Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the possible the association between +3061 (G>A, rs1143676) missense mutation in exon 24 of the integrin α-4 subunit (ITGA-4) gene and the response to natalizumab in a sample of Iraqi multiple sclerosis patients. Methods: A sample of 59 patients with multiple sclerosis (16 males and 43 females; mean age of 32 years; age range of 15 to 52 years) receiving natalizumab for at least 12 consecutive months were involved in the study between March and August/ 2022. The sample was categorized into two groups according to their response to natalizumab treatment (responders and non-responders). Polymerase chain reaction and Sanger’s sequencing for the extracted deoxyribonucleic acid was performed to identify the polymorphism at ITGA-4 gene promoter region. Results: The 3061 AA and AG genotypes were present in both groups (responders and non-responders to natalizumab treatment) with the lack of the wild form GG genotype. The AG genotype was significantly present in the non-responders’ group and appeared to have a significant impact on the responsiveness to natalizumab by increasing the propensity of being non-responder with a positive correlation (Phi-coefficient of 0.294) on the contrary of AA genotype. Conclusion: The +3061 (G.A) missense mutation is related to the response to natalizumab in multiple sclerosis patients with the AG genotype, thereby increasing the likelihood of non-response significantly.
Coaches and analysts face a significant challenge of inaccurate estimation when analyzing Men's 100 Meter Sprint Performance, particularly when there is limited data available. This necessitates the use of modern technologies to address the problem of inaccurate estimation. Unfortunately, current methods used to estimate Men's 100 Meter Sprint Performance indexes in Iraq are ineffective, highlighting the need to adopt new and advanced technologies that are fast, accurate, and flexible. Therefore, the objective of this study was to utilize an advanced method known as artificial neural networks to estimate four key indexes: Accelerate First of 10 meters, Speed Rate, Time First of 10 meters, and Reaction Time. The application of artifi
... Show MoreWettability of CO2-brine-mineral systems plays a vital role during geological CO2-storage. Residual trapping is lower in deep saline aquifers where the CO2 is migrating through quartz rich reservoirs but CO2 accumulation within a three-way structural closure would have a high storage volume due to higher CO2 saturation in hydrophobic quartz rich reservoir rock. However, such wettability is only poorly understood at realistic subsurface conditions, which are anoxic or reducing. As a consequence of the reducing environment, the geological formations (i.e. deep saline aquifers) contain appreciable concentrations of various organic acids. We thus demonstrate here what impact traces of organic acids exposed to storage rock have on their wettabil
... Show MoreWellbore instability is one of the most common issues encountered during drilling operations. This problem becomes enormous when drilling deep wells that are passing through many different formations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate wellbore failure criteria by constructing a one-dimensional mechanical earth model (1D-MEM) that will help to predict a safe mud-weight window for deep wells. An integrated log measurement has been used to compute MEM components for nine formations along the studied well. Repeated formation pressure and laboratory core testing are used to validate the calculated results. The prediction of mud weight along the nine studied formations shows that for Ahmadi, Nahr Umr, Shuaiba, and Zubair formations
... Show MoreIn this paper, variable gain nonlinear PD and PI fuzzy logic controllers are designed and the effect of the variable gain characteristic of these controllers is analyzed to show its contribution in enhancing the performance of the closed loop system over a conventional linear PID controller. Simulation results and time domain performance characteristics show how these fuzzy controllers outperform the conventional PID controller when used to control a nonlinear plant and a plant that has time delay.
The primary components of successful engineering projects are time, cost, and quality. The use of the ring footing ensures the presence of these elements. This investigation aims to find the optimum number of geogrid reinforcement layers under ring footing subjected to inclined loading. For this purpose, experimental models were used. The parameters were studied to find the optimum geogrid layers number, including the optimum geogrid layers spacing and the optimum geogrid layers number. The optimum geogrid layers spacing value is 0.5B. And as the load inclination angle increased, the tilting and the tilting improvement percent for the load inclination angles (5°,10°,15°) are (40%,28%, and 5%) respectively. The reduction percent o
... Show MoreSome children are suffering from introversion in kindergartens , so it must be confront and obviated by specialists because it will inevitably lead to unsatisfactory results reflect negatively on the individual and the community together . And the introvert child is a miserable child incapable of social interaction or give - and - take with colleagues , lack of integration of the child to life leads to the obstruction of participation with his peers in various activities. Introversion causes a real emotional deficit to the children of kindergartens which limits of possibility of their intellectual development and mental growth and that because of their isolation and poor focus in education
... Show MoreSeveral million tons of solid waste are produced each year as a result of construction and demolition activities around the world, and brick waste is one of the most widely wastes. Recently, there has been growing number in studies that conducted on using of recycling brick waste (RBW) to produce environmentally friendly concrete. The use of brick waste (BW) as potential partial cement or aggregate replacement materials is summarized in this review where the performance is discussed in the form of the mechanical strength and properties that related to durability of concrete. It was found that, because the pozzolanic activity of clay brick powder, it can be utilized as substitute for cement in replacement level up t
... Show MoreInformation and communication technology has a significant influence on employee procedures. Businesses are investing in e-CRM technologies, yet it is difficult to assess the performance of their e-CRM platforms. The DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success framework can be modified to the current e-CRM assessment difficulties. The new framework's different aspects provide a concise framework for organizing the e-CRM key metrics identified in this study. The purpose of this study is to apply and verify that the Updated DeLone and McLean IS Model can be employed to explain e-CRM adoption among employees, along with the extended Updated DeLone and McLean Model with its five output factors, namely system quality, service quality,
... Show MoreThe current research seeks to identify mono-multi Vision and its relation to the psychological rebellion and personality traits of university students. To achieve this aim, the researcher has followed all the procedures of the descriptive correlational approach, as it is the closest approach to the objectives of the current research. The researcher has determined his research community for Baghdad University students for the academic year 2019-2020. As for the research sample, it was chosen by the random stratified method with a sample of (500) male and female students. In order to collect data from the research sample, the researcher adopted a mono-multi-dimensional scale
(Othman, 2007), the researcher designed a psychological r
... Show MoreAn extensive program of laboratory testing was conducted on ring footing rested on gypseous soil brought from the north of Iraq (Salah El-Deen governorate) with a gypsum content of 59%. There are limited researches available, and even fewer have been done experimentally to understand how to ring footings behave; almost all the previous works only concern the behavior of ring footing under vertical loads, Moreover, relatively few studies have examined the impact of eccentric load and inclined load on such footing. In this study, a series of tests, including dry and wet tests, were carried out using a steel container (600×600×600) mm, metal ring footing (100 mm outer diameter and 40 mm inner diameter) was placed in the m
... Show More