Immuno-inflammatory and organ dysfunction markers in severe COVID-19 patients.

Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may induce some complications among people who experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and some of them recover without requiring special treatment. Albeit, some individuals become seriously reached risk points and require special medical attention especially older people and people who suffer from chronic diseases. Serum and whole blood samples were collected from confirmed infected persons with SARS CoV-2 by real-time PCR and the control group.

Accessory Gene Regulator (agr) group polymorphisms in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and its association with biofilm formation.

 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the main causes of community- and hospital-acquired infections. The expression of virulence genes in S. aureus is arranged by regulators like the accessory gene regulator (agr).

Antibacterial effect and biocompatibility of silver nanoparticle-coated bone allograft substitutes.

Osteoinduction, and/or osteoconduction, and antibacterial characteristics are prerequisites for achieving successful bone grafting. This study aimed to coat bone allografts with silver nanoparticles and assess their antibacterial activity and biocompatibility compared to uncoated bone allografts. In this study, the bone allografts were coated with varying concentrations of silver nanoparticles (5 mg/l, 10 mg/l, and 50 mg/l) through a simple adsorption technique.

Correlation between the insertion-deletion variant of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene and various classes of heart failure.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genetic variation for insertion/deletion (I/D) is located at the 16th intron of the ACE gene. A number of studies investigated the homozygous deletion genotype of ACE and its association with cardiovascular diseases. However, ACE's genetic variation and its association with heart failure (HF) is yet to be confirmed.

The impact of COVID-19 on BNP, NT-proBNP and ANP in heart failure.

Extensive research has been conducted on biomarkers associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in both healthy individuals and those with various conditions, particularly heart diseases. However, there is a limited investigation into the relationship between widely used cardiac biomarkers known as natriuretic peptides, including Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), and Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and COVID-19 infection specifically in patients with heart failure. These natriuretic peptides assess the hemodynamic stress on the heart wall and have the potential to serve as biomarkers for evaluating the severity of COVID-19 infection in heart failure patients.

Challenges associated with limited-resources cancer care facility: Bilateral breast myeloid sarcoma as an example.

Unlabelled: Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is a rare myeloid malignancy. It can arise before, concurrent with, or following different malignant hematological diseases, most commonly acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome, or myeloproliferative neoplasms. Here we describe a 30-year-old female with AML-M1 who presented to the hematology department with bilateral breast pain and tenderness.

Substance use among high school students in Erbil City, Iraq: prevalence and potential contributing factors.

Background: Substance use among adolescents, especially smoking and alcohol consumption, has become a public health concern in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, in the past 10 years.

Aims: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of substance use and certain associated factors among high school students in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a multistage cluster sampling technique to collect a sample of 3000 students.