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 dynamics of a single condensing two-phase bubble of two different dispersed-continuous systems were studied. The systems were, CCl4 - water and CCl4 - 100% glycerol. Cinephotography was used to determine the change in height, diameter and time. These results were used to determine the experimental rise velocity of the bubble, which was compared with a theoretical one based on some equations used. It was found that the velocity of the first system remained almost constant, while it decreased gradually for the second system.
The research aims to shed light on the impact of the application of the electronic services system on electronic banking activities in a sample of Iraqi banks, as investment in technology is the most important factor for the success and future growth of administrative companies in general, and banking in particular, as global economic developments in the field of Technology has led the majority of banking sectors in the world to undergo deep reforms and radical changes in the entity of their systems and mechanisms to confront competition and keep pace with economic changes, as the concept of banking services and its diversity changed with it, especially since persistence in the traditional approach no longer gi
... Show MoreVarious visual media are becoming an increasingly important and active instrument of communication. This fact has led some political parties and leading personalities in Iraq to make use of them as an accepted forum for the discussion of public affairs usually in a manner that conforms to their declared policy. They have to draw as much popular support as they could for the causes which they fight for. As a result, a state of great confusion has been created from the contradictory statements made by the contending parties and gave left grave consequences on all types of the audience receiving them. The problem of the study can be summarized in one major question: What is the opinions of the audience as regards the statements made by the
... Show MoreArab-Islamic architecture has undergone a change at multiple levels affected by modern technology, so the research sought to address the role of contemporary technologies on a fundamental and fundamental component of architecture, which is the architectural space, what is known as the essence of architecture and its ultimate destination, with a focus on the architectural space in the architecture of the contemporary Arab Islamic mosque, because the mosque’s architecture is so important in Islamic law and the belief of the Muslim person himself, where the mosque is the functional style produced by the Islamic faith and embodied in it, whereas, knowing the levels of influence of contemporary technologies in the architectural spac
... Show MoreThis study aims to focus on the Motives behind volunteer work among a sample of volunteers working in civil society organizations and check if there are statistical differences with those variables according to (gender, age, job, period of volunteer work, and residence. The sample consists of (220 )volunteers,(189) male and(31) female from southern, northern and central governorate .The Volunteer Functions Inventory(VFI)(Clary & et al,1989)was applied, It consisting of(30) items with six fields( Values, Understanding, Social motives, Career, Protective, Enhancement).
The results show that the most common and important motivations are (Values, Understanding, and social motivations), there are differenc
... Show MoreThe research aims to design an electronic program that allows users to assess the possibility of different practices for projects management professional according to the PMBOK methodology)) and using the requirements Data mentioned in the "knowledge and experience in project management Evaluation guide" issued by the professional Institute of project management According to the results of this program will be electronic The possible classification of project management in terms of both (proficiency_ perform tasks) as less than the desired level or within or above average in terms of best practices, and finally a number of recommendations to overcome the possible shortcomings. The most important is the need to enrich the service
... Show MoreAbstract: Background: High percentage of diabetes patients complain from post extraction hemorrhage. Many types of hemostatic materials are used to stop bleeding after teeth extraction: diode lasers are good hemostatic agents owing to their highly absorption by hemoglobin therefore they are used in soft tissue procedures with relatively no effects on dental hard tissues due to their poorly absorption by water and hydroxyapatite. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of diode laser to assist the clot formation after tooth extraction for type II diabetes patients with minimum temperature elevation to prevent periodontal destruction. Materials and methods: From 12 type II diabetes patients (7 males and 5 females wi
... Show MoreThe topic of the research dealt with the image of Iraq in the British press based on a sample of the newspapers (The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph), which are among the most important and largest newspapers in the United Kingdom and the world, because of its active role in guiding local and international public opinion towards important issues and events, Since these two newspapers are interested in the accuracy of sensitive political topics, the message aimed at knowing the media image that these two newspapers painted about Iraq in the period that was limited to the first quarter of 2019, and also to know the nature of the contents promoted by these newspapers about the Iraqi reality, The method of content analysis was used as an ap
... Show MoreMethods: 112 placentae samples were investigated during the period from August 2007 to August 2008 under light microscopefor mother aged 15 - 45 years old.Results: It was found that normal placental shapes had no correlation to mother age, while abnormal shapes were found more inyoung age groups. The better placental measured parameters were found in mother age 20-24 years. The percentages ofabnormal umbilical cord insertion were very high compared to other studies. Babies’ gender had a correlation with theplacental thickness; male babies have thicker placentae than females. Male babies have longer umbilical cords with widerdiameter than females. Light microscope picture showed the chorionic villi with isolated fetal blood vessel were hig
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