All major organs may be impacted by the connective disease systemic lupus erythematosus, a separate risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). Adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and vascular cell adhesion molecules (VCAM) can detect endothelial damage and dysfunction, which appear to play a crucial role. This study investigated whether people with SLE had elevated subclinical and clinical atherosclerosis risk factors. Traditional CAD risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia cannot entirely explain this elevation. It is thought that immunological dysfunction also increases CAD risk in SLE patients. The study aimed to assess early endothelial changes in SLE Iraqi female patients without previous coronary artery lesions by exploring a potential relationship between circulating VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 as risk factors for atherosclerosis and the relationship of CAD with SLE disease and its severity; further, the study explained the effect of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on the lipid profile levels of the patients. 92 female SLE patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe, according to the SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2k), compared with 30 apparently healthy control individuals. All of them need a history of CAD. Serum VCAM-1, ICAM-1 level, VCAM-1/ICAM1 ratio, TC, HDL, LDL levels TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were measured. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 levels and VCAM-1/ICAM-1 ratio were significantly and gradually increased in patient groups compared with control. Serum TC, HDL and LDL levels were significantly reduced in the SLE patients compared to the control. At the same time, the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were significantly elevated with the severity of the SLE disease. sVCAM-1, sICAM-1 level and VCAM1/ICAM-1 ratio together with serum TC/HDL and LDL/HDL may improve coronary artery disease risk categorization in SLE patients without acute coronary syndromes. Furthermore, they were more sensitive in severe SLE instances than in moderate and mild ones, suggesting that they may be related to the extent of coronary lesions in SLE patients. VCAM-1 had a higher sensitivity than ICAM-1 in detecting and severity screening for CAD in SLE patients. Keywords: VCAM-1, ICAM-1, SLE, Atherosclerosis
The study was conducted in the Tigris River in Baghdad during May 2021 until March 2022 to follow the impact of climate change, rising temperatures, and the presence of pollutants on the dynamics of phytoplankton and some physicochemical variables from four sites. The results showed that the climatic conditions during different seasons, in addition to the nature of the sampling sites, have a clear and significant impact on the studied traits and, in turn, affect the phytoplankton community. The highest average temperature (30.67 ˚C) was recorded; the pH values ranged between 8.70 & 6.75; the electrical conductivity (1208.18-770.11 µS/cm ) and the total dissolved solids (TDS) (778.95- 439.49 mg/L) were evaluated. Upon measuring
... Show MoreObjective: We hypothesized that attacking cancer cells by combining various modes of action can hinder them from taking the chance to evolve resistance to treatment. Incorporation of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with oncolytic virotherapy might be a promising dual approach to cancer treatment. Methods: NDV AMHA1 strain as virotherapy in integration with aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) using low power He-Ne laser as PDT in the existing work was examined against breast cancer cells derived from Iraqi cancer patients named (AMJ13). This combination was evaluated using Chou–Talalay analysis. Results: The results showed an increased killing rate when using both 0.01 and 0.1 Multiplicity of infection (MOI) of the virus when combined with a dose of 617
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Timely diagnosis of periodontal disease is crucial for restoring healthy periodontal tissue and improving patients’ prognosis. There is a growing interest in using salivary biomarkers as a noninvasive screening tool for periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of two salivary biomarkers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein, for periodontal disease by assessing their sensitivity in relation to clinical periodontal parameters. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the impact of systemic disease, age, and sex on the accuracy of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal health. Materials and methods: A total of 145 participants were categorized into three groups based
... Show MoreRecording two species of larval cestodes Callitetrarhynchus gracilis and Callitetrarhynchus sp. (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha) parasitic in body cavity of two carangid fishes (Carangoides malabaricus and Megalaspis cordyla) from north west Arab Gulf, Iraq, is described. The species Callitetrarhynchus sp. was recorded for the first time in Iraq in carangid fishes. Also, two fish species (C. malabaricus and M. cordyla) are considered as new hosts for C. gracilis and Callitetrarhynchus sp. in the Arab Gulf. The cestodes were sent to Prof. Dr. Harry W. Palm, Department of Fisheries Biology, Institute Zoo Morphology, Germany for confirmation of the identification.
The study searches for the possibility of using duckweed Lemna spp. to reduce the concentration of heavy metals (zinc and iron) in the wastewater of Baghdad by culturing two different densities of the plant with a fresh weights 5 and 10 g/l and without the plant under optimum uncontrolled conditions. The result showed that there was a significant differences at the possibility level of (p? 0.05) for the three treatments, as the highest percentages for zinc removal in the second day for the plant treatment of 5 g/l were 66.40%, while the highest percentage of iron removal were in the tenth days for the plant treatment 10 g/l were 80 %, and noticed that the increase of the heavy metals concentrations accumulated in the plant after bei
... Show MoreThis study is an investigation of the drugs effect on some pathogenic Acanthamoeba isolated from Iraqi waters, where the problem of environmental adaptation that characterizes this organism in addition to being a reservoir for many pathogenic microorganisms that take shelter in it to escape disinfectants and medicines is sometimes difficult to treat it with traditional treatments. Twenty water samples were collected from different water regions in Iraq, namely the Dokan Lake, Tigris River, Euphrates River and Najaf Sea, 5 samples from each source. Acanthamoeba was isolated from water samples on NNA and PYG media, using an inverted microscope with an electron microscope to determine their phenotypic features. PCR and
... Show MoreSteady natural and mixed convection flow in a square vented enclosure filled with water-saturated aluminum metal foam is numerically investigated. The left vertical wall is kept at constant temperature and the remaining walls are thermally insulated. Forced convection is imposed by providing an inlet at cavity bottom surface, and a vent at the top surface. Natural convection takes place due to the temperature difference inside the enclosure. Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model for fluid flow and the two-equation of the local thermal non-equilibrium model for heat flow was adopted to describe the flow characteristics within the porous cavity. Numerical results are obtained for a wide range of width of the inlet as a fraction
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