BACKGROUND: CRC is one of the most common cancers in the world. K-ras is proto-oncogene with GTPase activity that is lost when the gene is mutated. Analysis of K-ras mutational status is very important for CRC treatment, being the most important predictors of resistance to targeted therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the frequency and spectrum of K-ras mutation among Iraqi patients with sporadic CRC. PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 35 cases with sporadic CRC; their clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. The FFPE blocks were used for DNA extraction; PCR amplification of K-ras gene and hybridization of allele-specific oligoprobes were performed. The assay covers 29 mutations in the K-ras gene (codons 1

This study presented an endeavour to integrate the value chain activities with the Balanced Scorecard for a comprehensive evaluation of an organization’s strategic performance. It also demonstrated the connection and the integration of the activities of the value chain with the Balanced Scorecard. The financial measurement was linked with non-financial measurement by integrating these techniques to achieve an appropriate performance that supports all aspects of the organizational performance. Consequently, the research problem in this study emerged, which is due to the concentration of many organizations on the measurement of financial performance. Notably, the latter caused the decline of some organizations from the competitive market. T

Background: Color stability of glass ionomers (GIs) could be affected by many factors such as pH and consumption of liquid medications like antibiotics. Most common antibiotics used during childhood are amoxicillin suspension (AM.S) and azithromycin suspension (AZ.S) which have acidic and basic pH respectively. Aim: to evaluate and compare the effect of AM.S and AZ.S on color stability of nano resin-modified GI. Methods: Thirty disc of nano resin-modified glass ionomer (2mm height x 4mm diameter) were divided into three groups (n=10 for each) and independently exposed to AM.S, AZ.S, and artificial saliva (A.S.). Color stability was evaluated in triplicate by VITA Easyshade® before and after three immersion protocols, repeated over

Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) is one of the most common infectious human pathogens. H. pylori could induce inflammation, that causes illnesses and disorders of upper gastrointestinal which including peptic ulcer diseases, dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. It is important to use a better tolerated and greatly effective eradication regimen. In this study, 75 newly diagnosed adult patients with H. pylori infection were included and completed the study, they were allocated into three groups with three different treatment regimens for H. pylori eradications; Group A (25 patients) received oral standard clarithromycin-based tr

Ten isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, seven isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nine isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, were obtained from 100 urine samples collected from Baghdad hospitals. All isolates were identified biochemically and confirmed by using VITEK 2 and were then tested for their susceptibility towards 6 antibiotics and for phenolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris and Cinnamomum cassia. All bacteria were greatly affected by T. vulgaris, especially K. pneumoniae. Viable count was performed, it was noted that the number of bacterial cells reduced from 1×108 CFU to 1.2× 103, 2×105 and 1.8×106CFU of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus respectively. While C. cassiahad a slight effect on them. K. pneumoniae isola

The effect of laser radiation on human aorta, coronary, and pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary veins has been investigated. Xenon-Chloride (eximer), Nitrogen, and Nd-YAG pulsed lasers of wavelengths 308, 337, and 1060 nm respectively were used. Their effects on fresh postmortem tissues, normal and diseased, was studied. The diameter and depth of ablation of the exposed tissues, in air, were measured as a function of many factors related to the type of laser and nature of the tissue. The effect of properties of the applied lasers, such as average power density and deposited energy density, on the exposed tissue surface were studied. The increase of these two parameters cause an increase in the depth and diameter of ablation. However the di

Tool wear is a major problem in machining operations because the resulting material loss gradually changes of the machine tool. There many factors may leads to material loss like; friction, corrosion, and also it’s happened by rubbing during machining processes between the work piece and the tool. Dimensional accuracy of the work piece, and also the surface finish will be reducing by tool wear. It can also increase cutting force. In this study, we focused on the effect of the coating process on crater wear problems. Crater wear is caused by the flow between the chip and the rake face of the tool, whereas flank wear is caused by the contact between the tool and the work piece. In reducing crater wear, aluminum titanium nitride (AlTiN) u

In the present work, a first-row divalent d-transition metal obtained from curcumin(Curc) and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanin(L-dopa)have been synthesized which their complexes and characterized by C.H.N, conductance, spectral methods: FT-IR, Ultra–Visible. Magneto-chemical measurements, molar conductance ΛM (1×10−3 mol/L in DMSO):36- 0.84 ohm-1.cm2.mol-1 (non-electrolyte). The data shows that the complexes have the structure [M((II))-(Curc)-(L-dopa)] system. Electronic and magnetic data suggest an octahedral geometry for all complexes in which the (L-dopa) and curcumin act as bidentate ligands. Curcumin coordinated to the metal ions M (II) through the lone pair of electrons of oxygen in 2(C=O) groups. The (L-dopa) coordinated to M (II) a