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 fish assemblage in the East Hammar marsh was studied during December 2009 to May 2010. The fish fauna of the marsh consisted of 17 native, 23 marine (49%) and seven alien species. The dominant species were Liza abu (14.6%), Carassius auratus (13.4%) and Thryssa mystax (11.2%). The resident species formed 44.7%, occasional species 36.1% and seasonal species 19.2% of the total number of fish species. Fish species diversity index ranged from 1.28 to 2.61, richness from 1.98 to 4.50 and evenness from 0.45 to 0.78. Salinity ranged from 1.45 to 7.74‰. The increase in the proportion of marine species (49%) in the fish assemblage due to marine waters progress from Arabian Gulf had an impact on the values of ecological indices and the
... Show MoreAlthough there are many wastewater treatment plants, we still suffer from many problems resulting from a lack of experience or technical operating problems. In this research, the service’s efficiency is evaluated according to the design laws required for small factories in the province of Najaf, which works with filtering technology through point filtration, the old project in the Al-Baraka plant, and the second works. Within the biological treatment mbbr + activated sludge, which is a biomass technology where samples were taken from both plants and annual values of the pollutant rate after treatment in the old Al-Baraka plant project COD 64 mg/L and the demand for biochemical oxyge
There are many aims of this book: The first aim is to develop a model equation that describes the spread of contamination through soils which can be used to determine the rate of environmental contamination by estimate the concentration of heavy metals (HMs) in soil. The developed model equation can be considered as a good representation for a problem of environmental contamination. The second aim of this work is to design two feed forward neural networks (FFNN) as an alternative accurate technique to determine the rate of environmental contamination which can be used to solve the model equation. The first network is to simulate the soil parameters which can be used as input data in the second suggested network, while the second network sim
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis is a transmissible infection brought about by an obligatory intracellular protozoan from the genus Leishmania. It occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and can be burdensome in resource-constrained countries. The infection ranges in severity from mild cutaneous lesions to more severe and sometimes life-threatening visceral and distorting mucocutaneous sicknesses. Importantly, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Middle East with a pooled prevalence of 12%. It imposes a significant health and socioeconomic burden
Polycystic ovarian syndrome, additionally called PCOS is the most widespread endocrine illness amongst women. The aetiology of PCOS is attributed to a multi-factorial interplay among environmental and genetic effects. The overarching goal evaluates the correlation among blood concentrations of total testosterone, sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in ladies with PCOS and the impact of obesity, age, marital popularity on the obtained results. This study was conducted at the National Center for Educational Laborites /Medical City/ Baghdad. The study comprised of a sample of 83 women, elderly between 17 -45 years, who had been selected in a random manner
... Show MoreA dose of ten grams of the roots and leaves of Nettle (Urtica dioica) dissolved in (200)ml of boiled water then covered for (10)min. was given to a sample of (15) patients attending to the herbal department of ministry of health complaining of malnutrition and low Hb(hemoglobin) concentration and PCV(packed cell volume) levels with absence of any other predisposing factors disease inorder to find the effects of these roots and leaves on Hb and PCV levels for different periods of time in relation to age and sex variations . The study have shown that this mixture has a high significant effect (p<0.001) in elevating (Hb) concentration and PCV levels on those patients according to the differences recorded from the start of the basic period unt
... Show MoreA Classical allusion refers to myths in ancient Roman and Greek works of literature. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), utilized mythological allusions in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1588- 1592) to create a connection between ideas. Dr. Faustus wanted the infinite. He sold his soul to the devil to gain it. He rejected theology and embraced magic and mythology that epitomized pseudo-divinity. Classical mythology invites moral and theological discussion. It intensifies the aesthetic purpose and the spiritual evaluation of Dr. Faustus‟s ambition
The research aims to find ways to minimize the use of quantities of chemical fertilizers in agriculture in order to get to an environment that is free of contaminants. Magnetized water technology used in the experience of planting seeds of tomatoes Thomson type to obtain a higher efficiency to absorb fertilizer NRK in the protected environment of the period from February to June. Magnetized water system used locally made levels Gaues (4800,2500,1500) concentrations of 50 to 100% for each level and the rate of (4) replicates, and results indicated that the severity of the magnet (4800 Gaues) and a concentration of 50% gave the highest percentage of tomato fruit size and intensity ( 1500 Gaues) and a concentration of 100% did not give any inc
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