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.
In this paper, a cognitive system based on a nonlinear neural controller and intelligent algorithm that will guide an autonomous mobile robot during continuous path-tracking and navigate over solid obstacles with avoidance was proposed. The goal of the proposed structure is to plan and track the reference path equation for the autonomous mobile robot in the mining environment to avoid the obstacles and reach to the target position by using intelligent optimization algorithms. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) Algorithms are used to finding the solutions of the mobile robot navigation problems in the mine by searching the optimal paths and finding the reference path equation of the optimal
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to identify learning difficulties and their role in children's perception of self-concept. The researcher adopted the descriptive and analytical approach method in this study. A questionnaire was designed by the researcher to collect some related information such as biodata, family, health, diagnostic and behavioral patterns of the case. In addition, the researcher adopted the scale of learning difficulties for elementary school students prepared by Zaidan Ahmed Al-Sartawi (1995), the scale of student appreciation for the survey of learning difficulties for primary school students by Michael Best, which was translated to the Arabic language by (Saeed Abdullah Debis). The researcher adopted also the Self-Concept
... Show MoreThis work deals with the production of light fuel cuts of (gasoline, kerosene and gas oil) by catalytic cracking treatment of secondary product mater (heavy vacuum gas oil) which was produced from the vacuum distillation unit in any petroleum refinery. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the catalyst -to- oil ratio parameter on catalytic cracking process of heavy vacuum gas oil feed at constant temperature (450 °C). The first step of this treatment was, catalytic cracking of this material by constructed batch reactor occupied with auxiliary control devices, at selective range of the catalyst –to- oil ratio parameter ( 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5) respectively. The conversion of heavy vacuum gas
... Show MoreToday, urban Stormwater management is one of the main concerns of municipalities and stakeholders. Drought and water scarcity made rainwater harvesting one of the main steps toward climate change adaptation. Due to the deterioration of the quality of urban runoff and the increase of impermeable urban land use, the treatment of urban runoff is essential. Best Management Practice (BMP) and Low Impact Development (LID) approaches are necessary to combat climate change consequences by improving the quantity and quality of water resources. The application of Bioswales along urban streets and roadways can reduce the stress on water resources, recharge groundwater and prevent groundwater pollution. While Sulaymaniyah City has a
... Show MoreConstructing a fine 3D geomodel for complex giant reservoir is a crucial task for hydrocarbon volume assessment and guiding for optimal development. The case under study is Mishrif reservoir of Halfaya oil field, which is an Iraqi giant carbonate reservoir. Mishrif mainly consists of limestone rocks which belong to Late Cenomanian age. The average gross thickness of formation is about 400m. In this paper, a high-resolution 3D geological model has been built using Petrel software that can be utilized as input for dynamic simulation. The model is constructed based on geological, geophysical, pertophysical and engineering data from about 60 available wells to characterize the structural, stratigraphic, and properties distri
... Show MoreThis study aimed at evaluating the torsional capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) beams externally wrapped with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. An analytical model was described and used as a new computational procedure based on the softened truss model (STM) to predict the torsional behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP. The proposed analytical model was validated with the existing experimental data for rectangular sections strengthened with FRP materials and considering torque-twist relationship and crack pattern at failure. The confined concrete behavior, in the case of FRP wrapping, was considered in the constitutive laws of concrete in the model. Then, an efficient algorithm was developed in MATLAB environment t
... Show MoreThe dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably im
... Show MoreDam operation and management have become more complex recently because of the need for considering hydraulic structure sustainability and environmental protect on. An Earthfill dam that includes a powerhouse system is considered as a significant multipurpose hydraulic structure. Understanding the effects of running hydropower plant turbines on the dam body is one of the major safety concerns for earthfill dams. In this research, dynamic analysis of earthfill dam, integrated with a hydropower plant system containing six vertical Kaplan turbines (i.e., Haditha dam), is investigated. In the first stage of the study, ANSYS-CFX was used to represent one vertical Kaplan turbine unit by designing a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (F
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