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.
Arab-Islamic architecture has undergone a change at multiple levels affected by modern technology, so the research sought to address the role of contemporary technologies on a fundamental and fundamental component of architecture, which is the architectural space, what is known as the essence of architecture and its ultimate destination, with a focus on the architectural space in the architecture of the contemporary Arab Islamic mosque, because the mosque’s architecture is so important in Islamic law and the belief of the Muslim person himself, where the mosque is the functional style produced by the Islamic faith and embodied in it, whereas, knowing the levels of influence of contemporary technologies in the architectural spac
... Show MoreDuring recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the investigation of the cytokines roles in pathogenesis of cancer, thus the study aimed at evaluating the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-?) in sera of Iraqi multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Beta 2-microglobulion (?2-m) was assessed to determine if there was any association between this cytokine and the level of ?2- m, as the latter is related to the stage of the disease. In addition, the age and gender were also taken into consideration. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between IgG and TNF-? in sera of patients. 49 Iraqi patients (27 males and 22 females).The patients were also divided into two groups: the first group included (17) patients who were
... Show MoreThe research topic (The Impact of the Compulsory Reserve on the Banks Credit-an applied research on a sample of Iraqi banks), was chosen on basis of the Iraqi private Banks attempts to increase their credit activities in hope to gain more profits.This coincided with the CBI aim to back the private banking market.It is thus apparent why the CBI issued its regulation to those banks to increase their capitals up to IDB250. On the other hand,the CBI acted as an obstacle in the way of increasing the private banks of their capitals,that is by implementing the quantitive monetary tool so called the compulsory reserve.This is why we intended to overlook at this contradictional problome
... Show MoreBreast tumors patients generally have more oxidative stress than normal females. This was clear from a highly significant elevation (P<0.05) in malondialdehyde level in RBCs, serum and tissue of all patients groups with breast cancer as compared with control group. In this study we had found that free radicals in malignant breast tumors were higher than benign tumors, therefore the MDA might be used as a marker for prognosis of the disease.
Smear zone is usually formed around the prefabricated vertical drains (PVD’s) due to mandrel driving. The geotechnical properties of the soil in this zone exhibit significant changes that affect the performance of the PVD’s. The most relevant property in this respect is the coefficient of permeability. So far, no serious attention is paid to investigate the effects of shearing under large shear strains on the geotechnical properties of the soft soil in Fao region. In this study, an extensive laboratory testing program was conducted to assess the characteristics of the smear zone with an emphasis on the permeability coefficient of Fao soft soil. The results show that the permeability of the smear zone is about 70% of
... Show MoreThis study aims to focus on the Motives behind volunteer work among a sample of volunteers working in civil society organizations and check if there are statistical differences with those variables according to (gender, age, job, period of volunteer work, and residence. The sample consists of (220 )volunteers,(189) male and(31) female from southern, northern and central governorate .The Volunteer Functions Inventory(VFI)(Clary & et al,1989)was applied, It consisting of(30) items with six fields( Values, Understanding, Social motives, Career, Protective, Enhancement).
The results show that the most common and important motivations are (Values, Understanding, and social motivations), there are differenc
... Show MoreCrises affect the economic growth of the country in general and the banking sector in particular. Given the importance of this sector, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of banks from time to time and monitor the liquidity of each bank and how to organize its management to overcome any crisis or emergency situation that may befall it. The research seeks to diagnose the level of impact of crisis management. In the liquidity of Iraqi private banks, using liquidity indicators, as the research community represents the banks listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange As for the research sample, it is represented by (10) pri
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to diagnose the level of awareness and response of the researched sample to the concept of enlightened leadership and strategic alignment, as well as to measure the strength and weakness of the relationships between the independent variable of enlightened leadership and the dependent variable of strategic alignment with its dimensions. Thus, the research problem was defined by the main question of identifying the role played by enlightened leadership in achieving strategic alignment in a number of private Iraqi commercial banks. In light of this, the hypothetical research model was designed, embodying the relationship between the research variables. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted, and a ques
... Show MoreThe molluscicidal effects of herbicide 2, 4-D were studied against tow species of freshwater snail Bulinus truncatus and Melanopsis nodosa by short term experiments. Calculated values of lethal concentrations (LC50 and LC100) were maid to two spices for different period of time 24hr, 48hr, 72hr and 96hr. The study had showed that the herbicide 2, 4-D was toxic against the tow species. The toxicity of the herbicide was low or unknown in low concentrations in the first period of exposure 24and 48hr to two spices but it increase gradually with increase period of exposure. The spice of B.truncatus was more tolerant than the M.nodosa. All the individual of M nodosa was death while in B.truncatus the complete death was not appear until finish the
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