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

Background: Psoriasis is a common inflammatory condition worldwide, with an average prevalence ranging from 2% to 3%. However, the incidence of psoriasis varies among different ethnic groups and regions. Elevated leptin levels have been associated with increased cellular proliferation, including T-cells. Additionally, high leptin levels may stimulate the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines such as ILـ6 and TNFـα. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Apremilast on Leptin in obese psoriatic patients. Subjects and Methods: Thirty patients with psoriasis were included in This prospective cohort study to measure the levels of serum Leptin by using the ELISA technique, before and after receiving Apremilast. Result: The present work

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the etiopathogenic agent of gastric and duodenal disorders ranging from gastritis to malignancy. It is also associated with many extraintestinal diseases, including cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors. To evaluate the link between HP infection and some cardiovascular risk factors by studying the effects of HP infection on body mass index, blood pressure, and serum lipid profile among patients having gastritis with and without HP infection. A crosssectional study included 1214 patients who had gastritis diagnosed by gastroscopy examination. Those patients were in the age range of 30-65 years and they were divided according to their gender into 725 females and 489 males depending on the 1

In view of the large profits made by the sex trade on the one hand, and the minor penalties imposed on the traffickers (brokers) compared with the severe penalties imposed on the drug trade and illegal weapons, on the other hand, this trade has become popular and spread in most countries of the world, and the cornerstones of this trade and A safe haven for them is hotels, especially luxury ones with international brands where their guests are rich and some may look for sex for money. Given the great physical and psychological damage to the victims, this research highlights the civil liability of hotels towards these victims in US and Iraqi law.In order not to limit the

Background: Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs occurs in all aspects of anticancer drug handling. Proper recommendations and guidelines should be applied to control and reduce exposure. Objective: To assess pharmacists' knowledge and practice regarding the safe handling of anticancer drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at seven major hospitals in Baghdad City, Iraq, from December 2023 to February 2024. A pre-designed questionnaire was given to pharmacists who handled anticancer drugs in chemotherapy units. The questionnaire comprises sociodemographic data, knowledge of the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and thoughts about exposure and risk, practices for safely handling cytotoxic drugs, and challenges for s

Almost all thermal systems utilize some type of heat exchanger. In a lot of cases, evaporators are important for systems like organic Rankine cycle systems. Evaporators give a share in a large portion of the capital cost, and their cost is significantly attached to their size or transfer area. Open-cell metal foams with high porosity are taken into consideration to enhance thermal performance without increase the size of heat exchangers. Numerous researchers have tried to find a representation of the temperature distribution closer to reality due to the different properties between the liquid and solid phases. Evaporation heat transfer in an annular pipe of double pipe heat exchanger (DPHEX) filled with cooper foam is investigated numerical

Chemical analysis for evaluation of Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) seeds showed a composition of Fat 39% ; Protein 28% ; Carbohydrate 21% ; Moisture 6% and Ash 4.5% . It was found that the black seed contains the following mineral element : Magnesium 0.26 gm /100gm seed ; Calcium 0.25 gm /100gm seed and Iron 25 ?g / gm /100gm seed ; zinc 4.51?g /gm /100gm seed and Copper 3.60 ?g /gm /100gm seed. The analysis also showed that mineral element I. e. ; lead ; Cobalt ; Nickel ; Chrom ; Cadmium and Aresenic are not present . It was found that the fat of the black seed contains the following fatty acids : Myristic 2.8%; Palmtic 16.6%; Stearic 0.8 % ; Oleic 13.79% ; Linoleic 64.2% and Arachidic 1.9% .

The present study was conducted to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the hot water and the hot ethanolic extracts of Thuja orientalis against some pathogenic microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Eschericha coli, Proteus mirrablis, Salmonilla typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilus, Acinobacter, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans). Results showed that both the water and alcoholic extracts of this plant exert marked inhibitory effect against all the bacterial isolates and yeast and at different ratio, and it was shown that ethanolic extract was more effective in microbial inhibition than the water extract. Maximum inhibition (16 mm) was recorded against Staphylococcus aur

Based on the diazotization-coupling reaction, a new, simple, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for determining of a trace amount of (BPF) is presented in this paper. Diazotized metoclopramide reagent react with bisphenol F produces an orange azo-compound with a maximum absorbance at 461 nm in alkaline solution. The experimental parameters were optimized such as type of alkaline medium, concentration of NaOH, diazotized metoclopramide amount, order additions, reaction time, temperature, and effect of organic solvents to achieve the optimal performance for the proposed method. The absorbance increased linearly with increasing bisphenol F concentration in the range of 0.5-10 μg mL^-1 under ideal conditions, with a correlati

The current research seeks to achieve several objectives, including knowing the extent of the audit directorate of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and General Municipalities of the International Standard (ISO19011:2018) regarding determining the efficiency and evaluation of auditors and diagnosing the gap between requirements and application and knowing the reasons for not applying some of the items in the standard, starting from the problem, The field raised the following question (Does the audit directorate determine the efficiency and evaluation of auditors according to the standard ISO19011:2018?), and the importance of research lies in determining the return that can be achieved by the directorate through its application of stand