Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition that requires effective treatment. Genetic variability, particularly in the Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene, may influence patients’ response to biological therapies such as etanercept. This study evaluated the association of four TNF-α gene polymorphisms (rs361525 G/A, rs673 G/A, rs1800629 G/A, and rs1800750 G/A) with serum TNF-α levels and response to etanercept in Iraqi patients with psoriasis. A retrospective study was conducted on 80 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who received etanercept for at least six months. Patients were categorised as responders (≥ 75% PASI reduction) or non-responders (≤ 50% PASI reduction). Genotyping was performed using PCR and Sanger sequencing. A significant association was observed between the rs673 G/A polymorphism and etanercept response: the GA genotype was predominantly present in responders and showed a negative association with non-response (phi = -0.318, p = 0.007), whereas the GG genotype demonstrated a positive association (phi = 0.411, p = 0.0007). Non-responders had significantly higher post-treatment serum TNF-α levels compared with responders. These findings suggest that the rs673 G/A polymorphism and TNF-α levels may be associated with etanercept response. However, larger studies are needed to validate these associations before clinical implementation.
Consuming of by-product or waste materials in highway engineering is significant in the construction of new roads and/or in renovations of the existing ones. Pulverised Fuel ash (PFA), which is a by-product material of burning coal in power stations, is one of these materials that might be incorporated instead of mineral filler in hot asphalt mixtures.
Two types of surface course mixtures have been prepared one with conventional mineral filler i.e. ordinary Portland cement (OPC) while the second was with PFA. Several testings have been conducted to indicate the mechanical properties which were Marshall Stability and Indirect Tensile Strength tests. On the other hand, moisture damage and ageing have been evaluated
... Show MoreIn this work, an anti-reflection coating was prepared in the region (400-1000) nm of wavelength, with a double layer of silicon dioxide (SiO2) as an inner layer and the second layer of the mixture (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) with certain ratios, as an outer layer using the chemical spraying method with a number of 6 sprays of layer SiO2 and 12 sprays of layer SiO2 - TiO2. Using the method of chemical spraying deposited on the glass as a substrate with a different number of sprays of SiO2, and a fixed number of TiO2-SiO2. The optical and structural properties were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy and atomic force mi
... Show MoreThe study focuses on the causes of minaret tilting as well as possible solutions. The major aims of this study are to improve knowledge of historical tall structure stability and rehabilitation operations using the finite element approach to model the soil and minaret (PLAXIS 3D 2020), a platform for computational soil investigation and modeling. The numerical analysis aims to identify stresses, settlement, and deformation of the soil and minaret in various scenarios like Earthquakes, explosions, and winds. The simulation of the problem by the PLAXIS 3D revealed that the greatest lateral displacement computed at the Top Minaret is 5.5 cm, and the greatest vertical movement is calculated to be 3 cm. Seismic settlement is the effect of ear
... Show MoreThe specific activity of 29 soil samples collected from Fuel
Fabrication Facility FFF at AL-Tuwaitha site, 20 km south of
Baghdad were determined using HPGe detector in a low background
configuration, it's relative efficiency of 40%, and resolution of 2keV
for the 1332 keV gamma ray emission of 60Co. The range of activity
concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were between (12.56-31.96),
(10.2-18.4) and (47.47-402.1) Bq/kg respectively. In order to assess
any radiological hazard to human health, the absorbed gamma dose
rate D in air at 1m above the ground surface was calculated in the
range (18.87 to 36.46) nGy/h; the outdoor annual effective dose
equivalent AEDE was evaluated to vary from 0.0039 to 0.0076
In this work, the nano particles of Na-A zeolite were synthesized by sol –gel method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray luorescence (XRF), Surface area and pore volume, Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Results show that the nano A zeolite is with average crystal size is 74.77 nm., Si/Al ratio 1.03, BET surface area was 581.211m2/g and the pore volume for NaA was found equal to 0.355cm3/g.
The mucilage from the seeds of Lallemantia royleana family Labiatae was extracted and subjected to preformulation study for evaluation of its suitability for use as suspending agent. Furosemide suspensions were prepared using (1.5% w/v) of the extracted Lallemantia royleana mucilage, (1.5% w/v) chitosan and (0.35% w/v) xanthan gum. The mucilage was white in color and the average yield of dried mucilage obtained from L.royleana nutlets was 14 % w/w of the seeds used. It is sparingly soluble in water but swells in contact with it, giving a highly viscous solution. It is slightly acidic to neutral. It was found that the extracted natural mucilage of Lallemantia royleana exhibited a higher viscosity profil
... Show MoreThe present investigation aims to study the effect of heat treatment by quenching in different quenching media (salt water, water and oil) following by tempering on wear resistance of EN25 steel. EN25 steel is an alloy of medium carbon low alloy steel which is used for many applications requiring high tensile strength and wear resistance such as connecting rods, adapters and in power sectors extensively. The specimens are machined to 20 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter. This study is done by two stages: The first stage is done by austenitizing EN25 steel to 850 for 1 hr by quenching the specimens in three different quenching media and then tempered at 300 in air. While the second stage is performed by wear
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