Endothelin-I (ET-I) is one of the potent vasoconstrictors secreted from endothelial cells when needed. Many studies revealed the elevation of serum ET-I with human diabetes and microangiopathies. Since insulin resistance is a case of mixed diabetic and pre-diabetic cases, many risk factors beyond obesity and inflammation are proposed. The current study aims to demonstrate the association between serum ET-I and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sera of 73 subjects were enrolled currently (control= 35 subjects, and 38 with T2DM for more than 7 years), aged (40-60) years old, with distinct body mass index (BMI) ≤ 25 for control volunteers and (BMI) ≥ 25 for obesity and diabetes patients. Peripheral serum ET-I and ADMA levels were significantly (P≤ 0.0001) higher in T2DM than the control subjects. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis regarded ET-I and ADMA as good markers for T2DM disease and insulin resistance, correlations between ET-I and anthropometrics revealed a strong increase of urotensin-II (UII), ADMA, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) with an increase of ET-I. These results are supported by the data of multiple regression analysis, showing that HOMA-IR, HbA1C, UII, BMI, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) are related to ET-I independently. The endothelin-I and ADMA had a positive relationship with increase insulin resistance and may serve as prognostic and diagnostic clinical biomarkers of insulin resistance. Collectively, Therefore, these measurements could evaluate the incidence of DM, and help to better rise up the knowledge about the progression of DM complications.
Activated carbon derived from Ficus Binjamina agro-waste synthesized by pyro carbonic acid microwave method and treated with silicon oxide (SiO2) was used to enhance the adsorption capability of the malachite green (MG) dye. Three factors of concentration of dye, time of mixing, and the amount of activated carbon with four levels were used to investigate their effect on the MG removal efficiency. The results show that 0.4 g/L dosage, 80 mg/L dye concentration, and 40 min adsorption duration were found as an optimum conditions for 99.13% removal efficiency. The results also reveal that Freundlich isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic models were the best models to describe the equilibrium adsorption data.
The predatory bush crickets Saga ephippigera Fischer Von Waldheim, 1846 is the largest Iraqi orthopterans and one of the most active and successful predators in the Kurdistan region. The nymphs and adults prey on all the stages of various species of insects. Twelve adult specimens were collected from Erbil Province during May 2018 and June 2021. Morphological structures of the adult insects were described and illustrated in details; important taxonomic characteristics of body regions with their appendages were chosen; and the results indicated the importance of morphological characteristics which confirmed the identification of this species correctly.
Virtual reality, VR, offers many benefits to technical education, including the delivery of information through multiple active channels, the addressing of different learning styles, and experiential-based learning. This paper presents work performed by the authors to apply VR to engineering education, in three broad project areas: virtual robotic learning, virtual mechatronics laboratory, and a virtual manufacturing platform. The first area provides guided exploration of domains otherwise inaccessible, such as the robotic cell components, robotic kinematics and work envelope. The second promotes mechatronics learning and guidance for new mechatronics engineers when dealing with robots in a safe and interactive manner. And the thir
... Show MoreThis paper aimed to investigate the effect of the height-to-length ratio of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls when loaded by a vertical load. The finite element (FE) method was implemented for modeling and analysis of URM wall. In this paper, ABAQUS, FE software with implicit solver was used to model and analysis URM walls subjected to a vertical load. In order to ensure the validity of Detailed Micro Model (DMM) in predicting the behavior of URM walls under vertical load, the results of the proposed model are compared with experimental results. Load-displacement relationship of the proposed numerical model is found of a good agreement with that of the published experimental results. Evidence shows that load-displacement curve obtained fro
... Show MoreAsthma is one of the most common chronic, non-communicable diseases affecting children worldwide. The estimated prevalence of pediatric asthma in Iraq is 15.8%. Physiologic, inflammatory and structural factors contribute to the development of asthma. Assessment and monitoring of asthma control can be done by a validated children asthma control test (CACT). Management of asthma must address three components which are an appropriate management plan, the most appropriate medication if necessary, and the use of safe and effective medication. The management plan should consider patient counseling and education about the definition of asthma, signs, and symptoms, the pathophysiology of asthma, common triggers for asthma and how can avoid them,
... Show MoreA large number of natural or synthetic dyes have been removed from both national and international lists of permitted food colors because of their mutagenic or carcinogenic activity. Therefore, this study aimed to use the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Based Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR) assay as a feasible method to evaluate the ability of some food colors as genotoxin-induced DNA damage and mutations. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was used as a bioindicator to determine the genotoxic effects by RAPD-PCR using M13 primer after treatment with some synthetic dyes currently used as food color additives, including Sunset Yellow, Carmoisine, and Tartrazine. Besides qualitative analysis, the bioinformatic GelJ software was used for clus
... Show MoreNovel derivatives of 1-(´1, ´3, ´4, ´6-tetra benzoyl-β-D-fructofuranosyl)-1H- benzotriazole and 1-(´1, ´3, ´4, ´6-tetra benzoyl-β-D-fructofuranosyl)-1H- benzotriazole carrying Schiff bases moiety were synthesised and fully characterised. The protection of D- fructose using benzoyl chloride was synthesized, followed by nucleophilic addition/elimination between benzotria- zole and chloroacetyl chloride to give 1-(1- chloroacetyl)- 1H-benzotriazole. The next step was condensation reaction of protected fructose and 1-(1-chloroacetyl)-1H- benzotriazole producing a new nucleoside analogue. The novel nucleoside analogues underwent a second conden- sation reaction with different aromatic and aliphatic amines to provide new Schiff b
... Show MoreThe aim of this article is to solve the Volterra-Fredholm integro-differential equations of fractional order numerically by using the shifted Jacobi polynomial collocation method. The Jacobi polynomial and collocation method properties are presented. This technique is used to convert the problem into the solution of linear algebraic equations. The fractional derivatives are considered in the Caputo sense. Numerical examples are given to show the accuracy and reliability of the proposed technique.
Most companies use social media data for business. Sentiment analysis automatically gathers analyses and summarizes this type of data. Managing unstructured social media data is difficult. Noisy data is a challenge to sentiment analysis. Since over 50% of the sentiment analysis process is data pre-processing, processing big social media data is challenging too. If pre-processing is carried out correctly, data accuracy may improve. Also, sentiment analysis workflow is highly dependent. Because no pre-processing technique works well in all situations or with all data sources, choosing the most important ones is crucial. Prioritization is an excellent technique for choosing the most important ones. As one of many Multi-Criteria Decision Mak
... Show MoreAssessing water quality provides a scientific foundation for the development and management of water resources. The objective of the research is to evaluate the impact treated effluent from North Rustumiyia wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on the quality of Diyala river. The model of the artificial neural network (ANN) and factor analysis (FA) based on Nemerow pollution index (NPI). To define important water quality parameters for North Al-Rustumiyia for the line(F2), the Nemerow Pollution Index was introduced. The most important parameters of assessment of water variation quality of wastewater were the parameter used in the model: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen dem