Background: Opportunistic viral infections make an important threat to renal transplantation recipients (RTRs), and with the use of more intense newly-developed immunosuppressive drugs; the risk of renal allograft loss due to reactivation of these viruses has increased considerably. At the top priority of these viruses lie BK polyomavirus (BKV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Reactivation of these viruses in these chronically immunosuppressed RTRs can lead to renal impairment and subsequently allograft loss, unless early detected and properly treated. Objectives: The study aimed to detect and quantify plasma viral load of BKV and CMV in RTRs using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR), in order to study the prevalence of these two viruses in the sole renal transplantation center in Baghdad, and correlate viral load with the diseases severity. Furthermore, the prevalence of BKV-CMV coexistence in RTRs, to find out whether infection by one of them is a risk factor for infection by the other was investigated. Patients and Methods:A total of 99 RTR were enrolled in the study, and 15 non-transplanted patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD) together with 15 health living donors (LD) were taken as controls. Plasma samples were taken from all participants. From which viral DNA was extracted, and then real time PCR technique was used to measure the viral load. Results:Out of 99, 12 (12.12%) of RTR patients were positive for BK viremia with a viral load (VL) ranging from (1x102 to 1x109 copies/ml), while none of the control groups was BK positive, and 5 patients out of these 12 had BKV nephropathy. For CMV, 13.13% of RTR patients had positive CMV viremia with a VL ranging from (1.25x102 to 7.94x107 copies/ml), and only one of the CKD controls was CMV positive. Only 3 patients had BK-CMV coexistence, which was statistically not a significant risk factor for one another. Conclusion: Our study suggests that both BK polyomavirus and CMV should be considered important causes for nephropathy and allograft loss in RTRs in Iraq.
The aim of this research is to study the effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the temperature and precipitation patterns in Baghdad city. Data of the monthly means of the NAO index,the monthlymeans of temperature, and the monthly total of precipitation were analyzed for the period 1900-2008. Non-parametric tests were used to investigate the correlations between these variables. The time series of temperature and precipitation showed no trends. The results indicated that is a slight correlation between the NAO and temperature and precipitation suggesting that NAO has no major effects on the temperature and precipitation patterns in Baghdad city.
Many studies of the relationship between COVID-19 and different factors have been conducted since the beginning of the corona pandemic. The relationship between COVID-19 and different biomarkers including ABO blood groups, D-dimer, Ferritin and CRP, was examined. Six hundred (600) patients, were included in this trial among them, 324 (56%) females and the rest 276 (46%) were males. The frequencies of blood types A, B, AB, and O were 25.33, 38.00, 31.33, and 5.33%, respectively, in the case group. Association analysis between the ABO blood group and D-dimer, Ferritin and CRP of COVID-19 patients indicated that there was a statistically significant difference for Ferritin (P≤0.01), but no-significant differences for both D-dimer and CRP.
... Show MoreThe involvement of maxillofacial tissues in SARS‐CoV‐2 infections ranges from mild dysgeusia to life‐threatening tissue necrosis, as seen in SARS‐CoV‐2‐associated mucormycosis. Angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which functions as a receptor for SARS‐CoV‐2 was reported in the epithelial surfaces of the oral and nasal cavities; however, a complete understanding of the expression patterns in deep oral and maxillofacial tissues is still lacking.
The immunohistochemical expression of ACE2 was analyzed in 95 specimens from maxillofacial tissues and 10 specimens o
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) represent one of the key technologies in internet of things (IoTs) networks. Since WSNs have finite energy sources, there is ongoing research work to develop new strategies for minimizing power consumption or enhancing traditional techniques. In this paper, a novel Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) algorithm is proposed for mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) for energy saving. Performance evaluation of the clustering process with the GMM algorithm shows a remarkable energy saving in the network of up to 92%. In addition, a comparison with another clustering strategy that uses the K-means algorithm has been made, and the developed method has outperformed K-means with superior performance, saving ener
... Show MoreThe current study was designed to investigate the impact of the missense Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), Asn291Ser (c.872A>G: rs12470652), of LHR gene (Luteinizing hormone receptor gene) in peripheral blood samples of Iraqi infertile women diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (POF) and normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism(niHH, patients with normal sense of smell). Following the hormonal analysis, fifty women diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and fifty women diagnosed with normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism were included as patient groups, while fifty healthy fertile women were enrolled as a control group. The blood samples were obtained from patient and control groups at Kamal Al-Samarra
... Show MoreType 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is the furthermost common form of DM which is identified by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and relative insulin deficiency. This study aims to detect the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in patients with T2DM compared with the healthy control and to investigate the relationship between IL-17 and insulin resistance. The study involved 50 Iraqi T2DM patients, randomly selected with an age range of 33-71 years .For the purpose of comparison, 30 Iraqi healthy persons with an age range of 33-71 years were also included. Patients and control groups were characterized in terms of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance(HOMA-IR),fasting serum glucose (FSG) and lipid pr
... Show MoreAmidst the changes resulting from the subject matter of expression in art. The necessity of searching for the expressive features of thought that leaves different imprints with aesthetic features and values which called for re-modifying the expressive vision of contemporary drawings. Therefore, this research has been concerned with the study of (abstract expressive features in the drawings of (Serwan Baran) and (Eric Barto) - a comparative study), and the research includes four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to explaining the research problem, its importance, need, purpose, and limits, then determining the most important terms mentioned in it. Where the research problem dealt with the subject of abstract expressive feature
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