Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

       In light of the developments and intense competition that the world has witnessed, the need to search for a sustainable and continuous competitive advantage for economic units has emerged, as the economic units must not lose sight of their interest in the activities they perform to achieve that advantage, and it can be said that the goal of the research is to identify the theoretical dimensions of the green value chain represented by: (Green research and development, green design, green manufacturing, green marketing, green services) and the dimensions of the sustainable competitive advantage represented by (quality, creativity, innovation, cost, response to the customer), as well as identifyi

The self-evident truth existing in today's business environment is the continuity of change and its continuity and turmoil, also its increase over time as it is more abundant, abundant, wide and complex than ever before, and it is the dominant feature in the business environment, as different organizations and operating units can find themselves shifting from the top to the bottom. And then it requires its departments to strive to adapt to these rapid and turbulent shifts and changes by bringing about a series of organizational and adaptive changes that are not limited to one organizational aspect only but rather include all organizational components. Accordingly, this research came to determine the readiness of public organizations to chan

       Metaphor is a linguistic phenomenon related to people's cultures. It is an integral part of cultural heritage. This paper tackles the use of animal-based metaphors in the field of football club titles so as to draw comparisons between those in Russian with their counterparts in Arabic. Names of animals are used to refer to some clubs and teams, where these names or titles reflect animal features such as strength, preying on victims; or animal figures are employed in the club symbols, or due to the similarity of the club shirt to the animal outer shapes in colours. For instance, "an-Nawaris", which means gulls in English, is used to refer to az-Zawraa club du

This research highlights one of the most important issues that have been controversial between Islamic schools, which is the duality of Intellect  and Revelation and the nature of their relationship, in two core points:

The first point: Could there be a real conflict between Intellect  and revelation? While the school of hadith view that this assumption is a rational assumption that does not real as long as the revelation is correct and the Intellect  is clear, and that what is claimed are due to other Intellect s, we find that the Ash’ari school adopts the saying that the real conflict may occur, but rather confirms its occurrence.

The second point: For whom is the priority, for the Intellect  or th

Objective(s): Biocompatibility, non-toxicity, minimal allergenicity, and biodegradability are all characteristics of chitosan. Other biological properties of chitosan have been reported, including antitumor, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. This research aim is the synthesis of drug compounds by preparation and characterization of polymer chitosan Schiff base and chitosan Schiff base / Poly vinyl alcohol / poly vinyl pyrrolidone Nanocomposite and study applications (anticancer cell line, antimicrobial agents). Methods: Chitosan Schiff base was prepared from the reaction of chitosan with carbonyl group of 4-nitro benzaldehyde. Polymer blend have been prepared by solution casting method. Chitosan Schiff base mixing with PVA and PVP

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypic multisystem autoimmune disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations encompassing almost all organs and tissues. Aimes of study determination of integrin- linked kinase 1(ILK-1) and anti-smith antibody(ASAB) levels in serum of Iraqi patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, in addition, that ILK-1 may be as a diagnostic marker of SLE disease, and study the effect of systemic lupus erythematosus on renal function in these patients. This study included 100 females’ patients with systemic lupus erythematosus attending to the Rheumatology Unit in Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Medical City, (Baghdad), in addition to 30 healthy females as controller group were chosen without any chr

The present work elucidates the utilization of activated carbon (AC) and activated carbon loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-AC) to remove tetracycline (TC) from synthetically polluted water. The activated carbon was prepared from tea residue and loaded with silver nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were used to characterize the activated carbon (AC) and silver nanoparticles-loaded activated carbon (AgNPs-AC). The impact of various parameters on the adsorption effectiveness of TC was examined. These variables were the initial adsorbate concentration (Co), solution acidity (pH), adsorption time (t), and dosag

A mathematical model constructed to study the combined effects of the concentration and the thermodiffusion on the nanoparticles of a Jeffrey fluid with a magnetic field effect the process of containing waves in a three-dimensional rectangular porous medium canal. Using the HPM to solve the nonlinear and coupled partial differential equations. Numerical results were obtained for temperature distribution, nanoparticles concentration, velocity, pressure rise, pressure gradient, friction force and stream function. Through the graphs, it was found that the velocity of fluid rises with the increase of a mean rate of volume flow and a magnetic parameter, while the velocity goes down with the increasing a Darcy number and lateral walls. Also, t