The diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) sometimes is illusive and the accompanying clinical and laboratory manifestations cannot be used for definitive diagnosis. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in detection of AA. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included a total of 80 adult patients with AA and 62 age- and gender-matched patients with abdominal pain due to causes other than AA. Three milliliter of peripheral blood were collected from each participant. The NLR was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of NLR in detection

This paper is devoted to investigate the effect of internal curing technique on the properties of self-compacting concrete. In this study, self-compacting concrete is produced by using limestone powder as partial replacement by weight of cement with percentage of (5%), sand is partially replaced by volume with saturated fine lightweight aggregate which is thermostone aggregate as internal curing material in three percentages of (5%, 10%, 15%) for self-compacting concrete, and the use of two external curing conditions which are water and air. The experimental work was divided into three parts: in the first part, the workability tests of fresh self-compacting concrete were conducted. The second part included conducting compressive str

Superconducting thin films of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu2.2Zn0.8O10 system were prepared by depositing the film onto silicon (111) substrate by pulsed laser deposition. Annealing treatment and superconducting properties were investigated by XRD and four probe resistivity measurement. The analysis reveals the evolution of the minor phase of the films 2212 phase to 2223 phase, when the film was annealed at 820 °C. Also the films have superconducting behavior with transition temperature ≥90K.

The research aims to identify the tax policy strategy adopted in Iraq after the change of the tax system in 2003 and beyond, and then make a comparison of the two strategies on corporate data whether they are charged with progressive tax rates and after the change of the system as the tax rates became fixed, and then indicate the changes In the tax proceeds, and knowing the imensions of the approved tax policy, is it a tax reform strategy or a strategy to attract investments.The research started from the problem of exposure of the Iraqi tax system to several changes, as this led to a reflection on the technical organization of taxes, in terms of the tax rate.The descriptive analytical approach was chosen to study the actual reality of th

In this work a model of a source generating truly random quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal constellation required for quantum key distribution (QKD) system based on BB84 protocol using phase coding is implemented by using the software package OPTISYSTEM9. The randomness of the sequence generated is achieved by building an optical setup based on a weak laser source, beam splitters and single-photon avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode. The random string obtained from the optical setup is used to generate the quadrature phase shift keying signal constellation required for phase coding in quantum key distribution system based on BB84 protocol with a bit rate of 2GHz/s.

At a temperature of 300 K, a prepared thin film of Ag doped with different ratios of CdO (0.1, 0.3, 0.5) % were observed using pulse laser deposition (PLD). The laser, an Nd:YAG in ?=1064 nm, used a pulse, constant energy of 600 mJ ,with a repetition rate of 6 Hz and 400 pulses. The effect of CdO on the structural and optical properties of these films was studied. The structural tests showed that these films are of a polycrystalline structure with a preferred orientation in the (002) direction for Ag. The grain size is positively correlated with the concentration of CdO. The optical properties of the Ag :CdO thin film we observed included transmittance, absorption coefficient, and the energy gap in the wavelength range of 300-1100

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using a cold plasma technique and a plasma jet. They were then used to explore how photothermal treatment may be used to treat lung cancer (A549) and normal cells (REF) <i>in vitro</i>. The anti-proliferative activity of these nanoparticles was studied after A549 cells were treated with (AgNPs) at various concentrations (100&#37;, 50&#37;, or 25&#37;) and exposure times (6 or 8 min) of laser after 1 h or 24 h from exposed AgNPs. The highest growth inhibition for cancer cells is (75&#37;) at (AgNPs) concentration (100&#37;) and the period of exposure to the laser is (8 min). Particle size for the prepared samples varied according to the diameter o

Many studied were conducted to evaluate the antihepatotoxic and antioxidant activities of Silybum marianum and proved these actions. The Naturally grown seed in Iraqi-Kurdistan Region also were studied for its chemical contents and biological activities. Vegetable oils occur in various plant parts mainly concentrated in the seeds.

In this study comparison was made between the fatty acid patterns of two plant seeds, Silybum marianum and Nigella sativa. Seed sample of Silybum marianum and Nigella sativa were exposed for extraction and isolation of the fatty acid contents using two different solvents (petroleum ether and n-hexane) at 60-80^oC using soxhlet apparatus and the oily extract

Gas compressibility factor or z-factor plays an important role in many engineering applications related to oil and gas exploration and production, such as gas production, gas metering, pipeline design, estimation of gas initially in place (GIIP), and ultimate recovery (UR) of gas from a reservoir. There are many z-factor correlations which are either derived from Equation of State or empirically based on certain observation through regression analysis. However, the results of the z-factor obtained from different correlations have high level of variance for the same gas sample under the same pressure and temperature. It is quite challenging to determine the most accurate correlation which provides accurate estimate for a range of pressures,