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.
To assess cultural competence among nursing students from nine countries to provide an international perspective on cultural competence.
A descriptive, cross‐sectional design.
A convenience sample of 2,163 nursing students from nine countries was surveyed using the Cultural Capacity Scale from April to November 2016.
The study found a moderate range of cultural competence among the students. The ability to teach and guide other nursing colleagues to displ
Biometrics is widely used with security systems nowadays; each biometric modality can be useful and has distinctive properties that provide uniqueness and ambiguity for security systems especially in communication and network technologies. This paper is about using biometric features of fingerprint, which is called (minutiae) to cipher a text message and ensure safe arrival of data at receiver end. The classical cryptosystems (Caesar, Vigenère, etc.) became obsolete methods for encryption because of the high-performance machines which focusing on repetition of the key in their attacks to break the cipher. Several Researchers of cryptography give efforts to modify and develop Vigenère cipher by enhancing its weaknesses.
... Show MoreThis study describes how fuzzy logic control FLC can be applied to sonars of mobile robot. The fuzzy logic approach has effects on the navigation of mobile robots in a partially known environment that are used in different industrial and society applications. The fuzzy logic provides a mechanism for combining sensor data from all sonar sensors which present different information. The FLC approach is achieved by means of Fuzzy Decision Making method type of fuzzy logic controller. The proposed controller is responsible for the obstacle avoidance of the mobile robot while traveling through a map from a home point to a goal point. The FLC is built as a subprogram based on the intelligent architecture (IA). The software program uses th
... Show MoreThis paper presents the design of a longitudinal controller for an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This paper proposed the dual loop (inner-outer loop) control based on the intelligent algorithm. The inner feedback loop controller is a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) to provide robust (adaptive) stability. In contrast, the outer loop controller is based on Fuzzy-PID (Proportional, Integral, and Derivative) algorithm to provide reference signal tracking. The proposed dual controller is to control the position (altitude) and velocity (airspeed) of an aircraft. An adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter (AUKF) is employed to track the reference signal and is decreased the Gaussian noise. The mathematical model of aircraft
... Show MoreHiding technique for dynamic encryption text using encoding table and symmetric encryption method (AES algorithm) is presented in this paper. The encoding table is generated dynamically from MSB of the cover image points that used as the first phase of encryption. The Harris corner point algorithm is applied on cover image to generate the corner points which are used to generate dynamic AES key to second phase of text encryption. The embedded process in the LSB for the image pixels except the Harris corner points for more robust. Experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed scheme have embedding quality, error-free text recovery, and high value in PSNR.
Image databases are increasing exponentially because of rapid developments in social networking and digital technologies. To search these databases, an efficient search technique is required. CBIR is considered one of these techniques. This paper presents a multistage CBIR to address the computational cost issues while reasonably preserving accuracy. In the presented work, the first stage acts as a filter that passes images to the next stage based on SKTP, which is the first time used in the CBIR domain. While in the second stage, LBP and Canny edge detectors are employed for extracting texture and shape features from the query image and images in the newly constructed database. The p
The evolution of cryptography has been crucial to preservation subtle information in the digital age. From early cipher algorithms implemented in earliest societies to recent cryptography methods, cryptography has developed alongside developments in computing field. The growing in cyber threats and the increase of comprehensive digital communications have highlighted the significance of selecting effective and robust cryptographic techniques. This article reviews various cryptography algorithms, containing symmetric key and asymmetric key cryptography, via evaluating them according to security asset, complexity, and execution speed. The main outcomes demonstrate the growing trust on elliptic curve cryptography outstanding its capabi
... Show MoreThe study was conducted from November 2021 to May 2022 at the three study sites within the Baghdad governorate. The study aims to identify the impact of human activities on the Tigris River, so an area free of human activities was chosen and represented the first site. A total of 48 types were diagnosed, 6204 ind/m3 spread over three sites. The following environmental indicators were evaluated: Constancy Index (S), Relative abundance index (Ra), Richness Index (between 17.995 and 23.251), Shannon Weiner Index (0.48-1.25 bit/ind.), Uniformity Index (0.124 -0.323). The study showed that the highest percentage recorded was for the phylum Annileda 34%; and the stability index shows that taxes (Stylaria sp., Aoelosoma sp., Branchinra sowerby, Ch
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