Characteristics, outcomes, and predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalized with acute systolic heart failure (HFrEF): Two-center registry of acute heart failure from Iran

Background: Acute Heart Failure (AHF) is a common cause of hospitalization in many countries. Rehospitalization due to AHF is also a very important economic issue for health services. Registries for AHF have been made in many countries to characterize such patients, which have provided great information about these patients for better care. To date, there is insufficient information about these patients in Iran and their rehospitalization and short-and long-term follow-up is unclear. Objectives: This study aims to describe the results of a small registry of AHF (HFrEF) patients in Iran and their short-term follow-up. Patients and Methods: This study aimed to describe the earliest results of the AHF registry, which was started from September 2015 in two hospitals (Afshar Heart Center in Yazd and Rajaie Heart Center in Tehran). All patients with diagnosis of AHF and HFrEF were enrolled into this registry. During six months, 352 patients with diagnosis of AHF and HFrEF were entered into this registry. The patients� demographic, clinical, and Para clinical data were collected during hospitalization and they were followed up for all-cause mortality and hospitalization for three months. Patients suffering from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction were excluded because of their small number and incomplete data. Results: The mean age of the patients was 55 ± 16 years and 76 were male. Besides, 77 of the patients had acute decompensation of chronic heart failure and 17 had new-onset AHF. Etiology of heart failure was ischemic heart disease in 52 of the patients. Additionally, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 20. Moreover, length of hospital stay was 10.5±10 days and in-hospital mortality rate was 9.7. Conclusions: This small and limited registry of patients with AHF (HFrEF) in Iran delineated these patients� characteristics with some discrepancies and similarities with western registries. Thus, a larger nationwide registry is needed for further clarification of the issue. © 2018, Iranian Cardiovascular Research Journal. All rights reserved

Characteristics, outcomes, and predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalized with acute systolic heart failure (HFrEF): Two-center registry of acute heart failure from Iran

Background: Acute Heart Failure (AHF) is a common cause of hospitalization in many countries. Rehospitalization due to AHF is also a very important economic issue for health services. Registries for AHF have been made in many countries to characterize such patients, which have provided great information about these patients for better care. To date, there is insufficient information about these patients in Iran and their rehospitalization and short-and long-term follow-up is unclear. Objectives: This study aims to describe the results of a small registry of AHF (HFrEF) patients in Iran and their short-term follow-up. Patients and Methods: This study aimed to describe the earliest results of the AHF registry, which was started from September 2015 in two hospitals (Afshar Heart Center in Yazd and Rajaie Heart Center in Tehran). All patients with diagnosis of AHF and HFrEF were enrolled into this registry. During six months, 352 patients with diagnosis of AHF and HFrEF were entered into this registry. The patients� demographic, clinical, and Para clinical data were collected during hospitalization and they were followed up for all-cause mortality and hospitalization for three months. Patients suffering from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction were excluded because of their small number and incomplete data. Results: The mean age of the patients was 55 ± 16 years and 76 were male. Besides, 77 of the patients had acute decompensation of chronic heart failure and 17 had new-onset AHF. Etiology of heart failure was ischemic heart disease in 52 of the patients. Additionally, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 20. Moreover, length of hospital stay was 10.5±10 days and in-hospital mortality rate was 9.7. Conclusions: This small and limited registry of patients with AHF (HFrEF) in Iran delineated these patients� characteristics with some discrepancies and similarities with western registries. Thus, a larger nationwide registry is needed for further clarification of the issue. © 2018, Iranian Cardiovascular Research Journal. All rights reserved

Epidemiologic features of upper gastrointestinal tract cancers in Northeastern Iran

Previous studies have shown that oesophageal and gastric cancers are the most common causes of cancer death in the Golestan Province, Iran. In 2001, we established Atrak Clinic, a referral clinic for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in Gonbad, the major city of eastern Golestan, which has permitted, for the first time in this region, endoscopic localisation and histologic examination of upper GI cancers. Among the initial 682 patients seen at Atrak Clinic, 370 were confirmed historically to have cancer, including 223 (60) oesophageal squamous cell cancers (ESCC), 22 (6) oesophageal adenocarcinomas (EAC), 58 (16) gastric cardia adenocarcinomas (GCA), and 58 (16) gastric noncardia adenocarcinomas. The proportional occurrence of these four main site-cell type subdivisions of upper GI cancers in Golestan is similar to that seen in Linxian, China, another area of high ESCC incidence, and is markedly different from the current proportions in many Western countries. Questioning of patients about exposure to some known and suspected risk factors for squamous cell oesophageal cancer confirmed a negligible history of consumption of alcohol, little use of cigarettes or nass (tobacco, lime and ash), and a low intake of opium, suggesting that the high rates of ESCC seen in northeastern Iran must have other important risk factors that remain speculative or unknown. Further studies are needed to define more precisely the patterns of upper GI cancer incidence, to test other previously suspected risk factors, and to find new significant risk factors in this high-risk area. © 2004 Cancer Research UK

Multiplicity dependence of inclusive J/psi production at midrapidity in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

Measurements of the inclusive J/psi yield as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density dN(ch)/d eta in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV with ALICE at the LHC are reported. The J/psi meson yield is measured at midrapidity (vertical bar y vertical bar <0.9) in the dielectron channel, for events selected based on the charged-particle multiplicity at midrapidity (vertical bar eta vertical bar <1) and at forward rapidity (-3.7 <eta <-1.7 and 2.8 <eta <5.1); both observables are normalized to their corresponding averages in minimum bias events. The increase of the normalized J/psi yield with normalized dN(ch)/d eta is significantly stronger than linear and dependent on the transverse momentum. The data are compared to theoretical predictions, which describe the observed trends well, albeit not always quantitatively. (C) 2020 European Organization for Nuclear Research. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Elliptic flow of charged particles at midrapidity relative to the spectator plane in Pb–Pb and Xe–Xe collisions

Measurements of the elliptic flow coefficient relative to the collision plane defined by the spectator neutrons v2{ SP} in collisions of Pb ions at center-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair √ 2.76 TeV and Xe ions at √ sNN = sNN =5.44 TeV are reported. The results are presented for charged particles produced at midrapidity as a function of centrality and transverse momentum for the 5–70% and 0.2–6 GeV/c ranges, respectively. The ratio between v2{ SP} and the elliptic flow coefficient relative to the participant plane v2{4}, estimated using four-particle correlations, deviates by up to 20% from unity depending on centrality. This observation differs strongly from the magnitude of the corresponding eccentricity ratios predicted by the TRENTo and the elliptic power models of initial state fluctuations that are tuned to describe the participant plane anisotropies. The differences can be interpreted as a decorrelation of the neutron spectator plane and the reaction plane because of fragmentation of the remnants from the colliding nuclei, which points to an incompleteness of current models describing the initial state fluctuations. A significant transverse momentum dependence of the ratio v2{ SP}/v2{4} is observed in all but the most central collisions, which may help to understand whether momentum anisotropies at low and intermediate transverse momentum have a common origin in initial state f luctuations. The ratios of v2{ SP} and v2{4} to the corresponding initial state eccentricities for Xe–Xe and Pb–Pb collisions at similar initial entropy density show a difference of (7.0 ±0.9)%with an additional variation of +1.8% when including RHIC data in the TRENTo parameter extraction. These observations provide new experimental constraints for viscous effects in the hydrodynamic modeling of the expanding quark–gluon plasma produced in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC

First measurement of Ωc0 production in pp collisions at s=13 TeV

The inclusive production of the charm–strange baryon 0 c is measured for the first time via its hadronic √ decay into −π+ at midrapidity (|y| &lt;0.5) in proton–proton (pp) collisions at the centre-of-mass energy s =13 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The transverse momentum (pT) differential cross section multiplied by the branching ratio is presented in the interval 2 &lt; pT &lt; 12 GeV/c. The pT dependence of the 0 c-baryon production relative to the prompt D0-meson and to the prompt 0 c-baryon production is compared to various models that take different hadronisation mechanisms into consideration. In the measured pT interval, the ratio of the pT-integrated cross sections of 0 c and prompt + c baryons multiplied by the −π+ branching ratio is found to be larger by a factor of about 20 with a significance of about 4σ when compared to e+e− collisions

An analytical method to estimate failure plane angle and tension crack depth for use in riverbank stability analyses

Of the many different types of riverbank failure, the planar failure mechanism is perhaps the most common, being associated with steep, relatively low banks composed of cohesive sediments. To reliably analyze the stability of riverbanks against planar failures many parameters (including the failure plane angle and the depth of the tension crack) have to be determined. In this paper we introduce a new analytical method to estimate the failure plane angle. This is achieved by employing a combination of field and laboratory data to first derive a set of empirical curves to estimate the tension crack depth. The estimated tension crack depth is then used in a bank stability analysis, from which the failure plane angle can be evaluated. Based on observations from field and laboratory tests, we found that the new model provides a mean relative error (MRE) of 4%, 23%, and 27% between calculated and observed values of failure plane angle, tension crack depth, and bank-top retreat, respectively. Based on a comparison of these errors with those derived from a range of existing equations, we show that this represents a considerable improvement relative to prior studies. The new model can therefore be used to determine the geometrical parameters of the failed blocks of riverbanks subject to planar failure.<br/

Risk factors for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization of healthy children

Background: Nasal colonization of healthy children with Staphylococcus aureus is an important risk factor for different infections. Detection of colonized individuals with methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and its eradication is the proper prevention strategy for infection spread in the community and health-care centers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, associated risk factors and antibiotic resistance pattern among healthy children who were nasal carriers of S. aureus. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 one month to 14-year-old healthy children living in Kashan/Iran. The nasal specimens were cultured in blood agar medium for S. aureus. Positive cultures were evaluated for cephalothin, co-trimoxazole, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, oxacillin and vancomycin susceptibility by the disc diffusion method and E-test. Risk factors for nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA were evaluated. Results: Frequency of S. aureus nasal carriage was 92 from 350 cases (26.2), amongst which 33 (35.9) were MRSA. Isolates indicated an overall resistance of 52.2 to cephalothin, 33.7 to co-trimoxazol, 26.1 to ciprofloxacin, 26.1 to clindamycin, 35.9 to oxacillin and 4.3 to vancomycin. Factors associated with MRSA nasal carriage included gender (P value 0.001), age of less than four years (P value 0.016), number of individuals in the family (P value < 0.001), antibiotic use (P value < 0.001) and admission (P value < 0.001) during the previous three months, parental smoking (P value < 0.001) and sleeping with parents (P value 0.022). Conclusions: Age of less than four years, male sex, family size being more than four, antibiotic use and admission during the previous three months, parental smoking and sleeping with parents were independent risk factors for nasal colonization with MRSA. © 2014, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences