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.
In this research, the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the alumina/chromia (Al2O3/Cr2O3) nanocomposites has been investigated. Al2O3/Cr2O3-MWCNTs nanocomposites with variable contents of Cr2O3 and MWCNTs were fabricated using coprecipitation process and followed by spark plasma sintering. XRD analysis revealed a good crystallinity of sintered nanocomposites samples and there was only one phase presence of Al2O3-Cr2O3 solid solution. Density, Vickers microhardness, fracture toughness and fracture strength have been measured in the sintered samples. The results show tha
... Show MoreThe main aim of this paper is to apply a new technique suggested by Temimi and Ansari namely (TAM) for solving higher order Integro-Differential Equations. These equations are commonly hard to handle analytically so it is request numerical methods to get an efficient approximate solution. Series solutions of the problem under consideration are presented by means of the Iterative Method (IM). The numerical results show that the method is effective, accurate and easy to implement rapidly convergent series to the exact solution with minimum amount of computation. The MATLAB is used as a software for the calculations.
Shiranish formation has been divided into two microfacies units: 1-Marly biowacke stone facies 2-Biogenic pack stone facies These microfacies reflected marine deep shelf margin in the upper part of the formation, the lower part was deeper. 238 slides were investigated depending on Mineralogical, compositional and Biological processes, which reflect deep shelf margin at upper part of the formation, but at the lower part open sea environment. The age of the formation is estimated depending on the recognized biostratigraphic zone using the index fossils to be Upper- Middle Maestrichtian.
Abstract Kidney stones are one of the most common and most painful medical problems known (1). Nurses assess and monitor patients through diagnosis and treatment and teach patients how to avoid recurrence of stones (2). A descriptive study was conducted on 150 patients diagnosed with recurrent kidney stones, who were attending the out patients consultation urology disease clinics at surgical specialties, Al-Kadhimia, Al-Yarmook, and Al-Karama Teaching Hospital and Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) departments for the period from the 1st of Feb. 2002 through to the end of May 2004. The aim of
Test results of nine reinforced concrete one way slab with and without lacing reinforcement are reported. The tests were designed to study the effect of the lacing reinforcement on the flexural response of one way slabs. The test parameters were considered is the lacing steel ratios of (0, 0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065), flexural steel ratios of (0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065) and span to the effective depth ratios of (11, 13, and 16). Two specimens had no lacing reinforcement and the remaining seven specimens had the lacing reinforcement. Four point bending test were carried out, one of the specimens was tested under the static load applied gradually up to failure and the other specimens were tested under repeated load (5 cyc
... Show MoreUltra-High Temperature Materials (UHTMs) are at the base of entire aerospace industry; these high stable materials at temperatures exceeding 1600 °C are used to manage the heat shielding to protect vehicles and probes during the hypersonic flight through reentry trajectory against aerodynamic heating and reducing plasma surface interaction. Those materials are also recognized as Thermal Protection System Materials (TPSMs). The structural materials used during the high-temperature oxidizing environment are mainly limited to SiC, oxide ceramics, and composites. In addition to that, silicon-based ceramic has a maximum-use at 1700 °C approximately; as it is an active oxidation process o
In the current work various types of epoxy composites were added to concrete to enhance its effectiveness as a gamma- ray shield. Four epoxy samples of (E/clay/B4C) S1, (E/Mag/B4C) S2, (EPIL) S3 and (Ep) S4 were used in a comparative study of gamma radiation attenuation properties of these shields that calculating using Mont Carlo code (MCNP-5). Adopting Win X-com software and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), µ/ρ revealed great compliance with MCNP-5. By applying (µ/ρ) output for gamma at different energies, HVL, TVL and MFP have been also estimated. ANN technique was simulated to estimate (µ/ρ) and dose rates. According to the results, µ/ρ of all epoxy samples scored higher than standard concrete. Both S2 and S3 samples having h
... Show MoreOne of the most severe problems with flexible asphalt pavements is permanent deformation in the form of rutting. Accordingly, the practice of adding fiber elements to asphalt mix to improve performance under dynamic loading has grown significantly in order to prevent rutting distress and ensure a safe and long-lasting road surface. This paper explores the effects of a combination of ceramic fiber (CF), a low-cost, easily available mineral fiber, and thermal insulator fiber reinforced to enhance the Marshall properties and increase the rutting resistance of asphalt mixes at high temperatures. Asphalt mixtures with 0%, 0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25% CF content were prepared, and Marshall stability and wheel tracking tests were employed to stu
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