Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and secondly, non-diabetic controls (11 male, 9 female) were selected from the patients attending Ibn AL-Haitham hospital for ophthalmology and a specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes. Venous blood samples of all participants were drawn after an overnight fast, and serum samples were stored at -20ºC until DKK-1 assay. Results: Serum DKK-1 showed significantly lower levels in diabetic patients with (6.1 ± 2 ng/mL) or without DR (14 ± 6.2 ng/mL) when compared to those of controls (34 ± 12.25 ng/mL) (p 0.05). Furthermore, serum DKK-1 levels were lower in the late stage of DR compared to the early stage 5.6 ± 1.7 and 7 ± 1.9 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, DPP-4 inhibitors cause a better increment in DKK-1 levels when compared to SU in the NDR group. Conclusions: Reduced serum levels of DKK-1 are related to the existence and worsening of DR and have the prospect to serve as an indicator for this condition.
A study that collected 240 samples and divided into two groups: the first 120 samples were for diabetics and the second 120 samples were for healthy people, and each group included (90, 20.10) samples from the mouth, urine and vagina respectively, The results showed positive (28.67, 4.00, 1.67) isolates of Candida. In the mouth, urine and vagina, respectively, of diabetic patients compared to (9.33, 2.33, 5.00) positive isolates in the mouth, urine and vagina, respectively, in the healthy. The rate of positive isolates in women was high in women with diabetes and healthy, and it reached 25.33 and 9.00 isolates, respectively, compared with the rate of isolates in men with Candida disease for diabetic patients and healthy people 14.67 and 2.0
... Show MoreThe performance of asphalt pavements is crucial due to heavy traffic loads from civil and industrial developments. Various additives and modifiers are used in flexible roads to improve their resistance to deterioration caused by climatic changes. From this context, modifying the asphalt binder with polymers is popular in asphalt pavement construction. The present research investigates the effect of Polyethylene (PE) polymers in powder form on the characteristics of asphalt mixtures since these polymers are composed of hydrocarbons. It is similar to asphalt binders, making them very effective in enhancing the performance of neat asphalt produced from the oil refinery. To confirm this, two types of PE, High-Density PE (HDPE) and Low-Density P
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This research aims to identify the impact of the Layout Ghazi al-Hariri hospital for surgery specialist on customer satisfaction (patients) using the model (Servicescape), the problem of the research represented in the extent to which the hospital management design of the service and Layout hospital aesthetic and functional aspects that fit patients for therapeutic and nursing services , and used the developer scale by (Miles et al., 2012) for data collection, which includes the independent variable in (17) items distributed in three dimensions (Facility aesthetics , hospital cleanliness, and the Layout accessibility ) The dependent variable is the satisfaction of customers (pat
... Show MoreThe capital banking foundation stone upon which the bank in the practice of business activities, the more capital a good financial adequacy of the increased bank's ability to grant credit and expand the various activities and provide a safety element for depositors and other sources of funding to achieve profits and increase the trading volume of the shares, causing the rise the rate of return for the shares of banks and have the Central Bank as head of the banking system by issuing instructions capital increase banking, according to the requirements of economic development and increase gross domestic product by supporting investment projects that are financed through banks, the research aims to show the extent of the banks commitment to
... Show MoreThis paper presents a fuzzy logic controller for a two-tank level control system, which is a process with a dead time. The fuzzy controller is a proportional-integral (PI-like) fuzzy controller which is suitable for steady state behavior of the system. Transient behavior of the system was improved without the need for a derivative action by suitable change in the rule base of the controller. Simulation results showed the step response of the two-tank level control system when this controller was used to control this plant and the effect of the dead time on the response of the system.
Various visual media are becoming an increasingly important and active instrument of communication. This fact has led some political parties and leading personalities in Iraq to make use of them as an accepted forum for the discussion of public affairs usually in a manner that conforms to their declared policy. They have to draw as much popular support as they could for the causes which they fight for. As a result, a state of great confusion has been created from the contradictory statements made by the contending parties and gave left grave consequences on all types of the audience receiving them. The problem of the study can be summarized in one major question: What is the opinions of the audience as regards the statements made by the
... Show MoreThe research aims to design an electronic program that allows users to assess the possibility of different practices for projects management professional according to the PMBOK methodology)) and using the requirements Data mentioned in the "knowledge and experience in project management Evaluation guide" issued by the professional Institute of project management According to the results of this program will be electronic The possible classification of project management in terms of both (proficiency_ perform tasks) as less than the desired level or within or above average in terms of best practices, and finally a number of recommendations to overcome the possible shortcomings. The most important is the need to enrich the service
... Show MoreThis present study demonstrated that liver was involved in 14 %of typhoid patients manifesting with hepatomegaly. Elevation of serum enzymes in typhoid fever was presumably of a muscular origin, while elevation of liver enzyme was relatively less common. This study was performed on 30 female patients diagnosed by ultrasound (US) of abdomen, with paratyphoid A, ranged between (20-40) years compared with 30 healthy control .Patients volunteers were treated with appropriate antibiotics for 14 days and investigations were repeated 2-3 week after completion of treatment. Patients had clinical and biochemical evidence of hepatic dysfunction. The spectrum of hepatic involvement included hepatomegaly , jaundice, derangement of various hepatic func
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