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 12, 13, 59, 60, 61, 117 and 146). RESULTS: The majority of cases have left colonic tumours (57%), without LN involvement (57.1%), of non-mucinous adenocarcinoma histology (85.7%), grade II (82.9%) and stage III (37.1%) tumours. Fourteen mutations were detected in 13 (37%) patients with K-ras mutations; 10 (71.4%) mutations were in codon 12 while 4(28.6%) were in codon 13. The most frequent mutation was the G>T transversions [9 (64.4%)] and the most frequent mutation type was GGT>TGT (GLY>CYS) at codon 12. CONCLUSION: The incidence of K-ras mutations lies in the middle of the reported figures worldwide; the majority of mutations occurred at codon 12 followed by codon 13; predominantly of G>T transversion and Gly12Cys type that has a poorer prognosis.
Background. Nocturnal enuresis (NE), defined as intermittent involuntary urine leakage during sleep, affects approximately 16% of children at age 5 and 10% at age 7, with prevalence declining with age. Aim. To evaluate the urodynamic features of patients with non-monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (NMNE). Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2015 to September 2020 in a surgical subspecialty hospital within a major medical city complex, including 237 patients. Eligible patients were older than seven years, diagnosed with NMNE, and had refractory enuresis, defined as persistent symptoms despite at least six months of continuous medical treatment. All patients underwent a detailed history, bladder diary review, c
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:Background: Many studies had stated that there are marked variations in the clinical presentation of depressive states between different cultures.Objectives: The main aim of the study is to identify the symptoms profile of patients with major depressive disorder living in Baghdad.Method: Ninety two patients with major depressive disorder consulting Ibn-Rushd psychiatric teaching hospital were studied thoroughly to identify the frequency of symptoms among them. The fifth edition of the Arabic version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I) was used to identify the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – fourth edition (DSM-IV) symptoms. A list of other symptoms, which were found to present variably in depression acco
... Show MorePeripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with increased oxidative stress and impaired endothelial function. Ticagrelor treatment improves antioxidant properties in addition to its antiplatelet effects. This study investigated the impact of Ticagrelor treatment on serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and other biochemical parameters in PAD patients. It also evaluated the potential diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of specific biomarkers based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Seventy individuals were categorized into healthy control (n=40), baseline PAD patients not on Ticagrelor (B-PAD, n=30), and same PAD patients after treated with Ticagrelor (A-PAD, n=30). Parameters measured included SOD concent
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Background: Psoriasis is a common inflammatory condition worldwide, with an average prevalence ranging from 2% to 3%. However, the incidence of psoriasis varies among different ethnic groups and regions. Elevated leptin levels have been associated with increased cellular proliferation, including T-cells. Additionally, high leptin levels may stimulate the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines such as ILـ6 and TNFـα. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Apremilast on Leptin in obese psoriatic patients. Subjects and Methods: Thirty patients with psoriasis were included in This prospective cohort study to measure the levels of serum Leptin by using the ELISA technique, before and after receiving Apremilast. Result: The present work
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Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the etiopathogenic agent of gastric and duodenal disorders ranging from gastritis to malignancy. It is also associated with many extraintestinal diseases, including cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors. To evaluate the link between HP infection and some cardiovascular risk factors by studying the effects of HP infection on body mass index, blood pressure, and serum lipid profile among patients having gastritis with and without HP infection. A crosssectional study included 1214 patients who had gastritis diagnosed by gastroscopy examination. Those patients were in the age range of 30-65 years and they were divided according to their gender into 725 females and 489 males depending on the 1
... Show MorePotentially inappropriate prescribing is the prescribing of a medication that may cause more harm than benefit, the elderly population aged 65 years or older is more prone to potentially inappropriate prescribing because of alterations in their physiology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics as well as polypharmacy and comorbidities, Beers list is a screening tool that help doctors to detect potentially inappropriate prescribing in geriatric patients and is designed to solve this problem, the aim of this study is to measure the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing among psychiatric patients using the Beers criteria as an assessment tool and find the relationship between duration of hospitalization, comorbidities and pol
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Software-defined networks (SDN) have a centralized control architecture that makes them a tempting target for cyber attackers. One of the major threats is distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. It aims to exhaust network resources to make its services unavailable to legitimate users. DDoS attack detection based on machine learning algorithms is considered one of the most used techniques in SDN security. In this paper, four machine learning techniques (Random Forest, K-nearest neighbors, Naive Bayes, and Logistic Regression) have been tested to detect DDoS attacks. Also, a mitigation technique has been used to eliminate the attack effect on SDN. RF and KNN were selected because of their high accuracy results. Three types of ne
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The influence of 5-10 kHz audio frequency on the power dissipation in ac discharge of argon gas was studied experimentally, at pressures 50-80 mTorr and electrodes separation 10 cm (pd range 0.5-0.8 Torr.
cm). The measurements have shown that the discharge behavior in the ac circuit is equivalent to a series RC circuit. It is observed that the variation curve of discharge power P with the frequency f is approximately has a Gaussian shape. It is also observed that the curve of Pm- pd is the inverse of Paschen curve, where Pm is the maximum power in the frequency range. The time of breakdown is estimated from the curve of P- f.
Signal denoising is directly related to sample estimation of received signals, either by estimating the equation parameters for the target reflections or the surrounding noise and clutter accompanying the data of interest. Radar signals recorded using analogue or digital devices are not immune to noise. Random or white noise with no coherency is mainly produced in the form of random electrons, and caused by heat, environment, and stray circuitry loses. These factors influence the output signal voltage, thus creating detectable noise. Differential Evolution (DE) is an effectual, competent, and robust optimisation method used to solve different problems in the engineering and scientific domains, such as in signal processing. This paper looks
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