Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is inflammation of the sacroiliac joints and spine, associated with clinical symptoms such as pain and stiffness in the vertebral column, after which, in a considerable number of individuals, new bone growth occurs. Objective: The current research study attempted to find out whether the presence of SNPs in TNF receptor [TNFRSF1A (rs767455), TNFRSF1B (rs1061622)] encoding genes could influence patients' outcomes to etanercept in a specimen of Iraqi AS patients. Patients and methods: Sixty patients with established AS receiving only etanercept were selected to be enrolled in this research with a mean age of 40.75 ± 8.67 years, 51 patients of them were males and only 9 patients were females. Patients were classed as "responders" if just obtained a BASDAI 50 clinical response and as "non-responders" if they can't achieve a BASDAI 50 clinical elaboration after at least 6 months treatment. After PCR products amplification of purified blood DNA, TNF receptor (TNFRSF1A and TNFRSF1B) genes SNPs were established by Sanger sequencing. Results: The analysis of this study expressed that there was a significant incidence of TT genotype of rs1061622 (P = 0.022) in responder group, whereas the TG genotype of the same SNP was considerably present in the group that did not respond (P = 0.002). Finally, a non-significant difference existed in alleles and genotypes frequency between responder and non-responder groups of rs767455 SNP in TNFRSF1A gene. Conclusions: The wild TT genotype of rs1061622 predicts etanercept responsiveness in ankylosing spondylitis patients. The TG genotype of the same SNP increases the probability of non-responding
-convex sets and -convex functions, which are considered as an important class of generalized convex sets and convex functions, have been introduced and studied by Youness [5] and other researchers. This class has recently extended, by Youness, to strongly -convex sets and strongly -convex functions. In these generalized classes, the definitions of the classical convex sets and convex functions are relaxed and introduced with respect to a mapping . In this paper, new properties of strongly -convex sets are presented. We define strongly -convex hull, strongly -convex cone, and strongly -convex cone hull and we proof some of their properties. Some examples to illustrate the aforementioned concepts and to cl
... Show MoreFinger vein recognition and user identification is a relatively recent biometric recognition technology with a broad variety of applications, and biometric authentication is extensively employed in the information age. As one of the most essential authentication technologies available today, finger vein recognition captures our attention owing to its high level of security, dependability, and track record of performance. Embedded convolutional neural networks are based on the early or intermediate fusing of input. In early fusion, pictures are categorized according to their location in the input space. In this study, we employ a highly optimized network and late fusion rather than early fusion to create a Fusion convolutional neural network
... Show MoreThe drill bit is the most essential tool in drilling operation and optimum bit selection is one of the main challenges in planning and designing new wells. Conventional bit selections are mostly based on the historical performance of similar bits from offset wells. In addition, it is done by different techniques based on offset well logs. However, these methods are time consuming and they are not dependent on actual drilling parameters. The main objective of this study is to optimize bit selection in order to achieve maximum rate of penetration (ROP). In this work, a model that predicts the ROP was developed using artificial neural networks (ANNs) based on 19 input parameters. For the
The effect of saline magnetized water irrigation on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat cultivar Iraq were studied. Irrigation water was supplemented with different levels of Sodium chloride 6, 12 or 18 mmhos/ cm in addition control treatment, and passed through a proper magnetic felid with 1000, 1250, 1500 or 2000 gaus in addition control treatment. The results showed significantly stimulated shoot development and led to the increase of germination, seedling emergence, area leaf, length of shoot and root and fresh and dry weight compared to the controls. Results also showed significant interaction between saline water and magnetized water. So, using magnetic treatment of saline water could be a promising technique
... Show MoreThe influence of the reaction gas composition during the DC magnetron sputtering process on the structural, chemical and optical properties of Ce-oxide thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed that all thin films exhibited a polycrystalline character with cubic fluorite structure for cerium dioxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses revealed that cerium is present in two oxidation states, namely as CeO2 and Ce2O3, at the surface of the films prepared at oxygen/argon flow ratios between 0% and 7%, whereas the films are completely oxidized into CeO2 as the aforementioned ratio increases beyond 14%. Various optical parameters for the thin films (including an optical band gap in the range of 2.25–3.
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