their excellent structural efficiency and efficient material utilization. However, corrosion poses a challenge in concrete buildings with steel reinforcement. This paper explores the possibility of using glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcement as a non-corrosive and economically viable substitute for steel reinforcement in short square hollow concrete columns. Twelve hollow short columns were meticulously prepared in the laboratory experiments and subjected to pure axial compressive loads until failure. All columns featured a hollow square section with exterior dimensions of (180 × 180) mm and 900 mm height. The columns were categorized into
... Show MorePhosphorus‐based Schiff base were synthesized by treating bis{3‐[2‐(4‐amino‐1.5‐dimethyl‐2‐phenyl‐pyrazol‐3‐ylideneamino)ethyl]‐indol‐1‐ylmethyl}‐phosphinic acid with paraformaldehyde and characterized as a novel antioxidant. Its corresponding complexes [(VO)2L(SO4)2], [Ni2LCl4], [Co2LCl4], [Cu2LCl4], [Zn2LCl4], [Cd2LCl4], [Hg2LCl4], [Pd2LCl4], and [PtL
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