Irisin is a novel myokine and adipokine, its role during pregnancy and its association with some metabolic risk factors especially pre-pregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) need more evaluation. The aim of the study is to find whether the pre-BMI could predict irisin levels during normal pregnancy and to clarify associations of irisin with some pathological parameters.

Irisin levels were estimated by ELISA in sera of 59 normal pregnant women who enrolled from December 2016 to May 2017 at Maternity Hospital, Zakho city, Kurdistan region (Iraq). Thirty-two normal-weight pregnant (pre-BMI≤24.9 kg/m², Age=24.03 mean±3.7standard deviation) and 27 overweight/obese-pregnant (pre-BMI>25 kg/m², Age=27.6 mean±3.9

Denture bases are fabricated routinely using Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) acrylic resin. Yet, it is commonly known for its major drawbacks such as insufficient strength and ductility. The purpose of this study was to improve the performance of PMMA acrylic resin as a denture base material by reinforcement with surface treated lithium disilicate glass ceramic powder. The ceramic powder was prepared by grinding and sieving IPS e.max CAD MT blocks. Then, the powder was surface treated with an organosilane coupling agent (TMSPM) and added to PMMA in amount of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% by weight. Characterizations of the powder was done by particle size analysis, XRD and FTIR. Transverse strength, Impact strength, Shore D hardness and surface roughn

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a fundamental food for the majority of world population. Cyclin Dependent Kinase -A (CDKA) accelerates transition through different stages of cell cycle and contributes in gametes formation. In the present investigation, a CDKA encoding gene along with the corresponding protein were characterized in O. sativa Indica Group, O. glaberrima,  O. barthii, O. brachyantha, O. glumipatula, O. longistaminata, O. meridionalis, O. nivara, O. punctata and O. rufipogon using in silico analyses. The results reflected little variation in most species except O. longistaminata and O. brachyantha. Compared with the remaining species, O. longistaminata

Colibactin is a genotoxin produced by Enterobacteriaceae via a polyketide synthase (pks) island cluster. There is less knowledge regarding the distribution of colibactin genes in E. coli isolates in Iraq and its correlation with biofilm and antibiotic susceptibility. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the frequency of some colibactin genes (CIbA and CIbQ) in uropathogenic E. coli in Iraq and evaluate the correlation with biofilm and antimicrobial resistance. Between October 2023 and January 2024, 70 E. coli isolates were isolated from 120 females diagnosed with UTIs. Isolates were identified first by biochemical methods and confirmed molecularly by amplification of 16S rRNA gene with specific primers. PCR was employed to detect the

Artemisia is a perennial wild shrub with large branches and compound leaves. Artemisia contains about 400 types, and its medical importance is due to the presence of many active substances and compounds such as volatile oils, alkaloids and flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, and coumarins. This study was designed to study the effect of the aqueous extract of the fruit of the Artemisia plant on the organs of the body, as well as to know its ability to activate the hepatic enzyme alanine transaminase (ALT/GPT). The fruit of this shrub was extracted using the measurement technique gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MASS) and organic solvent hexane and ethyl acetate in one to one ratio. It contained 21 compounds, a high percentage

The efficiency evaluation of the railway lines performance is done through a set of indicators and criteria, the most important are transport density, the productivity of enrollee, passenger vehicle production, the productivity of freight wagon, and the productivity of locomotives. This study includes an attempt to calculate the most important of these indicators which transport density index from productivity during the four indicators, using artificial neural network technology. Two neural networks software are used in this study, (Simulnet) and (Neuframe), the results of second program has been adopted. Training results and test to the neural network data used in the study, which are obtained from the international in