Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasite in immune-compromised persons. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in psoriasis patients is investigated. In addition, the treatment effect on psoriasis patients infected with toxoplasmosis through evaluating Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) cytokine levels is studied. Blood samples were collected from 130 individuals who involved 60 control samples and 70 samples with psoriasis. They attended Medical City Hospital in Baghdad province from October 2017 - February 2018. Then, the anti- T. gondii antibodies (IgM and IgG) and TNF- α in the sera were determined via the enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay. The highe

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease with chronic nature resulting from a combination of both factors genetic and environmental. The genetic contributors of T1D among Iraqis are unexplored enough. The study aimed to shed a light on the contribution between genetic variation of interleukin2 (IL2) gene to T1D as a risk influencer in a sample of Iraqi patients. The association between IL2−330 polymorphism (rs2069762) was investigated in 322 Iraqis (78 T1D patients and 244 volunteers as controls). Genotyping for the haplotypes using polymerase chain reaction test – specific sequence primer (PCR-SSP) for (GG, GT, and TT) genotypes corresponding to (G and T) alleles were performed. A significant association revealed a decreased freq

Straight tendons in pretensioned members can cause high-tensile stresses in the concrete extreme fibers at end sections because of the absence of the bending stresses due to self-weight and superimposed loads and the dominance of the moment due to prestressing force alone. Accordingly, the concrete tensile stresses at the ends of a member prestressed with straight tendons may limit the service load capacity of the member. It is therefore important to establish limiting zone in the concrete section within which the prestressing force can be applied without causing tension in the extreme concrete fibers. Two practical methods are available to reduce the stresses at the end sections due to the prestressing force. The first method based

Background: One of the more significant hormonal systems, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, controls the kidney function, adrenal gland through its effect on the balance of sodium and potassium, blood pressure, fluid volume, and also manages the functions of cardiovascular. Objective: To clarify the interrelationship between renal dysfunction and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Patients and Methods: One hundred samples were collected from December 1, 2022, to February 18, 2023, from Al Shams Medical Laboratories (56 male, and 44) female, age range (of 45-60 years), all of them were volunteers suffering from chronic renal failure in the third stage the average glomerular filtration rate was 35. 70 ± 0.37 12

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were

Faujasite type NaY zeolite catalyst was prepared from locally available kaolin, then the prepared NaY zeolite have been modified by exchanging of sodium ion with ammonium to produce NH4Y zeolite. NH4Y zeolite was converted to HY zeolite by ion exchanging with oxalic acid. Zinc and nickel promoters have been added to the prepared HY zeolite catalyst, and the effect of these promoters on the catalytic activity of the prepared HY catalyst was studied in fluid catalytic cracking process using light gas oil as a feedstock. The experimental results show that the promoted catalyst gives higher gas oil conversion and gasoline yield than HY zeolite catalyst at the same reaction temperature and WHSV. It was also found that the promoted catalyst gi

This work presents an experimental study of heat transfer and flow of distilled water and metal oxide nanofluid Fe₃O₄-distilled water at concentrations of (φ = 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 %) by volume in a horizontal pipe with constant magnetic field. All the tests are carried out with Reynolds number range (2900-9820) and uniform heat flux (11262-19562 W/m²). The results show that, the nanofluid concentration and magnetic intensity increase, the Nusselt number increases. The maximum enhancement in Nusselt number with magnetic nanofluid is (5.4 %, 26.4 %, 42.7 %) for volume concentration (0.3, 0.6, 0.9 %) respectively. The enhancement is maximized with magnetic intensity (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 tesla) respectively to (43.9, 44