Background: Polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene affect the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To investigate the associations between (-806 T/C) and (-857 T/C) SNPs with rheumatoid arthritis severity and susceptibility in a sample of Iraqi patients. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Baghdad, Iraq. Twenty healthy controls and 63 patients confirmed to be newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were included. Those are divided into two groups (patients and controls), and the patients were further subdivided into severe and mild-moderate groups. Samples from those participants were analyzed for clinical and inflammatory parameter measurements. Genotyping by the Sanger method was performed to study the SNPs. Results: No associations were demonstrated between rheumatoid arthritis and polymorphisms at positions -806 and -857. Additionally, there were no differences in the distribution of those SNP genotypes and alleles among the severe and mild-moderate groups. Also, the (-806 C/T) SNP was found to be correlated with DAS 28 in all patients and with hs-CRP in the mild-moderate group. Finally, the -857 C/T SNP was found to be correlated with TNF-α within the mild-moderate group. Conclusions: Polymorphisms at positions -806 and -857 were not associated with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility, and the CT genotype of -806 C/T SNP was associated with disease activity.
Insulin resistance is a fundamental feature of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases and contributes to many of the metabolic syndrome's abnormalities. It is defined as a subnormal reaction to normal insulin concentrations or a situation in which greater than normal insulin concentrations are necessary for normal response.
Prenatal markers are commonly used in practice to screen for some foetal abnormalities. They can be biochemical or ultrasonic markers in addition to the newly used cell free Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) estimation. This review aimed to illustrate the applications of the prenatal screening, and the reliability of these tests in detecting the presence of abnormal chromosomes such as trisomy-21, trisomy-18, and trisomy-13 in addition to neural tube defects. Prenatal markers can also be used in the anticipation of some obstetrical complications depending on levels of these markers in the mother’s circulation. In the developed countries, prenatal screening tests are regularly used during antenatal care period. Neural tube defects, numer
... Show MoreChanges in mechanical properties of material as a result of service in different conditions can be provided by mechanical testing to assist the estimation of current internal situation of these materials, or the degree of deterioration may exist in furnaces serviced at high temperature and exceed their design life. Because of the rarity works on austenitic stainless steel material type AISI 321H, in this work, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness, and absorbed energy by impact are evaluated based on experimental data obtained from mechanical testing. Samples of tubes are extracted from furnace belong to hydrotreaterunit, also samples from un-used tube material are used to make comparisons between these properti
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to compare the effects of three methods: problem-based learning (PBL), PBL with lecture method, and conventional teaching on the understanding of thermodynamics, group work and self-directed learning skills among physics undergraduates. The actual sample size comprises of 122 students, who were selected randomly from the Physics Department, College of Education in Iraq, for academic year 2011-2012. In this study, the pre and posttest were done and the instruments were administered to the students for data collection. Inferential statistics were employed to analyze data. The independent variables were the PBL, the PBL with lecture method, and the conventional teaching. Dependent variables of statistical analysis were
... Show MoreThe results of studying the effects of M. anisopiliae spores on mosquito, C. quinquefasciatus showed a biological effects represented by immature mortality. The mortality increased proportionally with the concentrations of fungal spores, which reached (at high concentration 2×1011 spores / ml), to 86.6, 56.6% in first and late instar larvae, respectively. An important to mention that cumulative death rate was significantly associated with the time, which reached to 56% at 7 day after treatment. In addition, M. anisopiliae had a long period permanence in aquatic habitats; in which the residual effects stay 30 days in aquatic habitats after treatment at laboratory conditions. Interestingly, the long period exposure of fungal spores (30 minut
... Show MoreThe study includs,effect of concentration of Lead 0.2 ,0.3 , 0.5, 5 , 10 mg/L and Zinc 0.1,0.5 , 2 , 4 , 8 mg/L lonely or to gether on growth green algae( Scenedesmus quadricauda var . longispina) according to the total qauntity for the cells and the adsorption of the algae to the zn,pb concentration .growth curve and dubbling time growth were calculated with or without there heavy metals . Results shows that there are significant differences (P<0.01) for growth curve and the control. (7.5201 cell /h)and with dubbling times (9.87 cell/h). The heavy metals(Pb, Zn). shows antagonistic effect when both used in media.
The present study investigated Haematological changes in Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi, as well as determination genotoxic effects of cadmium chloride on bunni fish by using 120 fingerlings, fish were distributed randomly into four treatments in addition to control group. Fish in first group treated (T1) with cadmium 0.093mg/L with changing water and added cadmium continuously, fish in the second group treated (T2) with cadmium 0.093mg/L with changing water without adding cadmium, third treatment (T3) with cadmium 0.046mg/L with changing water and adding cadmium continuously, and fourth treatment (T4) with cadmium 0.046mg/L with changing water without adding cadmium. Results of blood picture in T1 and T3 showed a significant reduction in red bl
... Show MoreBackground: Vascular tumors and malformations, comprising a broad category of lesions often referred to as vascular anomalies. Hemangioma, represents a variety of vascular lesions (both malformations and tumor), while lobular capillary hemangioma is a common vascular lesion of the skin and mucous membranes that occurs mainly in children and young adults. Lymphangiomas are malformations of the lymphatic system. At the level of light microscopy the small lymphatics vessels may be similar to capillaries and sometimes are only tentatively identified by the nature of their contents or by immunohistochemical staining procedure. This study aimed to assess the vascular and lymphatic vessels density in benign vascular lesions using CD34 and D2-40 im
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial capabilities of different coating durations of three nanoparticle (NP) coatings: molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), and zinc oxide (ZnO), and their effects on the surface characteristics of 316L stainless steel (SS). The coated substrates underwent characterization utilizing field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) techniques. The antibacterial efficacy of NPs was evaluated using the agar diffusion method. The FE-SEM and EDX images confirmed the presence of nano-sized particles of Mo, Ta, and ZnO on the surface of the substrates with perfectly symmetrical spheres and a uniform distribution of
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