Incidence Rate and Risk Factors of Radial Artery Spasm during Transradial Coronary Angiography

Background: Radial artery spasm (RAS) is one of the most common complications of radial coronary angiography. Several demographic and clinical factors increase the risk of RAS in this procedure. We aimed to evaluate the effect of various risk factors on the incidence and severity of RAS in radial coronary angiography.  Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 120 patients who were randomly selected from candidates referred to Shahid Modarres Educational Medical Center for coronary angiography by the radial method. After angiography, radial arteriography was performed to diagnose spasms. The association of some demographic and clinical factors with the incidence and severity of RAS was evaluated. Results: 35 of the 120 patients (29.16%) developed RAS during angiography. Shorter height, shorter radius bone length, less radial artery diameter, longer procedure length, diabetes mellitus, more catheters used, and female sex were significantly associated with higher incidence. The predictive power of these factors for the occurrence of spasms was very good with AUC=0.88. Age, shorter height, higher body mass index, smaller radial artery diameter, longer procedure time, diabetes mellitus, failure of initial effort for puncture, number of catheters used, and female sex were significantly associated with the severity of spasms. Conclusions: The incidence or severity of spasms during the procedure can be reduced by examining the available risk factors for every patient before deciding to perform angiography

Toward Understanding the Dynamics of Bidder Behavior in Continuous Combinatorial Auctions: Agent-Based Simulation Approach

Combinatorial auctions represent sophisticated market mechanisms that are becoming increasingly important in various business applications due to their ability to improve economic efficiency and auction revenue, especially in settings where participants tend to exhibit more complex user preferences and valuations. While recent studies on such auctions have found heterogeneity in bidder behavior and its varying effect on auction outcomes, the area of bidder behavior and its impact on economic outcomes in combinatorial auctions is still largely underexplored. One of the main reasons is that it is nearly impossible to control for the type of bidder behavior in real world or experimental auction setups. We propose an agent-based modeling approach to replicate human bidder behavior in continuous combinatorial auctions and leverage our agents to simulate a wide variety of competition types, including experimentally unobserved ones that could not otherwise be studied. The capabilities of the proposed approach enable more comprehensive studies (via richer controlled experiments) of bidding behavior in the complex and highly dynamic decision environment of continuous combinatorial auctions

Bidder Behavior in Complex Trading Environments: Modeling, Simulations, and Agent-Enabled Experiments

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. January 2018. Major: Business Administration. Advisor: Gediminas Adomavicius. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 90 pages.Combinatorial auctions represent sophisticated market mechanisms that are becoming increasingly important in various business applications due to their ability to improve economic efficiency and auction revenue, especially in settings where participants tend to exhibit more complex user preferences and valuations. While recent studies on such auctions have found heterogeneity in bidder behavior and its varying effect on auction outcomes, the area of bidder behavior and its impact on economic outcomes in combinatorial auctions is still largely underexplored. One of the main reasons is that it is nearly impossible to control for the type of bidder behavior in real world or experimental auction setups. In my dissertation I propose two data-driven approaches (heuristic-based in the first part and machine-learning-based in the second part) to design and develop software agents that replicate several canonical types of human behavior observed in this complex trading mechanism. Leveraging these agents in an agent-based simulation framework, I examine the effect of different bidder compositions (i.e., competing against bidders with different bidding strategies) on auction outcomes and bidder behavior. I use the case of continuous combinatorial auctions to demonstrate both approaches and provide insights that facilitate the implementation of this combinatorial design for online marketplaces. In the third part of my thesis, I conduct human vs. machine style experiments by integrating the bidding agents into an experimental combinatorial auction platform, where participants play against (human-like) agents with certain pre-determined bidding strategies. This part investigates the impact of different competitive environments on bidder behavior and auction outcomes, the underlying reasons for different behaviors, and how bidders learn under different competitive environments

Geometric Spanners for Points Inside a Polygonal Domain

Let P be a set of n points inside a polygonal domain D. A polygonal domain with h holes (or obstacles) consists of h disjoint polygonal obstacles surrounded by a simple polygon which itself acts as an obstacle. We first study t-spanners for the set P with respect to the geodesic distance function d where for any two points p and q, d(p,q) is equal to the Euclidean length of the shortest path from p to q that avoids the obstacles interiors. For a case where the polygonal domain is a simple polygon (i.e., h=0), we construct a (sqrt(10)+eps)-spanner that has O(n log^2 n) edges where eps is the a given positive real number. For a case where there are h holes, our construction gives a (5+eps)-spanner with the size of O(sqrt(h) n log^2 n). Moreover, we study t-spanners for the visibility graph of P (VG(P), for short) with respect to a hole-free polygonal domain D. The graph VG(P) is not necessarily a complete graph or even connected. In this case, we propose an algorithm that constructs a (3+eps)-spanner of size almost O(n^{4/3}). In addition, we show that there is a set P of n points such that any (3-eps)-spanner of VG(P) must contain almost n^2 edges

Variation and Relationships of Shoot Yield, Morphological and Phenological Traits in Chamomile Populations (Anthemis triumfettii)

The chamomile species of Anthemis triumfettii (L.) All is one of important medicinal plant belong to Compositae family and it grows as wild species in Zagros and Alborz Mountains, Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluation of morphological and phenological traits and their relationships with essential oil. Seeds of seven accessions were sown in jiffy pots and transferred to field using randomize block design with three replications in Alborz research station, Karaj, Iran during 2011-12. Data were collected and analyzed for canopy diameter, plant height, flower number, flowering date, maturity date, shoot fresh and dry weight, Essential oil percentage and GDD to flowering and maturity dates. Results showed significance differences for all traits (

سنجش و تحلیل سواد محیط زیستی در شهر مهاجران

Background and Aim: One of the most important issues of human life is environmental protection. On the other hand, One of the most influential and an important factor in maintaining the environmental is environmental literacy. Among the variables affecting people’s environmental literacy is their knowledge and attitude towards the environment. Therefore, awareness of individuals’ knowledge and attitude is essential for better implementation of plans and programs to improve the environmental circumstances. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of environmental literacy in the city of Mohajeran. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study. The required data were collected from the completion of 362 questionnaires has been collected by interviews in 2020 in the city of Mohajeran. A researcher made questionnaire was prepared consisted of three sections of individual information, knowledge and attitude questions. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Ethical Considerations: Ethical aspects including preserving the authenticity of texts, honesty, trustworthiness, confidentiality of information and obtaining informed consent have been observed. Results: The mean and standard deviation of knowledge is 1.17±0.907 (responses in range -10 to 10) at a higher level of average and the mean and standard deviation of attitude is 0.485±1.25 (responses in range -6 to 10) at a relatively positive. There was a positive and significant correlation between awareness and attitude toward the environment. There was a significant difference between knowledge scores based on education and history of underlying disease. Awareness of people with higher education is more than people with low education. Awareness of people with a history of illness is more than people who have no history of illness. There was a significant difference between the scores of attitude based on education and age and history of disease. The attitude of people with high education is more positive than people with low education. People with underlying disease have a positive attitude to the environmental and people with high age have a positive attitude toward people with low ages. Conclusion: Based on the results of the research, although the scores of knowledge and attitude of citizens of Mohajeran were high and positive than the environment, but, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive program in order to provide human development, in order to promote literacy and environmental culture. It is hoped the results to help the relevant authorities and policymakers in planning. Please cite this article as: Rahimi Kahkashi S, Adeli OA, Arabi SH. Assessment and Analysis of Environmental Literacy in Mohajeran. Akhlaq-i zisti, i.e., Bioethics Journal. 2022; 12(37): e13.زمینه و هدف: در حال حاضر، یکی از مهم‌ترین موضوعات زندگی بشر، حفاظت از محیط زیست است. از تأثیرگذارترین و مهم‌ترین عوامل در حفظ محیط زیست، سواد محیط زیستی است. از جمله متغیرهای مؤثر بر سواد محیط زیستی افراد، آگاهی و نگرش آن‌ها به محیط زیست است، لذا اطلاع از دانش و نگرش افراد برای اجرای بهتر طرح‌ها و برنامه‌های حفظ و بهبود محیط زیست امری ضروری است. هدف از مطالعه حاضر، بررسی سطح سواد محیط زیستی در شهر مهاجران است. روش: این مطالعه، مقطعی از نوع توصیفی - تحلیلی است. داده‌های مورد نیاز از تکمیل 362 پرسشنامه به صورت مصاحبه رو در رو، در سال 1399 در شهر مهاجران جمع‌آوری شده است. پرسشنامه محقق‌ساخته شامل سه بخش اطلاعات فردی، سؤالات آگاهی و نگرش تهیه و تکمیل گردید. جهت تجزیه و تحلیل داده‌ها از روش‌های آمار توصیفی و آمار استنباطی استفاده شد. ملاحظات اخلاقی: جنبه­های اخلاقی شامل حفظ اصالت متون، صداقت، امانتداری، محرمانگی اطلاعات و اخذ رضایت آگاهانه، رعایت شده است. یافته‌ها: میانگین و انحراف معیار آگاهی 907/0±17/1 (پاسخ‌ها در محدوده 10- تا 10) در سطح بالاتر از متوسط و میانگین و انحراف معیار نگرش 25/1±485/0 (پاسخ‌ها در محدوده 6- تا 10) در سطح نسبتاً مثبت است. همبستگی مثبت و معنی‌داری بین آگاهی و نگرش نسبت به محیط زیست مشاهده شد. بین نمرات آگاهی بر اساس تحصیلات و سابقه بیماری زمینه‌ای تفاوت معنی‌داری مشاهده شده است. آگاهی افراد با تحصیلات بالاتر بیشتر از افراد با تحصیلات پایین است. آگاهی افراد دارای سابقه بیماری زمینه‌ای بیشتر از افرادی است که سابقه بیماری ندارند. بین نمرات نگرش بر اساس تحصیلات، سن و سابقه بیماری زمینه‌ای تفاوت معنی‌دار مشاهده شده است. نگرش افراد با تحصیلات بالا مثبت‌تر از افراد با تحصیلات پایین است. افرادی که دارای بیماری زمینه‌ای هستند، نگرش مثبت به محیط زیست دارند و افراد با سنین بالا نگرش مثبت‌تر نسبت به افراد با سنین پایین دارند. نتیجه‌گیری: بر اساس نتایج پژوهش، هرچند میزان نمره آگاهی و نگرش شهروندان مهاجران نسبت به محیط زیست بالا و مثبت بود، لیکن لازم است به منظور فراهم‌کردن امکان توسعه انسانی، یک برنامه جامع در راستای ارتقای سواد و فرهنگ محیط زیستی تدوین گردد. امید است نتایج حاصله مسئولین و سیاستگذاران مربوطه را در امر برنامه‌ریزی یاری کند

management of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in qatar an expert consensus

AbstractHealthcare systems vary greatly between countries. International, evidence-based guidelines for the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) may need to be adapted for use in particular countr..

The association between airborne pollen monitoring and sensitization in the hot desert climate

Background: Pollen is a major cause of allergic respiratory diseases. In Qatar, data on the presence and prevalence of allergenic airborne types of pollen is quite limited. / Methods: The study aimed to determine and correlate the most frequently implicated airborne pollen detected by aerobiological monitoring samplers in respiratory allergy symptoms. An aerobiological survey was started on May 8, 2017. Airborne pollen was collected using two Hirst type seven-day recorder volumetric traps. Skin prick test in patients attending allergy clinics in Doha using commercial extracts was conducted. / Results: Twenty-five pollen types representing the native, as well as the introduced plants, with a relatively low daily mean concentration were observed from May 2017 to May 2019. The highest pollen concentrations were reached by Amaranthaceae (58.9%), followed by Poaceae (21.7%). SPT revealed a comparatively higher degree of sensitization to pollen. Among 940 patients, 204 were sensitized to pollen (54% female) with 135 (66.2%) and 114 (55.8%) to Amaranthaceae and Poaceae, respectively. Some patients had polysensitization. There was a statistically significant association between Amaranthaceae, and asthma (r = 0.169, P = 0.016) and allergic rhinitis (r = 0.177, P = 0.012). / Conclusions: This is the first study to monitor airborne pollen in the state of Qatar. The main pollen detected were Amaranthaceae and Poaceae. Pollen may represent a possible exacerbating factor in adult patients with allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis