Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic inflammatory disease affecting mainly the spine and sacroiliac joints. Since the copper-to-zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) indicates an inflammatory response, the change in ratio is expected to correlate with axSpA. This study compared levels of Cu/Zn in the serum of axSpA patients. Serum samples were obtained from 53 patients with axSpA divided according to biological treatment into cohorts A and B, and 28 healthy control as cohort C. Serum levels of Cu and Zn were determined first by a fully automated chemistry analyzer TC-Matrix Plus, then the ratio was obtained. The elevated serum Cu concentration means of cohort B (189.32 ± 13.808 µg/dL) compared to cohort A (168.85 ± 7.244 µg/dL) and cohort C (155.68 ± 3.707 µg/dL) with 0.029 p-values. Reduced Zn concentration means of cohort B (79.74 ± 4.344 µg/dL) compared to cohort A (91.26 ± 4.159 µg/dL) and cohort C (100.93 ± 6.161 µg/dL) with 0.031 p-values. The Cu/Zn mean of cohort B was (2.54 ± 0.25) compared to the Cu/Zn mean of cohort A (1.968 ± 0.125) and cohort C (1.679 ± 0.104) with 0.002 p-values. Due to the results suggesting that the differences between cohorts were associated with inflammatory responses since there was a similar change in ESR levels; however, the differences between cohorts A and B are due to the anti-inflammatory therapy (TNF inhibitor) that cohort A was treated with. Keywords: Axial spondyloarthritis; copper-to-zinc ratio; copper; zinc; inflammation.
خلفية البحث: المتلازمة الأيضية عند المرضى العراقيين المصابين بالمتلازمة التاجية الحادة قليلا ما تمت دراستها. الأهداف: دراسة الخصائص المجتمعية-السكانية للمرضى العراقيين المصابين بالمتلازمة الايضية مع المتلازمة التاجية الحادة. المرضى وطرق العمل: شملت الدراسة المقطعية 150 مصابا بالمتلازمة التاجية الحادة الذين يعالجون في وحده العناية القلبية في مستشفى اليرموك التعليمي في بغداد للفترة من منتصف كانون الث
... Show MoreThe current study was designed to compare some of the vital markers in the sera of diabetic and neuropathy patients via estimating Adipsin, Fasting blood Glucose(FBG), Glycated(HbA1c) hemoglobin, Homeostasis Model Assessment Index (Homa IR ), Cholesterol, High density lipoprotein (HDL), Triglycerides (T.G), Low-density, and lipoprotein (LDL), Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL), in sera of Iraqi patients with diabetes and neuropathy. A total of ninety subjects were divided into three groups: group I (30 diabetic with neuropathy males) and group II (30 diabetic males without neuropathy), and 30 healthy sujects were employed as control group. The results showed a significant decline in Adipsin levels (p>0.05) in neuropathy, T2DM g
... Show MoreType 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disorder that is a serious health concern all over the globe, it is linked to Interleukin-10 (IL-10) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the promoter region. On the other hand, diabetes influences the cellular and humoral immunity predisposing the patient to a variety of opportunistic parasites one of them is Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), which may infect any nucleated cell, including pancreatic cells. The purpose of this research was to explore the association of IL-10 genetic polymorphisms with T2DM and latent toxoplasmosis among Iraqi patients with T2DM. Fifty-five and fifty-eight venous blood samples were taken from T2DM patients and age-matched non-diabetic person
... Show MoreThe human resources are considered to be the main pillar of the organizations , economic development and the foundation of moving wheels of individual growth. This is considered as the basic tasks for any productive and economic activity . The investment of the human resources is the economic pillar of production , but the most important element of the production . This research tried to access the method of resource investment and to identify the problems and training as key element in establishment of E –government . A questionnaire document have been distributed to the workers at different levels in the colleges and institutes. The research concluded the necessity of job description , continuous training of the workers , usi
... Show MoreBackground: Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated, it's classified as either primary (essential) hypertension or secondary hypertension, and it increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Several classes of medications collectively referred to as antihypertensive drugs like beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, renin inhibitors and statins (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Statin medication may have some beneficial effects when subjects have dental plaque or signs of periodontitis as gingival bleeding. The purpose of this study were to as
... Show MoreThe influence of Toxoplasma gondii on some biochemical parameters has lately gained an increasing attention. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some biochemical parameters in Toxoplasma positive and negative subjects. An analytical case–control study was achieved in Baghdad for the period from October 2018 until March 2019. Forty nine females participated in this study, with an age range of 18-55 years. The participants were separated into two groups, namely Toxoplasma positive subjects (n=21) and Toxoplasma negative subjects (n=28), based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Blood and serum samples were collected from all subjects to evaluate the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lip
... Show MoreHuge number of medical images are generated and needs for more storage capacity and bandwidth for transferring over the networks. Hybrid DWT-DCT compression algorithm is applied to compress the medical images by exploiting the features of both techniques. Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) coding is applied to image YCbCr color model which decompose image bands into four subbands (LL, HL, LH and HH). The LL subband is transformed into low and high frequency components using Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) to be quantize by scalar quantization that was applied on all image bands, the quantization parameters where reduced by half for the luminance band while it is the same for the chrominance bands to preserve the image quality, the zig
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreRotating fan shaft system was investigated experimentally and theoretically to study its dynamic performance. The type of oil used for the bearing was taken in consideration during the experimental program .Three types of oil were used, SAE 40, SAE 50 and degraded oil. During the experiments, the fan blades stagger angle was changed through angles (20˚, 30˚, 40˚, and 50˚). The shaft rotational speed also changed in the range of (0-3000 rpm). All these parameters have investigated for two cases (balanced and unbalanced fan). The performance parameters of the fan were found experimentally by measuring the fan, volume flow rate, Reynolds and Strouhal numbers, efficiency and pressure head. Analytical part was also represented to prepare
... Show MoreBackground: Studies discussing the correlation between biochemical markers of bone turnover and the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal Iraqi women are rare. This study is devoted to find out the significance of serum osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OPN) levels with the incidence of osteoporosis and its major complication (fracture).Objectives: to investigate the significance of bone turnover biochemical markers; serum osteocalcin and serum osteopontin in evaluating osteoporosis for postmenopausal Iraqi women with and without history of vertebral fracture, as well as to explore the relationship of these markers with bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: Fifty seven postmenopausal women whose ages are fifty years old and over, cat
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