Objective: To assess different humor styles among psychiatry residents in Saudi Arabia and examine their correlations with perceived stress and depression scores, while exploring demographic and training-related influencing factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed 100 psychiatry residents across Saudi Arabia using the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlations, and non-parametric tests. Results: Among 100 psychiatry residents (61% male, 39% female), the median scores for humor styles were: affiliative humor (46, IQR:38.5-50), self-enhancement (36.5, IQR:29-43), self-defeating (26, IQR:18.5-33.5), and aggressive humor (25, IQR:19-30). Self-defeating humor showed significant positive correlations with both depression (r=0.427, p<0.001) and perceived stress scores (r=0.269, p=0.007). Males exhibited significantly higher aggressive and self-defeating humor scores (p=0.004 and p=0.001, respectively), while female residents reported significantly higher perceived stress than males (p=0.033). Residents with prior MDD diagnoses demonstrated higher depression and perceived stress levels (p=0.013 and p=0.021, respectively). Conclusion: Self-defeating humor appears to be a maladaptive coping mechanism associated with poorer mental health outcomes among psychiatry residents in Saudi Arabia. Gender differences in humor styles and stress perception suggest the need for tailored wellness interventions. These findings highlight the importance of promoting adaptive humor styles in psychiatric training programs to enhance resilience and well-being.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the expression of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 in breast cancer in patients as well as their potential value as molecular biomarkers in Duhok city, Kurdistan region Iraq. Methods: The levels of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 were assessed in pre-operative sera, neoplastic and non-neoplastic tissue samples from breast cancer patients and the sera of healthy controls using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Relative expression was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was done for testing the diagnostic accuracy of each miRNA separately and together. Results: Both miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 were significantly upregulated in sera of cancer patients compared to control sera and neoplastic tissue compared to adjacent non-neoplastic tissue (sera P-value:0.002, ≤ 0.0001, tissue P. value: 0.015 and≤ 0.001 respectively). ROC curve analysis demonstrated good diagnostic performance for each miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 in sera (89.7, 82.8; 70, 90% respectively) and tissue (96.4,50; 42,100% respectively). Conclusion: The significant overexpression of both biomarkers in sera sample in compare to controls, and neoplastic in compare to non-neoplastic tissues supports their potential role as diagnostic biomarkers; however, these two combined analyses may provide a more accurate non-invasive approach to early detection of breast cancer.
Objectives: To evaluate the clinical, microbiological, and material effects of 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyamide removable dentures in edentulous patients. Methods: A randomized, controlled, parallel-group clinical trial was conducted on 40 edentulous patients aged 50–75 years, allocated into PMMA (n = 20) and polyamide (n = 20) denture groups. Participants were instructed to use 0.12% CHX mouthwash twice daily for 14 days. Clinical parameters, including Plaque Index (PI) and Gingival Index (GI), microbiological outcomes including Candida albicans and total bacterial counts, material properties including surface roughness and Vickers hardness, and patient-reported outcomes were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Both groups demonstrated significant reductions in PI and GI following CHX use (p < 0.001), with greater reductions observed in the PMMA group compared with the polyamide group. Microbial load reduction was higher in PMMA dentures. Surface analysis revealed minimal changes in PMMA dentures, whereas polyamide dentures exhibited increased surface roughness and reduced hardness. Polyamide dentures were associated with higher patient-reported comfort but more frequent adverse effects. Conclusions: CHX use may improve gingival health and reduce microbial colonization in denture wearers. However, material-dependent differences suggest that PMMA dentures may exhibit greater resistance to biofilm formation and material degradation, whereas polyamide dentures may provide improved comfort with increased susceptibility to surface alterations. These findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample size and short follow-up period.
Objective: To compare the diagnostic performance of the Modified Alvarado and RIPASA scoring systems in patients presenting with RIF pain. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Zakho Emergency Hospital between October 2022 and May 2023. A total of 195 consecutively admitted patients with RIF pain were evaluated using both scoring systems. Histopathology (when available) served as the reference standard. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, two-tailed independent t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, accuracy, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Histopathology confirmed appendicitis in 141 patients (72.3%). Using a cutoff ≥7, the MA score showed sensitivity 67.4%, specificity 61.1%, PPV 83.3%, NPV 41.8%, and accuracy 65.6%. The RIPASA score (cutoff ≥10) demonstrated sensitivity 75.9%, PPV 86.3%, NPV 45.8% and accuracy 72.3%, with identical specificity (61.1%). Logistic regression confirmed both scores as significant predictors (p < 0.001). ROC analysis demonstrated acceptable discrimination for both systems. Conclusion: Both scoring systems demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance. RIPASA showed higher sensitivity and overall discrimination; however, the difference was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that RIPASA may provide incremental diagnostic benefit, but neither score should replace imaging in equivocal cases.
Objectives: To report the implementation and dosimetric evaluation of a single-CT, size-adapted VMAT-TBI workflow designed to simplify planning and treatment delivery across a heterogeneous cohort of pediatric and adult patients undergoing total body irradiation for transplant conditioning. Unlike more complex multi-scan or specialized-platform approaches, this workflow was developed to provide a practical and reproducible clinical solution using standard linear accelerator infrastructure.Methods: Sixty-seven patients treated with 1200 cGy in 5 fractions between December 2020 and July 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were assigned to three workflow groups according to body size: Group A (height ≤135 cm), Group B (height >135 cm), and Group C (body width >40 cm). All patients underwent a single head-first supine CT simulation. Treatment plans were generated in Monaco using multi-isocenter VMAT; taller patients received supplementary (anterior and posterior) AP/PA open fields for the lower extremities, and broader patients were planned using dual partial-arc arrangements. Dosimetric endpoints, organ-at-risk doses, workflow timing, and patient-specific quality assurance results were evaluated descriptively.Results: The workflow was successfully implemented across all patient groups. Mean PTV D95 was 94.6%, 94.0%, and 94.0% for Groups A, B, and C, respectively, with limited high-dose volumes (V110%: 0.35%, 1.5%, and 1.3%). Mean lung doses remained below 920 cGy across groups, and kidney, heart, thyroid, liver, and lens doses were maintained within institutional planning objectives. Average planning time was approximately 12 hours. Mean beam-on treatment time for the VMAT component was 16.6 ± 3.1 minutes for shorter patients, 18.2 ± 1.8 minutes for taller patients, and 25.4 ± 2.5 minutes for broader patients. Quality assurance demonstrated acceptable agreement between planned and measured dose delivery.Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of a single-CT, size-adapted VMAT-TBI workflow that provides reproducible target coverage, organ sparing, and manageable planning and treatment times in a relatively large mixed-age cohort. The principal contribution of this work lies in the practical standardization of VMAT-TBI implementation rather than the introduction of a novel irradiation technique. Clinical outcomes were not analyzed in the present study and should be addressed in future work.
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate a four-phasic MMA protocol vs the standard of care pain management in candidate patients for elective abdominal surgeries. Methods: The study was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at two tertiary hospitals in Iraq. One hundred thirty-two patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery were randomized 1:1 to intervention or control (standard of care). The intervention group received preoperative education and a combination of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions during the preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, and discharge phases. The primary outcome was the area under the curve (AUC) of the VAS pain score-time over 72 hours. Secondary outcomes included opioid consumption, recovery milestones, functional recovery (QoR-15), patient satisfaction, and adverse events. Results: The intervention group demonstrated a significant reduction of pain AUC at 72 hours (median 162 vs 318, p < 0.001), opioid consumption (p < 0.001 at 24, 48, and 72 hours). The incidences of both constipation and nausea/vomiting were significantly lower in the intervention group. Postoperatively, both quality of recovery (QoR) and patient satisfaction demonstrated significant improvement in the intervention group compared to the controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our structured four-phasic MMA protocol demonstrated superior efficacy and safety compared to opioid-based postoperative pain management in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgeries.
Objectives: The present study evaluated whether dietary phycocyanin extracted from Spirulina platensis could improve growth performance, feed utilization, intestinal microbial balance, immune response, antioxidant status, and resistance to Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Methods: A feeding experiment was conducted for 70 days using 240 shrimp randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with three replicates each. Experimental diets included a control diet without supplementation and diets supplemented with phycocyanin at 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 g/kg diet. Growth indices, feed efficiency, intestinal bacterial populations, immune parameters, antioxidant enzyme activities, and the expression of selected immune- and antioxidant-related genes were analyzed. At the end of the feeding period, shrimp were challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus to evaluate disease resistance. Results: Shrimp receiving phycocyanin-supplemented diets showed significantly better growth performance and feed utilization than the control group. Improvements were also observed in survival rate and intestinal microbial composition, with higher counts of beneficial bacteria and lower counts of harmful microorganisms. Dietary supplementation enhanced immune responses, as indicated by increased lysozyme and prophenoloxidase activities. Antioxidant enzyme activities, particularly catalase and superoxide dismutase, were significantly elevated in supplemented groups. In addition, the expression levels of immune- and antioxidant-related genes were upregulated in shrimp fed phycocyanin-containing diets. Following bacterial challenge, supplemented groups exhibited lower mortality rates than the control group, with the strongest protective effect observed at the highest supplementation level. Conclusions: The findings indicate that phycocyanin derived from Spirulina platensis can serve as a beneficial dietary supplement for Litopenaeus vannamei. Supplementation improved growth, supported intestinal microbial stability, enhanced immune and antioxidant responses, and increased resistance to Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection. These results suggest that phycocyanin may represent a useful natural feed additive for sustainable shrimp aquaculture.
Objective: This study aimed to isolate halotolerant and halophilic bacteria and study their abilities to resist cadmium (Cd) and to produce antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. Methods: Soil samples of mangroves were collected from four different sites in Saudi Arabia: three in Tarut Bay (Darin Safwa, and Syhat) and the fourth in the Farasan Islands (Sajid Island). Results: Of the 125 isolates obtained on three different media containing 3 M NaCl and 100 ppm Cd (II), Luria-Bertani (LB), saline nutrient, and casein agar, LR40 and LD57 were the most resistant to cadmium metal. The previous isolates grew well for 5 days on LB medium at 37°C in the presence of Cd (II) metal (50-500 ppm at 3 M NaCl), with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 600 ppm for both isolates. The two isolates were identified as Vreelandella alkaliphila strain LR40 (accession number PP767765.1) and Halomonas smyrnensis strain LD57 (accession number PP767765). The effect of several factors on the growth of isolates LR40 and LD57 in the presence of Cd (II) metal (300 ppm) was studied; the results showed that the best growth of both isolates in the presence of the metal was at pH 7, 3 M NaCl, 37°C, and after 2 days. The biosorption capacity of Cd (II) by the live biomass of isolates LR40 and LD57 in the solution with 500 ppm was 70.34% and 72.85%, respectively. The ethyl acetate extracts of the two isolates exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against uropathogenic bacteria, and the presence of cadmium in the growth medium enhanced this activity. Also, the cell and ethyl acetate extracts showed excellent antioxidant activity as determined by DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), with antioxidant percentages ranging from 65-76%. Conclusion: The coastal mangroves of Saudi Arabia are rich with new halotolerant bacteria that possess a specific combination of resistance to cadmium, tolerance to high salt, and, importantly, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, making them highly promising candidates for many biotechnological applications
Objectives: This study uses deep learning to analyze morphological features of chest radiographs to predict the need for hospitalization in patients with cardiac problems. Methods: A retrospective case-control approach was designed. A public dataset of chest x rays was used and validated. The multimodal AI model was designed to extract x-ray features at different CNN levels to classify patients into 'admission' and 'No admission' groups. Results: Several important morphological features from patients attributes and chest radiographs were obtained to predict the need for hospitalization in patients with chronic cardiac disease. These preliminary predictors, belonging to different CNN layers: L3 (layer 3) Texton Density 61, L4 Reflection Symmetry 40, Relative Size Context may be linked to structural changes and severity. Conclusion: There was a preliminary association between multimodal DL features and personalized hospitalization decisions in patients with chronic cardiac disease.
Objective: The current study aims to examine the utilization of dental health services and to identify the associated factors among individuals attending dental units within primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study included users (above 18 years old) who attainted dental unit within PHCCs in Erbil governorate. Data collection began on the 10th of October 2024 and continued until the 20th of February 2025. PHCCs that do not contain dental unit, specialized dental center and private oral health clinics and centers were excluded from this study. Statistical analyses were conducted using R software. A p < 0.05 was considered a statistically significant. Results: Of 1,100 participants (mean age 35.9 years; 49.4% male). Regarding utilization, nearly half (47.1%) reported moderate visiting dental clinics (about six times per year), mainly for pain (55.8%). Preference for private clinics (39%) was the main reason for non-utilization. Key factors associated with utilization were participants with no formal education, primary education, secondary education, and those with chronic diseases had significantly lower odds of frequent visits whereas, higher age, rural participants, not employed, and students had significantly higher odds of frequent visits. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that most participants had moderate utilization of dental services and largely motivated by pain rather than preventive care. There is a need for strategies to improve health education, build trust, and enhance service quality to increase utilization.
Objective: To evaluate the oral medicine knowledge, readiness, and attitudes of final-year undergraduate dental students at the Faculty of Dental Sciences. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted using Google Forms and included 261 fifth-year dental students. The questionnaire items were based on a Likert scale. The student-based assessment of their level of knowledge regarding different oral medicine topics was validated for internal consistency. For further assessment, oral medicine topics were categorized as tangible and intangible. Results: Almost 78% of respondents considered oral medicine essential to the undergraduate dental curriculum. Nearly half of the participants (47.9%) concluded that oral medicine knowledge is extremely important to their professional expertise. Low to moderate ratings regarding the importance of oral medicine were reported by less than 22% of the respondents. A significant relationship was found between the perceived importance of oral medicine in undergraduate education and its clinical usefulness (P < 0.001). The vast majority of students (229; 87.7%) believed that oral medicine is primarily related to oral pathology, whereas only 32 (12.3%) believed that it is related to other clinical specialties. Students considered ulcerative vesiculobullous lesions to be the most difficult topic, followed by the oral manifestations of systemic disease. Their self-assessment of learning in ulcerative vesiculobullous lesions and orofacial pain reflected poor knowledge of these topics. Conclusions: From an educational perspective, although ulcerative vesiculobullous lesions and oral manifestations of systemic disease are practically tangible topics, students evaluated them as complex issues comparable to intangible disorders such as orofacial pain. These topics require greater emphasis during undergraduate clinical training through a multifaceted educational approach. In addition, integration of the educational and clinical aspects of the dental curriculum appears to be a crucial factor in enhancing students' knowledge.
Objective: To delineate the clinicopathological characteristics of bone tumors (BT) and soft tissue tumors (STT) and to evaluate management outcomes. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed on patients diagnosed with BT and STT between 2020 and 2025. Tumor characteristics and treatment outcomes were assessed and compared. Results: A total of 359 patients (median age, 32 years; 50.7% male) were included. BT accounted for 163 cases (45.4%), while 196 (54.6%) were STT. Osteochondroma represented the most common BT (37.4%), whereas lipoma was the most frequent STT (30.6%). Patients with BT were younger (median age, 22 years) and predominantly male, whereas STT patients were older (median age, 43 years) with female predominance. Malignancy was more frequent among STT compared with BT (26.5% vs 13.5%, P = 0.002). Radiotherapy was administered more often in STT than BT (13.3% vs 3.7%, P = 0.002). Mortality occurred in two BT patients (1.2%). No significant differences in overall management outcomes were observed between groups. Conclusion: The clinical profile of BT and STT in this Saudi cohort aligns with published data, although variations in age distribution and sex predominance were observed. Mortality rates were low for both BT (1.2%) and STT (2.0%). Constitutional manifestations, such as unexplained weight loss and progressive fatigue, may heighten suspicion of malignancy, particularly in the presence of a mass and localized bone symptoms. Strengthening early detection strategies and adopting multidisciplinary management pathways may improve diagnostic accuracy and optimize sarcoma care.
Objectives: This study aimed to analyze hormone levels (FSH, LH, progesterone, prolactin, free testosterone, TSH), HbA1c, HDL, LDL, and gene expression of interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6 and examine their relationship with PCOS. Methods: The study included 100 women, 60 with polycystic ovarian syndrome (diagnosed) and 40 age matched, healthy women (controls). It was investigated hormones (FSH, LH, progesterone, prolactin, free testosterone,T SH), HbA1c, HDL, and LDL in blood. IL-1 beta and IL-6 genes' relative expression levels were measured by quantitative Real Time reverse transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Results: The level of FSH, LH, prolactin, free testosterone,TSH, HbA1c and LDL were significantly higher in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome than in normally women (mean: 9.41 +/- 3.39 vs. 4.77 +/- 1.31 IU/L, 25.51 +/- 6.98 vs. 4.25 +/- 2.62 IU/L, 15.36 +/- 11.15 vs. 10.30 +/- 7.75 ng/mL, 2.41 +/- 0.97 vs. 0.91 +/- 0.50 ng/dL, 3.00 +/- 1.62 vs. 2.38 +/- 0.99 mIU/L, 5.31 +/- 0.94 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.68% and 2.95 +/- 0.86 vs. 2.62 +/- 0.69 mmol/L, respectively); in contrast, progesterone and HDL concentrations were non significantly in the patients with PCOS than in the normally women (mean: 0.96 +/- 0.69 vs. 0.83 +/- 0.35 ng/mL, 1.12 +/- 0.42 vs. 1.50 +/- 0.21 mmol/L, respectively). The findings demonstrated that both the interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6 genes in the polycystic ovarian syndrome and control groups had higher fold frequencies, with fold heights greater than 1. Conclusion: The findings show different hormonal and metabolic change in the patient population, along with increased inflammatory activity, which suggests that the illness process involvesa combination of inflammatory and endocrine pathways. IL-1 beta and free testosterone demonstrated promising diagnostic performance and may represent potential biomarkers pending further validation in larger studies.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the severity of neck pain, with or without radiculopathy, as an independent risk factor. BMI was analyzed as a continuous variable without categorization in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of cervical pathology. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included data from 272 patients who presented to three separate private clinics in the two major Iraqi cities of Babylon and Kerbala. Pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Associations were examined using simple linear regression, multivariate regression analysis, and Spearman correlation. Results: The mean body mass index was 27.1 kg/m(2), and the median VAS score for neck pain was 6. A significant association was identified between BMI and neck pain severity, with each one-unit increase in BMI corresponding to a 0.094-point increase in VAS score (beta = 0.094, P = 0.006). No significant association was observed between BMI and radicular arm pain (r = 0.07, P > 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that BMI remained a statistically significant independent predictor of cervical pain severity. Conclusion: Higher BMI was significantly associated with greater severity of axial neck pain but not with radicular arm pain. These findings suggest that metabolic-inflammatory mechanisms may contribute to axial neck pain, whereas radiculopathy appears to be more strongly related to mechanical nerve root compression. BMI should therefore be considered a modifiable risk factor in the management of chronic cervical pain.
Objective: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of HTN among high school students in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and to identify associated factors using a machine learning approach. Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted (n = 1619). Eight distinct supervised learning algorithms included Logistic Regression (LR), k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Na & iuml;ve Bayes (NB), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were implemented to compare the predictive performance.The performance of each model was assessed using the following metrics: Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC-ROC), Area Under the Precision-Recall Curve (AUC-PR), Balanced Accuracy, Precision, Recall, Specificity, and F1 score. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were employed for model's interpretability. Data were analyzed using R (version 4.5.1). Results: The prevalence of HTN was 11.3% (95% CI: 9.8%-13.0%). The highest (AUC-ROC) value (0.8306) was observed for the LR model. However, the XGBoost, RF, and GBM models exhibited slightly lower AUC-ROC values (0.8173, 0.8078, and 0.8041, respectively). Key factors for HTN prediction included higher salt intake, higher BMI, older age, higher sedentary behavior (hr/day), lower physical activity (days/week), positive family history of HTN, female sex, lower vegetable intake, lower sleep duration (hr/night), and lower physical activity (min/day). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that machine learning algorithms, particularly LR and XGBoost, provide good discriminative power for predicting adolescent hypertension. Future research should focus on validating these models across diverse geographic cohorts to ensure generalizability.
Objective: The research examines differences in the perception, awareness, and utilization of AI tools among health sciences students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). These differences are examined by gender, academic level, and field of study. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey study was conducted among Health sciences students. The study used a close-ended questionnaire at the University of Hail (UOH), KSA. The results examined general perceptions of AI and its association with learning and performance.The study also addressed ethics and academic integrity related to AI, and AI usage concepts. Data were collected from a total sample of 392 students. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics and construct scores. Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare gender differences, while Kruskal Wallis H tests were adopted to assess differences across academic levels and programs. Results: The analysis found significant differences in AI perception, ethical awareness, and use based on gender and academic level (P-value < 0.01). Additionally, ethical awareness and AI use differed across academic programs. However, general perceptions of AI showed weak but statistically significant differences among academic fields. Overall, demographic and academic factors were associated with how students perceive, evaluate ethically, and use AI technologies. Conclusion: The study suggests the importance of incorporating of structured AI education with ethics training in health sciences curricula. The results may inform curriculum development and educational planning in KSA.
Objective: The study aimed to detect antibiotic resistance signatures in H. pylori. Methods: Biopsy samples (n = 2640) were collected from tertiary care hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. H. pylori was identified using culture, biochemical, and PCR-based methods.The disc diffusion assay was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility, and multiplex PCR was incorporated for the detection of antibiotic resistance genes. Results: The PCR detection rate of H. pyloriamong urease-positive isolates (n = 489) was 43.9% (n = 215). The frequency of H. pyloriwas higher in patients with gastric ulcer (n = 53, 33.5%) and gastritis (n = 46, 33.8%) samples. In the disc diffusion assay, H. pylori exhibited a high resistance rate to first-line drugs (metronidazole, n = 214, 99.5%; amoxicillin, n = 144, 66.9%; clarithromycin, n = 126, 58.6%) compared to second-line drugs (levofloxacin, n = 67, 31.1%; tetracycline, n = 59, 27.4%).Twenty-four (11.1%) H. pylori isolates were resistant to first-and second-line drugs. Molecular detection of gyrA/gyrB (n = 39, 58.2%), 23S rRNA (n = 69, 54.8%), frxA/rdxA (n = 91, 42.5%), 16S rRNA (n = 28, 47.4%), and pbp1 (n = 56, 38.8%) genes further confirmed the resistance signatures among H. pyloriisolates. Conclusion: The rate of antibiotic resistance was alarmingly high in H. pylori. The findings will help in monitoring antibiotic resistance and understanding the associated molecular mechanism for better prevention and control of H. pylori infection.
Background and Objectives: ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is an acute, life-threatening manifestation of acute coronary syndrome. It occurs due to the complete occlusion of one or more coronary arteries and requires urgent intervention within 90 to 120 minutes. The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical presentation of STEMI among patients admitted to Zakho EmergencyTeaching Hospital. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at Zakho Emergency Teaching Hospital in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A total of 200 patients were enrolled between June 2024 and June 2025. Inclusion criteria included all individuals undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for STEMI, regardless of age or gender. Patients who underwent coronary angiography solely for assessment were excluded. Results: Among 200 patients, 161 were male (80.5%), and 39 were female (19.5%). Most patients (52.5%) were aged 46 to 60 years. In terms of medical history, 37.0% had diabetes, 40.5% had hypertension, 57.5% were smokers, 27.5% reported a positive family history of myocardial infarction, and 8% had a previous history of heart disease. Diabetic patients experienced longer durations of chest pain and greater delays in hospital presentation (P < 0.001). Previous heart disease (P = 0.187), hypertension (P = 0.23), and the affected myocardial wall (P = 0.38) did not significantly affect time to presentation. Conclusion: Diabetic patients were more likely to present later than two hours after symptom onset. Early presentation in cases of myocardial infarction is critical for timely treatment and effective management.
Objective: This study evaluated the effect of gender, dental specialty and clinical experience on impression practice decision and soft tissue management among Iraqi dentists using multivariable analytical methods. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 345 Iraqi dentists. Data were collected from answer for questionnaire on impression materials, techniques, soft tissue management, and quality control practices. Chi-square tests measure bivariate associations, followed by multivariable binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results: Specialty demonstrated strong associations with impression material selection and soft tissue management decisions (likelihoodratio chi(2)up to 50.438, P < 0.001), whereas the effect of clinical experience varied across outcomes. Clinical experience was associated with impression material selection and soft tissue management in multivariable models but was not an independent predictor of digital impression adoption. Gender showed inconsistent associations across models. Digital impressions were used by 40.6% of participants; however, scanner use was not independently associated with impression task delegation (OR = 0.97, P = 0.921). Impression material type emerged as the strongest factor associated with soft tissue management decisions (LR chi(2) = 56.9, P < 0.001). Additionally, 4.1% of practitioners reported not routinely examining final impressions, a pattern observed predominantly among early-career dentists. Conclusion: Impression-decision practice among the surveyed dentists were primarily associated with dental specialty and, to a variable extent, clinical experience, while gender showed limited and inconsistent effects. Impression material type emerged as the strongest practice-related factor associated with soft tissue management decisions.
Objective: The objective of the current research was to determine the correlation between FOXP3 (rs3761548) and CTLA-4 (rs231775) gene polymorphisms and Type 1 Diabetes susceptibility among children of the Iraqi-Kurdish population. Methods: A total of 140 pediatric participants (70 with T1D and 70 age-and sex-matched controls) were recruited in this study. Whole blood taken at the periphery was subjected to genomic DNA extraction using the Qiagen DNA Extraction Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Amplification of the specific genomic regions containing the target polymorphisms CTLA4 rs231775 and FOXP3 rs3761548 was performed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of the PCR product and the amplicon size was confirmed using the QIAxcel Advanced System (QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden, Germany).The confirmed products were then sent for Sanger sequencing. Results: The CTLA-4 rs231775 variant was statistically significant at the genotype level (P = 0.039) and under the dominant inheritance model (P = 0.017); the allele G seemed to have a higher frequency in the patients. In contrast, a sex-stratified analysis across the X-linked FOXP3 3761548 polymorphism showed no statistically significant association with T1D either female or male subjects. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that the CTLA 4 rs231775 polymorphism, specifically the AG genotype and G allele is correlated with the susceptibility to T1Din the children of Iraqi Kurdish population, but the X-linked FOXP3 variant is not statistically significant.
