Background: Spleen is a hemopoietic organ which is capable of supporting elements of different systems. It is affected by several groups of diseases; inflammatory, hematopoietic, reticuloendothelial proliferation, portal hypertension and storage diseases. Ultrasound (US) may detect mild splenomegaly before it is clinically palpable. Knowledge of the normal range of spleen size in the population being examined is a prerequisite. Racial differences in splenic length could result in incorrect interpretation of splenic measurements and such differences would make it difficult to standardize expected splenic length and to determine non- palpable splenic enlargement.Objectives: To measure the normal values of splenic lengthin Iraqi subjects and compare the results with western,Chinese and Jordanian data; to determine whether there is aconstant ratio of the length of the spleen to the left kidney,which could be used to diagnose splenomegaly withoutreference to a nomogram.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among a total of 280 subjects ranging in age from birth to 20 years (159 males and 121 females). US was used to measure maximum splenic and left kidney lengths to obtain normal values for splenic length and to determine spleen to left kidney ratio. The subjects were divided into the same age groups as those used by other similar international studies in order that comparisons with their results could be made.Results: Splenic lengths in Iraqi subjects are similar to those in American, Chinese and Jordanian subjects up to the age of 15 years. The spleen to left kidney ratio is strikingly constant with a mean value of 1. Using 2 SD above the mean as a guide, the upper limit of normal for spleen to left kidney ratio is 1.25.Conclusion: Splenomegaly should be suspected in children if the spleen is more than 1.25 times longer than the adjacent kidney.Key words: Spleen, subjects, ultrasound
Methylotrophs bacteria are ubiquitous, and they have the ability to consume single carbon (C1) which makes them biological conversion machines. It is the first study to find facultative methylotrophic bacteria in contaminated soils in Iraq. Conventional PCR was employed to amplify MxaF that encodes methanol dehydrogenase enzyme. DNA templates were extracted from bacteria isolated from five contaminated sites in Basra. The gene specific PCR detected Methylorubrum extorquens as the most dominant species in these environments. The ability of M. extorquens to degrade aliphatic hydrocarbons compound was tested at the laboratory. Within 7 days, gas chromatographic (GC) studies of remaining utilize
... Show MoreCatalytic reduction is considered an effective approach for the reduction of toxic organic pollutants from the environment, but finding an active catalyst is still a big challenge. Herein, Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst was synthesized through polyol reduction method and applied for catalytic reduction (conversion) of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst displayed an outstanding reduction activity with 99% conversion of 4-NP in 5 min with a 0.61 min−1 reaction rate (k). A number of structural characterization techniques were executed to investigate the influence of Ag on CeO2 and its effect on the catalytic conversion of 4-NP. The outstanding catalytic performances of the Ag-CeO2 catalyst can be assigne
... Show MoreSpatial data analysis is performed in order to remove the skewness, a measure of the asymmetry of the probablitiy distribution. It also improve the normality, a key concept of statistics from the concept of normal distribution “bell shape”, of the properties like improving the normality porosity, permeability and saturation which can be are visualized by using histograms. Three steps of spatial analysis are involved here; exploratory data analysis, variogram analysis and finally distributing the properties by using geostatistical algorithms for the properties. Mishrif Formation (unit MB1) in Nasiriya Oil Field was chosen to analyze and model the data for the first eight wells. The field is an anticline structure with northwest- south
... Show MoreIn this study, a packed bed was used to remove pathogenic bacteria from synthetic contaminated water. Two types of packing material substrates, sand and zeolite, were used. These substrates were coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which were prepared by decomposition of Ag ions from AgNO3 solution. The prepared coated packings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The packed column consisted of a PVC cylinder of 2 cm diameter and 20 cm in length. The column was packed with silver nanoparticlecoated substrates (sand or zeolite) at a depth of 10 cm. Four types of bacteria were studied: Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aerugi
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The complete genome sequence of bacteriophage VPUSM 8 against O1 El Tor Inaba
The paper uses the Direct Synthesis (DS) method for tuning the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller for controlling the DC servo motor. Two algorithms are presented for enhancing the performance of the suggested PID controller. These algorithms are Back-Propagation Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The performance and characteristics of DC servo motor are explained. The simulation results that obtained by using Matlab program show that the steady state error is eliminated with shorter adjusted time when using these algorithms with PID controller. A comparative between the two algorithms are described in this paper to show their effectiveness, which is found that the PSO algorithm gives be
... Show MoreNew Fe(II),Co(II),Ni(II),Cu(II) and Zn(II) Schiff base complexes which have the molar ratio 2:1 metal to ligand of the general formula [M2( L) X4] (where L=bis(2-methyl furfuraldene)-4-4`-methylene bis(cyclo-hexylamine) ) were prepared by the reaction of the metal salts with the ligand of Schiff base derived from the condensation of 2:1 molar ratio of 2-acetyl furan and 4-4`-methylene bis (cyclohexylamine). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis using atomic absorption spectrophotometer ,molar conductance measurements, infrared, electronic spectra,and magnetic susceptibility measurement. These studies revealed binuclear omplexes. The metal(II) ion in these complexes have four coordination sites giving the most ex
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