COVID-19 is a pandemic disease that has a wide spectrum of symptoms from asymptomatic to severe fatal cases due to hyperactivation of the immune system and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to assess the level and impact of interleukin (IL)-13, IL-33, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α cytokines on immune responses in mild and moderate COVID-19-infected Iraqi patients. A prospective case-control study was conducted from January 2023 to January 2024; it included 80 patients infected with moderate COVID-19 infection who consulted in different private clinics and 40 healthy controls. The serum of both groups was tested for quantification of serum IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α using the human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The mean age of the moderate COVID-19 patient group was 43.67±1.85 years, while the mean age of the healthy control group was 34.45±3.12 years with a statistically significant (p=0.0081), but there was no statistically significant difference in IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α levels between the patients and control groups. This study highlights the importance of age, gender, and body mass index as risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection. There were no significant differences in IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α levels between moderate COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α shows moderate potential (non-significant) as a biomarker for predicting mild and moderate COVID-19. Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong potential correlation between IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α.
Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) virus is a recognized important cause of congenital CMV infection which carries a significant risk for symptomatic disease and developmental defects in newborns. Its prevalence varies from place to other and time to time. This study is conducted to estimate its prevalence in Baghdad among infants suspected of having a congenital infection and to study the associated findings.
Subjects and Methods: The study was carried out in Al-Alwyia pediatrics teaching hospital. Data were collected, and blood samples were taken for infants suspected to have intrauterine infections over a period of one year, from 1 October 2019 to 1 October 2020. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) tests for CMV w
... Show MoreDue to its association with hepatocellular carcinoma and being one of the ten most common malignancies worldwide, hepatitis C viral infection has become a severe public health concern. Therefore, establishing an accurate, reliable and sensitive diagnostic test for this infection is strongly advised. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been created to achieve this purpose. The current study was established to investigate the hepatitis C virus among Iraqi patients with chronic renal failure and to detect the virus immunologically by the fourth generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique and molecularly by real-time PCR. As a result, out of 50 patients with chronic renal failure undergoing dialysis, 39 patients tes
... Show MoreThe problem of job burnout has become one of the main problems for researchers in social welfare organizations (social protection bodies) - one of the formations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Its negative effects increased in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in light of the Corona pandemic, the pressures and burdens of workers varied, which resulted in high rates of anxiety, tension, and intellectual and physical exhaustion, and then negatively affected their efficiency in performing work at the individual and organizational level, especially after the increasing tasks of these Bodies in carrying out their role in achieving the general goals and objectives as beingThe general goals are that they are responsible for providi
... Show MoreAn experimental study was performed to estimate the forced convection heat transfer performance and the pressure drop of a single layer graphene (GNPs) based DI-water nanofluid in a circular tube under a laminar flow and a uniform heat flux boundary conditions. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluid at weight concentrations of (0.1 to 1 wt%) were measured. The effects of the velocity of flow, heat flux and nanoparticle weight concentrations on the enhancement of the heat transfer are examined. The Nusselt number of the GNPs nanofluid was enhanced as the heat flux and the velocity of flow rate increased, and the maximum Nusselt number ratio (Nu nanofluid/ Nu base fluid) and thermal performance factor
... Show MoreBackground: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2) which utilizes angiotensin converting enzyme2 (ACE2) to invade the host cells. This membrane-bound peptidase is widely distributed in the body; its activity antagonizes the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). Once SARS-Cov2 enters the cell, it causes downregulation of ACE2, resulting in the unopposed activation of RAAS. The unregulated activity of the RAAS system can deteriorate the prognosis in COVID-19 patients. A soluble form of ACE2 (sACE2) was reported to have a role in the SARS-Cov2 invasion of the susceptible cells.
Aim of the study: This study aims to inve
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of this national oral health survey was to determine the prevalence of malocclusions due to some anomalies in the dentition among the 13 years old Kurdish students in sulaimani intermediate school. Materials and methods: The total sample was 950 (455 males and 495 females) which assessed by diagnostic set and special instrument. The clinical examination was mainly based on the definitions of Björk et al. Some variables were recorded as present or absent sometimes denoting the tooth or the teeth involved in malocclusion and their distribution according to the whole sample. Results: The results showed that 1)The most common extracted tooth was the mandibular first molar (2.9%). 2) At this age group the most common partial
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to measure serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP7), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), Growth Hormone (GH), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and insulin in acromegaly patients and healthy controls. The acromegaly group had 60 patients, while the population group had 30 people who had never had acromegaly before. The concentration of IGFBP7, IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin were determined. The results of the present study indicate that IGFBP7 level in the acromegaly group was significantly lower (1.690.07 ng/mL vs. 2.740.12 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.001). IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin concentrations were also significantly higher in acromegaly patients. The diagnostic accuracy (2.194) was exce
... 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
... Show MoreThis study is planned to find relationship between interleukin-33 (IL-33) with its receptor interleukin-1 receptor 4 (IL-1R4), and assurance IL-33/IL-1R4 proportion as biomarker to atherosclerosisin rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Iraqi female’s patients with and without dyslipidemia. This study was attempted at Baghdad Teaching Hospital included 60 female’s patients with RA that were isolated into: 30 patients with dyslipidemia(G2), 30 patients without dyslipidemia(G3) and 30 individuals as control group (G1). Patients were experiencing treatment by methortexiene medication, analyzed by rheumatoid factor (RF) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) tests. All patients and control groups age ranged from (30-55) years. The results show an inc
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