Background: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical
problem that is associated with an acute-phase reaction.
Previous studies have shown that cytokines and acutephase proteins are activated and may serve as indicators for
appendicitis.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate of serum
levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in correlation to the severity
to acute appendicitis.
Methods: This is a prospective study from December 2008
to March 2009 of patients who had appendectomy in
Department of Surgery, Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital -
Baghdad/Iraq. Serum for estimating levels of interleukin-6
(IL-6) was taken pre-operatively. Depending on the
macroscopic evidence during the operation and the
histopathological examination of the specimens, the
patients were separated into 3 groups, group one with
negative appendectomy (normal appendix), group two with
non-complicated acute appendicitis (catarrhal,
suppurative), and group three with complicated acute
appendicitis (perforated, gangrenous). The
histopathological results were correlated with IL-6 values
statistically.
Results: A total number of 50 patients were included in
this study, 28 male (56%) and 22 female (44%). The mean
age was 23 year (ranged from 7 to 50). On histological
examination, there were 7 patients (14%) in group one, 29
patients (58%) in group two, and 14 patients (28%) in
group three. Serum IL-6 values gave true negative results
in 6%, true positive results in 82%, false negative results in
4%, and false positive results in 8%. We determined,
therefore, in the present study the sensitivity, specificity,
and accuracy of serum IL-6 were calculated as 95.34%,
42.85%, and 88% respectively.
Conclusion: Laboratory results should be considered to be
integrated within the clinical assessment. If used critically,
IL-6 can provide surgeons with complementary
information in discerning the necessity for urgent
operation
In this study, the effect of construction joints on the performance of reinforced concrete beams was experimentally investigated. Seven beam specimens, with dimensions of 200×100×1000 mm, were fabricated. The variables were considered including; the location and configuration of the joints. One beam was cast without a joint (Reference specimen), two specimens were fabricated with a one horizontal joint located either at tension, or compression zone. The fourth
beam had two horizontal joints placed at tension, and compression area. The remaining specimens were with one or two inclined joints positioned at the shear span or beam’s mid-span. The specimens were subjected to a monotonic central concentrated loading until the failure. T
Soil stabilization with liquid asphalt is considered as a sustainable step towards roadway construction on problematic subgrade soil, there are no requirements to import good quality materials or to implement energy consumption, but to mix the readily available soil with liquid asphalt through the cold mix technique. In this work, collapsible soil obtained from Nasiriya was mixed with asphalt emulsion, lime, and combinations of lime and asphalt emulsion (combined stabilization) and tested in the laboratory for California bearing ratio in dry and soaked conditions. Field trial sections have been prepared with the same combinations and subjected to plate bearing test. The influence of combined stabilization on the structural properties in ter
... Show MoreThe electronic structure of zinc blend indium gallium phosphide In0.5Ga0.5P nanocrystals which have dimension (2-2.8 nm) is investigated using the density functional theory coupled with large unit cell (LUC) for the different size core (8 ,16,54,64) atoms respectively. The investigated properties include total energy, energy gap, conduction band, valence band, cohesive energy, ionicity and density of state etc. as a function of core size and lattice constant. Results show the shape effect of increasing the core size and lattice constant on these electronic properties
The general assumption of linear variation of earth pressures with depth on retaining structures is still controversial; investigations are yet required to determine those distributions of the passive earth pressure (PEP) accurately and deduce the corresponding centroid location. In particular, for rigid retaining walls, the calculation of PEP is strongly dependent on the type of wall movement. This paper presents a numerical analysis for studying the influence of wall movement on the PEP distribution on a rigid retaining wall and the passive earth thrust location. The numerical predictions are remarkably similar to existing experimental works as recorded on scaled test models and ful
This research was based on two pillars. The first is a comparison between of research done and the result of a particular variable of research indebendently in the united state, and second, knowledge and determine the effect of managers practices on the contributions of personnel. The manager and staff are considered to be the most important elements in the organization and all of them have a duty towards the others which governed by the relationship rules of procedure of the ministry researched, on the one hand and the interests of the organization and hence employees , whether executives or employees within management formations that the availability of an acceptable level of good pract
... Show MoreGypsum is one of the important construction materials in Iraq in plastering surfaces and gypsum board , the ability of gypsum to give a comfortable an aesthetic ambiance as a construction material increase the need of gypsum , The particle size , total surface area and particle size distribution were factors affecting plaster properties used for construction properties . In this study gypsum paste was used with different mixing ratios of particle size and studied the physical properties of these types of pastes named (standard consistency ,setting time ,density) and compressive strength . The results showed that the water to gypsum ratio increased with increasing the fineness of the gypsum to (0.75%) and the setting time to the maxi
... Show MoreFood comes after air and water in terms of importance in the survival of human beings, In addition, it is the support and strength of health and support, if lost or destroyed man would die or get sick and become a heavy burden on himself and his society. Food, like other sources of life, is subject to various risks and corruption comes from countless sources. Among these dangers is the result of spontaneousness, lack of knowledge or compulsion due to the interaction of variables beyond the will of the producer and the consumer, such as pollution of water, air and environment and their reflection on food consumed by people. However, we can’t deny that some reasons of corruption are intentional and resulting from a planning in advance in
... Show MoreThe scarcity of irrigation water requires procedures of specific. One of these procedures is the implementation of the rationing system (a period of the irrigation followed by a period of the dry). This system can have an impact on the properties of irrigation channels. Therefore, the study of rationing system for irrigation channels is important in both water resources and civil engineering, especially if they are constructed with gypseous soil. In order to assess the rationing system on gypseous canals stabilized with a specific ratio of cement, practical experiments were conducted to detect the effect of wetting and drying cycles on the physical and hydraulic behavior of this soil and calculation of some properties of soil such a
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