Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and secondly, non-diabetic controls (11 male, 9 female) were selected from the patients attending Ibn AL-Haitham hospital for ophthalmology and a specialized center for endocrinology and diabetes. Venous blood samples of all participants were drawn after an overnight fast, and serum samples were stored at -20ºC until DKK-1 assay. Results: Serum DKK-1 showed significantly lower levels in diabetic patients with (6.1 ± 2 ng/mL) or without DR (14 ± 6.2 ng/mL) when compared to those of controls (34 ± 12.25 ng/mL) (p 0.05). Furthermore, serum DKK-1 levels were lower in the late stage of DR compared to the early stage 5.6 ± 1.7 and 7 ± 1.9 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, DPP-4 inhibitors cause a better increment in DKK-1 levels when compared to SU in the NDR group. Conclusions: Reduced serum levels of DKK-1 are related to the existence and worsening of DR and have the prospect to serve as an indicator for this condition.
The current research aims to determine the requirements of Trends of International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2019) and to find out the extent to which the content of science textbooks for grades (1-4) in the Sultanate of Oman includes the requirements of (TIMSS 2019). Only the content dimension has been taken into account when conducting the content analysis. The study population includes all science books from the first to the fourth grade for the academic year 2021-2022. The study identified and organized the requirements in the study tool, which is a list of requirements of (TIMSS 2019). The results showed a general deficiency in all grades (1-4) in the content dimension including many main topics, subtopics, and objectives
... Show MorePatients with renal failure in the final stages undergo the treatment by hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is used to reinstate the intracellular and extracellular fluid environment, by propagation of molecules in solution through a semipermeable membrane along an electrochemical concentration gradient. Blood catching in the dialysis machine and the recurrent phlebotomy may lead to losing about 1-3 g of iron per year. Prohepcidin hormone is an acute phase protein (type II) that plays a major role in the systemic iron irregularities as it is a mediator of anemia in inflammation and regulator of iron metabolism. This study aims to evaluate the effect of hemodialysis on iron hemostasis and its relationship with prohepcidin as an inflammatory mark
... Show MoreIn this paper we estimate the coefficients and scale parameter in linear regression model depending on the residuals are of type 1 of extreme value distribution for the largest values . This can be regard as an improvement for the studies with the smallest values . We study two estimation methods ( OLS & MLE ) where we resort to Newton – Raphson (NR) and Fisher Scoring methods to get MLE estimate because the difficulty of using the usual approach with MLE . The relative efficiency criterion is considered beside to the statistical inference procedures for the extreme value regression model of type 1 for largest values . Confidence interval , hypothesis testing for both scale parameter and regression coefficients
... Show MoreDoxorubicin (DOX) is an efficient antineoplastic agent with a broad antitumor spectrum; however, doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxic adverse effect through oxidative damage and apoptosis limits its clinical application. Cafestol (Caf) is a naturally occurring diterpene in unfiltered coffee with unique antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anti-inflammatory activities by activating the Nrf2 pathway. The present study aimed to investigate the potential chemoprotective effect of cafestol on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Wistar albino rats of both sexes were administered cafestol (5 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive days by oral gavage alone or with doxorubicin which was injected as a single dose (15 mg/kg intraperitoneally at day 14) to i
... Show MoreA preventing shield for neutrons and gamma rays was designed using alternate layers of water and iron with pre-fixed dimensions in order to study the possibility of attenuating both neutrons and gamma-rays. ANISN CODE was prepared and adapted for the shield calculation using radiation doses calculation: Two groups of cross-section were used for each of neutrons and gamma-rays that rely on the one – dimensional transport equation using discrete ordinate's method, and through transforming cross-section values to values that are independent on the number of groups. The memory size required for the applied code was reduced and the results obtained were in agreement with those of standard acceptable document samples of cross –section, this a
... Show MoreA new Schiffbase derivative ligands [H4L1] and [H2L2] have been produced by condensed ophathaldehyde with ethylene diamine and [N1, N1'E, N1, N1'E)-N1, N1'-(1, 2-phenylenebis (methan-1-yl- 1ylidene)) diethane-1, 2-diamine] with 2-benzoyl benzoic acid. Schiffbase ligands have been separated and categorized by 1H, 13 C-NMR, (CHN) elemental analysis, UV-visible, mass spectroscopy and FTIR methods. Ten new coordination complexes were prepared and structurally diagnosed: [M(L1)Cl2] and [M2(L2)Cl2] where M(II) = Mn (II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II). The complexes have been typified by FTIR, UV-visble atomic absorption, molar conductance elemental analysis, and magnetic susceptibility. The details of the ligand (H4L1) compounds are getting a
... Show MoreDiabetes is a complex set of diseases require continuous medical care, to control blood sugar and prevent complications is .The aim of this research is to determine the effect of administration of L carentin to diabetics on the lipid profile. The research was conducted on sixty diabetic patients were selected from endocrinology and diabetes center / Al-Rusafa, within selected criteria. The patients divided into 3 groups (control group of healthy people and two groups of patients with diabetes who were on metformin and glibenclamide, one group took a L carnitine in a dose of 1000 mg twice daily and a group dealing with a placebo for a period of 3 months continuously). The study found that patients who took Lc
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