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 ng/ml, the TNF-a level which was 123.6 ng/ml, and the IL-1B level which was 204.365 pg/dl were significantly higher in patients compared to control 3.28 (1.58–4.99) ng/ml, 56.47 (9.38–77.01) ng/ml and 67.887 (15.493–122.689)pg/dl respectively. There was no correlation between serum YKL-40 and disease activity, while there were significant associations observed with TNF-α (r=0.5,p =0.0001) and IL-1β (r=0.41, p=0.001). YKL-40 indicating good levels of RA prediction at 2.47 ng/ml, sensitivity 87.9%, specificity 58.6%, accuracy 78.1%, PPV 80.9%, and NPV 70.8%. In conclusion, a higher level of serum YKL-40 is found in RA patients. The findings from our study suggest a strong association between YKL-40 and the proinflammatory biomarkers. As a result, these biomarkers together might play a role in RA pathogenesis, and YKL-40 may be used as a potential diagnostic biomarker for RA.
Background: Oil refinery workers are continuously exposed to numerous hazardous materials. Petroleum contains the heavy metals as a natural constituent or as additives. These metals induce the production of ROS which associated with an oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. This study was conducted to assess the salivary levels of heavy metals, salivary oxidative status, oral immunological activity (salivary sIgA) and assessment of the oral findings among the workers of Al-Daura oil refinery in Baghdad city. Subjects, Materials and Methods: This study was done in Al-Daura oil refinery; samples consist of 60 workers involved in refinery processes (study group) and 20 non-workers (control group). Oral examination and saliva collection
... Show MoreBreast tumors patients generally have more oxidative stress than normal females. This was clear from a highly significant elevation (P<0.05) in malondialdehyde level in RBCs, serum and tissue of all patients groups with breast cancer as compared with control group. In this study we had found that free radicals in malignant breast tumors were higher than benign tumors, therefore the MDA might be used as a marker for prognosis of the disease.
This study evaluated the influence of administering different levels of L-arginine into eggs of 0-day-old Japanese quail embryos. On day 0 of incubation, 480 eggs (120 for each treatment group) were injected with 0% arginine (C group), 1% arginine (T1), 2% arginine (T2) or 3% arginine (T3). After hatching, 336 quail chicks (84 chicks produced from each in ovo injection treatment) were placed in an experimental quail house and allocated to four treatment groups of three replicates, with 16 quail chicks for each replicate. Traits involved in this study were hatchability rate, initial body weight (7 days of age), final body weight (42 days old), feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and blood serum glucose, protein, cholesterol, tota
... Show MoreThe current research deals with the study of aesthetic relations in the field of interior design and the extent to which its mechanisms achieve sensory stimulation between the internal and external spaces, to generate a continuous visual connection that is an extension of it, achieving in turn sensory stimulation for the users of those spaces. The internal and external spaces meet the desired purpose of feeling pleasure and beauty.” The current research aims to “discover the nature of aesthetic relations between the internal and external spaces and the extent to which mechanisms can achieve sensory stimulation in residential spaces.” The first topic included the concept of aesthetic relations, sensory excitement, and perception at
... Show MoreComplexes of some metal ions with 2-thiotolylurea were prepared in ethanolic medium using (1:1) (Metal : Ligand) ratio yielded series of neutral complexes as the general formula [M(L)Cl2]. The prepared complexes were identified by atomic absorption FT.IR, UV-Visble spectra, molar conductivity and magnetic properties. From the above data the tetrahedral structure was suggested for all complexes.
Six species of aquatic snails were sorted from three sites, the irrigation canal of Baghdad University campus (S1), River Tigris at Al-Za'afaraniah district / Baghdad(S2) , and River Euphrates at Al-Haideriah district Al-Najaf province(S2). The species included Melanopsis nodosa ;Melanoides tuberculata ; Thaiodaxsas jordani ; Lymnaea auricularia ; Physa acuta and Bellamya bengalensis. The first specis recorded the highest total number and was found in high density in the R. Euphrates site (S3), while the last species was the most widely distributed species, and found in all study sites. The last three species were found in Tigris river (S2) , while the first and last species were collected from the irrigation canal (S1).The result reveal
... Show MoreHierarchical temporal memory (HTM) is a biomimetic sequence memory algorithm that holds promise for invariant representations of spatial and spatio-temporal inputs. This article presents a comprehensive neuromemristive crossbar architecture for the spatial pooler (SP) and the sparse distributed representation classifier, which are fundamental to the algorithm. There are several unique features in the proposed architecture that tightly link with the HTM algorithm. A memristor that is suitable for emulating the HTM synapses is identified and a new Z-window function is proposed. The architecture exploits the concept of synthetic synapses to enable potential synapses in the HTM. The crossbar for the SP avoids dark spots caused by unutil
... Show MoreIn the present investigation, 24 adult dipteran species with forensic importance belonging to 13 genera and 8 families that were collected from different localities of Iraq. The specimens were identified by different taxonomical keys; in addition the date and localities of collecting specimens were recorded.