Effect of different dosages of nitroglycerin infusion on arterial blood gas tensions in patients undergoing on- pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background: On-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery impairs gas exchange in the early postoperative period. The main object on this study was evaluation of changes in arterial blood gas values in patients underwent on pump CABG surgery receiving different dose of intravenous nitroglycerin (NTG). Materials and Methods: sixty-seven consecutive patients undergoing elective on-pump CABG randomly enrolled into three groups receiving NTG 50 μg/min (Group N1, n =67), 100 μg/min (Group N2, n = 67), and 150 μg/min (Group N3, n = 67). Arterial blood gas (ABG) tensions were evaluated just before induction of anesthesia, during anesthesia, at the end of warming up period, and 6 h after admission to the intensive care unit. Results: Pao2 and PH had the highest value during surgery in Group N1, Group N2, and Group N3. No significant difference was noted in mean values of Pao2 and PH during surgery between three groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in HCO 3 values in different time intervals among three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: our results showed that infusing three different dosage of NTG (50, 100, and 150 μg/min) had no significant effect on ABG tensions in patients underwent on-pump CABG surgery

School-based prevention for adolescent Internet addiction: prevention is the key. A systematic literature review

Adolescents’ media use represents a normative need for information, communication, recreation and functionality, yet problematic Internet use has increased. Given the arguably alarming prevalence rates worldwide and the increasingly problematic use of gaming and social media, the need for an integration of prevention efforts appears to be timely. The aim of this systematic literature review is (i) to identify school-based prevention programmes or protocols for Internet Addiction targeting adolescents within the school context and to examine the programmes’ effectiveness, and (ii) to highlight strengths, limitations, and best practices to inform the design of new initiatives, by capitalizing on these studies’ recommendations. The findings of the reviewed studies to date presented mixed outcomes and are in need of further empirical evidence. The current review identified the following needs to be addressed in future designs to: (i) define the clinical status of Internet Addiction more precisely, (ii) use more current psychometrically robust assessment tools for the measurement of effectiveness (based on the most recent empirical developments), (iii) reconsider the main outcome of Internet time reduction as it appears to be problematic, (iv) build methodologically sound evidence-based prevention programmes, (v) focus on skill enhancement and the use of protective and harm-reducing factors, and (vi) include IA as one of the risk behaviours in multi-risk behaviour interventions. These appear to be crucial factors in addressing future research designs and the formulation of new prevention initiatives. Validated findings could then inform promising strategies for IA and gaming prevention in public policy and education

Effects of diets enriched with fish oil, vitamin A and vitamin E on experimental ulcerative colitis in rat's

Background: There are controversial reports about the therapeutic effects of fish oil in patients with ulcerative colitis. Polyunsaturated fatty acids cause an oxidative injury at the site of inflammation because of a decrease in the colonic antioxidant defense system. Vitamins A and E inhibit lipid peroxidation in the tissues. The aim of the present study was to evaluate possible useful effects of fish oil, vitamin A and vitamin E enriched diets on the improvement of colonic damage and reduction of inflammation in experimental acute ulcerative colitis.Materials and Methods: Eighty adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into treatment and pretreatment groups. Rats in the treatment groups received intrarectal saline (control group, n=10) or acetic acid (1 ml, 4) to induce acute ulcerative colitis. After the induction of colitis, rats were fed for 1 wk with standard diet (colitis group, n= 10), diet enriched with fish oil (10) and 1.2 mg/Kg vitamin A (FA group n=10), or diet enriched with fish oil (10) and 2 gr/Kg vitamin E (FE group, n=10). The control group was fed with standard diet. After 1 wk the degree of tissue injuries was assessed by macroscopical and histopathological scores of colonic mucosa. In pretreatment groups, rats were fed for 1 wk with standard diet (colitis group, n=10), diet enriched with fish oil (10) and 1.2 mg/Kg vitamin A (PFA group n=10) and or diet enriched with fish oil (10) and 2 gr/Kg vitamin E (PFE group, n=10) and then they received intrarectal acetic acid to induce ulcerative colitis. The control group was fed with standard diet and received intrarectal saline. Two days after the induction of colitis the degree of tissue injuries was assessed by macroscopical and histopathological scores of colonic mucosa.Results: Acetic acid administration induced severe macroscopic (Total score=5.0±0.0) and microscopic damages to mucosal tissue (Total score=9.7±1.3). The Rats with colitis in the treated group FE at 1wk showed significantly less macroscopic (Total score=1.0±0.3) and microscopic colonic damage (Total score=2.7±0.7) compared with those in colitis group. However in the FA group with macroscopic (Total score=3.2±0.7) and microscopic colonic damage (Total score=7.8±.8) there was no significant difference with colitis group. Pretreatment of acetic acid-treated rats with FA and FE diets did not result in any improvements in macroscopic and microscopic scores. Conclusion: These results may reflect that fish oil and vitamin E enriched diets could be beneficial in the treatment of ulcerative colitis

The potential role of human endogenous retrovirus K10 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether human endogenous retrovirus K10 is associated with autoimmune rheumatic disease. DESIGN: A novel multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) system was developed to investigate HERV-K10 mRNA expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 17 with osteoarthritis, and 27 healthy individuals were recruited and total RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and analysed using multiplex RT-PCR for the level of HERV-K10 gag mRNA expression. Southern blot and DNA sequencing confirmed the authenticity of the PCR products. RESULTS: Using the histidyl tRNA synthetase (HtRNAS) gene as a housekeeping gene in the optimised multiplex RT-PCR, a significantly higher level of HERV-K10 gag mRNA expression was found in rheumatoid arthritis than in osteoarthritis (p = 0.01) or in the healthy controls (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: There is enhanced mRNA expression of the HERV-K10 gag region in rheumatoid arthritis compared with osteoarthritis or healthy controls. This could contribute to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis