Comparison of nutrients uptake in different varieties of rice in Pakistan

The objective of this research was to determine the uptake of different elements (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni) which are used as nutrients by the rice crop. Different types of rice seeds KSK-282, KSK-134, BAS-515, IR6, BAS-2000, KSK-133 and super-BAS were collected from National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad Pakistan and grown in different plastic pots containing soil under the same condition. Ten days old immature plants of different varieties of rice were dried and their roots were separated from the whole plants. The dried roots were ground into fine powder followed by acid digestion (HNO , H SO and 3 2 4 HClO ) solution in a ratio of (5:1:0.1) individually. After digestion the solutions were filtered and the filtrates 4 were diluted by adding distilled water. The diluted solutions of all the above mentioned varieties of rice were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) for nutrients (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni) concentration. The different values obtained from AAS had shown that some rice varieties had taken up nutrients (elements) in large amount (e.g., KSK-134 had taken up maximum Fe while KSK-133 had taken up minimum) as compared to other varieties. Similarly, several verities absorbed comparatively minimum concentration of elements. The results obtained in this research work clearly indicated that the absorption of these elements from the soil was dependent on the rice variety (e.g., BAS-2000 absorbed maximum Mg while minimum Super-BAS). Interestingly most of the rice vaities had absorbed the beneficial elements in large quantity as compared to other toxic elements

Prediction of underlying atrial fibrillation in patients with a cryptogenic stroke: results from the NOR-FIB Study

Background - Atrial fibrillation (AF) detection and treatment are key elements to reduce recurrence risk in cryptogenic stroke (CS) with underlying arrhythmia. The purpose of the present study was to assess the predictors of AF in CS and the utility of existing AF-predicting scores in The Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke (NOR-FIB) Study. Method - The NOR-FIB study was an international prospective observational multicenter study designed to detect and quantify AF in CS and cryptogenic transient ischaemic attack (TIA) patients monitored by the insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), and to identify AF-predicting biomarkers. The utility of the following AF-predicting scores was tested: AS5F, Brown ESUS-AF, CHA2DS2-VASc, CHASE-LESS, HATCH, HAVOC, STAF and SURF. Results - In univariate analyses increasing age, hypertension, left ventricle hypertrophy, dyslipidaemia, antiarrhythmic drugs usage, valvular heart disease, and neuroimaging findings of stroke due to intracranial vessel occlusions and previous ischemic lesions were associated with a higher likelihood of detected AF. In multivariate analysis, age was the only independent predictor of AF. All the AF-predicting scores showed significantly higher score levels for AF than non-AF patients. The STAF and the SURF scores provided the highest sensitivity and negative predictive values, while the AS5F and SURF reached an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) > 0.7. Conclusion - Clinical risk scores may guide a personalized evaluation approach in CS patients. Increasing awareness of the usage of available AF-predicting scores may optimize the arrhythmia detection pathway in stroke units

Atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke and TIA patients in the nordic atrial fibrillation and stroke The Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke (NOR-FIB) Study: Main results

Introduction: Secondary stroke prevention depends on proper identification of the underlying etiology and initiation of optimal treatment after the index event. The aim of the NOR-FIB study was to detect and quantify underlying atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) using insertable cardiac monitor (ICM), to optimise secondary prevention, and to test the feasibility of ICM usage for stroke physicians. Patients and methods: Prospective observational international multicenter real-life study of CS and TIA patients monitored for 12 months with ICM (Reveal LINQ) for AF detection. Results: ICM insertion was performed in 91.5% by stroke physicians, within median 9 days after index event. Paroxysmal AF was diagnosed in 74 out of 259 patients (28.6%), detected early after ICM insertion (mean 48 ± 52 days) in 86.5% of patients. AF patients were older (72.6 vs 62.2; p < 0.001), had higher pre-stroke CHA₂DS₂-VASc score (median 3 vs 2; p < 0.001) and admission NIHSS (median 2 vs 1; p = 0.001); and more often hypertension (p = 0.045) and dyslipidaemia (p = 0.005) than non-AF patients. The arrhythmia was recurrent in 91.9% and asymptomatic in 93.2%. At 12-month follow-up anticoagulants usage was 97.3%. Discussion and conclusions: ICM was an effective tool for diagnosing underlying AF, capturing AF in 29% of the CS and TIA patients. AF was asymptomatic in most cases and would mainly have gone undiagnosed without ICM. The insertion and use of ICM was feasible for stroke physicians in stroke units