The present study was set to demonstrate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its effects on patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through determining their serum levels of anti-dsDNA and IL-18 antibodies. For this purpose, the sera from 132 SLE and/or toxoplasmosis patients and 30 healthy women, were collected. The study sample was divided into four groups of SLE, toxoplasmosis, SLE coinfected with toxoplasmosis, and healthy control. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were examined for all the samples using ELISA kit. The results showed a high mean level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG among SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (104.8792±12.31585pg/ml) in comparison to that in toxoplasmosis patients (91.1705±12.57746pg/ml). However, the mean value of anti-dsDNA antibodies showed significant (P≤0.01) elevation in SLE patients and SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (71.2134±9.22131pg/ml and 72.3699±9.67917 pg/ml, respectively), compared to those infected with toxoplasmosis only and healthy control. Furthermore, the IL-18 mean value in the sera of the studied patients showed significant (P≤0.01) elevation (418.4000±43.18072pg/ml) in SLE patients with toxoplasmosis in comparison to SLE patients (354.4400±35.29257pg/ml). The present investigation suggests that the levels of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies seem to increase in patients with SLE.
This paper presents on the design of L-Band Multiwavelength laser for Hybrid Time Division Multiplexing/ Wavelength Division Multiplexing (TDM/WDM) Passive Optical Network (PON) application. In this design, an L-band Mulltiwavelength Laser is designed as the downstream signals for TDM/WDM PON. The downstream signals ranging from 1569.865 nm to 1581.973 nm with 100GHz spacing. The multiwavelength laser is designed using OptiSystem software and it is integrated into a TDM/WDM PON that is also designed using OptiSystem simulation software. By adapting multiwavelength fiber laser into a TDM/WDM network, a simple and low-cost downstream signal is proposed. From the simulation design, it is found that the proposed design is suitable to be used
... Show MoreIn this study, nanocomposites have been prepared by adding
multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with weight ratios (0, 2, 3,
4, 5) wt% to epoxy resin. The samples were prepared by hand lay-up
method. Influence of an applied load before and after immersion in
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) of normality (0.3N) for (15 days) at
laboratory temperature on wear rate of Ep/MWCNTs
nanocomposites was studied. The results showed that wear rate
increases with increasing the applied load for the as prepared and
immersed samples and after immersion. It was also found that epoxy
resin reinforced with MWCNTs has wear rate less than neat epoxy.
The sample (Ep + 5wt% of MWCNTs) has lower wear rate. The
immersion effect in base so
Moisture induced damage in asphaltic pavement might be considered as a serious defect that contributed to growth other distresses such as permanent deformation and fatigue cracking. This paper work aimed through an experimental effort to assess the behaviour of asphaltic mixtures that fabricated by incorporating several dosages of carbon fiber in regard to the resistance potential of harmful effect of moisture in pavement. Laboratory tests were performed on specimens containing fiber with different lengths and contents. These tests are: Marshall Test, the indirect tensile test and the index of retained strength. The optimum asphalt contents were determined based on the Marshall method. The preparation of asphaltic mixtures involved
... Show MoreIn this paper, an adaptive integral Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is employed to control the speed of Three-Phase Induction Motor. The strategy used is the field oriented control as ac drive system. The SMC is used to estimate the frequency that required to generates three phase voltage of Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) invertor . When the SMC is used with current controller, the quadratic component of stator current is estimated by the controller. Instead of using current controller, this paper proposed estimating the frequency of stator voltage since that the slip speed is function of the quadratic current . The simulation results of using the SMC showed that a good dynamic response can be obtained under load
... Show MoreMethotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist agent, is mainly used in treatment of malignant tumors and autoimmune diseases. The present study was undertaken to determine whether antioxidant vitamin (vitamin A) could ameliorate methotrexate induced oxidative stress in male rabbits. Twenty male rabbits were randomly assigned into four groups. Group 1: control group, Group 2: MTX-treated group (received 20 mg/kg MTX intraperitoneally), Group 3: Vit.A treated group received 5000 IU Vit.A orally) and Group 4: MTX+Vit.A treated group received MTX 20 mg/kg plus 5000 IU vit.A). After 4 weeks of treatment, blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture to determine the serum malondialdehyde (MDA), as a good indicator for lipid peroxidation and
... Show MoreIn the current work various types of epoxy composites were added to concrete to enhance its effectiveness as a gamma- ray shield. Four epoxy samples of (E/clay/B4C) S1, (E/Mag/B4C) S2, (EPIL) S3 and (Ep) S4 were used in a comparative study of gamma radiation attenuation properties of these shields that calculating using Mont Carlo code (MCNP-5). Adopting Win X-com software and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), µ/ρ revealed great compliance with MCNP-5. By applying (µ/ρ) output for gamma at different energies, HVL, TVL and MFP have been also estimated. ANN technique was simulated to estimate (µ/ρ) and dose rates. According to the results, µ/ρ of all epoxy samples scored higher than standard concrete. Both S2 and S3 samples having h
... Show MoreIn most Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings, the cross-section size of rectangular columns that conventionally used in these structures is larger than the thickness of their partitions. Consequently, a part of the column is protruded out of the wall which has some architectural disadvantages. Reducing the column size by using high strength concrete will result in slender column, thus the stability problem may be occurred. The stability problem is difficult to be overcome with rectangular columns. This paper study the effectiveness of using new types of columns called Specially Shaped Reinforced Concrete (SSRC) columns. Besides, the use of SSRC columns provides many structural advantage
Industrial wastewater containing nickel, lead, and copper can be produced by many industries. The reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technologies are very efficient for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing nickel, lead, and copper ions to reduce water consumption and preserving the environment. Synthetic industrial wastewater samples containing Ni(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) ions at various concentrations (50 to 200 ppm), pressures (1 to 4 bar), temperatures (10 to 40 oC), pH (2 to 5.5), and flow rates (10 to 40 L/hr), were prepared and subjected to treatment by RO system in the laboratory. The results showed that high removal efficiency of the heavy metals could be achieved by RO process (98.5%, 97.5% and 96% for Ni(II),
... Show MoreThis paper presents theoretical parametric study of the curvature ductility capacity for reinforced concrete column sections. The study considers the behavior of concrete and reinforcing steel under different strain rates. A computer program has been written to compute the curvature ductility taking into account the spalling in concrete cover. Strain rate sensitive constitutive models of steel and concrete were used for predicting the moment-curvature relationship of reinforced concrete columns at different rate of straining. The study parameters are the yield strength of main reinforcement, yield strength of transverse reinforcement, compressive strength of concrete, spacing of ties and the axial load. The results indicated that hi
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