Background A case-control study was performed to explore eight pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, namely interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1Ra (IL-1 receptor antagonist), IL-12, IL-17A, IL-31, IL-33, CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10), and CXCL16, with the aim to understand their role in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) pathogenesis and evaluate their utility as markers to differentiate between diseased and healthy individuals. Among these cytokines, IL-31 and CXCL16 have not been well studied in AS. Patients and methods The study included 94 male patients with AS and 91 age-matched control males. Interleukin and chemokine levels were measured using ELISA kits. Results Serum levels of IL-17A, CXCL10, and CXCL16 were significantly elevated in patients compared to controls, while IL-31 levels were significantly decreased in patients. IL-17A, CXCL10, and CXCL16 were associated with an increased risk of AS, while IL-31 was associated with a decreased risk of disease (odds ratio = 1.22, 1.78, 1.14, and 0.89, respectively). As indicated by the area under the curve (AUC), IL-17A, IL-31, CXCL10, and CXCL16 were potential markers to differentiate between AS patients and controls (AUC = 0.877, 0.735, 0.8, and 0.7, respectively). IL-1α, IL-1Ra, IL-12, and IL-33 levels showed no significant variations between patients and controls. Conclusions Among the eight cytokines examined, IL-17A, CXCL10, and CXCL16 were up-regulated in the serum of AS patients, while IL-31 was down-regulated. The levels of IL-1α, IL-1Ra, IL-12, and IL-33 showed no significant differences between patients and controls. Serum levels of all cytokines were not affected by disease duration, HLA-B27 positivity, or disease activity.
The Hubble telescope is characterized by the accuracy of the image formed in it, as a result of the fact that the surrounding environment is free of optical pollutants. Such as atmospheric gases and dust, in addition to light pollution emanating from industrial and natural light sources on the earth's surface. The Hubble telescope has a relatively large objective lens that provides appropriate light to enter the telescope to get a good image. Because of the nature of astronomical observation, which requires sufficient light intensity emanating from celestial objects (galaxies, stars, planets, etc.). The Hubble telescope is classified as type of the Cassegrain reflecting telescopes, which gives it the advantage of eliminating chromat
... Show MoreTreatises concerning analyzing the interior spaces multiplied and their directions varied, that some of them analyzed the interior space on the basis of the intellectual and philosophical affiliation or the historical period and others in the light of the concept and mechanisms of the shape. The researcher has not been able to find a research that dealt with analyzing the space within the systems of shape generation, thus it is possible to determine the research problem with the following question: to what extent is it possible to analyze the interior space based on systems of shape generation? As far as the importance of the research is concerned, it sheds light on five of the systems of the shape generation which are: Syntax, shape gra
... Show MoreDue to increased consumption of resources, especially energy it was necessary to find alternatives characterized by the same quality as well as being of less expensive, and most important of these alternatives are characterized by waste and the fact that humancannot stop consumption. So we have consideredwaste as an alternative and cheap economic resources and by using environmental index the MIP (input materials per unit ,unit / service) is based on the grounds that the product is not the end of itselfit is a product to meet the need of a product or service, awarded a resource input and output within the five basic elements are the raw materials is ecological, Raw materials ecological, water, air and soil erosion for a
... Show MoreExistence of these soils, sometimes with high gypsum content, caused difficult problems to the buildings and strategic projects due to dissolution and leaching of gypsum by the action of waterflow through soil mass. In this research, a new technique is adopted to investigate the performance of replacement and geosynthetic reinforcement materials to improve the gypseous soil behavior through experimential set up manufactured loaclally specially for this work. A series of tests were carried out using steel container (600*600*500) mm. A square footing (100*100) mm was placed at the center of the top surface of the bed soil. The results showed that the most effective thickness for the dune sand layer with geotextile at the interface, within
... Show MoreThe high and low water levels in Tigris River threaten the banks of the river. The study area is located on the main stream of Tigris River at Nu’maniyah City and the length of the considered reach is 5.4 km, especially the region from 400 m upstream Nu’maniyah Bridge and downstream of the bridge up to 1250 mwhich increased the risk ofthe problemthat itheading towardsthe streetand causingdanger tonearbyareas.
The aim of this research is to identify the reason of slope collapse and find proper treatments for erosion problem in the river banks with the least cost. The modeling approach consisted of several steps, the first of which is by using “mini” JET (Jet Erosion Test) d
... Show MoreIn this research, CNRs have been synthesized using pyrolysis of plastic waste(pp) at 1000 ° C for one hour in a closed reactor made from stainless steel, using magnesium oxide (MgO) as a catalyst. The resultant carbon nano rods were purified and characterized using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The surface characteristics of carbon rods were observed with the Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The carbon was evenly spread and had the highest concentration from SEM-EDX characterization. The results of XRD and FESEM have shown that carbon Nano rods (CNRs) were present in Nano figures, synthesized at 1000 ° C and with pyrolysis temperature 400° C. One of t
... Show MoreBackground : It has been suggested that pretreatment with a statin agent prior to
myocardial infarction limits myocardial
creatine kinase release, and thus may act to
limit myocardial infarct size in humans.
Objective : To examine the effect of very
early statin initiation for acute myocardial
infarction (AMI), to the extent of
myonecrosis as manifested by peak serum
creatine kinase levels.
Methods : Patients with AMI admitted to AlKindy teaching hospital cardiac care unit
from 1st February 2007 to 28th February
2008, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria
cited in the present study, were randomly
assigned into two study groups. The statin
group patients have received a single oral
dose of 40 mg
In the present work a theoretical analysis depending on the new higher order . element in shear deformation theory for simply supported cross-ply laminated plate is developed. The new displacement field of the middle surface expanded as a combination of exponential and trigonometric function of thickness coordinate with the transverse displacement taken to be constant through the thickness. The governing equations are derived using Hamilton’s principle and solved using Navier solution method to obtain the deflection and stresses under uniform sinusoidal load. The effect of many design parameters such as number of laminates, aspect ratio and thickness ratio on static behavior of the laminated composite plate has been studied. The
... Show MoreThis research presents a method of using MATLAB in analyzing a nonhomogeneous soil (Gibson-type) by
estimating the displacements and stresses under the strip footing during applied incremental loading
sequences. This paper presents a two-dimensional finite element method. In this method, the soil is divided into a number of triangle elements. A model soil (Gibson-type) with linearly increasing modulus of elasticity with depth is presented. The influences of modulus of elasticity, incremental loading, width of footing, and depth of footing are considered in this paper. The results are compared with authors' conclusions of previous studies.