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 females) were enrolled in the study. They were under therapy, which was a single weekly subcutaneous dose of 25 mg of etanercept (Enbrel) for a period of 3-5 years. The results of gene expression (2-??Ct) revealed an increased expression of IL4 mRNA (Mean ± SEM: 8.247 ± 2.442), especially female patients compared to male patients (11.545 ± 3.928 vs. 3.537 ± 1.530; p = 0.03). The expression was also subjected to variations that were related to clinical and laboratory findings. With respect to IL4 gene SNP, allele and genotype frequencies showed no significant differences between RA patients and controls. In addition, the SNP genotypes had no effect on IL4 gene expression. In conclusion, an up-regulation of IL4 gene expression was observed in RA patients, and it was more pronounced in female than male patients by approximately four folds, while no association between the IL4 SNP alleles or genotypes and RA was observed.
In this article, an inverse problem of finding timewise-dependent thermal conductivity has been investigated numerically. Numerical solution of forward (direct) problem has been solved by finite-difference method (FDM). Whilst, the inverse (indirect) problem solved iteratively using Lsqnonlin routine from MATLAB. Initial guess for unknown coefficient expressed by explicit relation based on nonlocal overdetermination conditions and intial input data .The obtained numrical results are presented and discussed in several figures and tables. These results are accurate and stable even in the presense of noisy data.
The research aims at considering the reality of cognitive bias and organizational inertia as determinants of strategic change in a sample of companies listed in Amman Stock Market. To achieve objectives of the research, a model consisting of two independent variables has been designed, namely:
(1) The cognitive bias resulting from (escalating commitment, analogy, previous assumptions, representative generalization, command and control, convergent thinking), and (2) Organizational inertia due to (Icarus discrepancy, power distribution, rooted organizational culture), and a dependent variable, strategic change in (leadership patterns, strategy, the organization per se).
From the model two main hypotheses were derived;
... Show MoreBackground: Prophylaxis methods are used to mechanically remove plaque and stain from tooth surfaces; such methods give rise to loss of superficial structure and roughen the surface of composites as a result of their abrasive action. This study was done to assess the effect of three polishing systems on surface texture of new anterior composites after storage in artificial saliva. Materials and methods: A total of 40 Giomer and Tetric®N-Ceram composite discs of 12 mm internal diameter and 3mm height were prepared using a specially designed cylindrical mold and were stored in artificial saliva for one month and then samples were divided into four groups according to surface treatment: Group A (control group):10 specimens received no surfa
... Show MoreTheoretical spectroscopic study of Beryllium Oxide has been carried out, Boltzmann distribution of P, Q and R branches in the range of (0<J<13) at temperature 4200K for (0-0) band for electronic transitions B1Σ+-A1Π and B1Σ-X1Σ. The Boltzmann distribution of these branches has a maximum values at equal J approximately while the values of relative population are different. For the B1Σ+- X1Σ+ transition the branch's lines extend towards lower wavenumber. This is because (Bv'-Bv") value is negative, i.e Bv'< Bv" For B1Σ+-A1Π
... Show MoreThis research aims to study the contribution of social costs contribution to achieving social luxury in Al-Furat General Chemical Industries company that has considered second largest contamination in the area after the invasive power to deal with chemicals in manufacturing and very dangerous to individual society and environment ,this is first to play an effective role by the senior parties related to sense of social responsibility of the internal and external environment of the company to identify costs that are preventing ,reduced and treating damage caused and achieving sustainable development ,to achieve this goal and what they reached are the difficulty of accounting for the environment and social costs from final accou
... Show MoreArtemisia is a perennial wild shrub with large branches and compound leaves. Artemisia contains about 400 types, and its medical importance is due to the presence of many active substances and compounds such as volatile oils, alkaloids and flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, and coumarins. This study was designed to study the effect of the aqueous extract of the fruit of the Artemisia plant on the organs of the body, as well as to know its ability to activate the hepatic enzyme alanine transaminase (ALT/GPT). The fruit of this shrub was extracted using the measurement technique gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MASS) and organic solvent hexane and ethyl acetate in one to one ratio. It contained 21 compounds, a high percentage
... Show MoreCoherent density fluctuation model (CDFM) has been used to calculate the
proton momentum distributions (PMD) and elastic electron scattering form factors,
F(q), of the ground state for some even mass nuclei of fp-shell, such as 52Cr, 58Fe and
64Ni nuclei. Both of the PMD and F(q) have been expressed in terms of the weight
function ( ( ) )
2
f x which is determined by means of the charge density
distributions (CDD) of the nuclei and determined from theory and experiment. The
feature of the long-tail behavior at high momentum region of the PMD’s has been
obtained by both the theoretical and experimental weight functions. The calculated
form factors of these nuclei are in reasonable agreement with those of th