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 paper deals the prediction of the process of random spatial data of two properties, the first is called Primary variables and the second is called secondary variables , the method that were used in the prediction process for this type of data is technique Co-kriging , the method is usually used when the number of primary variables meant to predict for one of its elements is measured in a particular location a few (because of the cost or difficulty of obtaining them) compare with secondary variable which is the number of elements are available and highly correlated with primary variables, as was the&nbs
... Show MoreBackground: Childhood meningitis is a major
cause of morbidity and mortality, Hemophilus
influenza b (Hib) is the most common cause in
many countries, especially below 5 years and
before the development of conjugated Hib vaccine,
it is followed by Streptococcus Pneumonia, and
then N. meningitides, in addition to other
microorganisms.
Objective: To identify the causative organisms
of bacterial meningitis and to identify the factors
predisposing significantly to the incidence of
bacterial meningitis.
Method: This cross sectional , study was done in
Al-Elwia Pediatric Hospital during the period 1st
of January 2007 to 30th of June 2007.Eighty four
patients with presumptive diagnosis of meningitis<
Surface water samples from different locations within Tigris River's boundaries in Baghdad city have been analyzed for drinking purposes. Correlation coefficients among different parameters were determined. An attempt has been made to develop linear regression equations to predict the concentration of water quality constituents having significant correlation coefficients with electrical conductivity (EC). This study aims to find five regression models produced and validated using electrical conductivity as a predictor to predict total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), and total dissolved solids (TDS). The five models showed good/excellent prediction ability of the parameters mentioned
... Show MoreThe haplotype association analysis has been proposed to capture the collective behavior of sets of variants by testing the association of each set instead of individual variants with the disease.Such an analysis typically involves a list of unphased multiple-locus genotypes with potentially sparse frequencies in cases and controls.It starts with inferring haplotypes from genotypes followed by a haplotype co-classification and marginal screening for disease-associated haplotypes.Unfortunately,phasing uncertainty may have a strong effects on the haplotype co-classification and therefore on the accuracy of predicting risk haplotypes.Here,to address the issue,we propose an alternative approach:In Stage 1,we select potential risk genotypes inste
... Show MoreTo find out the impact of maternal risk factors on the outcome of pregnancy in Baghdad city. A descriptive purposive study was carried out on 100 postpartum women who had delivered for 1 hr. to 24 hrs. ago . the study sample was selected from three hospitals in Baghdad city ( Baghdad teaching hospital ,Fatima Al-Zahra'a maternity and pediatric teaching hospital and Al-Yarmook teaching hospital),during the period from 25 Jan. to 25 Feb. 2006. The data were collected through the use of questionnaire format reviewing pregnants' records and personal interview and were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistical approaches. The finding revealed that maternal pregnancy complications had weak effects on pregnancy outcome , while mate
... Show MoreIn this study we focused on the determination of influence the novel synthesized thiosemicarbazide derivative "2-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene) hydrazinecarbothioamide" (HMHC) influenced the corrosion inhibition of mild steel (MS) in a 1.0 M hydrochloric acid acidic solution.This is in an effort to preserve the metal material by maintaining it from corrosion.The synthesized inhibitor was characterized using elemental analysis, and NMR-spectroscopy. Then the corrosion inhibition capability of (HMHC) was studied on mild steel in an acidic medium by weight loss technique within variables [temperature, inhibitor concentration, and time]. The immersion periods were [1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 10:00, 24:00, and 72:00] hours and the tem
... Show MoreThis study analyzes how to make use of the resources in the marshlands of Iraq and how to utilize them, especially after the water returns to these areas and they are revitalized. We take an example of AL- Saheen Marsh and plan an ideal tourist resort there. This example can further expand to include other parts of the marshlands. The resort will utilize the local environment and tourist characteristics as it will have a feel and architectural resemblance to the houses and buildings that are currently built there. In addition the transportation methods will be the same as those used by the locals. Yet the resort will still posses all the facilities required by a modern tourist resort that includes all the services that will make
... Show MoreBackground: Disc battery ingestion is a common
serious problem in Iraq. It increase in the last years
because of the increase in number of electronic toys
that uses these batteries. These batteries contains
many types of irritant chemicals that increases the
risk of it's ingestion.
Methods:We reviewed the medical records of
children aged between 1year and 7 years
old admitted to Surgical Specialty Hospital/Baghdad
Medical City due to disc battery ingestion from
January 2007 through December 2010). The diagnosis
of disc battery ingestion was based upon history,
clinical symptoms, and results of imaging studies.
The clinical data reviewed included sex, age, clinical
manifestation and duration of sy
A case-control study was designed to find out the association between rs2234671 polymorphism of cxcr1 and rUTI in a sample of Iraqi women by polymerase chain reaction- sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method. The current findings revealed that the genotype GC (OR= 7.86, 95% CI = 2.82-21.87, P= 7.7 × 10-5) and the C allele (OR= 3.93, 95% CI = 1.97 - 7.83, P = 9.8×10-5) are significantly associated with rUTI. However, the genotype GG played as a protective factor (OR= 0.12, 95% CI = 10.05 - 0.34, P = 4.0 ×10-5). Depending on these findings, the genotype GC is significantly associated with rUTI.