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.
AIM: To determine the value of the combination of thin-section 3 mm coronal and standard axial DWI and their impact in facilitating the diagnosis of acute brainstem infarction. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted from the 1st of April 2017 to the end of February 2018 on 100 consecutive patients (66% were male, and 34% were female) with isolated acute ischemic infarction in the brainstem. The abnormal MRI findings concerning the ischemic lesions were interpreted on standard axial 5 mm and thin-section coronal 3mm DWI. RESULTS: The mean age of the studied group was 69.2 ± 4.3 for male and 72.3 ± 2.5 years. The standard axial DWI can diagnose 20%, 6.7% and 6.7% of the infarctions in midbrain, pons an
... Show MoreIn this study, the behavior of screw piles models with continuous helix was studied by conducting laboratory experimental tests on a single screw pile that has several aspect ratios (L/D) under the influence of static axial compression loads. The screw piles were inserted in a soft soil that has a unit weight of 18.72 kN/m3 and moisture content of 30.19%. Also, the soil has a liquid limit of 55% and a plasticity index of 32%. A physical laboratory model was designed to investigate the ultimate compression capacity of the screw pile and measure the generated porewater pressure during the loading process. The bedding soil was prepared according to the field unit weight and moisture content and the failure load was assumed correspondin
... Show MoreColorectal 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 MoreThis research aims to choose the appropriate probability distribution to the reliability analysis for an item through collected data for operating and stoppage time of the case study.
Appropriate choice for .probability distribution is when the data look to be on or close the form fitting line for probability plot and test the data for goodness of fit .
Minitab’s 17 software was used for this purpose after arranging collected data and setting it in the the program.
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... Show MorePermanent deformation, fatigue and thermal cracking are the three typical distresses of flexible pavement. Using hydrated lime (HL) into the conventional limestone mineral additive has been widely practiced, including in Europe, to improve the mechanical properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) concrete and as the result the durability of the constructed pavement. Large number of experimental studies have been reported to find the optimum addition of HL for the improvement on HMA concrete mechanical properties, moisture susceptibility and fatigue resistance. Pavement in service is under complex thermomechanical stress-strain conditions due to coupled atmospheric and surrounding environment temperature variation and the traffic loading. To predic
... 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
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