Background: Measuring the concentration of hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) in HBV patients can be determined with immunoassay techniques. This study aimed to measure the HbsAg titers in chronic HBV patients and to assess its correlation with patients' ages, gender, and with the levels of liver enzymes and total serum bilirubin. Materials and Method: Fifty-eight chronic hepatitis B infected patients were enrolled in this study. Age and gender of the patients were recorded. HbsAg concentration was tested with automated Immunoanalyzer. The patients were also tested for ALT, AST, ALP, and TSB by automated chemistry analyzer. Results: All the chronic HBV patients have positive HBsAg titers above the negative cutoff (0.05U/L) with mean concentration equal to 3099.7U/L, and a range of 0.25-6005.2 U/L. The highest mean HbsAg concentration was in age group 50-59, while the least was in age group ≥60. There was weak negative insignificant correlation between HbsAg concentrations and ages of patients. Thirty one of the patients were males and 27 were females. The means of HbsAg concentrations between males and females were statistically not significant. The mean ALT concentration was 60.038U/L, for AST was 40.728U/L, for ALP was 113.722 U/L, and for TSB was 1.168mg/dl. The values of correlation coefficients (R) between HBsAg titers and the concentrations of ALT, AST, ALP, and TSB were 0.13, 0.11, 0.12, and 0.14, respectively. Conclusions: The HBsAg titers are positive among all chronic HBV patients, with a mean titer of 3099.7U/L and all of the values are below 10000.0U/L. The mean titers increase gradually with age to reach the peak in age group 50-59 years old then decline The age, gender, serum ALT, serum AST, serum ALP, and TSB all have weak insignificant correlations with HBsAg titers among chronic HBV patients. The serum ALT is the most commonly elevated liver biomarker in chronic HBV patients.
Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of serum cyclin D1, CDK4, and CDK6 as biomarkers of treatment response and progression-free survival (PFS) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Methods: In a single-center prospective observational study, 74 women with hormone-receptor-positive (HR+)/ human epidermal growth receptor-2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer were recruited from the Oncology Hospital, Medical City in Baghdad, Iraq. The patients were treated with oral Palbociclib (125 mg) for 21 days, then continued with Letrozole (2.5 mg) for 7 days, and completed six treatment cycles. The candidates were divided into two groups based on therapeutic response: Group 1 responded to the palbociclib plus letrozole combination therapy, a
... Show MoreThe present work elucidates the utilization of activated carbon (AC) and activated carbon loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-AC) to remove tetracycline (TC) from synthetically polluted water. The activated carbon was prepared from tea residue and loaded with silver nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were used to characterize the activated carbon (AC) and silver nanoparticles-loaded activated carbon (AgNPs-AC). The impact of various parameters on the adsorption effectiveness of TC was examined. These variables were the initial adsorbate concentration (Co), solution acidity (pH), adsorption time (t), and dosag
... Show MoreContinuous turbidimetric analysis (CTA) for a distinctive analytical application by employing a homemade analyser (NAG Dual & Solo 0-180°) which contained two consecutive detection zones (measuring cells 1 & 2) is described. The analyser works based on light-emitting diodes as a light source and a set of solar cells as a light detector for turbidity measurements without needing further fibres or lenses. Formation of a turbid precipitated product with yellow colour due to the reaction between the warfarin and the precipitation reagent (Potassium dichromate) is what the developed method is based on. The CTA method was applied to determine the warfarin in pure form and pharmaceu
Microfibers released by synthetic clothes have a significant negative effect on the environment. Several solutions have been proposed and evaluated for their effectiveness, but studies have failed to address the human-centered aspects of these products. In this research, the possibilities and needs from a consumer perspective for a new filtering system for domestic washing machines were examined. First, a quantitative (questionnaire) and a qualitative (interviews and observations) exploration were done to understand the desired requirements from a user perspective. Next, the acceptance of various existing solutions for microfiber catching was investigated. To verify these requirements, a new concept was designed and evaluated with a
... Show MoreAnadara granosa is a species of the class bivalve commonly found on the east coast of South Sumatra as a fishery commodity. This species has not been widely studied as a source of new bioactive compounds that have antioxidant abilities. This study aims to analyze the antioxidant ability of A. granosa against DPPH radicals and its phytochemical profile qualitatively. Samples were taken at the fishing port of Sungsang Village, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Furthermore, the samples were extracted using ethanol as a solvent and tested for antioxidants against DPPH radicals, total phenol analysis, and preliminary phytochemical test. Based on the antioxidant test results, the IC50 value of the ethanolic extract of
... Show MoreThe synthesis of ligands with N2S2 donor sets that include imine, an amide, thioether, thiolate moieties and their metal complexes were achieved. The new Schiff-base ligands; N-(2-((2,4-diphenyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-ylidene)amino)ethyl)-2-((2-mercaptoethyl)thio)-acetamide (H2L1) and N-(2-((2,4-di-p-tolyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-ylidene)amino)ethyl)-2-((2-mercaptoethyl)thio) acetamide (H2L2) were obtained from the reaction of amine precursors with 1,4-dithian-2-one in the presence of triethylamine as a base in the CHCl3 medium. Complexes of the general formula K2<
To evaluate the effects of the ShotBlocker and vibration device on pain intensity and patient satisfaction during subcutaneous (SC) insulin injections in hospitalized adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
In this randomized controlled trial, 102 patients with type II diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned into 3 groups: 35 patients in the ShotBlocker group, 36 patients in the vibration group, and 31 patients in the control group. ShotBlocker was applied immediately before and during the injection, while the vibration was applied fo