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 Isolated Combustion and Diluted Expansion (ICADE) internal combustion engine cycle combines the advantages of constant volume combustion of the Otto cycle with the high compression ratio of the Diesel cycle. This work studies the effect of isolated air mass (charge stratification) on the efficiency of the cycle; the analysis shows that the decrease of isolated air mass will increase the efficiency of the cycle and the large dilution air mass will quench all NOx forming reactions and reduce unburned hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the effect of Fuel / Air ratio on the efficiency shows that the increase of Fuel / Air ratio will increase efficiency of the cycle.
Cryptosporidiosis is mainly cause a persistent diarrhea in immune compromised patients, BALB/c mice have been suppressed by dexamethasone, tissue Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines concentrations in the ileum were significantly diminished in both infected and immunosuppressed mice. Level of IFN-g, TNF-a, IL-12, IL-6, IL-17A was increased in level, IL-4 didn’t increases, in both ileal and spleen tissue. Levels of above cytokines were examined in spleen in order to follow the proliferation of CD4+ T-cell during C. parvum infection.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systematic autoimmune disorder with chronic inflammation changes of unknown etiology. Various synovial inflammatory and proliferative alterations may contribute to the cartilaginous tissues and invasive bony tissues, leading to destructive joints and malformed bones. This disease is mostly due to infective microorganisms or genetic susceptibility causing immune system disturbances through triggering both T-cells and B-cells. Furthermore, different immune cells may secret cytokines, which are responsible for some RA pathogenesis activity. From ninety individuals, serum sample was collected; thirty of them were normal and sixty cases were patients with RA attended a privet medical clin
... Show MoreThe interleukin-1 family has multifaceted roles in men٫s reproductive syste. Out of these is interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) which exists in men gonads, and in case of infection and inflammatory process, its activity is increased. The current study aims to verify a possible linkage of Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) polymorphism of the IL-1RN gene with human men infertility. The study groups enrolled included 100 infertile men and 100 fertile and healthy men. Their seminal fluids were subjected to analysis. Also peripheral blood samples were collected for the assessment or detection of polymorphic Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR) polymorphism of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (IL-1RN). Two a
... Show More The research aims to propose a plan to reduce the waiting times in the Multiple Server queuing model (M, M, C) (FCFS, ∞, ∞), and adopt this plan, mainly on the arrival rate (λ), some process have been achieved in order to reduce the arrival rate per service channel that should reduces the overall waiting time in the system. This research is on two sections where the first deals with theory and how it has been approved the proposed method in theory and in mathematical equations as well as the second section, which dealt with the practical goal of applying the proposed method and comparing it with the traditional way, which was followed in calculating the performance measures in this model.
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The electron correlation effect for inter-shell have been analysed in terms of Fermi hole and partial Fermi hole for Li-atom in the excited states (1s2 3p) and (1s2 3d) using Hartree-Fock approximation (HF). Fermi hole Δf(r12) and partial Fermi hole Δg(r12 ,r1) were determined in position space. Each plot of the physical properties in this work is normalized to unity. The calculation was performed using Mathcad 14 program.
In study carried out in the cold storage in college of Agric./Univ. of Baghdad at 8 ? C. shows that Alternaria , Pencillium , Rhizoctonia , Mucor , are the fungi that causes tomato fruits decay. This is the first record of Rhizoctonia and Mucor as a Tomato fruits rot under 8º c in Iraq. There is no fungal infection on cucumber fruits under 8 ? C. . Waxing tomato fruits reduced the severity of the fungi infection and gave shelflife (19 days) under 8 ? C. There is an infection with Mucor was found in tomato fruits kept in perforated polyethylene bages with 16 bores prevent the infection and the lowest severity and frequency of infection was found in waxed tomato fruits. Part of M.Sc thesis of the Second author.
In this paper, we have extracted Silica from rice husk ash (RHA) by sodium hydroxide to produce sodium silicate. 3-(chloropropyl)triethoxysilane (CPTES) functionalized with sodium silicate via a sol-gel method in one pot synthesis to prepare RHACCl. Chloro group in compound RHACCl replacement in iodo group to prepere RHACI. The FT-IR clearly showed absorption band of C-I at 580 cm-1. Functionalized silica RHACI has high surface area (410 m2/g) and average pore diameter (3.8 nm) within mesoporous range. X-ray diffraction pattern showed that functionalized silica RHACI has amorphous phase .Thermogravemitric analysis (TGA) showed two decomposition stages and SEM morphology of RHACI showed that the particles have irregu
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