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The study was designed to determine the effect of different levels of both elements (potassium and calcium) on some variables in the microscopic examination of semen (account and shape of sperms and their rate of movement within the semen plasma). In this study, 60 semen samples were collected from healthy people and divided into three groups based on the test results. Group (A) represented samples with positive results, and group (B) represented the average test results. At the same time, group (C) included weak results. The results were obtained after comparing the extent of the effect of calcium and potassium on the number, shape and movement of sperms between the three groups. The results showed that potassium had a significant effect on the number of sperm cells and the nature of movement in group (A) at the level of probability (P ≤ 0.05). In group (B), the effect of potassium on the percentage of normal-shaped sperm cells was observed. In group (C), the effect of potassium level on the shape ratios of normal and abnormal cells. For calcium element, the study's results showed the effect of calcium element in group (A) on the percentage of motile cells, and the same effect of calcium applies to group (B). As for group (C), the effect of calcium was on the percentage of immobile cells and cells with an abnormal shape. 

Cytokine storms are a major contributor to acute respiratory failure, causing numerous organ dysfunction, including kidney damage, as a result of inflammation-induced tubular injury, particularly evident in COVID-19 infections. This occurrence poses a global health risk. Experimental evidence suggests that naringenin, a natural flavonoid, has a variety of biological activities. The present study was conducted to examine the protective effects of naringenin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung and kidney injuries in mice and determine its relationship with the suppression of pro-inflammatory mediators. Forty-eight Swiss albino male mice were divided into four groups. Group I received 0.9% normal saline, Group II received 5 mg/kg LPS only, and Groups III and IV received 50 or 100 mg/kg naringenin, respectively, one hour before LPS administration. The effects of naringenin, vehicle, or LPS administration on mortality rate, pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6, IL-1, IL-8, and TNF-α) levels, and lung/renal histological changes were evaluated after 48 hours. The results showed that the naringenin-treated groups exhibited a significant (p ≤ 0.01) reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels compared to Group II. Histological examinations revealed that mice in Group II displayed significant (p ≤ 0.01) lung and renal tissue injuries, while Groups III and IV exhibited a significant (p ≤ 0.01) reduction in pulmonary and renal injuries, as demonstrated by improved macroscopic scores and reduced mortality. The findings of this study strongly suggest that naringenin has potent protective effects in mice against LPS-induced lung damage and associated kidney dysfunction. Consequently, naringenin has promise as a human anti-cytokine storm therapeutic agent.

Prostate cancer (PCa), a challenging ailment, impacts a substantial number of men globally, primarily in prestigious regions. The study aimed to explore the functions of PD-1, PDL-1, PSA, and testosterone markers in detecting the pathogenesis of PCa. Medical City-Baghdad hosted the research from July to October 2021. After examination and diagnosis by the Medical City consultant expert, 40 blood samples (20 benign and 20 malignant) were collected from prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Eight healthy individuals were used as a control group and their blood samples were taken. Patients and controls ranged in age from 20-49. The ELISA technique was employed to assess the levels of program death-1 (PD-1), program death ligand-1 (PDL-1), and prostate specific antigen (PSA), and testosterone parameters. The study found substantial differences (P < 0.05) across age groups and study groups, with malignant patients scoring highest (70.0%) at 40-49 years and benign patients scoring highest (45.0%) at 30-39 years. Elevated levels of PD-1, PDL-1, and PSA are observed in both benign and malignant PCa compared to healthy. Neither benign nor malignant PCa had significantly lower testosterone levels than healthy PCa (P > 0.05). Both PD-1, PDL-1, and PSA show a remarkably high sensitivity (100%) when used to screen patients for prostate cancer. Finally, there is a negative correlation between PSA and PD-1, PDL-1 parameters. The PD-1, PDL-1, and PSA have been found to play significant roles in the development of prostate cancer and have shown high sensitivity in screening for PCa.

Social isolation and quarantine have been implemented globally during outbreaks of a highly transmissible microbe. For instance, they were employed during the plague outbreak in 1894 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. While these methods have proven effective against highly transmissible infections, they have also had significant negative consequences. In specific regions like Anbar, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk, social isolation occurred during the period of ISIS occupation. After their liberation, these regions experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, and quarantine measures were put in place. This study aimed to investigate the effect of social isolation and quarantine on tuberculosis. Patients from Anbar, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk districts were diagnosed with pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, using methods like chest X-rays, acid-fast positive sputum slide method, culture, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene pert testing. All cases were documented at the Iraqi Ministry of Health. All four districts had the same population, socioeconomic status, and medical guidelines. Anbar showed a significant difference compared to the other districts, while the remaining three districts had no significant differences among themselves. The percentage of extrapulmonary tuberculosis was higher than the global average, indicating misdiagnosis. The age group of less than four years old had the lowest percentage of cases compared to other age groups, indicating the effective management of the BCG program. It can be concluded that social isolation and quarantine implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic might have led to an increase in cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in the studied regions. 

Purpose: type III interferons (IFNλ) are an early line of defense in upper respiratory tract infections, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). They have a crucial role in the control of the innate immune system and the modulation of immunological responses during the course of acute viral infection and tissue inflammation. The present study was aimed at evaluating the expression of IFNλ genes in Iraqi coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-infected patients. Materials and methods: ninety patients presented with COVID-19 and 50 healthy controls were recruited. Blood samples were obtained from the participants. Haematological and biochemical analyses were performed on the blood samples. IFNλ gene expression was assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of all the participants by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: all COVID-19 patients had elevated relative expression of IFNλ-I, IFNλ-II, and IFNλ-III genes compared to controls, by 1.85 ± 0.25-, 39.9 ± 15.07-, and 4.001 ± 1.23-fold, respectively. According to the severity of the disease (moderate, severe, and critical), the relative expression of each IFN type was likewise elevated. However, the rise did not reach a significant level. On the other hand, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the mean of relative expression between IFN-I, IFN-II, and IFN-III in total and each category of severity. Conclusion: the findings show that IFNλ gene expression was up-regulated in COVID-19 disease and neither age, sex, nor underlying diseases impacted the variations in expressions.

Ulcerative colitis is a persistent and recurrent medical condition for which current treatments have shown limited efficacy, necessitating the exploration of alternative drugs with minimal side effects. This study aimed to examine the anti-oxidative and antiadhesive effects of ezetimibe compared to sulfasalazine in experimentally induced colitis in male rats. A total of 40 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: a control group (negative control), an acetic acid group (positive control), an acetic acid + sulfasalazine (100 mg/kg/day) group, and an acetic acid + ezetimibe (10 mg/kg/day) group. Colitis was induced in rats by the inter-rectal administration of 2 ml of 4% (v/v) acetic acid. Sulfasalazine and ezetimibe were administered orally for seven days 1 hour after induction. Malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), e-selectin, and intracellular adhesive molecule 1 (ICAM-1) were measured in tissue homogenate upon euthanizing the animals. The results showed that the treatment with ezetimibe significantly reduced disease activity index (DAI) and macroscopic colonic scores (MAC) compared to the positive control group. Moreover, ezetimibe notably decreased MDA, MPO, e-selectin, and ICAM-1 in tissue homogenates of treated animals compared to the positive control group. In most comparisons, there were no significant differences between ezetimibe and sulfasalazine effects. These findings suggest that ezetimibe may have a therapeutic effect in the management of ulcerative colitis by reducing oxidative stress and adhesive molecules.

Background: HHV-7 infection has been documented to cause CNS complications. The susceptibility to many diseases, including immune dysfunction and cancers, has been linked to SNP in the promoter region of the interleukin-18 (IL-18) gene. Objectives: to explore the rates of both HHV-7 infection and the polymorphisms in the IL-18 -607C/A (rs1946518) promoter region in a group of Iraqi patients with different brain tumors. Patients and methods: one hundred fifteen (115) freshly obtained brain tissue biopsies were enrolled in this study; 85 were from brain cancer cases whereas 30 autopsies were obtained from cases with apparently normal brain tissues as a control group. Conventional PCR was chosen both for the detection of HHV-7 and IL-18 rs1946518 SNP detection as well as sequencing. Results: according to conventional PCR analysis, 34% showed positive results for the HHV-7 genome, while 66% revealed negative results. In various types of brain cancers, HHV-7-PCR detection results were 11.8%, 5.9%, 29.4%, 11.8%, 5.9%, and 11.8% in tissues from patients with Transitional Meningioma, Meningotheliomatous Meningioma, Glioblastoma Multiforme, Diffuse Fibrillary Astrocytoma, Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma, Atypical Meningioma, and Pilocytic Astrocytoma, respectively. The polymorphism distributions according to GG; AA and GA genotypes of IL-18 607C/A (rs1946518) polymorphism were 37.1%; 57.1%, and 5.7%, respectively, in the patients’ group and 66.7% and 33.3%, respectively, in the control group.  Conclusion: the detected rates of HHV-7 as well as IL-18 607C/A (rs1946518) polymorphism have shed light on the possibility that they might have played or contributed a role in the brain tumors’ development.

The role of macrophages in nanomedicine is widely recognized, but systemically administered drug nanocarriers are rapidly absorbed and eliminated by the mononuclear phagocyte system, consisting of resident macrophages, primarily in the liver. As a result, most encapsulated drugs are eliminated from circulation, resulting in unwanted side effects. Peritoneal macrophages, on the contrary, by ingesting nanoparticles and migrating to tumor cells, can promote the antitumor effect. This article describes the preparation of complexes based on upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) coated with nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate (NOBF4) with a protein corona (PC) from native and denatured bovine serum albumin (BSA and dBSA). The efficiency of UCNP-protein complexes uptake by mouse peritoneal macrophages has been demonstrated. The use of this approach is a promising area of oncology, since instead of inefficient systemic intravenous delivery, peritoneal delivery is used, which can become the key to solving the problem of peritoneal cavity cancers. 

Colloidal solutions of cerium and selenium nanoparticles were synthesized using the laser ablation method in deionized water. The resulting nanoparticle samples had a monomodal size distribution. The studied nanoparticles at a concentration of 1011 NPs/ml inhibit the peroxidase activity of neutrophil myeloperoxidase by approximately 10–15%. At the same time, the average fluorescence intensity of neutrophils, which exhibit both CD11b and CD66b on their surface, increases, which is a sign of degranulation of specific and gelatinase granules, as well as secretory vesicles. The studied particles of cerium and selenium have the ability to initiate secretory degranulation of neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. After the addition of cerium nanoparticles to neutrophils, an increase in the production of hydrogen peroxide by neutrophils was recorded. At the same time, the assembly of NADPH oxidase was probably activated in neutrophils after they absorbed the nanoparticles. It has been shown that cerium and selenium nanoparticles are capable of initiating the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps. In general, the data obtained suggest that cerium nanoparticles in the considered range of concentrations contribute to a more pronounced activation of neutrophils under in vitro conditions compared to selenium nanoparticles.