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.
The main objective and primary concern to every investor not only to achieve a greater return on his or her investments, but also to create the largest possible value of these investments the, researchers and those interested in the field of investment and financial analysis try to develop standards for performance valuation is guided through the  
... Show MoreThis paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study aimed to compare the influence of openings of different configurations on the flexural behavior of prestressed concrete rafters. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported prestressed concrete rafters; 5 rafters are perforated, and the other one is solid as a reference. All rafters were tested under monotonic midpoint load. The variable which has been investigated in this work was the opening’s configuration (quadrilateral or circular) with the same upper and lower chords depths. The results indicate improvement in the beam flexural behavior using the circular openings compared to the quadrilateral o
The present work considers an alternative solution for a complex configuration of rotor discs by applying Galerkin Method. The theoretical model consists of elastic shaft carrying number of discs and supported on number of journal bearings. The equation of motion was discretized to finite degree of freedom in terms of the system generalized coordinates. The various effects of the dynamical forces and moments arising from the bearing, discs and shaft were included. Rayleigh beam model is used for analyzing the shaft while the discs are considered rigid . The validity and convergence of the present analysis was carefully checked by comparing with the Finite Element solution. An example of rotor consists of three different size discs and su
... Show MoreThe present work aimed to study the efficiency of thermal osmosis process for recovery of water from organic wastewater solution and study the factors affecting the performance of the osmosis cell. The driving force in the thermo osmosis cell is provided by a difference in temperature across the membrane sides between the draw and feed solution. In this research used a cellulose triacetate (CTA), as flat sheet membranes for treatment of organic wastewater under orientation membrane of active layer facing feed solution (FS) and draw solution (DS) is placed against the support layer. The organic materials were phenol, toluene, xylene and BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylene) used as feed solution. The osmotic agent in draw solution was
... Show MoreThree Schiff bases from Benzaldehyde and Salicylaldehyde have been synthesized (A, 1and 2) and two of them (1and 2) have been tested for anti-inflammatory activity. The p-aminobenzene sulfonamide has been synthesized from acetanilide through the addition of excess chlorosulfonic acid then concentrated ammonia solution; Schiff base of this derivative (2) exhibited good level of activity against egg-white induced edema in rat hind paw, while the other tested derivative exhibited no activity.
Key words: Schiff bases, sulfonamide derivatives, salicylaldehyde
The study focused on the results of first paleostress from thrust fault slip data on Tertiary age of Hemrin North Structure, North of Iraq. The stress inversion was performed for fault slip data using an improved right dihedral model, and then followed by rotational optimization (Georient Software). The trend of the principal stress axes (σ1, σ2 and σ3) and the ratio of the principal stress differences (R) show the main paleostress field is NE-SW compression regime. As well as using Lisle graph and Mohr diagram to determine the magnitudes of palestress. The values paleostress of the study area were σ1=1430 bars, σ2=632 bars and σ3=166 bar. The large magnitudes of the primary stress axes could be attributed to active tecto
... Show MoreTin Oxide (SnO2) films have been deposited by spray pyrolysis technique at different substrate temperatures. The effects of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties of SnO2 films have been investigated. The XRD result shows a polycrystalline structure for SnO2 films at substrate temperature of 673K. The thickness of the deposited film was of the order of 200 nm measured by Toulansky method. The energy gap increases from 2.58eV to 3.59 eV when substrate temperature increases from 473K to 673K .Electrical conductivity is 4.8*10-7(.cm)-1 for sample deposited at 473K while it increases to 8.7*10-3 when the film is deposited at 673K
Aims: To assess the success rate and implant stability changes of narrow dental implants (NDIs) during the osseous healing period. Materials and methods: This prospective observational clinical study included 21 patients with narrow alveolar ridge of restricted mesiodistal interdental span who received NDIs. The alveolar ridge width was determined by the ridge mapping technique. Implant stability was measured using Periotest® M immediately after implant insertion then after 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively. The outcome variables were success rate and implant stability changes during the healing period. The statistical analysis included one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey\'s multiple comparisons test, values < 0.05 w
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