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.
This study highlights the problems of translating Shakespeare's food and drink-related insults (henceforth FDRIs) in (Henry IV, Parts I&II) into Arabic. It adopts (Vinay & Darbelnet's:1950s) model, namely (Direct& Oblique) to highlight the applicability of the different methods and procedures made by the two selected translators (Mashati:1990 & Habeeb:1905) .The present study tries to answer the following questions:(i) To what extent the FDRIs in Henry IV might pose a translational problem for the selected translators to find suitable cultural equivalents for them? (ii) Why do the translators, in many cases, resort to a literal procedure which is almost not worka
... Show MoreThe idea of ech fuzzy soft bi-closure space ( bicsp) is a new one, and its basic features are defined and studied in [1]. In this paper, separation axioms, namely pairwise, , pairwise semi-(respectively, pairwise pseudo and pairwise Uryshon) - fs bicsp's are introduced and studied in both ech fuzzy soft bi-closure space and their induced fuzzy soft bitopological spaces. It is shown that hereditary property is satisfied for , with respect to ech fuzzy soft bi-closure space but for other mentioned types of separations axioms, hereditary property satisfies for closed subspaces of ech fuzzy soft bi-closure space.
What concerns the research is employing the modern technology in a compatible way, because it has multiplied with the visual working functions and has grown in a special way with the development of the digital graphic design field which represents a crystallization product according to investigation and experimentation mechanism within the field of the scientific research in the design field and development of the skills of the first designing worker, who always seeks to find working and functional structures in order to produce a design with a clear meaning by utilizing the technological abilities including the acoustic tech
... Show MoreThe follower of the art of Arabic calligraphy accurately identifies three prominent dimensions that have framed the dimensions of this art, the functional dimension and the aesthetic dimension, the last of which is the expressive dimension, as it is an art that does not exhaust its aesthetic and indicative purposes because of its possibilities and characteristics that help it to form with any entity designed by calligrapher, with the expressive dimension of the most important of those The dimensions that can be studied within multiple variables, the most important of which are the significance of the text, the spatial and formal organization of the calligraphic functions and the power of the idea from which the calligraphic formation eme
... Show MoreIdentification of complex communities in biological networks is a critical and ongoing challenge since lots of network-related problems correspond to the subgraph isomorphism problem known in the literature as NP-hard. Several optimization algorithms have been dedicated and applied to solve this problem. The main challenge regarding the application of optimization algorithms, specifically to handle large-scale complex networks, is their relatively long execution time. Thus, this paper proposes a parallel extension of the PSO algorithm to detect communities in complex biological networks. The main contribution of this study is summarized in three- fold; Firstly, a modified PSO algorithm with a local search operator is proposed
... Show MoreMental systems in ontological discourse turned into deliberative systems, derived from the non-coordinated thought that motivated ontological discourse, as an incomplete thought, after it became close to reason; Between creation and prevention, between reasoning and creation, between submission and ambition, the result of an interconnected entity that slays one another from one another, and intersects with one another, to produce a special pattern each time, completely different from its predecessor or to provide a path for the coordination of others, which is outside the linguistic event, or part From it, signs and marks, produced to a large extent M., and united the signs; to return again in a circular and rotational movement to produc
... Show MoreObjective To investigate the accuracy of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) E-cadherin and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) to discriminate periodontal health from disease. Subjects and Methods GCF samples were collected from participants with periodontal health (control), gingivitis, and periodontitis (n = 25 each group). The latter group was further subdivided according to stage (S) and grade. Periodontal parameters were recorded then levels of biomarkers were assayed using ELISA and antioxidant status by use of the Total Antioxidant Capacity Assay for E-cadherin and TAC, respectively. Results All periodontal parameters were significantly higher in periodontally diseased groups than controls. The GCF E-cadherin significantly increased
... Show MoreThe current study included a review of the registration and description of the Theretra alecto Boi, 1827 (Levant hawk moth), samples were collected from various areas of the Baghdad belt and the provinces of the Middle Euphrates, confirmation in the description was on the most important parts of the body included the head and it's appendages, pronotum, wings as well as male and female genitalia. The morphological characteristics under study were enhanced by illustrations and images. Information on the locations and date of the collection was also confirmed. This study aims to identify the most important characteristics of the diagnosis of the species and the review of appearance variations, especially the analytical style of wings, coupling
... Show MoreAbstract
In this study, mucilage was extracted from Malabar spinach and tested for drag-reducing properties in aqueous liquids flowing through pipelines. Friction produced by liquids flowing in turbulent mode through pipelines increase power consumption. Drag-reducing agents (DRA) such as polymers, suspended solids and surfactants are used to reduce power losses. There is a demand for natural, biodegradable DRA and mucilage is emerging as an attractive alternative to conventional DRAs. Literature review revealed that very little research has been done on the drag-reducing properties of this mucilage and there is an opportunity to explore the potential applications of mucilage from Malabar spinach. An experi
... Show MoreThe present study involves experimental analysis of the modified Closed Wet Cooling Tower (CWCT) based on first and second law of thermodynamics, to gain a deeper knowledge in this important field of engineering in Iraq. For this purpose, a prototype of CWCT optimized by added packing under a heat exchanger was designed, manufactured and tested for cooling capacity of 9 kW. Experiments are conducted to explore the effects of various operational and conformational parameters on the towers thermal performance. In the test section, spray water temperature and both dry bulb temperature and relative humidity of air measured at intermediate points of the heat exchanger and packing. Exergy of water and air were calculated by applying the exergy
... Show More