Here we report for the first time the presence of Apoleptomastix bicoloricornis (Girault, 1915) (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), as parasitoid of the rice mealybug, Brevennia rehi (Lindinger, 1943) (Hemiptera, Psedococcidae) in Iraq. Brief notes are provided in distinguishing the parasitoid from other closely allied species.

Checkpoint inhibitors are a type of immune therapy used to treat different types of cancers. These drugs block different checkpoint proteins, for example, CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1 inhibitors.

They block proteins that stop the immune system from attacking the cancer cells.  Checkpoints are also described as a type of monoclonal antibody that antagonizes binding between B7 to CTLA-4 and PD-L1 to PD-1.

 Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used to treat BARCA mutated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBCS) in patients who do not respond to chemotherapy, and also in the treatment of highly mutated and solid tumors such as brain tumors, liver, and pancreatic cancers.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors exhibit an effect on solid tumo

Chitinase-3-like 1 protein (YKL-40) is a glycoprotein primarily produced in the arthritic joint and plays a crucial role in inflammatory processes. The aim of the study is to establish the role of YKL-40 as a biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to proinflammatory biomarkers and disease activity. The study included 58 patients and 18 control. Diseases activity score (DAS-28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were measured. Serum level of YKL-40, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1B (IL-1β), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) were assessed. The results showed that the median serum YKL-40 level which was 5.42 

In this work, we synthesized thirteen compounds of 1-(2-furoyl)thiourea derivatives 1-13 by conversion of 2-furoyl chloride to 2-furoyl isothiocyanate by reacting it with potassium thiocyanate in dry acetone in a quite short reflux time then, in the same pot, different of (primary and secondary amines) were added individually to achieve thiourea derivatives. The products were characterized spectroscopically using (FT-IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR) techniques. Some of them were evaluated as antioxidant agents using DPPH radical scavenging method, and all were examined theoretically as enzyme inhibitors against Bacillus pasteurii urease (pdb id: 4ubp) and  by studying  molecular docking using Autodock (4.2.6) software.

The study examines Julia Alvarez's role as a Dominican American author, poet, and essayist. Despite being born in New York City in 1950, she was raised in the Dominican Republic by a family with Dominican heritage. Her residence in her ancestral homeland significantly influenced her subsequent literary works. Upon her father's implication in a conspiracy against Dominican President, he departed from the Dominican Republic. Alvarez encountered the challenge of the English language. They were compelled to acquire proficiency in English due to the prevailing perception that anyone who spoke a language other than English were deemed "un-American" during that period. Alvarez recounted her initial encounters in the United States and the subseque