Abstract Objective: The underlying molecular basis of ischemic heart diseases (IHDs) has not yet been studied among Iraqi people. This study determined the frequency and types of some cardiovascular genetic risk factors among Iraqi patients with IHDs. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study recruiting 56 patients with acute IHD during a 2-month period excluding patients >50 years and patients with documented hyperlipidemia. Their ages ranged between 18 and 50 years; males were 54 and females were only 2. Peripheral blood samples were aspirated from all patients for troponin I and DNA testing. Molecular analysis to detect 12 common cardiovascular genetic risk factors using CVD StripAssay® (ViennaLab Diagnostics GmbH, Austria) was performed. Results: The genotype frequencies of 12 genetic mutations/polymorphisms were as follows: MTHFR A1298C and C677T were the highest reported mutations (62.5% and 50%, respectively), followed by β-fibrinogen gene mutation, homozygous angiotensin-converting enzyme D/D, heterozygous human platelet antigen-1(a/b) polymorphisms, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/4G, homozygous E4 allele of apolipoprotein E gene, Leu allele of Factor XIII V34L variant, heterozygous FV R2, Factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin G20210A mutation, respectively. Genetic risk scores were calculated and a number ranging from 0 to 8 were given to each patient. None (0%) had a risk score >6 or <2; 22 (39.3%) patients had a risk score of 4 and >60% of cases had a risk score of 4 or more. Conclusion: The obtained results constitute a reference guide where future studies on normal people and older IHD patients can rely on to determine whether these can be used for pre-clinical risk assessment.
A major disadvantage of dose reconstruction by means of thermoluminescence (TL) is the fact that during readout of any TL material exposed to ionizing radiation (i.e., during measuring the glow curve), the radiation-induced signal gets lost. Application of the photo-transferred thermoluminescence phenomenon (PTTL) may offer a solution to this problem. In PTTL, the residual signal that is not destroyed by conventional TL readout (because it comes from deeper electron traps) can be readout through simultaneous stimulation by UV light and heating, allowing to obtain information about the absorbed dose in a second run. The present paper describes the application of PTTL for emergency dose assessment. For
The design of safe pedestrian facilities usually depends on the assessment of pedestrian characteristics and behavior. In this investigation, pedestrian walking speed through the religious occasion have been monitored at three locations, Al- Kadhimiya (Imam AL-Kadim), Najaf and Karbala (Imam AL-Husain) holy shrines. Video captures of the pedestrian through their walking to the two holy shrines have been prepared and analyzed for walking speed, gender, age groups, and clothing tradition. The pedestrian sample size is 468, 501, and 447 for Al- Kadhimiya, Karbala, and Najaf respectively. When the gender is taken into consideration, it can be noted that the walking speed of male and female pedestrian is (0.97, 1.68, and 1.63
... Show MoreIn Iraq, there is a limited research work exploring the clinical pharmacists' role from the point of view of other healthcare professionals. To investigate physicians' assessment of clinical pharmacy services at Baghdad hospitals, and compare junior physicians with senior physicians' point of view. The study was conducted in twelve governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Data was collected from a sample of two hundred physicians, and through a validated, self-administered questionnaire, which comprised twenty statements in addition to a non-personal information form that precedes the questionnaire The study findings reveal a somewhat positive point of view towards clinical pharmacists' performance in Baghdad h
... Show MoreThe vegetable cover plays an important role in the environment and Earth resource sciences. In south Iraq, the region is classified as arid or semiarid area due to the low precipitations and high temperature among the year. In this paper, the Landat-8 satellite imagery will be used to study and estimate the vegetable area in south Iraq. For this purpose many vegetation indices will be examined to estimate and extract the area of vegetation contain in and image. Also, the weathering parameters must be investigated to find the relationship between these parameters and the arability of vegetation cover crowing in the specific area. The remote sensing packages and Matlab written subroutines may be use to evaluate the results.
Solar energy is one of the immeasurable renewable energy in power generation for a green, clean and healthier environment. The silicon-layer solar panels absorb sun energy and converts it into electricity by off-grid inverter. Electricity is transferred either from this inverter or from transformer, consumed by consumption unit(s) available for residential or economic purposes. The artificial neural network is the foundation of artificial intelligence and solves many complex problems which are difficult by statistical methods or by humans. In view of this, the purpose of this work is to assess the performance of the Solar - Transformer - Consumption (STC) system. The system may be in complete breakdown situation due to failure of both so
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al-Diwaniya, one of cities in the southern part in Iraq. This evaluation could be used to facilitate effluent quality assessment or optimal process control of the plant. The influent reaching the plant is considered a medium to strong in strength with BOD5/COD ratio in the range 0.23 and 0.69 which can be considered an easily degradable sewage by the biological processes performed by the activated sludge unit. The quality of the effluent was found to be higher than the Iraqi standards for disposal to water bodies. The BOD5/COD ratios of the treated sewage varied over a wide range as low of 0.13 to 1.48 indicating operational problems in the plant. Regression ana
... Show MoreBackground: Among individuals who have a stenotic aortic valve, a precise assessment of aortic valve area is essential for clinical judgment. So far, no studies have been conducted to investigate and assess the role of the three dimensional echo-cardiography in the assessment of the valve stenosis. This study aims to compare and assess the precision of the measurement of the stenosis area of the aortic valve by 2D versus 3D echo-cardiography.
Background: Powerlifters and bodybuilders use anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) especially – as many as 55 percent of elite powerlifters admitted using these agents. In contrast to numerous documented toxic and hormonal effects of AAS their impact on the structure and function of the left ventricular (LV) was not yet fully understood.
Moisture induced damage in asphaltic pavement might be considered as a serious defect that contributed to growth other distresses such as permanent deformation and fatigue cracking. This paper work aimed through an experimental effort to assess the behaviour of asphaltic mixtures that fabricated by incorporating several dosages of carbon fiber in regard to the resistance potential of harmful effect of moisture in pavement. Laboratory tests were performed on specimens containing fiber with different lengths and contents. These tests are: Marshall Test, the indirect tensile test and the index of retained strength. The optimum asphalt contents were determined based on the Marshall method. The preparation of asphaltic mixtures involved
... Show MoreBackground: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease with an autoimmune inflammatory pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of angiogenesis in the pathogenesis of OLP, using CD34 stain to highlight the blood vessels for measuring the microvessel density (MVD) as well as to evaluate the relation of this marker with the degree of inflammation Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining technique was used to evaluate angiogenesis using CD34 in 46 paraffin blocks 10 of them obtained from normal mucosa and 36 from cases diagnosed as lichen planus , 20 of them diagnosed as Reticular type while 16 as erosive type. Severity of inflammation was divided into mild, moderate and severe accordi
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