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 mathematical eco-epidemiological model consisting of harvested prey–predator system involving fear and disease in the prey population is formulated and studied. The prey population is supposed to be separated into two groups: susceptible and infected. The susceptible prey grows logistically, whereas the infected prey cannot reproduce and instead competes for the environment’s carrying capacity. Furthermore, the disease is transferred through contact from infected to susceptible individuals, and there is no inherited transmission. The existence, positivity, and boundedness of the model’s solution are discussed. The local stability analysis is carried out. The persistence requirements are established. The global behavior of th
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Background: Accurate measurement of a patient’s height and weight is an essential part of diagnosis and therapy, but there is some controversy as to how to calculate the height and weight of patients with disabilities. Objective: This study aims to use anthropometric measurements (arm span, length of leg, chest circumference, and waist circumference) to find a model (alternatives) that can allow the calculation of the height and the body weight of patients with disabilities. Additionally, a model for the prediction of weight and height measurements of patients with disabilities was established. Method: Four hander patients aged 20-80 years were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups, 210 (52.5%) male and 190 (47.5%) fe
... Show MoreBreast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were
... Show MoreIt highlights the importance of construction projects because of its significant role in the development of society, including the buildings FEDE projects to their importance to raise the level of education through the conclusion of the special to implementation and the establishment of schools of contracts at the country level, which requires the completion of the project at less time and within the cost specified and the best quality and may highlight the importance of time on all the elements of what has an important role in setting up the project for various reasons may be the need for the use of schools as soon as possible, but the reality showed exceeded the completion of those schools could be up to 6 years and there are some cont
... Show MoreThe subject of the act and its transformations in the presentation is of great importance at the level of study, analysis and interpretation, and through that the researcher adopted the following title (The Dramatic Act and Its Transformations in the Iraqi Theatrical Show). The play of Black Astronomy was chosen as a sample for analysis, and the aim of the research came in order to achieve a special knowledge of the extent of the transformation that occurred between the dramatic structure of the act and theatrical embodiment and its multiple elements of operation in the Iraqi theatrical shows. It was limited to the show of the Iraqi theater in the year (2020) and included the theoretical framework that accommodated three sections. As for
... Show MoreAn evaluation for the performance of model pile embedded in expansive soil was investigated. An extensive testing program was planned to achieve the purpose of this research. Therefore, special manufactured system was prepared for studying the behavior of model pile having different length to diameter ratios (L/D). Two types of piles were used in this research, straight shaft and under reamed piles. The effect of model pile type, L/D ratio and number of wetting drying cycles were studied. It is observed that significant reductions in pile movement when under reamed piles were considered. A proposed design charts was presented for straight shaft and under reamed piles to estimate the length of both types of piles that is requi
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