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 Dielectric properties of EP/TiO2 and MgO nanocomposite at
a frequency range of (102-106 Hz) were studied. The composite were
prepared with the state volume ratio (0, 0.05, 0.1) for EP/TiO2 and
MgO respectively. The impedance, dielectric constant and dielectric
loss were found decrease with frequency increase.
The effect of operating parameters on the batch scale separation of hydrocarbon mixture (benzene and hexane) using
emulsion liquid membrane technique is reported. Sparkleen detergent was used as surfactant and heavy mineral oil as
solvent to receive the permeates.
From the experimental results, the parameters that influenced the permeation are, composition of feed, contact time
with solvent, ratio of volume of solvent to volume of hydrocarbon feed, ratio of volume of surfactant solution to volume
of hydrocarbon feed, surfactant concentration, mixing intensity and glycerol as polar additive in the surfactant solution
to eliminate drop breakup.
The best conditions for the separation in this study were found to be: comp
It is well known that sonography is not the first choice in detecting early breast tumors. Improving the resolution of breast sonographic image is the goal of many workers to make sonography a first choice examination as it is safe and easy procedure as well as cost effective. In this study, infrared light exposure of breast prior to ultrasound examination was implemented to see its effect on resolution of sonographic image. Results showed that significant improvement was obtained in 60% of cases.
Secured multimedia data has grown in importance over the last few decades to safeguard multimedia content from unwanted users. Generally speaking, a number of methods have been employed to hide important visual data from eavesdroppers, one of which is chaotic encryption. This review article will examine chaotic encryption methods currently in use, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks in terms of their applicability for picture security.
Cancer is one of the dangerous diseases that afflict a person through injury to cells and tissues in the body, where a person is vulnerable to infection in any age group, and it is not easy to control and multiply between cells and spread to the body. In spite of the great progress in medical studies interested in this aspect, the options for those with this disease are few and difficult, as they require significant financial costs for health services and for treatment that is difficult to provide.
This study dealt with the determinants of liver cancer by relying on the data of cancerous tumours taken from the Iraqi Center for Oncology in the Ministry of Health 2017. Survival analysis has been used as a m
... Show MoreThe goal beyond this Research is to review methods that used to estimate Logistic distribution parameters. An exact estimators method which is the Moment method, compared with other approximate estimators obtained essentially from White approach such as: OLS, Ridge, and Adjusted Ridge as a suggested one to be applied with this distribution. The Results of all those methods are based on Simulation experiment, with different models and variety of sample sizes. The comparison had been made with respect to two criteria: Mean Square Error (MSE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE).
This study was done to investigate the impact of different nanoparticles on diesel fuel characteristics, Iraqi diesel fuel was supplied from al-Dura refinery and was treated to enhance performance by improving its characteristics. Two types of nanoparticles were mixed with Iraqi diesel fuel at various weight fractions of 30, 60, 90, and 120 ppm. The diesel engine was tested and run at a constant speed of 1600 rpm to examine and evaluate the engine's performance and determine emissions. In general, ZnO additives' performance analysis showed they are more efficient for diesel fuel engines than CeO. The performance of engine diesel fuel tests showed that the weight fraction of nanoparticles at 90 and 120 ppm give a similar
... Show MoreThe seismic can be threatened the stability of the flexible body of the earth dam and can cause completely damaged or deformation on their embankment. Therefore, a geotechnical engineer needs to know the effect of earthquakes on earth structures. The change in the seismic zone that recently Iraq affected is the reason for this research, in general, in 2017, the whole of Iraq, and in particular the region, where the Al-Wand earth dam (the subject of the study) is located, was exposed to several earthquakes. This research project mainly aims to study the behavior of Al-Wand earth dam under seismic load in different conditions by simulating Al-Wand earth dam through numerical modeling an
The main aim of this study is to assess the performance and residual strength of post-fire non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (NPRC) with and without openings. To do this, nine beams were cast and divided into three major groupings. These groups were classified based on the degrees of heating exposure temperature chosen (ambient, 400, and 700°C), with each group containing three non-prismatic beams (solid, 8 trapezoidal openings, and 8 circular openings). Experimentally, given the same beam geometry, increasing burning temperature caused degradation in NPRC beams, which was reflected in increased mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and also residual deflectio
As a result of the growth of economic, demographic and building activities in Iraq, that necessitates carrying out geotechnical investigations for the dune sand to study behavior of footings resting on these soils. To determine these properties and to assess the suitability of these materials for resting shallow foundation on it, an extensive laboratory testing program was carried out. Chemical tests were carried out to evaluate any possible effects of the mineralogical composition of the soil on behavior of foundation rested on dune sands.
Collapse tests were also conducted to trace any collapse potential. Loading tests were carried out for optimum water content and different shapes of footing. Loading test recommends manufacturing o