Ectopic growth of normal cells or debris originating from endometrium, the inner layer of female reproductive tube leads to endometriosis. The main symptoms are dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, and sometimes chronic pelvic pain. Unfortunately, it has no cure or treatment, only symptoms relief medication or surgical removal. Endometriosis causes estrogen imbalance leading to intestinal bacterial estrobolome dysregulation and subsequent change in immune response. Our study aims to investigate the linkage between gut dysbiosis and immunological response in endometriotic mice. Balb/c mice were ovariectomized (OVX) 7 days before intraperitoneal transplantation of 2mm2 endometrial tissue from OVX donors to OVX- or intact ovary recipients. Colonic content was collected 2 weeks post transplantation for 16s rRNA pyrosequencing. Peritoneal exudate was collected and stained to determine the phenotype of infiltrating cells by flow cytometry. Results revealed a significant increase in the number of exudate cells, natural killer (NK) cells and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in endometriotic mice. Phylogenetic taxonomy showed an increase in the biomass of the bacteria in endometriotic OVX mice in comparison with endometriotic nonovariectomized mice. However, the abundance of Phylum Tenericutes, Order Clostridiales, Dehalobacterium sp. and Anaeroplasma sp. were decreased. Collectively, endometriosis changed estrogen metabolism and gut microbiota which resulted in the immune modulation. (Supported by NIH P01AT003961, R01AT006888, R01MH094755, P20GM103641, R01AI129788 and R01AI123947 to PN and MN, and MoHESR to AKM).
The Ratawi Oil Field (ROF) is one of Iraq's most important oil fields because of its significant economic oil reserves. The major oil reserves of ROF are in the Mishrif Formation. The main objective of this paper is to assess the petrophysical properties, lithology identification, and hydrocarbon potential of the Mishrif Formation using interpreting data from five open-hole logs of wells RT-2, RT-4, RT-5, RT-6, and RT-42. Understanding reservoir properties allows for a more accurate assessment of recoverable oil reserves. The rock type (limestone) and permeability variations help tailor oil extraction methods, extraction methods and improving recovery techniques. The petrophysical properties were calculated using Interactive Petroph
... Show MoreThe significant addition of immersive technologies, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality(AR) and Mixed Reality(MR) are transforming the domain of design education. Still, finding an equilibrium between these new tools alongside with traditional methods of teaching is a menace which educational institutes needs to solve. This paper proposes a structure that would help the ease with which to include immersive technologies within design education, keeping in mind the solid points of more conventional pedagogical methods. Based on a survey of interior design programs, this research highlights the potential for VR, AR and MR in student engagement, creativity skills and professional practices. The results suggest that adoption of an im
... Show MorePurpose: In view of the trend toward using international financial reporting standards when generating financial statements, we looked at the interaction between audit services and non-audit services for auditors in the context of actuarial services for insurance firms. CPAs are authorized to work in banks and insurance businesses, but those with a practicing license obtained after earning a higher academic degree are not. Design/methodology/approach: A small number of auditing firms control the decisions issued by the Iraqi Accountants Association, monopolizing audit services in banks and insurance businesses. In the case of actuarial services used in reserve estimation, they are credited to an external party's account withou
... Show MoreAbstract: The aim of the present work is to measure radon concentration in wood. Solid state nuclear track detectors of type CR – 39 was used as measurement device. Eight different samples of imported and local wood were collected from markets. Samples were grinded, dried in order to measure radon concentrations in it. Cylindrical diffusion tube was used as detection technique. Results show that the higher concentration was in Iraqi sample 1 which recorded (14.02 ± 0.9) Bq / m3, while the less was in Emirates Sample which recorded (5.35 ± 1.2) Bq / m3. From the present work, all wood samples were with lowest concentrations of radon gas than other building materials.
This study is an attempt to find whether arginine metabolism dysregulation by arginase activity is related to hyperglycemia, followed by changes in nitric oxide (NO) generation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study includes 42 control subjects (Group I), and 92 Iraqi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patient group was subdivided into two groups: Group II (54) with T2DM only and Group III (38) with T2DM and dyslipidemia (who were treating with atorvastatin along with diabetes treatment). The samples were obtained to measure arginase activity and NO levels. Serum arginase activity increased significantly in patients(groupII and groupIII) compared to control group. While serum NO level was significantly lower in diabetic pa
... Show MoreBackground and objective: Viral Hepatitis Type B&C is serious public health challenge throughout the world.Hepatitis B and C viruses still remain to be the major causes of chronic hepatitis.It is estimated that around 350-400 million people in the world are chronic carriers of HBV, which represents approximately 7% of the total populationwhereas infection with HCV is found in approximately 3% of the world population, which represents 160 million people. Hepatitis B infection has a wide range of seroprevalence in the Mediterranean countries ranging from intermediate (=>2% ) to high prevalence ( =>7%). World Health Organization estimated a prevalence rate for HCV infection of about 4.6% in Eastern Mediterranean in 1999. During the eightieths
... Show MoreSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were
... Show MoreThis study explores the barriers to adopting green environmental criteria in Supplier Selection (SS) within the Iraqi food industry. It aims to enhance the understanding of sustainable supply chain management in developing nations, with a particular focus on the Iraqi context. A case study approach was utilized to identify eleven key green environmental criteria and 54 sub-criteria, alongside seven major barriers to their adoption. The Best–Worst Method (BWM) was employed to rank the criteria, and Fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) was used to prioritize the barriers. The analysis revealed that Environmental Management Systems are the most critical criterion for SS. On the other hand, legislation and policies emerged
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