Objective: Atorvastatin therapy is now recommended for reduction of cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM), based on convincing evidence of reductions in mortality and vascular events in major clinical outcome trials. The aim is to evaluate the effects of atorvastatin on proinflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6), HbA1c andleptin in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Sixty fivenewly diagnosed T2DM patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups; group I treated with metformin only; in group II atorvastatin was added with metformin. Twenty healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. While maintaining their usual eating habits, fasting blood samples were collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: HbA1c levelswere decreased significantlyonly in group I compared with baseline value; while serum levels of leptin, TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased significantly in both groups compared to baseline values. Conclusion: Atorvastatin is effective in reducing leptin and pro-inflammatory cytokines levels but associated with an increased risk of worsening HbA1c in patients with T2DM.
Chloroviruses are large viruses that replicate in chlorella-like green algae and normally exist as mutualistic endosymbionts (referred to as zoochlorellae) in protists such as Paramecium bursaria. Chlorovirus populations rise and fall in indigenous waters through time; however, the factors involved in these virus fluctuations are still under investigation. Chloroviruses attach to the surface of P. bursaria but cannot infect their zoochlorellae hosts because the viruses cannot reach the zoochlorellae as long as they are in the symbiotic phase. Predators of P. bursaria, such as copepods and didinia, can bring chloroviruses into contact with zoochlorellae by disrupting the paramecia, which results in an increase in virus titers in micr
... Show MoreBlades of gas turbine are usually suffered from high thermal cyclic load which leads to crack initiated and then crack growth and finally failure. The high thermal cyclic load is usually coming from high temperature, high pressure, start-up, shut-down and load change. An experimental and numerical analysis was carried out on the real blade and model of blade to simulate the real condition in gas turbine. The pressure, temperature distribution, stress intensity factor and the thermal stress in model of blade have been investigated numerically using ANSYS V.17 software. The experimental works were carried out using a particular designed and manufactured rig to simulate the real condition that blade suffers from. A new cont
... Show MoreIn this study, method for experimentally determining the electron density (ne) and the electron temperature (Te) in the atmospheric Argon plasma jet is used; it is based on optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Boltzmann plot method used to calculate these parameters measured for different values of gas flow rate. The results show that the electron temperature decreasing with the increase of gas flow rate also indicates an increasing in the electron density of plasma jet with increasing of gas flow rate.
Grass carp at a weight of 34.68 + 2 g were gradually exposed to four saline concentrations: tap water (0.1), 3, 6, 9, and 12 gm/litter, and the first concentration represented a control treatment. Fish were fed on a diet with a protein content of 30% for ten weeks. Results of the growth experiment showed that the feed conversion rate was 2.46, 3.58, 4.84, 6.77, and -8.56 in the first to fifth treatments, respectively, and the rate feed conversion efficiency was 40.65, 27. 93, 20.66, 14.77 and 11.68 %, while the protein intake was 22.38, 20.44, 18.86, 17.47 and 16.56 g in salt concentrations of 0.1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 g/L, respectively. In another experiment to study the effect of salt acc
Sloped solar chimney system is a solar chimney power plant with a sloped collector. Practically, the sloped collector can function as a chimney, then the chimney height can be reduced and the construction cost would be reduced.The continuity, Naver-stockes, energy and radiation transfer equations have been solved and carried out by Fluent software. The governing equations are solved for incompressible, 3-D, steady, turbulent standard model with Boussiuesq approximation to develop for the sloped solar chimney system in this study and evaluate the performance of solar chimney power plant in Baghdad city of Iraq numerically by Fluent (14) software with orking conditions such as solar radiation intensity (30
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