Fullerene-C60 and crown ether doped on C60 sensors for high sensitive detection of alkali and alkaline earth cations

Fullerenes are effective acceptor components with high electron affinity for charge transfer. The significant influences of chemical adsorption of the cations on the electrical sensitivity of pristine C60 and 15-(C2H4O)5/C60 nanocages could be the basis of new generation of electronic sensor design. The density functional theory calculation for alkali and alkaline earth cations detection by pristine C60 and 15-(C2H4O)5/C60 nanocages are considered at B3LYP level of theory with 6–31 G(d) basis set. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules analysis have been performed to understand the nature of intermolecular interactions between the cations and nanocages. Also, the natural bond orbital analysis have been performed to assess the intermolecular interactions in detail. Furthermore, the frontier molecular orbital, energy gap, work function, electronegativity, number of transferred electron (ΔN), dipole moment as well as the related chemical hardness and softness are investigated and calculated in this study. The results show that the adsorption of cations (M=Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+) are exothermic and the binding energy in pristine C60 nanocage and 15-(C2H4O)5/C60 increases with respect to the cations charge. The results also denote a decrease in the energy gap and an increase in the electrical conductivity upon the adsorption process. In order to validate the obtained results, the density of state calculations are employed and presented in the end as well

Reliability and Validity of an Iranian Version of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for Patients with Multiple Myeloma: the EORTC QLQ-MY20

Background: Reliable and validated instruments are needed in order to study the quality of life in myeloma patients. This study aimed to translate and explore the psychometric properties of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) myeloma module (QLQ-MY20) in Iranian patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and fifteen patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were recruited from Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran. A standard forward-backward translation procedure was implemented. Participating patients were asked to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-MY20 three times, at study entry, after two weeks, and again after three months. Data were tested for the range of measurement, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, known group comparison, responsiveness and factor structure. Results: Mean age of the patients was 60.7 years. No floor and ceiling effects were seen for the QLQ-MY20. Cronbach’s α was greater than 0.80 for all three multi-item scales (ranging from 0.82 to 0.93). All four scales had test-retest reliability of 0.85 or greater. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis that the hypothesized 3-scale measurement model of the QLQ-MY20. Moreover, the Persian version for the QLQ-MY20 differentiated between subgroups of the patients in terms of beta-2 microglobulin, fracture and performance status. The responsiveness of the QLQ-MY20 to change over time was confirmed within 3 months. Conclusions: the results of our study indicate that our Iranian version of the QLQ-MY20 is a feasible, reliable and valid questionnaire for assessing the condition-specific quality of life of patients with MM

Defining the at risk patients for contrast induced nephropathy after coronary angiography; 24-h urine creatinine versus Cockcroft-Gault equation or serum creatinine level

Background: Definitions of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in many catheterization laboratories have relied on the serum creatinine (Scr) rather than glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Regarding that CKD is the primary predisposing factor for contrast induced nephropathy (CIN), we compared the sensitivity of calculated GFR by 24-h Urine creatinine with Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation and Scr level to define at risk patients for CIN who were undergone coronary angiography (CAG). Materials and Methods: Two hundred fifty four subjects who were candidate for CAG and had normal creatinine level were enrolled. Before CAG, GFR was calculated from a 24-h urine collection, CG equation and a single Scr sample regarding to previously described protocol. Contrast volume used for each case <100 ml. CIN was defined as a 0.5 mg/dL or 25% elevation in the Scr. Results : CIN occurred in 10.6%. Baseline GFR, the volume of contrast agent, and diabetes were the independent risk factors for CIN. GFR was less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 in 28% and 23.2% of patients regarding to 24-h urine creatinine and CG equation, respectively. In CIN prediction, 24-h urine creatinine estimated GFR had 85.2%, 59.3% and CG equation GFR had 78.9%, 81.1% sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Conclusion: Although, GFR estimated by CG equation has less sensitivity than GFR calculated from 24-h creatinine in CIN probability, but it is better than Scr alone and because of cost-effectiveness and convenience using of this method, we suggest at least using CG equation for GFR calculation before CIN, especially in diabetic and/or older than 60 years cases

Impact of non‐framework cation mixing on the structure and crystallization behavior of model high‐level waste glasses

International audienceSpinel crystallization is known to be detrimental to the operation of Joule heated ceramic melters during the vitrification of iron-rich high-level nuclear wastes (HLW) into borosilicate glasses. The literature on this subject focuses on tackling the problem by developing empirical constraints to design compositions, which limit the fraction of spinels formed in the melter or by developing empirical models to predict the settling behavior of spinels in the melter as a function of the glass composition. While these empirical models can predict the behavior of most of the compositions, they are not failsafe as there are always some compositions, whose behavior is beyond the predictive ability of these models. This can lead to undesirable situations during the vitrification of the nuclear waste, and therefore an in-depth investigation of the chemo-structural descriptors controlling the crystallization behavior in these glasses is warranted. Accordingly, the present study aims to understand the impact of non-framework cation mixing (i.e., Li+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+) on the structure (through Raman spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy) and crystallization behavior (through XRD, SEM-EDS, and vibrating sample magnetometry) of iron-rich model HLW glasses in the system: (mol.%) x MyO–(25−x) Na2O–9.12 B2O3–6.4 Al2O3–51.25 SiO2–7.22 Fe2O3–0.38 MnO–0.08 Cr2O3–0.55NiO (MyO = Li2O or CaO)

Vesselness-guided Active Contour: A Coronary Vessel Extraction Method

Vessel extraction is a critical task in clinical practice. In this paper, we propose a new approach for vessel extraction using an active contour model by defining a novel vesselness-based term, based on accurate analysis of the vessel structure in the image. To achieve the novel term, a simple and fast directional filter bank is proposed, which does not employ down sampling and resampling used in earlier versions of directional filter banks. The proposed model not only preserves the performance of the existing models on images with intensity inhomogeneity, but also overcomes their inability both to segment low contrast vessels and to omit non-vessel structures. Experimental results for synthetic images and coronary X-ray angiograms show desirable performance of our model

پیامد یکماهه بیماران مبتلا به سندرم کروناری حاد با کراتین کیناز- ام بی مثبت و تروپونین منفی؛ یک گزارش کوتاه

Introduction: Biochemical markers of myocardial injuries have radical importance in diagnosis or dismissing cardiac events, especially in cases that electrocardiographic findings are not present. Therefore, this study was designed aiming to appraise 1-month outcome of patients presenting to emergency department (ED) following acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with positive creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and negative troponin. Methods:This prospective cross-sectional study was done on patients presenting to ED with complaint of acute chest pain and diagnosis of ACS. Patients who did not have a clear electrocardiographic finding indicating acute myocardial infarction (MI) (ST segment elevation) and had positive CK-MB and negative troponin in laboratory tests of serum were included. Demographic data and baseline characteristics, CK serum level, CK-MB, troponin, and 30-day outcome of the patients were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Results: 13759 patients had visited the ED with complaint of chest pain during the study period (57% female). 1003 (7.3%) patients had positive troponin test and 12704 (92.3%) had negative CK-MB index and were therefore eliminated from the study. Finally, 52 (0.4%) had both positive CK-MB and negative troponin indices. 35 (67.3%) of them were discharged from ED after serial electrocardiography and negative troponin test. 11 (21.2%) were admitted to critical care unit but were discharged due to having 2 negative troponin tests in 12 hours and normal serial electrocardiogram. 6 (11.5%) were referred for surgical interventions. No mortality was seen in 1-month follow-up. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, only 0.4% of ACS patients presenting to the studied ED had positive CK-MB and negative troponin indices. During 1-month follow-up, no case of mortality or MI was observed among them. Only 2 (3.8%) cases needed surgical intervention.  مقدمه: مارکرهای بیوشیمیایی مربوط به آسیب میوکارد به خصوص در مواردی که یافته های الکتروکاردیوگرافیک وجود ندارند، اهمیتی بنیادی در تشخیص یا رد عارضه قلبی دارند. لذا مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسی پیامد یک ماهه بیماران مراجعه کننده به بخش اورژانس به دنبال سندرم کروناری حاد با کراتین کیناز-ام بی مثبت و تروپنين منفي طراحی شده است.روش کار: این مطالعه مقطعی آینده نگر بر روی بیماران مراجعه کننده به بخش اورژانس با شکایت درد حاد قفسه سینه و تشخیص سندرم کروناری حاد صورت پذیرفته است. بیمارانی که یافته الکتروکاردیوگرافیک واضحی به نفع سکته قلبی حاد نداشتند (بالا رفتن قطعه ST) و از طرفی در بررسی آزمایشگاهی سطح سرمی کراتین کیناز-ام بی مثبت و تروپونین منفی داشتند وارد مطالعه شدند. متغیرهای دموگرافیک و پایه، سطح سرمی کراتین کیناز، کراتین کیناز-ام بی و تروپونین و پیامد 30 روزه بیماران با نرم افزار آماریSPSS  نسخه 19 مورد آنالیز قرار گرفتند.یافته ها: 13759 بیمار در طول زمان مطالعه با شکایت درد قفسه سینه به بخش اورژانس مذکور مراجعه کرده بودند (57 درصد زن). 1003 (3/7 درصد) بیمار دارای تست تروپونین مثبت و 12704 (3/92 درصد) مورد اندکس کراتین کیناز-ام بی منفی داشتند و درنتیجه از مطالعه حذف شدند. در نهایت52 (4/0 درصد) نفر اندکس کراتین کیناز-ام بی مثبت و تروپونین منفی داشتند. 35 (3/67 درصد) بیمار با انجام نوار قلب سریال و تست تروپونین منفی از بخش اورژانس ترخیص گردیدند. 11 (2/21 درصد) بیمار در بخش سی سی یو بستری شدند که در فاصله زمانی 12 ساعت دو بار تروپونین منفی و نوار قلبی سریال نرمال داشته و ترخیص شدند.6 (5/11 درصد) بیمار نیز جهت انجام مداخلات جراحی ارجاع شدند. هیچ مورد مورتالیتی در پیگیری یک ماهه مشاهده نگردید.نتیجه گیری: بر اساس نتایج مطالعه حاضر تنها 4/0 درصد از بیماران مبتلا به سندرم کروناری حاد مراجعه کننده به بخش اورژانس مذکور دارای اندکس کراتین کیناز-ام بی مثبت و تروپونین منفی بودند که در بررسی پیامد یک ماهه هیچ موردی از مرگ و میر و سکته قلبی در آنها مشاهده نگردید. تنها 2 (8/3 درصد) مورد نیازمند مداخله جراحی شدند.

Combination of Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide, Carboplatin and Dexamethasone as a Salvage Regimen for Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients: A Comparison with a Historical Control Group

The aim of this study was to design a regimen for refractory multiple myeloma with minimum complications to achieve a reasonable response. Fifteen patients with active multiple myeloma after at least two lines of conventional treatment underwent therapy with our regimen for two cycles. Disease activity was evaluated after the last cycle. Another 15 patients with refractory multiple myelomas that had previously received only supportive therapy and pain management formed a historical control group. The follow-up period was 12 months for each study group. Of the patients receiving therapy, 6.7% achieved a complete response and 26.7% a partial response; overall response rate was 33.3%. Stable disease was achieved in 46.7% and 20% of the patients had progressive disease. There was no treatment related mortality. The hazard rate of death was 0.73 lower in the intervention group than in the historical control group. In the historical control group, 60% had progressive disease and 40% had stable disease; approximately 40% of patients died during the 12-month follow up. Also, the severity of pain was significantly reduced in the intervention group (P = 0.033). Our chemotherapy regimen showed a reasonable response in end stage patients with multiple myeloma in terms of disease control, reducing bone pain and improving survival, in addition to reducing toxicity

One-month Outcome of Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients with Positive Creatine Kinase-MB and Negative Troponin; a Brief Report

<span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-bidi-font-family: "B Nazanin"'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> ADDIN EN.REFLIST <span style='mso-element: field-separator'>Introduction: Biochemical markers of myocardial injuries have radical importance in diagnosis or dismissing cardiac events, especially in cases that electrocardiographic findings are not present. Therefore, this study was designed aiming to appraise 1-month outcome of patients presenting to emergency department (ED) following acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with positive creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and negative troponin. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was done on patients presenting to ED with complaint of acute chest pain and diagnosis of ACS. Patients who did not have a clear electrocardiographic finding indicating acute myocardial infarction (MI) (ST segment elevation) and had positive CK-MB and negative troponin in laboratory tests of serum were included. Demographic data and baseline characteristics, CK serum level, CK-MB, troponin, and 30-day outcome of the patients were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Results: 13759 patients had visited the ED with complaint of chest pain during the study period (57% female). 1003 (7.3%) patients had positive troponin test and 12704 (92.3%) had negative CK-MB index and were therefore eliminated from the study. Finally, 52 (0.4%) had both positive CK-MB and negative troponin indices. 35 (67.3%) of them were discharged from ED after serial electrocardiography and negative troponin test. 11 (21.2%) were admitted to critical care unit but were discharged due to having 2 negative troponin tests in 12 hours and normal serial electrocardiogram. 6 (11.5%) were referred for surgical interventions. No mortality was seen in 1-month follow-up. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, only 0.4% of ACS patients presenting to the studied ED had positive CK-MB and negative troponin indices. During 1-month follow-up, no case of mortality or MI was observed among them. Only 2 (3.8%) cases needed surgical intervention. <span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:107%; font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"B Nazanin";mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'><span style='mso-element: field-end'><![endif]--

Safety and efficacy of PDpoetin for management of anemia in patients with end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis: results from a phase IV clinical trial

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is available for correcting anemia. PDpoetin, a new brand of rHuEPO, has been certified by Food and Drug Department of Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran for clinical use in patients with chronic kidney disease. We conducted this post-marketing survey to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of PDpoetin for management of anemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Patients from 4 centers in Iran were enrolled for this multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled phase IV clinical trial. Changes in blood chemistry, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, renal function, and other characteristics of the patients were recorded for 4 months; 501 of the patients recruited, completed this study. Mean age of the patients was 50.9 (±16.2) years. 48.7% of patients were female. Mean of the hemoglobin value in all of the 4 centers was 9.29 (±1.43) g/dL at beginning of the study and reached 10.96 (±2.23) g/dL after 4 months and showed significant increase overall (P&lt;0.001). PDpoetin dose was stable at 50-100 U/kg thrice weekly. Hemorheologic disturbancesand changes in blood electrolytes was not observed. No case of immunological reactions to PDpoetin was observed. Our study, therefore, showed that PDpoetin has significantly raised the level of hemoglobin in the hemodialysis patients (about 1.7±0.6 g/dL). Anemia were successfully corrected in 49% of patients under study. Use of this biosimilar was shown to be safe and effective for the maintenance of hemoglobin in patients on maintenance hemodialysis