Background: Obesity is an evolving major health problem in both developed and developing countries. Traditional obesity indices as body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio are well known measures to identify obese subjects, however, neck circumference as an index of upper-body obesity was found to be a simple and time-saving screening measure that can be used to identify obesity and the likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients.
Aim: to investigate the relationship of neck circumference (NC) to obesity and metabolic syndrome in Iraqi subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: The study group included 90 type 2 diabetic subjects (48 men and 42 women) aged 30-68 years. The subjects were those who attending The Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes/Baghdad. Main indicators studied included Neck Circumference (NC), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and lipoprotein levels.
Results: Pearson's correlation coefficients indicated a significant association between NC and body circumference, and waist-hip-ren and from 0.014 to less than 0.0001 in women). Also NC is positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglycerides (TGA), fasting blood glucose level (p value from 0.092 to less than 0.0001). Cross tabulation between NC and BMI indicated that NC identified obese persons with 100% sensitivity in men and 90% in women, also a cross tabulation between NC and metabolic syndrome indicated that NC can identify metabolic syndrome with 100% sensitivity in both men and women. Metabolic syndrome was identified according to a modified criteria proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII).
mass index, waist atio (p <0.0001 in m
Conclusion: Neck circumference is positively correlated with BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip-ratio, and positively correlated with components of metabolic syndrome in Iraqi individuals with type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, the measurement of neck circumference could be useful in clinical screening for obese persons and for persons who are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Alumina thin films have significant applications in the areas of optoelectronics, optics, electrical insulators, sensors and tribology. The novel aspect of this work is that the homogeneous alumina thin films were prepared in several stages to generate a plasma jet. In this paper, aluminium nanoparticles suspended in vinyl alcohol were prepared using exploding wire plasma. TEM analysis was used to determine the size and shape of particles in aluminium and vinyl alcohol suspensions; the TEM images showed that the particle size is 17.2 nm. Aluminium/poly vinyl alcohol (Al/PVA) thin films were prepared using this suspension on quartz substrate by plasma jet technique at room temperature with an argon gas flow rate of 1 L/min. The Al/PV
... Show MoreThis paper reports an experimental study of welding of dissimilar materials between transparent Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and stainless steel 304 sheets using a pulsed mode Nd:YAG laser. The process was carried out for two cases; laser transmission joining (LTJ) and conduction joining (CJ). The former is achieved when the joint is irradiated from the polymer side and the latter when the joint is irradiated from the opposite side (metal side). The light and process parameters represented by the peak power (Pp), pulse duration (τ), pulse repetition rate (PRR), scanning speed (ν) and pulse shape have a significant effect on the joint strength (Fb), joint bead width (b), joint quality and appearance. The optimum parameters were determined
... Show MoreClinical keratoconus (KCN) detection is a challenging and time-consuming task. In the diagnosis process, ophthalmologists must revise demographic and clinical ophthalmic examinations. The latter include slit-lamb, corneal topographic maps, and Pentacam indices (PI). We propose an Ensemble of Deep Transfer Learning (EDTL) based on corneal topographic maps. We consider four pretrained networks, SqueezeNet (SqN), AlexNet (AN), ShuffleNet (SfN), and MobileNet-v2 (MN), and fine-tune them on a dataset of KCN and normal cases, each including four topographic maps. We also consider a PI classifier. Then, our EDTL method combines the output probabilities of each of the five classifiers to obtain a decision b
Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANETs) has developed as an innovative technology for access places without permanent infrastructure. This emerging form of networking is construct of flying nodes known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that fly at a fast rate of speed, causing frequent changes in the network topology and connection failures. As a result, there is no dedicated FANET routing protocol that enables effective communication between these devices. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the category of topology-based routing protocols in the FANET. In a surveillance system involving video traffic, four routing protocols with varying routing mechanisms were examined. Additionally, simulation experiments conduct
... Show MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder, also known as ASD, is a neurodevelopmental disease that impairs speech, social interaction, and behavior. Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating algorithms that can learn patterns and make ASD classification based on input data. The results of using machine learning algorithms to categorize ASD have been inconsistent. More research is needed to improve the accuracy of the classification of ASD. To address this, deep learning such as 1D CNN has been proposed as an alternative for the classification of ASD detection. The proposed techniques are evaluated on publicly available three different ASD datasets (children, Adults, and adolescents). Results strongly suggest that 1D
... Show MoreMulti-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were functionalized by hexylamine (HA) in a promising, cost-effective, rapid and microwave-assisted approach. In order to decrease defects and remove acid-treatment stage, functionalization of MWCNTs with HA was carried out in the presence of diazonium reaction. Surface functionality groups and morphology of chemically-functionalized MWCNTS were characterized by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (DTG), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To reach a promising dispersibility in oil media, MWCNTs were functionalized with HA. While the cylindrical structures of MWCNTs were remained reasonably intact, characterization results consistently confirmed the sidewall-functionalization o
... Show MoreIn this study, the upgrading of Iraqi heavy crude oil was achieved utilizing the solvent deasphalting approach (SDA) and enhanced solvent deasphalting (e-SDA) by adding Nanosilica (NS). The NS was synthesized from local sand. The XRD result, referred to as the amorphous phase, has a wide peak at 2Θ= (22 - 23º) The inclusion of hydrogen-bonded silanol groups (Si–O–H) and siloxane groups (Si–O–Si) in the FTIR spectra. The SDA process was handled using n-pentane solvent at various solvent to oil ratios (SOR) (4-16/1ml/g), room and reflux temperature, and 0.5 h mixing time. In the e-SDA process, various fractions of the NS (1–7 wt.%) have been utilized with 61 nm particle size and 560.86 m²/g surface area in the presence of 12 m
... Show MoreThe inhibitory effect of acetone, ethanol, and aqueous extracts of ten medicinal plants on β-lactamase from Staphylococcus sciuri and Klebsiella pneumoniae was investigated in vitro by starch-iodine agar plate method. The results revealed the success of starch-iodine method for the detection of the inhibition of β-lactamase activity by the various extracts of each individual plant. The acetone extracts of Catharanthus roseus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Schinus terebinthifolius induced an inhibitory effect on β-lactamase from Staphylococcus sciuri. On the other hand, acetone extracts from only Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Schinus
... Show MoreConcrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns are being popular in civil engineering due to their superior structural characteristics. This paper investigates enhancement in axial behavior of CFST columns by adding steel fibers to plain concrete that infill steel tubes. Four specimens were prepared: two square columns (100*100 mm) and two circular columns (100 mm in diameter). All columns were 60 cm in length. Plain concrete mix and concrete reinforced with steel fibers were used to infill steel tube columns. Ultimate axial load capacity, ductility and failure mode are discussed in this study. The results showed that the ultimate axial load capacity of CFST columns reinforced with steel fibers increased by 28% and 20 % for circular and square c
... Show MoreThe gypseous soil may be one of the problems that face the engineers especially when it used as a foundation for hydraulic structures, roads, and other structures. Gypseous soil is strong soil and has good properties when it is dry, but the problem arises when building hydraulic installations or heavy buildings on this soil after wetting the water to the soil by raising the water table level from any source or from rainfall which leads to dissolve the gypsum content.
Cement-stabilized soil has been successfully used as a facing or lining for earth channel, highway embankments and drainage ditches to reduce the risk of erosion and collapsibility of soil. This study is deliberate the treatment of gypseous soil by u
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