Chitinase-3-like 1 protein (YKL-40) is a glycoprotein primarily produced in the arthritic joint and plays a crucial role in inflammatory processes. The aim of the study is to establish the role of YKL-40 as a biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to proinflammatory biomarkers and disease activity. The study included 58 patients and 18 control. Diseases activity score (DAS-28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were measured. Serum level of YKL-40, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1B (IL-1β), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) were assessed. The results showed that the median serum YKL-40 level which was 5.42 ng/ml, the TNF-a level which was 123.6 ng/ml, and the IL-1B level which was 204.365 pg/dl were significantly higher in patients compared to control 3.28 (1.58–4.99) ng/ml, 56.47 (9.38–77.01) ng/ml and 67.887 (15.493–122.689)pg/dl respectively. There was no correlation between serum YKL-40 and disease activity, while there were significant associations observed with TNF-α (r=0.5,p =0.0001) and IL-1β (r=0.41, p=0.001). YKL-40 indicating good levels of RA prediction at 2.47 ng/ml, sensitivity 87.9%, specificity 58.6%, accuracy 78.1%, PPV 80.9%, and NPV 70.8%. In conclusion, a higher level of serum YKL-40 is found in RA patients. The findings from our study suggest a strong association between YKL-40 and the proinflammatory biomarkers. As a result, these biomarkers together might play a role in RA pathogenesis, and YKL-40 may be used as a potential diagnostic biomarker for RA.
The aim of this research is to study the modern Spanish writings on the biography of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), which gave the glorious biography its due by objective study and analysis with a scholarly approach, unlike the old Spanish and European oriental writings with its biased approach. In the past, Spanish and European writings on Prophet Mohamed were influenced by religious extremism and did not do any justiceto Prophet Mohamed. But this has changed in the modern times, and modern writing on the Prophet biography is based on objective analysis and reliance on original sources instead of the sources of the churches which were full of hate and wicked intentions to eliminate Islam.The research came to the conclusion that the modern Span
... Show MoreThe research tagged: the new aesthetic in contemporary world painting. The research contained five chapters. The first chapter dealt with the research problem and its importance. It dealt with the concept of the new aesthetic as a concept concerned with the topics of the mind, i.e. the most comprehensive and diverse topics. The New Aesthetic is an aesthetic and stylistic structure whose taste, aesthetic, artistic and emotional contribute to its structure with awareness of the context. The aim of the research is to identify the new aesthetic in contemporary world painting. As for the objective limits of the research, the researcher was interested in studying the new aesthetic, especially in abstract expressionism, pop art, opera, and conc
... Show MoreThe research entitled (The Visual Illusion in American Contemporary Ceramics) includes four chapters، the first chapter of which includes the methodological framework for the research، which contains the research problem focused on the following question: Has the American potter succeeded in achieving the artistic and aesthetic In the art of ceramics، as in the art of drawing and graphics، the fact that the art of ceramics has its advantages and limits in terms of material and technology? The aim of the research was to identify visual illusions in visual art in the works of a selected group of American potters. While the importance of the research was evident in that it sheds light on the methods and techniques of optical art in cont
... Show More The feature that prevails in spoken political discourse - especially with regards to the fact
that it is otherwise used in the written one - is relatively high degree of formality. It is then just
logical that formality is usually accompanied with more polite forms and higher degree of
impersonality. Such discourse is characterized by the choice of specific vocabulary and syntactic
structures as well. However, there are some tendencies to bring political speech nearer to the
everyday discourse and that is why political speeches have been becoming more informal and
personal. Like any other types of discourse, the American political speeches are loaded with
deictic expressions that form an essential complementary
The Scarlet Woman, Waugh's only screenplay and one of the least popular among his works, says more than it really does. Despite its crudeness in terms of plot, acting, and directing, it conveys a serious message. On a limited scale, The Scarlet Woman might be regarded as Waugh's version of Dante's Purgatorio. Written when he was at Oxford, it shows symptoms of subconscious rejection of the wild life he led without God. Five years before his conversion to Catholicism, Waugh seems to have been waiting for purgation. This is his design in The Scarlet Woman.
As a satirist a
... Show MoreAphid Aphis spp (Hemiptera:Aphididae) and Thrips Thrips spp (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) an economically important pests on several crops in the world and Iraq, that transfer many viruses diseases to it. Field studies were conducted to assessment the population density of these insects and susceptibility of six varieties (Barin, Revera, Divela, Rudlph, Alazata and Pleny) to infestation during 2013 spring season. The results were showed that all Potato varieties were infested by Aphis and Thrips on spring plantation but with different percentage. The Divela variety was higher percentage of infestation and high population density of aphid which averaged 1.47 insect/ leaf while in Alazata was the lower population density which averaged 1.02 in
... Show MoreElectronic banking plays a prominent role in providing the best banking services and upgrading the banking sector for the better, so this study aimed to shed light on the most prominent obstacles that prevent the application of electronic banking in banks operating in the city of Nasiriyah, and in order to achieve this goal the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach And through a questionnaire form that was distributed to a group of employees, numbering (60) employees in the upper, middle and operational departments in a number of branches of private banks operating in the city of Nasiriyah, namely (the Iraqi Trade Bank, the Gulf Commercial Bank, the Bank of Baghdad, the Union Bank of Iraq), which represented The stu
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to demonstrate the impact of the dimensions of the marketing vigilance represented by (environmental scanning, diagnostic capacity, validity and decision-making) and to attract deposits represented by (customer relationship management strategy, distribution strategy (location), promotion strategy), as the research was applied in each of Banks (Assyria International, Iraqi Middle East Investment, Business Bay, Iraqi Investment, Babel, Al Mansour Investment), and the questionnaire was adopted as a main tool for collecting data and information from a sample of (110) who are in the position (department manager, department manager, assistant Section Director, Division Officer, Unit Officer), and the statistical prog
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