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 effect of refrigerant injection techniques on the performance of heat pump system based on exergy analysis was studied theoretically. Three refrigerant injection techniques were used; the first was achieved by injected vapour in volume ratios from 1 to 7% in the accumulator. The second was injection liquid refrigerant in the discharge line with the aid of Liquid Pressure Amplification (LPA) pump, with volume ratios from 1 to 10%. The third was a hybrid injection with volume ratios of injected vapour and liquid varied from 1 to 3% and 1 to 10%; respectively. The following improvements in cycle performance were observed. For vapour injection technique, the best ratio of injection was 5%, the exergy destruction reduced
... Show MoreDirect contact membrane distillation is an effective method for production of fresh water from saline water. In this study two samples were used as feed solutions; the first one was RO waste from Al-Hilla Coca-Cola Factory (TDS= 2382 mg/l) and the other was Haji Ali drainage water (TDS= 4127 mg/l). Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hydrophobic membrane supported with polypropylene (PP) was used as flat sheet form with plate and frame cell. Results proved that membrane distillation is an effective technique to produce fresh water with high quality from brine with low salinity content. With membrane area of 8x8 cm2, the volume of treated water decreased from 34.97 ml at first half hour to 33.02 ml after 180 min of
... Show MoreThe monomer phenyl acrylamide was synthesized by reacting acrylamide with chloro benzene in the presence of pyridine. Copolymer of phenyl acrylamide (PAM) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) was synthesized by free radical technique using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator. The overall conversion was kept low (≤ 15% wt/wt) for all studies copolymers samples. The synthesized copolymers were characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and their thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The copolymers compositions were determined by elemental analysis. The monomer reactivity ratios have been calculated b
... Show MoreThis paper reports experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling studies to investigate the effect of the swirl intensity on the heat transfer characteristics of conventional and swirl impingement air jets at a constant nozzle-to-plate distance ( L = 2 D). The experiments were performed using classical twisted tape inserts in a nozzle jet with three twist ratios ( y = 2.93, 3.91, and 4.89) and Reynolds numbers that varied from 4000 to 16000. The results indicate that the radial uniformity of Nusselt number (Nu) of swirl impingement air jets (SIJ) depended on the values of the swirl intensity and the air Reynolds number. The results also revealed that the SIJ that was fitted with an insert of y = 4.89, which correspo
... Show MoreFormulations based on nanomaterials have the ability to reduce the consuming of hazardous pesticides and theirimpact on human health and environment. The present study focused on a comparative investigation of histological effects of nanocapule acetamiprid (NACMP) in vivoand commercial parental bulk form of acetamiprid (ACMP) on albino mice. Nanoformulations of pesticides have the potential to improve food productivity without compromising with the ecosystem. In the present study, nanocapsules containing acetamiprid were prepared from two natural macromolecules, alginate and chitosan. The characterization of the nanocapsules were investigated by Dynamic Light Scattering(DLS), T ransmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic force
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study was to develop theophylline (TP) inhalable sustained delivery system by preparing solid lipid microparticles using glyceryl behenate (GB) and poloxamer 188 (PX) as a lipid carrier and a surfactant respectively. The method involves loading TP nanoparticles into the lipid using high shear homogenization – ultrasonication technique followed by lyophilization. The compositional variations and interactions were evaluated using response surface methodology, a Box – Behnken design of experiment (DOE). The DOE constructed using TP (X1), GB (X2) and PX (X3) levels as independent factors. Responses measured were the entrapment efficiency (% EE) (Y1), mass median
... Show MoreIn this research the a-As flims have been prepared by thermal evaporation with thickness 250 nm and rata of deposition r_d(1.04nm/sec) as function to annealing temperature (373 and 473K), from XRD analysis we can see that the degree of crystalline increase with T_a, and I-V characteristic for dark and illumination shows that forward bias current varieties approximately exponentially with voltage bias. Also we found that the quality factor and saturation current dependence on annealing temperatures.
The psychological burnout is considered one of dangerous phenomenon’s which appeared in the 70s of the 20th century and suffered by most of the society classes. It is a term which the wide uses and various meaning like emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion and chronic weak exhaustion. The presented research aims t identify the psychological burnout as for the Kindergarten teacher and the differences significance according to the variations (Kindergarten type: private or govern mental). The research sample contains 400 female teachers divided to 170 governmental Kindergarten teachers and 230 private Kindergarten teachers. The researcher prepared a measurement method to measure the psychological burnout for those teachers after
... Show MoreThis study has contributed to understanding a delayed prey-predator system involving cannibalism. The system is assumed to use the Holling type II functional response to describe the consuming process and incorporates the predator’s refuge against the cannibalism process. The characteristics of the solution are discussed. All potential equilibrium points have been identified. All equilibrium points’ local stability analyses for all time delay values are investigated. The system exhibits a Hopf bifurcation at the coexistence equilibrium, which is further demonstrated. The center manifold and normal form theorems for functional differential equations are then used to establish the direction of Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the per
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