All major organs may be impacted by the connective disease systemic lupus erythematosus, a separate risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) can detect endothelial damage and dysfunction, which appear to play a crucial role. This study investigated whether people with SLE had elevated subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis risk factors. Traditional CAD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia cannot entirely explain this elevation. It is thought that immunological dysfunction also increases CAD risk in SLE patients. The study aimed to assess early endothelial changes in SLE Iraqi female patients w
... Show MoreMost available methods for unit hydrographs (SUH) derivation involve manual, subjective fitting of
a hydrograph through a few data points. The use of probability distributions for the derivation of synthetic
hydrographs had received much attention because of its similarity with unit hydrograph properties. In this
paper, the use of two flexible probability distributions is presented. For each distribution the unknown
parameters were derived in terms of the time to peak(tp), and the peak discharge(Qp). A simple Matlab
program is prepared for calculating these parameters and their validity was checked using comparison
with field data. Application to field data shows that the gamma and lognormal distributions had fit well.<
Mutations in genes encoding proteins necessary for detoxifying oxidative stress products have been predicted to increase susceptibility to lung cancer (LC). Despite this, the association between waterpipe tobacco smoking (WP), genetic polymorphisms, and LC risk remains poorly understood. This is the first study to explore the relationship between WP tobacco smoking and these genetic factors. Previously, we investigated the association of GSTP1 SNPs (rs1695-A/G and rs1138272-C/T) with LC in Iraqi males who smoke WP. Here, we expanded our analysis to include GSTM1 (active/null) and GSTT1 (active/null) genotypes, both individually and in combination with GSTP1 SNPs. Multiplex PCR and RFLP-PCR assays were utilized to determine the genotypes of
... Show MoreGenetic polymorphisms of genes whose products are responsible for activities, such as xenobiotic metabolism, mutagen detoxification and DNA-repair, have been predicted to be associated with the risk of developing lung cancer (LC). The association of LC with tobacco smoking has been extensively investigated, but no studies have focused on the Arab ethnic- ity. Previously, we examined the association between genetic polymorphisms among Phase I and Phase II metabolism genes and the risk of LC. Here, we extend the data by examining the correlation of OGG1 Ser326Cys combined with CYP1A1 (Ile462Val and MspI) and GSTP1 (Ile105Val and Ala103Val) polymorphisms with the risk of LC. Polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (
... Show MoreNowadays, information systems constitute a crucial part of organizations; by losing security, these organizations will lose plenty of competitive advantages as well. The core point of information security (InfoSecu) is risk management. There are a great deal of research works and standards in security risk management (ISRM) including NIST 800-30 and ISO/IEC 27005. However, only few works of research focus on InfoSecu risk reduction, while the standards explain general principles and guidelines. They do not provide any implementation details regarding ISRM; as such reducing the InfoSecu risks in uncertain environments is painstaking. Thus, this paper applied a genetic algorithm (GA) for InfoSecu risk reduction in uncertainty. Finally, the ef
... Show MoreBackground: In the past, an association between Tuberculosis (TB) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) was widely accepted, today the potential public health and clinical importance of this relationship seems to be largely ignored. The national clinical and policy guidance in the UK on the central of TB, for example, does not consider the relationship with DM.Objectives: To determine the risk of association between diabetes mellitus and pulmonary TB.Methods: A retrospective study conducted in Ibn Zuhr hospital for chest diseases from Jan 2008 – sep 2010 , included in the study 402 patients with TB divided into diabetic & non diabetic, 96 (23.8%) were diabetic while other 306 were TB not diabetic.Results: Risk of TB among DM patients were cle
... Show MoreThree plant species were picked randomly and their alcoholic extracts have been screened to know their effects on the phagocytic capability and intracellular killing of yeast by human peripheral macrophages. Macrophage cultures were incubated with different concentration of each plant extract: for 15 min., 30 min .and 45 min. The phagocytes activity in Iresine herbstii extract was significantly (p?0.05) increased with increasing dose and time of incubation. In Mentha piperita extract, increasing in dose and time of incubation leads to elevate phagocytic capbility, especially in the dose of 20% and 25% of plant extract, perhaps because the antimicrobial and antiviral activities of this plant, as well as strong antioxidant and antitumor act
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