Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder of the joints that is characterized by extra-articular involvement in addition to inflammatory arthritis. Joint and periarticular tissue loss brought on by inflammation results in functional impairment. To lessen the significant daily challenges that patients confront and to ensure better outcomes, early detection and treatment are essential. The study's objective was to establish the use of human β-defensin-2 (HBD-2) as a RA diagnostic marker. A total of 60 RA patients and 30 healthy controls participated in the research. The ELISA technique was used to measure serum HBD-2. The following tests were performed: complete blood count (CBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), renal func

      The creation and characterization of laser-generated plasma are affected by laser irradiance, representing significant phenomena in many applications.  The present work studied the spectroscopy diagnostic of laser irradiance effect on Zn plasma features created in the air by a Q-switched Nd: YAG laser at the fundamental wavelength (1064nm).  The major plasma parameters (electron temperature and electron density) have been measured using the Boltzmann plot and the Stark broadening methods.  The value of electrons temperature ranged from 6138–6067 K, and the electron density in the range of 1.4×10¹⁸ to 2×10¹⁸ cm^-3, for laser irradiance range from 2.1 to 4.8×10⁸ (W/cm²

A comparative study was done on the adsorption of methyl orange dye (MO) using non-activated and activated corn leaves with hydrochloric acid as an adsorbent material. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to specify the properties of adsorbent material. The effect of several variables (pH, initial dye concentration, temperature, amount of adsorbent and contact time) on the removal efficiency was studied and the results indicated that the adsorption efficiency increases with the increase in the concentration of dye, adsorbent dosage and contact time, while inversely proportional to the increase in pH and temperature for both the treated and untreated corn leav

This article presents the results of an experimental investigation of using carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets to enhance the behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams with large web openings in shear spans. A set of 18 specimens were fabricated and tested up to a failure to evaluate the structural performance in terms of cracking, deformation, and load-carrying capacity. All tested specimens were with 1500-mm length, 500-mm cross-sectional deep, and 150-mm wide. Parameters that studied were opening size, opening location, and the strengthening factor. Two deep beams were implemented as control specimens without opening and without strengthening. Eight deep beams were fabricated with openings but without strengthening, while

Salt stress negatively affects germination and seedling growth. Sorghum cultivars (Bohuth70, Inqath and Rabeh), seed soaking in dry yeast extract (3, 6 and 9 g l-1) in addition to dry seeds and electrical conductivity (4, 10 and 16 dS m-1) were studied. Traits of germination ratio at first and final counts, lengths of radicle and plumule, seedling dry weight and seedling vigour index were studied. The cultivar of Bohuth70 and concentration of yeast extract (9 g l-1) were superior at all studied traits, while all traits values were reduced with increased saline stress. The combination (Bohuth70×9×4) was superior to most other treatments at first and final counts, radicle length and seedling dry weight, while superiority of plumule length a

Double-layer micro-perforated panels (MPPs) have been studied extensively as sound absorption systems to increase the absorption performance of single-layer MPPs. However, existing proposed models indicate that there is still room for improvement regarding the frequency bands of absorption for the double-layer MPP. This study presents a double-layer MPP formed with two single MPPs with inhomogeneous perforation backed by multiple cavities of varying depths. The theoretical formulation is developed using the electrical equivalent circuit method to calculate the absorption coefficient under a normal incident sound. The simulation results show that the proposed model can produce absorption coefficient with wider absorption bandwidth compared w

Pultruded materials made of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) come in a broad range of shapes, such as bars, I-sections, C-sections, etc. FRP materials are starting to compete with steel as structural materials owing to their great resistance, low self-weight, and cheap maintenance costs, especially in corrosive conditions. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel concrete Composite Column (CC) using Encased I-Section (EIS) as a reinforcement in contrast to traditional steel bars by using Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) as I-section (CC-EIS) to evaluate the effectiveness of the hybrid columns which have been built by combining GFRP profiles with concrete columns. To achieve the aims of this study, nine circular co