Background: Vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency is common in different age groups in both genders especially among pregnant women and neonates where it is associated with several adverse outcomes including preeclampsia and preterm delivery.  

Objectives: To assess the extent of vitamin D deficiency/ insufficiency among mothers and their neonates and some factors related to it and identify some adverse outcomes of the deficiency/ insufficiency on neonates (preterm birth and low birth weight).

Subject and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 88 Iraqi pregnant women and neonates admitted to “Al-Elwiya teaching hospital for maternity” in Baghdad- Al

In their cross-sectional study, Al-Rubaye et al studied the extent of vitamin D (VD) deficiency/ insufficiency, factors affecting its degree, and the adverse outcomes of the altered VD status among a group of mothers and their neonates from Baghdad, Iraq. They found that 96.6% of the mothers had VD deficiency/ insufficiency compared to 86.4% in their neonates. Maternal VD levels and neonatal weights were significantly correlated with neonatal VD levels. We believe that the study results need to be revised. This is based  two points listed in this letter to editor

Electrochemical Grinding (ECG) process is a mechanically assisted electrochemical process for material processing. The process is able to successfully machine electrically conducting harder materials at faster rate with improved surface finish and dimensional control. This research studies the effect of applied current, electrolyte concentration, spindle speed and the gap between workpiece and tool on hardness and material removal rate during electrochemical grinding for stainless steel 316. The characteristic features of the electrochemical grinding process are explored through Taguchi-design-based experimental studies. The better hardness can be obtained at 10 A of the current, 150 g/l of the electrolyte concentration, 0.3 mm of gap an

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis (AA) remains a complex case even for experienced surgeons. Rate of negative appendectomy is 5–40% and delayed intervention result in perforated appendicitis in 5–30% of cases. AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate NPT as a marker for the diagnosis of AA concerning its severity. And compare the diagnostic value of it with the ALV scoring system. METHODS: One hundred twenty patients presented with signs and symptoms of AA and underwent appendectomy, only 84 patients proved to be AA by histopathological examination, were included in the study. Blood samples for neopterin (NPT) estimation and Alvarado (ALV) score was calculated. Control group consists of 45 healthy individual. RESULTS: NPT levels were s

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the change in the levels of glucagon, GLP-1 and GPCR in diabetic patient's and diabetic with dyslipidemia as metabolic syndrome. The study included 75 male aged ranged (30-50) years and with BMI (25-29) kg/m2 which divided into three groups as follows: group one (G1): consist of 25 subjects as healthy control group. Group two (G2): consist of 25 patient's with diabetes mellitus and group three (G3): consist of 25 patient's with diabetic and dyslipidemia as metabolic syndrome. Serum was used in determination of FBG, lipid profile, insulin, glucagon, GLP-1 and GPCR. Whole blood was determination of HbA1c. The results revealed significant elevation in FBG and HbA1c in G2 and G3 comparing to G1. While

Women's rights in social studies and national textbooks in the secondary stage in the light of the international charters of women's rights and the cultural specificity of the Saudi society Abstract The current study focuses on exploring women rights that required to be involved in social studies and national textbooks in the secondary stage in the light of international conventions on women's rights and cultural specificity of the Saudi society, as well as to reveal the teachers and educational supervisors' estimation about the degree of importance of those components included in the books, and then build a matrix of the range and sequence of women's rights in the books of social studies and national in the secondary stage. The study us

Inflammatory response had a role in cancer progression, presence of noticeable inflammation within the tumor and its margin may play an important prognostic role in colorectal carcinoma.

In this research, the electrical characteristics of glow discharge plasma were studied. Glow discharge plasma generated in a home-made DC magnetron sputtering system, and a DC-power supply of high voltage as input to the discharge electrodes were both utilized. The distance between two electrodes is 4cm. The gas used to produce plasma is argon gas which flows inside the chamber at a rate of 40 sccm. The influence of work function for different target materials (gold, copper, and silver), - 5cm in diameter and around 1mm thickness - different working pressures, and different applied voltages on electrical characteristics (discharge current, discharge potential, and Paschen’s curve) were studied. The results showed that the discharge cur