The Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)

Background: Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) occurs in the presence of chronic infection, inflammatory conditions or neoplastic conditions despite of adequate iron and vitamins storage. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gingiva, periodontitis is the inflammation in the periodontium that extend deeper with loss of connective tissue attachment and supporting bone. The main pathogenesis of periodontal diseases and ACD is immune activation. Aims of study: Determine and compare the clinical periodontal parameters (plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL)). Evaluate the hematocrit (Hct) level, red blood cells (RBCs) count and white blood cells (WBCs) c

Background: Sex variations in coronary artery disease (CAD) are well documented. However, sex differences in coronary artery calcium (CAC) and its role in the detection of coronary artery stenosis remain controversial. Objective: To assess the impact of sex variation on coronary artery calcification and its efficacy in predicting coronary artery stenosis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study including 230 consecutive patients with suspected CAD (120 men and 110 women) referred for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study analyzed sex-based differences in the sensitivity and specificity of coronary artery calcification (CAC) for detecting moderate to severe stenosis across various coronary arteries

Image segmentation can be defined as a cutting or segmenting process of the digital image into many useful points which are called segmentation, that includes image elements contribute with certain attributes different form Pixel that constitute other parts. Two phases were followed in image processing by the researcher in this paper. At the beginning, pre-processing image on images was made before the segmentation process through statistical confidence intervals that can be used for estimate of unknown remarks suggested by Acho & Buenestado in 2018. Then, the second phase includes image segmentation process by using "Bernsen's Thresholding Technique" in the first phase. The researcher drew a conclusion that in case of utilizing

Breast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer related death in women worldwide. Amplification or over-expression of the ERBB2 (HER/neu) gene occurs in approximately 15-30% of breast cancer cases and it is strongly associated with an increased disease recurrence and a poor prognosis. Determination of HER2/neu status is crucial in the treatment plan as that positive cases will respond to trastuzumab therapy. It has been used to test for HER2/neu by immunohistochemistry as a first step and then to study only the equivocal positive cases (score 2+) by in situ hybridization technique. The aim of our study is to compare between immunohistochemistry and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) in assessment of human epidermal growth factor (HER2/neu)

          Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), which is the most widely consumed stimulant in the world, had been isolated and estimated gravimetrically in fifteen  different commercial kinds of tea found in the Iraqi market.The kinds of tea were chosen according to their differences in the degree of fermentation and the method of processing i.e. black , gray and  green . The isolated caffeine was identified by melting point, sublimation, TLC, chemical tests, UV , IR , HPLC and CHNO analysis.                                 &nb

This work studies the role of serum apelin-36 and Glutathione S-transferases (GST) activity in association with the hormonal, metabolic profiles and their link to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in healthy and patients' ladies with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A total of fifty-four (PCOS) patients and thirty-one healthy woman as a control have been studied. The PCOS patients were subdivided on the basis of body-mass-index (BMI), into 2-subgroups (the first group was obese-PCOS with BMI ≥ 30 and the second group was non-obese PCOS MBI<30). Fasting-insulin-levels and Lipid-profile, Homeostatic-model assessment-of-insulin-resistance (HOMA-IR), follicle-stimulating-hormone (FSH), luteinizing-hormone (LH), testosterone and