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.
With the great development in the field of the Internet, the talk about the new media and its implications began, And its interactive services have made the future of media material sometimes participating in it and manufacturing it at other times,
the public is seeking information and choosing the appropriate ones, as well as exchanging messages with the sender after what the role of the receiver is just receiving information only.
This study aims to demonstrate the effects of using digital media in various forms and types to construct the value system of Iraqi society through the identification of the following aims:
Identify the most popular digital media for the Iraqi public in their daily lives on the Internet.
Identify
Background: Dietary intakes are critical during pregnancy, because inadequate amounts of key nutrients may compromise fetal development or maternal health. In addition to that maternal diet could be one of the methods to select the gender of the baby. The aim of the study is to correlate the level of the minerals in the mother’s blood with the gender and wellbeing of the baby after delivery.Patients and Methods: Fifty women were involved in this study with a mean age (23.92 ± 4.75), collected from the labor room during labor in the period between December 2013 and May 2014, in Baghdad teaching hospital. After taking a full history from the women, 10 ml of blood was withdrawn from them, 2ml in EDTA tubes for lead estimation and 8 ml in pl
... Show MoreThis paper delves into some significant performance measures (PMs) of a bulk arrival queueing system with constant batch size b, according to arrival rates and service rates being fuzzy parameters. The bulk arrival queuing system deals with observation arrival into the queuing system as a constant group size before allowing individual customers entering to the service. This leads to obtaining a new tool with the aid of generating function methods. The corresponding traditional bulk queueing system model is more convenient under an uncertain environment. The α-cut approach is applied with the conventional Zadeh's extension principle (ZEP) to transform the triangular membership functions (Mem. Fs) fuzzy queues into a family of conventional b
... Show MoreAryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates T cell function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of AhR ligands, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and 6-Formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ), on gut-associated microbiota and T cell responses during delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction induced by methylated bovine serum albumin (mBSA) in a mouse model. Mice with DTH showed significant changes in gut microbiota including an increased abundance of
The aim: To examine the efficiency of different concentrations of Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and glycerol as a cytoprotectants in protection of human sperms during cryopres¬ervation in this technique. Materials and methods: Thirty oligozoospermic semen samples were used in this study. Samples diagnosed according to WHO 2010 criteria. Sheep’s ovarian follicles obtained from local slaughterhouse and prepared by slicing the ovaries and evacuating the follicular fluid and oocyte. Each semen sample divided into six equal parts, and diluted 1:1 with cryosolution contains 5%, 10%, 15% DMSO or glycerol and injected within the emptied follicles. After freezing and thawing, the semen mixture aspired outside the follicles and sperm concentr
... Show MoreThe study of cohomology groups is one of the most intensive and exciting researches that arises from algebraic topology. Particularly, the dimension of cohomology groups is a highly useful invariant which plays a rigorous role in the geometric classification of associative algebras. This work focuses on the applications of low dimensional cohomology groups. In this regards, the cohomology groups of degree zero and degree one of nilpotent associative algebras in dimension four are described in matrix form.
Abstract [email protected] Background: Acute Traumatic Stress Disorder (ATSD) might be complicated by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Psychological First Aid (PFA) said to be helpful to reduce the possibility of reduction of ASD and PTSD symptoms. PFA is simple procedure to deliver help & support to victims, may be by some one close to him, quietly and professionally. Iraq has and is still experiencing, continuous traumatic stresses. ATSD is especially seen in war such as during the Gulf War, Embargo and nowadays under the current American occupation. With the extreme shortage of recourses and the given late priority to psychological problems and intervention have disastrous consequences on the psycho-social wellbeing of peop
... Show MoreThe technological developments in the field of communication have witnessed considerable impact in the variables which exist in following up and conveying the events which link it’s meaning to political implications. This makes a number of satellite channels depend on the techniques of propaganda and use them in the news bulletins to achieve political aims and ends related to its formational directives where those channels allotted a considerable time in its programming transmission map to concentrate on the security and political status to complete the image of the informational scene according to the logic of its propaganda and styles in processing news for daily events.The technological developments in the field of communication hav
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The aim of the research is to measure the effect of changing the exchange rate on bank loans, and in order to achieve this goal, the (official exchange rate) was chosen as an independent variable and its effect was studied on the dependent variable, which is bank credit. Commercial Gulf, Baghdad, A Shore International for Investment (and the financial indicators (growth rate of loans) and the statistical program (Eviews 12) were used to measure the impact of the exchange rate change on the bank credit of banks, the research sample for the period 2012-2022, and the research reached a group Among the conclusions, the most important of which is that the
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