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.
Experimental study has been conducted for laminar natural convection heat transfer of air flow through a rectangular enclosure fitted with vertical partition. The partition was oriented parallel to the two vertical isothermal walls with different temperatures, while all the other surfaces of the enclosure were insulated. In this study a test rig has been designed and constructed to allow studying the effect of Rayleigh number, aperture height ratio, partition thickness, the position of aperture according to the side walls and according to the height, the position of the partition according to the hot wall, and partition inclination. The experiments were carried out with air as the working fluid for Rayleigh number range (5*107 – 1.3*10
... Show MoreBackground: Job satisfaction remains as an important concern for both employer and employee. A high-quality teaching staff is the cornerstone of a successful educational system. One step in developing a high quality faculty understands the factors associated with teaching quality and retention. One of these factors is job satisfaction, which has been studied widely by organizational researchers.Objectives: To evaluate the extent of job satisfaction of teaching staff working at AL-Kindy College of medicine and to identify some work-related factors associated with job satisfaction.Methods: A cross- sectional study was carried out. A convenient sample of 50 teaching staff, who had a teaching job at different scientific departments at AL-Kin
... Show MoreBackground: The relation between insulin resistance ,leptin levels and other hormones in women with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is still controversial.Metformin therapy is proved effective in reducing insulin resistance and also in some studies it was seen to be effective in reducing leptin levels.
Al- Kindy Col Med J 2012 ; Vol .8 No. (2) p: 65
Objective: to study the effect of metformin on reducing leptin levels and enhancing ovulation in PCOS women.
Methods:metformin 500mg 3 times daily for 3 months was was given to 36 women
with proved PCOS, in addition to that, other parameters were included.
Results:28 women out of 36(77.78%) showed an evidence of ovulation ovulation after 3 months of metformin therapy(p<0.01)
Microsporum canis is considered one of the filamentous fungi that cause surface fungal contagion in the humans and animals. The present study aimed to diagnose M. canis via the molecular method and differentiating its local Iraqi isolates from global isolates. Microscopic examination showed 55 specimens with M. canis from 130 specimens collected from children aged between 4-10 years suspected of dermatophytes who attended Medical City Laboratories and Baghdad Hospital in Baghdad city from 1/12/2022 to 1/3/2023. The results showed that the frequency of M. canis infections was 55/130 (42.31%). The results demonstrated significant differences in the animals' contact (p <0.0001), lesions (0.03) and habitation area (p =0.002). Whilst
... Show MoreThe role of specific amino acids namely cysteine, methionine, threonine and asparagine in the protection provided by vamin solution against B-lactam inhibition to E. coli was evaluated in vitro In minimal medium, cells were treated with 32 ug/ml of penicillin G, carbenciLlin, hostacillin, cloxacillin and cephalotin in the presence of specific amino acid supplementation. Deletion of specific amino acids from the media abolished the protection provided by vamin. Threonine was essential for the protection of cells against all tested antibiotics, while cysteine was essential for protection against carbencillin and sephalotin. Deletion of methionine or asparagine abolished the protection against carbencillin and to a less extent cephalotin.
... Show MoreThe objective of this research was to investigate the effect of replacing fat(shortening) with different percentages of tahena on the quality properties (physiochemical and sensory ) of shortened cake.The percentages of moisture,protein ,fat and ash of cake increased significantly(p<0.05) as the replacement was increased .The highest increase percentages were 10,48,5,and 90 %,respectivly, at 100% replacement .Carbohydrate,however,decreased by 10%at 100% replacement .these findings may indicate improvement of cake nutritional value.Standing height,as an indicator of cake volume, also increased significantly by 4% at the 50% replacement then it decreased by 4% 100% replacement level. Basic formula (control) has signific
... Show MoreA comparison of double informative and non- informative priors assumed for the parameter of Rayleigh distribution is considered. Three different sets of double priors are included, for a single unknown parameter of Rayleigh distribution. We have assumed three double priors: the square root inverted gamma (SRIG) - the natural conjugate family of priors distribution, the square root inverted gamma – the non-informative distribution, and the natural conjugate family of priors - the non-informative distribution as double priors .The data is generating form three cases from Rayleigh distribution for different samples sizes (small, medium, and large). And Bayes estimators for the parameter is derived under a squared erro
... Show MoreThe research material was prune plums (