Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is an autoimmune, and inflammatory disease that is closely related to the destruction of cartilage and bone. DC-SIGN are important types of C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), expressed on dendritic cells and macrophages, and have a central role in regulating innate and adaptive immunity, function as pattern recognition receptors, and as cell adhesion molecules. Recent evidence has demonstrated that DC-SIGN is involved in the pathophysiological of chronic inflammation, so DC-SIGN has been linked to several autoimmune and may play an essential indicator in the pathogenesis and progression of RA. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the serum level of DC-SIGN in RA patients, as well as the level of DC-SIGN based on demographic characteristics. Fifty Iraqi RA patients were enrolled in the study, and a control sample of 38 healthy individuals (ascertain by laboratory and clinical tests) were included and matched by gender, age, and ethnicity with the patients. The DC-SIGN concentration was calculated in the patients’ serum and compared to control using the ELISA assay and the results revealed significantly increased serum level of DC-SIGN (12.047 ± 1.114 vs. 6.863 ± 0.806 ng/ml) was recorded in RA patients compared to controls. When correlating results, it was shown that the concentration of DC-SIGN in the serum did not record a significant difference between gender and age, as well as the blood groups. To determine the impact of the therapeutic status in RA patients on the DC-SIGN level, it was found that the concentration of DC-SIGN level was higher in untreated patients compared to treated patients. Regarding viral infection, when an investigation was conducted in RA patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, the serum level of DC-SIGN in RA patients with COVID-19 showed no change in concentrations compared to uninfected RA patients.
Background: Masseter muscle is a jaw closing muscle of the mandible involved in Para functional habits; which include lip and cheek chewing, fingernail biting, and teeth clenching or bruxism which can be classified as awake or sleep bruxism. Patients with sleep bruxism are three to four times more likely to experience jaw pain and limitation of movement than people who do not experience sleep bruxism. The aim of this study is to measure the thickness of the masseter muscle in bruxist subjects and compare it with non-bruxist subjects by using sonography. Materials and Method: Forty Iraqi subjects with age ranged (20-40) divided into two groups according to the presence of bruxism. Clinical examination was made and masseter muscle thickness
... Show MoreBackground: Deep vein thrombosis is a multi causal disease and its one of most common venous disorder, but only one quarter of the patients who have signs and symptoms of a clot in the vein actually have thrombosis and need treatment .The disease can be difficult to diagnose. Venous ultrasound in combination with clinical finding is accurate for venous thromboembolism, its costly because a large number of patients with suspicious signs and symptoms. Venography still the gold standard for venous thromboembolism but it is invasive. The D-dimer increasingly is being seen as valuable tool rolling out venous thromboembolism and sparing low risk patients for further workup.Objectives: this study has designed the role of D-dimer to confirm diag
... Show MoreABSTRACT: Pathogenic bacteria responsible for the causation of many common diseases have been identified on currency notes. The present investigation was carried out on one hundred currency notes of all the denominations (50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000RY), obtained from different occupational mainly bus drivers, hawker street, vegetable vendor, restaurants and butchers and fish seller groups in Taiz city,Yemen. Identification and characterization revealed active participation of the following species of organisms in the ascending order of percentage as E. coli(50.28 %),Staphylococci aureus(14.04 %), Klebsiellaspp(4.39 %),proteus(4.39 %), salmonella(1.25 %), shigella(0.72 %), Coagulase negative staphylococcus(0.60 %), pseudomonas(0.50 %),
... Show MoreBackground: Cytology is one of the important diagnostic tests done on effusion fluid. It can detect malignant cells in up to 60% of malignant cases. The most important benign cell present in these effusions is the mesothelial cell. Mesothelial atypia can be striking andmay simulate metastatic carcinoma. Many clinical conditions may produce such a reactive atypical cells as in anemia,SLE, liver cirrhosis and many other conditions. Recently many studies showed the value of computerized image analysis in differentiating atypical cells from malignant adenocarcinoma cells in effusion smears. Other studies support the reliability of the quantitative analysisand morphometric features and proved that they are objective prognostic indices. Method
... Show MoreThe surgical treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH) is challenging. Submucosal diathermy (SMD) is a well-known surgical procedure used for the treatment of ITH, microdebrider-assisted rhinoplasty (MAT) is relatively a newer technique used in the management of ITH. To evaluate the effect of MAT on inferior turbinate size and nasal airway patency in patients with bilateral ITH in comparison to SMD. Seventy-one patients presented with nasal obstruction due to bilateral ITH were allocated into two groups, group a (35 patients) were subjected to SMD and 36 patients in group B were subjected to MAT. All the patients had been sent to CT scan pre-operatively and at the third postoperative month to measure the cross-sectional areas
... Show MoreThe Central Marshes are one of southern Iraq's most important wetlands and ecosystems. A study on evaluating soil quality and water quality in terms of chemical properties at certain sites in the southern Iraqi Central Marshes has been conducted to investigate their types and suitability for enhancing the agricultural reality of most field crops. Soil and water samples were collected from 15 sites and transferred to the laboratory. In the lab, the following parameters were determined: electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salts (TDS), organic materials (OM), pH, gypsum, and total sulfate content (SO3). The tests conducted on the samples indicated that it could be said that the soil of the Central Marshes
... Show MoreFusarium pseudograminearum and Fusarium graminearum commonly cause crown rot (FCR) and head blight (FHB) in wheat, respectively. Disease infection and spread can be reduced by the deployment of resistant cultivars or through management practices that limit inoculum load. Plants deficient in micronutrients, including zinc, tend to be more susceptible to many diseases. On the other hands, and zinc deficiency in cereals is widespread in Australian soils. Zinc deficiency may have particular relevance to crown rot, the most important and damaging Fusarium disease of wheat and barley in Australia. Four wheat genotypes; Batavia, Sunco and two lines from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) were tested for response
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