Study the Correlation of the Leptin to Adiponectin Ratio with Estimation of Insulin Resistance in Obese and Non Obese Individuals

Background: Leptin to Adiponctin ratio (LAR) has been reported as potentially useful measure of insulin resistance (IR). Obesity is the dominant cause of insulin resistance. The concentration of leptin rises with obesity, whereas that of adiponectin decreases with obesity. We investigated whether LAR may serve as a better predictor than either leptin or adiponectin alone for (IR) and study the correlation between LAR and insulin in obese individuals.Subjects and methods: this study included 90 non-diabetic Iraqi males (45 obese with mean age (39.80±8.10) years old, range from (30-55) year and 45 non-obese individuals with mean age (42.0±7.04) years old, range from (31-54) year. Leptin, adiponectin and insulin were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA).Results: LAR, IR and leptin show significant highly increased in obese group compared to non-obese healthy subjects, while Adiponectin level show significant high decreased in obese group. The pearson correlation analysis found LAR had strong significant positive correlation with leptin (r= 0.400, p<0.007) and strong significant negative correlation with adiponectin (r= -0.78, p<0.00).   Conclusion: the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio (LAR) correlates with insulin resistance better than either leptin or adiponectin levels alone. Keywords: Lar, Ir, Leptin, Adiponectin and Obeaity

Parabolic Trough Solar Collector – Design, Construction and Testing

This paper presents the design, construction and investigates an experimental study of a parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC). It is constructed of multi – piece glass mirror to form the parabolic reflector (1.8 m ? 2.8 m) its form were checked with help of a laser and carbon steel rectangular as receiver. Sun tracker has been developed (using two – axis) to track solar PTSC according to the direction of beam propagation of solar radiation. Using synthetic oil as a heat transfer its capability to heat transfer and load high temperature (?400 oc). The storage tank is fabricated with stainless steel of size 50 L. The experimental tests have been carried out in Baghdad climatic conditions (33.3o N, 44.4o E) during selective days of the months October and November. The performance of PTSC is evaluated using outdoor experimental measurements including the useful heat gain, the thermal instantaneous efficiency and the energy gained by the storage tank oil. The storage tank oil temperature is increased from 30oc at 9:30h to 136oc at 13:30h without draw – off oil. The experimental result shows the average thermal efficiency was 42% which is fairly acceptable assessment results of a PTSC locally

Recurrent Breast Cancer Following Modified Radical Mastectomy and Risk Factors

Background: - Recurrent breast cancer is cancer that comes back following initial treatment. Risk factors of recurrence are lymph node involvement, larger tumor size, positive or close tumor margins, and lack of radiation treatment following lumpectomy, younger age and inflammatory breast cancer. Objective: Asses the rate of recurrence for early breast cancer in Iraqi female patients, in relation to certain risk factors. Patients and methods: A prospective study was conducted on 100 consecutive female patients, with stage I and stage II breast cancer treated by mastectomy and axillary dissection by the same team. Patients were assessed postoperatively every three months and recurrences were detected by physical examination and ultrasound of the bed of mastectomy and axilla. Statistical correlation using univariant analysis between recurrence rate and certain associated variables was done. Results: Recurrence rate was found to be 13%. It was more common among both young (20-29) years &the (40 – 49 ) years age groups which was 16.7%. Most of recurrences (61.6%) occurred (within 12_19 months) after surgical treatment. Statistically significant associations were found between recurrence and the latency period between first complaint and surgical management, the grade of the tumor, the size of primary tumor, and the number of lymph nodes involved. There was no statistically significant association between the type of adjuvant therapy and the incidence of local recurrence. Conclusions: the rate of recurrence after modified radical mastectomy is relatively high in our study. The same known risk factors related to the stage, grade and delay of treatment were detected, and close follow up especially at the first 20 months after surgery is recommended

Circulating adrenomedullin estimates survival and reversibility of organ failure in sepsis: the prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock-1 (AdrenOSS-1) study

Background: Adrenomedullin (ADM) regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability during sepsis. Levels of circulating biologically active ADM (bio-ADM) show an inverse relationship with blood pressure and a direct relationship with vasopressor requirement. In the present prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock 1 (, AdrenOSS-1) study, we assessed relationships between circulating bio-ADM during the initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay and short-term outcome in order to eventually design a biomarker-guided randomized controlled trial. Methods: AdrenOSS-1 was a prospective observational multinational study. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included organ failure as defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, organ support with focus on vasopressor/inotropic use, and need for renal replacement therapy. AdrenOSS-1 included 583 patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis or septic shock. Results: Circulating bio-ADM levels were measured upon admission and at day 2. Median bio-ADM concentration upon admission was 80.5 pg/ml [IQR 41.5-148.1 pg/ml]. Initial SOFA score was 7 [IQR 5-10], and 28-day mortality was 22%. We found marked associations between bio-ADM upon admission and 28-day mortality (unadjusted standardized HR 2.3 [CI 1.9-2.9]; adjusted HR 1.6 [CI 1.1-2.5]) and between bio-ADM levels and SOFA score (p < 0.0001). Need of vasopressor/inotrope, renal replacement therapy, and positive fluid balance were more prevalent in patients with a bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission than in those with bio-ADM ≤ 70 pg/ml. In patients with bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission, decrease in bio-ADM below 70 pg/ml at day 2 was associated with recovery of organ function at day 7 and better 28-day outcome (9.5% mortality). By contrast, persistently elevated bio-ADM at day 2 was associated with prolonged organ dysfunction and high 28-day mortality (38.1% mortality, HR 4.9, 95% CI 2.5-9.8). Conclusions: AdrenOSS-1 shows that early levels and rapid changes in bio-ADM estimate short-term outcome in sepsis and septic shock. These data are the backbone of the design of the biomarker-guided AdrenOSS-2 trial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02393781. Registered on March 19, 2015

Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe