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.
August Wilson’s major concern is to communicate the African American cultural awareness; to establish a counter-culture based on self-confidence and assertiveness. He advocates an encouraging attitude to elevate the African Americans’ spiritual consciousness and to teach them how to sublimate their aims in life. He aspires to win the everlasting battle against racial discrimination, oppression, injustice, and identity confusion. Sublimation, as a defense mechanism, will be Wilson’s new ammunition to re-read and to re-interpret the psychic constitution of his people, to help them get out of their self-imposed fences and this is the core of Wilson’s new culture. Sublimation is the process in which the psyche directs the negative drive
... Show MoreThe topic of supra.topological.spaces considered one of the important topics because it is a generalization to topological.spaces. Many researchers have presented generalizations to supra open sets such as supra semi.open and supra pre.open sets and others. In this paper, the concept of δ∼open sets was employed and introduced in to the concept of supra topology and a new type of open set was extracted, which was named S∼δ∼open. Our research entails the utilization of this category of sets to form a new concepts in these spaces, namely S∼δ∼limit points and S∼δ∼derive points, and examining its relationship with S∼open and S∼reg∼open. Based on this class of sets, we have introduced other new concepts such as S∼isolate
... Show MoreThe present study was designed to evaluate the immunological status in a sample of Iraqi males with primary infertility and them age range18-55 years, who were attending the Centre of Infertility and in vitro Fertilization (Kamal Al-Samaraie Hospital, Baghdad) during the period December 2008 – April 2009. They were divided into three groups; 40 patients with anti-sperm antibodies (ASA), 20 patients with Asthenozoospermia (AST) and 20 patients with azoospermia (AZO). In adition to20 fertile males was as control group. The parameters of evaluations were standard seminal fluid analysis, anti-sperm antibodies and anti-mitochondrial antibodies in serum, Therefore, two types of samples were collected from each subject; seminal fluid and blood.
... Show MoreThis study designed to evaluate the relationship between the Matrix metalloproteinase -9(MMP-9), soluble Vascular endothelial cadherin(VE-CAD)and Chlamydia pneumonia infection in cardiovascular diseases patients. All blood sample were subjected for molecular detection of C.pneumoniae by using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) depending on 16S rRNA while the level of serum MMP-9, VE-CAD measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seventy patients who suffering from cardiovascular diseases (angina, myocardial infraction and atherosclerosis) aged between 33-86 years have been investigated and compared to twenty of apparently healthy individuals as control group. Twenty six samples (37.14%) revealed positive results for C.
... Show MoreThe research studies the sculptural formation in the third millennium: styles and trends, by taking the most important results of sculpture in the third millennium. The problem of the research is to search for the new sculptural formation in what it constitutes of social and human importance, and what are the important factors in forming the contemporary sculptural structure, and what is the mechanism of showing and producing the new formation. The research requires the study of the most important thing that the (sculptural formation in the third millennium styles and trends) represents. The importance of research depends on the importance of the sculptural formation after the twentieth century and the importance that the for
... Show MoreThe primary aim of this paper, is to introduce the rough probability from topological view. We used the Gm-topological spaces which result from the digraph on the stochastic approximation spaces to upper and lower distribution functions, the upper and lower mathematical expectations, the upper and lower variances, the upper and lower standard deviation and the upper and lower r th moment. Different levels for those concepts are introduced, also we introduced some results based upon those concepts.