GA Al Omran, AA Noaimi, Z Al Madfai, H Al Hamamy, Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad, 2012

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between lipid peroxidation, represented by seminal malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and integrity of sperm plasma membrane, represented by the hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test score, in infertile men. One hundred and twenty Iraqi men (20 fertile and 100 infertile) shared in this study during their attendance to the High Institute for Infertility Diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technologies/Al- Nahrain University. The mean age of the fertile men was (30.46±0.78) years while the mean age of infertile men was (32.58±0.64) years with the duration of infertility (5.36±0.33) years. Semen samples were collected and the parameters of seminal fluid analysis were assessed; also, the HOS

Purpose This study was design to investigate of Purpose This study was design to investigate of P. aeruginosa, an example of Gram-negative bacteria, in seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol of P. aeruginosa biofilm. Design/methodology/approach Seventy swabs were collected from seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, Iraq, during November -December 2022. Swabs were collected from classes desk, doors handles, students hands and water taps. Standard microbiological testing methods were used on the samples for isolation and identification. The ability of bacteria to form biofilm and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol on “preformed” biofilms was examined by microtiter plate wi

Background: Opportunistic viral infections make an important threat to renal transplantation recipients (RTRs), and with the use of more intense newly-developed immunosuppressive drugs; the risk of renal allograft loss due to reactivation of these viruses has increased considerably. At the top priority of these viruses lie BK polyomavirus (BKV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Reactivation of these viruses in these chronically immunosuppressed RTRs can lead to renal impairment and subsequently allograft loss, unless early detected and properly treated. Objectives: The study aimed to detect and quantify plasma viral load of BKV and CMV in RTRs using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR), in order to study the prevalence of these two viruses i

Seven leafhoppers (Cicadeilidae). and one plantboppei (Delpbacidae), Homoptera were identified from a one year operated light trap at the College of Agiculture farm in Abu¬Ghraib. The leafhoppers were: Balclutha hortensis Lind.; B. rufaofasciata Merine.; psammctettix alien us Dahlbem.; P. striatus L.; Extianus capicola.; Neoaliturus haematoceps H. R.; and Orozius albicnctus Dist. The planthopper was Sogatella vibix Haupt. one year records of their populations, indicated that B. rufofasciata occured during the fall from October 10 until December 18; E. capicola from October 24 until November 21 and again in the summer from March to October. The others occured only during the summer, from the end of March and early April until Mid-Septemb

  In this paper, we investigate the connection between the hierarchical models and the power prior distribution in quantile regression (QReg). Under specific quantile, we develop an expression for the power parameter ( ) to calibrate the power prior distribution for quantile regression to a corresponding hierarchical model. In addition, we estimate the relation between the  and the quantile level via hierarchical model. Our proposed methodology is illustrated with real data example.

Video steganography has become a popular option for protecting secret data from hacking attempts and common attacks on the internet. However, when the whole video frame(s) are used to embed secret data, this may lead to visual distortion. This work is an attempt to hide sensitive secret image inside the moving objects in a video based on separating the object from the background of the frame, selecting and arranging them according to object's size for embedding secret image. The XOR technique is used with reverse bits between the secret image bits and the detected moving object bits for embedding. The proposed method provides more security and imperceptibility as the moving objects are used for embedding, so it is difficult to notice the

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were