Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results: Mean GFAP serum levels in 22 patients presenting in the active state of the disease (6.47±3.39 ng/ml) and 36 cases in remission were (5.33±2.82 ng/ml) (p=0.074) were determined as indicated. When RRMS patients (n=58) were compared with the healthy controls (n=50, 1.89±1.21), the difference in serum levels of GFAP was statistically significant (p<0.001). The area under the curve of the serum measures of GFAP obtained through the receiver operating characteristics was 0.903, which was also statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: GFAP biomarker is an indicator of disease activity in RRMS patients, and its serum level may correlate with the state of remission or exacerbation.
Accuracy in multiple objects segmentation using geometric deformable models sometimes is not achieved for reasons relating to a number of parameters. In this research, we will study the effect of changing the parameters values on the work of the geometric deformable model and define their efficient values, as well as finding out the relations that link these parameters with each other, by depending on different case studies including multiple objects different in spacing, colors, and illumination. For specific ranges of parameters values the segmentation results are found good, where the success of the work of geometric deformable models has been limited within certain limits to the values of these parameters.
Activity recognition (AR) is a new interesting and challenging research area with many applications (e.g. healthcare, security, and event detection). Basically, activity recognition (e.g. identifying user’s physical activity) is more likely to be considered as a classification problem. In this paper, a combination of 7 classification methods is employed and experimented on accelerometer data collected via smartphones, and compared for best performance. The dataset is collected from 59 individuals who performed 6 different activities (i.e. walk, jog, sit, stand, upstairs, and downstairs). The total number of dataset instances is 5418 with 46 labeled features. The results show that the proposed method of ensemble boost-based classif
... Show MoreFrustrated Total Internal Reflection FTIR phenomenon is manifested employing Newton‟s rings setup generated via a coherent light beam of a laser diode ( . All concentric bright and dark rings, except the central bright spot, were noticed to recede (disappear) when the incident angle exceeded the critical angle of 41o.
It was also shown that the current setup has proven its applicability for other tests and can give convenient results that conform with theory. Neither the concept nor the design is beyond what can be realized in an undergraduate laboratory. However, technical improvements in mounting the prism - lens may be advisable. As an extension of the experiments, the effect can be studied using hollow prism filled with liquids
The study aimed to assess the level of ANG‑2 in MM patients at diagnosis and in remission state and elaborate on its correlation with interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) and beta‑2 microglobulin (B2M) levels. Sixty MM patients; 20 newly diagnosed (ND), and 40 patients in remission were included. Twenty healthy individuals were included as a control group. Plasma levels of ANG‑2, B2M, and IL‑6 were tested by enzyme‑lin ked immunosorbent assay. There are significant statistical differences between ND patients and those in remission in hemoglobin, neutrophil count, blood urea, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, B2M, IL6, and ANG‑2 (P = 0.001, 0.033, 0.005, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively). ANG‑2 showed signifi
... Show MoreSurface water samples from different locations within Tigris River's boundaries in Baghdad city have been analyzed for drinking purposes. Correlation coefficients among different parameters were determined. An attempt has been made to develop linear regression equations to predict the concentration of water quality constituents having significant correlation coefficients with electrical conductivity (EC). This study aims to find five regression models produced and validated using electrical conductivity as a predictor to predict total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), and total dissolved solids (TDS). The five models showed good/excellent prediction ability of the parameters mentioned
... Show MoreCorncob is an agricultural biomass waste that was widely investigated as an adsorbent of contaminants after transforming it into activated carbon. In this research carbonization and chemical activation processes were achieved to synthesize corncob-activated carbon (CAC). Many pretreatment steps including crushing, grinding, and drying to obtain corncob powder were performed before the carbonization step. The carbonization of corncob powder has occurred in the absence of air at a temperature of 500 °C. The chemical activation was accomplished by using HCl as an acidic activation agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) facilitate
... Show MoreIntroduction: Cerebral hydatid disease (CHD) is rare and the multiple-cystic variety is even rarer. In this paper, we report a case of multiple CHD and explore a possible link with a preceding spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). Case presentation: A 27-year old gentleman with a history of surgically-evacuated, spontaneous ICH presented with severe headache, left-sided weakness - Medical Research Council (MRC) grade II - and recurrent tonic-clonic seizures, while on a full dose of anti-epileptic medication. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed multiple intra-axial cystic lesions in the right hemisphere. The cysts were removed intact using Dowling’s technique through a large temporoparietal crani
... Show MoreThe object of this work is to investigate the effect of the addition of methanol on the shelf life and color characteristics of novolak resin. Different percentages were added and two mechanisms were suggested for the addition. High ortho structure (1, 2-3) novolak resin was prepared and used in the above investigation. Experimental determination using FT-IR and UV-spectroscopy showed that on the addition of 30% of methanol and according to the second mechanism of addition novolak shelf life increased to 12 months without obvious decomposition and color change. It is suggested that methanol plays an important role in the inhabitation of the reactive sites on the resin that are responsible for the oxidation of the polymer when exposed to
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