BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy and reluctant had an important obstacle in achieving protection and population immunity against coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). It is essential to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rates among medical students and health care workers to provide recommendations and counseling vaccine hesitant population. AIM: This study aims to identify level of COVID-19 hesitancy, attitude, knowledge, and factors that affect vaccination decision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done among medical students in Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq. Data collection was done through an online Google Forms questionnaire during 2021 from 810 medical students.

The Electric Discharge (EDM) method is a novel thermoelectric manufacturing technique in which materials are removed by a controlled spark erosion process between two electrodes immersed in a dielectric medium. Because of the difficulties of EDM, determining the optimum cutting parameters to improve cutting performance is extremely tough. As a result, optimizing operating parameters is a critical processing step, particularly for non-traditional machining process like EDM. Adequate selection of processing parameters for the EDM process does not provide ideal conditions, due to the unpredictable processing time required for a given function. Models of Multiple Regression and Genetic Algorithm are considered as effective methods for determ

In this research the results of applying Artificial Neural Networks with modified activation function to perform the online and offline identification of four Degrees of Freedom (4-DOF) Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) manipulator robot will be described. The proposed model of identification strategy consists of a feed-forward neural network with a modified activation function that operates in parallel with the SCARA robot model. Feed-Forward Neural Networks (FFNN) which have been trained online and offline have been used, without requiring any previous knowledge about the system to be identified. The activation function that is used in the hidden layer in FFNN is a modified version of the wavelet function. This approach ha

Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common protozoan disease in Iraq characterized by localized ulcers, primarily on exposed skin. This study aimed to investigate the hematological parameters of infected patients using a complete blood count (CBC) in the endemic area of Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad. This has been studied in newly diagnosed, untreated individuals and patients receiving sodium antimony gluconate. Methodology: Hematological screening was performed on blood samples from 161 patients with microscopically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after treatment. Anti-Leishmania IgG was also assessed by ELISA in seropositive and seronegative subjects. Results: The newly diagnosed, untreated pati

Introduction: The stringent response is a bacterial adaptation mechanism triggered by stress conditions, including nutrient limitation. This response helps bacteria survive under harsh conditions, such as those encountered during infection. A key feature of the stringent response is the synthesis of the alarmone (p)ppGpp, which influences various bacterial phenotypes. In several bacterial species, stringent response activation significantly affects biofilm formation and maintenance. Methods: Clinical specimens were collected from multiple hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Staphylococcus aureus was identified using conventional biochemical tests. The PCR technique was applied to detect mecA, icaA, and icaD genes, while the Vitek 2 compac

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, complicating 3-14% of all pregnancies. Although the etiology remains unknown, placental hypoperfusion and diffuse endothelial cell injury are considered to be the central pathological process; many endocrinological changes have been linked to the etiology of preeclampsia including parathyroid hormone and calcium level. Objective: to compare serum parathyroid hormone and total serum calcium levels in mild and severe preeclampsia versus normal pregnancy. Patients and methods: Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level and total serum calcium level were measured in thirty normotensive pregnant women and thirty women with mild preeclampsia and thi