Objectives Acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD) is an inherited autosomal recessive disease caused by pathogenic variants in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase-1 (SMPD1) gene, which encodes acid sphingomyelinase (ASM). ASMD has 3 broad phenotypes (type A, type A/B, and type B) characterized by the age of onset, symptomatology, and the rapidity of disease progression. The diagnosis of ASMD can be delayed or missed because of the wide spectrum of severity and its variable manifestations. Analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations can help to determine ASMD disease type and inform management. Here, we describe the clinical presentation of 47 patients with ASMD referred to a single center in Iraq since 2007, whose diagnosis was confirmed b

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent clinical condition, that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Objective: To assess the level of soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) as a biomarker in the diagnosis and immunopathogenesis of GERD patients. Methods: The case-control prospective study included 40 GERD patients who were consulted at the Gastroenterology Unit of AlKindy Teaching Hospital, as along with 40 healthy control subjects. The study period extended from January 2023 to May 2024. Blood was drawn from both groups and serum was separated to assesssHLA-E using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in sHLA-E levels between GERD patients and healthy cont

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is every object around us and it is used to connect these objects to the Internet to verify Machine to Machine (M2M) communication. The smart house system is the most important application of IoT technology; it is increase the quality of life and decrease the efforts. There were many problems that faced the existing smart house networking systems, including the high cost of implementation and upgrading, high power consumption, and supported limited features. Therefore, this paper presents the design and implementation of smart house network system (SHNS) using Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms as network infrastructure with ZigBee technology as wireless communication. SHNS consists of two mai

Giving advice refers to an attempt by the speaker to express what the addressee should do in a particular situation or what is good for him/her. It is also a feature of making social relations and communications move smoothly and become stronger. The current study aims to investigate the strategies of the speech act of advice by old females and males for the younger generation in written signs. Comparison is made between old females and males regarding their pragmatic use of advice and the way they are manifested in expressing gender identity differences. The sample of the study consists of (30) written signs of advice divided equally between the two gender groups. Hinkel’s (1997) classification of the strategies for perceiving th

The presence of alkaloids in Crassula ovata is a topic that is still unexplored, as there are no published studies on the matter. This study demonstrates the presence of an alkaloid compound (and its class) for the first time in Crassula ovata. The plant material was defatted with n-hexane, and a Soxhlet apparatus was used for the extraction process, while the acid-base method was used for the isolation of alkaloids from the chloroform fractions. The quaternary alkaloid was precipitated from the aqueous layer spontaneously, in high quantity. By using standard spectroscopic methods (including liquid chromatography - mass spectroscopy) we were able to clarify the structure of the precipi¬tated compound as a tetrahydroprotoberberine a

Background: The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into healthcare necessitates that nursing education evolves to equip students with essential technological competencies. Objectives: To explore pediatric nursing students' perceptions of AI in nursing and analyze associations with sociodemographic factors and prior AI knowledge. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2024 to March 2025 across five universities in Baghdad. A non-probability sample of 500 pediatric nursing students completed the Shinners Artificial Intelligence Perception (SAIP) tool. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential comparisons (t-tests/ANOVA) via SPSS. Results: Participants had a mean ag

Perhaps the issue of media and the press, especially one of the most common topics that people deliberate and deal with permanently and continuously. An issue of such significance has pushed researchers to put the following question, “Is it possible to live without media?”, “Can people ignore the newspaper, radio, TV, or the other communication means?”

The answer is very simple. It is difficult for civilized society to overtake information, or dispense with circulation, at the individual or collective level. Yet, the question of how to make the media and how it determines its content still requires extensive media experience; and knowledge of the social structure and its relations; and ac

The current research aims through its chapters to verify the relationship and impact of strategic leadership as an independent variable in the marketing performance as a respondent variable, in a leap cement plant, and try to come up with a set of recommendations that contribute to enhancing the practice and adoption of the two variables in the organization under discussion. And based on the importance of the research topic to the community, and to the researched organization and its members, the analytical and analytical approach was adopted in the completion of this research, and the research community included a leap cement plant in Anbar Governorate, while the research sample was represented by (department heads, and people o