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
This paper deals with prediction the effect of soil remoulding (smear) on the ultimate bearing capacity of driven piles. The proposed method based on detecting the decrease in ultimate bearing capacity of the pile shaft (excluding the share of pile tip) after sliding downward. This was done via conducting an experimental study on three installed R.C piles in a sandy clayey silt soil. The piles were installed so that a gap space is left between its tip and the base of borehole. The piles were tested for ultimate bearing capacity
according to ASTM D1143 in three stages. Between each two stages the pile was jacked inside the borehole until a sliding of about 200mm is achieved to simulate the soil remoulding due to actual pile driving. T
A3D geological model was constructed for Al-Sadi reservoir/ Halfaya Oil Field which is discovered in 1976 and located 35 km from Amara city, southern of Iraq towards the Iraqi/ Iranian borders.
Petrel 2014 was used to build the geological model. This model was created depending on the available information about the reservoir under study such as 2D seismic map, top and bottom of wells, geological data & well log analysis (CPI). However, the reservoir was sub-divided into 132x117x80 grid cells in the X, Y&Z directions respectively, in order to well represent the entire Al-Sadi reservoir.
Well log interpretation (CPI) and core data for the existing 6 wells were the basis of the petrophysical model (
... Show MoreThe aim of this scientific paper is to highlight the effective role of women working in economic development, especially those working in the entrepreneurial sector, which we see as encouraging at the macro-economic level and at the personal level, by highlighting their potential to help them enter the private labour market, value them and empower their role in the economic arena in order to win this bet to become productive and effective workers at all levels.
Through this paper, we will try to highlight the role of Algerian women's contribution to economic development through access to the world of entrepreneurship, and we will also try to find statistics on their success levels at the local and interna
... Show MoreIn 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
In this experimental study, the use of stone powder as a stabilizer to the clayey soil studied. Tests of Atterberg limits, compaction, fall cone (FCT), Laboratory vane shear (LVT), and expansion index (EI) were carried out on soil-stone powder mixtures with fixed ratios of stone powder (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) by the dry weight. Results indicated that the undrained shear strength obtained from FCT and LVT increased at all the admixture ratios, and the expansion index reduced with the increase of the stone powder.
in this paper sufficient conditions of oscillation of all of nonlinear second order neutral differential eqiation and sifficient conditions for nonoscillatory soloitions to onverage to zero are obtained
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
The operation and management of water resources projects have direct and significant effects on the optimum use of water. Artificial intelligence techniques are a new tool used to help in making optimized decisions, based on knowledge bases in the planning, implementation, operation and management of projects as well as controlling flowing water quantities to prevent flooding and storage of excess water and use it during drought.
In this research, an Expert System was designed for operating and managing the system of AthTharthar Lake (ESSTAR). It was applied for all expected conditions of flow, including the cases of drought, normal flow, and during floods. Moreover, the cases of hypothetical op
... 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 purpose of this study is to explore whether the adoption of Beyond Budgeting (BB) as a management accounting practice (MAP) contributes to developing intellectual capital (IC) and creating value in Iraqi companies. This requires an understanding of the views of the Iraqi managers about the nature of the information provided by this practice, which may be used to determine whether this information is relevant in the management of IC in the context of Iraq. This research aims also to explore the challenges of the adoption of the BB in planning and controlling IC in Iraq. The study adopts a qualitative approach and an interpretive paradigm. It also adopts a semi-structured interview method of collecting data from executive managers
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