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.
The research deals with the relationship between supplier evaluation (single variable) and family brand strategy (single variable) a case study in the battery factory\Al-Waziriya, and the fact that the industrial sector represents a cornerstone for building the country’s economy of and their development. The research has been selected on this basis. The problem stems from the lack of business understanding of the real role played by the assessment of the suppliers' and its strong impact on its reputation and position in the market. The research gains its importance by moving away from traditional marketing style in terms of characteristics related to the resource itself, and the service provided by the factory to c
... Show MoreLight soaking (LS) is widely employed to optimize CdTe-based solar cells, yet its microscopic origin remains controversial due to the entangled roles of illumination and thermal activation. Here, we establish a decoupled experimental strategy that independently disentangles light exposure and heating, revealing their fundamentally distinct and competing effects on defect dynamics in CdSeTe solar cells. Illumination alone induces a backward drift of acceptors under the light-enhanced built-in field, reducing apparent hole density and suppressing open-circuit voltage. In contrast, thermal activation promotes Cu redistribution toward the front junction and eliminates deep recombination centers, partially restoring device performance. Remarka
... Show MoreDue to the huge variety of 5G services, Network slicing is promising mechanism for dividing the physical network resources in to multiple logical network slices according to the requirements of each user. Highly accurate and fast traffic classification algorithm is required to ensure better Quality of Service (QoS) and effective network slicing. Fine-grained resource allocation can be realized by Software Defined Networking (SDN) with centralized controlling of network resources. However, the relevant research activities have concentrated on the deep learning systems which consume enormous computation and storage requirements of SDN controller that results in limitations of speed and accuracy of traffic classification mechanism. To fill thi
... Show MoreThe current research discussed biophysics data as a theoretical and applied knowledge base linking industrial design with the natural sciences at the level of applied strategies through which we can enrich the knowledge base of industrial design. The research focused on two main aspects of the scientific references for biophysics, namely: electromagnetism, and biomechanics. According to the performance and functional applications in designing the functions of industrial products at the electromagnetic level, it was found that remote sensing applications: such as fire sensors that were adopted from the insect (Black Beetle) and that their metaphors enable them to hear fire, and collision sensors, which were adopted from the insect
... Show MoreObjective: To assess knowledge and skills level regarding oxygen administration methods at p
ediatric teaching hospitals in Mosul City.
Methodology: A descriptive study was applied at pediatric teaching hospitals (Al-Kansaa, and Ibn Al-Atheer) in Mosul City from 8 of October / 2018 till 29 of May / 2019. The selection of the sample was non- probability (Purposive). This sample involved of (52) nurses. The questionnaire was constructed which consists of three parts and provided for nurses. The questionnaire validity was carried out through a panel of experts. To evaluate statistically the reliability of instruments, the pilot study was applied through period from 20– till –31 of January / 2019. Non-randomly (6) nurses from Ibn S
It is very well known in the planning publications that when creating spacing development to a region or sub-region, it can be able to make more than an alternative consisting with the strategic directions overtaken from the actual development of region and the situational and developmental objectives needed. However, the difficulty facing the situational planning is in selecting one of these alternatives to be the best in order to make a balanced situational re-structure, and achieving the economic, social and civil objectives. The developmental situation elements in the regions and governorates, including (Karbala) impose themselves as situational power which implies the process of re-structural arrangement where the situational develo
... Show Morepublishing has become a large space in the field of interactive education and modern pages have become dedicated to the service of the educational effort in this area as the research in this context of the urgent scientific necessities, especially as we consider in Iraq from the new countries in the exploitation of these new technologies and investment possibilities of the information network And the contents of different in the framework of so-called distance education Here lies the problem of research in the possibility of finding scientific solutions for the design of interactive inter active website for students of the preparatory stage in Iraq and to find out the scientific ways to find des
... Show MoreAbstract:
Objective (s): This study aims to assess nurses' knowledge and practice regarding physiotherapy protocol at intensive care units
Methodology: descriptive cross-sectional study design executed at the ICU in the city hospitals of AL- for the time of 13th October/ 2021 to 7th April /2022. Questionnaire filled by 75 nurses who work in ICU who had chosen by non-probability (purposive) selection collected the data. Then the researcher used an observational checklist to evaluate nurses’ practice. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS.
Results: the study found a deficit in nurses’ knowledge and pra
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