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 study, several ionanofluids (INFs) were prepared in order to study their efficiency as a cooling medium at 25 °C. The two-step technique is used to prepare ionanofluid (INF) by dispersing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in two concentrations 0.5 and 1 wt% in ionic liquid (IL). Two types of ionic liquids (ILs) were used: hydrophilic represented by 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [EMIM][BF4] and hydrophobic represented by 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [HMIM][PF6]. The thermophysical properties of the prepared INFs including thermal conductivity (TC), density and viscosity were measured experimental
In this work, thiadiazole derivatives were prepared by taking advantage of active sites in (2-amino-5-mercapto-1, 3, 4-thiadiazole) as a starting material base. The main heterocyclic compounds (1, 3, 4-thiadiazole, oxazole) etc, 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole compound (1) was prepared by cyclic closure of thiosemicarbazide compound with anhydrous sodium carbonate and carbon disulfide. Oxidation of (1) via hydrogen peroxide, to have (2) which was treated with chloro acetyl chloride to get (3). Preparation of thiazole ring (4) was from reacting of (3) with thiourea. Synthesis of diazonium salts (5) from compound (4) using sodium nitrite and HCl. Compound (5) reacted with different ester compounds to prepare a new azo compounds (6–8).C
... Show MoreThe present study evaluates the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract as monotherapy on the glycemic status, insulin resistance (IR), body mass index (BMI), and visceral adiposity index (VAI), in addition to the inflammatory markers, oxidative status and leptin level in patients with metabolic syndrome in comparison with metformin.
The study is a randomized, double-blind pilot study conducted during the period May to September, 2020. Fifty patients were recruited in the study and they were allocated into two groups (25 per each group): Ginkgo biloba and Metformin groups, they received (120 mg Ginkgo biloba extract/ capsule) and (500 mg Metformin/ capsule) respectively; orally as a single dose for 90 days. Blood samples were taken at z
... Show MoreEuphemisms are advantageous in people’s social life by turning sensitive into a more acceptable ones so that resentful feelings and embarrassment can be avoided. This study investigates the ability of Iraqi English learners in using euphemistic expressions, meanwhile, raising their awareness and the faculty members in English teaching faculties regarding the relevance of discussing the topics that demand euphemisation. This study comprised three stages: initial test, explicit instruction with activities, and a final test for the students’ development in this domain. A test has been distributed among 50 respondents, who are at the fourth year of their undergraduate study at the University of Babylon/ College of Basic Education. The lo
... Show MoreEvaluating treatment effect on interferon-alpha in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study
BACKGROUND: Cough-variant asthma (CVA) is a type of asthma in which the main symptom is a dry, non-productive cough. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Montelukast in CVA and to investigate the prevalence of Montelukast in CVA. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 patients with chronic cough at least 8 weeks using Montelukast at Al-Kindy Hospital over the period of January 2018‒March 2018. An interview using questionnaire was used to collect the data that were specifically prepared to meet the objective of study including age, sex, associated disease, exacerbation factors, and classical therapy. RESULTS: There was a reduction of the symptoms associated
... Show MoreSickle cell disease (SCD) comprises an inherited blood disorder that is life long and affects many people globally. In spite of the development in treatment, SCA is a considerable cause of mortality and morbidity. The present study tries to assess the role of leukocytes represented by β integrin(CD18) and platelets and their productivity in the pathogenicity of disease during the steady state and crisis in comparison with the healthy as-control group, SCD patients (15) enrolled during crisis and steady state (follow up) showed a significant increase in leukocytes and platelets cells productivity during crisis when compared to the steady state and in the steady state when compared to the healthy control group . In this study, SCD patho
... Show Morethe research was exposed to a study the importance of the role of the supportive entities in providing the useful information to the tax administration and their ability to extend the level of the tax base of taxpayers, through the improvement of the tax payers determination and their tax settle for the purpose of increasing the tax revenue, and shed light on the legal evidence through which these entities become officially assigned to perform a supplementary task to the General Committee for Taxes GCT, to help it to perform its task efficiently, and to study the reasons of the weak cooperation of the supportive entities and their reluctance to provide useful information which leads to limiting the tax base.
The research data hav
... Show MoreOriganum majorana (Majorana hortensis), an evergreen herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, has been well known for being used for gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory, rheumatologic and many other illnesses, but in wounds management hasn’t been qualified scientifically yet. The goal of the study was to evaluate the wound healing properties of sterols in n-hexane and phenols in ethyl acetate extract fractions of the Iraqi Origanum majorana L aerial parts by contrasting their wound healing abilities with those of commercially available MEBO ointment in a rat excised wound repair model. At various periods, the size of the wounds was measured and skin tissue samples were taken for histopathology. When compared to positive and
... Show MoreThree types of zeolite A were prepared from Iraqi kaoline which are 3A, 4A and 5A by ion exchange method .They were characterized by XRD and atomic absorption techniques .They were used as adsorbents to examine their applicability for H2S adsorption .The adsorption process was performed in a static form and constant volume system which constructed from stainless steel .The effect of zeolite type and temperature on the adsorption properties of H2S at -5 , 25 and 55 oC was studied .The zeolite type 5A has the highest adsorption value (79.384 µmol/g ) and the three types may be arranged in a sequence toward H2S adsorption as 5 A> 4A>3A .The amount of H2S adsorbed increased as temperature decreased from 55 to -5 for all samples. Langmuir , Fre
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