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.
The impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' reten
... Show MoreIt seems that the features of the theatrical discourse , since its early establishment by the Greeks, were cultural features specifically confined to that society. Such features determined the direction of the theatrical discourse for this state instead of that state. There could be some sort of similarity among those features , nevertheless they remained within the general humanitarian framework . What achieved relatedness were those features and particularities that distinguished the theatrical community. Such features and particularities vary from one show to another. This is what we call " Local Specificity" .The Iraqi theatrical memory has always emphasized the concept of Experimentation through originality and renewal since the arr
... Show Morepublishing has become a large space in the field of interactive education and modern pages have become dedicated to the service of the educational effort in this area as the research in this context of the urgent scientific necessities, especially as we consider in Iraq from the new countries in the exploitation of these new technologies and investment possibilities of the information network And the contents of different in the framework of so-called distance education Here lies the problem of research in the possibility of finding scientific solutions for the design of interactive inter active website for students of the preparatory stage in Iraq and to find out the scientific ways to find des
... Show MoreThis research aim to exploring the positive psychological capital concept (PsyCap) which drawn from positive psychology and applying it at workplace. PsyCap emerged as extending for recent another types of capital, such as human capital and social capital. It has been defined as “an individual’s positive psychological state of development". The PsyCap consist of four core constructs (self- efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience). Each of the four components has considerable theorizing and researching that can contribute to developing an integrative theoretical foundation for PsyCap. But their combined motivational effects will be broader and more impactful than any one of t
... Show MoreIn this paper, a random transistor-transistor logic signal generator and a synchronization circuit are designed and implemented in lab-scale measurement device independent–quantum key distribution systems. The random operation of the weak coherent sources and the system’s synchronization signals were tested by a time to digital convertor.
The study area is located in Al-Anbar Governorate, western Iraq. The climatic data were collected from Al-Ramadi Meteorological Station for the period 1990 to 2020 and used to assess the climatic condition of the study area. The total annual rainfall, relative humidity, monthly average temperature, evaporation, wind speed and sunshine duration are 108 mm, 52.7 %, 22.6˚C, 2814.3 mm, 2.2 m/s and 8.8 h/day, respectively. The climate of the study area is described as an arid to sub arid and relatively hot in summer and cold with low rain in winter. During the data used, the highest potential evapotranspiration was 217.1 mm in July, while the lowest value was 10.7 mm in January, with a total amount of 1170.07 mm. The highest and l
... Show MoreIt is very well known in the planning publications that when creating spacing development to a region or sub-region, it can be able to make more than an alternative consisting with the strategic directions overtaken from the actual development of region and the situational and developmental objectives needed. However, the difficulty facing the situational planning is in selecting one of these alternatives to be the best in order to make a balanced situational re-structure, and achieving the economic, social and civil objectives. The developmental situation elements in the regions and governorates, including (Karbala) impose themselves as situational power which implies the process of re-structural arrangement where the situational develo
... Show MoreIn this work the effect of choosing tri-circular tube section had been addressed to minimize the end effector’s error, a comparison had been made between the tri-tube section and the traditional square cross section for a robot arm, the study shows that for the same weight of square section and tri-tube section the error may be reduced by about 33%.
A program had been built up by the use of MathCAD software to calculate the minimum weight of a square section robot arm that could with stand a given pay load and gives a minimum deflection. The second part of the program makes an optimization process for the dimension of the cross section and gives the dimensions of the tri-circular tube cross section that have the same weight of
... Show MoreJurisprudential disagreements are a significant source of a vast jurisprudential wealth. Among the manifestations of these disagreements are scholarly critiques raised by some scholars against others, claiming their divergence from the legal evidence or established principles for deducing legal rulings. One such critique is presented by the narrator scholar Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, directed towards Abu Hanifah al-Nu‘man, may Allah have mercy on him. In his compilation, Ibn Abi Shaybah cited numerous hadiths and traditions that he considered conflicting with the judgments as perceived by Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him. These issues cover various branches of jurisprudence, including worship, sale
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