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.
This study aimed to evaluate the reservoir petrophysical properties (porosity, water saturation, and permeability) for optimal flow unit assessment within the Sadi Formation. Utilizing open hole logging data from five wells, the Sadi formation was divided into two rock units. The upper unit (A) is 45-50 meters thick, mainly consisting of limestone, mainly consisting of shaly limestone at the lower part. The lower unit (B) has a thickness of approximately 75-80 meters and is primarily composed of limestone, further subdivided into three subunits (B1, B2, B3). The average water resistivity is 0.04 ohm-m, and the average mud filtrate resistivity is 0.06 ohm-m. The Pickett plot was utilized to determine Archie parameters (tortuosit
... Show Moreشهدت العالم منذ نهايات القرن الماضي وبدايات القرن الواحد والعشرين تطورات دراماتيكية على صعيد الادبيات التنموية ، اذ تحولت التنمية من المفهوم التقليدي الذي اهتم بالنمو الاقتصادي الى رؤية جديدة هي رؤية التنمية البشرية ومن ثم الى التنمية المستدامة التي اعطت للتنمية البعد الانساني وجعلت من مشكلات واحتياجات البشر منطلق لها لتحويل الفرد والمجتمع الى مرحلة جديدة تضمن له العيش الكريم وتحقق معه
... Show MoreBackground: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different bleaching methods on the shear bond strength of orthodontic Sapphire brackets bonded to human premolars teeth using light cured composite resin and to determine the predominant site of bond failure. Materials and Methods: Thirty freshly extracted human premolars were selected and randomly divided into three groups (10 per group). These groups are: control (unbleached) group, hydrogen peroxide group (HP) 37.5% ; which is the in- office bleaching method group, carbamide peroxide group (CP) 16%; which is the at- home bleaching method group. After bleaching process was performed, all the teeth stored in distilled water in a sealed container at room temperature for
... Show MoreThe applications of herbal medicine have recently acquired growing interest in range of the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases. Olibanum has been used since ancient eras and several reports studied the pharmacological characteristics of boswellic acid, particularly their effect on the inflammatory response, analgesic properties, and anti-arthritic activity mostly in cell lines, but new approaches include animal models to assess these natural derivatives effects taking into consideration of being safer than synthetic preparations. The impact of olibanum oil on several parameters was studied in rats during this study. These included white blood cell (WBC) count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and C reactive protein (CRP), as well a
... Show MoreThe form imposes its importance in the structure of the artwork through its indication of the type of relationship between the artist and his external world in all its aspects, as well as its manifestation of artistic and aesthetic values, and the multiplicity of experimental means of expression that include the artist's feelings and imagination. The form is also a recording of the events in their temporal and spatial circumstances, and in that it is of value in directing his artistic discourse with the aim of influencing the recipient with its connotations and emotional states. Horses in the drawings of Amer Al-Obaidi, and the research came within two frameworks: The first framework is the methodological framework that represents us t
... Show MoreGalway Kinnell (1927-) is considered as one of the most important contemporary American poets who brought about a drastic change in the American poetry of the nineteen sixties. Kinnell's poetry is characterized by being simple in style and deep in content. Poetry for him is a means through which he perceives the inner levels of consciousness in an attempt to comprehend the depths of the American self. Therefore, he writes narrative poems in which the emphasis is not on the rhetorical effects, but on the inner transformations through which the poet goes.
"The Bear" (1968) is typical of Kinnell's introspective poetry. It takes the form of a journey in which the rituals of hunting are used allegorically to embody the state of the sp
... Show MoreIn this paper, we studied the resolution of Weyl module for characteristic zero in the case of partition (8,7,3) by using mapping Cone which enables us to get the results without depended on the resolution of Weyl module for characteristic free for the same partition.
Liver is considered as the first target for the toxic effects of toxins and other xenobiotics, and this can be attributed to its role as a site which receive all absorbed xenobiotics from the gastrointestinal tract and its role as a major site for biotransformation of xenobiotics. The present study was designed to evaluate the possible hepatoprotective effect of benfotiamine against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The study was conducted on 48 male albino rats; the animals were allocated into 8 groups (6 rats in each group) and treated as follow: 4 groups treated with oral doses of either normal saline, benfotiamine (100 mg/kg), thiamine (100 mg/kg), N-acetylcystein (400 mg/kg) only without induction of hepatic damage. Th
... Show MoreEndometriosis is an estrogen dependent inflammatory disorder plays a pivotal role in the reproductive system of the females which regarded as one of the most important gynecological disorders due to it is a key cause of infertility for women and also it has a remarkable impact on the women's life quality. Indeed, environmental pollution have an extremely importance in the etiology of endometriosis. Hence, the present article submits an abbreviated literature review to the biochemical role of environmental pollutants in the etiology and development of endometriosis. Anyway, this review article represented the major environmental pollutants: the organic pollutants of air, heavy metals, gaseous pollutants and the particulate matter. Th
... Show MoreIn this research, non-thermal plasma system of argon gas is designed to work at normal atmospheric pressure and suitable for work in medical and biotechnological applications. This technique is applied in the treatment of the Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria and show the role of the flow rate of Argon gas on the killing rate of bacteria, and it obtained a 100 % killing rate during the time of 5 minutes at the flow Argon gas of 5 liters/ min.