The present study was set to demonstrate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its effects on patients with systemic  lupus erythematosus (SLE) through determining their serum levels of anti-dsDNA and IL-18 antibodies. For this purpose, the sera from 132 SLE and/or toxoplasmosis patients and 30 healthy women, were collected. The study sample was divided into four groups of SLE, toxoplasmosis, SLE coinfected with toxoplasmosis, and healthy control. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were examined for all the samples using ELISA kit. The results showed a high mean level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG among SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (104.8792±12.31585pg/ml) in comparison to that in toxoplasmosis patients (91.1705±12.577

Standardized uptake values, often known as SUVs, are frequently utilized in the process of measuring 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in malignancies . In this work, we investigated the relationships between a wide range of parameters and the standardized uptake values (SUV) found in the liver.  Examinations with 18F-FDG PET/CT were performed on a total of 59 patients who were suffering from liver cancer. We determined the SUV in the liver of patients who had a normal BMI (between 18.5 and 24.9) and a high BMI (above 30) obese. After adjusting each SUV based on the results of the body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA) calculations, which were determined for each patient based on their height and weight. Under a variety of dif

Endothelin-I (ET-I) is one of the potent vasoconstrictors secreted from endothelial cells when needed. Many studies revealed the elevation of serum ET-I with human diabetes and microangiopathies. Since insulin resistance is a case of mixed diabetic and pre-diabetic cases, many risk factors beyond obesity and inflammation are proposed. The current study aims to demonstrate the association between serum ET-I and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sera of 73 subjects were enrolled currently (control= 35 subjects, and 38 with T2DM for more than 7 years), aged (40-60) years old, with distinct body mass index (BMI) ≤ 25 for control volunteers and (BMI) ≥ 25 for obesity and diabetes

Background Methotrexate (MTX) is a classical folic acid antagonist widely used in the treatment of malignant and non-malignant disorders. However, its clinical application is often restricted by concomitant adverse effects, including renal damage. Numerous studies have highlighted the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in mediating MTX-related nephrotoxicity. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the possible renoprotective action of Citronellol (CT), a natural compound with prominent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, against nephrotoxicity induced by MTX. Methods To fulfill our objective, 24 adult male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four groups: control, MTX, 100 mg/kg CT plus MTX and 200 mg/kg C

Background: Neutrophils destroy pathogens via phagocytosis. Neutrophils are effective innate and acquired immunity phagocytes. Low-density neutrophils are distinct neutrophil phenotypes linked to several systemic and infectious diseases. To our knowledge, low-density neutrophil phagocytosis in periodontitis has not been examined. Opsonized and non-opsonized fluorescent beads mixed with low-density neutrophils were gated and analyzed by flow cytometry to count cells that consumed at least one bead.

Aims of the Study: To estimate the potential impact of antibody (Ab)-labeled and non-labeled phagocytosis capacity of low-d

This study investigates the impact of agricultural investment policy—represented by agricultural loans and investment allocations—on rice crop production in Iraq over the period 2003–2023, employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Using time-series econometric analysis, the study confirms a short-term positive and statistically significant effect of financial support on rice output, while revealing statistically insignificant long-term effects. The presence of a cointegration relationship suggests long-term equilibrium between agricultural policy variables and rice production. However, the absence of causality in the Yamamoto-Toda test implies that structural and institutional inefficiencies may dilute the long-term i

In recent decades, the identification of faces with and without masks from visual data, such as video and still images, has become a captivating research subject. This is primarily due to the global spread of the Corona pandemic, which has altered the appearance of the world and necessitated the use of masks as a vital measure for epidemic prevention. Intellectual development based on artificial intelligence and computers plays a decisive role in the issue of epidemic safety, as the topic of facial recognition and identifying individuals who wear masks or not was most prominent in the introduction and in-depth education. This research proposes the creation of an advanced system capable of accurately identifying faces, both with and