Obesity has been connected to a higher risk of acquiring a number of diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Periostin is a crucial regulator of the growth and maintenance of bones, teeth, and the heart.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent joint inflammation, which is a defining feature of this chronic inflammatory condition. Considerable advancements have been made in the field of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medicines (DMARDs), which effectively mitigate inflammation and forestall further joint deterioration. Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) drugs, which are a class of biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), have been efficaciously employed in the treatment of RA in recent times Adalimumab, a TNF inhibitor, has demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing disease symptoms and halting disease progression in patients with RA. However, its use is associated with major side effects and high costs. In addition,

The expression of the Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 gene (PCSK9) is inextricably related to lipid levels and a risk of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ASCAD). The present study aims to measure the quantity of PCSK9 gene expression and the effect of methylation on its expression level taking part in the pathogenesis of acute coronary artery disorder.

A current study included 150 subjects from the Iraqi population, 100 ASCAD patients and 50 healthy controls. The concentration of PCSK9 in each serum sample was determined by the ELISA technique, the expression levels of the PCSK9 gene in whole blood were estimated by RT-qPCR – Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR method, and DNA

Background: EOS (encoded by the IKZF4 gene) is a member of the zinc finger transcription factor IKaros family, and plays a critical role in Treg suppressor functions, and maintaining Treg stability. IL-6 is a soluble mediator with a pleiotropic effect on inflammation, immune response, and hematopoiesis. Aim: To estimate serum IL-6 level and EOS gene expression in Iraqi patients with psoriasis. Method: Twenty-two patients with psoriasis (8 females, 14 males) with age ranged 18-72 years, were recruited from Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Dermatology Clinic, Baghdad, and 24 healthy donors. The serum levels of IL-6 by ELISA and the gene expression of IKZF4 (EOS gene) by RT-qPCR technique. Results: The results showed a non-significant diffe

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics in an inert atmosphere has been regarded as a creative method, since pyrolysis can convert plastics waste into hydrocarbons that can be used either as fuels or as a source of chemicals.

Natural Iraqi kaolin clay was used to synthesis the NaX nano- zeolite by hydrothermal conditions with average particle size equal to 77.63nm.Thermal decomposition kinetics of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in the absence and presence of catalysts nano NaX Zeolite was investigated. Thermal and catalytic degradation of HDPE was performed using a thermogravimetric analyzer in nitrogen atmosphere under non-isothermal conditions 4, 7 and 10 °C/min heating rates were employed in thermogravimetric anal

In context of this paper we prepare high purity powder ZnO nanostructures by chemical method at low temperature solution and study the effect off annealing at high temperature, ZnO nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by chemical method at 0Cᵒ solution. In this method, suddenly reaction is occurred between zinc acetate solution and sodium hydroxide solution at 0Cᵒ, annealing temperature of powder product surfactant plays an important role in morphological changes. The nanostructures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and UV-visible .analysis Effect of annealing temperatures on the morphology , structure and optical properties is di

         The issue of penalized regression model has received considerable critical attention to variable selection. It plays an essential role in dealing with high dimensional data. Arctangent denoted by the Atan penalty has been used in both estimation and variable selection as an efficient method recently. However, the Atan penalty is very sensitive to outliers in response to variables or heavy-tailed error distribution. While the least absolute deviation is a good method to get robustness in regression estimation. The specific objective of this research is to propose a robust Atan estimator from combining these two ideas at once. Simulation experiments and real data applications show that the p

The main objective of this study is to characterize the main factors which may affect the behavior of segmental prestressed concrete beams comprised of multi segments. The 3-D finite element program ABAQUS was utilized. The experimental work was conducted on twelve simply supported segmental prestressed concrete beams divided into three groups depending on the precast segments number. They all had an identical total length of 3150mm, but each had different segment numbers (9, 7, and 5 segments), in other words, different segment lengths. To simulate the genuine fire disasters, nine beams were exposed to high-temperature flame for one hour, the selected temperatures were 300°C (572°F), 500°C (932°F) and 700°C (1292°F) as recomm

Background: Body image is one of the most important psychological factors that affects adolescents’ personality and behavior. Body image can be defined as the person’s perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about his or her body.

Objectives: to identify the prevalence of body image concerns among secondary school students and its relation to different factors.

Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in which 796 secondary school students participated and body shape concerns was investigated using the body shape questionnaire (BSQ-34).

Results: The prevalence of moderate/marked concern was (21.6%). Moderate/ marked body shape concern was significantly associated