Moral challenges of research on embryos in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and IVF

     Purposes of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) include screening for single gene mutations for late onset disorders or susceptibility to cancer. The problematic issue is that PGD is to produce a healthy baby, causing the destruction of some embryos that have been transferred by in vitro fertilization (IVF). Some PGD embryos may be discarded because they are excess to the woman or couples’ goal for family creation, and have been diagnosed as being affected by a particular genetic condition that woman/couple wish to avoid. So, the controversial issue is the destruction of embryos as a consequence of fertility treatment that raises questions on whether the moral status of an embryo of 3 days is the same as that of a born, living adult human being

Anesthetic recovery and hemodynamic effects of continuous thiopental infusion versus halothane for maintenance anesthesia in patients undergoing ocular surgery

Purpose: To investigate anesthesia recovery and hemodynamic status in patients under thiopental infusion or halothane maintenance anesthesia undergoing ocular surgery. Methods: Fifty-nine voluntary patients undergoing ocular surgery in Farabi hospital were allocated to one of two maintenance anesthesia groups: inhaled halothane, 0.8 to 1 per cent, (group I, n=37) and thiopental infusion, 10 to 12 mg/kg/hour, (group II, n=22). Hemodynamic parameters were recorded at the time of patient entrance to the operation room and at the 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 minutes following anesthesia. Anesthesia recovery variables were also compared between the two groups. Results: In group I, arterial blood pressure at 10 to 40 min and heart rate at 1 and 25 min after the administration of anesthetics were significantly lower when compared with group II (W-2=25.10, p=0.005). Arterial oxygen saturation was similar in the two groups over the whole points of time. The time intervals between the end of surgery and beginning of the first body movements and respiratory efforts were significantly longer in group received halothane (

Human Rights Challenges in Discarding Excessive Emb ryo from Gender Selection through PGD Approach

One of new scientific innovations which increased human selection latitude is children gender selection through pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Gender selection through this approach has some proponents and opponents and according to opponents in addition to neglecting the legal dimensions of embryo gender selection, the concerns about gender imbalance, sex discrimination and preferring sons on daughter in the societies have doubled the importance of this subject. Unlikely, proponents set forth some arguments such as increase of parents autonomy, parents control increase on family composition and balance and preventing the unbridled growth of population. Regarding extirpating excessive embryo in laboratory in gender selection method, also different views are set forth which some consider the illegality of this deed for extirpating embryo after implantation in uterus not before that

Comparison of female reading with male interpretation on the issue of guardianship in verse 34 in chapter An-Nisa

Since much of the existing commentary has traditionally been written by Muslim men, how gender relations and women's rights are described plays significant role. But with the rise of Islamic feminism, some Muslim women in this movement are debating new evaluations of these traditional interpretations in order to conceive of equality between men and women from an Islamic perspective based on religious principles. They support the Quran. Meanwhile, some pioneers of this idea have focused their work on re-reading the text of the Qur'an as the most basic Islamic source, claiming that Muslim men have read the Qur'an from patriarchal perspective, thereby incorporating gender inequality and patriarchy into the interpretation of the Qur'an. the authors claim that such a rule doesn̓t have a patriarchal view among Shiite thinkers and commentators, and although gender can be effective in reading the text, adherence to the original Qur'anic principles and the centrality of the monotheistic paradigm will prevent biased interpretations. The study of the strength of men over women, which is one of the most challenging verses of the Qur'an on women's rights, from two perspectives of women (Wadud, Barlas and Hebri) and men (Tabatabai, Javadi Amoli, Motahhari) despite differences in intellectual, doctrinal and emergence, It gives similar results, indicating biased interpretations by Shiite commentators. That masculinity is a limited and conditional virtue for men is in order to fulfill family and social responsibilities in support of women's rights, and the meanings of superiority and domination over women are nothing more than misconception

The Association between Myocardial Perfusion Scan and Electrocardiographic Findings among Patients with Myocardial Ischemia

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the consistency of Electrocardiography (ECG) and myocardial perfusion scan findings of patients with myocardial ischemia at Firoozgar and Hazrat-Rasool hospitals.Methods: Electrocardiogram of 80 patients undergoing myocardial perfusion scans was analyzed. All patients had a stable angina. All patients with bundle branch blocks and history of MI and coronary bypass or angiography were excluded. Overall, 120 patients were evaluated with single photon emission tomography/myocardial perfusion imaging for ischemia and 80 patients had a positive test.Results: Forty-five percent of patients were female and 55% were male. The average age of patients was 61.48 years. Sixty-one patients (76.25%) had normal ECG and 19 patients (23.75) had pathological changes in their ECG. Eleven patients had ST segment depression and 6 patients had T wave inversion. Furthermore, 21 patients (26.25%) had lateral wall ischemia in their myocardial perfusion scan and 13 (16.25%) patients had septal wall ischemia. The ECG changes in male patients and hypertensive cases were more prominent.Conclusions: This study showed that ST-T changes (ST depression and T inversion) in the ECG are more suggestive of accuracy of myocardial ischemia and ECG

Early outcome of off-pump versus on-pump coronary revascularization

Introduction: The use of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) or without CPB technique (off-pump) can be associated with different mortality and morbidity and their outcomes remain uncertain. The goal of this study was to evaluate the early outcome of on-pump versus off-pump CABG. Methods: We conducted a retrospective database review of 13866 patients (13560 patients undergoing onpump CABG and 306 patients undergoing off-pump CABG) at Tehran Heart Center between January 2002 and January 2007. We compared preoperative, operative, and postoperative  characteristics between them. Results: In-hospital mortality in the on-pump group was 0.8% compared to 0.7% in the off-pump group (P=0.999) and in-hospital morbidity was 11.7% and 6.5%, respectively  (OR: 1.533, 95%CI: 0.902-2.605, P=0.114). Postoperative atrial fibrillation was more prevalent in on-pump versus off-pump surgery (6.0% vs 3.0%, P=0.028), however there were no statistical significant differences in other postoperative   complications with regard to cardiac arrest (P=0.733), prolonged ventilation (P=0.363), brain stroke   (P=0.999), renal failure (P=0.525), and postoperative bleeding (P=0.999). The mean length of stay in hospital (P=0.156) and in ICU (P=0.498) was also similar between the two groups.Conclusion: The results from an Iranian population-based study showed similar early mortality and morbidity of off-pump CABG in comparison to on-pump surgery.Key words: Coronary artery bypass grafting, Off-pump, Cardiopulmonary bypass, Outcom

Evaluation of the Usability of Admission and Medical Record Information System: A Heuristic Evaluation

Introduction: Admission and medical record system (AMRS) is one of the most important subsystems of hospital information system, which is used by many users in admission, discharge, and health information management. Interface usability problems can reduce user speed, precision, and efficiency in user-system interaction. This study aimed to identify the usability problems of AMRS in a hospital information system. Method: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, five health information technology experts evaluated AMRS in a hospital information system using heuristic evaluation. Then, the system usability problems were categorized according to Nielsen's 10 usability principles and their severity were determined. Results: Totally, 62 unique usability problems were detected. The most frequent problems were related to "consistency and standards" (n=9) and ''recognition rather than recall" (n=9), and the least frequent ones was related to "flexibility and efficiency of use" (n=1). 59.7% of the identified problems were categorized as big and severe problems. The highest average severity of problems belonged to "system’s visibility" and "aesthetic and minimalist design", and the least average severity belonged to "error prevention". Conclusion: Using heuristic evaluation, a large number of usability problems in AMRS were identified. According to experts' opinions, most of the HIS interface problems were big and severe, and they need to be modified by designers and developers of these systems

A new species of Cintractiella (Ustilaginales) from the volcanic island of Kosrae, Caroline Islands, Micronesia

Cintractiella is an unusual genus of smut fungi containing two described species that produce sori as adventitious gall-like spikelets on members of tribe Hypolytreae (subfam. Mapanioideae, Cyperaceae). In September 200, during a botanical expedition on the volcanic island of Kosrae located in the eastern Caroline Islands and within the Federated States of Micronesia, a specimen of Mapania pacifica was collected displaying Cintractiella-like sori in adventitious spikelets on the host leaves. Sori were hypophyllous, occurring in groups of spikelets composed of olivaceous-brown scale-like leaves, 1–1.5 mm wide and up to 6 mm long. Microscopic comparison with the protologue and drawings of the type material of C. lamii show several differences in teliospore and sori characters between it and the newly collected material on Mapania. To our knowledge, this represents only the second known collection of any member of Cintractiella on vegetative organs of Hypolytreae and a third species for this genus and the only known smut species infecting Mapania, herein described as Cintractiella kosraensis sp. nov

Comparison of methods for determination of glomerular filtration rate: low and high-dose Tc-99m-DTPA renography, predicted creatinine clearance method, and plasma sample method

The gamma camera uptake method with Tc-99m-DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) is a simple method for determination of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and is less time-consuming than other methods, but its diagnostic accuracy is debated. Gate’s method (low-dose; LD), the high-dose method (HD), the predicted-clearance method, and the plasmaclearance method with Tc-99m-DTPA are compared in this study. We also performed GFR measurement and diuretic renography simultaneously. Tc-99m DTPA renography was performed in 36 patients aged 18–72 years with a wide range of renal function (serum creatinine 1.37 ± 0.49mg/dl).GFR was determined by four methods: the gamma camera uptake method with low-dose Tc-99m DTPA (Gates, LD); the gamma camera uptake method with high-dose Tc-99m DTPA (HD); the predicted creatinine clearance method (Cockcroft– Gualt, CG); and the plasma sample clearance (PSC) method using a mono-exponential curve. The PSC method was chosen as reference. The regression equations for the CG, Gates (low-dose), and HD methods against the PSC method were 28.68 + 0.80X (r = 0.72; P value\0.0001, RMSE = 21.65 ml/min/ 1.73 m2), 6.19 + 0.79X (r = 0.90; P value\0.0001, RMSE = 10.64 ml/min/1.73 m2), and 6.53 + 0.88X (r = 0.93; P value\0.0001, RMSE = 9.35 ml/min/ 1.73 m2), respectively. In comparison with determination of GFR by the PSC method, the CGmethod tended to overestimate GFR while, perversely, the LD and HD methods tended to underestimate GFR. The three methods were in agreement with the PSC method but the high-dose GFR method resulted in less error in estimation of GFR. Furthermore, GFR measurement and diuretic renography could be performed at the same time when the high-dose method was used. Because of the low cost and negligible radiation burden, this method might be preferred for routine practice in nuclear medicine