Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseasecharacterized by chronic inflammationthat affects joints and cartilage. Bone complications such asRA-relatedosteoporosis are one of the most extra-articular manifestations. Many inflammatory mediators are released during RA disease pathophysiology; these mediators stimulate osteoclast genesis of bone by direct effects on RANKL and OPG. The study aimedto measure RANKL, OPG in RA patients treated with Etanercept only and other groups treated with Methotrexate onlyat baseline and after three months to evaluate bone state. An observational case-control prospective study was done on 30 RA patients who received MTX, 30 RA patients who received ETN, and 30 healthy,age-matched control groups. The level of RANKL and OPG was measured at baseline and after three months of therapy by immunoenzymatically assay (ELISA). The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed usingthe statistical package for social science. The result demonstrated that RANKL level had a positive correlation with age and disease duration in contrast to OPG level showed a negative correlation with age and duration of disease. In the patients group treated with MTX at baseline, the RANKL level was significantly higher (181.336±65.583) than post-therapy (166.097±69.229), while the OPG level at baseline significantly lower (594.398±133.238) than post therapy (614.499±150.879). In ETN treated patients, the level of RANKL in baseline was significantly higher than (231.247±73.134) RANKL level post-therapy (200.363±76.807), while OPG level in baseline waslower (463.263±96.392) than post therapy (503.608±107.692). The study demonstrated in baseline RANKL/OPG ratio significant higher (0.4340±0.234) than post therapy (0.3690±0.222). All RA patients had or were at high risk for osteoporosis.Both Etanarcept and methotrexate produce insignificant differences on OPG and RANKL levels, in the same time this biomarkers are not good indicators for bone state.
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of toxoplasmosis on liver, kidney and some blood ions such as calcium, potassium & sodium. A total of 100 blood samples were obtained from pregnant women in several health centers in Baghdad city. which consist of 70 seropositive & 30 seronegative/control group, aged between 20 & 47 years old from September 2013 till September 2014. All of these cases were tested to specific antibody to Toxoplasma gondii by using a latex agglutination test and IgM & IgG antibodies using the ELISA technique. The serum samples were examined for liver function (serum aspartate aminotransferase [AST/GOT], serum alanine aminotransferase [ALT/GPT] and serum alkaline phosphatase [ALP]; kidney function (ser
... Show MoreHierarchical temporal memory (HTM) is a biomimetic sequence memory algorithm that holds promise for invariant representations of spatial and spatio-temporal inputs. This article presents a comprehensive neuromemristive crossbar architecture for the spatial pooler (SP) and the sparse distributed representation classifier, which are fundamental to the algorithm. There are several unique features in the proposed architecture that tightly link with the HTM algorithm. A memristor that is suitable for emulating the HTM synapses is identified and a new Z-window function is proposed. The architecture exploits the concept of synthetic synapses to enable potential synapses in the HTM. The crossbar for the SP avoids dark spots caused by unutil
... Show MoreThe effect of 532nm Diode Pumped Solid State (DPSS) laser at power density of 5.234 W/cm2 on the growth of Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated. These bacteria were isolated from samples taken from burn and infected wound areas of 55 patients admitted to the burn-wound unit in Al-Kindy teaching hospital in Baghdad during the period from October 2012 to March 2013. Each isolate was identified using microscopic, cultural and biochemical methods. A standard bacterial suspension was prepared for each isolate. Serial dilutions were then prepared and a dilution of 10-5 was selected. Irradiation experiments included four groups: (L-P-) bacterial suspension in saline solution, (L-P+) bacteria
... Show MoreThis research dealt with the subject of negotiation skills of employees in public relations departments which is one of many skills supposed to be available to these employees. These skills combined help in the success of the job of public relations departments; and give them an important and vital role within the roles distributed in the departments of any government institution wither is governmental or non-governmental.
Negotiation is a skill that requires intelligence, tact, culture, information, intuition, and knowing to use the means of communication to access the information that is useful in reaching satisfactory results
... Show MoreThis study included estimation of glutathione (GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the serum of diabetic patients type II who are treated with a polyherbs mixture (Nigella sativa, Trigonella foenum-graeum, Cyperus rotundus and Teucrium polium) for three months of treatments. Seventy samples of diabetic patients Type II male and females with age about (35-60) years were taken including 44 samples for group one (24 male, 20 female) who used herbs accompanied with chemical treatment (drugs) and 26 samples for the second group (13male and 13 female) who used herbs only. These groups were compared with 60 samples obtained from healthy persons (29 male, 31 female) at the same age of patients as a control group. Effect of age and treatment fo
... Show MoreThis study evaluated the influence of administering different levels of L-arginine into eggs of 0-day-old Japanese quail embryos. On day 0 of incubation, 480 eggs (120 for each treatment group) were injected with 0% arginine (C group), 1% arginine (T1), 2% arginine (T2) or 3% arginine (T3). After hatching, 336 quail chicks (84 chicks produced from each in ovo injection treatment) were placed in an experimental quail house and allocated to four treatment groups of three replicates, with 16 quail chicks for each replicate. Traits involved in this study were hatchability rate, initial body weight (7 days of age), final body weight (42 days old), feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and blood serum glucose, protein, cholesterol, tota
... Show MoreBackground: Premature infant born with immature body system, their organs are not ready for extra uterine life, and they are unable to deal with external stress, which could alter body functions such as cardio-respiratory function. In addition, poor muscle tone increases the chance of developing an abnormal posture. To reduce this instability, applying developmental care such as nesting is vital to promote cardio-respiratory stability, maintain position, and reduce stress in preterm. Objectives: The study aims to assess the impact of the nesting technique on preterm cardio-respiratory parameters in various positions (supine, prone, and right lateral). Methodology: The research used randomized controlled trial des
... Show MoreObjectives: The study aims to evaluate patients’ performance toward insulin injection after training program to
identify the variation in skill of patients in insulin injection technique with regard to some variable (i.e.
educational level and duration of insulin injection.
Methodology: A quasi experimental study has been conducted on diabetic patients.
An observational checklist had been prepared which consisted of 4 main areas with 37 sub-items, which are
syringe preparation for injection, insulin drawing; skin preparation for injection and insulin injection. Each of the
sub-items has 2 options yes or no. One score for positive answer and zero for no.
The sample of the study consisted of (n =30) males and females
The crystal structures of a new polymorph and seven new derivatives of 2-(1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine have been characterized and examined along with three structures from the literature to identify trends in their intermolecular contact patterns and packing arrangements in order to develop an insight into the crystallization behaviour of this class of compound. Seven unique C-H...X contacts were identified in the structures and three of these are present in four or more structures, indicating that these are reliable supramolecular synthons. Analysis of the packing arrangements of the molecules using XPac identified two closely related supramolecular constructs that are present in eight of the 11 structures; in all cases, the st
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