Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are said to be inherited in a multifactorial fashion, i.e. genetic-environmental interaction. Maternal nutritional deficiencies had long been reported to cause NTDs, especially folate deficiency during early pregnancy. More attention had been paid to the exact mechanism by which this deficiency state causes these defects in the developing embryo. The most significant of all researches was that connecting reduced folate and increased homocysteine level in maternal serum on one hand and the risk of developing a NTD baby on the other hand. Objectives : to determine the significance of homocysteine level in Iraqi mothers who gave birth to babies with NTDs as compared to normal controls. Patients, Materials and Methods: Fifty Iraqi women having babies born with NTDS, referred to the genetic clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, were included in this study (the study group) as well as 37 healthy women having normal children (the control group). This study was conducted from November, 2002 till October, 2003. Analysis of total serum homocysteine level for all women was done using a computerized HPLC system. Results : the age of women in both groups was comparable (mean+SD in the study group was 26.2+5.14 years vs. 26.3+4.57 years in the controls). Among the study group, 4 (8%) had normal tHcy level; 44 (88%) had mildly elevated level, and only 2 (4%) had moderately elevated tHcy level, while all (100%) women in the control group had their tHcy level within normal level. This difference was statistically highly significant (p<0.001). Conclusions : Women become at an increased risk of delivering a baby with NTD when having an elevated tHcy level in their sera, and that tHcy level is an important marker in maternal serum that is associated significantly with pregnancy outcome.
The present study deals with the effect of teaching oral Communication Strategies on English language learners. The use of oral communication strategies not only solves learners’ communication problems, but also enhances the learner’s interaction in target language, which in turn, improves their oral proficiency .The sample of this study is EFL students in the first stage at the Department of English Language, morning studies, College of Education /Ibn-Rushd .The sample of the study consists of (60) students distributed on experimental group(A) includes (30) students, and (30) students as control group(B). In order to achieve the aim of the study, and to gain a closer idea about the impact of teaching oral Communication Strategies on th
... Show MoreIlliteracy has spread in the last years, although it was eliminated in the 1980s. The return of illiteracy brings ignorance, illness, backwardness and regression among nations. It has taken many types, mainly alphabetical, scientific and computer illiteracy. Hence, the increasing nature of illiteracy has attracted the attention of governments and societies alike. This may touch the reality of societies starting with their youth unless those, who are in charge, will find workable solutions for the existing problems. The results of the study revealed that there is a real disaster awaiting the next generation after years of stray, and ignorance of the people in charge who are too engaged in getting their privileges to care about this proble
... Show MoreFor over a decade, educational technology has been used sparingly in our schools and universities. Online training courses have been used since 2003 to fill the gaps in our learning system and to add extra program besides classroom learning. This paper aims to investigate the Iraqi EFL instructors’ participating in online training courses and its influence on the process of teaching and learning.
The sample of present study consists of 30 instructors from University of Baghdad. The questionnaire of sixteen items was constructed. After ensuring validity and reliability of questionnaire, it was applied on March 2013 and the result shows that most of instructors improve their teaching methods b
... Show MoreBackground: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iraq and the United Kingdom. While the disease is frequently diagnosed among middleaged Iraqi women at advanced stages accounting for the second cause of cancer-related deaths, breast cancer often affects elderly British women yielding the highest survival of all registered malignancies in the UK. Objective: To compare the clinical and pathological profiles of breast cancer among Iraqi and British women; correlating age at diagnosis with the tumor characteristics, receptor-defined biomarkers and phenotype patterns. Methods: This comparative retrospective study included the clinical and pathological characteristics of (1,940) consecutive female patients who were diagnosed with invasive b
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Background: The association between facial types and dental arches forms has considerable implications in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. The aim was to establish the maxillary and mandibular dental arches width and length in skeletal and dental class II division 1 and class III malocclusion groups, find out the most frequent dental arch form and facial type and the association between them and to check the gender differences. Materials and Methods: Frontal and lateral facial photographs and maxillary and mandibular occlussal photographs for 90 iraqi subjects with age 18-25 years old (45 males and 45 females) divided equally into three groups, the 1st group with class II division 1malocclusion (overjet more than 3mm but less t
... Show MoreBackground:Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problems refer to a group of heterogeneous pain and dysfunction conditions involving the mastication, reducing life quality of the patients. Arthrocentesis is a simple and less invasive surgical method for the treatment of inflammatory-degenerative disease than other conservative procedures and better than arthroscope. This clinical study aimed at evaluating the benefit of arthrocentesis with injection of hyaluronic acid in the management of inflammatory-degenerative disease of the TMJ. Material and methods: Eighty consecutive patients were enrolled in this study with pain symptoms of TMJ, insufficient masticatory efficiency during function and limitation of mouth opening; they were assessed with
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A histological study showed the wall of the stomach in Pica pica and Herpestes javanicus consists of four layers: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa and serosa. Also, the present study showed many differences in the histological structures of the stomach for each in both types. The stomach of P. pica consists of two portions: the proventiculus and gizzard, while the stomach of H. javanicus consists of three portions: cardiac, fundic and pyloric regions. The mucosa layer formed short gastric folds, named plicae. In the proventiculus of P. pica, sulcus is found between each two plicae, but the folds called gastric pits in the gizzard, which are full with koilin. Lamina properia in both types contained gastric g
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Mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead, were measured in sediment samples of river and marine environmental of Basra governorate in southern of Iraq. Sixteen sites of sediment were selected and distributed along Shatt Al-Arab River and the Iraqi marine environment. The samples were distributed among one station on Euphrates River before its confluence with Tigris River and Shatt Al-Arab formation, seven stations along Shatt Al-Arab River and eight stations were selected from the Iraqi marine region. All samples were collected from surface sediment in low tide time. ICP technique was used for the determination of mercury and arsenic for all samples, while cadmium and lead were measured for the same samples by using Atomic Absorption Spectrosc
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A histological study showed the wall of the stomach in Pica pica and Herpestes javanicus consists of four layers: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa and serosa. Also, the present study showed many differences in the histological structures of the stomach for each in both types. The stomach of P. pica consists of two portions: the proventiculus and gizzard, while the stomach of H. javanicus consists of three portions: cardiac, fundic and pyloric regions. The mucosa layer formed short gastric folds, named plicae. In the proventiculus of P. pica, sulcus is found between each two plicae, but the folds called gastric p
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