Abstract- Asymptomatic or clinically silent kidney stones are possibly serious because, in their expected passage, they may cause infection, obstruction and renal impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of silent kidney stones in a sample of Baghdad population and consider how this value could affect the justification for a screening system. To our best knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted in Iraq. We investigated 714 consecutive patients who sustained an abdominal ultrasound at our hospital with further kidney screening. All these patients did not have clinical signs and symptoms of nephrolithiasis. Age, sex, the indication for ultrasound, the size, side, and the number of the discovered stones were recorded. We observed silent kidney stones in 3.4% of patients. Males were stone carriers mostly. Stones were detected more in the left kidney than the right. Distinctly, multiple stones and stones of a large size were minimally seen. We conclude that the prevalence of clinically silent nephrolithiasis of 3.4% does not support a global screening. Yet, this screening may be justified in a limited pattern for those male subjects higher than 50 years, having a positive family history of renal stones, and their socioeconomic status is granted.
The role of the green areas lies in being one of the systems that plays the vital role in achieving the environmental dimension besides the socio-cultural body and the economic dimension in the hidden value of ecosystem services. However, many developing countries are characterized by a state of low community environmental awareness, which coincides with the basic need for land for housing and other uses, to take precedence over nature protection strategies. In the absence of clear planning and long-term planning strategies, all this led to abuses and violations of urban land use. In Iraq, the situation became more apparent due to the political, security and social conditions that followed the year 2003. Hence, the resea
... Show MoreBackground: The occurrence of seizures in bacterial meningitis is important, as it has been reported to increase the risk of complications; however, its frequency and predictors are not well studied yet. Objective: To assess the frequency, clinical, and biochemical predictors of seizures in children with acute bacterial meningitis. Method: A cross-sectional study recruited confirmed acute bacterial meningitis cases based on positive CSF culture and sensitivity among children aged 2 months to 15 years admitted to the Central Child Teaching Hospital emergency department in Iraq. Patients were divided into two groups based on seizure at presentation time. Demographic characteristics [age, gender, residence, duration of fever and disease, prese
... Show MoreBackground: Many materials were proposed as root canal obturating materials but the biocompatibility issue remains to be a critical one. Propolis has been used as a therapeutic agent since the time of Hippocrates. It is known that propolis exhibits some pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti inflammatory activity. Materials and methods: Eighteen albino rats were used in the study and divided randomly into three groups of 6 animals for each group. Each group was scheduled to be sacrificed at different time periods, which were three days, one week and three weeks. Propolis and ZOE sealer implants of 4mm in diameter and 0.5 gm in weight were implanted in the dorsal side of the rats. At the end of the
... Show MoreAmong a collection of ground beetles from Iraq the new species Acinopus euphraticus was designated and described here. The erection of this new species was mainly built on external features and the description of male genitalia.
Laser scanning has become a popular technique for the acquisition of digital models in the field of cultural heritage conservation and restoration nowadays. Many archaeological sites were lost, damaged, or faded, rather than being passed on to future generations due to many natural or human risks. It is still a challenge to accurately produce the digital and physical model of the missing regions or parts of our cultural heritage objects and restore damaged artefacts. The typical manual restoration can become a tedious and error-prone process; also can cause secondary damage to the relics. Therefore, in this paper, the automatic digital application process of 3D laser modelling of arte
CD-nanosponges were prepared by crosslinking B-CD with diphenylcarbonate (DPC) using ultrasound assisted technique. 5-FU was incorporated with NS by freeze drying, and the phase solubility study, complexation efficiency (CE) entrapment efficiency were performed. Also, the particle morphology was studied using SEM and AFM. The in-vitro release of 5-FU from the prepared nanosponges was carried out in 0.1N HCl.
5-FU nanosponges particle size was in the nano size. The optimum formula showed a particle size of (405.46±30) nm, with a polydispersity index (PDI) (0.328±0.002) and a negative zeta potential (-18.75±1.8). Also the drug entrapment efficiency varied with the CD: DPC molar ratio from 15.6 % to 30%. The SEM an
... Show MoreObjective. This study aimed to evaluate the orthodontic bond strength and enamel-preserving ability of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticles-containingself-etch system following exposure to various ageing methods. Materials and Methods. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAp) were incorporated into an orthodontic self-etch primer (SEP, Transbond™ plus) in three different concentrations (5%, 7%, and 9% wt) and tested versus the plain SEP (control) for shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores, and enamel damage in range-finding experiments using premolar teeth. The best-performing formulation was further exposed to the following four artificial ageing methods: initial debonding, 24 h water storage, one-month water stora
... Show MoreOne of the recent significant but challenging research studies in computational biology and bioinformatics is to unveil protein complexes from protein-protein interaction networks (PPINs). However, the development of a reliable algorithm to detect more complexes with high quality is still ongoing in many studies. The main contribution of this paper is to improve the effectiveness of the well-known modularity density ( ) model when used as a single objective optimization function in the framework of the canonical evolutionary algorithm (EA). To this end, the design of the EA is modified with a gene ontology-based mutation operator, where the aim is to make a positive collaboration between the modularity density model and the proposed
... Show MoreAbstract As the United Nations approaches its 70th anniversary, the world is going through the most severe accumulation of serious international security failures in recent memory, challenging the UN Security Council’s ability to address them effectively. Over the past four years, crises in Libya, Syria and Ukraine have precipitated a worrisome erosion of great power relations that has complicated Security Council decision making on a number of trouble spots. Its inability to devise consensus responses to the escalating civil war in Syria has been particularly troubling, resulting in the regional spill over into Iraq and the emergence of Islamic State as a new threat to peace in the region and beyond. Meanwhile, the UN’s often under
... Show MoreAchieving goals effectively reflects the success of the institution. However, unless this indicator is coupled with efficiency when achieving goals, the institution will be equal in its achievements, and distinction will remain unachieved. Perhaps the role of the teaching staff in pushing the institution or college towards brilliance focuses on their ability to motivate people on the one hand and their interest in achieving brilliance for the institution. On the other hand, the importance of the research lies in the institution’s reaching a prominent position through the brilliance and creativity of teaching and achieving competition between institutions that make it more brilliance. The study seeks to achieve the goal of the real
... Show More