Effect of levothyroxine on cardiac function in children with subclinical hypothyroidism: A quasi-experimental study

Background: Because of the importance of thyroid function and its effect on different organs, such as the heart, this study was aimed to evaluate the effect of levothyroxine on cardiac function in children with subclinical hypothyroidism. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on children aged 4-12 years old with diagnosis of subclinical hypothyroidism in Amirkola Children's Hospital during 2018-2019. Cardiac functional parameters, including ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS), ratio of early filling velocity to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/E'), myocardial performance index (MPI), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD), were measured by echocardiography at baseline and 6 months after levothyroxine treatment. Results: Out of the 30 subjects, 19 (63.3) were boys and 11 (36.7) were girls. The mean age was 6.60±2.13 years old. The mean EF index was 63.13±3.01 percent before treatment, which increased to 69.07±4.50 percent after treatment (p<0.001). Also, the mean FS was 31.83±1.62 percent before treatment, which improved to 35.10±1.13 percent after treatment (p<0.001). The mean MPI was 0.28±0.02 before treatment, which increased to 0.33±0.03 after treatment (p<0.001). On the other hand, no significant difference was found in the mean E/E' before and after treatment. The mean LVEDD decreased from 3.47±0.46 cm before treatment to 3.05±0.40 cm after treatment (p<0.001), whereas LVESD non-significantly decreased after treatment versus before treatment. Conclusion: The results showed that treatment with levothyroxine may improve cardiac functional parameters in children with subclinical hypothyroidism

Machine Learning Approaches to predict Intra-Uterine Insemination Success Rate- Application of Artificial Intelligence in Infertility

Introduction: Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has been widely utilized for infertility management. Despite its low success rate, Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) is one of the first alternatives and most important approaches regarding many cases of infertility treatment. Given the numerous influencing factors and limitations associated with time and resources, the development of a reliable model to predict the success rate of ART methods can significantly contribute to decision-making processes. Materials and methods: We reviewed the demographic, clinical, and laboratory data regarding 157 IUI treatment cycles among 124 women using their partner’s sperm from May2017 to June2019. Primary outcome measures were clinical pregnancy and live birth. Some prediction models were constructed and compared to the logistic regression analysis. Results: Woman’s mean age was 30.1 ± 5.2 years and the infertility had a female cause in 24.3% of the cases, male cause in 32.6% of cases, and combined causes in 32.6% of the cases. Concerning the first IUI cycle, the clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 16.9% (N= 21). Data were prepared according to cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) methodology, and the following models were fitted to the data: J48 Decision Tree, Perceptron Multilayer (MLP) Neural Network, Support Vector Machine (SVM) with radial basis function (RBF) kernel, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) with one neighborhood, and Bayesian Network. J48 Decision Tree, with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 98%, had the most optimal performance, and the KNN model was the weakest one. Conclusion: To predict the results of IUI as a simple and less invasive therapy for infertile couples, some models were applied based on artificial intelligence and J48 Decision Tree was recommended

Epigenetic modification with trichostatin A does not correct specific errors of somatic cell nuclear transfer at the transcriptomic level; highlighting the non-random nature of oocyte-mediated reprogramming errors

Pre- and post- implantation development. Effect of TSA treatment on in vitro and in vivo development of cloned embryos compared to fertilized counterparts. (DOCX 18 kb

Epigenetic modification does not determine the time of POU5F1 transcription activation in cloned bovine embryos.

Purpose To investigate the effect of epigenetic modification on pattern, time and capacity of transcription activation of POU5F1, the key marker of pluripotency, in cloned bovine embryos. Methods Bovine fibroblasts were stably transfected with POU5F1 promoter-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). This provided a visible marker to investigate the effect of post-activation treatment of cloned bovine embryos with trichostatin A (TSA) on time and capacity of POU5F1 expression and its subsequent effect on in vitro development of cloned bovine embryos. Results Irrespective of TSA treatment, POU5F1 expression was not detected until 8–16 cell stage, but was detected in both inner cell mass and trophectoderm at the blastocyst stage. TSA treatment significantly increased POU5F1 expression, and the yield and quality of cloned embryo development compared to control. Conclusion The POU5F1 expression of cloned embryos is strictly controlled by the stage of embryo development and may not be altered by TSA-mediated changes occur in DNA-methylation and histone-acetylation of the genome

Preparation and Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Optical Clarity of Polyvinylbutyral Film

Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) was synthesized by condensation reaction of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with butanal in aqueous medium containing an effective emulsifier and an inorganic acid as catalyst. The product was characterized by, IR, TG and DTG techniques. Percentage of vinyl alcohol groups in the PVB was determined by a chemical method according to a standard method. Some clear and soft film samples containing the PVB and some high boiling point plasticizers were made by hot press. For this purpose plasticizers such as bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DOP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DOTP) were purchased and the triethylene glycol bis(2-ethylhexanoate) (TEGB) was synthesized. The film samples containing 30 percent mixture of triethylene glycol bis(2-ethylhexanoate) and bis (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate with ratio 65/35 showed some improved mechanical and optical properties

Investigation of the Effects of Titanate as Coupling Agent and Some Inorganic Nanoparticles as Fillers on Mechanical Properties and Morphology of Soft PVC

The effects of titanate as a coupling agent and some particulate nanoscale particles such as TiO2, CaCO3, and ZnO on thermal and mechanical properties of emulsion polyvinylchloride (E-PVC) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and mechanical tests. In this research, it was found that, in the presence of nanoparticles of CaCO3, TiO2, and ZnO, the peak temperature of dehydrochlorination of E-PVC was shifted to higher temperatures, and the rate of mass loss was decreased. Also results of differential scanning calorimetry showed that the addition of nanoparticle of CaCO3, TiO2, and ZnO led to an increase in glass transition temperature. The impact strength, elastic modulus and toughness of the samples were enhanced after addition of 0–10 part of filer in hundred parts of resin (phr) nano-CaCO3, nano-TiO2, and nano-ZnO due to improvement of compatibility of the polymer and the nano-particles. Also UV and thermal stability of the samples were enhanced by means of the nanoparticles. It was found that, in the presence of titanate as coupling agent, content of additives that could be used in the composite of PVC shifts to higher amounts

Graft Copolymerization of Styrene from Poly(vinyl alcohol) via RAFT Process

Polystyrene, PS, was grafted from poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA, backbone by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The hydroxyl groups of the PVA were converted into aromatic dithioester RAFT agent and polymerization began in the presence of this agent. The structure of compounds was confirmed by FT-IR and 1HNMR spectroscopy. The graft copolymer was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Grafted polystyrene chains were cleaved from the PVA backbone by acidic hydrolysis of the PVA-g-PS, and its polydispersity index, PDI, was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showing narrow molecular weight distribution

The Role of Organizational Trust in Sharing the Knowledge between the Employees

Today's, The Progressive Organizations Have Realized The Importance Of The Knowledge And Make Effort To Provide The Present Knowledge In Organization for Those personnel Who Need It. Sharing The Knowledge Is One Of The Most Crucial Issues For The Organizations; In the study of knowledge sharing, trust as one of the factors that will be considered. The Purpose of This Study Was to Investigate the Role of the Organizational Trust in Sharing the Knowledge Between the personnel Of the Islamic Azad University, Tehran Science & Technology Branch in Year 2014. For This Reason, Among 170 Persons Of The Statistical Society, 120 Persons Have Been Selected By Cochran Sampling Formula. The Research Methodology Of This Study Is A Measuring Research, And The Gathering Data Tools Are Questionnaire. To Analyze The Data, The Methods Of The Descriptive, Inferential Statistics And Also Multiple Regressions (by SPSS Software) Have Been Used. The Results Showed That There Is a Positive And Significant Relationship Between Organizational Trust (Horizontal, Vertical & Institutional Trust) And Sharing The Knowledge In Tehran Science & Technology Branch. It Also Became Distinct That The Component Of Horizontal Trust Has The Highest Correlation Coefficient With Respect To The Sharing, The Knowledge And The Vertical Trust Component have The Lowest Correlation Coefficient With It