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.
Summary Kidney transplantation is widely performed nowadays as an optimal treatment of end stage kidney diseases. Complications such as stenosis in graft renal arteries anastomosis may occur. Different suturing techniques are available for renal artery anastomosis. We aimed to compare the incidence of renal artery stenosis of the transplanted kidney when two suture techniques (continuous or interrupted) used for renal artery anastomosis. Therefore, a retrospectively comparative study was conducted on 44 patients managed with kidney transplantation during the years 2009-2011. Patients assigned into two groups; first group included 20 patients namely, continuous suture group, and the second group included 24 patients in whom the allograft art
... Show MoreThe objective of this work was to analyze the involvement of AhR in bone metabolism using a rat model of experimental osteoporosis and to analyze the mechanisms behind its activity. Rats were assigned randomly to the subsequent groups; Control, received no treatment; ovariectomized (OVX) rats; Sham; Sham+RES received resveratrol; OVX+RES and OVX+CH received AhR’s antagonist, CH223191 (CH); and finally OVX+CHR group received both AhR antagonist along with resveratrol. Resveratrol and AhR antagonist treatment started 7 days after surgery and continued to 45 days. The serum of osteocalcin (OC) and Ca+2 was measured by ELISA and spectrophotometer, respectively. X-ray was used to estimate bone density of rats. In molecular levels,
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify the level of application of blue ocean leadership activities in public organizations and to build a conceptual and cognitive framework around this concept. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach, and the research sample consisted of (95) individuals from the senior management working at the center of the Iraqi Ministry of Communications (director general, department manager, section head). The data analysis technique used is structural equation modeling (SEM) and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicate that the senior management in the Ministry of Communications is working to adopt the blue ocean leadership style through its activities, but not to the leve
... Show MoreCentral banks around the world typically use various financial indicators to evaluate performance. In Iraq, the indicators used by central banks to evaluate the performance of banks are of great importance to ensure that the banks operating within the Iraqi banking system comply with the regulatory and legal requirements issued by the Central Bank of Iraq or the Ministry of Finance. Given the need to study the profitability indicator to ensure its ability to evaluate the performance of specialized banks in Iraq, these banks carry out their banking activities and businesses through capital funded by the government. The use of profitability indicators in evaluating the performance of specialized banks provides information about the profitabil
... Show MoreTechnology developed at very rapid paces in the last decade of the twentieth century and what followed, especially communication technology, as the World Wide Web appeared in the mid-nineties of the last century, Facebook in 2004 and 2006, the mobile phone, 1993, 1994, and social networking sites. The other. These technological developments have had an impact on societies, whether among individuals in one country or among different peoples. The citizen in any part of the world has become a journalist who practices the work of a specialized or professional journalist, even if he does not know how to read and write, or has a low level of education, as he can now transmit events from wherever he is to the world, through his personal page, or v
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal disease (PD) is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by destruction of supporting structures of the teeth. Intelligence quotient (IQ) was potentially reported to significantly associated with prevalence of gingivitis. Mild gingivitis was obtained in high IQ levels while moderate gingivitis may be attributed to poor oral hygiene seen among the subjects having low IQ levels. Method: One hundred volunteers aged between 20-45 years old were enrolled in this study, patients were equally divided into right- and left-handed (50 patients each)and each group then subdivided into patients with healthy gingiva(10), patients with gingivitis (20), and patients suffering from periodontitis (20).An IQ questionnaire was p
... Show MoreA new, Simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of sulfanilamide (SNA) drug in pure and in synthetic sample. This method based on the reaction of sulfanilamide (SNA) with 1,2-napthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (NQS) to form N-alkylamono naphthoquinone by replacement of the sulphonate group of the naphthoquinone sulphonic acid by an amino group. The colored chromogen shows absorption maximum at 455 nm. The optimum conditions of condensation reaction forms were investigated by: (1) univariable method, by optimizing the effect of experimental variables; (different bases, reagent concentration, borax concentration and reaction time), (2) central composite design (CCD) including
... Show MoreThe antidiabetic thiozolidinediones (TZDs) a class of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPAR) ligands has recently been the focus of much interest for their possible role in regulation of inflammatory response. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of pioglitazone in experimental models of inflammation in rats. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti inflammatory effect of TZDs (pioglitazone 3mg/Kg) on acute, sub acute and chronic model of inflammation by using egg-albumin and formalin–induced paw edema in 72 rats, relative to reference drugs Dexamethasone 5mg/Kg and Piroxicam 5mg/Kg. In each inflammation model, 24 rats wer
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