Background: The gene responsible for encoding the protein of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) has been found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in different ethnic populations. But the association of +49A/G CTLA-4 polymorphism with susceptibility of RA among Iraqi Arab populations has not yet been determined. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients were examined, 67 of them were males (mean age 54.71 ± 10.4 years), while 167 were examined for the control group, of whom 64 were males and the rest were females. CTLA-4 DNA genotyping was carried on to determine the +49 A/G (rs231775) polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Enzyme-linked immuno

Background: The desire for an attractive appearing fixed orthodontic appliance fueled the use of ceramic brackets and clear accessories. Elastics are one of the most versatile materials available to orthodontists so studying their effect on the esthetic appearance is important. This an in vivo study, conducted to evaluate the effect of exposing stretched clear elastomeric ligatures to the oral environment from four different companies (OrthoTechnology, Morelli, Ortho Organizer, and Ormco). Materials and Methods: A total of 240 elastomeric modules were examined, 60 modules from each brand. Each of the 60 patients enrolled in the study, received 4 elastomeric modules on the 4 lower incisors, one from each brand. The specimens were placed on t

The field experiment was conducted with the aim of developing and testing an automatic sprayer for agricultural spray experiments and studying the effect of spray pressure, spray speed and spray height on the spraying process. The effects of the major spraying factors (pressure, speed, and height) on the spraying performance of the automatic sprayer were studied. This study included several traits: First - the drop sizes - Second - the penetration of the spray into the vegetation cover - Third, the spray wasted. The results showed: - First: - Increase in coverage percentage when using the first speed, 2 km / h, which amounted to 26.85%. An increment in the spraying penetration of the vegetation cover was observed at the second speed

<p><span>This research deals with the feasibility of a mobile robot to navigate and discover its location at unknown environments, and then constructing maps of these navigated environments for future usage. In this work, we proposed a modified Extended Kalman Filter- Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (EKF-SLAM) technique which was implemented for different unknown environments containing a different number of landmarks. Then, the detectable landmarks will play an important role in controlling the overall navigation process and EKF-SLAM technique’s performance. MATLAB simulation results of the EKF-SLAM technique come with better performance as compared with an odometry approach performance in terms of measuring the

   Advertising design is one of the arts of communication of various levels and one of the aspects of the fields of design arts, and that the construction of the design environment in the advertising is one of the important entry points in making the recipient feel this environment and feel as if being one of its elements. It is an entrance worthy of study and research and is a problem worth raising according to the following question: - What is the effectiveness achieved in the virtual design environment for digital advertising? The two  researchers dealt with the research in three frameworks, the methodological framework which identified (the problem of research, its importance, purpose, limits, and the definition of ter