Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the new respiratory virus SARS-CoV2. It has a tropism in the lung tissues where excess target receptors exist. Periostin plays a role in subepithelial fibrosis associated with bronchial asthma. Since the Coronavirus's target is the human respiratory system, Periostin has been recently described as a valuable new biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease in patients with COVID-19 lung involvement. Objectives: To assess the level of Periostin in the serum of COVID-19 patients and to correlate its role in disease severity and prognosis. Subjects and Methods: Periostin serum levels were measured for 63 patients attending three main COVID-19 Control Centers in Baghdad, compared to 25 healthy subjects, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from January 2021 to April 2022. Results: Serum levels of Periostin among studied groups with (mild - moderate, severe - critical, post-COVID, and controls) were (17.3, 664, 597, and 48) ng/dl respectively. The serum concentration of Periostin was highly significant in (severe- critical and post-COVID) than in other groups. Conclusions: The elevated level of serum Periostin in COVID-19 patients correlated with disease severity and post-COVID lung complications. The high Periostin level is consistent with high inflammatory markers, which might be used as an indicator of COVID-19 severity and predict a bad prognosis.
Health literacy is an important method used by the authorities to strengthen the health system. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of some basic health principles among women of different educational states. This is a crosssectional study, performed from December 2014 until January 2016, Baghdad. All candidates were: females > 18 years, neither medical staff nor students. They were divided into two groups: educated and uneducated. The sample included 213 women, there were 112 educated and 101 uneducated women. Regarding educated group, accurate answers regarding route of transmission of typhoid fever was 73.2% in educated subjects vs. 49.5% in uneducated subjects. Main source of information for both groups was p
... Show MoreEnzyme activity were studied in the sera of children with leukemia than healthy children, where 31 cases were studied, including 21 cases of patients with acute lymphatic leukemia
The goal of the study is to discover the best model for forecasting the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar by analyzing time series using the Box Jenkis approach, which is one of the most significant subjects in the statistical sciences employed in the analysis. The exchange rate of the dollar is considered one of the most important determinants of the relative level of the health of the country's economy. It is considered the most watched, analyzed and manipulated measure by the government. There are factors affecting in determining the exchange rate, the most important of which are the amount of money, interest rate and local inflation global balance of payments. The data for the research that represents the exchange r
... Show MoreIn this work the strain energy of tetrahedrane and its nitrogen substituted molecules were calculated by isodesmic reaction method according to DFT quantum chemical fashion, the used basis set was 6-31G/B3-LYP, in addition all structures were optimized by RM1 semi-empirical method. From the obtained data we estimate an empirical equation connect between strain energy of the molecule with charge functions represented by dipole moment of the molecule plus accumulated charge density involved within the tetrahedron frame plus the number of nitrogen atoms. The results indicate the charge spreading factors by polarization and processes are the most important factors in decreasing the strain energy.
Background: Diabetic neuropathy can affect any peripheral nerve, including sensory neurons, motor neurons, and the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, diabetic neuropathy has the potential to affect essentially any organ and can affect parts of the nervous system like the optic nerve, spinal cord, and brain. In addition, chronic hyperglycemia affects Schwann cells, and more severe patterns of diabetic neuropathy in humans involve demyelization. Schwann cell destruction might cause a number of changes in the axon. study aims to evaluate serum myelin protein level as a predicting marker in the diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy and to prevent early neuropathy complications of type 2 diabetes.
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Background: Drawing blood to measure total serum bilirubin is painful & time consuming. Transcutaneous bilirubinometer working by multiwavelength spectral reflectance from the skin surface on forehead or upper sternum is a quick & painless technique. Objectives: to compare the effectiveness of transcutaneous (over the upper sternum and forehead) and serum bilirubin measurement of neonate with jaundice. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross sectional prospective study. It enrolled 175 jaundiced neonates & excluded those exposed to phototherapy. It was conducted at Child Central Teaching Hospi |