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.
Heart disease is a significant and impactful health condition that ranks as the leading cause of death in many countries. In order to aid physicians in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, clinical datasets are available for reference. However, with the rise of big data and medical datasets, it has become increasingly challenging for medical practitioners to accurately predict heart disease due to the abundance of unrelated and redundant features that hinder computational complexity and accuracy. As such, this study aims to identify the most discriminative features within high-dimensional datasets while minimizing complexity and improving accuracy through an Extra Tree feature selection based technique. The work study assesses the efficac
... Show MoreThe modification of hydrophobic rock surfaces to the water-wet state via nanofluid treatment has shown promise in enhancing their geological storage capabilities and the efficiency of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) containment. Despite this, the specific influence of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles on the interactions between H2, brine, and rock within basaltic formations remains underexplored. The present study focuses on the effect of SiO2 nanoparticles on the wettability of Saudi Arabian basalt (SAB) under downhole conditions (323 K and pressures ranging from 1 to 20 MPa) by using the tilted plate technique to measure the contact angles between H2/brine and the rock surfaces. The findings reveal that the SAB's hydrophobicity intensif
... Show MoreWireless Body Area Sensor Networks (WBASNs) have garnered significant attention due to the implementation of self-automaton and modern technologies. Within the healthcare WBASN, certain sensed data hold greater significance than others in light of their critical aspect. Such vital data must be given within a specified time frame. Data loss and delay could not be tolerated in such types of systems. Intelligent algorithms are distinguished by their superior ability to interact with various data systems. Machine learning methods can analyze the gathered data and uncover previously unknown patterns and information. These approaches can also diagnose and notify critical conditions in patients under monitoring. This study implements two s
... Show MoreThe financial analysis of the published financial statements is the means that enables businessmen, financial institutions, financial analysts and others to conduct their studies and conclusions to obtain information that helps them in the decision-making process, including decisions related to investment. National in making the decision on the investment activity, for the period from 2012 to 2018, through the information provided by the annual financial statements, by selecting a set of indicators provided by the financial statements, namely (liquidity ratio, activity percentage, profitability ratios) to measure the extent of this ability Indicators in determining their role in making an investment decision.
Document source identification in printer forensics involves determining the origin of a printed document based on characteristics such as the printer model, serial number, defects, or unique printing artifacts. This process is crucial in forensic investigations, particularly in cases involving counterfeit documents or unauthorized printing. However, consistent pattern identification across various printer types remains challenging, especially when efforts are made to alter printer-generated artifacts. Machine learning models are often used in these tasks, but selecting discriminative features while minimizing noise is essential. Traditional KNN classifiers require a careful selection of distance metrics to capture relevant printing
... Show MoreIn this article the nanoparticles synthesis of ZnO (Nps) by using the precipitation method at concentrations range (0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.0625, 0.03125) mg/mL and then activity was examined against Streptococcus spp that causing dental caries in vitro by well diffusion method, find these concentrations effected in these bacteria and better concentration is 0.03125. ZnO Nps were characterization by EDS to prove this particles are ZnO, and also characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and TEM, from these technic found that the average size about 30.52 nm and hexagonal shape. The UV-visible result reveals that the large band is observed at 340.8 nm, Zeta potential show that the surface charge is 30.19 mv an
... Show MoreThis research aims to study to the strategic management of organizational conflict, which included (concept of conflict and development, types Altzimi conflict, ,management strategies organizational conflict) and its impact on job performance, which included( the concept of performance, elements functionality,) As well as the impact of the conflict on job performance has been selected Rashad training Hospital affiliated to the Department of Health in Baghdad's Rusafa, as the most important service hospitals with the exact specialty in psychiatry and its impact on the lives of citizens and how to enable the hospital aware of the strategic management of organizational conflict raises the level of functionality provided and make the
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