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.
Objectives: Recently, there have been important advances in the clinical application of targeted hybrid near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent-radioactive tracers. ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid, for example, is already being used by some centres for sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cancer. The radioactive component allows imaging at depths which would not be possible with NIR alone and, once exposed, the NIR fluorescence reporter can be imaged at very high resolution. Gamma detection is currently carried out with a separate hand-held gamma camera or with a non-imaging probe. Visualisation of NIR fluorescence during surgery requires a dedicated NIR camera, several of which are available commercially. We describe a novel hand-held hybrid NIR-gamm
... Show MoreSolid waste generation and composition in Baghdad is typically affected by population growth, urbanization, improved economic conditions, changes in lifestyles and social and cultural habits.
A burning chamber was installed to burn cellulosic waste only. It was found that combustion reduced the original volume and weight of cellulosic waste by 97.4% and 85% respectively.
A batch composting study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of co-composting organic food waste with the cellulosic bottom ash in three different weight ratios (w/w) [95/5, 75/25, 50/50].
The composters were kept in controlled aerobic conditions for 7 days. Temperature, moisture, and pH were measured hourly as process succe
... Show MoreA single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial in patients with deep caries and symptoms of reversible pulpitis compared outcomes from a self-limiting excavation protocol using chemomechanical Carisolv gel/operating microscope (self-limiting) versus selective removal to leathery dentin using rotary burs (control). This was followed by pulp protection with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and restoration with glass ionomer cement and resin composite, all in a single visit. The pulp sensibility and periapical health of teeth were assessed after 12 mo, in addition to the differences in bacterial tissue concentration postexcavation. Apical radiolucencies were assessed using cone beam computed tomography/periapical radiographs (CBC
... Show Moreيهدف البحث الى تقديم استراتيجية مقترحة لشركة نفط الشمال ، وأخذت الاستراتيجية المقترحة بنظر الاعتبار الظروف البيئية المحيطة واعتمدت في صياغتها على اسس وخطوات علمية تتسم بالشمولية والواقعية ، اذ انها غطت الانشطة الرئيسية في الشركة (نشاط الانتاج والاستكشاف , نشاط التكرير والتصفية , التصدير ونقل النفط , نشاط البحث والتطوير , النشاط المالي , تقنية المعلومات , الموارد البشرية ) وقد اعتمد نموذج (David) في التحليل البيئي
... Show More
It is easy to talk about democracy, but it is difficult to practice. We talk about postmodernism, but difficult to be embodied in the ground. Yet, the age of democracy and modernity at the same time prompted the researcher to try to find a media concept for it. It does not mean that this concept has not yet formed. But the rooting of democracy and the approaching of states and groups towards it, made it necessary to by studied again.
The relationship between democracy and the media has made them look like one concept. The existence of one is linked to the existence of the other. The reality is only a linguistic formulation, but the social and cultural aspect is related to democracy origin
... Show MoreThis paper aims at exploring the impact of the Iraq-Iran war in the poetry of Adnan Al-Sayegh. Al-Sayegh participation in this war makes him a first hand witness to the atrocities of the trenches and fight in the first lines. This war did not only change his life and world view for good, it changes the nature of his poetry as well. As aresult, war becomes a central issue not only in the poetry Al-Sayegh wrote in the 1980s and 1990s Iraq, but also in the exile.
Key Words: War, Al-Sayegh, Poetry.
Low oil extraction and early high water production are caused in part by reservoir heterogeneity. Huge quantities of water production are prevalent issues that happen in older reservoirs. Polyacrylamide polymer gel systems have been frequently employed as plugging agents in heterogeneous reservoirs to regulate water output and increase sweep efficiency. Polyacrylamide polymer gel systems are classified into three classes depending on their composition and application conditions, which are in-situ monomer gel, in-situ polymer gel, and preformed particle gel (PPG).
This paper gives a comprehensive review of PPG’s status, preparation, and mechanisms. Many sorts of PPGs are categorized, for example, millimeter-sized preformed p
... Show MoreWith wireless sensor network (WSN) wide applications in popularity, securing its data becomes a requirement. This can be accomplished by encrypting sensor node data. In this paper a new an efficient symmetric cryptographic algorithm is presented. This algorithm is called wireless sensor network wavelet curve ciphering system (WSN-WCCS). The algorithm idea based on discrete wavelet transformation to generate keys for each node in WSN. It implements on hierarchical clustering WSN using LEACH protocol. Python programming language version 2.7 was used to create the simulator of WSN framework and implement a WSN-WCCS algorithm. The simulation result of the proposed WSN-WCCS with other symmetric algorithms has show
... Show MoreSoils that cause effective damages to engineer structures (such as pavement and foundation) are called problematic or difficult soils (include collapsible soil, expansive soil, etc.). These damages occur due to poor or unfavorited engineering properties, such as low shear strength, high compressibility, high volume changes, etc. In the case of expansive soil, the problem of the shrink-swell phenomenon, when the soil reacts with water, is more pronounced. To overcome such problems, soils can be treated or stabilized with many stabilization ways (mechanical, chemical, etc.). Such ways can amend the unfavorited soil properties. In this review, the pozzolanic materials have been selected to be presented and discussed as chem
... Show MoreA simulation study of using 2D tomography to reconstruction a 3D object is presented. The 2D Radon transform is used to create a 2D projection for each slice of the 3D object at different heights. The 2D back-projection and the Fourier slice theorem methods are used to reconstruction each 2D projection slice of the 3D object. The results showed the ability of the Fourier slice theorem method to reconstruct the general shape of the body with its internal structure, unlike the 2D Radon method, which was able to reconstruct the general shape of the body only because of the blurring artefact, Beside that the Fourier slice theorem could not remove all blurring artefact, therefore, this research, suggested the threshold technique to eliminate the
... Show More