Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is an important respiratory bacterial pathogen, especially among children. It causes acute upper and lower respiratory infections.Objective: This study was aimed to measure anti- M. pneumoniae antibodies among hospitalized children who were admitted to hospital diagnosed with acute respiratory tract infections.Method: Automated ELISA technique was performed to detect anti- M. pneumoniae antibodies (IgM and IgG antibodies) in serum from 108 children less than 5 years old. The children were admitted to the Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Suleimani city/Kurdistan Region/Iraq because of acute respiratory tract infections. A questionnaire was designed to collect demographic and clinical data from those children.Results: IgM anti- M. pneumoniae antibodies were positive in 15 (13.9%) out of 108 children. The highest seroprevalence was found in the age group 25-36 months while the lowest is in the age group 1-12 months. M. pneumoniae infections were more common among males than females though results were statistically not significant, and attendance of kindergarten or nursery, residency, history of chronic diseases, history of contact with similar conditions, and family history of chronic diseases, they were all statistically not significant. The IgMseropositive children were suffering from bronchitis, croup, pneumonia, or other respiratory infections, in frequencies of 7 (46.6%), 4 (26.7%), 3 (20%), and 1 (6.7%) respectively. Increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, diagnosis of croup, and diagnosis of bronchitis were more frequent in M. pneumoniae infected group and the results were statistically significant. The IgG anti- M. pneumoniae antibodies were positive in 31 (28.8%) out of the 108 children, and the greatest IgG seroprevalence was highest in age group 49-60 months.Conclusion: M. pneumoniae is an important respiratorypathogen among hospitalized children in Sulaimanigovernorate/Kurdistan/Iraq, and nearly one third of childrenhad experienced M. pneumoniae infection by the age of fiveyears
The present study dealt with the morphological, anatomical,trichomespollen grains,and ecological characteristics of Caroxylon jordanicola (EigAkhani & Roalson (Amaranthaceae) in Al-Tar Caves, Karbala, Iraq which belongs to the Amaranthaceae family. The results of the present study demonstrated that There are distinctive characteristics of the studied species distinguish it from other species and facilitate its diagnosis. The sample was diagnosed using the taxonomic keys of the Iraqi flora and the flora of neighboring countriesIn addition to some available research. The results of the morphological and anatomical features investigation provide really significant taxonomical value to distinguish the species. The results that showe
... Show MoreThe study aims to predict Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) as a water quality indicator parameter at spatial and temporal distribution of the Tigris River, Iraq by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. This study was conducted on this river between Mosul and Amarah in Iraq on five positions stretching along the river for the period from 2001to 2011. In the ANNs model calibration, a computer program of multiple linear regressions is used to obtain a set of coefficient for a linear model. The input parameters of the ANNs model were the discharge of the Tigris River, the year, the month and the distance of the sampling stations from upstream of the river. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the distance and discharge
... Show MoreSurvival analysis is widely applied to data that described by the length of time until the occurrence of an event under interest such as death or other important events. The purpose of this paper is to use the dynamic methodology which provides a flexible method, especially in the analysis of discrete survival time, to estimate the effect of covariate variables through time in the survival analysis on dialysis patients with kidney failure until death occurs. Where the estimations process is completely based on the Bayes approach by using two estimation methods: the maximum A Posterior (MAP) involved with Iteratively Weighted Kalman Filter Smoothing (IWKFS) and in combination with the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. While the other
... Show MoreEvaporation is one of the major components of the hydrological cycle in the nature, thus its accurate estimation is so important in the planning and management of the irrigation practices and to assess water availability and requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of fuzzy inference system for estimating monthly pan evaporation form meteorological data. The study has been carried out depending on 261 monthly measurements of each of temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (W) which have been available in Emara meteorological station, southern Iraq. Three different fuzzy models comprising various combinations of monthly climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) were developed
... Show MoreBackground: Ruptured uterus is a catastrophic event to both
mother and her fetus. Apart from maternal and fetal mortality
rates, the incidence of rupture of uterus is often taken as an
index of the standard of obstetric care.
Objective: To determine the frequency, causes, management
outcome of ruptured uterus at Al Batool maternity hospital.
Method: The study was conducted in the department of
obstetrics and gynecology at Al Batool maternity hospital
Mosul-Iraq over a period of three years from October 1st 2002
to August 30th 2005. All the cases of uterine rupture presented
during the study period were recorded and managed in the
department. Data was recorded on designed forms.
Results: Thirty nine cas
Contracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 is a nematode which causes major concerns to human and wildlife animal’s health. However, the population genetics of C. rudolphii has been poorly studied in Iraq. In order to gain a deeper understanding in the outline of the genetic diversity of the nematode C. rudolphii that were isolated from its host cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758), in the middle areas of Iraq, twenty specimens of C. rudolphii adults were isolated from nine individuals of P. carbo. The first (ITS-1) internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of C. rudolphii were amplified using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR); then, the amplicons were subjected to sequencing. Concatenation of ITS-1 (rD
... Show MoreAbstract
Uncertainty, the deeply-rooted fact that surrounding the investment environment, especially the stock market which just prices have taken a specific trend until they moved to another one for its up or down. This means that the volatility characteristic of financial market requires the rational investor an argument led towards the adoption of planned acts to gain greater benefit in the goal of wealth maximizing. There is no possibility to achieve this goal without the burden of uncertainty and the risk of systematic fluctuations of investment returns in the financial market after the facts of efficient diversification have pro
... Show MoreContracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 is a nematode which causes major concerns to human and wildlife animal’s health. However, the population genetics of C. rudolphii has been poorly studied in Iraq. In order to gain a deeper understanding in the outline of the genetic diversity of the nematode C. rudolphii that were isolated from its host cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758), in the middle areas of Iraq, twenty specimens of C. rudolphii adults were isolated from nine individuals of P. carbo. The first (ITS-1) internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of C. rudolphii were amplified using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR); then, the amplicons were subjected to sequencing. Concatenation of ITS
... Show More