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.
Discotic liquid crystal compounds were synthesized and characterized. Liquid crystalline texture of these compounds was investigated by polarized optical microscopy (POM). The Hartree-Fock approximation (HF) was used to calculate theoretical molecular parameters for synthesized compounds such as optimization, hardness, EHOMO, ELUMO, and energy gap using the Gaussian 09W program.
Recent advances in wireless communication systems have made use of OFDM technique to achieve high data rate transmission. The sensitivity to frequency offset between the carrier frequencies of the transmitter and the receiver is one of the major problems in OFDM systems. This frequency offset introduces inter-carrier interference in the OFDM symbol and then the BER performance reduced. In this paper a Multi-Orthogonal-Band MOB-OFDM system based on the Discrete Hartley Transform (DHT) is proposed to improve the BER performance. The OFDM spectrum is divided into equal sub-bands and the data is divided between these bands to form a local OFDM symbol in each sub-band using DHT. The global OFDM symbol is formed from all sub-bands together using
... Show MorePMMA films of different thickness (0.006, 0.0105, 0.0206, 0.0385 and 0.056cm) were synthesized by casting process. The temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric constant and AC electrical conductivity measurements at various frequencies (10kHz-10MHz) and temperatures (293-373K) were carried out. Few anomalies in dielectric studies were observed near 313 and 373 K respectively. These points were related to glass transitions temperature. The variation of activation energy and conduction behavior was studied .From the AC conduction studies, it is confirmed that the mechanism responsible for the conduction process is hopping of carriers. The variations of the dielectric constant and loss as function of frequency at different tempera
... Show MoreObtaining the computational models for the functioning of the brain gives us a chance to understand the brain functionality thoroughly. This would help the development of better treatments for neurological illnesses and disorders. We created a cortical model using Python language using the Brian simulator. The Brian simulator is specialized in simulating the neuronal connections and synaptic interconnections. The dynamic connection model has multiple parameters in order to ensure an accurate simulation (Bowman, 2016). We concentrated on the connection weights and studied their effect on the interactivity and connectivity of the cortical neurons in the same cortical layer and across multiple layers. As synchronization helps us to mea
... Show MoreParental socialization trends impacting seriously on the growth of individual
personality and psychological health trends ,love, acceptance and on confidence help
children to grow as a person who loves other accept others and trust and negative parental
attitudes such as excess portents us or negligence . and the focusing and demonstrate a
negative impact on the growth of excess an mental health and family play a significant role in
a childes life we can see how many manifestation of compatibility or incompatibility thatappear on individual behaviors and achieve their success or failure in life be returned to the
of human relations that prevailed between the family members of children in various stages of
his life fi
A study in the treatment and reuse of oily wastewater generated from the process of fuel oil treatment of gas turbine power plant was performed. The feasibility of using hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and nanofiltration (NF) membrane type polyamide thin-film composite in a pilot plant was investigated. Three different variables: pressure (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 bars), oil content (10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were employed in the UF process while TDS was kept constant at 150 ppm. Four different variables: pressure (2, 3, 4 and 5 bar), oil content (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 ppm), total dissolved solids (TDS) (100, 200,300 and 400 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were manipulated with the h
... Show MoreCeramic art associated with urban growth in the cities, it overlapped with architectural construction, the increasing of population, urban growth, knowledge, and civilization was considered ceramic arts as an important aesthetically architecturally complement in the cities, including those in the squares and architectural institutions in the city of Baghdad .the title (Ceramic Art and Urban Planning in the City of Baghdad) the problem was its wonders : 1- Does ceramic monuments suited their locations in the city of Baghdad with the architectural planning urban of the city.2- Does the recipient interacted with these monuments and the reasons of their existence. Then the aim: knowing the relationship of the ceramic monuments with the urban
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