COVID-19 is a pandemic disease that has a wide spectrum of symptoms from asymptomatic to severe fatal cases due to hyperactivation of the immune system and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to assess the level and impact of interleukin (IL)-13, IL-33, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α cytokines on immune responses in mild and moderate COVID-19-infected Iraqi patients. A prospective case-control study was conducted from January 2023 to January 2024; it included 80 patients infected with moderate COVID-19 infection who consulted in different private clinics and 40 healthy controls. The serum of both groups was tested for quantification of serum IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α using the human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The mean age of the moderate COVID-19 patient group was 43.67±1.85 years, while the mean age of the healthy control group was 34.45±3.12 years with a statistically significant (p=0.0081), but there was no statistically significant difference in IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α levels between the patients and control groups. This study highlights the importance of age, gender, and body mass index as risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection. There were no significant differences in IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α levels between moderate COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α shows moderate potential (non-significant) as a biomarker for predicting mild and moderate COVID-19. Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong potential correlation between IL-13, IL-33, and TNF-α.
Background: Periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus are both considered as a chronic disease that affect many people and have an interrelationship in their pathogenesis. Objective: The aim is to evaluate the salivary levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and galectin-3 in patients with periodontitis and type-2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: The samples were gathered from 13 healthy (control group) and 75 patients split into 3 groups, 25 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy periodontium (T2DM group), 25 patients with generalized periodontitis (P group), and 25 patients with generalized periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (P-T2DM group). Clinical periodontal parameters were documented. The concentration of IL-17
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease that is characterized by severe synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion, bone loss, and generalized vasculopathy. Although the immunologic mechanism of RA is still unclear, it is now thought to be a primarily Th17-driven disease. Along with other factors, IL-23 stimulates the expansion of Th17 cells from naive CD4+ T cells.
Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-23 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine the correlation between plasma/serum IL-23 levels and disease activity. So, we performed a systematic review with meta-analysis comparing
... Show MoreBackground: Diabetic mellitus (DM) is a collection of metabolic disorder identified by hyperglycemia. The heterogeneous etiology includes defects either in insulin secretion, or in insulin action, or the both. In addition to the distraction in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Inflammatory reaction that caused by many pro-inflammatory cytokines play a central role in the pathogenicity of T2DM, these cytokines can enhance insulin resistance which led to impaired glucose homeostasis. Subjects: The study included 75 patients (38 males and 37 females) suffering from T2DM with age mean ± SE 52.30 ± 1.60, and 70 individuals as healthy controls (35 males and 35 females) with age mean ± SE 48.88 ± 0.64. Evaluation of immunological marke
... Show MoreThis paper aims at studying the illocutionary speech acts: direct and indirect to show the most dominant ones in a presidential speech delivered by the USA president. The speech is about the most critical health issue in the world, COVID-19 outbreak. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted by observing the first speech delivered by president Trump concerning coronavirus outbreak and surveying the illocutionary acts: directive, declarative, commissive, expressive, and representative. Searle's (1985) classification of illocutionary speech acts is adopted in the analysis.
What are the main types of the illocutionary speech acts performed by Trump in his speech?; Why does
... Show MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the healthcare sector and the productivity of medical staff and doctors. This study employs machine learning to analyze the post-COVID-19 impact on the productivity of medical staff and doctors across various specialties. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 960 participants from different specialties between June 1, 2022, and April 5, 2023. The study collected demographic data, including age, gender, and socioeconomic status, as well as information on participants' sleeping habits and any COVID-19 complications they experienced. The findings indicate a significant decline in the productivity of medical staff and doctors, with an average reduction of 23% during the post-COVID-19 period. T
... Show MoreThis study discusses risk management strategies caused by pandemic-related (Covid-19) suspensions in thirty-six engineering projects of different types and sizes selected from countries in the middle east and especially Iraq. The primary data collection method was a survey and questionnaire completed by selected project crew and laborers. Data were processed using Microsoft Excel to construct models to help decision-makers find solutions to the scheduling problems that may be expected to occur during a pandemic. A theoretical and practical concept for project risk management that addresses a range of global and local issues that affect schedule and cost is presented and results indicate that the most significant delays are due to a
... Show MoreThis study discusses risk management strategies caused by pandemic-related (Covid-19) suspensions in thirty-six engineering projects of different types and sizes selected from countries in the middle east and especially Iraq. The primary data collection method was a survey and questionnaire completed by selected project crew and laborers. Data were processed using Microsoft Excel to construct models to help decision-makers find solutions to the scheduling problems that may be expected to occur during a pandemic. A theoretical and practical concept for project risk management that addresses a range of global and local issues that affect schedule and cost is presented and results indicate that the most significant delays are due to a
... Show MoreThe pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first reported in China, in December 2019 and since then the digestive tract involvement of COVID-19 has been progressively described. In this review, I summed recent studies, which have addressed the pathophysiology of COVID-19-induced gastrointestinal symptoms, their prevalence, and bowel pathological and radiological findings of infected patients. The effects of gut microbiota on SARS-CoV-2 and the challenges of nutritional therapy of the infected patients are depicted. Moreover, I provide a concise summary of the recommendations on the management of inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and performing endoscopy in the COVID era. Finally, the COVID pancreatic re
... Show MoreABSTRACT : Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases linked with dementia, it is characterized by the deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (Ab) in the brain. The present study aims to innovate a biochemical relationship between AD and interleukin 38 (IL-38) as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, expose novel mechanisms and concepts regarding other biochemical parameters studied previously or recently in AD patients and also examine the biochemical action of memantine (10 mg daily) on AD patients. Sixty (60) diagnosed AD patients participated in the present study and classified into four (4) groups: G3 were composed of (15) newly diagnosed males (52-78) years / without treatment, G4 composed of (15
... Show More