Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is caused by a variety of processes. As a result, one biomarker is insufficient to represent the complete process. This study Evaluate the diagnostic value of serum kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1) and cystatin C (CysC) as early biochemical markers of DKD and predictive their sensitivities and specificities as biomarkers of nephropathy in Iraqi type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients. This cross-sectional study include 161 T2DM patients from Diabetes and Endocrinology Center at Merjan medical city in Babylon. Patients divided according to urinary albumin creatinine ratio(ACR) (Group1:ACR≤30mg/g,Group2:ACR>30mg/g). Random spot urine and fasting blood samples were taken from each patient and urinary ACR, bloo

Oily wastewater is one of the most challenging streams to deal with especially if the oil exists in emulsified form. In this study, electrospinning method was used to prepare nanofiberous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and study their performance in oil removal. Graphene particles were embedded in the electrospun PVDF membrane to enhance the efficiency of the membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to verify the graphene stabilization on the surface of the membrane homogeneously; while FTIR was used to detect the functional groups on the membrane surface. The membrane wettability was assessed by measuring the contact angle. The PVDF and PVDF / Graphene membranes efficiency

A demonstration of the inverse kinematics is a very complex problem for redundant robot manipulator. This paper presents the solution of inverse kinematics for one of redundant robots manipulator (three link robot) by combing of two intelligent algorithms GA (Genetic Algorithm) and NN (Neural Network). The inputs are position and orientation of three link robot. These inputs are entering to Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN). The weights of BPNN are optimized using continuous GA. The (Mean Square Error) MSE is also computed between the estimated and desired outputs of joint angles. In this paper, the fitness function in GA is proposed. The sinwave and circular for three link robot end effecter and desired trajectories are simulated b

Sustainable vegetative management plays a significant role in improving soil quality in degraded agricultural landscapes by enhancing soil microbial biomass. This study investigated the effects of grass buffers (GBs), biomass crops (BCs), grass waterways (GWWs), and agroforestry buffers (ABs) on soil microbial biomass and soil organic C (SOC) compared with continuous corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation (row crop [RC]) on claypan soils. The RC, AB, GB, GWW, and BC treatments were established in 1991, 1997, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively, and are located at Greenley Memorial Research Center in Missouri. Soil samples were collected in May 2018 from the 0‐ to

In this research, we studied the structural properties of SnO2 films nanostructure which prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis method at room temperature on the rules of glass heated (400oC) with rate of spraying (2.5 ml/ min). The effect of annealing temperaturs (450,500,550,600 and 650oC) for two hours on those properties has been indicated. The results of x-ray diffraction showed that all of the prepared films were polycrystalline with tetragonal type and orientation was (110) for all models before and after annealing, and the annealing led to an increase in the grain size. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the (110) peaks of the films decreased from 1.492o to 1.064o with increasing annealing temperature .The surface morp

This research presents a method of using MATLAB in analyzing a nonhomogeneous soil (Gibson-type) by
estimating the displacements and stresses under the strip footing during applied incremental loading
sequences. This paper presents a two-dimensional finite element method. In this method, the soil is divided into a number of triangle elements. A model soil (Gibson-type) with linearly increasing modulus of elasticity with depth is presented. The influences of modulus of elasticity, incremental loading, width of footing, and depth of footing are considered in this paper. The results are compared with authors' conclusions of previous studies.

In this paper, a new technique is offered for solving three types of linear integral equations of the 2nd kind including Volterra-Fredholm integral equations (LVFIE) (as a general case), Volterra integral equations (LVIE) and Fredholm integral equations (LFIE) (as special cases). The new technique depends on approximating the solution to a polynomial of degree  and therefore reducing the problem to a linear programming problem(LPP), which will be solved to find the approximate solution of LVFIE. Moreover, quadrature methods including trapezoidal rule (TR), Simpson 1/3 rule (SR), Boole rule (BR), and Romberg integration formula (RI) are used to approximate the integrals that exist in LVFIE. Also, a comparison between those methods i

Objectives Dental implant is a revolution in dentistry; some shortages are still a focus of research. This study use long duration of radiofrequency (RF)–magnetron sputtering to coat titanium (Ti) implant with hydroxyapatite (HA) to obtain a uniform, strongly adhered in a few micrometers in thickness. Materials and Methods Two types of substrates, discs and root form cylinders were prepared using a grade 1 commercially pure (CP) Ti rod. A RF–magnetron sputtering device was used to coat specimens with HA. Magnetron sputtering was set at 150 W for 22 hours at 100°C under continuous argon gas flow and substrate rotation at 10 rpm. Coat properties were evaluated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), scanning electro

The research seeks to study the subject (Media separation: the Relationship of Arab Immigrants with the Media of the Countries of Diaspora/ Sweden as a model). Where this phenomenon, "problem" has not been subjected to an in-depth study to find out the causes of this media separation and its repercussions on the immigrant, whether in the problem of integration, or his opportunity to work, or adapt to live in the new society.

Separation is a kind of word that is rarely used in Arabic media studies, relevant, sometimes, to the meaning of “refraining from watching TV or listening to the radio or reading newspapers”. Sometimes, it means “not tuning to or using any form of media like radios or newspapers to be updated about what