The Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs) and 30 healthy individuals. Serum GDF-15 was measured and compared statistically between the two groups. Results: serum GDF-15 was significantly higher in both groups of hypertensive patients compared to the control group. İn addition, there was no significant difference in mean serum GDF-15 concentration between patients treated with ACE inhibitors with those treated with angiotensin II receptor blockers. Conclusion: GDF-15 increases in hypertensive patients and might be a reasonable marker of cardiovascular disease. Both ACE inhibitors and ARBs are not powerful enough to decrease GDF-15 concentration to that of the control group.
Photonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are widely used for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and the characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on a polymer-coated photonic crystal fiber that operates in a Mach- Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) transmission mode. The fabrication of the sensor involved splicing a short (1 cm) length of Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) between two single-mode fibers (SMF). It was then coated with a layer of agarose solution. Experimental results showed that a high humidity sensitivity of 29.37 pm/%RH was achieved within a measurement range of 27–95%RH. The sensor also showed good repeatability, small size, measurement accuracy and wide humidity range. The RH sensitivity o
... Show MoreThis article presents the simultaneous adsorption of bimetal Cu2+ and Zn2+ from an aqueous solution using activated carbon synthesized from a plum seed precursor by sulfuric acid and microwave activation: plum seeds chemically activated by 45% (w/w) sulfuric acid with 2:1 ratio for 4 h, then carbonized for 2 h at 700 °C and the product obtained activated in a microwave oven for 20 min at 700 W for final of activation. Plum seeds and activated carbon produced were characterized in terms of their physical and chemical composition using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements, field emission scanning electr
The present study is to investigate the possibility of using wastes in the form of scrap iron (ZVI) and/ or aluminum ZVAI for the detention and immobilization of the chromium ions in simulated wastewater. Different batch equilibrium parameters such as contact time (0-250) min, sorbent dose (2-8 g ZVI/100 mL and 0.2-1 g ZVAI/100 mL), initial pH (3-6), initial pollutant concentration of 50 mg/L, and speed of agitation (0-250) rpm were investigated. Maximum contaminant removal efficiency corresponding to (96 %) at 250 min contact time, 1g ZVAI/ 6g ZVI sorbent mass ratio, pH 5.5, pollutant concentration of 50 mg/L initially, and 250 rpm agitation speed were obtained.
The best isotherm model for the batch single Cr(III) uptake by ZVI
... Show MoreBearing capacity of soil is an important factor in designing shallow foundations. It is directly related to foundation dimensions and consequently its performance. The calculations for obtaining the bearing capacity of a soil needs many varying parameters, for example soil type, depth of foundation, unit weight of soil, etc. which makes these calculation very variable–parameter dependent. This paper presents the results of comparison between the theoretical equation stated by Terzaghi and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) technique to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of the strip shallow footing on sandy soils. The results show a very good agreement between the theoretical solution and the ANN technique. Results revealed that us
... Show MoreThe - M ultiple mixing ratios of -transitions from levels of 56Fe populated in 56 56 Fe n n Fe ( , ) reactions are calculated by using const. S.T.M. This method has been used in other works [3,7] but with pure transition or with transitions that can be considered as pure transitions، in our work we used This method for mixed - transitions in addition to pure - transitions. The experimental angular distribution coefficients a2 was used from previous works [1] in order to calculet - values. It is clear from the results that the - values are in good agreement or consistent, within associated errors, with those reported previously [1]. The discrepancies that occur are due to inaccuracies existing in the expe
... Show MoreA fixed callus weight of 150 mg was induced from immature embryos of three bread wheat Triticum aestivum L. genotypes (Tamos 2, El-izz and Mutant 1) cultured on nutrient medium {MS) containing Polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) supplemented with concentrations (0.0, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0 or 12.0%) to evaluate their tolerance to water stress. Cultures were incubated in darkness at temperature of 25?1 ?C. Callus fresh and dry weights were recorded and soluble Carbohydrate and the amino acid Proline concentrations were determined. Results showed that there were significant differences in studied parameters among bread wheat genotypes of which Tamos 2 was higher in callus average fresh and dry weights which gave 353.33 and 38.46 mg/cultured tube respecti
... Show MoreThe manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple aqueous chemical reaction of manganese chloride, zinc acetate and thioacitamide in aqueous solution. Thioglycolic acid is used as capping agent for controlling the nanoparticle size. The main advantage of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of diameter ~ 2.73 nm is that the sample is prepared by using non-toxic precursors in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. The structural, morphological and chemical composition of the nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanosize of the prepared nanoparticles was elucidated by Scan
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