Covalent modification of protein by drugs may disrupt self-tolerance, leading to lymphocyte activation. Until now, determination of the threshold required for this process has not been possible. Therefore, we performed quantitative mass spectrometric analyses to define the epitopes formed in tolerant and hypersensitive patients taking the β-lactam antibiotic piperacillin and the threshold required for T cell activation. A hydrolyzed piperacillin hapten was detected on four lysine residues of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated from tolerant patients. The level of modified Lys541 ranged from 2.6 to 4.8%. Analysis of plasma from hypersensitive patients revealed the same pattern and leve
Abstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prevalent chronic microvascular diabetic complication. As inflammation plays a vital role in the development and progress of DN the macrophages migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a proinflammatory multifunctional cytokine approved to play a critical function in inflammatory responses in various pathologic situations like DN. This study aimed To assess serum levels of MIF in a sample of Iraqi diabetic patients with nephropathy supporting its validity as a marker for predicting nephropathy in T2DM patients. In addition, to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in terms of their influence on MIF levels. This is a case-control study involving ninety
... Show MoreMarket share is a major indication of business success. Understanding the impact of numerous economic factors on market share is critical to a company’s success. In this study, we examine the market shares of two manufacturers in a duopoly economy and present an optimal pricing approach for increasing a company’s market share. We create two numerical models based on ordinary differential equations to investigate market success. The first model takes into account quantity demand and investment in R&D, whereas the second model investigates a more realistic relationship between quantity demand and pricing.
An aircraft's landing stage involves inherent hazards and problems associated with many factors, such as weather, runway conditions, pilot experiences, etc. The pilot is responsible for selecting the proper landing procedure based on information provided by the landing console operator (LCO). Given the likelihood of human decisions due to errors and biases, creating an intelligent system becomes important to predict accurate decisions. This paper proposes the fuzzy logic method, which intends to handle the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in the landing phase, providing intelligent decision support to the pilot while reducing the workload of the LCO. The fuzzy system, built using the Mamdani approach in MATLAB software, considers critical
... Show MoreIn this paper, an approach for object tracking that is inspired from human oculomotor system is proposed and verified experimentally. The developed approach divided into two phases, fast tracking or saccadic phase and smooth pursuit phase. In the first phase, the field of the view is segmented into four regions that are analogue to retinal periphery in the oculomotor system. When the object of interest is entering these regions, the developed vision system responds by changing the values of the pan and tilt angles to allow the object lies in the fovea area and then the second phase will activate. A fuzzy logic method is implemented in the saccadic phase as an intelligent decision maker to select the values of the pan and tilt angle based
... Show MoreThermomechanical analysis (TMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are used to investigate the effect of molding and annealing of polyester on the behavior of thermal expansion and crystallization since these factors play role in the reprocessing or recycling of the polymer. The dynamic mode of the TMA provides enhanced characterization information about the polyester since it separates the transitions into reversible and irreversible signals, and also reveals the progress of the amorphous regions as the polyester loses strength with the increasing temperature approaching melting. Slow cooling after annealing brings crystallization that may be attributed to molecular chain straightening due to orientation.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common inflammatory disease that associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to accelerated atherosclerosis. Rosuvastatin is a unique hydroxy methyl glutaryl Co A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitor that has anti inflammatory effects.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rosuvastatin as adjuvant therapy to methotrexate (MTX) on lipid profile and its possible cardioprotective effect in RA patients. A double blinded placebo controlled clinical trial with 8 weeks follow up periods at which 40 patients with active RA using MTX were randomized into 2 groups to receive either rosuvastatin 10mg or placebo as adjuvant therapy to MTX. In addition to twenty healthy subjects as control group.
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