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 total of 258 voluntary blood donors (males 101; females 157) in the age range of 18-52 yr among males and 18-55 yr among females were examined for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG), and (IgM) by immunological technique (Enzyme linked Immunosorbant Assay) during the period from March 2009 to April 2010. This study covered a wide range of factors including immunological, age ,sex , place of residence and symptoms that may have a possible relationship with toxoplasmosis. Results presented in this study showed clearly that 38 (14.7%) of individuals participated in this study having IgG Toxoplasma Ab, among those 10 samples (9.9%) were males and 28 samples (17.8%) were females. Moreover, we found the prevalence of IgM seropositivity in th
... Show MoreIn this paper, the Monte-Carlo simulation method was used to compare the robust circular S estimator with the circular Least squares method in the case of no outlier data and in the case of the presence of an outlier in the data through two trends, the first is contaminant with high inflection points that represents contaminant in the circular independent variable, and the second the contaminant in the vertical variable that represents the circular dependent variable using three comparison criteria, the median standard error (Median SE), the median of the mean squares of error (Median MSE), and the median of the mean cosines of the circular residuals (Median A(k)). It was concluded that the method of least squares is better than the
... Show MorePathogenic microorganisms from hospitals, communities, and the environment remain great threats to human health. The increasing concern about antibiotic resistance has also necessitated the search for robust alternatives. Therefore, this study aims to isolate, screen and evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a soil sample taken from northern, western and eastern parts of Kelana Jaya Lake against four antibiotics (gentamycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, and penicillin) on a Mueller-Hinton Agar media plate. Pseudomonas identification was done by using API 20 kit. Disc diffusion was employed as well as the oxidase test. From the positive oxidase result, the isolated bacteria were identified as Burkhold
... Show MoreGrammatical particles are so important in understanding a text and its meaning in linguistic context. This paper " Grammatical Behavior and Uses of Negative and Prohibitive Particles in Semitic Languages: A Comparative Semitic Study"
tackles a very important topic in Semitic languages. Comparative studies in Semitic languages shed light on phenomena in different languages that are related or have one common origin. No doubt, such studies have their own effects on language study in general especially when studying a specific phenomenon and explaining it by reliance on the one origin, or by investigating the various phases of its historical development.
... Show MoreIn many oil-recovery systems, relative permeabilities (kr) are essential flow factors that affect fluid dispersion and output from petroleum resources. Traditionally, taking rock samples from the reservoir and performing suitable laboratory studies is required to get these crucial reservoir properties. Despite the fact that kr is a function of fluid saturation, it is now well established that pore shape and distribution, absolute permeability, wettability, interfacial tension (IFT), and saturation history all influence kr values. These rock/fluid characteristics vary greatly from one reservoir region to the next, and it would be impossible to make kr measurements in all of them. The unsteady-state approach was used to calculate the relat
... Show MoreEfficacy of Oregano Essential Oil Mouthwash in Reducing Oral Halitosis: A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial, Mohamed Saeed M Ali, Ayser Najah Mohammed*
Aim: To determine the expression of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-2) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and the difference in its expression level between positive and negative HPV-16 (human papilloma virus- 16) OSCC patients. Methods: This study was conducted on 33 biopsies obtained from patients with OSCC and 10 normal oral mucosa as controls. In situ hybridization (ISH) was used to investigate the presence of HPV-16, while immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to estimate the expression level of TIMP-2. Results: The TIMP-2 was expressed in 27 (81.8%) of OSCC sections with no significant difference between its expression level in HPV-16 positive and HPV-16 negative OSCC cases (p=0.058). TIMP-2 was found to be hig
... Show MoreBackground: Community pharmacists endure significantly elevated levels of work-related stress and depression, posing a threat to their overall well-being and possibly affecting the quality of patient care. Objectives: To explore workplace-associated stress and depression in Iraqi community pharmacists. Methods: This observational study was conducted using a cross-sectional design. Information was gathered through the utilization of an internet-based survey. The study involved a community pharmacist with a minimum of one year of experience working at community pharmacies. The survey utilized pre-validated questionnaires. The level of stress experienced was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10, while the level of depression was
... Show MoreA new synthesis of Schiff (K) 6 and Mannich bases (Q) 7 had formed compound (Q) 7 by reacting compound (K) with N-methylaniline at the presence of formalin 35% to given Mannich base (Q). Additionally, new complexes were formed by reacting Schiff base (K) with metal salts CuCl2·2H2O, PdCl2·2H2O, and PtCl6·6H2O by 2:1 of M:L ratio. New ligands and their complexes were characterized, exanimated, and confirmed through several techniques, including FTIR, UV-visible, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, CHN analysis, FAA, TG, molar conductivity, and magnetic susceptibility. These compounds and their complexes were screened against breast cancer cells. It was determined that several of these compounds had a significant anti-breast cancer effec
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