Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is an inflammatory, systemic rheumatic condition that mostly affects the axial skeleton. Tenascin-C (TN-C) is a hexameric glycoprotein of considerable size, upregulated in many inflammatory conditions, while Interleukin-17 (IL-17) a cytokine that plays an important role in SpA symptoms. Objective: to investigate the upregulation between the serum levels of TN-C and IL-17 in Iraqi axSpA patients and the disease characteristics. Patients and Methods: Seventy-four axSpA patients and 28 matched controls were studied. Fifty-four patients received a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) and 20 did not. Serum TN-C and IL-17 concentrations were determined using the ELISA technique. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) was assessed. For statistical tests, Chi Square, Mann Whitney, Independent Samples T, and Pearson's correlation tests are used. Results: Patients mean age was 35.6±0.9 years, 65 males and 9 females, and disease duration was 5.18±0.6 years. 47.4% were smokers, 47% had inflammatory low back pain, and HLA-B27 was present in 91%. BASDAI mean was 6.1±0.4 in non-TNFi and 2.6±0.3 in those on TNFi. The serum TN-C concentration was significantly increased in patients, especially those on non-TNFi (79±9.6 pg/mL) compared to those on TNFi (69.1±3.2 pg/mL) and control (53±3.9 pg/mL) (p=0.003). Serum IL-17 was significantly elevated in those receiving TNFi (877.9±257 pg/mL) compared to non-TNFi (487.2±234 pg/mL) and control (182.4±36.6 pg/mL) (p=0.033). The TN-C significantly correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r=0.27, p=0.02) and with hemoglobin (Hb) concentration (r=0.26, p=0.02). TN-C and IL-17 were non-significantly related (r=0.14, p=0.2). Conclusions: axSpA Patients demonstrated high levels of serum TN-C, particularly in those not receiving TNFi, and high IL-17 levels in those receiving TNFi, suggesting that there is an association with tissue injury from the disease and stimulation of immunological and resident tissue cells. Patients who had not received TNFi showed significantly higher disease activity than others.
Colorectal cancer is the world's 3rd most frequent malignant neoplasm and the 4th most common cancer in Iraq. Leptin and Adiponectin are two major Adipocytokines produced by adipose cells that have opposite effects on the formation of colorectal tumors. Leptin induces tumor growth and metastasis, whereas Adiponectin inhibits it. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D controls and limits cancer cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Vitamin C deficiency, on the other hand, has been regularly detected in cancer tissues and has potent anti-cancer properties. The purpose of this study was to look at the biochemical role of circulatory Adipocytokine levels (Adiponectin and Leptin) as well as the anti-cancer potentials of Vi
... Show MoreBackground: Orthodontic tooth movement is characterized by tissue reactions, which consist of an inflammatory response in periodontal ligament and followed by bone remodeling in the periodontium depending on the forces applied. These processes trigger the secretion of various proteins and enzymes into the saliva.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in saliva during orthodontic tooth movement using different magnitude of continuous orthodontic forces. Materials and Methods: Thirty orthodontic patients (12 males and 18 females) aged 17-23 years with class II division I malocclusion all requiring bilateral maxillary first premolar extractions were randomly divided into three groups according to t
... Show MoreIn the literature, several correlations have been proposed for hold-up prediction in rotating disk contactor. However,
these correlations fail to predict hold-up over wide range of conditions. Based on a databank of around 611
measurements collected from the open literature, a correlation for hold up was derived using Artificial Neiral Network
(ANN) modeling. The dispersed phase hold up was found to be a function of six parameters: N, vc , vd , Dr , c d m / m ,
s . Statistical analysis showed that the proposed correlation has an Average Absolute Relative Error (AARE) of 6.52%
and Standard Deviation (SD) 9.21%. A comparison with selected correlations in the literature showed that the
developed ANN correlation noticeably
In the present work, a d.c. magnetron sputtering system was designed and fabricated. The chamber of this system was includes from two copper coaxial cylinders where the inner one used as a cathode (target) while the outer one used as the anode with Solenoid magnetic coil located on the outer cylinder (anode). The axial profile of magnetic field for various coil current (from 2A to 14 A) are shown. The plasma characteristics in the normal glow discharge region are diagnostics by the 2.2mm diameter Langmuir probe with different length along the cathode and located at different radial positions 1cm and 2cm from the cathode surface. The result of this work shows that, the electron energy distributions at different radial positions along the
... Show MoreA case–control study (80 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus [HBV] infection and 96 controls) was performed to evaluate the association of an IL12A gene variant (rs582537 A/C/G) with HBV infection. Allele G showed a signifcantly lower frequency in patients compared to controls (31.2 vs. 46.9%; probability [p]=0.009; corrected p [pc]=0.027) and was associated with a lower risk of HBV infection (odds ratio [OR]=0.49; 95% confdence interval [CI]=0.29–0.83). A similar lower risk was associated with genotypes CG (17.5 vs. 29.2; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.08–0.81; p=0.02) and GG (10.0 vs. 16.7; OR=0.25; 95% CI=0.07–0.91; p=0.036), but the pc value was not signifcant (0.12 and 0.126, respec‑ tively). Serum IL35 levels showed signifcant difere
... Show MoreBackground: Polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene affect the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To investigate the associations between (-806 T/C) and (-857 T/C) SNPs with rheumatoid arthritis severity and susceptibility in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy controls and 63 patients confirmed to be newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included. Those are divided into two groups (patients and controls), and the patients were further subdivided into severe and mild-moderate groups. Samples from those participants were analyzed for clinical and inflammatory parameter measurements. Genotyping by the Sanger method was performed to stu
... Show MoreBackground: Hormonal changes during pregnancy have been suggested to predispose women to gingivitis. Furthermore, advance periodontal infection in pregnant women may pose a threat to the placenta and uterus and may increase the like hood of preterm delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of salivary interleukin -6 (IL-6) level and periodontal health among preterm postpartum women. Materials and Methods: Salivary samples were taken from 33 preterm postpartum women (study group) and 33 full term postpartum women (control group). The supernatant salivary samples were assayed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Plaque, calculus and gingival indices were used for recording the oral hygiene and gingivitis also probing
... Show MoreThe effect of superficial gas velocity within the range 0.01-0.164 m/s on gas holdup (overall, riser and down comer), volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient, liquid circulation velocity was studied in an internal loop concentric tubes airlift reactor (working volume 45 liters). It was shown that as the usg increases the gas holdup and also the liquid circulation velocity increase. Also it was found that increasing superficial gas velocity lead to increase the interfacial area that increases the overall oxygen mass transfer coefficient. The hydrodynamic experimental results were modeled with the available equations in the literature. The predicted data gave an acceptable accuracy with the empirical data.
The final
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