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.
Dr. Qahtan Al-Madfa’i’s architecture has been characterized by a particular characteristic that may be unique and extreme at the same time, that is the use of the distinctive three-dimensional structural coverings and the exploitation of structural construction to give an extra aesthetic touch to the composition of the building, to achieve the application of his universal ideas, which he strongly believed and defended.
In the period of the marked urban decline that the country undergoes now, which urges us toward making a comparison between the beginning of the modern Iraqi architecture and its ascending path up to its peak and the periods of its decline until it reached a very
... Show MoreThe current research discussed biophysics data as a theoretical and applied knowledge base linking industrial design with the natural sciences at the level of applied strategies through which we can enrich the knowledge base of industrial design. The research focused on two main aspects of the scientific references for biophysics, namely: electromagnetism, and biomechanics. According to the performance and functional applications in designing the functions of industrial products at the electromagnetic level, it was found that remote sensing applications: such as fire sensors that were adopted from the insect (Black Beetle) and that their metaphors enable them to hear fire, and collision sensors, which were adopted from the insect
... Show MoreObjective: The goal of this research was to evaluate where selenium nanoparticles impact the activity of antibodies in immunized lambs with foot and mouth vaccines by modulating the immune system. Materials and Methods: Two groups of lambs of 3–4 months of age were injected with 1 ml of ARRIAH-VAC vaccine intramuscularly in the neck, five Lambs were given selenium nanoparticles (size 100 nm) oral administration of selenium nano dose of 0.1 mg/kg of body mass once every day for sixty days considered as group one (G1) while the other five used as control Group 2 (G2). Results: This resulted in the establishment of an immune response, as evidenced by a rise in antibody titer in the blood using the ELISA test for three serotypes A,
... Show MorePurpose – measure the relationship between operation management strategies as an independent variable on the customer's delight as an approved variable.
Design/methodology/approach – The research sample vocabulary included sales representatives and customers of the researched markets at a rate of (100%). The recovery rate is (95) Customers and (95) delegates for the products for the factory in neighbourhood (Banooks and Karrada ) regions were randomly chosen from an open community in these two residential areas. Statistical methods were used (arithmetic media, standard deviations, t-test, correlation coefficient (Horst), simple regression analysis).
Findings – The people in charge of the factory management nee
... Show MoreIn this study tungsten oxide and graphene oxide (GO-WO2.89) were successfully combined using the ultra-sonication method and embedded with polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) to prepare novel low-fouling membranes for ultrafiltration applications. The properties of the modified membranes and performance were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle (CA), water permeation flux, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection. It was found that the modified PPSU membrane fabricated from 0.1 wt.% of GO-WO2.89 possessed the best characteristics, with a 40.82° contact angle and 92.94% porosity. The permeation flux of the best membrane was the highest. The pure water permeation f
... Show MoreLight soaking (LS) is widely employed to optimize CdTe-based solar cells, yet its microscopic origin remains controversial due to the entangled roles of illumination and thermal activation. Here, we establish a decoupled experimental strategy that independently disentangles light exposure and heating, revealing their fundamentally distinct and competing effects on defect dynamics in CdSeTe solar cells. Illumination alone induces a backward drift of acceptors under the light-enhanced built-in field, reducing apparent hole density and suppressing open-circuit voltage. In contrast, thermal activation promotes Cu redistribution toward the front junction and eliminates deep recombination centers, partially restoring device performance. Remarka
... Show MoreThe issue of cadmium (Cd(II)) contamination of the water is a serious concern of the environmental and health problem, and this requires effective technology to remove the problem of toxic element. It is the purpose of this review paper to give an overview of several techniques of cadmium removal, such as polymer membranes and composites, adsorption using green materials, and electrochemical methods. The important conclusions are presented regarding the effectiveness of the polymer and composite membranes; e.g., the efficacy of the PES/HPEI-SH membrane that reached 99% removal of Cd(II) in 20 min with adsorption capacity of 135.59 mg/cm2, and the PVA/IC/PANI/GO nanofiber composite that indicates high adsorption of the 459 mg/g. The
... Show MoreHepatitis B virus occurs among the ubiquitous viral pathogens that pose a serious threat to the lives of millions around the globe. As a consequence of lacking proofreading during the replication cycle directed by the reverse transcriptase, HBV became distinguished by a considerable genetic variation. To date, ten different genotypes of this virus have been recognized through our world. Each of these genotypes was linked to various rates of severity and disease outcomes, ranging from cirrhosis to liver carcinoma, and to response to antivirals as well. Therefore, genotypic studies and molecular characterization of the virus may offer unparalleled assistance to predict the most successful treatment approaches. Moreover, this review attempts t
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