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.
Guanine has a variety of roles in chemistry, from its basic function in the storing and transferring genetic information to its usages in synthetic chemistry and other fields. Because of its distinct structure and biological importance, it is a fundamental component of contemporary study in organic chemistry and molecular biology. In this review, we focused on covering the synthetic pathways of various derivatives of guanine from the year 2000 until the present. As a result of the guanine molecule containing multiple functional groups, this gives us the ability to prepare several guanines such as O6-alkylating guanines, O6-benzylguanines, 8-aza-O6-benzylguanines, 9-substituted guanines, guanine-azo derivatives, guanine Schiff bases, guanin
... Show MoreThe photocatalyst process is considered the most promising method for the removal of water contamination. For excellent chemical and structural properties of Co3O4 nanoparticles, various Co3O4-based nanostructures can be applied as a photocatalyst. In this work, carbon quantum dots is prepared via an eco-friendly process and linked to Co3O4 effectively. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The photocatalyst process reveals that prepared nanocomposites can be degraded methylene blue under solar irradiation strongly. Results showed that methylene blue and methyl orange are degraded via
... Show MoreTeachers' self-efficacy plays a very important role in the process of teaching English language, and teachers have primary role in determining what is needed or what would work best with their students. The sample consists of eighty-seven English language teachers in secondary schools in Baghdad/Kaarkh2. Self-efficacy questionnaire of fifteen items was constructed. Face, content validity and reliability were verified. Then, pupils' marks for the first semester were taken as their achievement.The main finding of the study indicates that:
English language teachers' self-efficacy has effect on their pupils' achievement.
In the light of the findings of the present study, several conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further
Iraqi EFL college instructors, who supervise the teaching practice of EFL student teachers, commonly experience the inefficient teaching performance of prospective teachers. This inefficiency is usually due to their inability to make connections between the practical experience and the theoretical knowledge of TEFL. One of the reasons behind this inability may be the employment of traditional ways of training and instructing student teachers. Moreover, it is usually noticed that many Iraqi EFL student teachers have a negative attitude toward the teaching profession. They explicitly state that they would join the teaching force only if they fail to work in any other field.
... Show MoreStaphylococcus Sp.is the most common type of bacteria found in contamination place, we design this
study to compare the contamination accident between two hospitals in Baghdad.One of them isthe Burns
Specialist Hospital in the Medical CityinRusafa and another one is Al-Karama Hospital in Karkh. The
samples were collected fromOperativeWard No1 (OW1), Operative Ward No2 (OW2), Consulting Pharmacy
(CP), Emergency Room (ER), Reception Room (RR), Women's Ward (WW) and Men's Ward (MW).The
samples were taken from inside each clinical unit, surfaces, food, and air. The results showed that the
number of samples containing Staphylococcus sp. bacteria is 81, including 45 belonging to Al-Karama Burns
Ward Ho
With the World Health Organization reporting over 30,000 deaths and 200,000 to 400,000 new cases annually, visceral leishmaniasis is a serious disease affecting some of the world's poorest people. As drug resistance continues to rise, there is a huge unmet need to improve treatment. Miltefosine remains one of the main treatments for leishmaniasis, yet its mode of action (MoA) is still unknown. Understanding the MoA of this drug and parasite response to treatment could help pave the way for new and more successful treatments for leishmaniasis. A novel method has been devised to study the metabolome and lipidome of
The present study utilised date palm fibre (DPF) waste residues to adsorb Congo red (CR) dye from aqueous solutions. The features of the adsorbent, such as its surface shape, pore size, and chemical properties, were assessed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The current study employed the batch system to investigate the ideal pH to adsorb the CR dye and found that acidic pH decolourised the dye best. Extending the dye-DPF waste mixing period at 25°C reportedly removed more dye. Consequently, the influence of the starting dye and DPF waste quantity on dye removal was explored in this study. At 5 g/L dye concentration, 48% d
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