This research aims to evaluate the serum levels of vitamin D and interleukin 17 (Il-17) in pregnant women, then finding the correlation between these maternal parameters and fetus biophysical profile. Healthy pregnant women (n=45) and  non-pregnant control (n=45) were involved in the study, who attended Baghdad medical laboratory, Baghdad, Iraq, with an age range of 20 to 40 years. An analytical study was conducted from October 2019 until January 2020.

The results of the study show that the mean value of vitamin D level significantly increases (P≤0.05) in pregnant women (11.07±0.93 ng/ml) in comparison with that in non-pregnant control (8.03±0.69 ng/ml). The level of IL-17 was significantly higher (P≤0.001) in the preg

     Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common endocrine disorder and one of the highly progressive diseases which is indicated by high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). The present study aims to study the effects of treatment with zinc and vitamin C on glycemic profile [fasting blood sugar (FBS), glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1C), and insulin hormone level] in type 2 diabetic patients. The study included 56 diabetic patients [30 without foot ulcers (15 without zinc and vitamin C supplements, 15 with zinc and vitamin C supplements) and 26 with foot ulcers (15 without zinc and vitamin C supplements, 11 with zinc and vitamin C supplements)]. Also, 15 healthy persons were used as a control group. The patients were enrol

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells against myelin-basic proteins. Cytokines are suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Among these cytokines is interleukin-2 (IL-2). Aim of the study: To investigate the association between IL2+166 G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs2069763) and MS in Iraqi patients. Serum level of IL-2 was also detected. Anti-rubella IgG antibody was further determined in the sera of patients. Patients and methods: Eighty MS patients (28 males and 52 females; age mean ± SD: 39.2 ± 16.1 years) and 80 healthy control matched patients for age (32.15 ± 16.13 years) and gender (28 males and 52 females) were en

The influence of Toxoplasma gondii on some biochemical parameters has lately gained an increasing attention. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some biochemical parameters in Toxoplasma positive and negative subjects. An analytical case–control study was achieved in Baghdad for the period from October 2018 until March 2019. Forty nine females participated in this study, with an age range of 18-55 years. The participants were separated into two groups, namely Toxoplasma positive subjects (n=21) and Toxoplasma negative subjects (n=28), based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood and serum samples were collected from all subjects to evaluate the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lip

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a devious pathogen with the tendency to prompt many acute and serious chronic diseases. This study aims to detect novel genes (Toxins-Antitoxins II system), especially; higB and higA encoded from P. aeruginosa by PCR technique and the relation between these genes and antibiotic resistance of P. aeruginosa. Methods: This study detected 50 isolates of P. aeruginosa from distinct clinical sources. The most common origin of isolates was (44%) burn swabs, (22%) urine culture, (12%) wound swabs, (14%) sputum, and (8%) ear swabs. The bacteria were isolated using implantation MacConkey agar and blood agar, as well as biochemical tests including oxidase test, catalase test then VITEK-2 System of P. aerug

  Introduction and Aim: Bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides that have bactericidal and/or bacteriostatic activity against other bacteria. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial efficiency of Klebocin a K. pneumoniae bacteriocin, against biofilm formation by clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA.   Materials and Methods: S. aureus isolated from clinical samples was identified according to vitek 2 system Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed according to disc diffusion method. Vitek 2 compact system was also used to detect MRSA strains. Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of klebocin from K. pneumoniae towards 11 strains of S. aureus by

The therapeutic value of the phenolic component and pure thymol was well known; this study comprised the extraction of crude phenol from two plants (Thymus vulgaris and Artemisia annua) which contain thymol with pure thymol and evaluate their effect on hematological and histological by using three different concentrations of each plant extract and pure thymol to tested them on lab mice. All the mice were allowed free access to water and feed for 21 days in laboratory conditions; orally, pure water was administered to the control mice (group I), while groups II, III, and IV were given orally with T. vulgaris, A. annua, combination of last two crude phenol plant extract 50:50 and pure thymol respectively. The levels of CHO, TRI, and HDL were

 This research aims to study the morphological anatomical characteristics and geographical distribution of the species Horwoodia dicksoniae (Turrill) belong to Brassicaceae family in Iraq. The results were revealed the morphological characteristics of the root, stem, leaves, fruits and seeds, abaxial surface of the leaf characterized by covered with simple hairs. The fruits were circular in shape with wide wing and have one seed. The seeds were conical shape and pustular surface configuration. The anatomical characteristics of the root, stem, and leaf were studied and the cross-section of the root was characterized by thick periderm layer and cortex layer consisting primarily of parenchyma cells, stem cross section was characterize

The present study was conducted to biocontrol in vitro and in vivo of Fusarium
oxysporum that cause Fusarium wilt diseases for eggplant plants by using biological
control agent fungus Trichoderma harzianum. Fourteen isolates from F. oxysporum
were isolated and identified from two fields in Iraq. Pathogenicity test indicated that
all F. oxysporum isolates were pathogenic for eggplant but differed in its level of
pathogenicity. Four of the fourteen isolates from F. oxysporum were selected
depending on their highest pathogenicity for eggplant plants, F. oxysporum four
isolates F5, F6, F13 and F14 achieved at pre emergence 83.3%, 83.3%, 86.7% and
83.3% and at post emergence 90.0%, 90.0%, 83.3% and 76.7% respectively.

Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease that occurs as a result of infection with a unicellular parasite belonging to the genus Leishmania. Diagnosis by conventional methods is inaccurate and is not sensitive to confirm the genus infection. Here, we have investigated a methods for Leishmania genus diagnosis, which includes the technique of polymerase chain reaction to detect the presence of the parasite at in vitro for promastigote cultures using three genus-specific primer pairs to amplify HSP70, ITS, and ITS2. The results showed single band of ~1422, ~1020, and ~550 respectively. This study has proved the ability of these primer pairs to detect Leishmania infection and recommend them to be used for detection of leishmaniasis in

Context has a great value in determining meanings and understanding speech as well as it has a significant impact on interpretation of the sacred text (Holy Quran) since it needs to be carefully understood by knowing the different circumstances

Distribution of light intensity in the flat photobioreactor for microalgae cultivation as a step design for production of bio-renewable energy was addressed in the current study. Five sizes of bioreactors with specific distances from the main light source were adopted as independent variables in experiential design model. The results showed that the bioreactor’s location according to the light source, determines the nature of light intensity distribution in the reactor body. However, the cross-section area plays an important role in determining the suitable location of reactor to achieve required light homogeneity. This area could change even the expected response of the light passing through the reactor if Beer-Lambert's law is adopted.

Strong evidence showed that many medicinal plants have the potential to reduce hyperlipidemia disease. The aim of this study was to determine the hypolipidemic activity of aqueous extracts of Fucus vesiculosus, Coleus forskohlii, Curcuma longa L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Camellia sinensis L. and Melissa officinalis L. on lipid profile in serum taken from the blood of rats. Fifty-seven female albino rats were divided into 19 groups, each with three rats, that were treated orally with an aqueous plant extract in three different doses, except the control group which was treated with normal saline only. The chemical compositions of these extracts were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatograph

This study was achieved to investigate the accumulation of some heavy metals included: Cadmium, Lead and Nickel in the tissues (gill, intestine, liver, muscles and skin) of Silurus triostegus Heckel, 1843 (Siluriformes, Siluridae) and its larval stage of the nematode Contracaecum sp. (Rhabditida, Anisakidae). As well as to assess the infection patterns of Contracaecum among S. triostegus specimens which were purchased fresh from the local market in Baghdad. One hundred and nine nematodes specimens in larval stage were recovered from the fish host; the overall prevalence of Contracaecum sp. was 38.6%. The sex of the host was not significantly (P ˃ 0.05) associated with the infection of this nematode.
Results showed that the overall me

Irrigation has significant role in endodontic treatment, many types of antimicrobial irrigation solutions have been used, but due to the ineffectiveness, safety concerns and side effects of this irrigation, the herbal alternatives for endodontic irrigants might be beneficial. Objectives This study compared the in vitro effectiveness of tea tree oil and clove oil as possible irrigants in endodontics against Enterococcus faecalis in comparison with 3% Sodium hypochlorite. Materials and Methods E. faecalis was isolated from patients in need for endodontic treatment; VITEK was employed for E. faecalis isolate conformation. Muller Hinton agar was prepared with 100μl of freshly prepared suspension of E.faecalis. Wells of 6mm diameter and 4mm dep

To determine the relationship between chronic hepatitis B virus and autoimmune celiac disease, seventy five patients with chronic hepatitis B virus of ages (8-70) years have been investigated and compared to 50 healthy individuals. All the studied groups were carried out to measure anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies IgA and IgG by ELISA test and anti-endomysial antibodies IgA and IgG by IIFT. There was a significant elevation in the concentration of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies IgA and IgG compared to control groups (P< 0.01) .The prevalence of antiTtG IgA and IgG was 14.67% and 12.0% respectively.There was a highly significant difference (P<0.01) when compared between studied groups .While the prevalence of anti-en

Some microorganisms can produce nanocellulose, which is known as bacterial nanocellulose (BNC); the most active bacterial producer is acetic acid bacteria (AAB), which is a gram-negative, motile and obligate aerobic belongs to the family Acetobacteraceae. Bacterial nanocellulose has excellent attention in medical (surgical domain), industrial and pharmaceutical fields because of its flexible properties, characteristics and advantages. So, in this study, the AAB (5AC) isolate was isolated from apple vinegar. The production of BNC was performed by using a natural medium called palm dates liquid medium, the produced bacterial Cellulose was purified by using the sodium hydroxide method; it was observed that the wet weight of the BNC was a

      The level of adipokines (interleukin-6 and vaspin) in hyperthyroid patients treated with carbimazole drug was determined. Eighty-five male and female participated in this study, with mean age from 20-70 years. They included: negative control group of thirty euthyroid persons represented group 1, twenty-five hyperthyroid patient (positive control) included in the second group and thirty hyperthyroid patients treated with carbimazole drug for one year or less comprised the third group. By vein puncture, blood was collected, and serum was isolated and preserved at –20 C. Adipokines (interleukin-6 and vaspin) were estimated by using ELISA method. The results demonstrated that the the increase of IL-6 level was highly significant

The present study demonstrate the infection (injury and damage) of wireworm on potato crop in spring and autumn season. This study  was conducted in Abu- Greeb fields in Baghdad– Iraq during 2009 – 2010 In order to assessment the damage caused by wireworm Agriotes spp. on four type of  growing Solanum tuberosum crop (Rodeo, Lotona, Bleni, Deseri) in spring and autumn season.  The results of this study showed that Agriotes spp. was more damage in spring season more than autumn season. Percentage of the numbers of damage potato tuber to the four types was 1.81, 4.87, 6.66, 8.33 % respectively. While it was 6.55, 3.63, 10.52, 9.09 % total weight of Rodeo, Lotona, Bleni, Deseri , respect

MRSA is one of the major pathogens in hospitals and the community, which have the ability to produce biofilm as a virulence factor, the impact of chalcone on biofilm formation, the synergism effect of chalcone and antibiotic in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, the gene expression of virulence genes (srtA, fnbA, fnbB) before and after treatment of it on MRSA biofilm cells in vitro, all these were the prime aims of this study. Chalcone at MBIC (20 μg/ml), significantly reduced the biofilm formation to 21.45% and at sub MBIC (15 μg/ml) to 36.58 %. While, Chalcone at MIC(5 μg/ml) reduced MRSA planktonic cells to 49.61%. Susceptibility of MRSA isolates against eight antibiotics showed that all isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and n

A study investigated the effects of abetacept (Orencia) drug on the level of liver enzyme and on liver histology in albino male mice. Fourty five adult male mice of 8 weeks age and weighting 25-35g divided into three groups (15 mice each). The second & third groups were treated with abetacept drug while the first group was used as a control.
Abetacept was intraperitoneally given twice every week at 125 mg/kg B.W. and 250 mg/kg B.W. to the second and third groups respectively for 6 weeks, whereas the control group was intraperitoneally injected with normal saline. The results showed a significant (p< 0.05) increase in the levels of liver enzymes [serum alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), serum aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) &amp

     Aeromonas hydrophila is widely distributed throughout the world and causes diseases to animals and human exposed to contaminated environments such as water and soil. This study aimed to compare between isolates of A. hydrophila collected from clinical and environmental samples, through investigating the phenotype of some virulence factors in vitro, including hemolysin, protease, lipase, nuclease and biofilm formation ability. Also, the antimicrobial susceptibility for different antibiotics was determined using disc diffusion method. For genotypic identification of isolates and phylogenetic tree construction, 16S rDNA target gene was amplified and sequenced. The phenoty

      Coronavirus 2 is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been linked to leukocyte infiltration and chemokine activation during inflammatory responses. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) family are thought to dampen the proinflammatory effects of these MMPs. The molecular pathways of lung fibrosis are mediated by MMPs and TIMPs. In this study, we sought to investigate the probable link between MMPs, specifically MMP-3, TIMP-2, and COVID-19. The study included 58 COVID-19 patients and 30 apparently healthy individuals matched in terms of age and sex. Multiplex real- time PCR was used to detect the ORF1ab, E, and N genes of

  The present study aims to give some details about the normal anatomical and histological structure of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder in Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 and Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi (Günther, 1874). Anatomical results revealed that the liver of C. carpio is a reddish-brown in color, located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and dispersed between most of the intestines, which is divided into two lobes; while in M. sharpeyi the liver is light brown in color located in the anterior part of abdominal cavity and extends to the end of the intestinal tract with two lobs. The gallbladder situated in the right side of the liver in both species. Histological results in both species showed that the liver consists

سرطان البنكرياس هو مرض ذو معدل وفيات مرتفع، ولا يزال التشخيص المبكر لسرطان البنكرياس يمثل تحديًا. يظل معدل البقاء النسبي لمدة 5 سنوات أقل من 8%، والاستراتيجيات العلاجية غير فعالة في زيادة معدلات بقاء المريض على قيد الحياة. في خلايا سرطان البنكرياس، ارتبطت مقاومة العلاج بالتغيرات الجينية التي تؤدي إلى ظهور مسارات خلوية شاذة؛ ولذلك، هناك ما يبرر ايجاد استراتيجيات جديدة لعلاج هذا المرض. هنا، سعينا لاستكشاف

The Lamiaceae L. family grows and widely distributed in Iraq. The study aimed to enumerate the species that has been preserved in several botanical herbariums: National Herbarium of Iraq- Ministry of Agriculture (BAG), University of Baghdad Herbarium (BUH), Iraq Natural History Research Center& Museum- University of Baghdad Herbarium (BUNH), College of Agricultural Engineering- University of Baghdad Herbarium (BUG), College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences- Duhok Province University Herbarium (DPUH) and College of Science - Salahddin University Herbarium (SUH). This family has not yet been registered in the Flora of Iraq. After examining more than 1000 herbarium specimens, the study found 139 species belonging to 33 genera h

To maintain the security and integrity of data, with the growth of the Internet and the increasing prevalence of transmission channels, it is necessary to strengthen security and develop several algorithms. The substitution scheme is the Playfair cipher. The traditional Playfair scheme uses a small 5*5 matrix containing only uppercase letters, making it vulnerable to hackers and cryptanalysis. In this study, a new encryption and decryption approach is proposed to enhance the resistance of the Playfair cipher. For this purpose, the development of symmetric cryptography based on shared secrets is desired. The proposed Playfair method uses a 5*5 keyword matrix for English and a 6*6 keyword matrix for Arabic to encrypt the alphabets of

Zanthoxylum L. 1753 belongs to the family Rutaceae. The plant, with its forest green color and with its distinctive fragrance attracted the attention of the study, specially it was an exotic to the environment of Iraq. Zanthoxylum is an exotic plant produced to Iraq and planted in gardens as an ever-green aromatic plant named (BUKHUR HINDI), as it is known among sellers and farmers in Iraq, because of the aromatic smell that emanated from the leaves and resembles Indian incense. The plant adapted to environmental conditions and succeeded in growing and blooming. It was examined and diagnosed for the first time in Iraq as Zanthoxylum beechyanum K. Koch. (Chinese pepper tree). Morphological characteristics and anatomical characteristi