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 secondly, non-diabetic controls (11 male, 9 female) were selected from the patients attending Ibn AL-Haitham hospital for ophthalmology and a specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes. Venous blood samples of all participants were drawn after an overnight fast, and serum samples were stored at -20ºC until DKK-1 assay. Results: Serum DKK-1 showed significantly lower levels in diabetic patients with (6.1 ± 2 ng/mL) or without DR (14 ± 6.2 ng/mL) when compared to those of controls (34 ± 12.25 ng/mL) (p 0.05). Furthermore, serum DKK-1 levels were lower in the late stage of DR compared to the early stage 5.6 ± 1.7 and 7 ± 1.9 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, DPP-4 inhibitors cause a better increment in DKK-1 levels when compared to SU in the NDR group. Conclusions: Reduced serum levels of DKK-1 are related to the existence and worsening of DR and have the prospect to serve as an indicator for this condition.
Background: The mechanical properties of 3D-printed denture base resins are crucial factors for determining the quality and performance of dentures inside a patient’s mouth. Tensile strength and diametral compressive strength are two properties that could play significant roles in assessing the suitability of a material. Although they measure different aspects of material behavior, a conceptual link exists between them in terms of overall material strength and resilience. Aim: This study aims to investigate the correlation between tensile strength and diametral compressive strength after incorporating 2% ZrO2 nanoparticles (NPs) by weight into 3D-printed denture base resin. Methods: A total of 40 specimens (20 dumbbell-shaped and
... Show MoreBanks face many of the various risks: which are of dangerous phenomena that cause the state achieved a waste of money and a threat to future development plans to be applied to reach the goals set by: prompting banks and departments to find appropriate solutions and fast: and it was within these solutions rely on Banking risk management and effective role in defining and identifying: measuring and monitoring risk and trying to control and take risks is expected to occur in order to encircle and make it in within acceptable limits: and try to avoid them in the future to reduce the losses that are likely to be exposed to the bank: and it began to emerge and dominate a lot of legislation that seeks to structure the year risk management and t
... Show MoreResearch on the role of organizational change in easing the organizational conflict focuses for being one of the important topics and relatively modern and which have a significant impact on the future of organizations, so this study was to identify the relationship and the impact of organizational change and of deportation (technological, organizational structure, human resources, the change in the task) at the organizational conflict in the Earth company link Iraq, in order to reach the goals of the research, it has been the development of a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of (100) composed employees from managers and heads of departments and the people and staff at the Earth company link Iraq, the study found: the
... Show MoreExamination of 241 specimens of two bee-eater species, Merops apiaster and Merops
superciliosus persicus reveal recording of Haemoproteus meropis (Zagar, 1945) emend.
Bennett, 1978 and H. manwelli Bennett, 1978 for the first time in Iraq. A new species
Haemoproteus hudaidensis sp. nov. is described. Microfilariae are also infected the two host
species. The results are discussed with the pertinent literature and the necessary comparision
of morphometric measurements of the recorded parasites with that previously reported is
provided along with a taxonomic key including the newly described haemoproteid.
The present work deals with five species of parasitic Hymenoptera belonging to Pteromalidae, Eupelmidae and Eurytornidae which have been reared from brachid beetles. A new species, Eurytoma irakensis is described and the species, Bruchocida orientalis Crawford is recorded for the first time from Iraq.
Background: The desire for an attractive appearing fixed orthodontic appliance fueled the use of ceramic brackets and clear accessories. Elastics are one of the most versatile materials available to orthodontists so studying their effect on the esthetic appearance is important. This an in vivo study, conducted to evaluate the effect of exposing stretched clear elastomeric ligatures to the oral environment from four different companies (OrthoTechnology, Morelli, Ortho Organizer, and Ormco). Materials and Methods: A total of 240 elastomeric modules were examined, 60 modules from each brand. Each of the 60 patients enrolled in the study, received 4 elastomeric modules on the 4 lower incisors, one from each brand. The specimens were placed on t
... Show MoreObjective: to assess the risk factors of coronary artery disease patients.
Methodology: A non-probability (purposive) sample of (100) patients. The study population consisted of
a sample of adults from both genders whose ages were 30 years and more, and was newly diagnosed as
having CAD by coronary angiography in the cardiac catheterization unit of An Nasiriyah heart center.
Results: The result of the study showed that the most common modifiable risk factors were low HDL-C
levels (58%), smoking (53%), hypertension (46%), diabetes mellitus (34%), obesity (30%), high
triglycerides (19%), hypercholesterolemia (17%), and high LDLC (14%). All these factors were positively
and significantly associated with the development
A substantial matter to confidential messages' interchange through the internet is transmission of information safely. For example, digital products' consumers and producers are keen for knowing those products are genuine and must be distinguished from worthless products. Encryption's science can be defined as the technique to embed the data in an images file, audio or videos in a style which should be met the safety requirements. Steganography is a portion of data concealment science that aiming to be reached a coveted security scale in the interchange of private not clear commercial and military data. This research offers a novel technique for steganography based on hiding data inside the clusters that resulted from fuzzy clustering. T
... Show MoreThe research aims to achieve a set of objectives, the most important of which is determining the extent to which the auditors of the research sample in the Federal Bureau of Financial Supervision adhere to the requirements of the quality control system according to the Iraqi Audit Manual No. The federal financial / research sample with the quality control system according to the Iraqi audit guide No. 7), and the researcher seeks to test the main research hypothesis and sub-hypotheses, and to achieve this, a questionnaire was designed by (Google Form) and distributed electronically to the elements of the research sample, Through the statistical package program (SPSS), the results of the questionnaire were analysed. In light of the applied
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