Background: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical
problem that is associated with an acute-phase reaction.
Previous studies have shown that cytokines and acutephase proteins are activated and may serve as indicators for
appendicitis.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate of serum
levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in correlation to the severity
to acute appendicitis.
Methods: This is a prospective study from December 2008
to March 2009 of patients who had appendectomy in
Department of Surgery, Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital -
Baghdad/Iraq. Serum for estimating levels of interleukin-6
(IL-6) was taken pre-operatively. Depending on the
macroscopic evidence during the operation and the
histopathological examination of the specimens, the
patients were separated into 3 groups, group one with
negative appendectomy (normal appendix), group two with
non-complicated acute appendicitis (catarrhal,
suppurative), and group three with complicated acute
appendicitis (perforated, gangrenous). The
histopathological results were correlated with IL-6 values
statistically.
Results: A total number of 50 patients were included in
this study, 28 male (56%) and 22 female (44%). The mean
age was 23 year (ranged from 7 to 50). On histological
examination, there were 7 patients (14%) in group one, 29
patients (58%) in group two, and 14 patients (28%) in
group three. Serum IL-6 values gave true negative results
in 6%, true positive results in 82%, false negative results in
4%, and false positive results in 8%. We determined,
therefore, in the present study the sensitivity, specificity,
and accuracy of serum IL-6 were calculated as 95.34%,
42.85%, and 88% respectively.
Conclusion: Laboratory results should be considered to be
integrated within the clinical assessment. If used critically,
IL-6 can provide surgeons with complementary
information in discerning the necessity for urgent
operation
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Liposomal amphotericin B (Amph B) has been used effectively to treat leishmaniosis, in spite of its high toxicity appeared in some patients. In our study, Amph B was administered in Leishmania donovani that infected BALB/c male mice using different concentrations to evaluate its efficacy challenge against infection as well as its effect in modulating immunity of the host. We observed that low doses with short duration of Amph B as a therapy regime significantly enhanced the induction of Th1 cytokine (INF-γ), but suppressed Th2 cytokine (IL-10) production. Groups of mice infected with L. donovani and treated with Amph B showed clearly increasing in INF-γ level and reduction in IL-10 level in concentration (3, 4, 5 mg/ml/kg) with best resul
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The marine collagens are biocompatible and biodegradable materials that are considered as a biomimetic approach for tissue regeneration. This study evaluated the effect of daily consumption of marine collagen supplement drink on enamel white spot lesions (WSLs), comparing the results against Regenerate system and Sylc air abrasion methods. Fifty human enamel slabs were allocated into five groups (n = 10 per group): non-treated (sound); non-treated (WSLs, 8% methylcellulose gel with 0.1 M lactic acid (pH 4.6) at 37 °C for 21 days); and three treated surfaces with marine collagen; Regenerate system; and Sylc air abrasion. The treatment lasted for 28 days followed by four weeks’ storage in artificial saliva (pH = 7.0, 37 °C). Evalu
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Background: Assessment of function of the right side of the heart in cases of left ventricular dysfunction has been widely studied but the sensitive and specific echocardiographic parameter to be tested is still a matter of controversy. Right ventricular function is related to left ventricular function by ventricular independence so function of both should be assessed carefully. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of left ventricular systolic dysfunction on right ventricular systolic and diastolic functions and pulmonary pressure using conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients (39 males and 21 females) with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction
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Myelosuppression is a serious disease that is related to the malfunction of blood cells production that leads to cytopenia which is the most serious hematologic toxicity of cancer chemotherapies including cyclophosphamide, which is a strong oxazaphosphorine [a nitrogen mustard alkylating agent] that can be used alone or combined with other chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of different malignant diseases. It induces severe bone marrow suppression by damaging hematopoietic stem cells through the generation of oxidative stress. Fisetin is a hydrophobic polyphenolic compound with a wide range of pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, osteoprotective, antidiabetic, and anti-carcinogenic activit
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Myelosuppression is a serious disease that is related to the malfunction of blood cells production that leads to cytopenia which is the most serious hematologic toxicity of cancer chemotherapies including cyclophosphamide, which is a strong oxazaphosphorine [a nitrogen mustard alkylating agent] that can be used alone or combined with other chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of different malignant diseases. It induces severe bone marrow suppression by damaging hematopoietic stem cells through the generation of oxidative stress. Fisetin is a hydrophobic polyphenolic compound with a wide range of pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, osteoprotective, antidiabetic, and anti-carcinogenic
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An attempt was made to evaluate the PV performance of one-axis daily tracking and fixed system for Baghdad, Iraq. Two experimental simulations were conducted on a PV module for that purpose. Measurements included incident solar radiation, load voltage and load current. The first experiment was carried out for six months of winter half of year to simulate the one-axis daily tracking. The azimuth angle was due south while the tilt angle was being set to optimum according to each day of simulation. The second experiment was done at one day to simulate the PV module of fixed angles. It is found that there is a significant power gain of 29.6% for the tracking system in respect to the fixed one. The one-axis daily tracking was much more effect
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This paper reports a comprehensive study on the behavior of concavely curved soffit reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened in flexure with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites under static loading. The main objective of this paper is to explore the effect of surface concavity on the bond performance of externally bonded wet layup CFRP sheets and laminates. An experimental program consisting of flexural strengthening of 24 RC beams with concavely curved soffits was carried out. All specimens were simply supported RC beams tested under three-point bending. Of the 24 beams, 6 beams were flat soffit RC beams, and the remainder were fabricated with concavely curved soffits with a degree of curvature that is ranging from 5 mm/m
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