Chitinase-3-like 1 protein (YKL-40) is a glycoprotein primarily produced in the arthritic joint and plays a crucial role in inflammatory processes. The aim of the study is to establish the role of YKL-40 as a biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to proinflammatory biomarkers and disease activity. The study included 58 patients and 18 control. Diseases activity score (DAS-28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were measured. Serum level of YKL-40, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1B (IL-1β), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) were assessed. The results showed that the median serum YKL-40 level which was 5.42 

Recent growth in transport and wireless communication technologies has aided the evolution of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The ITS is based on different types of transportation modes like road, rail, ocean and aviation. Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is a technology that considers moving vehicles as nodes in a network to create a wireless communication network. VANET has emerged as a resourceful approach to enhance the road safety. Road safety has become a critical issue in recent years. Emergency incidents such as accidents, heavy traffic and road damages are the main causes of the inefficiency of the traffic flow. These occurrences do not only create the congestion on the road but also increase the fuel consumption and p

The performance of a solar assisted desiccant cooling system for a meeting-hall located in the College of Engineering/University of Baghdad was evaluated theoretically. The system was composed of four components; a solar air heater, a desiccant dehumidifier, a heat exchanger and an evaporative cooler. A computer simulation was developed by using MATLAB to assess the effect of various design and operating conditions on the performance of the system and its components. The actual weather data on recommended days were used to assess the load variation and the system performance during those days. The radiant time series method (RTS) was used to evaluate the hourly variation of the cooling load. Four operation modes were employed for perform

The introduction of concrete damage plasticity material models has significantly improved the accuracy with which the concrete structural elements can be predicted in terms of their structural response. Research into this method's accuracy in analyzing complex concrete forms has been limited. A damage model combined with a plasticity model, based on continuum damage mechanics, is recommended for effectively predicting and simulating concrete behaviour. The damage parameters, such as compressive and tensile damages, can be defined to simulate concrete behavior in a damaged-plasticity model accurately. This research aims to propose an analytical model for assessing concrete compressive damage based on stiffness deterioration. The prop

In this paper, the theoretical cross section in pre-equilibrium nuclear reaction has been studied for the reaction  at energy 22.4 MeV. Ericson’s formula of partial level density PLD and their corrections (William’s correction and spin correction) have been substituted  in the theoretical cross section and compared with the experimental data for  nucleus. It has been found that the theoretical cross section with one-component PLD from Ericson’s formula when  doesn’t agree with the experimental value and when . There is little agreement only at the high value of energy range with  the experimental cross section. The theoretical cross section that depends on the one-component William's formula and on-component corrected to spi

The research aims to shed light on the concept of Visibal management and its reflection on the organizational culture of the organization. The visual administration is a modern administrative method that contributes to the renewal and development of the organization's reality through surveying the opinions of a sample of 61 employees in the R & D / Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. (130) individuals. The questionnaire was used as a main tool for collecting data and information, and their answers were analyzed using the SPSS program in data entry and analysis. The most important tools are computational circles, standard deviations, method of analysis and regression equation. There is a possibility to apply

In this study, multi-objective optimization of nanofluid aluminum oxide in a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (40:60) is studied. In order to reduce viscosity and increase thermal conductivity of nanofluids, NSGA-II algorithm is used to alter the temperature and volume fraction of nanoparticles. Neural network modeling of experimental data is used to obtain the values of viscosity and thermal conductivity on temperature and volume fraction of nanoparticles. In order to evaluate the optimization objective functions, neural network optimization is connected to NSGA-II algorithm and at any time assessment of the fitness function, the neural network model is called. Finally, Pareto Front and the corresponding optimum points are provided and

The present project involves photodegrading the dye solochrom violet under advanced oxidation techniques at (25 oC) temperature and UV light. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and UV radiation at a wavelength of 580 nm were used to conduct the photocatalytic reaction of the solochrom violet dye. One of the factors looked into was the impact of the starting conditions. pH, the amount of original hydrogen peroxide, and the dye concentration time radiation were used. For hours, the kinetics and percentages of degradation were examined at various intervals. In general, it has been discovered that the photodegradation rates of the dye were greater when H2O2 and ZnO were combined with UV light. The best wavelength to use was determined. Modern oxidation techni

Antibiotic resistance is the capability of the strains to resist or protect themselves from the effects of an antibiotic. Such a resistance towards the current antimicrobials leads to the search of novel antimicrobials. Nanotechnology has been promising in different field of science and among it is the use of nanoparticles as antibacterial agents. The gastrointestinal tract seems to be the primary reservoir of uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) in humans. UPEC strains harbour the urinary tract and cause urinary tract infection. They cause serious ailments in terms of humans. They develop resistance and increase their virulence by forming biofilms. They also show a remarkable locomotory movement with the aid of autoinducer controlled ge

The effects of Internet use on university’s students:The effects of Internet use on university’s students:“A Study on a Sample of Jordanian University’s students "This survey aims to identify the most important effects of Internet use on Jordanian public and private universities’ students by monitoring and analyzing a set of indicators that show the quality of the effects on specific fields such as  cultural, social, psychological, moral and political effects .To achieve these goals, the study attempts to answer the following questions:1.   What are the effects of Internet’s use on students?2. What is   the relationship between the effects and demographic variables such as  gender, age, family size an