A case–control study (80 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection and 96 controls) was performed to evaluate the association of an IL12A gene variant (rs582537 A/C/G) with HBV infection. Allele G showed a signifcantly lower frequency in patients compared to controls (31.2 vs. 46.9%; probability [p]=0.009; corrected p [pc]=0.027) and was associated with a lower risk of HBV infection (odds ratio [OR]=0.49; 95% confdence interval [CI]=0.29–0.83). A similar lower risk was associated with genotypes CG (17.5 vs. 29.2; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.08–0.81; p=0.02) and GG (10.0 vs. 16.7; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.07–0.91; p=0.036), but the pc value was not signifcant (0.12 and 0.126, respec‑ tively). Serum IL35 levels showed signifcant difere

Abstract: Microfluidic devices present unique advantages for the development of efficient drug assay and screening. The microfluidic platforms might offer a more rapid and cost-effective alternative. Fluids are confined in devices that have a significant dimension on the micrometer scale. Due to this extreme confinement, the volumes used for drug assays are tiny (milliliters to femtoliters).

 In this research, a microfluidic chip consists of micro-channels carved on substrate materials built by using Acrylic (Polymethyl Methacrylate, PMMA) chip was designed using a Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) laser machine. The CO2 parameters have influence on the width, depth, roughness of the chip. In order to have regular

The article examines metaphors as one of the fundamental means used by D. Rubina when writing the novel “Parsley Syndrome” to form images of dolls as equal heroes of the work. The author of the article continues research related to the work of Dina Ilinichna Rubina, a representative of modern Russian prose.

The development of better tools for diagnosis and more accurate prognosis of cancer includes the search for biomarkers; molecules whose presence, absence or change in quantity or structure is associated with a particular tumour or prognosis/therapeutic outcome. While biomarkers need not be functionally relevant, if cell survival, then they could also provide new targets for therapeutic drugs. In recent years attention has been applied to a group of proteins known as cancer testis antigens (CT antigens) [1]. These proteins are products of genes whose expression was normally confined to the testis, yet they are expressed in tumour cells. CT genes are bound to serve a wide array of roles in the testes, which have many highly differentiated cel

    Coral reef area in northwest of the Arabian Gulf was investigated for mineralogy and geochemistry to throw lights on such unique Iraqi Marine Environment; six specimens of two main species of coral reefs, Platygyra pini Chevalier, 1975 and Octocoral Menella were collected at two sites. While eight samples of the surrounding sediments are chosen from other two sites. The mineralogy is determined by XRD, and reveals that calcite, low magnesium-calcite, and aragonite are the main minerals that comprise the Octocoral Menella in site 1, whilst aragonite and calcite are dominate in the P. pini coral reef at site 4.

    The non–carbonate fractions indicate that thes

Curcumin is a yellow pigment produced from the rhizomes of the Curcuma longa plant and a primary chemo preventive component of turmeric is used as a spice and food coloring ingredient. Curcumin has a large number of pharmacological activities, such as anticancer, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-infectious, and anti-inflammatory properties.Investigation of the geno-protective effect of curcumin on methotrexate induces chromosomal aberrations of spleen and bone marrow cells. In this study, 32 mice were used and divided into four groups (eight mice at each group) as follows: Group1 (negative control): Dimethyl sulfoxide was given intraperitoneally to mice every day for ten days.Group2 (positive control): Mice were received a single do

Galantamine was isolated from the bulb part of Narcissus jonquilla L. plant cultivated in Iraq. The compound was identified by different chemical analysis like: Fourier Transforms Infrared spectra (FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectroscopy and 1H-NMR.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide, which characterized by steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. The aim of this designed study is to evaluate the ability of guggulsterone to prevent high fat diet induced steatohepatitis in mice. Five groups of male mice were selected and treated as the following: group I, mice had free access to standard commercial diet and considered as control group, group II, mice were fed a specially formulated high-fat diet for 12 weeks to induce non-alcoholic liver disease, while groups III, IV and V the mice were administered high fat diet containing guggulsterone at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm concentration respectively for 12 weeks. Maintaini

       The present paper focuses on studying a rhetorical form often used in Spanish linguistic discourse .It also examines the study two sides (theoretical and practical), the concept of metaphor, the most important modern school that deals with this issue, the development of this technique and its relationship with other intellectual ideologies, and the role metaphor plays in interpreting the meaning of the linguistic discourse especially in conveying political message. The study allows the formulation and the creation of a conceptual picture for the purposes of metaphor in the linguistic discourse used in Spanish press. It investigates discursive models from the Spanish press,