Carotid artery disease in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery

OBJECTIVE: To determine frequency of carotid artery disease in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using Doppler sonography.STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2005 to September 2008. METHODOLOGY: Patients with known cardiovascular disease waiting for CABG surgery were enrolled for carotid artery Doppler sonography. A predefined data entry form was used for data collection. Coronary angiography findings, carotid artery findings and other associated factors were noted from medical and radiological records. Frequency and pattern of carotid artery disease along with associated risk factors were evaluated. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 15. Pearson chi-square for categorical and independent t test was applied for continuous variables at 95% confidence level. P-value of less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients (85% male, mean age=65 years) undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting were evaluated preoperatively for carotid artery disease by neck color Doppler sonography. Twenty percent of patients were found to have advanced carotid artery disease (\u3e 50% stenosis), 6% had critical stenosis (\u3e 75% stenosis) and 3% had complete stenosis. Frequency of atherosclerotic plaques was 50%, more common on right side and more prevalent in common carotid artery. Family background of carotid or coronary artery disease and history of smoking were significantly associated with presence of carotid artery disease (p \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSION: A sizeable proportion of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery for coronary artery disease were found to have coexistant carotid artery disease

The effect of sulforaphane on oxidative stress and inflammation in rats with toxic hepatitis induced by acetaminophene

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to reveal the possible effect of sulforaphane on oxidative stress and inflammation in rats liver with toxic hepatitis induced by acetaminophene. BACKGROUND: Sulforaphane is a compound with high antioxidant properties. Acetaminophen, which is a para-aminophenol derivative, can lead to fatal hepatic necrosis with direct hepatotoxic effects at high doses. METHODS: Thirty six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups. Control group (n = 9) was fed with standard rat chow and water for 3 days. Group APAP (n = 9) received a single dose acetaminophen 1 g/kg by oral gavage in addition to standard chow and water. Group SFN (n = 9) received sulforaphane 500 mu g/kg by oral gavage in addition to standard chow and water for 3 days. Group APAP+SFN (n = 9) received sulforaphane 500 mu g/kg and a single dose acetaminophen 1 g/kg by oral gavage in addition to standard chow and water. Acetaminophen was administered three hours after SFN administration. RESULTS: Neopterin, MDA, AST, ALT and CRP levels of group APAP were significantly increased compared to control group. GSH level of group APAP was significantly lower than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Sulforaphane is a protective agent against acetaminophen-induced liver damage and it can be added in the treatment protocol (Tab. 1, Fig. 5, Ref. 51). Text in PDF www.elis.sk

VIVO: a system for research discovery

In this paper the software VIVO is described. VIVO is a member-supported, enterprise open source software and an ontology for representing scholarship

منهج تعليمي معدل مقترح وأثره في تعلم واكتساب حركات السباحة الحرة للمعاقين

اصبحت رياضة المعوقين من الرياضات ذات الاهمية الكبيرة في اعادة وتأهيل ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة بدنيا" ونفسيا" وحركيا" وعقليا" ومن الوسائل الفعالة والمثلى في سرعة عودة المعاق الى مجتمعه وتآلفه معه مرة اخرى واحساسه في كونه فرد من افراد المجتمع الذي هو جزء مهم في تكوينه ، وتأتي رياضة السباحة في مقدمة تلك الرياضة ، وعليه فقد قام الباحثان بتركيز الضوء على هذه الفئة المهمة في المجتمع ومحاولة حل مشكلة البحث التي تضمنت قلة وجود برامج تعليمية خاصة خاصة بالرياضيين ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة وذلك من خلال تحقيق الاهداف التي اشتملت على اعداد برنامج تعليمي معدل مقترح خاص ومعرفة اثر استخدامه في تعليم واكتساب حركات السباحة الحرة للمعوقين ، وقد تم الاختيار العمدي لعينة البحث التي تألفت من اربعة رياضيين معوقين ضمن الفئة التاسعة موضوع الدراسة والتي مثلت مجتمع الاصل بالكامل، ، وقد تم توزيعهم الى مجموعتين متساويتين احداها تجريبية استخدمت البرنامج المقترح والاخرى ضابطة استخدمت البرنامج التقليدي ، وبعد الانتهاء من تطبيق البرنامج التعليمي تم اختبار العينة في السباحة الحرة حيث تم التوصل الى استنتاج ان اثر البرنامج التعليمي المقترح المعدل الخاص ايجابيا" في تعليم واكتساب حركات السباحة الحرة للمعوقين ، وعليه فقد وصى الباحثان باستخدام المدربين والمختصين البرنامج التعليمي المقترح المعدل الخاص في تعليم واكتساب حركات السباحة الحرة للمبتدئين المعوقين ضمن الفئة التاسعة ، وكذلك اعداد برامج تعليمية خاصة لانواع السباحة الاخرى (الصدر والظهر والفراشة ) للرياضيين المعوقين ضمن الفئة التاسعة ، كما وصى الباحثان بأعداد برامج تعليمية خاصة بالسباحة للمبتدئين المعوقين ضمن الفئات الاخرى من العوق البدني

Experimental and Numerical Study the Influence of Sheet Metal Thickness on a Deep Forming Operation of Multi Stages for Hexagonal Cup

In this research, experimental and analytical deep drawing of the several-stages design mold is produce hexagonal cup and also proved the influence of the thickness of the sheet on the allocation of strain and laminating in curvature of the cup area for all stages of the drawing. Three stages deep drawing mold was designed and constructed to carry out the experimental work required to produce a hexagonal cup of (28.25 mm by 24.5 mm) , (60 mm) high drawn from a circular flat sheet (80 mm diameter), made from low carbon steel (1006–AISI). Analysis program (ANSYS11.0) to perform the finite element method to accomplish the analytical side of the search. Three types of thickness sheet