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.
Previous reports demonstrated the effectiveness of silibinin hemisuccinate as a potential intraocular pressure-lowering agent. The exact mechanism by which silibinin exerted this effect has not yet been documented, but might suggested to interfere with aqueous humor formation. The present study was designed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of silibinin as IOP lowering agent to that of betaxolol in normotensive rabbits, and the interaction of silibinin with betaxolol as a way for investigating the possible mechanism of action of silibinin in this respect. The effects of instillation of 0.75% silibinin solution and 0.5% betaxolol eye drops in the eyes of normotensive rabbits were evaluated using indentation tonometry. The results showe
... Show MoreThe objective of the study is to demonstrate the predictive ability is better between the logistic regression model and Linear Discriminant function using the original data first and then the Home vehicles to reduce the dimensions of the variables for data and socio-economic survey of the family to the province of Baghdad in 2012 and included a sample of 615 observation with 13 variable, 12 of them is an explanatory variable and the depended variable is number of workers and the unemployed.
Was conducted to compare the two methods above and it became clear by comparing the logistic regression model best of a Linear Discriminant function written
... Show MoreThe title compound, [Ru(C12H7Br2N2)2(CO)2], possesses a distorted octahedral environment about the Ru atom, with two cyclometallated 4,4′-dibromoazobenzene ligands and two mutually cis carbonyl ligands. The donor atoms are arranged such that the N atoms are mutually trans and the aryl C atoms are trans to carbonyl ligands.
The research aims to improve the effectiveness of internal control system according to a model COSO, by identifying the availability of system components according to the model and then improve the effectiveness of each component by focusing on areas for improvement in each component, as it was addressed to a model COSO and then Maamth with the environment, the current Iraqi by introducing some improvements on the form of some mechanisms of corporate governance of the Council of Directors, and senior management, the Audit Committee, Committee appointments, especially that supplies application available in the laws and legislation, the current Iraqi, taking into consideration to make some
... Show MoreAfter about twelve months or maybe more, some people can’t achieve pregnancy. This might be a sign of infertility as a reproductive system disease. The following study was carried out to investigate the DAZ 1 gene methylation level and its association with azoospermia in Iraqi patients. One hundred and fifty human blood samples were collected from from different regions in Baghdad governorate, including (private medicals Labs and the high institute for infertility diagnosis assisted reproductive techniques and Kamal Al- Samara'ay IVF Hospital) from both fertile and infertile men. The control group consists of 50 samples ranging from 22 to 51 years old, while the patient (infertile group) consists of 100 samples ranging between 25 and 51 y
... Show MoreThe implicit pattern is one of the cultural patterns that are present in both the text and theatrical presentation and the reading of the implicit pattern cannot take place without cognitive references, whether audio or visual as well as historical references and the natural, social and psychological dimensions of communities and individuals.
The researcher, in this study, attempted to focus on the axis of the aesthetic preoccupations of the implicit pattern in the theatrical presentation and the definition of the implicit pattern. Methodologically speaking, the research problem focused on revealing the outlines and the main features in the aesthetic preoccupations that shape the i
... Show MoreTwo-dimensional unsteady mixed convection in a porous cavity with heated bottom wall is numerically studied in the present paper. The forced flow conditions are imposed by providing a hydrostatic pressure head at the inlet port that is located at the bottom of one of the vertical side walls and an open vent at the top of the other vertical side wall. The Darcy model is adopted to model the fluid flow in the porous medium and the combination effects of hydrostatic pressure head and the heat flux quantity parameters are carefully investigated. These governing parameters are varied over wide ranges and their effect on the heat transfer characteristics is studied in detail. It is found that the time required to reach a desired temperature at th
... Show MoreBackground: The gene encoding a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 33 (ADAM33) is known to be associated with asthma in different ethnic groups. In Iraq, among the Arab ethnic background, this association has not yet been highlighted. Methods: One hundred and ninety-two asthmatics were examined; 118 males and 74 females (mean age 38.23 ± 9.13 years). The control group was 183; 110 males and the rest were females. The SNP of rs2280091 A/G (T1) was studied here to determine adam33 genotyping status using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). The level of total IgE was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Significant differences (p = 0.004) in the frequencies of
... Show MoreDeontic modality expresses what is necessary or possible according to the norms of morality and laws of community. It is a cover term for those cases where modal auxiliaries used to express notions like ''obligation'', ''prohibition'' and, ''permission''. Deontic modals are basically performatives, having the ''so-be-it'' component of directives in that the speaker directs the behavior of the addressee to get things done. The present study identifies the use of deontic models in international contracts to prove that there are major pragmatic strategies employed in writing them. To achieve the aim of the study, a modified model of Danet’s (1980) and Trosborg’s (1995) in accordance to Searle (1969) is used to analyze 16 texts selected fro
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