Abstract Background Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a widely used test for glycemic control. It is done for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Renal disease is accompanied by thyroid abnormalities, which affect HbA1c, especially in those taking erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). We aimed to find the effect of thyroid dysfunction on HbA1c in hemodialysis patients taking ESAs and those who do not. Materials and Method Fifty six patients were included in this study, which was done between September 2017 and June 2018, in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Thyroid stimulating hormone, free T3, free T4 and HbA1c measurements were done. The patients were divided into 2 groups; those who took ESAs and those who did not, then they were subdivided into

Advancements in horizontal drilling technologies are utilized to develop unconventional resources, where reservoir temperatures and pressures are very high. However, the flocculation of bentonite in traditional fluids at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) environments can lower cuttings transportation efficiency and even result in problems such as stuck pipe, decreased rate of penetration (ROP), accelerated bit wear, high torque, and drag on the drill string, and formation damage. The major purpose of the present research is to investigate the performance of low bentonite content water-based fluids for the hole cleaning operation in horizontal drilling processes. Low bentonite content water-based drilling fluids were formulated by re

Porcelain is one of the most important ceramic materials with a wide range of traditional and technical applications. Since most mixtures of porcelain have a high sintering temperature, bentonite has been added in this research to improve the characteristics of sintering and burning. The porcelain mixture consisted of the following Iraqi raw materials: 30% wt kaolin, 30 wt% non-plastic clay (grog), 10% wt sodium feldspar, 10 wt% potassium feldspar and 20 wt% flint. After the mechanical mixing process and transfer the powder mixture to the slurry by adding distilled water, then different weight percentage of the sodium bentonite(0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10) wt% was added. The specimens were prepared by using the solid casting m

The permanent deformation of flexible pavement represent serious problem in hot climate region. Numerous efforts are devoted to mitigate this distress such as modifying asphalt binder by polymers. The present study demonstrate the effect of utilizing four types of polymers to reduce the permanent deformation, these polymers are Polyethylene Wax (PEW), Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR), Ethylene Propylene Dien Monomer (EPDM) and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA). The prepared mixtures composed of 4.9 % of 40/50 asphalt binder, 12.5 mm nominal aggregate maximum size and limestone dust as filler. The permanent and resilient strains have been recorded when the cylindrical specimens, 101.6 mm in diameter and 203.2 mm in height, tested by repeated loa

This research deals with study of the effect of additives on rheological properties (yield point, plastic viscosity ,and apparent viscosity) of emulsions. Twenty seven emulsion samples were prepared; all emulsions in this investigation are invert emulsions when water droplets are dispersed in diesel oil. The resulting emulsions are called water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. The rheological properties of these emulsions were investigated using a couett coaxial cylinder rotational viscometer (Fann-VG model 35 A), by measuring shear stress versus shear rate. It was found that the effect of additives on rheological properties of emulsions as follow: the increase in the concentration of asphaltic material tends to increase the rheological propertie

Background: Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that can often affect some patients who suffer from psoriasis. Approximately 40-50% of individuals with psoriatic arthritis have the HLA-B27 genotype

Objective: To investigate whether we could confirm the role of HLA-B27 alleles and psoriatic arthritis in Iraqi Arab Muslims patients.

Method: A cross sectional case control comparative study included thirty Iraqi Arab Muslims who had psoriatic arthritis that consulted the Dermatological and Rheumatological Department in AL-Kindy Teaching Hospital from November 2014 to June 2015. HLA-genotyping for HLA-B27 were assessed. A control group consisted of fifty-one healthy vol

Alginate from Large brown seaweeds act as natural polymer has been investigated as polymer and has been added to concrete in different percentages ( 0% , 0.5% , 1% and 1.5% ) by the cement weight and the study show the effect of using alginate biopolymer admixtures on  some of the fresh properties of the concrete (slump &  the density  fresh) also in the hardened state (  Compressive strength , Splitting tensile strength  and Flexural strength ) at 28 days. The mix proportion was (1:2.26:2.26) (cement: sand: gravel) respectively and at constant w/c equal to 0.47. The results indicate that the use of alginate as a percent of the cement weight possess a positive effect on fresh properties of co

The choice of gate dielectric materials is fundamental for organic field effect transistors (OFET), integrated circuits, and several electronic applications. The operation of the OFET depends on two essential parameters: the insulation between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode and the capacitance of the insulator. In this work, the electrical behavior of a pentacene-based OFET with a top contact / bottom gate was studied. Organic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and inorganic hafnium oxide (HfO₂) were chosen as gate dielectric materials to lower the operation voltage to achieve the next generation of electronic applications. In this study, the performance of the OFET was studied using monolayer and bilayer gate insulators.