Background : The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined as the triad of liver disease, arterial deoxygenation, and pulmonary vascular dilatation. The reported prevalence of HPS in cirrhotic patients varies between 5% -17.5%.Objective : To estimate the prevalence of hepatopulmonary syndrome among patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension and to study the correlation between HPS and the severity of liver disease.Patients and methods : Thirty patients were studied for the presence of HPS using transthoracic contrast echocardiography for detection of pulmonary vasodilatation. Arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was determined in erect and supine position using a pulse oximeter , (SaO2 ≤ 92 % in supine position and/or a decrease of ≥ 4% after change from supine to upright position) to detect hypoxia and ortheodeoxia.Result : Eleven of thirty patients (36.6%) with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension were found to have contrast echocardiographic evidence of intrapulmonary right-to-left shunting. Arterial oxygen desaturation was present in 3 patients (27.3%) of those with intra-pulmonary right-to-left shunting ,they were considered as clinically significant HPS ,the remaining 8 patients were considered as subclinical HPS. Dyspnoea was more often present in patients with clinically significant HPS (100%) compared with subclinical HPS (25%), and patients without HPS (9%). HPS correlated significantly with severity of liver disease according to the Child-Pugh score.Conclusion: hepatopulmonary syndrome is not uncommon , the prevalence of clinically significant hepatopulmonary syndrome (in this study) was 10% of patients with chronic liver disease and it correlated with disease severity according to the Child-Pugh score
This study assessed the quality of hand-dug drinking water sources in Eku and its environs at Eku I, Samagidi, Eku 2, and Okuechi, using the weighted arithmetic water quality index method. Water samples collected from hand-dug wells at these locations returned values for analyzed parameters. Temperature 26 – 30(⁰C), dissolved Oxygen (D.O) 5.2-8mg/l, biological oxygen demand (BOD) 5.2-8(mg/l), Electrical Conductivity (EC) 77-119(µS/cm), Total suspended solids were (TSS) 20000-120000(mg/l), pH 5.31-7.09, Phosphates 2-9.2(mg/l), Alkalinity 28-160(mg/l), Turbidity, 0.02 -0.19(NTU) Total coliform 2 -48 (cfu/ml) and fungal count 1-502. Variations in the values of these parameters were only significant for phosphate, alkalinity, and turb
... Show MoreImmunosuppressive cytokines are the main components of the tumor microenvironment and perform a vital function in controlling the immune response to malignant neoplasms.The objective: to study the influence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) on the development of breast tumors in women.Materials and methods. The concentration of cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β3 in blood serum was determined in 40 women with benign breast tumors, 40 women with malignant breast tumors, and 40 healthy patients without breast pathology, who were included in the control group.Breast cancer (BC) patients were divided into two groups; the first group included patients with the II stage of BC, who were considered to have a low le
... Show MorePoverty is defined as a low standard of living in the sense that a poor person can not afford a minimum standard of living. The phenomenon of poverty is one of the most serious problems that must be dealt with seriously. This phenomenon has persisted in Iraq for decades because of the harsh economic conditions and unstable security conditions due to the crises it has faced since 2013. This study requires much study and analysis. And rural areas as a special case. In this study, the researcher examined the poverty line as a criterion in estimating the poverty indicators, which include (poverty percentage H, poverty gap PG, poverty intensity PS), based on the continuous social and economic survey data for households in 2014. The ma
... Show MoreThe ceramic compound Mg1-xSixAl2O4 (x= 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) was prepared from nano powder of Al2O3 and MgO doped with Nano powder of SiO2 at different molar ratios. The specimens were prepared by standard chemical solid reaction technique and sintered at 1450 oC. Structure of the specimens was analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray patterns of the specimens showed the formation of pure simple cubic spinel structure MgAl2O4 phase with space group of ̅ . The average grain size and surface topology were studied by atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the average grain size was about 73-90 nm. The DC electrical properties of the specimen were measured. The apparent density was found to increase and the porosity a
... Show MoreIn this study four species from Solanaceae family was conducted. These four species belong to four different genera (Solanum L. ? Physalis L. ?Withania Pauq. ? Lycium L.) The study included morphological characters of sex organs and their pollen grains for these Iraqi wild plants.The results showed that the position of epipetalous stamens , the shape of anther, their dimensions ,and the length of filaments are important taxonomical characters .On the others hand the shape of their ovaries and stigmas are also important characters in distinguish between these four species .Pollen grains are similar in their general shapes and polarities, they have three germinal furrows and germinal apertures, so they are minor in distinguish between these f
... Show MoreThe porosity of materials is important in many applications, products and processes, such as electrochemical devices (electrodes, separator, active components in batteries), porous thin film, ceramics, soils, construction materials, ..etc. This can be characterized in many different methods, and the most important methods for industrial purposes are the N2 gas adsorption and mercury porosimetry. In the present paper, both of these techniques have been used to characterize some of Iraqi natural raw materials deposits. These are Glass Sand, Standard Sand, Flint Clay and Bentonite. Data from both analyses on the different types of natural raw materials deposits are critically examined and discussed. The results of specific surface are
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