Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder, the etiology and pathogenesis of which have been suggested to be influenced by cytokines. Two main clinical types of IBD are recognized, namely ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). The present study examined serum levels of two cytokines (IL-17A and IL-23) in 60 IBD patients (30 UC and 30 CD) and 30 healthy controls. The levels were correlated with age, gender, cigarette-smoking status, disease duration, family history, disease extension, symptoms, extra-intestinal manifestations, and medication. The results depicted that IL-17A level was significantly higher in UC and CD patients compared to control (45.2 ± 23.3 and 47.5 ± 34.4 vs. 15.6 ± 7.5 pg/ml, respectively; p < 0.001). Serum level of IL-23 was similarly increased in UC and CD patients compared to control (64.1± 23.7 and 62.5 ± 27.3 vs. 25.2 ± 11.1 pg/ml, respectively). However, the level of both cytokines showed no significant variation between UC and CD patients (p = 0.713 and 0.777, respectively). Distributing UC and CD patients into subgroups according to some characteristics revealed that IL-17A level was significantly increased in UC male compared to female patients (57.3 ± 18.2 vs. 34.5 ± 22.5 pg/ml; p = 0.005). It was also significantly increased in smoker UC patients compared with non-smoker patients (51.9 ± 19.4 vs. 31.6 ± 25.5 pg/ml; p = 0.022). Smoker CD patients also showed a significantly increased level of IL-23 compared to non-smoker patients (72.7 ± 28.5 vs. 52.2 ± 22.6 pg/ml; p = 0.038). In the case of family history, IL-23 level was significantly decreased in UC patients with a family history of IBD compared to CD patients with a family history (84.5 ± 24.3 vs. 50.4 ± 17.0 pg/ml.; p = 0.042). In conclusion, the present data suggest a role for IL-17A and IL-23 in the etiology and pathogenesis of UC and CD.
In this study, the surface of the epoxy/Al composite is treated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in the presence of air. The epoxy composite was prepared by mixing 0.1g and 0.3 g aluminum powder with epoxy resin and its hardener in a ratio of 3:1. The surface epoxy/Al composite as a dielectric barrier layer (DB) is studied at an applied frequency of 8 kHz and at three exposure times 0, 2, and 4 min. The UV degradation process has been studied using UV-Visible spectroscopy, for these polymers. The absorbance intensity in the UV region (200–320 nm) was high. The absorbance level decreased after 2 minutes and increased after 4 min exposure time. Before exposure to plasma, the epoxy/Al composite at 0.1 g Al ha
... Show MoreFor more than a decade, externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites successfully utilized in retrofitting reinforced concrete structural elements. The function of CFRP reinforcement in increasing the ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) beam is essential in such members. Flexural and shear behaviors, ductility, and confinement were the main studied properties that used the CFRP as a strengthening material. However, limited attention has been paid to investigate the energy absorption of torsion strengthening of concrete members, especially two-span concrete beams. Hence, the target of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of CFRP-strengthening technique with regard to energy absorption of two-span RC
... Show MoreThis paper is focused on orthogonal function approximation technique FAT-based adaptive backstepping control of a geared DC motor coupled with a rotational mechanical component. It is assumed that all parameters of the actuator are unknown including the torque-current constant (i.e., unknown input coefficient) and hence a control system with three motor control modes is proposed: 1) motor torque control mode, 2) motor current control mode, and 3) motor voltage control mode. The proposed control algorithm is a powerful tool to control a dynamic system with an unknown input coefficient. Each uncertain parameter/term is represented by a linear combination of weighting and orthogonal basis function vectors. Chebyshev polynomial is used
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to investigate the response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate the effects of various experimental conditions on the removal of levofloxacin (LVX) from the aqueous solution by means of electrocoagulation (EC) technique with stainless steel electrodes. The EC process was achieved successfully with the efficiency of LVX removal of 90%. The results obtained from the regression analysis, showed that the data of experiential are better fitted to the polynomial model of second-order with the predicted correlation coefficient (pred. R2) of 0.723, adjusted correlation coefficient (Adj. R2) of 0.907 and correlation coefficient values (R2) of 0.952. This shows that the predicted models and experimental values are in go
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate the adsorption isotherm of carbon microparticles prepared from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) seeds for adsorbing curcumin (as a model of dye). The results were derived and compared using the kinetics approach based on several standard adsorption isotherm models, namely the Langmuir, Temkin, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. The second aim is to evaluate the effects of carbon particle size (from 100 to 1000 mm) on the adsorption characteristics. The experimental results showed that the adsorption on the surface of carbon microparticles occurred in monolayer with a physical phenomenon. This is because the active areas are located only on the outer surface of carbon and no surface structure in th
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