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.
The objective of this research is to select the most suitable drilling location of new groundwater exploration wells, with a decision-making tool from Geographic Information System (GIS). The optimum location will be evaluated base on the hydro-geoelectrical parameter derived from Vertical Electrical Sound (VES) including Longitudinal Conductance, the thickness of the aquifer, the apparent resistivity and Transmissivity. From the Geo-electrical method (VES) the finds shows that the aquifers in the study area have Apparent Resistivity ranging from 0.32 to 40.24 Ωm, Thickness between 0.21 m to 15.06 m, Longitudinal Conductance ranging from 0.006 to 10.246Ω-1 and Transmissivity ranging from 0.14 to
... Show MoreIn this work, mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared and functionalized with amine groups (i.e., NH2) to form NH2/SBA-15. The curcumin (CUR) was encapsulated into the surface and pore of NH2/SBA-15 to create CUR@NH2/SBA-15 as an efficient carrier in drug delivery systems (DDSs). The three samples (i.e., SBA-15, NH2/SBA-15, and CUR@NH2/SBA-15) were characterized. The study investigated the effect of the carrier dose, initial CUR concentration, pH, and contact time on the CUR loading efficiency (DLE%) via adsorption. The best DLE% for the SBA-15 and NH2/SBA-15 were found to be 45% and 89.7%, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm had a greater correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.998 for SBA-15. A pseudo-secondorder kinetic model seemed to fit well
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of business environment on the relationship between Entrepreneurial Skills (ES) and business performance of Small Business (SB) in Iraq, Baghdad. This study aims to resolve the inconsistencies found in the contemporary literature regarding the relationship between ES and business performance. Questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was adopted from previous work to ascertain the responses of the respondents. Survey research design was adopted, and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from small business owners in 9 districts in Baghdad the capital of Iraq. The analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23.0. The direct relationship and hierarchical regre
... Show MoreA method was developed that offers a rapid, simple and accurate technique for the determination of chlorophenols at trace levels in aqueous samples with very limited volumes of organic solvents. These compounds were acetylated, then preliminarily extracted with n-hexane. The enriched chlorophenols were directly analyzed using gas chromatography with an electron-capture detector. The detection limits were in the range of 0.001–0.005 mg/L, except for 2-chlorophenol, which was always above 0.013 mg/L. Relative standard deviation for the spiked water samples ranged from 2.2 to 6.1%, while relative recoveries were in the range of 67.1 to 101.3%.
Thyme essential oil (TEO) was extracted from dried leaves of Thymus vulgaris. The air-dried aerial parts of the plant produced 1.0% yield of TEO. The detection of this essential oil’s compounds was performed by GC-MASS. The cytotoxic activity of TEO was evaluated against two human cancer cell lines, namely HeLa (human epithelial cervical cancer) and MCF-7 (human breast carcinoma). Cells grown in 96 multi-well plates were treated with six concentrations of EO (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200 ppm) and incubated at 37 °C for 72 hrs. Cancer cell lines elicited various degrees of sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of essential oil. The TEO exhibited significant differences (p≤ 0.01) between the effects of
... Show MoreThis study was to evaluate the role of garlic and melatonin in the reduction of the toxic effect of the drug methotrexate with concentrations 0.52 mg/ kg of body weight of rabbits on total count of white blood cells and enzymes liver functions, used in this study (90) of the male rabbits ,were randomly divided into five groups, six rabbits in each group, given all the animals normal food during the experimental period of 30 days, explained to the animals at the end of each period of experience and took blood samples to count white blood cells, measure liver function enzymes like Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase(ALT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), was reached the following conclusions: (1) The treatment of male rab
... Show MoreThis study is concerned with the topic of the constant and the variable within the artistic theatrical phenomenon and specifically the accompanying music for the movements, scenes and dramatized idea, which translates the Iraqi environments (the serious ones). The researcher, here, tries to determine those variables and constants as a methodological scientific study to serve the scientific and cultural institutions and contribute in settling them intellectually, and entering them in the academic environments that depend on studying the artistic associations between the theatrical science and musical science. We find that this study which addresses the topic (the constant and the variable in the theatrical show music for the department of
... Show MoreField experiment was conducted to test the effect of saline water and fertilizers rate on Pisum sativum L. plants . Treatments of the experiment included two levels of water salinity (2, 7 dSm-1) as a main plot and three levels of potash fertilization K2SO4 (44%K) namely 150 control, 300 and 450 kg/Donum as a sub plot. Results indicated that irrigation of plant with saline water 7 dSm-¹ caused a significant decrease in K and P contents specially in the upper parts of the plants , the percentage of the K increased (2.80%) under 2 dSm-¹of irrigation water and 300 kg/ donum fertilizer rate in the upper leaves, However K decreased(1.10%) in lower leaves under 7 dSm-¹ and 300 kg/donum fertilizer. while P increased in pods und
... Show MoreBoth 13C 16O and 22Ne 25Mg reactions perform a cosmic role in the production of neutrons in AGB stars, which significantly contributes to the nucleosynthesis via the s-process. The astrophysical S-factor for both reactions is calculated in this research, utilizing EMPIRE code and depending on two parameter sets for the optical potential. These datasets were published earlier by McFadden and Satchler (denoted here as MFS) and Avrigeanu and Hodgson (denoted as AH) for the non-resonant region of the spectrum and over a temperature range of . The extrapolated S-factor at zero energy is derived to be and for 13C 16O, while the values were and fo
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