BACKGROUND: The primary cause of blindness in diabetics is diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common microvascular complication of diabetes, and visual impairment. Visfatin is an adipocytokine that aids in insulin activity during gestational diabetes and pregnancy.

AIM: This study aimed to estimate serum visfatin levels in DR, proliferative (PDR), non-proliferative (NPDR), and healthy subjects (HS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 120-patient case-control study with a history of T2DM for more than 5 years as well as 30 healthy subjects enrolled in the study. Patients group divided into three sub-groups, DM, PDR, and NPDR. Visfatin levels w

Aim This study is an overview of NPEV investigated during AFP surveillance programs for the period 2010–2017 in Iraq. Methods Stool samples from 4296 AFP cases and 2933 healthy contacts among children less than 15 years of age were processed for virus isolation as a part of AFP surveillance for the Global Polio Eradication Program in Iraq at National Polio Laboratory. NPEV detection was performed by virus isolation on cell culture according to WHO recommendations. Results The NPEV isolation rate was 14% of total AFP cases and 14.5% of healthy contacts. The infection rate was higher in males than females with a male/female ratio of 1.5: 1. The highest NPEV infection rate was observed among the children aged 1-2 years and decrease significa

         Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common, debilitating, and chronic pain syndrome. The women are more likely to have more tender points on examination than are their male counterparts. Iraqi study showed that FM occur in 1.5% among adolescents of Iraqi population. In compare to normal healthy women, present study was revealed that Iraqi women with FM have significant elevation of calcium (p = 0.003) with significant reduction of magnesium (p = 0.001), whereas the inorganic phosphorous was not differs (p = 0.31). In conclusion, magnesium and calcium would play a crucial role in etiopathogenesis of fibromyalgia.

Key words: calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, Fibromyalgia.

Background: COVID-19 has caused a considerable number of hospital admissions in China since December 2019. Many COVID-19 patients experience signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome, and some are even in danger of dying. Objective: to measure the serum levels of D-dimer, Neutrophil-Lymphocyte count ratio (NLR), and neopterin in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 in Baghdad, Iraq. And to determine the cut-off values (critical values) of these markers for the distinction between the severe patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 and the controls. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, we collect blood from 89 subjects, 45 were severe patients hospitalized in many Baghdad medical centers who were diagnosed with COVID

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase in salivary pleomorphic adenoma, and to correlate the two studied markers with each other and with clinicopathological parameters including: age, sex, tumor site and histopathological presentation. Methods: Sections of twenty five formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks specimens of salivary pleomorphic adenoma were immunostained using monoclonal antibodies (Fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase) to assess their expression in this tumor. Results: The expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase were positive in all pleomorphic adenoma cases (100%). The positive expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 was signi

Background: The mechanical properties of 3D-printed denture base resins are crucial factors for determining the quality and performance of dentures inside a patient’s mouth. Tensile strength and diametral compressive strength are two properties that could play significant roles in assessing the suitability of a material. Although they measure different aspects of material behavior, a conceptual link exists between them in terms of overall material strength and resilience. Aim: This study aims to investigate the correlation between tensile strength and diametral compressive strength after incorporating 2% ZrO2 nanoparticles (NPs) by weight into 3D-printed denture base resin. Methods: A total of 40 specimens (20 dumbbell-shaped and

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (m-MIMO) is considered as an essential technique to meet the high data rate requirements of future sixth generation (6G) wireless communications networks. The vast majority of m-MIMO research has assumed that the channels are uncorrelated. However, this assumption seems highly idealistic. Therefore, this study investigates the m-MIMO performance when the channels are correlated and the base station employs different antenna array topologies, namely the uniform linear array (ULA) and uniform rectangular array (URA). In addition, this study develops analyses of the mean square error (MSE) and the regularized zero-forcing (RZF) precoder under imperfect channel state information (CSI) and a realist

Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency. The diagnosis of this condition is still essentially clinical and there is difficulty in the clinical diagnosis, especially among elderly, children and patients with a typical presentation, so early and accurate diagnosis of acute appendicitis is important to avoid its complications.Objectives: To evaluate the degree of accuracy of Alvarado scoring system in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Method: Two hundred patients were admitted to the Alkindy Teaching Hospital from January 2011 to april 2014- presented with symptoms and signs suggestive of acute appendicitis. After examination and investigations all patients were given a score according to Alvarado sc