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.
This research aims to study the effect of microwave furnace heat on the mechanical properties and fatigue life of aluminum alloy (AA 2024-T3). Four conditions were used inside microwave furnace (specimens subjected to heat as dry for 30 and 60min. and specimens subjected to heat as wet (water) for 30 and 60 min.), and compared all results with original alloy (AA 2024-T3). Tensile, fatigue, hardness and surface roughness tests were used in this investigation. It is found that hardness of dry conditions is higher than wet conditions and it increases with increasing of time duration inside microwave furnace for dry and wet conditions. Also, tensile strength has the same behavior of hardness, but it increases with decreasing
... Show MoreThe current study examines the combined impacts of ultrasonic waves and nano silica (NS) on reducing the viscosity Sharqy Baghdad heavy crude oil with an API gravity of 20.32. NS of an average particle size of 59.93 nm and 563.23 m²/g surface area were produced utilizing the sol-gel technique from Iraqi sand. The XRD analysis indicates the existence of an amorphous silica, the SEM analysis showed that NS tends to agglomerate, and the FTIR spectra exhibited the presence of siloxane and silanol groups. In addition, the TGA analysis demonstrated a total weight loss of 15.62%, validating the thermal stability of the NS. The experiments included a study of the impact of ultrasonic power, exposure time, duty cycle, temperature, and the c
... Show MoreIn this paper the effect of nonthermal atmospheric argon plasma on the optical properties of the cadmium oxide CdO thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis was studied. The prepared films were exposed to different time intervals (0, 5, 10, 15, 20) min. For every sample, the transmittance, Absorbance, absorption coefficient, energy gap, extinction coefficient and dielectric constant were studied. It is found that the transmittance and the energy gap increased with exposure time, and absorption. Absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant decreased with time of exposure to the argon plasma
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women over the world. To reducing reoccurrence and mortality rates, adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) is used for a long period. The major barrier to the effectiveness of the treatment is adherence. Adherence to medicines among patients is challenging. Patient beliefs in medications can be positively or negatively correlated to adherence. Objectives: To investigate the extent of adherence and factors affecting adherence, as well as to investigate the association between beliefs and adherence in women with breast cancer taking AHT. Method: A cross-sectional study included 124 Iraqi women with breast cancer recruited from Middle Euphrates
... Show MoreMetabolic dysregulation and obesity are associated with many metabolic alterations, including impairment of insulin sensitivity and dyslipidemia. Recent studies highlight the key role of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate-dependent Rac exchange proteins (PREX proteins) in the pathogenesis of obesity, advocating further elucidation of their potential therapeutic implications. The present study aimed to estimate the serum level of PREX proteins and its potential association with insulin resistance markers and plasma lipids level in obese and overweight non-diabetic patients. The study included 30 persons classified as obese, 30 as overweight, and 30 healthy individuals of similar age and gender. The levels of PREX1 and PREX2 were
... Show MoreTo identify and explore the factors nurses perceive as influencing their knowledge acquisition in relation to diabetes care and its management in Saudi Arabia.
Diabetes continues to pose major healthcare challenges despite advances in diabetes management. Nurses have a crucial role in diabetes care, but diabetes knowledge deficits deter effective collaboration with other healthcare providers in educating patients about diabetes self‐management.
An exploratory descriptive qualitative design.
Background: There are various secreted proteins affecting the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and one of them is Angiopoietin-2(Ang-2) which is thought to have an essential role in the development and progression of the tumor. Aim of the study: This study was conducted to determine the expression of (Ang-2) in (OSCC) to assess its correlations with clinicopathological parameters of the tumor. Material and Methods: 36 formalin- fixed, paraffin- embedded tissue blocks histologically diagnosed as OSCC were examined for Ang-2 immunohistochemical expression semi quantitively. Results: The expression of Ang-2 was significantly associated with histopathological grade (P value=0.023), while there is no significant association wi
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Mental health problems are reflected and linked to human behavior in many aspects. Medical students are susceptible to a wide variety of events that compromise their mental well-being, social life as well as their academic achievements. AIM: This study aimed to find the impact of social support on medical students’ behavior in Iraq via assessing their depression, anxiety, and stress status. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey-based study targeted all medical students in Iraq. The employed questionnaires covered mental health status of participants by evaluating their perceptions of depression, anxiety, and stress using. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. RESULTS: The study revealed a signifi
... Show MorePortland cement concrete is the most commonly used construction material in the world for decades. However, the searches in concrete technology are remaining growing to meet particular properties related to its strength, durability, and sustainability issue. Thus, several types of concrete have been developed to enhance concrete performance. Most of the modern concrete types have to contain supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as a partial replacement of cement. These materials are either by-products of waste such as fly ash, slag, rice husk ash, and silica fume or from a geological resource like natural pozzolans and metakaolin (MK). Ideally, the utilization of SCMs will enhance the concrete performance, minimize
... Show MoreRadiological assessment for the East Baghdad oilfield-southern part was conducted in the current study. 10 samples (scale, soil, sludge, water, and oil) from the different stages of oil production were collected. 232Th, 226Ra, and 40K in the samples were analyzed with 40% efficiency for Gamma spectrometry. system based on HPGe. The findings indicated that the examined sites exhibit comparatively lower levels of NORM contamination, in contrast to other global oilfields. Nevertheless, certain areas, particularly those within separation stages, demonstrate relatively elevated NORM concentrations exceeding the global average in soil and sludge. The maximum value of 226Ra, 232Th, was found in sludge sample the findings indicated that ove
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