Background: Several infectious lung diseases often develop in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially during immunosuppressive medication, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The present study aimed to determine the role of respiratory tract bacterial infection in RA activity. Methods: Blood and sputum samples were collected from 31 patients with RA and 12 healthy subjects as control. The bacterial isolates were isolated and identified in collected sputum by biochemical tests and Vitec 2 system. Results: In the present study, thirty-one patients with RA were compared with 12 healthy subjects. Eight patients with RA were not infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-NIPB) (25.8%). Twenty-three RA patients were infected with pathogenic bacteria (RA-IPB) (74.19%). From 23 RA-IPB, 10 RA patients were infected with Staphylococcus aureus, 6 RA patients were infected with Klebsiella pneumonia, 4 RA patients were infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 3 RA patients were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. No pathogenic bacteria were isolated from the sputum of a healthy subjects. There was no significant difference between RA-NIPB and RA-IPB in terms of the level of disease activity score DAS28. Conclusion: The current study showed that patients with RA have a higher incidence of being infected with pathogenic bacteria than the healthy control group. No significant effect of bacterial species infection on the level of DAS28. The present study is the pioneer study that showed no effect of bacterial respiratory infections and different RA treatments on RA disease activity.
A detailed methodology is presented in this paper for the calculation of nucleate boiling safety margin (NBSM) in nuclear research reactors using a temperature function with three different thermal-hydraulic hot-spot analyses: nominal, cumulative and statistical for normal operating condition and coolant flow variation. A computer simulation program is developed for applying the methodology to the IRT-5000 reactor based on experimental core data. According to cumulative analysis as the overconservative approach, the NBSM at normal operating condition of thermal power 5 MW and coolant velocity 1.672 m/s was 2.3% with reactor power limit 5.13 MW. However, during power or coolant flow trip condition, transient nucleate boiling would occur for
... Show MoreIn this work, multilayer nanostructures were prepared from two metal oxide thin films by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. These metal oxide were nickel oxide (NiO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). The prepared nanostructures showed high structural purity as confirmed by the spectroscopic and structural characterization tests, mainly FTIR, XRD and EDX. This feature may be attributed to the fine control of operation parameters of dc reactive magnetron sputtering system as well as the preparation conditions using the same system. The nanostructures prepared in this work can be successfully used for the fabrication of nanodevices for photonics and optoelectronics requiring highly-pure nanomaterials.
Many attempts have been made to modify the surface of orthodontic micro-implants and prevent the development of microbes by coating them with antimicrobial nanoparticles (NPs). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of different NPs, namely, TiO2 and zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs, that are used to coat titanium orthodontic micro-implants.
Thirty orthodontic micro-implants were included in this study. Those were divided into three groups: control group without coating, TiO2-coated orthodontic micro-implants, and TiO2- and ZnO-coated orthodontic micro-implants. Scann
Using an environmentally friendly chemical process, a novel nanocomposite consisting of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and silver(I) oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles was successfully synthesized in this work, and its optical properties along with photoelectric performance were investigated. Ag2O is a narrow-bandgap p-type semiconductor with strong visible light response but exhibits poor carrier separation and structural instability during exposure to radiation. In order to overcome shortcomings encountered with Ag2O, rGO was used as a conductive support to produce rGO@Ag2O nanocomposites with improved electronic interactions. Various characterization tests, including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), field emission scanning electron mic
... Show MoreObjective: The present study aimed to determine the association of quality of life with the resilience of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study was performed, including 105 ICU nurses from five hospitals in Iraq, using a convenience sample method. Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire that includes three sections: the demographics, the Brooks Quality of Nursing Work Life survey, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10). Findings: The QWL of the ICU nurses was moderately satisfied (mean = 161.42), and the level of resilience was moderate (mean = 26). A statistically significant positive correlation between QWL and resilience. Conclusion: Strategies
... Show MoreThe deposition method of perovskite solar cell layers significantly impacts device functionality and the achievement of industrial goals. Aluminum (Al) nanoparticles with rutile titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticle thin films are fabricated on Fluorine Tin Oxide (FTO) glass substrates by nanosecond pulsed fiber laser deposition (PLD) to be used as a plasmonic electron transport layer (ETL) in perovskite solar cell (PSC). The effect of various pulsed fiber laser parameters on the structural, optical, and surface morphology on Al/TiO2 films is extensively examined utilizing a variety of measurement techniques; X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Atomic
... Show MorePrednisolone (SAID) was conjugated with ibuprofen (NSAID) through an amino acid (glycine) as a spacer arm to synthesize the following compound:
Prednisolone – glycine – ibuprofen.
The method employed consists of converting the carboxylic acid function of (R,S) – ibuprofen – glycine to the highly reactive acid chloride and subsequent reaction with the C21 hydroxyl group of prednisolone. This reactive intermediate was found to react as well with the C17 tertiary hydroxyl group of the steroid to form three compounds and eight diastereomers. These results were confirmed by T.L.C, and the desired compound was separated by column chromatograph
... Show MoreBackground: Selenium-73 with half- life of 7.15 hour emits β+ in nature and has six stable isotopes which are ( 74Se,76Se,77Se,78Se,80Se and 82Se ). Selenium-73 has many applications in technology and radioselenium compounds of metallic have found various applications in medicine.
Objective: To make a comparison between different reactions that produced cross sections of Se-73 radioisotopes.
Subjects and methods: The feasibility of the production of Selenium -73 via various nuclear reactions was investigated. Excitation functions of 73Se production by the re
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