Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collection of chronic, recurrent inflammatory illnesses of the gastrointestinal system, including Crohn's disease (CD). Infliximab is one of the biological medications used to treat CD. Therapeutic drug monitoring has evolved as a treatment in IBD, aiming to optimize benefit while meeting more demanding, objective end criteria. Objective: To determine the achievement of target trough level (TL), develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to infliximab, assess response to therapy, and study TL relations with different variables. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional and conducted from May 2022 to November 2022. It included 40 CD patients allotted into 2 groups: group 1 patients achieved the TL target, and group 2 patients did not achieve the TL target. Results: Twenty-two patients achieved target TL, while 18 patients did not. Dose escalation is recommended for 11 patients, switching therapy for 15 patients, and continuing the same dosage regimen for 14 patients. In addition, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, serum calprotectin and ADAs were significantly lower in patients who achieved target infliximab TL. Only serum calprotectin can be used to predict the achievement of the target TL of infliximab. Conclusions: Therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab to determine the TL and ADAs can help to explain why some patients do not respond to this drug. Serum calprotectin may be used as a novel marker to predict the TL and response to infliximab.
The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between critical thinking, epistemological beliefs, and learning strategies with the academic performance of high school first-grade male and female students in Yazd. For this purpose, from among all first-grade students, as many as 250 students (130 females and 120 males) were selected by using multistage cluster sampling. The data needed were then collected through using California Critical Thinking Skills Test, Schommer's Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire, Biggs’ Revised Two Factor Study Process Questionnaire. The findings indicated that there is a positive significant relationship between critical thinking and academic performance and achievement. Moreover, four fa
... Show MoreIn this paper, we will illustrate a gamma regression model assuming that the dependent variable (Y) is a gamma distribution and that it's mean ( ) is related through a linear predictor with link function which is identity link function g(μ) = μ. It also contains the shape parameter which is not constant and depends on the linear predictor and with link function which is the log link and we will estimate the parameters of gamma regression by using two estimation methods which are The Maximum Likelihood and the Bayesian and a comparison between these methods by using the standard comparison of average squares of error (MSE), where the two methods were applied to real da
... Show MoreThis study aimed to find relationship between thymidine kinase-1 (TK-1) as tumor marker and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in Iraqi children patients with thrombocytopenia and with thrombocytosis. The present study conducted 60 children patients (30 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) and 30 patients with thrombocytosis caused by leukemia) attending the Children Fever Hospital in the Medical City / Baghdad, and 30 healthy children as a control group. All study groups were with range ages (1-15) years, and they were diagnosed by assay of platelet count, Prothrombin Time (PT), and partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT). The results shown elevation in plasma TK-1 and TAC values in children patients with thrombocytopenia and w
... Show MoreOdontogenic cysts and tumors often form hard and soft structures that resemble odontogenesis. It is well known that amyloid is produced in Pindborg tumors; however, it is still debatable whether it is also formed in other odontogenic tumors and cysts. This study aimed to detect the presence of amyloid in different odontogenic cysts and tumors in correlation to matrix proteins secreted during enamel formation; namely amelogenin and odontogenic ameloblast‐associated protein.
This study included formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks of 106 different types of odontogenic
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Natural convection in an annular space provided with metal foam fins attached to the inner cylinder is studied numerically. The metal foam fins made of copper were inserted in different axial sections with three fins in each section. The temperature of the inner cylinder is kept constant while the annular outer surface is adiabatic. The thickness effect of the inner pipe wall was considered. Naiver Stokes equation with Boussinesq approximation is used for the fluid regime while Brinkman-Forchheimer Darcy model is used for metal foam. In addition, the local thermal non-equilibrium condition in the energy equation of the porous media is presumed. The effect of Rayleigh numb |
Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most frequent endocrine illnesses affecting reproductive - age women. L-carnitine has important roles in oxidative stress, energy production and glucose metabolism. It affects insulin resistance as decreased plasma carnitine level has been well reported in type II diabetes mellitus. Hence, it means L-carnitine may reduce insulin resistance which is found in PCO disease. Objective: This study aims to measure the level of L-carnitine and insulin resistance in both obese and non- obese patients with PCOS. Patients and Methods: Sixty women within the reproductive age with PCOS (30 obese and 30 non- obese) were recruited from the Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic in Baghdad T
... Show Morechronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with episodes of exacerbation. Variable factors including infectious pathogen can predispose for this exacerbation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of intestinal protozoa in COPD exacerbation. A total of 56 patients with COPD were included in this study. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the frequency of exacerbation during the last 6 months: those with ≤1 exacerbation (32 patients) and those with ≥2 exacerbations (24 patients). Stool specimens from each patient were collected two times (one week interval) examined for intestinal parasite. In univariate analysis, rural residence and parasitic infection were more common among patie
... Show MoreBackground: Patients with chronic kidney
disease have different grades of sensorineural
deafness .
Objective: To study the incidence of
sensorineural hearing loss and possible contributing
factors in patients with chronic kidney disease.
Methods: A total of 100 patients with chronic
kidney disease were studied. All of them were
males. 92 of them were on regular haemodialysis
programme. Only 8 patients were on conservative
management the age range of the study patients was
18-40 year patients were divided into three groups
according to age. All patients were assessed
clinically and were evaluated by audiometry , and
analysis was made on bone conduction threshold
.The mean follow up period was 2