The clinical spectrum of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), an intracellular parasitic pathogen, ranges from a single sore healing to chronic crusty lesions with a manifestation of treatment resistance. The complicated interaction between Leishmania bodies and the early immune response, including innate and adaptive mechanisms, determines the evolution of nodules. This study examined the levels of the chemoattractant interleukin 8 (IL-8), pro-inflammatory nitric oxide (NO), and immunoregulatory macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) in the serum of subjects recently diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis, in parallel with patients being monitored during consecutive sodium stibogluconate (Pentostam) treatment. A total of 161 serum samples of newly diagnosed individuals and patients undergoing pentostam injections were collected form an endemic area of Diyala, east central of Iraq. Sandwich ELISA was used to measure the level of IL-8, NO and MIF in the studied groups. Results of circulatory markers levels showed a considerable difference in all groups, with IL-8 being exceptionally higher in the first two groups of pretreated and dose-1 (191.5, 273.64) pg/ml respectively, while NO was found to be lower than in control subjects, particularly in the pretreated group (12.08 μmol/L) and MIF level was significantly higher in the pretreated group, which was (7.18 pg/ml). These findings can provide insights for distinction of disease phase and monitoring treatment efficacy along consecutive dosages, particularly in populations where CL is endemic.
Two simple, rapid, and useful spectrophotometric methods were suggest or the determination of sulphadimidine sodium (SDMS) with and without using cloud point extraction technique in pure form and pharmaceutical preparation. The first method was based on diazotization of the Sulphdimidine Sodium drug by sodium nitrite at 5 ºC, followed by coupling with α –Naphthol in basic medium to form an orange colored product . The product was stabilized and its absorption was measured at 473 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of (1-12) μg∙ml-1. Sandell’s sensitivity was 0.03012 μg∙cm-1, the detection limit was 0.0277 μg∙ml-1, and the limit of Quantitation was 0.03605μg
... Show MoreThe preparation and characterization of innovative nanocomposites based on zinc oxide nanorods (ZNR) encapsulated by graphene (Gr) nanosheets and decorated with silver (Ag), and cupper (Cu) nanoparticles (NP) were studied. The prepared nanocomposites (ZNR@Gr/Cu-Ag) were examined by different techniques including Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Vis spectrophotometer and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results showed that the ZNR has been good cover by five layers of graphene and decorated with Ag and Cu NPs with particles size of about 10-15 nm. The ZNR@Gr/Cu-Ag nanocomposites exhibit high absorption behavior in ultraviolet (UV) region of sp
... Show MoreA new bio-electrochemical system was proposed for simultaneous removal of organic matters and salinity from actual domestic wastewater and synthetically prepared saline water, respectively. The performance of a three-chambered microbial osmotic fuel cell (MOFC) provided with forward osmosis (FO) membrane and cation exchange membrane (CEM) was evaluated with respect to the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from wastewater, electricity generation, and desalination of saline water. The MOFC wasinoculated with activated sludge and fueled with actual domestic wastewater. Results revealed that maximum removal efficiency of COD from wastewater, TDS removal efficiency from saline water, power density, and current density were
... Show MoreA study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial effect of Phyllanthus emblica extract (ethanol:methanol, 1:1) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at different concentrations, i.e. 0.625, 1.25, 2.50, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 mg/ml. The antibacterial activity was determined by the agar well diffusion method to investigate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The alcoholic extract of Phyllanthus emblica had the highest antibacterial activity at 20 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml except for Pseudomonas aeruginosa where the value of inhibition was between 20 and 10 mg/ml. The MIC concentrations were mostly very high and ranged from 5 to 1.25 mg/ml, while the MBC range fro
... Show MoreBackground : Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy of upper extremities and Open carpal tunnel release is the most frequent surgical procedure and the gold standard for cases that do not respond to conservative treatment. Aims :This study is used to evaluate the functional outcome of limited palmar mini-incision of carpal tunnel release. This study aims to determine the safety and symptomatic and functional efficacy of median nerve decompression with limited incision in carpal tunnel syndrome surgery. Patients and methods:Carpal tunnel release with a 1.5-2 cm limited palmar incision was performed on 20 patients. Patients were evaluated initially at one month after treatment according to symptom severity
... Show MoreBackground: Vascular tumors and malformations, comprising a broad category of lesions often referred to as vascular anomalies. Hemangioma, represents a variety of vascular lesions (both malformations and tumor), while lobular capillary hemangioma is a common vascular lesion of the skin and mucous membranes that occurs mainly in children and young adults. Lymphangiomas are malformations of the lymphatic system. At the level of light microscopy the small lymphatics vessels may be similar to capillaries and sometimes are only tentatively identified by the nature of their contents or by immunohistochemical staining procedure. This study aimed to assess the vascular and lymphatic vessels density in benign vascular lesions using CD34 and D2-40 im
... Show MorePrenatal markers are commonly used in practice to screen for some foetal abnormalities. They can be biochemical or ultrasonic markers in addition to the newly used cell free Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) estimation. This review aimed to illustrate the applications of the prenatal screening, and the reliability of these tests in detecting the presence of abnormal chromosomes such as trisomy-21, trisomy-18, and trisomy-13 in addition to neural tube defects. Prenatal markers can also be used in the anticipation of some obstetrical complications depending on levels of these markers in the mother’s circulation. In the developed countries, prenatal screening tests are regularly used during antenatal care period. Neural tube defects, numer
... Show MoreInsulin resistance is a fundamental feature of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases and contributes to many of the metabolic syndrome's abnormalities. It is defined as a subnormal reaction to normal insulin concentrations or a situation in which greater than normal insulin concentrations are necessary for normal response.
One of the most significant elements influencing weather, climate, and the environment is vegetation cover. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) over the years 2019–2022 were estimated based on four Landsat 8 TIRS’s images covering Duhok City. Using the radiative transfer model, the city's land surface temperature (LST) during the next four years was calculated. The aim of this study is to compute the temperature at the land's surface (LST) from the years 2019-2022 and understand the link, between LST, NDVI, and NDBI and the capability for mapping by LANDSAT-8 TIRS's. The findings revealed that the NDBI and the NDVI had the strongest correlation with the
... Show MoreOur aim was to investigate the changes in the myocardium stiffness index for patients suffering from systemic hypertension, and to assess their left ventricular performance. We studied 263 hypertensive patients and 166 healthy subjects as a control group. By using conventional Doppler echocardiography, the following parameters were measured—Left ventricular end diastolic diameter, left ventricular end systolic diameter, transmitral early velocity, isovolumic relaxation time, and isovolumic contraction time. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) was used in the measurements of the early mitral annular velocity (Ea) and the diastolic stiffness was obtained by calculating the ratio E\Ea\LVIDd. Index myocardial performance (IMP) was calculated
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