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.
This work, deals with Kumaraswamy distribution. Kumaraswamy (1976, 1978) showed well known probability distribution functions such as the normal, beta and log-normal but in (1980) Kumaraswamy developed a more general probability density function for double bounded random processes, which is known as Kumaraswamy’s distribution. Classical maximum likelihood and Bayes methods estimator are used to estimate the unknown shape parameter (b). Reliability function are obtained using symmetric loss functions by using three types of informative priors two single priors and one double prior. In addition, a comparison is made for the performance of these estimators with respect to the numerical solution which are found using expansion method. The
... Show MoreObjective(s): To assess mothers’ knowledge about their children with sickle cell anemia and non-Pharmacological approaches to pain management and found some relationship between mothers knowledge and their demographic data of age, level of education, and occupation.
Methodology: A descriptive design used in the present study established was for a period from September 19th, 2020 to March 30th, 2021. The study was conducted on a non-probability (purposive) sample of (30) mother their children with sickle cell anemia was chosen. The data were analyzed through the application of descriptive and inferential statistical approaches which are applied by using SPSS version 22.0.
Results: The findings of the study indicated that moderate
BACKGROUND: Hospital training courses for pharmacy students were required to prepare students to meet the challenges of real-world hospital work. AIM: Because there have been few studies on the efficacy of such courses, we aimed to recognize recent graduates’ perceptions, benefits, and factors influencing the quality of hospital training courses for pharmacy students. METHODS: A qualitative study using a phenomenology approach was conducted in 2022 and included several hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, using in-depth face-to-face individual-based semi-structured interviews. Until saturation, a convenient sample of recently graduated pharmacists was included. The obtained data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach
... Show MoreCurcumin (Cur) possesses remarkable pharmacological properties, including cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. However, the utilization of Cur in pharmaceuticals faces constraints owing to its inadequate water solubility and limited bioavailability. To overcome these hurdles, there has been notable focus on exploring innovative formulations, with nanobiotechnology emerging as a promising avenue to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of these complex compounds. We report a novel safe, effective method for improving the incorporation of anticancer curcumin to induce apoptosis by reducing the expression levels of miR20a and miR21. The established
The research seeks to identify the correlation relationship between strategic intelligence and fifth preparatory students’ achievement in mathematics. To achieve this objective, stratified random sampling were used based on participants’ gender and the branch of study. The sample consisted of (200) male and female fifth preparatory students for both (literary and scientific branch) who were displaced to Arbil city in Iraq for the academic year 2016-2017. As for research tool, the researcher administered strategic intelligence test to the study sample in the second semester which was designed by Ibrahim (2017), it includes (30) items divided into five domains (predictability, organized thinking, future view, motivation, and pa
... Show MoreThe research tackles the potential challenged faced the translator when dealing with the literal translation of nowadays political terms in media. Despite the universal complexity of translating political jargon, adopting literal translation introduces an added layer of intricacy. The primary aim of literal translation is to maintain faithfulness to the original text, irrespective of whether it is in English or Arabic. However, this method presents several challenges within the linguistic and cultural dimensions. Drawing upon scholarly sources, this article expounds upon the multifaceted issues that emerge from the verbatim translation of political terms from English into Arabic. These problems include political culture, language differenc
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