Myocardial perfusion imaging using a technetium-99m Sestamibi in asymptomatic and low risk for coronary artery disease patients with diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate technetium-99m sestamibi single photon emission tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and its association with some clinical and laboratory parameters in an asymptomatic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) population. Materials and Methods : Twenty-one subjects with SLE and no suspected or documented coronary artery disease (CAD) accomplished myocardial perfusion imaging. Some SLE and CAD parameters were also evaluated in association with myocardial SPECT. Results: Twenty-one women with a diagnosis of SLE (mean age 36.9 ± 12.8) entered the study. All patients were in the low-risk category for CAD pretest; however, abnormal myocardial perfusion results were found in eight (38%) patients. Amongst the traditional CAD risk factors, there was a significant association between the presence of dyslipidemia and myocardial perfusion abnormalities (P= 0.047). However, we found no significant association between other traditional and SLE-specific risk factors. Conclusion: This study's significant finding was that asymptomatic CAD is common in SLE patients, even in those thought to be low risk for CAD and in the absence of cardiac symptoms. © The Author(s) 2010

Limnological study on Zarrineh River

Limnological studies of the Zarrineh River have been performed in order to identify physicochemical and biological characteristics of this river. Water samples from 14 sites along the river length were examined monthly during a year. The results indicated the river was polluted by Saghez and Miandoab Cities sewage to the extent of poly saprob, the extent of pollution at other sites was within the limits of oligo saprob or meso saprob. The results also showed that all dissolved and mineral compositions in this river was safe for drinking but iron concentration and water hardness in the terminal sites near the Urmia Lake are higher than EPA standards for drinking . This cannot, however, pose serious problem for warm water fish culture activities. Domestic sewage seem to be the most important pollution source to this river. Although the self-purification capacity of this river seem to be high but large number of polluting sites along the river exceed this capacity

Outcome of surgical treatment and the prognostic factors in full-thickness rotator cuff tear

Background: Rotator cuff tendon tear injury is one of the most frequently seen orthopaedic conditions, and surgical repair of rotator cuff tears is a common procedure. The purpose of the present study was to determine the results of full-thickness rotator cuff repair and to look for predictors of outcomes. Methods: we studied 27 patients (17 men and 10 women with a mean age of 57.7 years) who underwent open rotator cuff repair surgery for full-thickness tear between 2001 and 2005 at the Imam Khomeini Hospital and were subsequently followed-up for 6 and 12 months after surgery. The shoulder function was assessed by Constant classification and factors potentially associated with outcomes were Results: The mean of preoperative Constant score (CS) was 45.8 ± 14.1 after 12 months, 6 patients (22.2%) had good results and 21 patients (77.8%) had excellent result according to CS. Pain relief was generally satisfactory. Using multiple regression analysis, treatment was significantly correlated preoperative CS and acromio-humeral interval (AHI) however, no correlation was found between the result of the treatment and pretreatment atrophy, tear size, acromial morphology, preoperative symptom duration and age. Conclusion: In this study, a standard rotator cuff repair technique reduced pain severity and was associated with good results, however larger studies are necessary to define the long-term outcome of this procedure

Interference of 7-hydroxymethotrexate with the determination of methotrexate in plasma samples from children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia employing routine clinical assays

The accuracy of two clinical assays, the enzyme-multiplied immunoassay (EMIT) and fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA2), universally employed for measurement of plasma levels of methotrexate (MTX) in children administered a high dose of this drug for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia was evaluated here. Because of its superior specificity, sensitivity, and precision, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was selected as the reference method with which the other two procedures were compared using approximately 420 different plasma samples for method comparison. 7-Hydroxymethotrexate (7-OHMTX), the major plasma metabolite of MTX, that can be detected in plasma at relatively high concentrations for long periods following infusion of a high dose of MTX, was also quantitated by HPLC. Forty-two and 66 h after infusion, the plasma level of MTX was overestimated in 2% and 3% of the samples by the FPIA2 procedure in 5% and 31% by the EMIT assay. The overall correlation coefficients (r(2)) for the values obtained by FPIA2 or EMIT versus those based on HPLC were 0.989 and 0.663, respectively. The presence of 7-OHMTX exerted a highly significant influence (p = 0.0007 as determined by the unpaired t-test) on MTX measurement by the EMIT assay. We conclude that the rapid automated procedures routinely used at present and in particular EMIT, suffer from cross-reactivity with metabolites of MTX. Thus, the relatively high percentage of samples in which the level of MTX is overestimated at check-points by EMIT may result in longer periods of hospitalization, higher costs and prolonged administration of elevated doses of "rescue" leucovorin with an increased risk for relapse

Synthesis and Characterization of Diaminodisulfide Derivatives and their use as Accelerator in Curing Process of Rubber Compounds

In some special cases, rubber compounds with high amounts of unsaturated elastomer are recommended with organic sulfur donors instead of mineral sulfurs. In this condition, activated sulfur is produced in situ and curingprocess is facilitated without accelerators. Organic sulfur donor compounds have low thermal stability and in the vulcanization temperature produce free and activated sulfurs. The advantages of these compounds are:1. High effectiveness of curing agent in low quantities in rubber compounds manufacturing.2. Producing activated sulfurs in controlled condition and avoiding the over curing of rubber compounds.In this report the novel synthesis of some derivatives of diamino-disulfides which can be applied as sulfur donors in vulcanization of special rubber compounds is introduced. The key process is reaction of sulfurmonochloride with amines in petroleum ether as solvent in low temperature. Dithio-dimorpholine(DTDM), dithio-dipipyridyl (DTDP), dithio-bis dibutylamine (DTBDB) and dithio-bisdiisopropyl amine (DTBDI) were prepared according to this method. All products thus obtained were characterized by 1H and 13C-NMR spectroscopies. The effects of accelerating and sulfur donoring of all prepared agents were detected in rubber compounds with natural and synthetic rubber bases. All physical, chemical, reological and mechanical properties of rubber compounds based on prepared sulfur donors were characterized

Evaluation of Patients\' satisfaction with the services at Khatamolanbia Dental Clinic in Yazd,2011

Introduction: Considering patients' opinion is essential for the assessment of health care services. The aim of the present study was to survey patients' satisfaction with the services at Khatamolanbia Dental Clinic affiliated to Yazd University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out on 1380 randomly-selected patients who had referred to Khatamolanbia Dental Clinic. Data were gathered using phone interview and questionnaire. The questionnaire included some questions about demographic characteristics and viewpoints of the patients about dentistry, clinic, received treatment, dentist and clinical team. Data analysis were conducted using SPSS software. Results: The total mean score of the patients' satisfaction was 3 ± 0.02 out of 4. The highest level of satisfaction was related to guiding signs (99.6%) and hygiene and infection control (99.5%). The highest level of dissatisfaction was related to parking situation (90%) and treatment cost (21%). Totally, 90.2% of the subjects asserted they will choose this clinic again if they require treatment in the future. Conclusion: The patients' satisfaction was almost complete. Dissatisfaction about parking and high costs of some treatments are amendable regarding related authorities at University and the province and better contribution of insurers to dental services