The expression of the Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 gene (PCSK9) is inextricably related to lipid levels and a risk of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ASCAD). The present study aims to measure the quantity of PCSK9 gene expression and the effect of methylation on its expression level taking part in the pathogenesis of acute coronary artery disorder.

A current study included 150 subjects from the Iraqi population, 100 ASCAD patients and 50 healthy controls. The concentration of PCSK9 in each serum sample was determined by the ELISA technique, the expression levels of the PCSK9 gene in whole blood were estimated by RT-qPCR – Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR method, and DNA

It was aimed to understand the interleukin-4 (IL-4) role in etio-pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two approaches were adopted. In the first one, a quantitative expression of IL4 gene was assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and such findings were correlated with some demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters, which included gender, duration of disease, disease activity score (DAS-28), rheumatoid factors (RFs), C-reactive protein (CRP) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (ACCP) antibodies. In the second approach, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL4 gene (rs2243250) was inspected by DNA sequencing using specific primers. Fifty-one Iraqi RA patients (22 males and 29 fem

Background: EOS (encoded by the IKZF4 gene) is a member of the zinc finger transcription factor IKaros family, and plays a critical role in Treg suppressor functions, and maintaining Treg stability. IL-6 is a soluble mediator with a pleiotropic effect on inflammation, immune response, and hematopoiesis. Aim: To estimate serum IL-6 level and EOS gene expression in Iraqi patients with psoriasis. Method: Twenty-two patients with psoriasis (8 females, 14 males) with age ranged 18-72 years, were recruited from Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Dermatology Clinic, Baghdad, and 24 healthy donors. The serum levels of IL-6 by ELISA and the gene expression of IKZF4 (EOS gene) by RT-qPCR technique. Results: The results showed a non-significant diffe

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a mycotoxin produced in some grains (mainly corn) by Fusarium species. Due to a structural similarity between FB1 and sphinganine, sphingolipids metabolism is inhibited. Such inhibition plays a critical role in cell to cell singling and structure of lipoprotein; therefore FB1 has been suggested to have a relationship with human and animal cancer. This research is planned to study the effect of FB1 on male mice at two doses (20 and 30 µg/ ml) on the expression of TGF-β1 and p16 in liver cells. Three groups of Swiss albino male mice; each group was orally administrated with FB1 toxin as the following: normal saline (control group); 20 and 30 µg/ ml. All groups were sacrificed after two weeks of oral manage

Background: Pit and fissure sealant have been considered an outstanding adjunct to oral health care in the decrease of occlusal caries onset and low progression. The aims of this in vitro study were to evaluate the marginal microleakage of three different types of fissure sealants (SDI, Tg and tetric N-flow) by time interval, one day and 45 days, in the presence or absence of bonding agent among maxillary and mandibular teeth. Materials and methods: Seventy two sound human maxillary and mandibular first premolar teeth were collected which were free from obvious carious lesions. The teeth were randomly divided into two main equal groups, group (1) and group (2), each group consists of (36) teeth involving equal numbers of maxillary and mandi

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has shown effectiveness in hardening tooth structure and killing bacteria. Therefore, it can be used to prevent and arrest dental caries. Riva Star (SDF) treatment alone will stop cavities but will not reverse the cavitation. The Silver Modified Atraumatic Procedure, often known as Smart, is the optimum technique for regaining the tooth's structure and function. Glass ionomer was introduced in (1972) as a new material that has become one of the most widely used materials in restorative dentistry. By releasing fluoride ions, this material has a therapeutic impact on the surrounding tooth structure. Microleakage is the ingress of bacteria, its byproducts, toxins, chemicals, oral fluids, and ions between t

Artificial intelligence has quickly invaded the realms of both creative and information-based writing, raising new questions about human originality, authorship and style. Despite its ability to produce writings that are coherent and stylistically varied, there are still concerns over the uniqueness and cultural neutrality of AI programs such as ChatGPT. This review covers significant recent advancements with artificial intelligence applications in both the literary and non-literary fields. It analyzes 35 recent studies contrasting authorship and creativity, or stylistic considerations and impressions, between human and AI texts. These studies range from poetic and fictional writing through essay, news article and academic publicati

Abstract :  This research is concerned with studying the best type and method of  irrigation as well as the best cultivated area to reduce the cost of producing  dunums of wheat crop in Iraq , and was based on data taken from the Ministry of Planning / Central Statistical Organization About cost of wheat crop production for (12) Iraqi governorates except Kurdistan, Nineveh, Salah al-Din, Anbar) and the sample size (554) according to the cost survey carried out by the Ministry of Planning / Central Statistical Organization for 2017, The results of the research showed that there are significant statistical differences between production costs when using t

The reducing of erosion and the solubility of irrigation canals soils which constructed on gypsum soil is important in civil and water resources engineering. The main problem of gypsum soils is the presence of gypsum which represents one of most complex engineering problems, especially when accompanied by the moving of water which represent dynamic load along the canal. There are several solutions to this problem, in this research “Poly urethane” is used to give the gypsum soil sufficient hardness to reduce the solubility and erosion, after compacting the soil in the canal, percentages of Poly urethane was used to making cover to the soil by mixing percent of soil with Poly urethane, and the ratio was as follows: (5 and 10) % an

This study was design to investigate the dimensional stability of heat-activated acrylic resin with different methods of flask cooling (15 minutes rapid cooling, one hour bench cooling, four hours delayed deflasking, and 24 hours delayed deflasking) at different time intervals (immediately, two days, seven days, 30 days) after deflasking. Heat-activated acrylic resin was used to prepare acrylic samples. Then, measurement of the distances where achieved between the centers of selected marks in the acrylic samples. They were measured at different time intervals for different methods of flask cooling. The results showed that the group samples of the four hours and 24 hours of delayed deflasking was insignificantly different from the control an