question:Researchers from Yale University have found that supplementation with chromium picolinate plus biotin can improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients who are not responding to oral antihyperglycemic agents. Preclinical studies have shown that the combination of chromium picolinate and biotin significantly enhances glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells and enhances glucose disposal. Researchers decided to determine how these two nutrients affect blood sugar control in humans. Forty-three obese or overweight subjects with impaired glycemic control despite treatments with oral antihyperglycemic agents were randomized to receive 600 micrograms of chromium picolinate and 2 mg of biotin per day. Researchers measured glycemic control and blood lipids at baseline and after 4 weeks. There was a significant reduction in glucose during the 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test in subjects taking the chromium and biotin compared with the placebo group. Glucose tolerance improved by 15 percent in subjects taking the two nutrients. The subjects taking the chromium and biotin also experienced significantly greater reductions in triglycerides and triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio. Triglyceride levels decreased by 9.25 milligrams per deciliter in the chromium picolinate/biotin group, and increased by 59.75 mg per dL in the placebo group. Fructosamine levels, a marker of diabetic control, were also found to improve in the subjects consuming chromium and biotin, with a measured reduction of 1.3 millimoles per liter of serum. Levels increased in the placebo group by 0.7 millimoles per liter of serum. No significant adverse events were attributed to chromium picolinate and biotin supplementation. Singer GM, Geohas The effect of chromium picolinate and biotin supplementation on glycemic control in poorly controlled patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized trial. J Diabetes Technol Ther. 2006 Dec;8(6):636-43. Based on the passage above, Based on the study's findings, what combination of chromium picolinate and biotin supplementation can improve glycemic control and blood lipid levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and are there any adverse effects associated with these supplements?

question:Can you provide more details on the dosage of chromium picolinate and biotin used in the study?

question:Can you tell me more about the improvement in glucose tolerance in the group taking chromium picolinate and biotin? How much did it improve compared to the placebo group?

question:Could you share a story or anecdote about your own experience growing up with siblings, and how they influenced your life?: It's National Brothers and Sisters Day! Gosh, siblings. Those are those people who tried to steal the Sunday comics pages from you every morning when you were a kid, right? Love 'em or hate 'em, siblings pay an important part in everyone's lives. So, this week, I asked our cartoonists to share stories about siblings-- their own, or their favorite cartoon siblings. In my graphic memoir, "Invisible Ink", I talked about my father's abuse of me and my sister, Nancy (physical and emotional, not sexual). Here's the section of the book dealing with his anger and how it affected my family. I was 10 at the time, Nancy was 8. The first part is from the bottom of page 56. The next is all of page 57. I have 2 amazing sisters, and it would take me way too long to describe all the ways they inspire me, and why they are important to me, so I’ll just start with this sketch I made of my sister Francesca. We were traveling together in London in 1992. She was the one who figured out which trains to take to visit our friends, and she bought the postcards to write to family back home to tell them about the trip. Organized, intrepid, loving and loyal - just a few of her qualities. And by the way, trying to write on a moving train isn’t the most flattering pose. In real life, she is a lot better looking than this. Fastrack's Dethany comes from a large family, but she's closest to her sister Grace who is a year older than her. Grace had a specific challenge with her schoolwork, and Dethany did her best to help. Dennis is still an only child but his hope springs eternal! Over the many years that I have been drawing cartoons, I think I have drawn almost all my family members in my cartoons. And many of my friends, as well. My brothers, Mike and Andy, grew up watching Saturday Morning Cartoons and Disney movies with me. Mike loved Hong Kong Phooey and Andy loved Tom and Jerry. Of course, me being a future cartoonist, I loved them ALL! While this is not a Snuffy Smith comic strip, this Earth Day cartoon I created for my local newspaper chain many years ago included both Mike and Andy and their two young daughters, my nieces Emma and Sydney. I come from a family of five boys and one girl (Catholics)-- and we're all Js, Jimbo, Joe, John, Jeff, Jane, and Jack. My Dad always reasoned that they named us this way so we could all share the same monogrammed luggage. My Mom always called us, "The Tribe" (and still does). We five boys shared the same bedroom for a long time. At it's most populated zenith, our bedroom sported two sets of bunk beds, a pull out for my oldest brother, and a lot of dirty laundry on the floor. We could never all get out of bed at the same time without causing grievous bodily harm to one another. It was great growing up in a big family. Mom still pops us in the back of the head from time to time despite our being middle-aged now. And we still love getting together when possible to mostly laugh a lot, and to toss our sister Jane into whatever body of water lays nearby.