Background: Several infectious lung diseases often develop in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially during immunosuppressive medication, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The present study aimed to determine the role of respiratory tract bacterial infection in RA activity. Methods: Blood and sputum samples were collected from 31 patients with RA and 12 healthy subjects as control. The bacterial isolates were isolated and identified in collected sputum by biochemical tests and Vitec 2 system. Results: In the present study, thirty-one patients with RA were compared with 12 healthy subjects. Eight patients with RA were not infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-NIPB) (25.8%). Twenty-three RA patients were infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-IPB) (74.19%). From 23 RA-IPB, 10 RA patients were infected with Staphylococcus aureus, 6 RA patients were infected with Klebsiella pneumonia, 4 RA patients were infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 3 RA patients were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. No pathogenic bacteria were isolated from the sputum of a healthy subjects. There was no significant difference between RA-NIPB and RA-IPB in terms of the level of disease activity score DAS28. Conclusion: The current study showed that patients with RA have a higher incidence of being infected with pathogenic bacteria than the healthy control group. No significant effect of bacterial species infection on the level of DAS28. The present study is the pioneer study that showed no effect of bacterial respiratory infections and different RA treatments on RA disease activity.
This work has been done with using of epoxy resin mixed with Granite powder were weighted by percent volume (5,10,15, and 20)%and then mixed with epoxy polymer to compose polymer composite. Hand lay-up technique is used in fabrication of the composite samples. Hardness test was carried out for the proper samples in both normal condition and after immersion in HCL (1 M and 2 M) solutions for periods ranging up to 10 weeks. After comparing the results between the polymer and their composite, the hardness increased with increasing Granite weight percent, it was found that Hardness were greater for the composites before immersion compared with their values after immersion.
This study was conducted to determine the effects of concentration of hydrochloric acids, temperature, and time on the hydrolysis of soya proteins (defatted soya flour) by determining the value of total protein nitrogen concentration, and amino nitrogen concentration of protein, peptides, and amino acids, and then calculated the hydrolysis rate of proteins.
The variables of the conditions of hydrolysis process was achieved in this study with the following range value of tests parameter:
- Concentration of HCl solution ranged between 1-7 N,
- Hydrolysis temperature ranged between 35-95 °C, and
- The time of hydroly
Recently, some of Iraq's newly constructed asphalt concrete pavements showed premature failures with significant negative impacts on roadway safety and the economy. Using Nano hydrated lime (NHL) in pavement construction could be one of the possible steps to improve pavement durability. This article discusses how NHL affects the durability of hot mix asphalt. NHL was added in two methods to the asphalt concrete mixture for the wearing course. The first is the dry method, i.e., on the aggregate, whereas the second is the wet addition method, i.e., to the bitumen. The percentages were tried for each additional method; 1, 2, and 3% by weight of aggregate for the dry method and 0.5, 1, and 1.5% by weight of asphalt concrete for the wet
... Show MorePremature failure in asphalt concrete pavement has been the main concern for pavement construction companies and engineers in recent years because of the large rise in traffic volume and loads and the temperature extremes in the summer and winter. The use of modifiers in asphalt concrete mixtures has attracted much attention to increase the performance and lifespan of pavements. As nanotechnology developed, several researchers concentrated on how these materials can help increase pavement serviceability by minimizing rutting and moisture damage. This study evaluates the Hydrated Lime (HL) effect by two methods (wet and dry hydrated lime) on the durability of the warm mix asphalt. The first method, HL, has been supplemented to the as
... Show MoreThe main objective of the present research is to conduct a thorough investigation into the impact of construction joints on the structural performance of reinforced concrete deep beams. This study involves a series of experimental tests and the use of advanced numerical analysis techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the behavior of these beams in the presence of construction joints. The experimental component incorporates analysis findings from both previous and current research. Specifically, six reinforced concrete deep beam specimens featuring horizontal and inclined construction joints were utilized as simply being supported with two-point loading. The test findings indicate that the presence of a horizontal construction
... Show MoreCold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is used widely in medical and biological fields because of non-thermal effected. Direct application of plasma is preferred in medical functions, so, direct application of cold plasma has obtained by the floating electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) system. The purpose of this paper to review the effect of (CAP) on the reproductive hormones (testosterone, LH, E2, progesterone, for male rats. The study appeared that no significant effect on E2 and progesterone hormone for all time of exposure, besides this significant difference in LH hormone (P<0.05) at 15 sec, (P<0.0001) at 30, 90 sec and (P<0.001) at 60 sec of exposure to plasma. Added to that significant difference (P<0.01) at 15, 30, 60 sec and no
... Show Moren-Hexane conversion enhancement was studied by adding TCE (Trichloro-ethylene) on feed stream using 0.3%Pt/HY zeolite catalyst. All experiments were achieved at atmospheric pressure and on a continuous laboratory unit with a fixed bed reactor at a temperature range 240-270◦C, LHSV 1-3h-1, H2/nC6 mole ratio 1-4.
By adding 435 ppm of TCE, 49.5 mole% conversion was achieved at LHSV 1h-1, temperature of 270ºC and H2/nC6 mole ratio of 4, while the conversion was 18.3 mol% on the same catalyst without adding TCE at the same conditions. The activation energy decreased from 98.18 for pure Pt/HY zeolite to 82.83 kJ/mole by adding TCE. Beside enhancement the activity, selectivity and product distribution enhanced by providing DMB (Dimethyl b
The CdSe pure films and doping with Cu (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 4.0wt%) of thickness 0.9μm have been prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrate. Annealing for all the prepared films have been achieved at 523K in vacuum to get good properties of the films. The effect of Cu concentration on some of the electrical properties such as D.C conductivity and Hall effect has been studied.
It has been found that the increase in Cu concentration caused increase in d.c conductivity for pure CdSe 3.75×10-4(Ω.cm)-1 at room temperatures to maximum value of 0.769(Ω.cm)-1 for 4wt%Cu.All films have shown two activation energies, where these value decreases with increasing doping ratio. The maximum value of activation energy was (0.319)eV f
Films of CdSe have been prepared by evaporation technique with thickness 1µm. Doping with Cu was achieved using annealing under argon atmosphere . The Structure properties of these films are investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of Cu doping on the orientation , relative intensity, grain size and the lattice constant has been studied. The pure CdSe films have been found consist of amorphous structure with very small peak at (002) plane. The films were polycrystalline for doped CdSe with (1&2wt%) Cu contents and with lattice constant (a=3.741,c=7.096)A°, and it has better crystallinty as the Cu contents increased to (3&5wt%) Cu. The reflections from [(002), (102). (110), (112), and (201)]planes are more prominen
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