Kidney protective effects of melatonin

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education Recent studies shown that melatonin administration, attenuated oxidative stress, inflammation, and restored renal function and structure in rats. Melatonin could be an attractive adjunctive therapy, since it is a natural, inexpensive, widely available, orally administered and relatively safe product

Searching for the continuum spectrum photons correlated to the 130 GeV gamma-ray line

Indications for a gamma-ray line(s) signal towards the Galactic center at an energy of about 130 GeV have been recently presented. While dark matter annihilations are a viable candidate for this signal, it is generally expected that such a flux would be correlated to a gamma-ray component with continuum energy spectrum due to dark matter pair annihilating into other Standard Model particles. We use the gamma-ray data from the inner 10 x 10 degree window to derive limits for a variety of DM annihilation final states. Extending the window of observation, we discuss bounds on the morphological shape of a dark matter signal associated to the line, applying both standard templates for the dark matter profile, such as an Einasto or a NFW profile, and introducing a new more general parametrization.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures and 1 table, corrected typographical errors, added citations and journal referenc

The effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Salvia officinalis L. on the electrolytes and serum proteins in adult diabetic male rat

Background: Diabetes is the result of functional impairment of insulin secretion. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the Salvia officinalis (SO) extract on serum levels of albumin, total protein and serum sodium and potassium electrolytes. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 50 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups of 10. The control group received food and water, the diabetic group received 60 mg/kg streptozotocin, the SO-treated control group received 400 mg/kg of SO daily, and the SO-treated diabetic groups received 200 and 400 mg/kg of SO daily. Injections were performed intraperitoneally. After 21 days, the blood sample was taken from the heart to measure the factors. Results: The serum concentration of potassium in the diabetic group showed a significant increase compared to the control group and showed a significant decrease in the treated diabetic group compared to the diabetic group. The serum concentration of sodium in the diabetic group was significantly lower than the control group. Also, the serum concentrations of albumin and total proteins in the diabetic group significantly decreased compared to the control group and these concentrations significantly increased in the treated diabetic groups compared to the diabetic group. Moreover, the serum levels of albumin and total proteins in the treated control group significantly increased compared to the control group (P≤0.05). Conclusion: The antioxidant compounds of the SO extract can increase the serum concentrations of total protein, albumin, potassium and sodium and have been proven effective in reducing complications of diabetes

Multi-Axial Fatigue Analysis of Thermite Rail Welds

This dissertation aims to examine the high-cycle fatigue behavior of thermite-welded railroad rails. In particular, the occurrence of fatigue defects in web and base regions of the rail is addressed, as frequently reported by field surveys. Fatigue life estimates are made by means of a multi-axial critical-plane fatigue algorithm that computes the fatigue damage based on the time history of stress tensors. The finite element method is used to analyze a full-scale replica of the wheel-track system comprising axle, wheel, thermite-welded rail, tie plates, and ties. The time-dependent rolling of the wheel and thermal stresses caused by seasonal temperature variations are incorporated into the finite element simulation. In addition, the effects of the track foundation stiffness and thermite weld geometry are explored. Fatigue crack nucleation is studied at three critical locations of the rail, where most reported weld service failures occur: web-to-base fillet, base center, and base corners. Under wheel loads, the results of the fatigue analysis indicate that it can take a long period of time for a fatigue crack to nucleate in the aforementioned regions of the rail if the material is nominally “defect-free”. Fatigue cracks tend to initiate in a transverse plane, next to the thermite weld, perpendicular to flexural tensile stresses that form in the rail base. The implementation of small planar surface defects at critical locations has shown to significantly reduce the fatigue nucleation life of thermite rail welds. Also, axial tensile stresses resulting from cold winter weather are found to considerably accelerate the fatigue nucleation process, especially in the web-to-base fillet region

Contrast induced nephropathy; recent findings.

Contrast induced nephropathy is one cause of acute renal failure. Contrast induced nephropathy is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. The incidence of contrast induced nephropathy in the general population is 0.6% to 2.3%, but when focusing on specific high-risk patients the incidence can increase to more than 40%. Studies suggest that intravenous hydration is the most effective strategy to prevent contrast induced nephropathy. Hydration is inexpensive and is usually risk-free. Administration of optimal fluids before and after the contrast procedure allows for increased urine output and improved outcomes