Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training versus Continuous Training on Physical Fitness, Cardiovascular Function and Quality of Life in Heart Failure Patients

Introduction Physical fitness is an important prognostic factor in heart failure (HF). To improve fitness, different types of exercise have been explored, with recent focus on high-intensity interval training (HIT). We comprehensively compared effects of HIT versus continuous training (CT) in HF patients NYHA II-III on physical fitness, cardiovascular function and structure, and quality of life, and hypothesize that HIT leads to superior improvements compared to CT. Methods Twenty HF patients (male:female 19:1, 64±8 yrs, ejection fraction 38±6%) were allocated to 12-weeks of HIT (10*1-minute at 90% maximal workload—alternated by 2.5 minutes at 30% maximal workload) or CT (30 minutes at 60–75% of maximal workload). Before and after intervention, we examined physical fitness (incremental cycling test), cardiac function and structure (echocardiography), vascular function and structure (ultrasound) and quality of life (SF-36, Minnesota living with HF questionnaire (MLHFQ)). Results Training improved maximal workload, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) related to the predicted VO2peak, oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold, and maximal oxygen pulse (all P<0.05), whilst no differences were present between HIT and CT (N.S.). We found no major changes in resting cardiovascular function and structure. SF-36 physical function score improved after training (P<0.05), whilst SF-36 total score and MLHFQ did not change after training (N.S.). Conclusion Training induced significant improvements in parameters of physical fitness, although no evidence for superiority of HIT over CT was demonstrated. No major effect of training was found on cardiovascular structure and function or quality of life in HF patients NYHA II-III

Preoperative povidone-iodine vaginal gel in abdominal hysterectomy: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Infectious complications of hysterectomy remain common despite the use of antibiotic. The usual existing methods of preoperative antisepsis do not control the vaginal bacteria that are the primary cause of contamination at the surgical site. Our goal was to assess whether febrile morbidity after total abdominal hysterectomy is decreased by the addition of povidone-iodine gel at the vaginal apex after the routine vaginal preparation with povidone-iodine solution.Methods: We carried out a prospective randomized trial on women admitted for elective abdominal hysterectomy. Inclusion criteria included planned abdominal hysterectomy for benign or malignant gynecologic conditions. Exclusion criteria consisted of emergency surgery, current treatment for pelvic infection, and known povidone-iodine allergy. A total of 168 patients were randomized to either the control group or the intervention group, who received 20 cc povidone-iodine gel placed at the vaginal apex immediately before the operation. Both groups received the routine preoperative preparation of antimicrobial prophylaxis, abdominal and vaginal scrubbing with povidone-iodine solution prior to the operation. The primary outcome was post-operative febrile morbidity. Other outcomes included abdominal wound infection, vaginal cuff cellulitis or pelvic abscess. Data was analyzed using Fisher&apos;s exact test. p&amp;lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The overall rate of febrile morbidity was 20.5%. Febrile morbidity occurred in ten of 80 (12.5%) women receiving the povidone-iodine gel preparation and 24 of 86 (27.9%) women not receiving the gel (p&amp;lt;0.05). The rate of abdominal wound infection was 18.6% (16) in the control group, and 5% (4) in the gel group (p&amp;lt;0.05). Vaginal cuff cellulitis was seen in three patients from the control group versus one woman from the gel group (p&amp;gt;0.05). Pelvic abscess was diagnosed in one patient from the control group and in no patients from the gel group (p&amp;gt;0.05).Conclusion: Preoperative vaginal povidone-iodine gel is an effective technique for reducing febrile morbidity and the risk of abdominal wound infection after hysterectomy

Late Cenozoic volcanism and rates of active faulting in eastern Iran

We present new 40Ar/39Ar ages of samples of volcanic rock exposed along the remote margins of the Dasht-e Lut desert in eastern Iran. Close spatial relationships between the volcanic rocks and the trace of active strike-slip faults allow us to determine the slip rates of two major faults, averaged since eruption of the volcanics. Our study shows that the Nayband fault at the western margin of the Dasht-e Lut has a slip rate of 223C1.4 � 0.5 mm yr22121 averaged over 2.25 Ma. The East Neh fault, one of several active strike-slip faults within the Sistan Suture Zone at the eastern margin of the Dasht-e Lut, has a minimum slip rate of 223C1.2 mm yr22121 averaged over 223C1.7 Ma. The rates of slip on major active faults in eastern Iran are largely unknown, and the slip rates our data provide, though limited, are a significant increase on what is known of the faulting within this remote and relatively inaccessible desert region. We also present analyses of the major and trace element concentrations within the volcanic rocks. The chemistry of the volcanic rocks is typical of intracontinental melts with an overall signature similar to that of ocean island basalts. Inversion of rare earth element distributions suggests some melting has occurred at depths of 223C80 km, indicating the presence of a relatively thin lithosphere beneath eastern Iran, in agreement with recently published maps of lithospheric thickness derived from shear wave velocities

Petrogenesis and zircon U-Pb dating of skarnified pyroxene-bearing dioritic rocks in Bisheh area, south of Birjand, eastern Iran

Introduction The study area is located 196 km south of Birjand in eastern border of the Lut block )Berberian and King, 1981) in eastern Iran between 59°05′35" and 59°09′12" E longitude and 31°42′29" and 31°44′13" N latitude. The magmatic activity in the Lut block began in the middle Jurassic such as Kalateh Ahani, Shah Kuh and Surkh Kuh granitoids that are among the oldest rocks exposed within the Lut block (Esmaeily et al., 2005; Tarkian et al., 1983; Moradi Noghondar et al., 2011-2012). Eastern Iran, and particularly the Lut block, has great potential for different types of mineralization as skarnification in Bisheh area which has been studied in this paper. The goal of this study is to highlight the geochronology, geochemistry of major and trace elements, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd isotopes for skarnified pyroxene-bearing diorites. Materials and methods Major element compositions of thirteen samples were determined by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, using fused discs and the Phillips PW 1410 XRF spectrometer at Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran. These samples were analysed for trace elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the Acme Analytical Laboratories, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Zircon grains were separated from pyroxene diorite porphyrys using heavy liquid and magnetic techniques at the Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Zircon U-Pb dating was performed by laser ablation-inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), using an Agilent 7500 s machine and a New Wave UP213 laser ablation system, equipped at the Dr Shen-Su Sun memorial laboratory in the Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. Strontium and Nd isotopic analyses were performed on a six-collector Finnigan MAT 261 thermal-ionization mass spectrometer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States. 87Sr/86Sr ratios were determined using four-collector static mode measurements. Several measurements of SRM-987 during the study period yielded a mean of 87Sr/86Sr = 0.71032 ± 2 (error is the 2σ mean). Measured 87Sr/86Sr ratios were corrected to SRM-987 = 0.71028. Measured 143Nd/144Nd was normalized to 146Nd/144Nd = 0.7219. Analyses were conducted as dynamic mode, three-collector measurements. Several measurements of the La Jolla Nd standard during the study period yielded a mean of 143Nd/144Nd = 0.511838 ± 8 (error is the 2σ mean). Results In the Bisheh area that is located east of Lut block, pyroxene-bearing dioritic rocks are high-K calk-alkaline and meta-aluminous. Primitive mantle-normalized trace element spider diagrams display strong enrichment in LILE, such as Rb, Ba, and Cs, and depletion in some HFSE, e.g., Nb, P, Ti, Y and Yb. Chondrite-normalized REE diagrams show (La/Yb)N ratios ranging from 7.75 to 8.63 and small negative Eu anomalies. These features along with high Th/Yb and Ta/Yb ratios show that magmatism is related to continental margin subduction. Obvious depletion of Nb and Ti, relatively high values of Mg#, initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70606) and 143Nd/144Nd (0.512424) ratios as well as εNd (-3.05) suggest that the magma originated from an enriched mantle with crustal contamination. High values of Rb, Th and K and low amount of P and Ti support the magma contamination in upper crust during magma evolution. Zircon U-Pb age dating for a porphyritic pyroxene diorite sample yield an age of 44.07±0.69 Ma indicating middle Eocene (Lutetian). Discussion The isotopic value for the Bisheh dioritic porphyry can be considered as indicative of lithospheric mantle melting. The trace element characteristics of these rocks can be used to characterize their mantle source. The MORB normalized trace element pattern (Pearce, 1983) of all samples shows a negative anomaly for Nb, Ti and Ta. The negative anomaly of these elements can be explained by the presence of a residual TNT phase (Ti-Nb-Ta, e.g., rutile, ilmenite and perovskite) during the melting of the source (Reagan and Gill, 1989). This pattern followed that of calc-alkaline magmas derived from a sub-arc mantle, with scarce or no garnet in the source. Furthermore, Bisheh subvolcanic bodies were enriched in Rb, Ba and Th, indicating that they had experienced interaction with the continental crust (Kuşcu et al., 2002). The chondrite-normalized rare earth element pattern of the studied rocks shows a high ratio of light rare earth elements (LREE) to heavy rare earth elements (HREE). All the samples have been plotted in the VAG field. The dioritic rocks from the Bisheh have relatively high Mg# (0.4-0.56), which is consistent with derivation from mantle melts contaminated by continental crust (Rapp and Watson, 1995). The initial 87Sr/86Sr of Bisheh pyroxene diorite porphyry was 0.70606 and the (143Nd/144Nd)i isotope compositions and εNd value of these rocks was 0.512424 and -3.05, respectively. These values show that the magma originated from an enriched mantle with crustal contamination. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Professor Sun-Lin Chung from the Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, for supporting the researchers in the use of U-Th-Pb zircon age dating. References Berberian, M. and King, G.C., 1981. Towards a palaeogeography and tectonics evolution of Iran. Canadian Journal of Earth Science, 18(2): 210–265. Esmaeily, D., Nedelec, A., Valizadeh, M.V., Moore, F. and Cotton, J., 2005. Petrology of the Jurassic Shah-Kuh granite (eastern Iran), with reference to tin mineralization. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 25(6): 961-980. Tarkian, M., Lotfi, M. and Baumann, A., 1983. Tectonic, magmatism and the formation of mineral deposits in the central Lut, east Iran. Geological Survey of Iran, geodynamic project (geotraverse) in Iran, Tehran, Report 51, 519 pp. Moradi Noghondar, M., Karimpour, M.H., Farmer, G.L. and Stern, C.R., 2011-2012. Sr-Nd isotopic characteristic, U-Pb zircon geochronology, and petrogenesis of Najmabad Granodiorite batholith, Eastern Iran. Journal of Economic Geology, 3(2): 127-145. (in Persian) Pearce, J.A., 1983. Role of the sub-continental lithosphere in magma genesis at active continental margins. In: C.J. Hawkesworth and M. J. Norry (Editors), Continental basalts and mantle xenoliths. Shiva Publications, Nantwich, UK, pp. 230-249. Reagan, M. K. and Gill, J. B., 1989. Coexisting calcalkaline and high niobium basalts from Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica: implication for residual titanates in arc magma source. Journal of Geophysical Research, 94(B4): 4619-4633. Kuşcu, I., Kuşcu, G.G., Meinert, L.D. and Floyd, P.A., 2002. Tectonic setting and petrogenesis of the Çelebi granitoid, (Kirikkale-Turkey) and comparison with world skarn granitoids. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 76(3): 175–194. Rapp, R.P. and Watson, E.B., 1995. Dehydration melting of metabasalt at 8–32 kbar: Implications for continental growth and crust–mantle recycling. Journal of Petrology, 36(4): 891–931. <br

Late Cenozoic volcanism and rates of active faulting in eastern Iran

We present new 40Ar/39Ar ages of samples of volcanic rock exposed along the remote margins of the Dasht-e Lut desert in eastern Iran. Close spatial relationships between the volcanic rocks and the trace of active strike-slip faults allow us to determine the slip rates of two major faults, averaged since eruption of the volcanics. Our study shows that the Nayband fault at the western margin of the Dasht-e Lut has a slip rate of ∼1.4 ± 0.5 mm yr−1 averaged over 2.25 Ma. The East Neh fault, one of several active strike-slip faults within the Sistan Suture Zone at the eastern margin of the Dasht-e Lut, has a minimum slip rate of ∼1.2 mm yr−1 averaged over ∼1.7 Ma. The rates of slip on major active faults in eastern Iran are largely unknown, and the slip rates our data provide, though limited, are a significant increase on what is known of the faulting within this remote and relatively inaccessible desert region. We also present analyses of the major and trace element concentrations within the volcanic rocks. The chemistry of the volcanic rocks is typical of intracontinental melts with an overall signature similar to that of ocean island basalts. Inversion of rare earth element distributions suggests some melting has occurred at depths of ∼80 km, indicating the presence of a relatively thin lithosphere beneath eastern Iran, in agreement with recently published maps of lithospheric thickness derived from shear wave velocities