Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
the association between celiac disease and viral infection
Background Several studies have addressed the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), among Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients in different countries, and the potential association between the infection and PD; the results of these studies were conflicting. The study aims to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among sample of Iraqi PD patients. Also, to examine the potential association of age, PD duration, gender, smoking habit, zone of residence and family history of PD, with the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in PD patients.
Patients and Methods Seventy-four PD patients attaining Dr. Saad Al-Witry Neuroscience Hospital in Baghdad/ Ir
... Show MoreThe current research aims to diagnose the type and level of influence of social media, whose dimensions are represented by (attitudes towards social media marketing, knowledge and use of social media, influence on the Internet and social media, following up on social media) on customer behavior in its dimensions (attracting attention, raising Interest, desire creation, customer response), and the research sought to answer questions related to the research problem by testing the main hypotheses to explore correlations and influence between the two variables, and to achieve research hypothesis tests, the field study was used, as the research sample reached (135) individuals from the director and the assistant director And marketing personnel
... Show MoreIn this work a flowsheet has been put for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from 2.5M nitric acid solutions using 17.5% tributyl phosphate (TBP) and 2.5% trioctylamine (TOA) in kerosene diluent . The fission products (resulting from irradiated of uranium samples in nuclear research reactor) were removed from the desired actinides U & Pu .The organic phase TBP/TOA/Kerosene, containing both actinides U&Pu were stripped using 0.1 M HNO3. Trioctylamine (2.5 volume ratio ) in mesitylene , has been used in conditions appropriate for the recovery of Pu . From the experiments done using mixer- settler , the concentration of uranium in the organic phase in such conditions was very low ,not exceeding parts of a million .
Background: osteoporosis is characterized by a reduction in bone mineral density, skeletal microstructure breakdown, increased bone fragility, and fracture susceptibility. Osteopenia is the preceding step to osteoporosis because it causes a decrease in bone mass, osteoporosis reduces a person's quality of life. Periostin (encoded by Postn), its name is derived from the fact that it was first detected in periosteal osteocytes and osteoblasts. Periostin deficiency has been linked to osteoporosis and weak bones. Study objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine periostin levels in serum of Iraqi patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia, and it is also possible to consider periostin as a diagnostic factor to follow the progression o
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to evaluate the levels of total immunoglobulin E and percentage count of eosinophil in some of allergic disease. Blood sample collected from 210 patients (110 female, 100 male) with allergic disease (allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, and urticaria) their age between 10-70 years and 50 healthy control their age between 23-52 years. A highly significant (P<0.01) increase in the mean serum total IgE in patients with asthma (503.54 ± 63.49 IU/ml), Allergic rhinitis (442.77 ± 95.76 IU/ml) and urticaria (489.53 ± 69.68 IU/ml) as a compared with healthy controls (23.67 ± 5.81 IU/ml).There was a significant difference in percentage count of eosinophil in patients groups allergic asthma 4.37 ± 0.52% ,allergic rhinitis
... Show MoreThis paper deals with social responsibility visible to the media and the role they play in spreading the culture of environmental protection, and make research on a sample of the University of Baghdad consisting students from 150 students, male and female were distributed questionnaire form on the sample to obtain the required information has been questionnaire included axes distributed questions achieve the objectives of the search, and after the form data were analyzed using statistical program spss results show that the visual media and its role in spreading the culture of environmental protection form averages arithmetic high, indicating a rise in the influence of th
... Show MoreThe theater can be considered a media that the effectiveness of its tools and the perceptions it produces cannot be abandoned according to patterns or aesthetic artistic trends, and at the same time it carries a large amount of information that can be worked on activating it with conscious directions within the elements of the theatrical performance, and these can be counted The study is an attempt to trace the functioning of the communication and media elements in the structure of the theatrical performance, as the study included: An introduction that defines the research problem and its importance, which crystallized around the following question: Does the media communication through theatrical presentation form its desired effectivene
... Show MoreInterested in many scholars and reseachers the subject of the media and means varied his roleinfluential in the definition of the public of issues and political, cultural, social and because of its spread wide and ability to address the people of all levels effect them in the formation consciousness of those issues and types of this awareness is an awareness of the tax, contribute to media formation consciousness tax through the definition of people what tax and importance of the role of its revenues to supplement the state budget by posting tax laws and regulations of applied and all what respect process account tax, to be in charge of the tax familiar enough about this, which avoid being cheated taxmisleading when rev
... Show More