Background: In advanced diabetes mellitus, serum levels of the most hormones are altered due to several interplaying mechanisms. Objective: To assess the relation of serum leptin and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Patients and Method: Serum leptin levels and its relation to lipid profile were estimated in 62 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy attending the National Diabetes Center in Al- Mustansiriya University, and (26) healthy individuals considered as control group. The diabetic patients were classified into three groups, (24) pathients with normoalbuminuria (21) patients with microalbuminuria and (17) patients with macroalbuminuria. Fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, Hb A1c %, lipid profile (Total cholesterol, LDL- Cholesterol, HDL- Cholesterol and Triglyceride) and urinary albumin, were measured to establish the possibility of using these biomarkers as a supplementary to serum leptin to be a diagnostic test for type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Results: Serum leptin levels showed a significant elevation in microalbuminuria (20.08± 4.50 ng/ml) and macroalbuminuria groups (22.35± 6.89 ng/ml) as compared to nondiabetic normal control group (10.64 ± 3.17 ng/ml). There was no significant differences observed in serum leptin levels between the normoalbuminuria group (13.96 ± 5.73 ng/ml) and healthy controls, but a significant positive differences were noticed in the levels of fasting plasma glucose, serum creatinine, Hb A1c% and lipid profile in the three patient groups in comparison with the control group. While no significant correlation was observed between these biomarkers levels and serum leptin values. Conclusion: It might be concluded that serum leptin levels were elevated in type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria, suggesting that renal leptin degradation is impaired in early stage of kidney damage and this impairment increase with the progression of this disease. Leptin hormone may consider according to these results as a risk factor for progression of kidney disease in diabetic patients.
Background: Poly-ether-ether-ketone(PEEK) has been introduced to many dental fields. Recently it was tested as a retainer wire‎ following orthodontic treatment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of changing the bonding spot size and location on the performance of PEEK retainer wires. Methods: A biomechanical study involving four three-dimensional finite element models was performed. The basic model was with a 0.8 mm cylindrical cross-section PEEK wire, bonded at the center of the lingual surface of the mandibular incisors with 4 mm in diameter composite spots. Two other models were designed with 3 mm and 5 mm composite sizes. The last model was created with the composite bonding spot of the canine away from the center of t
... Show MoreIn this research, the Williamson-Hall method and of size-strain plot method was employed to analyze X- ray lines for evaluating the crystallite size and lattice strain and of cadmium oxide nanoparticles. the crystallite size value is (15.2 nm) and (93.1 nm) and lattice strain (4.2 x10−4 ) and (21x10−4) respectively. Also, other methods have been employed to evaluate the crystallite size. The current methods are (Sherrer and modified Sherrer methods ) and their results are (14.8 nm) and (13.9nm) respectively. Each method of analysis has a different result because the alteration in the crystallite size and lattice strain calculated according to the Williamson-Hall and size-strain plot methods shows that the non-uniform strain in nan
... Show MoreAcute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is triggered by a variety of insults, such as bacterial and viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2, leading to high mortality. In the murine model of ARDS induced by Staphylococcal enterotoxin-B (SEB), our previous studies showed that while SEB triggered 100% mortality, treatment with Resveratrol (RES) completely prevented such mortality by attenuating inflammation in the lungs. In the current study, we investigated the metabolic profile of SEB-activated immune cells in the lungs following treatment with RES. RES-treated mice had higher expression of miR-100 in the lung mononuclear cells (MNCs), which targeted mTOR, leading to its decreased expression. Also, Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA seq)
... Show MoreAntibiotic resistance is the major growing threat facing the pharmacological treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, bioprospecting the medicinal plants could provide potential sources for antimicrobial agents. Mimusops, the biggest and widely distributed plant genus of family Sapotaceae, is used in traditional medicines due to its promising pharmacological activities. This study was conducted to elucidate the antimicrobial effect of three unexplored Mimusops spp. (M. kummel, M. laurifolia and M. zeyheri). Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying such antibacterial activity were studied. The Mimusops leaf extracts revealed significant antibacterial activities against the five tested bacter
... Show MoreA comparative investigation of gas sensing properties of SnO2 doped with WO3 based on thin film and bulk forms was achieved. Thin films were deposited by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrates. Bulk sensors in the shape of pellets were prepared by pressing SnO2:WO3 powder. The polycrystalline nature of the obtained films with tetragonal structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The calculated crystalline size was 52.43 nm. Thickness of the prepared films was found 134 nm. The optical characteristics of the thin films were studied by using UV-VIS Spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 200 nm to 1100 nm, the energy band gap, extinction coefficient and refractive index of the thin film were 2.5 eV , 0.024 and 2.51, respective
... Show MoreActive learning is a teaching method that involves students actively participating in activities, exercises, and projects within a rich and diverse educational environment. The teacher plays a role in encouraging students to take responsibility for their own education under their scientific and pedagogical supervision and motivates them to achieve ambitious educational goals that focus on developing an integrated personality for today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders. It is important to understand the impact of two proposed strategies based on active learning on the academic performance of first-class intermediate students in computer subjects and their social intelligence. The research sample was intentionally selected, consis
... Show MoreApple slice grading is useful in post-harvest operations for sorting, grading, packaging, labeling, processing, storage, transportation, and meeting market demand and consumer preferences. Proper grading of apple slices can help ensure the quality, safety, and marketability of the final products, contributing to the post-harvest operations of the overall success of the apple industry. The article aims to create a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to classify images of apple slices after immersing them in atmospheric plasma at two different pressures (1 and 5 atm) and two different immersion times (3 and again 6 min) once and in filtered water based on the hardness of the slices usin
The plant licorice is considered important plants as nutritionally and medically and economically, as a rich in phytochemical, vitamins and minerals, and being widely available, Research indicated the presence of many nutrients such as (proteins, Carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals) as well as presence of Glycyrrhizin which responsible of sweet taste, that allowing the possibility to use it as natural intensity sweetener with few calories in Sweetening of many food. This research is aimed to study the Stability of Glycyrrhizin toward the various manufacturing conditions such as (thermal treatment, pH of foods and microwaves), so three factorial experiments was implemented to find out the Stability as following: 100C° - 121C° - Microwa
... Show MoreThis research studies the Saudi women participation in the visual arts, presents descriptive and analytical overview on their artworks and assess development through their participation in the said exhibition, frequency of participation, and aims to understand the most important stages and changes of the subjects addressed, artistic styles and the factors affecting these results in view of female artist's attitude pertaining to several aspects such as administrative organization, judging committees etc.
Interviews were held with a sample of female artists, 17 artists from different regions and generations out of 182 participants and reviewed relevant exhibition literature during the period 1979-2018. The research problem is to id
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