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 pe

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long

The world is moving towards greening business in general and production systems in particular. At the same time, economic units seek to enhance their productivity and find any variables that can contribute to improving their elements. Economic units should not ignore the green dimension of cost management techniques because of its role in containing the green dimension of the production system and the product. However the few researches dealt with the subject of the green kaizen showed its role in reducing costs and improving the environment. Those researches did not address its contribution to raising the level of productivity. Productivity is an important indicator of economic units that expresses their level of success and progre

The experiment field was carried out during spring season of 2006 on experimental farm of Field Crop Science Department College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, to study the effect of foliar applications of Ethephon, Boron and Zinc on the number of vascular bundles in stem and some characteristics of xylem- in sunflower hybrid (ZahratilIraq).
By using the Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Eight treatment were used: control treatment (with water spray only), Ethephon (0.480 kg.a.i/ha), Boron (200 g/L), Zinc (50 mg/L) and the interaction between them. The results revealed significant anatomical changes in disc peduncles of plants caused by the foliar applications of Ethephon, Boron, and Zinc treatments. Bor

The present study was conducted to determine the optimum conditions required for lipase enzyme activity extracted from germinated sunflower seeds, including temperature, pH, agitation, time of incubation, enzyme concentration, substrate type, and concentrations of mineral salts and EDTA. Optimum pH, temperature and time of incubation required for lipase stability were also determined. The results showede optimum lipase activity (3.251U/ml) wasund at 30 ÌŠC and pH 7 after 20 minutes of incubation when using 1 ml lipase enzyme with 0.02 ml of CaCl₂ (10 mM) at 100 rpm of agitation and in the presence of olive oil as the substrate for enzyme reaction. EDTA appeared to have inhibitory effects, while Ca⁺² and Mg^+2<

      The aim of this study is to investigate the response of the Ionospheric E- region critical frequency f_oE and virtual height h’E parameters to the solar cycle 22 over Baghdad city (latitude 33.3˚N, longitude 44.4˚E). Both parameters display a high relationship with the sunspot relative number within the ascending and descending phases of the solar cycle. The E - region response to the solar activity is obvious around noon, sunrise and sunset times. Moreover, the gap between local mid-afternoon, dawn and sunset values expands as solar activity rises. In the declining phase, there is an aspect that results in a peak of disturbance. This portion may have

Despite extensive investigations, an effective treatment for sepsis remains elusive and a better understanding of the inflammatory response to infection is required to identify potential new targets for therapy. In this study we have used RNAi technology to show, for the first time, that the inducible lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 2 (LPCAT2) plays a key role in macrophage inflammatory gene expression in response to stimulation with bacterial ligands. Using siRNA- or shRNA-mediated knockdown, we demonstrate that, in contrast to the constitutive LPCAT1, LPCAT2 is required for macrophage cytokine gene expression and release in response to TLR4 and TLR2 ligand stimulation but not for TLR-independent stimuli. In addition, cells transfe