Comparison of Laboratory Findings and Incidence Rate of Renal Failure With and Without Cardiopulmonary Bypass Machine After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Objectives: Acute kidney insuffciency is a prevalent and serious disease that follows coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). One of the important symptoms of acute renal failure (ARF) is the increased level of urea and serum creatinine. This study examined the rate of renal failure in patients undergoing on-pump and off-pump CABG. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive–comparative survey, we selected the patients undergoing heart surgery. Levels of urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium and urinary output were controlled and recorded in the frst days of admission and ICU discharge. Data collection tool was a checklist, the frst part included demographic information and the second part was related to the information on kidney function. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: The fndings of this study showed a statistically signifcant difference in terms of age and the incidence of renal failure based on the increased levels of urea and serum creatinine before and after CABG (P0.05). Conclusions: Patients’ age was an important factor for kidney insuffciency following CABG. Type of the surgery (on- and off-pump) and gender had no influence on the incidence rate of ARF. Stronger measures to protect the kidneys in older patients may reduce this high-risk complication

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Preparation of transparent nanostructured N-doped TiO2 thin films by combination of sonochemical and CVD methods with visible light photocatalytic activity

Abstract Pollution of water resources with pesticide compounds has raised serious environmental problems, and for photocatalytic degradation of these pollutants, thin film photocatalysts are preferred to colloidal ones due to the separation problem of colloidal nanoparticles. In this work, nanostructured TiO2 and N-doped TiO2 thin films with high transparency were deposited on glass and quartz substrates through sonochemical–chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The films prepared on glass and quartz substrates had nanocubic and nanospherical morphology, respectively. The presence of N atoms in the structure of TiO2 resulted in a decrease in the band gap energy of TiO2 and also in the reduction of photogenerated electron–hole recombination rate. Furthermore, the presence of N atoms induced the formation of Ti3+ species which can act as hole trapping centers. The prepared thin films were also used for the visible light photocatalytic degradation of paraoxon pesticide. According to these results among the prepared thin films, the N-doped TiO2 thin films have higher photocatalytic activity than pure TiO2 thin films. Moreover, in comparison with the thin films deposited on quartz substrate, the films on glass substrate have higher photocatalytic performance, which can be related to the special nanocubic morphology of these samples

Enhancement of the catalytic performance of H-clinoptilolite in propane-SCR-NOx process through controlled dealumination

We report for the first time the effect of clinoptilolite dealumination on the propane–SCR–NOx process. This has been accomplished using a mild acid like oxalic acid to avoid excess catalyst crystallinity deterioration. It had been shown that dealumination may result in a significant enhancement of NOx conversion to N2 when an optimum acid concentration of 0.050 M is used for a treatment period of 2 h. Dealumination substantially affects the distribution of the concentration of acid sites of different strength. The effect of dealumination on the HC-SCR activity of the zeolite samples is discussed in terms of Si/Al ratio, crystallinity, distribution of acid site strength, extra framework species concentration and textural characteristics of the samples

Enhancement of the catalytic performance of Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures for selective catalytic reduction of NOx

Abstract Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are one of the growing air pollutants in industrial countries, and their emissions are regulated by stringent legislation. Therefore, the design of the catalyst comprised of metal oxides and ZIFs a potential solution for improving selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx. Here, an efficient strategy was described to fabricate Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures for SCR of NOx. First, WO3 nanostructures were fabricated by the solvothermal method, and subsequently epitaxial growth of ZIF-67 on the metal oxide surface to create a new type of semiconductor Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures. The obtained heterostructures were systemically characterized by wide-angle XRD, FESEM, UV DRS, FT-IR, AFM, and TEM spectroscopies. The Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures shift the temperature corresponding to the maximum conversion around 50 °C towards lower temperatures. The maximum conversion is substantially enhanced from 55% at 400 °C to 78% at 350 °C. The enhanced activity is attributed to better interaction and synergic effect of WO3 incorporated into ZIF-67 and also the electron transfer facility between the WO3 and Co species in Co-ZIF/WO3 heterostructures. Moreover, Co-ZIF/WO3 results in a distinct effect on the production of carbon monoxide (CO) in the product gas stream. The current study highlights some of the challenges in the development of semiconductor-based heterostructures for a decrease in air pollution

Fabrication and characterization of bilayer scaffolds made of decellularized dermis/nanofibrous collagen for healing of full-thickness wounds

Skin tissue engineering has progressed from simple wound dressings to biocompatible materials with desired physico-chemical properties that can deliver regenerative biomolecules. This study describes using a novel biomimetic hybrid scaffold of decellularized dermis/collagen fibers that can continuously deliver stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) for skin regeneration. In diabetic rat models, the idea that sustained SDF-1α infusion could increase the recruitment of CXCR4-positive cells at the injury site and improve wound regeneration was investigated. The morphology of the scaffold, its biocompatibility, and the kinetics of SDF-1 release were all assessed. SDF-1α was successfully incorporated into collagen nanofibers, resulting in a 200-h continuous release profile. The microscopic observations exhibited that cells are attached and proliferated on proposed scaffolds. As evaluated by in vivo study and histological examination, fabricated scaffold with SDF-1α release capacity exhibited a remarkably more robust ability to accelerate wound regeneration than the control group. Besides, the SDF-1α-loaded scaffold demonstrated functional effects on the proliferation and recruitment of CD31 and CXCR4-positive cells in the wound bed. Additionally, no adverse effects such as hyperplasia or scarring were found during the treatment period. It may be concluded that the fabricated hybrid scaffold based on natural polymer opens up a new option for topical administration of bioactive molecules. We believe the SDF-1α-loaded hybrid scaffold has promise for skin tissue engineering