All major organs may be impacted by the connective disease systemic lupus erythematosus, a separate risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) can detect endothelial damage and dysfunction, which appear to play a crucial role. This study investigated whether people with SLE had elevated subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis risk factors. Traditional CAD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia cannot entirely explain this elevation. It is thought that immunological dysfunction also increases CAD risk in SLE patients. The study aimed to assess early endothelial changes in SLE Iraqi female patients without previous coronary artery lesions by exploring a potential relationship between circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 as risk factors for atherosclerosis and the relationship of CAD with SLE disease and its severity; further, the study explained the effect of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on the lipid profile levels of the patients. 92 female SLE patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe, according to the SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2k), compared with 30 apparently healthy control individuals. All of them need a history of CAD. Serum VCAM-1, ICAM-1 level, VCAM-1/ICAM1 ratio, TC, HDL, LDL levels TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were measured. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 levels and VCAM-1/ICAM-1 ratio were significantly and gradually increased in patient groups compared with control. Serum TC, HDL and LDL levels were significantly reduced in the SLE patients compared to the control. At the same time, the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were significantly elevated with the severity of the SLE disease. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 level and VCAM1/ICAM-1 ratio together with serum TC/HDL and LDL/HDL may improve coronary artery disease risk categorization in SLE patients without acute coronary syndromes. Furthermore, they were more sensitive in severe SLE instances than in moderate and mild ones, suggesting that they may be related to the extent of coronary lesions in SLE patients. VCAM-1 had a higher sensitivity than ICAM-1 in detecting and severity screening for CAD in SLE patients. Keywords: VCAM-1, ICAM-1, SLE, Atherosclerosis
This study compared and classified of land use and land cover changes by using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) on two cities (Al-Saydiya city and Al-Hurriya) in Baghdad province, capital of Iraq. In this study, Landsat satellite image for 2020 were used for (Land Use/Land Cover) classification. The change in the size of the surface area of each class in the Al-Saydiya city and Al-Hurriya cities was also calculated to estimate their effect on environment. The major change identified, in the study, was in agricultural area in Al-Saydiya city compare with Al-Hurriya city in Baghdad province. The results of the research showed that the percentage of the green
Background. The presence of black triangles around the dental implant-supported prosthesis and the failure to construct adequate papillae around them bothers dental implantologists. Peri-implant surgical soft tissue management will improve esthetics, function, and implant survival. Aim. To compare the effects of rolled and nonrolled U-shaped flaps combined with a temporary crown in enhancing the soft tissue around dental implants. Materials and Methods. Forty patients were included in this study; all patients were operated on by the same maxillofacial surgeon at Al-Iraq specialized dental clinics from January 2019 to January 2020. Patients were divided randomly into two groups: group A: at the second stage of implant surgery, a U-sh
... Show MoreBackground: coronavirus 19 is a beta-coronavirus, enveloped and roughly spherical with approximately 60 to 140 nm in diameter with positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome.
Objectives: Measurement of interleukin 6 (IL6) level in a group of patients with confirmed Covid19 infection and its correlation with many hematological and biochemical parameters , mainly lymphocyte , neutrophil count and their ratio , platelet count , serum ferritin , C reactive protein as well as D-dimer level
Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted on 60 PCR positive patients variably affected by COVID-19 , cases collected sequentially from June till November 20
... Show MoreThe present study was performed to spotlight the potential role of soil bacteria in the Al-Rumaila oil field as a bioindicator of heavy metals pollution. For this purpose, nine soil samples were collected from different sites, with 20cm depth, to assess the pollution status depending on the total and available concentrations of heavy metals. The result indicates pollution of the studied soils with the following metals: Cd, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Pb. The mean of total concentration for all studied metals was higher than the allowed maximum limit based on the international limit:(3.394, 3.994, 39.993, 8844.979,150.372, and 103.347 µg/g), respectively. While measuring the total Metal concentration is important in determining the de
... Show More This research aims to estimate stock returns, according to the Rough Set Theory approach, test its effectiveness and accuracy in predicting stock returns and their potential in the field of financial markets, and rationalize investor decisions. The research sample is totaling (10) companies traded at Iraq Stock Exchange. The results showed a remarkable Rough Set Theory application in data reduction, contributing to the rationalization of investment decisions. The most prominent conclusions are the capability of rough set theory in dealing with financial data and applying it for forecasting stock returns.The research provides those interested in investing stocks in financial
... Show MoreThis work presents a design for a pressure swing adsorption process (PSA) to separate oxygen from air with approximately 95% purity, suitable for different numbers of columns and arrangements. The product refill PSA process was found to perform 33% better (weight of zeolite required or productivity) than the pressure equalization process. The design is based on the adsorption equilibrium of a binary mixture of O2 and N2 for two of the most commonly used adsorbents, 5A & 13X, and extension from a single column approach. Zeolite 13X was found to perform 6% better than zeolite 5A. The most effective variables were determined to be the adsorption step time and the operational pressure. Increasing the adsorption step
... Show MoreRutting has a significant impact on the pavements' performance. Rutting depth is often used as a parameter to assess the quality of pavements. The Asphalt Institute (AI) design method prescribes a maximum allowable rutting depth of 13mm, whereas the AASHTO design method stipulates a critical serviceability index of 2.5 which is equivalent to an average rutting depth of 15mm. In this research, static and repeated compression tests were performed to evaluate the permanent strain based on (1) the relationship between mix properties (asphalt content and type), and (2) testing temperature. The results indicated that the accumulated plastic strain was higher during the repeated load test than that during the static load tests. Notably, temperatur
... Show MoreEducation around the world has been negatively affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many institutions had to transition to distance learning in compliance with the enforced safety measures. Distance learning might work well for settings with stable internet connections, professional technical teams, and basic implementation of technology in education. In contrast, distance learning faces serious challenges in less fortunate settings with inferior infrastructure. This report aims to shed light on the immediate action steps taken at a leading pharmacy school in Iraq to accommodate for the enforced changes in pharmacy education. The University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy went from less than minimal technology impl
... Show MoreThere is currently a significantly larger concentration of toxins in our environment than there was in the past. This is mostly attributable to the expansion of modern industry. This investigation was conducted in order to investigate various haematological and biochemical changes in order to determine the effects of Cd on the liver and kidney. Because of its long biological half-life, it is considered hazardous to human health. The effect of sub-lethal doses (40, 80 and 120 mg\Kg) of Cadmium (Cd) on male mice were evaluated for 4 weeks, and analysis was done to estimate their biochemical parameters and antioxidant enzymes. The results showed that Cd-treated mice had considerably lower packed cell volume, red blood cells, and haemoglobin. W
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