Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent clinical condition, that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Objective: To assess the level of soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) as a biomarker in the diagnosis and immunopathogenesis of GERD patients. Methods: The case-control prospective study included 40 GERD patients who were consulted at the Gastroenterology Unit of AlKindy Teaching Hospital, as along with 40 healthy control subjects. The study period extended from January 2023 to May 2024. Blood was drawn from both groups and serum was separated to assesssHLA-E using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in sHLA-E levels between GERD patients and healthy controls (P=0.021). The median sHLA-E level was significantly higher in GERD patients (0.370 ng/mL) compared to controls (0.148 ng/mL). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) in predicting GERD. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the discriminatory ability of sHLA-E with a vlue of 0.649 (95% CI: 0.534-0.752, p = 0.021). The optimal cutoff value for sHLA-E was determined to be ≤0.65 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 85.1%, specificity of 27.3%, positive predictive value of 65.9%, negative predictive value of 69.4%, and accuracy of 35.0%. Conclusion: The study provides evidence of an association between elevated sHLA-E levels and GERD. It also suggests that sHLA-E has a moderate discriminatory ability as a biomarker in predicting GERD. © 2025, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
Epithelial and stromal communications are essential for normal uterine functions and their dysregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of many diseases including infertility, endometriosis, and cancer. Although many studies have highlighted the advantages of culturing cells in 3D compared to the conventional 2D culture system, one of the major limitations of these systems is the lack of incorporation of cells from non‐epithelial lineages. In an effort to develop a culture system incorporating both stromal and epithelial cells, 3D endometrial cancer spheroids are developed by co‐culturing endometrial stromal cells with cancerous epithelial cells. The spheroids developed by this method are phenot
A simple, environmental friendly and selective sample preparation technique employing porous membrane protected micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) loaded with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) is described. After the extraction, the analyte was desorbed using ultrasonication and was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of OTA for coffee, grape juice and urine were 0.06 ng g−1, 0.02 and 0.02 ng mL−1, respectively while the quantification limits were 0.19 ng g−1, 0.06 and 0.08 ng mL−1, respectively. The recoveries of OTA from coffee spiked at 1, 25 and 50 ng g−1, grape juice and urine samples at 1, 25 and 50 ng mL
... Show MoreBackground: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.
Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.
Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s
... Show MoreThe enhancement of the thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance of a semi-circular solar air collector (SCSAC) is numerically investigated using porous semi-circular obstacles made of metal foam with and without longitudinal porous Y-shaped fins. Two 10 and 40 PPI porous material samples are examined. Three-dimensional models are built to simulate the performance of SCSAC: model (I) with clear air passage; model (II) with only metal foam obstacles, and model (III) with metal foam obstacles as well as porous Y-fins. COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.2 based on finite element methodology is employed. A conjugate heat transfer with a (k-ε) turbulence model is selected to simulate both heat transfer and fluid flow across the entir
... Show MoreBackground: Stroke defined by diminished cerebral blood flow, results in brain damage and neurological impairments. It often leads to considerable difficulties, such as limited mobility and compromised hand function, usually manifesting as a weakening in the ability to open and shut the hand. Objective: The study evaluates the differences between opening and closing hands when utilizing a soft robot. Methods: The study was conducted in the Mosul Specialist Rehabilitation Center which involved 68 participants, all over 20 years old, with visual impairments. The Iranian Clinical Trials Registry and Ministry of Planning approved the study, The Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity Action Research Arm Test, and Arm Motor Ability Test were
... Show MoreThis study aimed to identify the employment of the social networking platform «Twitter» in the 2016 presidential campaign led by the Republican candidate, Donald Trump; and analyse his tweets through his personal account on «Twitter» for the period from: 10/ 8/2016 to: 11/ 8/2016 which represents the last month of the election campaign.
The study belongs to the type of descriptive studies using the analytical method through an analysis index that includes sub-categories and other secondary categories. The research has adopted the ordinary unit of information material (tweet) as an analysis unit for this purpose.
... Show MoreIndustrial characteristics calculations concentrated on the physical properties for break down voltage in sf6, cf4 gases and their mixture with different concentrations are presented in our work. Calculations are achieved by using an improved modern code simulated on windows technique. Our results give rise to a compatible agreement with the other experimental published data.
Some coordination complexes of Co(ІІ), Ni(ІІ), Cu(ІІ), Cd(ІІ) and Hg(ІІ) are reacted in ethanol with Schiff base ligand derived from of 2,4,6- trihydroxybenzophenone and 3-aminophenol using microwave irradiation and then reacted with metal salts in ethanol as a solvent in 1:2 ratio (metal: ligand). The ligand [H4L] is characterized by FTIR, UV-Vis, C.H.N, 1H-NMR,13C-NMR, and mass spectra. The metal complexes are characterized by atomic absorption, infrared spectra, electronic spectra, molar conductance, (C.H.N for Ni(ІІ) complex) and magnetic moment measurements. These measurements indicate that the ligand coordinates with metal (ІІ) ion in a tridentate manner through the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the ligand, octahed
... Show MoreSome coordination complexes of Co(??), Ni(??), Cu(??), Cd(??) and Hg(??) are reacted in ethanol with Schiff base ligand derived from of 2,4,6- trihydroxybenzophenone and 3-aminophenol using microwave irradiation and then reacted with metal salts in ethanol as a solvent in 1:2 ratio (metal: ligand). The ligand [H4L] is characterized by FTIR, UV-Vis, C.H.N, 1H-NMR,13C-NMR, and mass spectra. The metal complexes are characterized by atomic absorption, infrared spectra, electronic spectra, molar conductance, (C.H.N for Ni(??) complex) and magnetic moment measurements. These measurements indicate that the ligand coordinates with metal (??) ion in a tridentate manner through the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the ligand, octahedral structures
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