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.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the world’s biggest publicly licensed geographic data collection. Because OSM is rapidly being used in a wide range of applications, researchers have focused their efforts on determining its quality. The OSM buildings data quality is still ambiguous, due to the limitations, and a few researchers have evaluated the OSM buildings data quality through difficulties where the authoritative data are not obtainable. The focus of this research is to analyze and assess the accuracy of OSM buildings including completeness, and positional accuracy methods. Two different study areas in Baghdad city-Iraq have been investigated: Al-Rasheed and Al-Karrada. The process of the (OSM) data evaluation involved identifying the correspon
... Show MoreThe art of designing clothing fabrics is a multidisciplinary design important and difficult because it is linked to man and his personality and his tastes and habits and behavior being is a form of creative expression here came the problem of the research , which are summarized by asking the following: Is the similar role in the designs of clothing fabrics The second chapter included two themes design fabrics the symmetry in the design of fabrics the third chapter included research procedures adopted descriptive analytical method to reach the goals of the research and consisted of the research community (9) models of the designs fabrics Iraqi either the research sample was selected (5) models of society current search and search tool Vtm
... Show MoreThis study designed to evaluate the relationship between the Matrix metalloproteinase -9(MMP-9), soluble Vascular endothelial cadherin(VE-CAD)and Chlamydia pneumonia infection in cardiovascular diseases patients. All blood sample were subjected for molecular detection of C.pneumoniae by using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) depending on 16S rRNA while the level of serum MMP-9, VE-CAD measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seventy patients who suffering from cardiovascular diseases (angina, myocardial infraction and atherosclerosis) aged between 33-86 years have been investigated and compared to twenty of apparently healthy individuals as control group. Twenty six samples (37.14%) revealed positive results for C.
... Show MoreBusiness incubator is a new effective mechanism in developing small projects through its introductions of a new integral system of services. It aims at supporting and developing making new projects. Hence, there is a big number of factors that are interrelated in the processes of preparation for those projects. Those factors are: organizing the incubator and the market available for the projects attached to them and the work programs which will have to be implemented. Those small projects represent more than 98% of the total work institutions in the world. Also it has become responsible for a ration reaching half of the national output of those countries. These projects have created between 40 to 80% of job opportunities availabl
... Show MoreBlogs have emerged as a powerful technology tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. This literature review aims to provide an overview of the use of blogs as learning tools in EFL classrooms. The study examines the benefits and challenges of using blogs for language learning and the different types of blogs that can be used for language learning. It provides suggestions for teachers interested in using blogs as learning tools in their EFL classrooms. The findings suggest that blogs are a valuable and effective tool for language learning, particularly in promoting collaboration, communication, and motivation.
Doubts arise about the originality of a document when noticing a change in its writing style. This evidence to plagiarism has made the intrinsic approach for detecting plagiarism uncover the plagiarized passages through the analysis of the writing style for the suspicious document where a reference corpus to compare with is absent. The proposed work aims at discovering the deviations in document writing style through applying several steps: Firstly, the entire document is segmented into disjointed segments wherein each corresponds to a paragraph in the original document. For the entire document and for each segment, center vectors comprising average weight of their word are constructed. Second, the degree of cl
... Show MoreAbstract The relative pronoun in Hebrew language is an important pronoun use anciently and recently, it developed and it's usage and meanings differed so, it was not confined to the particle "אֲשֶׁר" as a relative pronoun, but beside it appeared other pronouns giving the relative meaning. Hence, the topic of this research was on this basis through studying the relative pronouns in old and modern Hebrew, the way of using them and their connection with preposition particles, as well as studying the relative clause.