Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common form of noncicatricial hair loss of unknown cause, affecting 0.1-0.2% of the general population. Most evidence supports the hypothesis that it is disease of the hair follicle of autoimmune nature mediated by T-cells, with important cytokine role. Objective of the Study. The objective of this study is to study the association and changes in serum levels of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with AA in relation to the type, activity, and disease duration. Patients and Methods. Thirty-eight patients with AA and 22 individuals without the disease as controls were enrolled in this case-controlled study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in the Al-K

Background: Avascular necrosis (AVN) is defined as cellular death of bone components due to interruption of the blood supply; the bone structures then collapse, resulting in bone destruction, pain, and loss of joint function. AVN is associated with numerous conditions and usually involves the epiphysis of long bones, such as the femoral head. In clinical practice, AVN is most commonly encountered in the hip. Early diagnosis and appropriate intervention can delay the need for joint replacement. However, most patients present late in the disease course. Without treatment, the process is almost always progressive, leading to joint destruction within 5 years.Treatment of a vascular necrosis depends mainly on early diagnosis which mainly base

Pro-inflammatory cytokines play an important role in intercellular communications. In the last two decades, many cytokines have been identified in human milk. These cytokines are variable according to different conditions such as pathogenic infections which strongly stimulated the immune response. The present study aims to determine of IL1β and TNF-α in Toxoplasma gondii-free and infected women in an attempt to clarify the impacts of the infections on cytokines especially in mother's milk. The serum and milk sample were collected from 96 samples (48 for seropositive and 48 for seronegative). To confirm the Toxoplasma gondii infection; enzyme linked immunofluorescence assay (ELIFA) was used to detect anti-Toxoplasma Ig

Background : Breast cancer is the most common cancer of
women. When breast cancer is detected and treated early,
the chances for survival are better. Surgery is the most
important treatment for non-metastatic breast cancer.
Al-Kindy Col Med J 2008 Vol.5(1) 40 Original Article
Objectives : The aim of this study is to review different
clinical presentation and to evaluate types of surgical
procedures and complications in treatment of nonmetastatic breast cancer.
Method : During the period from Jun 1998 to May 2005,
93 patients with non-metastatic breast cancer were
diagnosed and treated surgically in 2 hospitals in Baghdad (
Hammad Shihab military hospital and Al-Kindy teaching
hospital).
Results : Wo

GFRP was employed in constructions as an alternative to steel, which has many advantages like lightweight, large tensile strength and resist corrosion. Existing researches are insufficient in studying the influence of hybrid reinforced concrete composite columns encased by GFRP I-section (RCCCEG) and I-section steel (RCCCES). In this study twenty one (RC) specimens of a cross-section of 130 mm × 160 mm, with different length (long 1600 mm and short 750 mm) were encased by using I-section (steel and GFRP) and tested under various loading (concentric, eccentric and flexural loads). The test was focused on the influence of many parameters; load-carrying capacity, mode of failure, deformation and drawing an interaction diagram (N-

In this research, the structural behavior of reinforced concrete columns made of normal and hybrid reactive powder concrete (hybrid by steel and polypropylene fibers) subjected to chloride salts with concentration was 8341.6 mg/l. The study consists of two parts, the first one is experimental study and the second one is theoretical analysis.  Three main variables were adopted in the experimental program; concrete type, curing type and loading arrangement. Twenty (120x120x1200) mm columns were cast and tested depending on these variables. The samples were reinforced using two different bars; Ø8 for ties and Ø12 with minimum longitudinal reinforcement (0.01Ag). The specimens were divided into two main groups based o

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel concrete-encased column (CE) using small circular steel tubes filled with cementitious grouting material (GFST) as the primary reinforcement instead of traditional steel bars. The research involved three different types of reinforcement: conventional steel bars, concrete-filled steel tubes with 30% of the reinforcement ratio of steel bars, and concrete-filled steel tubes with the same reinforcement ratio as steel bars. Twenty-four circular concrete columns were tested and categorized into six groups based on the type of reinforcement employed. Each group comprised four columns, with one subjected to concentric axial load, two subjected to eccentric axial load (with eccentrici

  This research deals with the financial reporting for the non-current assets impairment from the viewpoint of international accounting standards, especially IAS 36 "Impairment of assets”. The research problem focused on the non-compliance with the requirements of IAS 36 which would negatively affect the accounting information quality, and its characteristics, especially the relevance of accounting information, that confirms the necessity of having such information for the three sub-characteristics in order to be useful for the decisions of users represented