Clinical index is needed to predict the outcome of pregnancy after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) for infertile patients. Growth differentiation factor-8 (GDF-8), also known as myostatin, is one of transforming growth factor-â superfamily localized in antral follicles in normal and PCOS ovaries but its function in female reproductive system is still unknown. Aim of the study is to assess the correlation between levels of GDF8 in follicular fluid (FF) with outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF/ICSI) in women with and without PCOS. A prospective case control study was performed enrolling (40) patients with PCOS and (40) non-PCOS women (male infertility) undergoing IVF/ICSI. The collection of follicular fluid was at the day of oocyte pick up. Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit was used to measure the levels of FF. GDF-8. A significant higher GDF8 level was found in PCOS group compared to non-PCOS group. Also, significant higher antral follicle count (AFC) in PCOS group in comparison tonon-PCOS group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the mean of follicle diameter, endometrium thickness, aspirated oocytes, metaphase II (M II) oocyte, fertilized oocytes, embryo at 2pro nucleus (2PN), transferred embryo, grade1 (G1) embryo, maturity rate, cleavage rate, fertilization rate and pregnancy outcomes. There was a significant positive correlation between GDF8 and G1 embryo in non-PCOS group. In non-PCOS group, mean GDF8 level was significantly higher in pregnant group than nonpregnant group. In PCOS group, mean GDF8 level was significantly.
Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a common health problem that has a worldwide distribution. Apart from the direct effect of the virus on the liver, there are many extrahepatic manifestations among which the probable effect on bone turnover associated with low bone mineral density (BMD). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the association between treated and untreated chronic HBV infection with BMD. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which included a total of 48 patients with chronic HBV (28 patients treated with tenofovir-disoproxil-fumarate [TDF] antiviral drug and 20 patients have not yet started treatment). Other age- and sex-matched 30 apparently healthy individuals were recruited to represent the hea
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The public procurement crisis in Iraq plays a fundamental role in the delay in the implementation of construction projects at different stages of project bidding (pre, during, and after). The procurement system of any country plays an important role in economic growth and revival. The paper aims to use the fuzzy logic inference model to predict the impact of the public procurement crisis (relative importance index and Likert scale) was carried out at the beginning to determine the most important parameters that affect construction projects, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) to set up, and finally, the fuzzy decision maker's (FDM) verification of the parameter for comparison with reality. Sixty-five
... Show MoreMonitoring lotic ecosystems is vital for addressing sustainability issues. The Al-Shamiyah River is the primary source of water for various daily activities in the Al-Shamiyah district. This study assessed the pollution levels of the river by measuring the concentration and distribution of heavy metals—specifically chromium, cadmium, manganese, copper, zinc, and lead—in both the river's water and sediments. The concentrations of heavy metals in the water ranged from 0.05 to 1.44µg/ L for copper (Cu), 1.57 to 7.25µg/ L for manganese (Mn), 0 to 1.7µg/ L for cadmium (Cd), 0.02 to 1.33µg/ L for lead (Pb), 0.08 to 2.74µg/ L for zinc (Zn), and 0.44 to 1.84µg/ L for chromium (Cr). In the particulate phase, the concentrations ranged from
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to determine the sources of growth of the cement industry in Iraq for the period 1990-2014 and to indicate the nature of the technological progress used in it. To achieve this objective we have built an econometric model, by adapting the production function constant elasticity for substitution, using multiple regression, and enforcement, SPSS program, and using the ordinary least squares method (OLS). The results showed that quantitative factors (labour and capital) are the main sources of growth the cement industry in Iraq, and the qualitative factors (technological progress) did not contribute effectively to achieve this growth. And that the production techniques adopted in the cement industry in
... Show MoreThe topic of the research aims to consolidate the concept of fair value, and then to identify the international financial reporting standard and its role in the application of fair value in the Iraqi local environment and the possibility of using it in determining the value of the company. To achieve the goal of the research, the analytical approach was adopted for the data and information that was obtained by the researcher by conducting interviews with a number of bank and department managers in a sample of Iraqi banks registered in the Iraq Stock Exchange, and then analyzed by adopting some quantitative financial methods. The researchers reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which was the impact of fair value accoun
... Show MoreThe research aims to find out the impact of Lee’s cognitive strategy on the achievement of fifth-grade literary students in the module of history. The research community consists of the secondary female day schools of Al-Karkh Al-Oula Directorate General of Education. The size of the research sample comprises (45) female students of the fifth grade of the literary brunch, (21) students for the experimental group and (24) students for the control group. The researchers have chosen an experimental design with partial control to suit the current research and its goal. They used a unified tool to measure the achievement of female students, which consisted of (50) items characterized by sincerity and they extracted the stability of t
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