Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that triggers immune cells to produce cytokines and inflammatory mediators that are responsible for abnormal or aborted immune responses. This study highlights the evaluation of the Dectin-1 receptor and cytokine IL-37 in the serum of 80 patients who had miscarried in the first trimester and were infected with toxoplasmosis, as well as 40 pregnant women in the first trimester who had a successful pregnancy (control groups). The serum was first screened for the T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and then the serum levels of IL-37 and Dectin-1 were determined. The results showed that the serum level of Dectin-1 was significantly increased in anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG patients 362.382 ± 45.937 and 361.916 ± 71.993 ng/L respectively, as compared with the controls 155.702 ± 26.356 ng/L, while the serum level of IL-37 was convergent in anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG patients and controls 52.666 ± 4.272, 66.808 ± 9.132, and 51.984 ± 3.619 ng/L respectively, with no significant differences. In conclusion, Dectin-1 receptor may play a role in pregnancy loss, especially in T. gondii infection.
The increasing drinking water demand in many countries leads to an increase in the use of desalination plants, which are considered a great solution for water treatment processes. Reverse osmosis (RO) and electro-dialysis (ED) systems are the most popular membrane processes used to desalinate water at high salinity. Both systems work by separating the ionic contaminates and disposing of them as a brine solution, but ED uses electrical current as a driving force while RO uses osmotic pressure. A direct comparison of reverse osmosis and electro-dialysis systems is needed to highlight process development similarities and variances. This work aims to provide an overview of previous studies on reverse osmosis and electro-dial
... Show MoreObjective This study aimed to compare the biomechanics of three-point shooting between elite Iraqi basketball players and international players, in order to identify key biomechanical differences that may impact shooting performance. Methods A total of 80 male basketball players participated in the study (40 elite Iraqi players and 40 international elite players). Kinematic data were collected using advanced motion analysis systems, force plates, and high-speed video analysis. The measured variables included joint angles, angular velocity, release speed, ball release angle, and ground reaction forces during three-point shooting. Each player performed 20 consecutive shots under controlled conditions. Group comparisons were conducted using st
... Show MoreFree radicals are reactive compounds, their excessive production is considered to be an important cause of oxidative damage in biomolecules causing degenerative diseases. Polyphenols are one of the most important groups of secondary metabolites of plants, which have an antioxidant activity depending on their properties as hydrogen donors. Echinops polyceras Boiss. (Asteraceae) is one of Echinops genus species that spread in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Phytochemicals found in this species leaves have been extracted with gradient polarity solvents, and primary screening of the secondary metabolites was established. The phenolic compounds and flavonoids contents were determined. The free radicals scavenging act
... Show MoreBackground: The diagnosis of prostatic pathology may be of challenging , as some difficult and suspected, atypical cases may lack basal cell layer by routine H&E sections . Antibodies against 34BE12(HMW-CK) and p63 aid the diagnosis of such cases , to distinguish benign from malignant prostatic lesions.
Objective: to identify basal cells in atypical prostatic lesions ,and distinguish benign from malignant prostatic lesions.
Type of the study: A retro-spective study.
Methods: 115cases of paraffin embedded prostatic tissue blocks ,diagnosed as : 76 cases were benign prostatic hy
... Show MoreTiO2 thin films have been deposited at different concentration of
CdO of (x= 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) Wt. % onto glass substrates
by pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD) using Nd-YAG laser
with λ=1064nm, energy=800mJ and number of shots=500. The
thickness of the film was 200nm. The films were annealed to
different annealing (423 and 523) k. The effect of annealing
temperatures and concentration of CdO on the structural and
photoluminescence (PL) properties were investigated. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) results reveals that the deposited TiO2(1-x)CdOx
thin films were polycrystalline with tetragonal structure and many
peaks were appeared at (110), (101), (111) and (211) planes with
preferred orientatio
The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmittable with its proliferation among nations. This study aims to design and exploring the efficacy of novel nirmatrelvir derivatives as SARS entry inhibitors by adapting a molecular modeling approach combined with theoretical design. The study focuses on the preparation of these derivatives and understanding their effectiveness, with a special focus on their binding affinity to the S protein, which is pivotal for the virus’s access to the host cell. Considering molecular docking aspects in the scope of a study on nirmatrelvir derivatives and S protein, dynamics simulations with 25 nanoseconds of their binding are explored. The study shows that these derivatives might work as effective antivi
... Show MoreBackground: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are one of the most common complaints following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Objective: This study was designed to compare the effects of dexamethasone, metoclopramide, and their combination on preventing PONV in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Methods: A total of 135 patients enrolled in the study. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I and II patients were included in this randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to group A administered 8mg iv dexamethasone, group B received metoclopramide 10 mg, group C received combination of 8mg de
... Show MoreDensity data of alum chrom in water and in aqueous solution of poly (ethylene glycol) (1500) at different temperatures (288.15, 293.15, 298.15) k have been used to estimate the apparent molar volume (Vθ), limiting apparent molar volume (Vθ˚) experimental slope (Sv) and the second derivative of limiting partial molar volume [δ2 θ v° /δ T2] p .The viscosity data have been analyzed by means of Jones –Dole equation to obtain coefficient A, and Jones –Dole coefficient B, Free activation energy of activation per mole of solvent, Δμ10* solute, Δμ20* the activation enthalpy ΔH*,and entropy, ΔS*of activation of viscous flow. These results have been discussed in terms of solute –solvent interaction and making/breaking ability of so
... Show MoreIn this paper, variable gain nonlinear PD and PI fuzzy logic controllers are designed and the effect of the variable gain characteristic of these controllers is analyzed to show its contribution in enhancing the performance of the closed loop system over a conventional linear PID controller. Simulation results and time domain performance characteristics show how these fuzzy controllers outperform the conventional PID controller when used to control a nonlinear plant and a plant that has time delay.