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.
Interested in this research shed light on the reality of foreign trade to Iraq Who suffers from a marked deterioration due to poor economic diversification of the country And increase the degree of economic exposure , Which creates a state of extreme caution towards the question of accession to the (WTO) , As controls Iraq's foreign trade commodity , a president of one oil As well as the contribution of this item , and by a large formation in GDP , And that such a large and dangerous decline in the degree of economic diversification will create negative effects On overall economic activity components&
... Show MoreThe process of evaluating business processes, complex, repetition of procurement processes, need for raw materials and frequency of demand, which makes dealing with suppliers in the evaluation process, making the need for a process intervention in the process. Lighter on the other hand.
Many Iraqi companies suffer from problems related to suppliers, and cases of administrative and financial corruption are often raised regarding this type of contract and from this reality the necessity of researching this problem and trying to develop some solutions to reduce its impact on the companies' work, by using a method that works according to the standards adopted in Evaluation and selection of the supplier in the
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to identify the relationship between health anxiety associated with Coronavirus (Covid 19) and its relationship to health behavior among Baghdad University employees, as well as to identify the differences in health anxiety and health behavior according to the variables (gender, occupation, and age). To achieve the objectives of the research, a scale was designed to measure the health anxiety in addition to the adoption of the health behavior scale prepared by (Renner & Schwarzer, 2005). The two scales were applied to a sample of (277) academics and (206) employees, while the number of students was (667). The sample was chosen by electronic application from a number of colleges at Al-Jadiriyah Complex. Afte
... Show MoreThis study focused on treatment of real wastewater rejected from leather industry in Al-Nahrawan city in Iraq by Electrocoagulation (EC) process followed by Reverse Osmosis (RO) process. The successive treatment was applied due to high concentration of Cr3+ ions (about 1600 ppm) rejected in wastewater of this industry and for applying EC with moderate power consumption and better results of produced water. In Electrocoagulation process (EC), the effect of NaCl concentration (1.5, 3 g/l), current density (C.D.) (15-25 mA/cm2), electrolysis time (1-2 h), and distance between electrodes (E.D.) (1-2 cm) were examined in a batch cell by implementing Taguchi experimental design. According to the results obtained from multiple regression and signa
... Show MoreA significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreBackground: A great dental and biomedical interest had been paid to silver nanoparticles because of their antimicrobial activity. Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of a newly developed Nano-silver fluoride that was synthesized from moringa oleifera leaf extract against S. mutants. Material and method: The green synthesis method was used to prepare Nano-silver fluoride from moringa oleifera leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were evaluated using brain heart infusion plates, while the cytotoxicity was evaluated by the hemolytic activity. Results: Nano-silver fluoride had a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect (MIC was 60 ppm and MBC was 120 pp
... Show MorePurpose: To assess the antioxidant and antineoplastic effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. on oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: Human squamous cell carcinoma HSCC cells were tested for cytotoxicity by a methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (MEHSP). After 24, 48, and 72 ...