The study aimed to assess the level of ANG‑2 in MM patients at diagnosis and in remission state and elaborate on its correlation with interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) and beta‑2 microglobulin (B2M) levels. Sixty MM patients; 20 newly diagnosed (ND), and 40 patients in remission were included. Twenty healthy individuals were included as a control group. Plasma levels of ANG‑2, B2M, and IL‑6 were tested by enzyme‑lin ked immunosorbent assay. There are significant statistical differences between ND patients and those in remission in hemoglobin, neutrophil count, blood urea, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, B2M, IL6, and ANG‑2 (P = 0.001, 0.033, 0.005, 0.001, 0.001, 0.001, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively). ANG‑2 showed significant positive correlations with B2M (P = 0.001) and IL‑6 (P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: The low ANG‑2 level in the remission group with an insignificant difference from that in the control group with a high level in the untreated patients renders it a useful indicator for treatment response follow‑up in MM. The positive correlation of ANG‑2 with B2M and IL‑6 reflects the active angiogenesis with a high tumor burden and disease progression.
Quantum channels enable the achievement of communication tasks inaccessible to their
classical counterparts. The most famous example is the distribution of secret keys. Unfortunately, the rate
of generation of the secret key by direct transmission is fundamentally limited by the distance. This limit
can be overcome by the implementation of a quantum repeater. In order to boost the performance of the
repeater, a quantum repeater based on cut-off with two different types of quantum memories is suggestd,
which reduces the effect of decoherence during the storage of a quantum state.
In this paper, the species of the genus of Chlaenius Bonelli, 1810 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) were reviewed, and it was revealed that there are 21 confirmed species in Iraq; among them, the species of Chlaenius hamifer Chaudoir, 1856 was recorded for the first time in Iraq.
Diagnostic characters, a redescription of some of the morphological features, photographs and illustrations are provided for the new record species in this investigation.
Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical abdominal emergency. Its clinical diagnosis remains a challenge to surgeons, so different imaging options were introduced to improve diagnostic accuracy. Among these imaging modality choices, diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) is a simple, easily available, and cost effective clinical tool. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of DMS, in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis compared to the histopathology report, as a gold standard. Between May 2015 and May 2016, 215 patients with suspected appendicitis were examined with DMS. The DMS findings were recorded as positive and negative for acute appendicitis and compared with the histopathological results, as a gold standard
... Show MoreThis study evaluates the flexural behavior of ultra-thin (50 mm) one‑way reinforced‑concrete (RC) slabs retrofitted with near‑surface mounted (NSM) carbon‑fiber‑reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods under quasi‑static loading. T300‑grade CFRP rods (≈4 mm diameter) were bonded in pre‑cut 7 mm × 7 mm grooves using a two‑part epoxy. As a proof-of-concept experimental baseline, three simply‑supported specimens (1000 mm × 500 mm × 50 mm) were tested in a six‑point bending configuration (four applied loads + two reactions): two conventional controls and one strengthened slab. A load‑control rate of ~15 kN/min was applied; the controls were cycled twice and the strengthened slab four times. Relative to the average of
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