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.
In this study, aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis membranes were used to remove zinc ions from electroplating wastewater. Influence of different operating conditions such as time, zinc concentration and pressure on reverse osmosis process efficiency was studied. The experimental results showed, concentration of zinc in permeate increase with increases of time from 0 to 70 min, and flux of water through membrane decline with time. While, the concentrations of zinc in permeate increase with the increase in feed zinc concentration (10–300 mg/l), flux decrease with the increment of feed concentration. The raise of pressure from 1 to 4 bar, the zinc concentration decreases and the flux increase. The highest recovery percentage was found is 54.
... Show MoreCuO nanoparticles were synthesized in two different ways, firstly by precipitation method using copper acetate monohydrate Cu(CO2CH13)2·H2O, glacial acetic acid (CH3COOH) and sodium hydroxide(NaOH), and secondly by sol-gel method using copper chloride(CuCl2), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and ethanol (C2H6O). Results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that different CuO nanostructures (spherical and Reef) can be formed using precipitation and sol- gel process, respectively, at which the particle size was found to be less than 2 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD)manifested that the pure synthesized powder has no inclusions that may exist during preparations. XRD result
... Show MoreCoblatcomplex has been prepared by reaction between C16H19N3O3S (L) as ligand and metal salt (II). The prepared complex were characterized by infrared spectra, electromic spectra, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity measurement and metal analysis by atomic absorption and (C.H.N) analysis. From these studies tetrahedral geometry structure for the complex was suggested. The photodegredation of complex were study using photoreaction cell and preparednanoTiO2 catalyst in different conditions (concentration, temperatures, pH).The results show that the recation is of a first order with activation energy equal to (6.6512 kJ /mol).
Researching the effects of the research and technological development contract, determining its extent and demarcating the boundaries of the obligations imposed in it, is the cornerstone of economic growth and development, because defining these obligations removes the ambiguity and conflict between interests, by stating the rights owed to each party and even trying to reconcile them, or impose protection by specifying guarantees that are compatible with the essence of the R&D contract, For the purpose of studying the subject thoroughly, we will divide this research into two sections. The first is devoted to identifying the parties to the research and technological development contract. As for the other topic, we will explain the obligation
... Show MoreThis research included the preparation of 2-mercaptobenzoxazole (N1) by the reaction of ortho-aminophenol with carbon disulfide in an alcoholic potassium hydroxide solution. The 2-mercapto benzoxazole (N1) was then treated with hydrazine to obtain the 2-hydrazino benzoxazole (N2). A number of hydrazones (N3-N5) were prepared through the reaction of N2 with different benzaldehydes. The compound (N6) was also prepared whereby the ring closing of hydrazone (N3) using chloroacetylchloride, while the compound (N7) was prepared by treating 2-hydrazino benzoxazole with acetylacetone. When the compound (N1) was treated with formaldehyde, it afforded the compound (N8). Also, the N9 was obtained from the reaction of N1 with chloroacetic acid in th
... Show MoreThe synthesis, characterization and liquid crystalline properties of N4,N40 -bis((1 H-benzo[d]imidazol-2- yl)methyl)-3,30 -dimethyl-[1,10 -biphenyl]-4,40 -diamine and of their corresponding Mn(II), Fe(II), Ni (II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) complexes are described. The ligand and complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements (meff), conductometric measurements and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1 H NMR), (13C-NMR) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Spectral investigations suggested octahedral coordination geometrical arrangement for M(II) complexes. The phase transition temperatures were detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and the phases are confirmed
... Show MoreManganese-zinc ferrite MnxZn1-xFe2O4 (MnZnF) powder was prepared using the sol-gel method. The morphological, structural, and magnetic properties of MnZnF powder were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), field emission-scanning electron microscopes (FE-SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometers (VSM). The XRD results showed that the MnxZn1-xFe2O4 that was formed had a trigonal crystalline structure. AFM results showed that the average diameter of Manganese-Zinc Ferrite is 55.35 nm, indicating that the sample has a nanostructure dimension. The EDX spectrum revealed the presence of transition metals (Mn, Fe, Zn, and O) in Mang
... Show MoreImproved Merging Multi Convolutional Neural Networks Framework of Image Indexing and Retrieval