Objective: To determine the ability of uVDBP to discern SRNS from steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in Iraqi children. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled children with SRNS (n=31) and SSNS (n=32) from the pediatric nephrology clinic of Babylon Hospital for Maternity and Pediatrics over three months. Patients' characteristics in terms of demographics, clinical data, and urinary investigations were collected. Quantitative analysis of uVDBP levels was undertaken via a commercially available ELISA kit. Results: The median uVDBP values were significantly higher (p-value<0.001) in the SRNS group (median=10.26, IQR=5.91 μg/mL) than in the SSNS group (median=0.953, IQR=4.12 μg/mL). A negative correlation was noted between uVDBP levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (Spearman's rho coefficient= − 0.494, p=0.001). Nevertheless, the rise in uVDBP concentrations was still considerable in children with SRNS whose eGFR measurements were above 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. The study revealed a good discriminatory power for uVDBP as a predicting parameter to distinguish SRNS from SSNS (AUC= 0.909, p<0.0001. The optimal uVDBP cut-off value of 5.781 μg/mL was associated with a sensitivity of 0.839 and specificity of 0.844 to differentiate SRNS from SSNS. Conclusion: Considering its significant discriminatory strength, uVDBP can be considered as a potential marker to noninvasively distinguish children with SRNS from those with SSNS.
Iraq has the second largest proven oil reserves in the world. According to oil experts, it is expected that the Iraq's reserves to rise to 200+ billion barrels of high-grade crude.
Oil is a strategic commodity for producing and exporting countries in general, and Iraq in particular, as demonstrated by the international experience that oil is an important means to achieve economic growth, an important tool in the overall economic, social and political development. It is also an important source of hard currency for any national economy and a means to connect the local economy and the global economy. In this paper we focus our attention on selecting the best regression model that explain the effect of human capita
... Show MoreThe agricultural sector suffers from many risks and natural disasters, such as droughts and heavy rains that cause floods, as well as hail and agricultural pests, etc., that threaten agricultural activity and reduce it, which leads to the failure of farmers and peasants for fear of being subjected to continuous losses. Nevertheless, we notice almost complete reluctance to move towards agricultural insurance, due to the dependence of farmers on the government, which adopts the principle of compensation instead of agricultural insurance when natural disasters happen despite the difficulties and financial hardship as well as the suspicion of corruption that haunt the compensation process and this represents the most important problem for resea
... Show MoreThe aim of this paper is to determine the role of job engagement in the Iraqi Residency Affairs Directorate and its impact on employees, as the job engagement variable based on the Rich’s model included dimensions of cognitive engagement, emotional engagement and physical engagement. This variable has been studied in the Directorate of Residence Affairs which are one of the specialized directorates in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior. This study relied on a questionnaire as a main tool for measuring and collecting data based on the random sampling method . The sample size included 206 individuals among 400 individuals. However, the respondents were 190 whereas the final
... Show MoreThe study aims at elicitation the morals strategies from sunnah depending on the analytic-qualitative method. It revealed a comprehensive integrated system of creative strategies to improve morals. It was categorized into three areas: cognitive strategies, affective strategies, and some strategies based on self-initiative and practice. The researcher recommended that teachers and educators should employ these effective strategies in the process of moral guidance for the Muslim generation. He also recommended that researchers should put more effort to do more In-depth qualitative studies, which must be directed to establish the origin of different education strategies from the Holy Qur’an, the Sunnah, and Muslim scholars’ legacy.
Background: Oral health is a mirror of general health. During pregnancy, oral health is affected by changes in saliva and oral hygiene measures which may lead to more dental caries.
Objective: Assess oral health status in relation to salivary antimicrobial peptides in pregnant women.
Subjects and Method: This cross sectional study was carried out in different primary health care centers in Rusafa sectors/ Baghdad city. The total sample included was 80 women (their age range from 21-30). The study group consisted of 40 pregnant women: half of them were in the first trimester and others were in third trimester, while the control group included 40 non-pregnant married fem
... Show MoreBackground Median sternotomy is the gold standard incision for most cardiac operations. However, with the advent of minimal invasive surgery, a new approach emerged in cardiac surgery named mini-sternotomy and has been successfully used to perform a variety of operations.
The aim of this paper is to present our experience of using mini-sternotomy to harvest the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) for off-pump revascularization of the left anterior descending artery (LAD)
Methodology Over a 2-year period (October 2012-October 2014), 100 patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) via conventional median sternotomy (CMS) (n=80) and mini-sternotomy (MS) (n=20). The
... Show MoreEdward Albee's career extends to more than fifty years during which he has exposed different images of male and female protagonists mostly within the same frame; domestic instability. Albee's men and women are middle-class couples who find themselves entrapped in a meaningless world. Most, if not all, of Albee's men are detached from their wives due to existential problems or middle- age crises. Women, therefore find themselves obliged to sustain their husbands and marriages alone. Women in Albee's élan are cynical, frustrated, articulate as well as brave, strong and domineering.
Marriage Play is one of Albee’s works that tackled such image of these women. The play was comm
... Show MoreA new Species of the Cerambycinae belonging to the genus Hesperophanes was found new to the fauna of Iraq and Science. H. testaceus was studied in details and the male genitalia were illustrated. Type's paratypes and the locality of this newly described Species were mentioned.
