Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with various clinical types. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is significantly elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients compared with that of healthy controls. The aim of this study is to evaluate serum levels of GFAP in relation to disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS patients and to compare them with those of healthy controls. Method: This study involved 58 MS patients of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) type, 22 in an active stage of the disease and 36 in remission, and 50 healthy individuals as age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from the patients at the MS Clinic of the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, and the serum levels of GFAP were determ

This study has been carried out to evaluate the expression level of beta 2 microglobulin gene on patients infected by hepatitis C virus before and after treatment with interferon. The study included 117 hepatitis C patients comprising as 63 pre-treated patients, the range of age was between 20-65 year with a mean age of 48.12 ± 16.1 and 54 post-treated patients with age range was between 23-63 year with the mean of 46.1 ± 18.1. Also it was found that more than half of patients were located within third and fourth decade i.e. 30-49 year, with a percentage of 52.4% and 55.6 % for pre-treatment and post-treatment patients respectively. Moreover , regarding both groups, males are more than females with the ratio of ( 3.2:1) among p

Methotrxate (MTX) has become the standard of care and first-line therapy for patients who have RA and consider as a gold standard of treatment for RA. The role of MTX in the treatment of RA has now been well established. The use of MTX treatment of RA inhibits proliferation of the lymphocytes, reduces signs and symptoms this disease, reduces progression damage of the joints and improves quality of life outcome. Progranulin (PGRN) acts a role in autoimmune inflammatory, has important function in several processes including immune response. Present study has conducted to find the effect of MTX drugs as a therapeutic target for RA patients because of its ability to bind with tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR), with progranulin, obestatin an

Polarization modulation plays an important role in polarization encoding in quantum key distribution. By using polarization modulation, quantum key distribution systems become more compact and more vulnerable as one laser source is used instead of using multiple laser sources that may cause side-channel attacks. Metasurfaces with their exceptional optical properties have led to the development of versatile ultrathin optical devices. They are made up of planar arrays of resonant or nearly resonant subwavelength pieces and provide complete control over reflected and transmitted electromagnetic waves opening several possibilities for the development of innovative optical components. In this work, the Si nanowire metasurface grating polarize

The standard formulation of Wave Intensity Analysis (WIA) assumes that the flow velocity (U) in the conduit is <;<; the velocity of propagation of waves (c) in the system, and Mach number, M=U/c, is negligible. However, in the large conduit arteries, U is relatively high due to ventricular contraction and c is relatively low due to the large compliance; thus M is > 0, and may not be ignored. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify experimentally the relationship between M and the reflection coefficient in vitro. Combinations of flexible tubes, of 2 m in length with isotropic and uniform circular cross sectional area along their longitudinal axes, were used to present mother and daughter tubes to produce a range of reflection coeffic

larization modulation plays an important role in polarization encoding in quantum key distribution. By using polarization modulation, quantum key distribution systems become more compact and more vulnerable as one laser source is used instead of using multiple laser sources that may cause side-channel attacks. Metasurfaces with their exceptional optical properties have led to the development of versatile ultrathin optical devices. They are made up of planar arrays of resonant or nearly resonant subwavelength pieces and provide complete control over reflected and transmitted electromagnetic waves opening several possibilities for the development of innovative optical components. In this work, the Si nanowire metasurface

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic fluor-surfactant chemical used widely in ‎products that resist oil, heat, grease, stains, and water. It is also used in producing other ‎fluoropolymers. The main sources of exposure to PFOA are water, soil, and animal-‎origin food (meat, fish, and dairy products). The aim of this study to evaluate the renal ‎function following oral gavage of sub-lethal dose of PFOA in diabetic and non-diabetic ‎guinea pigs. The experiment run for 4 weeks, total of 40 male guinea pigs, ‎‎(Cavia porcellus), were randomly selected and grouped into four equal groups. The first ‎group (G1) served as the negative control; 2nd group (G2) alloxan induced diabetic, 3rd ‎group (G3) non-diabeti

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most commonly encountered valve lesion in modern clinical practice. Severe mitral regurgitation may cause systolic dysfunction. Left ventricular ejection fraction may not be an accurate measurement of LV function in patients with mitral insufficiency. Myocardial performance index (MPI) is a simple non invasive measure of myocardial function. Methods: The study involved 50 patients with valvular mitral regurgitation and 50 healthy subjects as a control group. Transthoracic echocardiography was carried out for all patients and control group. The echocardiographic measurements included left ventricular end diastolic and end systolic dimensions, left atrial diameter, ejection fraction (EF), and myoca