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.
An investigation was conducted to study the concentration of hydrogen peroxide by vacuum distillation. The effect of the process variables (such as vacuum pressure, reflux ratio, time of distillation, and packing height of the column used in the distillation process) on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide were investigated. During the third stage of distillation (95 wt.%) concentration was obtained.
Box-Wilson central composite rotatable design is used to design the experimental work for the mentioned variables. It was found that the concentration of hydrogen peroxide increases with Increasing vacuum pressure, decreasing reflux ratio, increasing the time of distillation and increasing the packing height.
The second ord
... Show MoreFor the time being, the cold-formed sections are widely used due to their simple manufacturing and construction processes. To be feasible, the strength of cold-formed columns should be determined based on their post-buckling behavior. Post-buckling relations are cumbersome and need design aids similar to those of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) to be applicable. These design aids have been developed to sections and materials other than those available in the local market. Therefore, this paper tries to develop a general finite element model to simulate the postbuckling behavior of cold-formed steel columns. Shell element has been used to discretize the web, flanges, and lips of the column. A linear bucking analy
... Show MoreThe economical design of plate loaded by pressure can be obtained by using stiffeners instead of increasing the thickness of plate. The main subject of this work is to obtain the effect of stiffener height on the maximum stress in the plate subjected to pressure load. Different plate-stiffener sets are selected to find the effects of stiffener thickness, plate dimensions and pressure, on the optimum stiffener height. The models under consideration are square plates clamped rigidly from four edges. Finite Element method is used to analyze 160 different models by using the Finite Element software package ANSYS version 11. Another analysis method based on maximum stress equation is used to analyze 30 models. The graphical comparison of results
... Show MoreRoad accidents have been identified as one of the main causes of death and have a significant effect on public health challenges, economic growth and development. The Iraqi transport infrastructure has suffered from the effects of war, carelessness, and lack of investment. As a result, road traffic accidents have increased, and the current efforts to address road safety are minimal in comparison to the growing level of citizen suffering. The objective of this study was to provincially analyze traffic accidents in Iraq using data from 2010 to 2020 to shed light on the current situation. Three key conclusions were made from the results: first, people aged 35 years and under was the age group recorded in the most traffic accidents; second, Al-
... Show MoreCarbon Nanopowder was fabricated by arc discharge technique at deposition pressure of 10-5 mbar Argon gas on glass substrates. The prepared carbon nano- powder was collected from chamber and purified with nitric acid at 323K .The morphology and crystalline structure of the prepared powder was examined by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). XRD spectrums showed that the powder exhibits amorphous structure and after purification, the powder showed hexagonal structure with a preferential orientation along(002) direction ,where AFM and SEM gave very compatible estimation on the grain size and shape of the nanopowder.
الهدف من العمل الحالي هو استخدام مادة غير سامة وغير مكلفة ذات قدرة عالية على امتصاص الماء ، وهي طين البوكسايت، لامتصاص صبغة البروموثيمول الزرقاء من محلول مائي. تُستخدم المركبات العضوية الاصطناعية كصبغات بشكل شبه حصري في العمليات الصناعية الحديثة مثلاً في إنتاج المنسوجات والجلود والطلاء والأغذية ومستحضرات التجميل والمستحضرات الصيدلانية. تشكل هذه الأصباغ خطرًا على البيئة عند إطلاقها نظرًا لآثارها الجا
... Show MoreCrude soybean peroxidase (SBP), isolated from soybean seed coats (hulls) at unusually low concentrations, catalyses the oxidative polymerisation of hazardous aqueous benzidine and its 3,3′-dichloro, 3,3′-dimethyl and 3,3′-dimethoxy derivatives in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The optimum operating conditions for oxidation of 0·10 mM benzidine were investigated. At pH 5, the hydrogen peroxide-to-substrate concentration ratio was 1·5 and the minimum SBP concentration required to achieve at least 95% conversion of the benzidine in synthetic wastewater was 0·43 mU/ml. Progress curves were established for the conversion of the four substrates, and apparent first-order rate constants were derived. Enzyme-catalysed polym
... Show MoreBackground: Endometriosis is defined as the presence or growth of ectopic endometrial tissue outside their usual site ( the uterus). It is a common condition in women. It may occur in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, vagina and rarely, endometriosis may occur in the abdomen and lungs. Endometriosis is common among women of reproductive age. It is either primary or secondary. The triad of diagnosis is a pain with menstruation, cesarean scar and a mass in the scar.
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The current research aims to identify the most prominent beliefs about coronavirus of Baghdad University students, as well as to identify the prominent beliefs toward coronavirus of male and female students. To achieve the research objectives, a questionnaire of (15) items was administered to a sample of (600) male and female students collected from ten different colleges at the university of Baghdad. The findings of the research illustrated that item (8) took priority as students believe there is a misleading about coronavirus spreading by governments, item (2) which indicated that coronavirus is man-made took level two, followed by item (10), it proposes that coronavirus emerged from the American milit
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