Background: Polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene affect the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To investigate the associations between (-806 T/C) and (-857 T/C) SNPs with rheumatoid arthritis severity and susceptibility in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy controls and 63 patients confirmed to be newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included. Those are divided into two groups (patients and controls), and the patients were further subdivided into severe and mild-moderate groups. Samples from those participants were analyzed for clinical and inflammatory parameter measurements. Genotyping by the Sanger method was performed to study the SNPs. Results: No associations were demonstrated between rheumatoid arthritis and polymorphisms at positions -806 and -857. Additionally, there were no differences in the distribution of those SNP genotypes and alleles among the severe and mild-moderate groups. Also, the (-806 C/T) SNP was found to be correlated with DAS 28 in all patients and with hs-CRP in the mild-moderate group. Finally, the -857 C/T SNP was found to be correlated with TNF-α within the mild-moderate group. Conclusions: Polymorphisms at positions -806 and -857 were not associated with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility, and the CT genotype of -806 C/T SNP was associated with disease activity.
This paper presents a control system to make the robotic hand mimic human hand motion in real time and offline mode. The human hand tracking system is a wearable sensing arm (potentiometers) used to determine the position in space and to sense the grasping task of human hand. The maskable sensing arm was designed with same geometrical arrangement of robotic hand that needs to be controlled. The control software of a robot was implemented using Visual Basic and supported with graphical user interface (GUI). The control algorithm depends on joint to joint mapping method to match between the motions at each joint of portable sensing arm with corresponding joint of a robot in order to make the robot mimic the motion.
Shiranish Formation (Late Campanian- Maastrichtian) that cropping out north east Iraq, is studied by microfacies analysis of 52 thin section collected from Hijran Section, about 10 km west Shaqlawa Town, Governorate of Erbil. According to petrography, mineralogy and organic contents, rocks are subdivided to crystalline carbonate and microfacies units (biowackstone, packstone, and mudstone facies). Biowackstone facies have high ratio of the rock components, while the other facies have low ratio. Microfacies analysis led to relatively quiet deep marine environment.
This report explores emerging techniques to boost multimedia transfer effectiveness, given the escalating need for improved quality and performance in multimedia interactions. The analysis involves a thorough literature assessment and comparison of present strategies to pinpoint key tendencies and propose novel approaches. The methodology involves examining recent technological enhance ments in video coding standards, quality appraisal methods, and compression tech niques. Specific domains investigated comprise firmware component architectures, 4D indexing structures, and iterative filtering frameworks. The study in addition weighs tradeoffs between video quality, encoding intricacy, and bitrate demands. Key determinations consist of
... Show MoreThis paper proposes a compact, plasmonic-based 4 × 4 nonblocking switch for optical networks. This device uses six 2 × 2 plasmonic Mach-Zehnder switch (MZS), whose arm waveguide is supported by a JRD1 polymer layer as a high electro-optic coefficient material. The 4 × 4 switch is designed in COMSOL environment for 1550 nm wavelength operation. The performance of the proposed switch outperforms those of conventional (nonplasmonic) counterparts. The designed switch yields a compact structure ( 500 × 70 µ m 2 ) having V π L = 12 V · µ m , 1.5 THz optical bandwidth, 7.7 dB insertion loss, and −26.5 dB crosstalk. The capability of the switch to route 8 × 40 Gbps WDM signal is demonstrated successfully.
... Show MoreTemperature inside the vehicle cabin is very important to provide comfortable conditions to the car passengers. Temperature inside the cabin will be increased, when the car is left or parked directly under the sunlight. Experimental studies were performed in Baghdad, Iraq (33.3 oN, 44.4 oE) to investigate the effects of solar radiation on car cabin components (dashboard, steering wheel, seat, and inside air). The test vehicle was oriented to face south to ensure maximum (thermal) sun load on the front windscreen. Six different parking conditions were investigated. A suggested car cover was examined experimentally. The measurements were recorded for clear sky summer days started at 8 A.M. till 5 P.M.
... Show MoreAeroelastic flutter in aircraft mechanisms is unavoidable, essentially in the wing and control surface. In this work a three degree-of-freedom aeroelastic wing section with trailing edge flap is modeled numerically and theoretically. FLUENT code based on the steady finite volume is used for the prediction of the steady aerodynamic characteristics (lift, drag, pitching moment, velocity, and pressure distribution) as well as the Duhamel formulation is used to model the aerodynamic loads theoretically. The system response (pitch, flap pitch and plunge) was determined by integration the governing equations using MATLAB with a standard Runge–Kutta algorithm in conjunction with Henon’s method. The results are compared with
... Show MoreIntroduction: All-ceramic crowns are widely used in prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry due to their good esthetic and proper physical properties. Chipping of ceramic is one of the most common post-insertion complications, that can be fixed either extraoral or intraorally. The latter is time time-effective alternative, less traumatic, and low-cost. A newer objective method of laser is a surface modification of ceramics to increase surface roughness. The aim of this study is to provide a review of Er,Cr;YSGG (2960nm) in intraoral repair and shear bond strength (SBS). Method: A thorough search considering Google Scholar and PubMed published data and ten articles found wh
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