Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is an inflammatory, systemic rheumatic condition that mostly affects the axial skeleton. Tenascin-C (TN-C) is a hexameric glycoprotein of considerable size, upregulated in many inflammatory conditions, while Interleukin-17 (IL-17) a cytokine that plays an important role in SpA symptoms. Objective: to investigate the upregulation between the serum levels of TN-C and IL-17 in Iraqi axSpA patients and the disease characteristics. Patients and Methods: Seventy-four axSpA patients and 28 matched controls were studied. Fifty-four patients received a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) and 20 did not. Serum TN-C and IL-17 concentrations were determined using the ELISA technique. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) was assessed. For statistical tests, Chi Square, Mann Whitney, Independent Samples T, and Pearson's correlation tests are used. Results: Patients mean age was 35.6±0.9 years, 65 males and 9 females, and disease duration was 5.18±0.6 years. 47.4% were smokers, 47% had inflammatory low back pain, and HLA-B27 was present in 91%. BASDAI mean was 6.1±0.4 in non-TNFi and 2.6±0.3 in those on TNFi. The serum TN-C concentration was significantly increased in patients, especially those on non-TNFi (79±9.6 pg/mL) compared to those on TNFi (69.1±3.2 pg/mL) and control (53±3.9 pg/mL) (p=0.003). Serum IL-17 was significantly elevated in those receiving TNFi (877.9±257 pg/mL) compared to non-TNFi (487.2±234 pg/mL) and control (182.4±36.6 pg/mL) (p=0.033). The TN-C significantly correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r=0.27, p=0.02) and with hemoglobin (Hb) concentration (r=0.26, p=0.02). TN-C and IL-17 were non-significantly related (r=0.14, p=0.2). Conclusions: axSpA Patients demonstrated high levels of serum TN-C, particularly in those not receiving TNFi, and high IL-17 levels in those receiving TNFi, suggesting that there is an association with tissue injury from the disease and stimulation of immunological and resident tissue cells. Patients who had not received TNFi showed significantly higher disease activity than others.
Abstract
The research aims to diagnose the reality of applying the eighth requirement (operation) of the business continuity management system according to the international standard (ISO 22301: 2019), in the General Tax Authority, which is related to planning, implementing and controlling specific processes and procedures to address risks and opportunities, and the research adopted the checklist of the standard ( ISO 22301: 2019), in obtaining information, to measure the extent of application and documentation, the percentages and the weighted arithmetic mean were relied upon, and the research reached a set of result
... Show MoreForward-swept wings were researched and introduced to improve maneuverability, control, and fuel efficiency while reducing drag and they are often used alongside canards, to further enhance their characteristics. In this research, the effects of canard dihedral angles on the wing loading of a forward-swept wing in transonic flow conditions were studied, as the wing loading provides a measure of wing’s efficiency (lift/drag). A generic aircraft model from literatures was selected, simulated, and compared to, using CFD software ANSYS/Fluent where the flow equations were solved to calculate the aerodynamic characteristics. The research was carried at two different Mach numbers, 0.6 and 0.9, for five different canard dihedral angles which tra
... Show MoreSuffer most of the industrial sector companies from high Kperfi magnitude of the costs of industrial indirect, lack of equitable distribution of these costs on the objectives of cost, increased competition, and the lack of proper planning in line and changes faced by the industrial sector (general) and sample (private), as well as the difficulty in re- directing efforts to improve profitability and in-depth analysis of activities, and to identify untapped resource activities, then link these activities to the final products The research aims to apply the technology review and evaluate programs with the method (ABC) through the application stages of planning, scheduling and control and a comparison to get to the products of dev
... Show MoreThe study aims at evaluating the penalty of semi- intentional killing felony in the Egyptian and Algerian criminal law following the Islamic Law (Shari'a). The study used the descriptive, evalutive and analytical methodology to reach the topic in question. To meet the theoretical significance of the study, much data has been collected to give a comprehensive picture about the topic under examination. As for the practical significance of the study, it helps the juridical power to reconsider and phrase the legal materials of the semi-intentional killing penalty based on the Islamic law. The study has come to the conclusions that the Islamic Law (Shari'a) imposes a compensation (blood-money) to be g
... Show MoreIn this work, prepared new ligand[3- (1H-indol-3-yl) -2- (3-(4- methoxybenzoyl)thiouereido) propanoic acid](MTP) has been synthesized by reaction of 4-Methoxybenzoyl isothiocyanate with tryptophane(1:1), The ligand was characterized by elemental microanalysis C.H.N.S, FT-IR, UV-Vis and 1H,13C NMR spectra, Some transition metals complexes of this ligand were prepared and characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis spectra, conductivity measurements, magnetic susceptibility and atomic absorption, From obtained results the molecular formula of all prepared complexes were [M(MTP)2] (M+2 =Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Hg), the proposed geometrical structure for all complexes were tetrahedral except copper complex has a square planer geometry around metallic ion
... Show MoreThe research is trying to identify the investment portfolio risks of the insurance company and their impact, on the Profitability ratios of the company, and whether the company's scientific methods followed in the measurement of these risks, and conducted research in the National Insurance Company. by relying on its annual budget as well as the annual reports, The search dealing with these data in theoretical and practical major premise to statistically significant between to investment portfolio risk and financial performance correlation and reach a set of conclusions and recommendations which are the following.
investments include many ri
... Show MoreThe ligand 4-(2-aminmo-5-nitro-phenylazo)-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-pyrazol-3-one derived from 4-aminoantipyrine and 4-nitroaniline was synthesized. The synthesized ligand was characterized by 1HNMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectra and (C.H.N) analysis. Complexes of (YIII and LaIII ) with the ligand were prepared in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio and at optimum pH. The prepared complexes were characterized by using flame atomic absorption, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectra,(C.H.N) analysis and conductivity measurement. The stoichiometry of complexes was studied by the mole ratio and job methods. A concentration range (1×10-4 - 3×10-4 M) obeyed Beer's law, the complex solutions show high values of molar absorption. On the basis of physicochemical
... Show MoreAugmented reality technology is a modern technique used in all fields, including: medicine, engineering and education, and has received attention from officials in the educational process at present; The focus of this research is on the degree of use of augmented reality among field experience students in the project's optimal investment program for teaching staff and their difficulties, applied to a sample of 75 students, through a questionnaire prepared by the researcher as a tool to determine the degree of use, as well as difficulties. The researcher addressed the subject through two main axes to determine the degree of use, as well as the difficulties preventing teachers and learners from using this technique. The results of the rese
... Show MoreThe study aims to identify the degree of appreciation for the level of digital citizenship of a sample of Palestinian university students in the governorates of Gaza, and its relationship to the level of health awareness about the emerging coronavirus (covid-19). To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher followed a descriptive approach by applying two questionnaires; the first, which consists of 30 items, was used to measure the level of digital citizenship. The second, which consists of 19 items, was used to measure the level of health awareness. Both questionnaires were applied on a sample of 367 students who were electronically selected using the manner simple randomness. Results have shown that the degr
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