Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease that is characterized by severe synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion, bone loss, and generalized vasculopathy. Although the immunologic mechanism of RA is still unclear, it is now thought to be a primarily Th17-driven disease. Along with other factors, IL-23 stimulates the expansion of Th17 cells from naive CD4+ T cells.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-23 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine the correlation between plasma/serum IL-23 levels and disease activity. So, we performed a systematic review with meta-analysis comparing

Objective: To review and identify the major drivers for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Methods: A scoping review of studies of COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and barriers to using the COVID-19 vaccines. Two search engines, including PubMed and Google Scholar, were purposefully searched. Results: Eight studies from different countries were reviewed to categorize factors influencing people's acceptance of COVID-19 according to the Health Belief Model (HBM). Perceived susceptibility, and severity of the disease (COVID-19), in addition to perceived benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and "cues to action", can enhance vaccination acceptance. In contrast, perceived barriers to the COVID-19 vaccine can increase people's hesitancy to be vaccinated

An anal fissure which does not heal with conservative measures as sits baths and laxatives is a chronic anal fissure. Physiologically, it is the high resting tone of the internal anal sphincter that chiefly interferes with the healing process of these fissures. Until now, the gold standard treatment modality is surgery, either digital anal dilatation or lateral sphincterotomy. However, concerns have been raised about the incidence of faecal incontinence after surgery. Therefore, pharmacological means to treat chronic anal fissures have been explored. A Medline and pub med database search from 1986-2012 was conducted to perform a literature search for articles relating to the non-surgical treatment of chronic anal fissure. Pharmacological

ABSTRACT Background: work-related musculoskeletal disorders represent an important occupational health issues among dentists especially neck and low back complaints. Biomarkers of tissue damage as results of occupational physical demands could be used for detection of work related musculoskeletal disorders. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess work- related musculoskeletal disorders, physical work load index, selected salivary biomarkers (Creatine kinase and C - reactive protein) and to find the relation among them. Subjects and Methods: Study participants are consisted of 112 dentists. They were selected from college of dentistry /Baghdad University, health care center in Bagdad city. They were of both gender and aged between 40-45 yea

The current research aimed to identify the cognitive-behavioral therapy on people with depression, through the following hypothesis (there are no statistically significant differences in the sample before and after cognitive-behavioral therapy). The importance of research is highlighted through the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy, to be used in treating depression, anxiety and fears by health institutions. It is also considered as a reference for psychological studies related to this topic to be added to our libraries that already suffer from a scarcity of this type of resources. The cognitive-behavioral therapy was used in the treatment of five male subjects.

The study revealed the existence of statistically significant diff

Brain Fingerprinting (BF) is one of the modern technologies that rely on artificial intelligence in the field of criminal evidence law. Brain information can be obtained accurately and reliably in criminal procedures without resorting to complex and multiple procedures or questions. It is not embarrassing for a person or even violates his human dignity, as well as gives immediate and accurate results. BF is considered one of the advanced techniques related to neuroscientific evidence that relies heavily on artificial intelligence, through which it is possible to recognize whether the suspect or criminal has information about the crime or not. This is done through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (EEG) of the brain and examining

  Foot and ankle movements are essential in various activities like walking, running, and balance, where the mechanics of these movements are affected by the muscles around the ankle joint [1,2]. In this study, the correlations between isometric ankle torque and muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) in the course of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion was investigated. Eight healthy participants were enrolled for the study, where the ankle torque and surface Electromyography (sEMG) of the main flexors were measured and analyzed. The results showed that ankle torque is higher in plantarflexion than dorsiflexion. In addition, the TA has greater muscle activity during dorsiflexion, while the GAS presents higher ac

Sphingolipids are key components of eukaryotic membranes, particularly the plasma membrane. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of these lipid species is largely conserved. However, in contrast to mammals, which produce sphingomyelin, organisms such as the pathogenic fungi and protozoa synthesize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) as the primary phosphosphingolipid. The key step involves the reaction of ceramide and phosphatidylinositol catalysed by IPC synthase, an essential enzyme with no mammalian equivalent encoded by the AUR1 gene in yeast and recently identified functional orthologues in the pathogenic kinetoplastid protozoa. As such this enzyme represents a promising target for novel anti-fungal and anti-protozoal drugs. Given

The current study aims to identify the needs in the stories of the Brothers Grimm. The research sample consisted of (3) stories, namely: 1- The story of the Thorn Rose (Sleeping Beauty) 2- The story of Snow White 3- The story of Little Red Riding Hood. The number of pages analyzed reached (15.5) pages, and to achieve the research objectives, Murray's classification of needs was adopted, which contains (36) basic needs that are further divided into (129) sub-needs. The idea was adopted as a unit of analysis and repetition as a unit of enumeration, Reliability was extracted in two ways: 1- Agreement between the researcher and himself over time, where the agreement coefficient reached 97%. The second was agreement between the researcher and tw

Beata thalassemia

Beta thalassemia syndrome by reduction or absence of B-globin chain synthesis. Without iron chelation therapy (ICT) the regular blood transfusion would increase the iron stores to several times. Endocrine glands are vulnerable to iron overload causing endocrine dysfunction.  Iron deposition within the parathyroid gland causes hypoparathyroidism particularly after ten years of age. Pancreatic islets are very susceptible to oxidative damage due to iron overload; their high divalent metal expression makes them highly susceptible to iron-catalyzing oxidative stress. The pathogenicity of osteopathy in  is multifactorial comprising environmental (diet and lifestyle), iatrogenic (medicines), genetic and acqui