Background: Coronary artery disease remains the main cause of death despite several preventive programs. Epicardial adipose tissue is a visceral fat depot of the heart located along the large coronary arteries and on the surface of ventricles and apex. Intima media thickness is commonly recognized as the initial stage in the development of atherosclerosis. The development of ultrasound machines, advances in echocardiographic devices and high resolution transducers facilitate comprehensive analysis of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT).
Aim: To investigate the relationship of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and carotid –intima media thickness (C-IMT) with the severity of coronary artery disease.
Methods: A cross sectional multicenter diagnostic accuracy study carried out at Ibn Al-Nafis Cardiovascular Hospital, Ibn Al- Bitar Cardiology Center and Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital –Iraqi Center for Cardiology during the period between October 2016 and May 2017 assessing. History regarding demographic data and risk factors was taken. Two dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements were done. EFT was measured from parasternal long axis view perpendicular to the right ventricular free wall. C-IMT was measured according to that recommended by the American society of echocardiography (ASE).
Results: The current study demonstrated that the EFT has a direct and significant correlation with the number of involved vessels (P value ˂ 0.001, r= 0.770). The validity of EFT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.984, cut point > 8mm, sensitivity=92.9%, specificity= 93.3%). There is inverse and significant correlation between ejection fraction (EF) and three vessels disease (P value ˂ 0.001, r= -0.507). Also there is a direct and significant correlation between C-IMT and severity of CAD. ROC analysis for validity of C-IMT to discriminate between multiple vessels disease and no vessel involvement is excellent (AUC= 0.961, cut point > 1.04mm, sensitivity=92.9%. specificity=86.7%). C-IMT is fair to discriminate between single vessel disease and no vessel involvement (AUC=0.738, cut point ˃ 0.84mm, sensitivity 100%), so if correlated with age, C-IMT above 0.84 can be used as a cut off point for the prediction of CAD. Finally, EFT and C-IMT are more likely to reflect severity of CAD than their ratio.
Conclusions: C-IMT and EFT are simple and reproducible parameters that can be used as a screening tool for the presence and severity of CAD especially before symptoms appearance in high risk patients
The cheif aim of the present investigation is to develop Leslie Gower type three species food chain model with prey refuge. The intra-specific competition among the predators is considered in the proposed model. Besides the logistic growth rate for the prey species, Sokol Howell functional response for predation is chosen for our model formulation. The behaviour of the model system thoroughly analyses near the biologically significant equilibria. The linear stability analysis of the equilibria is carried out in order to examine the response of the system. The present model system experiences Hopf bifurcation depending on the choice of suitable model parameters. Extensive numerical simulation reveals the validity of the proposed model.
Fibroblast growth factors-23 (FGF-23) are a class of cell signaling proteins produced by macrophages. They have a range of roles, but they play a particularly important role in the development of animal cells, where they are essential for appropriate growth. Phosphate, which is found in the body as both organic and mineral phosphate, plays crucial roles in cell structure, communication, and metabolism. Most phosphate in the body resides in bone, teeth, and inside cells, with less than 1% circulating in serum. The aim of the study is to evaluate the levels of the Fibroblast Growth Factors-23 and phosphate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) in acromegaly patients against healthy control. A case control study Fibroblast Growth Fact
... Show Moreforty-six patients with asthma were tested for the scrum levels of total sialic and diffrental the results reveled a significant increased in the scra of asthmatic patients
The current research aims to reveal the level of satisfaction of the mentors with the evaluation of their performance according to gender (male - female) and to formulate the predictive equation for the level of performance (dependent variable) from knowing the level of satisfaction with the evaluation (independent variable). (16 paragraphs) contains alternatives to the answer that measures the level of satisfaction (weak, medium, and high) (1,2,3), that is, with a hypothetical average of (32). It consisted of 100 educational counselors consisting of 45 males and 55 females, the results of the research concluded that the level of satisfaction with performance is below the mean when compared with the hypothetical average of the scale of s
... Show MoreThe quote of a Canadian communication scientist (Marshall McLuhan) (“The world has become an electronic village”) has become an archaic information compared to the great and rapid development of communication in the last two decades of the 20th century and what will happen later in the 21st century, to the extent that the world is called, thanks to the internet, a “Small screen” and this fact is a sign of the great progress that has been made in this field. As for the other statement of the Canadian communication scientist mentioned before “the medium itself, is the message”, it has been renewed and developed in its meaning and it’s purpose. Each new technical development in the means of communication necessarily means a me
... Show MoreBackground: Hypothyroidism is a decrease in the production of the thyroid hormones and leads to gland dysfunction. Ashwagandha extract was used as an ayurvedic treatment and supposed to be as antihypothyroidism agent.
Objectives: to investigate the impact of ashwagandha (Ash) extract on propylthiouracil (PTU)-induced hypothyroidism in rats.
Subjects and Methods: The rats were divided into three groups, control group, PTU (hypothyroid) group (6mg/kg/day by oral route), PTU (6mg/kg/day by oral route) +Ash (50mg/kg/day by oral route) treated group. All treatment continued for
... Show MoreThe alfalfa plant, after harvesting, was washed, dried, and grinded to get fine powder used in water treatment. We used the alfalfa plant with ethanol to make the alcoholic extract characterized by using (GC-Mass, FTIR, and UV) spectroscopy to determine active compounds. Alcoholic extract was used to prepare zinc nanoparticles. We characterized Zinc nanoparticles using (FTIR, UV, SEM, EDX Zeta potential, XRD, AFM). Zinc nanoparticle with Alfalfa extract and alfalfa powder were used in the treatment of water polluted with inorganic elements such as Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cd, Ag by (Batch processing). The batch process with using alfalfa powder gets treated with Pb (51.45%), which is the highest percentage of treatment. Mn (13.18%), which is the
... Show MoreIn this study; the genus of Sinoxylon Duftschmid, 1825 (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae) was revised. There were 3 species registered in our investigations: S. anale Lesne, 1897; S. ceratoniae (Linnaeus, 1758) and S. muricatum (Olivier, 1790), the last species was redescribed as being found for the first time for the Iraqi faunal insects. Key to the species were constructed and supported by figures of the main diagnostic characters and some morphological features.
This study was conducted to determine the effect of vitamin A ( 10 mg/kg ) on avearage testis weight and sexual glands ( Prostate and Seminal Vesicle ) for albino male mice treated with Hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) .The current study 40 mice were divided into fife groups : 1st group treated with distilled water and considered an control group (C) / the 2nd group treated with sesame oil ( T1) / 3rd group was givin hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T2) / 4th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg / kg ) and exposed to hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T3) / 5th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg kg ) (T4) . The expermint lasted 35 day . the results showed a significant ( P ? 0.05 ) decrease in avearage testis weight and sexual glan
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