chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with episodes of exacerbation. Variable factors including infectious pathogen can predispose for this exacerbation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of intestinal protozoa in COPD exacerbation. A total of 56 patients with COPD were included in this study. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the frequency of exacerbation during the last 6 months: those with ≤1 exacerbation (32 patients) and those with ≥2 exacerbations (24 patients). Stool specimens from each patient were collected two times (one week interval) examined for intestinal parasite. In univariate analysis, rural residence and parasitic infection were more common among patie

According to so many previous studies, lack of sufficient information during prescribing steps may lead to medication errors. Thus, the presence of the clinical pharmacist during routine rounding process in the ward with intervention of patient care plan may reduce the probability of adverse drug events (ADEs).This study evaluate role of the clinical pharmacists, as a member of medical team with the physician, on ADEs and report their interventions in the internal medicine unit. This study was designed to compare between two groups of patients, those receiving care from a rounding team (physician, nurse, and clinical pharmacist) (study or intervention group with 51 patient); and those receiving c

The current research aims to measure the impact of the skills of human resources management professionals in information technology in Iraqi private banks, as the skills of human resources management professionals constitute the modern trend of banks' interest in employees with outstanding performance, and the presence of information technology in banks is a prerequisite for dealing with the huge amount of data. And converting it into information to support the decision-maker in light of a complex environment, and the field research problem was the presence of a clear lack of interest in the skills of human resource management professionals and the weak adoption of information technology, which was reflected negatively on the compet

Objectives: This study aims to broaden our knowledge of the role of eDNA in bacterial biofilms and antibiotic-resistance gene transfer among isolates. Methods: Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from different non-repeated 170 specimens. The bacterial isolates were identified using morphological and molecular methods. Different concentrations of genomic DNA were tested for their potential role in biofilms formed by study isolates employing microtiter plate assay. Ciprofloxacin resistance was identified by detecting a mutation in gyrA and parC. Results: The biofilm intensity significantly decreased (P < 0.05) concerning S. aureus isolates and insignificantly (P > 0.05) concernin

This study was design to characterize the immune response in experimentally Pseudomonas aeruginosa mastitis mice treated probiotic bifidocin and cazacin of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus casei. We quantified the level of the IFN-γ and TNF-α cytokines in blood by ELISA technique. IFN-γ level was significantly higher in infected group compared to control (340.21 ± 41.61, 8.45 ± 0.83 pg/ml, respectively). While the level of IFN-γ was significantly higher in mastitis mice than bifidocin and cazacin treated mice. Also, TNF-α level showed a significant increase in mastitis mice compared to controls (320.11±40.33, 8.45±0.83pg/ml, respectively). Among mastitis and bifidocin (9 and 18 mg/ml), cazacin (11 and 22 mg/ml) treate

Background: Axillary lymph node (ALN) enlargement with diffuse cortical thickening and conserved echogenic hilum may represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Sonographic strain elastography may help the characterization of borderline ALN. 

Aim: To evaluate the strain elastography of borderline ALN and to calculate a cutoff value of strain ratio (SR) that can identify suspicious ALN with the highest sensitivity and specificity to reduce unnecessary invasive procedures. 

Subjects and Methods: A prospective study included 45 patients who attended the Breast clinic in Oncology Teaching Hospital with borderline axillary lymphadenopathy (intact hilum and diffusely thic

The risk of breast cancer development is believed to be attributed to the alterations of a number of key biological components. Within this context, elevated levels of some chemokines that act as growth factors and can promote cancer development. The current study was designed to evaluate CXCL3 (a chemokine C-X-C Motif Ligand 3) and leptin (a peptide hormone synthesized by adipose tissue with cytokine activity) serum of Iraqi breast cancer patients in comparison to healthy controls. A total of 90 participants consisted of 60 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 30 healthy women as control group were enrolled into this case-control study. Venous blood samples were collected from all participants to evaluate CXCL3 and leptin serum levels

The research aims to shed light on banking liberalization and explain its impact on attracting customers, especially since Iraq adopted this policy after (2003) due to the changes that occurred, as the Central Bank of Iraq granted flexibility to banks in setting the interest rate on deposits and loans as well as allowing the entry of foreign banks in the local environment. The research relied on the analytical method for the dimensions of banking liberalization represented by (liberating interest rates, liberating credit, legal reserve requirements, entering foreign banks, privatization) as well as the factors affecting the attraction of customers, and a number of Iraqi banks listed in the Iraqi Stock Exchange were selected as a

Investments in shares represent an essential component of companies’ assets and a source of profit making resources. These investments are linked to the areas of trading and speculation, which is reflected on their market value, which makes accounting for and evaluating these investments require their own accounting standards, and thus several international standards were issued regarding this as well as a statement of their impact on growth Sustainable, as the research problem is to show the impact of measuring investments in shares according to international accounting and financial reporting standards on the sustainable growth of economic units, the research sample and its reflection on audit procedures. In accordance with i