Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

The present work aimed to make a comparative investigation between three different ionospheric models: IRI-2020, ASAPS and VOACAP. The purpose of the comparative study is to investigate the compatibility of predicting the Maximum Usable Frequency parameter (MUF) over mid-latitude region during the severe geomagnetic storm on 17 March 2015. Three stations distributed in the mid-latitudes were selected for study; these are (Athens (23.50o E, 38.00o N), Jeju (124.53o E, 33.6o N) and Pt. Arguello (239.50o W, 34.80o N). The daily MUF outcomes were calculated using the tested models for the three adopted sites, for a span of five-day (the day of the event and two days preceding and following the event day). The calculated datasets were co

In this paper we use the Markov Switching model to investigate the link between the level of Iraqi inflation and its uncertainty; forth period 1980-2010 we measure inflation uncertainty as the variance of unanticipated  inflation. The results ensure there are a negative effect of inflation level on inflation uncertainty and  all so there are a positive effect of inflation uncertainty on inflation level.                                                   &nbsp

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection is associated with broad spectrum of clinical manifestationsdepending on the immune status of the host, To analyze their possible role in the complication ofautoimmune hepatitis, we investigated (30) female patients with autoimmune hepatitis type-1 of(10-40)years and 25 healthy female of same ages(control groups). Both groups were carried outto measure the levels of EBV-CA IgM, IgG Ab, EBV-EA IgM, IgG Ab, and EBV-NA IgM, IgGAb using indirect immunoflourescent assay (IFAT).The prevalence of EBV-CA IgM, IgG Ab were(10%,20%) and EBV-EA IgM, IgG Ab were (10% and20%) respectively, while the prevalence ofEBV-NA IgG Ab was( 3.33%) and there are no prevalence of EBV-NA IgM Ab. There weresignificant differences (P

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, complicating 3-14% of all pregnancies. Although the etiology remains unknown, placental hypoperfusion and diffuse endothelial cell injury are considered to be the central pathological process; many endocrinological changes have been linked to the etiology of preeclampsia including parathyroid hormone and calcium level. Objective: to compare serum parathyroid hormone and total serum calcium levels in mild and severe preeclampsia versus normal pregnancy. Patients and methods: Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level and total serum calcium level were measured in thirty normotensive pregnant women and thirty women with mild preeclampsia and thi

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 s

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 s