Cytokines are signaling molecules between inflammatory cells that play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a disease. Among these cytokines are interleukins (ILs) 17A and 33, and accordingly, the current case-control study sought to investigate the role of each of the two cytokines in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixty-eight relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) Iraqi patients and twenty healthy individuals (control group) were enrolled. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33. Results revealed that IL-17A and IL-33 levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (14.1 ± 4.5 vs. 7.5 ± 3.8 pg/mL; p < 0.001 and 65.3 ± 16.3 vs. 49.3 ± 20.0 pg/mL; p < 0.001, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that IL-17A was a very good predictor of MS (area under curve [AUC] = 0.869; 95% CI = 0.779 - 0.960; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 10.2 pg/mL; sensitivity = 80.8%; specificity = 75.0%). A similar prediction was presented by IL-33, but the AUC value was lower (AUC = 0.762; 95% CI = 0.63 - 0.89; p < 0.001; cut-off value = 56.4 pg/mL; sensitivity = 70.6%; specificity = 70.0%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of IL-17A and IL-33 in MS risk, and under three models of analysis, the estimated odds ratios for IL-17A (1.50, 1.49 and 1.50, respectively) and IL-33 (1.05, 1.05 and 1.06) were above 1.0. Patients stratified by gender (male and female), expanded disability status scale (EDSS: < 3 and ≥ 3) or medication (pre- and post-medication) showed no significant differences in serum levels of IL-17A and IL-33 for each stratum. However, with regard to response to medication, it was found that responding patients showed significantly higher levels of IL-33 than non-responders (70.9 ± 12.2 vs. 57.2 ± 18.2 pg/mL; p = 0.018). This difference was not observed when considering IL-17A. Pearson correlation analysis between IL-17A and IL-33 revealed that both cytokines were not significantly correlated. In conclusion, the study indicated that IL-17A and IL-33 were up-regulated in serum of MS patients, and this up-regulation was not influenced by age, gender, EDSS or medication status, but the elevated level of IL-33 was more pronounced in patients who responded to medication.
This search aim to study the histological structure of Stomach of domestic duck Anas platyrhynchos. Six healthy birds (males and females) are used and after their slaughter the abdominal region was carefully opened and the stomach separated from it's connection with alimentary canal, cleaned with water and fixed in 10% formalin. The histological study showed that the wall of the glandular and muscular stomach consist of four tunicae:Tunica Mucosa,Tunica Submucosa,Tunica Muscularis and Tunica Serosa. The results suggested that the Muscularis mucosa layer represented the secretary part of glandular stomach, the keratinoid material lining the lumen of gizzard, and the tunica muscularis was the thickest one among four tunicae. &nb
... Show MoreThis paper shows the characteristics of temperature and adsorbed (water vapor) mass rate distribution in the adsorber unit which is the key part to any adsorption refrigeration system. The temperature profiles of adsorption/desorption phases (Dynamic Sorption) are measured experimentally under the operating conditions of 90oC hot water temperature, 30oC cooling water temperature, 35oC adsorption temperature and cycle time of 40 min. Based on the temperature profiles, The mass transfer equations for the annulus adsorbent bed are solved to obtain the distribution of adsorption velocity and adsorbate concentration using non-equilibrium
model. The relation between the adsorption velocity with time is investigated during the process of ads
A snake is an energy-minimizing spline guided by external
constraint forces and influenced by image forces that pull it toward features such as lines and edges. Snakes are active contour models: they lock onto nearby edges, localizing them accurately. Snakes provide a unified account of a number of visual problems, including detection of edges, lines, and motion tracking. We have used snakes successfully for segmentation, in which user-imposed constraint forces guide the snake near features of interest (anatomical structures). Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) data set and Ultrasound images are used for our experiments.
... Show MoreBleeding disorders in pediatrics is an important issue and can be lifethreatening if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. We aimed to evaluate Iraqi pediatric practice (as an example of resource-limited settings) about the use of Recombinant Activated Factor VII (RFVIIa) in bleeding disorders, with emphasis on its effectiveness and safety, in comparison with adjuvant therapy. Budget restrictions may affect the availability of even lifesaving drugs such as (RFVIIa). Therefore, we tried to investigate the local experience of pediatric bleeding, with the evaluation of the potential ability of adjuvant therapy of blood products and vitamin K to substitute RFVIIa in case of non-availability. During a complete one year‘s period, 35 patients
... Show MoreOne of the Iraqi geotechnical problems is the presence of gypseous soils covering about (27-36) percentage of Iraq soils containing gypsum between (10-70) ratios. The main reason for soil problematic is the gypsum dissolution when these soils are inundated. However, the soluble gypsum can be leached out of the soil particles, so these problems can be led to cracking, tilting, and collapsing the related soil structure and changing the soil properties. The aim of this work is to investigate the performance of under-reamed piles as a new, improved method to reduce the moisture sensitive and the primary triggering mechanism for the volume reduction of collapsible soil, which is considered as a non-elastic deformation; this was done by c
... Show MoreG. tuberculosa is a newly recorded species from the Caryophyllaceae family for Iraqi flora, collected from the Arbil district from May to August. Morphological descriptions with macro and micro features illustrated with plates and dimensions, the species is related to G. pallida and distinguished from calyx properties, especially the presence of large prominent druses crystals. Keywords: Caryophyllaceae, Gypsophila, Iraq, New record, pallida.
Impact of buildings in Iraq and other countries on the environment is obvious; this problem began to take scientific and humanitarian dimensions in order to reduce and eliminate this problem. This impact can be seen through the energy, water and raw materials consumed for the establishment, operation and maintenance of these buildings, as well as the emissions of hazardous gases and generations of solid wastes.
This work was conducted to assess the current maintenance managerial practice for the governmental buildings to stand on the main obstacle and extrapolation of measures by means of interviews with experts to determine the effective factors and closed questionnaire to state the features and the need for new
... Show MoreFormation of emulsions during oil production is a costly problem, and decreased water content in emulsions leads to increases productivity and reduces the potential for pipeline corrosion and equipment used. The chemical demulsification process of crude oil emulsions is one of the methods used for reducing water content. The demulsifier presence causes the film layer between water droplets and the crude oil emulsion that to become unstable, leading to the accelerated of water coalescence. This research was performed to study the performance of a chemical demulsifier Chimec2439 (commercial) a blend of non-ionic oil-soluble surfactants. The crude oils used in these experiments were Basrah and Kirkuk Iraqi crude oil. These
... Show MoreIn this work gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), were prepared. Chemical method (Seed-Growth) was used to prepare it, then doping AuNPs with porous silicon (PS), used silicon wafer p-type to produce (PS) the processes doping achieved by electrochemical etching, the solution etching consist of HF, ethanol and AuNPs suspension, the result UV-visible absorption for AuNPs suspension showed the single peak located at ~(530 – 521) nm that related to SPR, the single peak is confirmed that the NPs present in the suspension is spherical shape and non-aggregated. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated growth AuNPs with PS. compare the PS layer without AuNPs and with AuNPs doped for electrical properties and sensitivity properties we found AuNPs:PS is more
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