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.
An optoelectronic flow-through detector for active ingredients determination in pharmaceutical formulations is explained. Two consecutive compact photodetector’s devices operating according to light-emitting diodes-solar cells concept where the LEDs acting as a light source and solar cells for measuring the attenuated light of the incident light at 180˚ have been developed. The turbidimetric detector, fabricated of ten light-emitting diodes and five solar cells only, integrated with a glass flow cell has been easily adapted in flow injection analysis manifold system. For active ingredients determination, the developed detector was successfully utilized for the development and validation of an analytical method for warfarin determination
... Show MoreShatt Al-Arab River in Al Basrah, Iraq, has recently recorded massive levels of TDS values (Total Dissolved Solids) in the water as a result of reduced fresh water discharge from sources, causing the river to become salinized due to salt wedge intrusion. Therefore, a block dam in the south reach is required to salt intrusion prevention. The main objective of this research is to simulate the hydraulic impact of a suggested barrage in Ras Al Besha on the Shatt Al-Arab River. The HEC-RAS (5.0.7) model was used to develop a one-dimensional unsteady model to gaining an understanding of the proposed barrage's influence on river behaviour. The daily discharges of the Tigris River provided as the upstream boundary conditions, wh
... Show MoreIn the present study, 1-ethyl -3-methyllimidazolium acetate ionic liquid is introduced for extractive desulfurization of Iraqi kerosene (1622ppm) and compared with 1-ethyl -3- methyllimidazolium tetrafloroborate. The effect of ionic liquid/ fuel ratio (1/9, 1/4, 1/2), temperature (25, 30,40oC), stirring speed (300,450rpm) and time (10, 30, 90, 180, 360 min) were studied. Sulfur compound analysis was performed using X-Ray fluorescence. The ionic liquid with acetate anion (OAc) showed better performance than tetrafloborate (BF4). The maximum extraction efficiency was 32% achieved at 1/2 IL/Fuel and 40oC after 90min. The oxidation step using hydrogen peroxide (8ml/200ml), catalyzed by acetic acid (2ml) and followed by ionic liquid extraction h
... Show MoreBackground: Maxillary canines are important aesthetically and functionally, but impacted canines are more difficult and time consuming to treat, the aim of this study is to investigate with multi-detector computed tomography the correlation between the bone density and the upper canine impaction. Material and method: A sample of Unilaterally impacted maxillary canines from 24 patients (19 female, 5 male) who were referred to accurately localize the impacted canines at al- Karkh general hospital were evaluated by a volumetric 3-d images by the multi-detector computed tomography to accurately measure the bone density of the maxillary cortical palate of the maxillary impacted canine side and compare it with the other side of the normally erupt
... Show MorePhlebotomus papatasi sand fly is the main vector of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iraq. The aim of this study was to assess and predict the effects of climate change on the distribution of the cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases and the main vector presently and in the future. Data of the CL cases were collected for the period (2000-2018) in addition to sand fly (SF) abundance. Geographic information system, R studio and MaxEnt (Maximum entropy niche model) software were used for analysis and predict effect of (elevation, population, Bio1-19, and Bio28-35) on CL cases distribution and SF occurrence. HadGEM2-ES model with two climate change scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 were used for future projections 2050. The results showed th
... Show MoreSoil that has been contaminated by heavy metals is a serious environmental problem. A different approach for forecasting a variety of soil physical parameters is reflected spectroscopy is a low-cost, quick, and repeatable analytical method. The objectives of this paper are to predict heavy metal (Ti, Cr, Sr, Fe, Zn, Cu and Pb) soil contamination in central and southern Iraq using spectroscopy data. An XRF was used to quantify the levels of heavy metals in a total of 53 soil samples from Baghdad and ThiQar, and a spectrogram was used to examine how well spectral data might predict the presence of heavy metals metals. The partial least squares regression PLSR models performed well in pr
Plant regeneration and cormel production was carried out from callus cultures initiated from White Prosperity and Priscilla Gladiolus Varities. It is aimed to produce plants and cormels in vitro all year round. The study included many experiments, these were the effect of Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and Kinetin (Kin) interaction on callus initiation, effect of Benzyl adenine (BA) on shoot regeneration from callus culture, effect of NAA on rooting after 30, 40 and 50 days in culture. The role of the type of agricultural medium (Peat moss or river sand and their mixture on plantlets survival after weaning was studied. Results showed that the interaction between NAA and Kin induced callus on axillary bud explants. Callus was best ini
... Show MoreThis paper describes the geotechnical properties of Al-Ammarah soil of Ammarah city in Messan Governorate-southern parts of Iraq. Data and other information taken from numbers of geotechnical reports that performed under the supervision of Consulting Engineering Bureau of Baghdad University. This research is devoted to study the correlation between different physical properties such as (LL, PI, LI, n,t, e) with different mechanical properties such as (qu, cc, cs, SPT). The correlation is verified using simple regression analysis. From the regression results it was found that there is direct correlation between different parameters. By using the correlation-with some information- preliminary investigation stages and studies of any s
... Show MoreObjective: The present work was undertaken to investigate the impact of sub inhibitory concentration of gentamicin on hla gene expression in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Methods: The bacterial isolates used in this study represent 33 MRSA strains, previously isolated form patients visiting several hospitals in Baghdad. Gentamicin, vancomycin, and oxacillin MIC were determined using broth dilution method. Microtiter plate method was adopted to investigate the biofilm forming capacity. Alpha hemolysin was detected by culturing MRSA isolates on rabbit blood agar. Furthermore, hla gene was detected in MRSA isolates using conventional PCR technique; while, qRT-PCR method was performed to assay the hla expression in plank
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