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 paper presents the results of precise of the calculations of the diffusion of slow electrons in ionospheric gases, such as, (Argon – Hydrogen mixture, pure Nitrogen and Argon – Helium – Nitrogen) in the presence of a uniform electric field and temperature 300 Kelvin. Such calculations lead to the value Townsend's energy coefficient (KT) as a function of E/P (electric field strength/gas pressure), electric field (E), electric drift velocity (Vd), momentum transfer collision frequency ( ), energy exchange collision frequency ( ) and characteristic energy (D/?). The following physical quantities are deduced as function s E/P: mean free path of the electrons at unit pressure, mean energy lost by an electron per collision, mean velocit
... Show MoreThe Marshlands cover an area of about 24% of the land area of Iraq, which gives it special importance to the country with its resources, resources and human capabilities, and because the conditions of this region are different from other areas environmentally and living necessitates subject to certain design principles achieve sustainable environmental integration to maintain them from For future generations, the idea of research is crystallized by the interest of environmental organizations and urban designers in planning and establishing special laws to exploit the region environmentally, economically and tourism, especially after the current focus of the country's economic revival. T tourism and begin the development
... Show MoreZinc Oxide is an indispensable substance in the field of dental treatment. It is used daily and intensively in all governmental and private dental clinics, leading to the disposal of very high concentrations of zinc with waste and eventually in landfill sites as a final destination for solid waste removal. This indicates the urgent need to investigate its behavior upon disposal due to the surrounding conditions. Approximately 4195 g of mixed dental waste samples were collected from (17) healthcare centers in Baghdad Al-Karkh. The leaching behavior of ZnO powder was investigated through batch reactors using makeup dental solid waste samples. The ZnO leaching was tested with 3 conditions; acidic, alkaline, and Ionic Streng
... Show MoreThe researchers go to the classification of the book (mortality of objects) of Ibn Khalkan in the books of biographies, translations and history and consider it an important dictionary in translations and this is not disputed, but none of them did not reveal clearly about the literary phenomenon in which it is clearly related and the size of this phenomenon, it has come in the side This research sought to investigate this critical encyclopedia, which occupied a large area of the historical framework of the book as we rarely found a figure in which did not turn - in extrapolation of translations - in the orbit of poetry as well as the great celebration of poetic speech during Translation has reached a number Perhaps the most promine
... Show MoreIntegrated reservoir rock typing in carbonate reservoirs is a significant step in reservoir modelling. The key purpose of this study is the identification of integrated rock types in the Sarvak Formation of an Iranian oilfield. In this study, electrofacies (EFAC) analysis of the Sarvak reservoir was done in detail to determine the reservoir quality and rock types of the Sarvak Formation in the studied field. The core data and conventional petrophysical logs were used for rock typing. Some petrophysical logs such as porosity, sonic, neutron, density, and Photo electric factor were applied as input data for electrofacies analysis. Multi-Resolution Graph-Based Clustering was used among six approaches, resulting in four electrofacies af
... Show MoreAlteration of repeat tract length within the SSR of phase variable genes may enhance the persistence of isolates within their host for a long time (a period of months) (Alamro et al.,2014). Alamro et al. (2014) showed there was trend towards selection for OFF state or low expression for five phase variable genes (opc, hmbr, nadA, nalP, hpuAB) in three carriers (V54, V124 and V64) within strains belonging into CC174 and CC167 in first, second and third time points. He concluded that the selection for low or OFF state helped N. meningitidis to persist for a long time (Alamro et al., 2014). The current study aimed to detect the alteration in the repeat tracts of the same five variable genes within the previous three carriers (V54, V124, and V6
... Show MoreEcosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem se
... Show MoreChest X-rays have long been used to diagnose pneumothorax. In trauma patients, chest ultrasonography combined with chest CT may be a safer, faster, and more accurate approach. This could lead to better and quicker management of traumatic pneumothorax, as well as enhanced patient safety and clinical results.
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and utility of bedside US chest in identifying traumatic pneumothorax and also its capacity to estimate the extent of the lesion in comparison to the gold standard modality chest computed tomography.