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.
The paper is devoted to solve nth order linear delay integro-differential equations of convolution type (DIDE's-CT) using collocation method with the aid of B-spline functions. A new algorithm with the aid of Matlab language is derived to treat numerically three types (retarded, neutral and mixed) of nth order linear DIDE's-CT using B-spline functions and Weddle rule for calculating the required integrals for these equations. Comparison between approximated and exact results has been given in test examples with suitable graphing for every example for solving three types of linear DIDE's-CT of different orders for conciliated the accuracy of the results of the proposed method.
In order to advance the education process and raise the educational level of the players, it became necessary to introduce new educational aids, programmed education in the education process, through which the basic skills to be learned are explained and clarified, and immediate feedback is provided that would enhance the information of the learner, and Reaching the goal to be achieved, taking into account the individual differences between the players, and thus it is possible to move away from the educational methods used in learning skills, which requires great effort and time, in addition to that the open playground may not perform the skill accurately and the player looks from one side, while when using the computer you look from severa
... Show MoreThe essay discusses how different environmental factors affect plant growth by explaining how each factor affects the physiological processes within the plant. The essay begins by explaining the effect of temperature on plant growth, as high or low temperatures can significantly affect the rate of photosynthesis and lead to a reduction in water and nutrient absorption. It also discusses the light intensity impacting plants because the more appropriate the light intensity is, the more enhanced the plant's photosynthesis ability, and in the excess or insufficient light condition, the growth can be inhibited. Additionally, the article outlines the effect of water shortage on the plant because this leads to the closure of stomata to avoid water
... Show MoreThe 3D electro-Fenton technique is, due to its high efficiency, one of the technologies suggested to eliminate organic pollutants in wastewater. The type of particle electrode used in the 3D electro-Fenton process is one of the most crucial variables because of its effect on the formation of reactive species and the source of iron ions. The electrolytic cell in the current study consisted of graphite as an anode, carbon fiber (CF) modified with graphene as a cathode, and iron foam particles as a third electrode. A response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used to optimize the 3D electro-Fenton process. The RSM results revealed that the quadratic model has a high R2 of 99.05 %. At 4 g L-1 iron foam particles, time of 5 h, and
... Show MoreEach Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) plan needs to be tested and verified before any treatment to check its quality. Octavius 4D-1500 phantom detector is a modern and qualified device for quality assurance procedure. This study aims to compare the common dosimetric criteria 3%/3 mm with 2%/2 mm for H&N plans for the IMRT technique. Twenty-five patients with head and neck (H&N) tumor were with 6MV x-ray photon beam using Monaco 5.1 treatment planning software and exported to Elekta synergy linear accelerator then tested for pretreatment verification study using Octavius 4D-1500 phantom detector. The difference between planned and measured dose were assessed by using local and global gamma index (GI) analysis method at
... Show MoreThe goal of this investigation is to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique through Q-switching double frequency Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) wavelength, pulse frequency 6 Hz, and 300 mJ energy under vacuum conditions (10-3 torr) at room temperature. (ZnO) nano-thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different thickness of 300, 600 and 900 nm. ZnO films, were then annealed in air at a temperature of 500 °C for one hour. The results were compared with the researchers' previous theoretical study. The XRD analysis of ZnO nano-thin films indicated a hexagonal multi-crystalline wurtzite structure with preferential growth lines (100), (002), (101) for ZnO nano-thin films with different thi
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