Intravenous Amiodarone versus Digoxin in Atrial Fibrillation Rate Control; a Clinical Trial

Introduction: Treatment of rapid ventricular response arterial fibrillation (rapid AF) varies depending on the decision of the in-charge physician, condition of the patient, availability of the drug, and the treatment protocol of the hospital. The present study was designed aiming to compare IV digoxin and amiodarone in controlling the heart rate of patients presenting to emergency department with rapid AF and relative contraindication for first line drug in this regard.Method: In the present clinical trial, patients presented to the ED with rapid AF and relative contraindication for calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers were treated with either IV amiodarone or IV digoxin and compared regarding success rate and complication using SPSS version 22. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: 84 patients were randomly allocated to either amiodarone or digoxin treatment groups of 42 (53.6% male). The mean age of the studied patients was 61.8 ± 11.14 years (38 - 79). No significant difference was present regarding baseline characteristics. The rate of treatment failure was 21.4% (9 cases) in amiodarone and 59.5% (25 cases) in digoxin groups (p < 0.001). The mean onset of action was 56.66 ± 39.52 minutes (10 - 180) in amiodarone receivers and 135.38 ± 110.41 minutes (25 - 540) in digoxin group (p < 0.001). None of the patients showed any adverse outcomes of hypotension, bradycardia, and rhythm control.Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, rapid AF patients with relative contraindication for calcium channel blockers or beta-blockers who had received amiodarone experienced both higher (about 2 times) treatment success and a more rapid (about 2.5 times) response compared to those who received IV digoxin

Early vs Late Coronary Angiography and Intervention Following Thrombolytic Therapy; a Cohort Study

Introduction: The precise time of using percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after fibrinolytic therapy for maximum efficiency and minimum side effects is still undetermined. Therefore, the present study was designed to compare the outcome of myocardial infarction (MI) patients who underwent surgical intervention (angiography and PCI) within 48 hours of thrombolytic therapy or after that.Methods: The present study is a prospective cohort study aiming to compare the occurrence of no-reflow phenomenon, unstable angina, bleeding during intervention, and one month major adverse cardiac outcomes (recurrent MI, need for repeating surgical intervention, and mortality) between MI patents undergoing surgical intervention within the first 48 hours of or after 48 hours of thrombolytic therapy.Results: 90 patients with the mean age of 54.97 ± 10.54 were studied (86.67% male). 50 (56%) patients underwent surgical intervention within 48 hours and 40 (44%) after that. The 2 groups were not significantly different regarding baseline characteristics. No-reflow phenomenon in the < 48 hours group was about twice the > 48 hours group (OR = 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.14 – 0.92; p = 0.03), other outcomes were not significantly different. No case of mortality was seen in the 1 month follow up.Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it seems that no-reflow phenomenon rate is significantly lower in patients undergoing surgical intervention after 48 hours of fibrinolytic therapy. The difference between the two groups regarding prevalence of major adverse cardiac outcomes was not statistically significant

Human protein secretory pathway genes are expressed in a tissue-specific pattern to match processing demands of the secretome

Protein secretory pathway in eukaryal cells is responsible for delivering functional secretory proteins. The dysfunction of this pathway causes a range of important human diseases from congenital disorders to cancer. Despite the piled-up knowledge on the molecular biology and biochemistry level, the tissue-specific expression of the secretory pathway genes has not been analyzed on the transcriptome level. Based on the recent RNA-sequencing studies, the largest fraction of tissue-specific transcriptome encodes for the secretome (secretory proteins). Here, the question arises that if the expression levels of the secretory pathway genes have a tissue-specific tuning. In this study, we tackled this question by performing a meta-analysis of the recently published transcriptome data on human tissues. As a result, we detected 68 as called “extreme genes” which show an unusual expression pattern in specific gene families of the secretory pathway. We also inspected the potential functional link between detected extreme genes and the corresponding tissues enriched secretome. As a result, the detected extreme genes showed correlation with the enrichment of the nature and number of specific post-translational modifications in each tissue’s secretome. Our findings conciliate both the housekeeping and tissue-specific nature of the protein secretory pathway, which we attribute to a fine-tuned regulation of defined gene families to support the diversity of secreted proteins and their modifications

Presenting a Mathematical Programming Model for Discovering Eulerian Paths (EP) in Certain Specific Graphs

In the modern era, graph theory is considered a useful tool for quantification and simplification of various dynamic components in complex systems. By representing elements as nodes and their connections as edges, graph theory can transform anything from urban planning to computer data into a meaningful mathematical language. Nowadays, numerous practical applications have been designed and developed based on graph theory. Graph theory is a branch of discrete mathematics that aims to describe and solve problems with discrete structures using points and edges. One of the problems concerning graphs is the Eulerian path problem. This research demonstrates that this problem can also be investigated from the perspective of Operations Research (OR). In a more general sense, the Eulerian path problem is a routing problem. This paper presents a pure mathematical model to describe the relationship between the variables of the Eulerian path problem. One of the features of the proposed mathematical model is its solvability by most optimization software. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to enhance the understanding of this model, and they are solved using the proposed approach. All the analyses in this research are conducted using one of the most advanced optimization software, MATLAB. The proposed mathematical model provides a systematic and efficient approach to discover Eulerian paths in specific graphs, contributing to the advancement of graph theory and its practical applications

Proposing a Pure Binary Linear Programming(PBLP) Model to Discover Eulerian Circuits in Complete Graphs

Known as a branch of Discrete Mathematics (DM), Graph Theory (GT) describes and solves problems of discrete nature through nodes (i.e., vertices) and arcs (i.e., edges). In this regard, a prominent problem is to find the Eulerian circuits. This paper indicates that the problem can be analyzed through operations research methods. In more general terms, finding the Eulerian circuits could be considered a pathfinding problem. Hence, this paper proposes a pure binary mathematical model to describe the relationship between the variables employed to find the Eulerian circuits. All the analyses in this paper were performed in MATLAB. The proposed model can be solved by many optimization software applications. Finally, several numerical examples are presented and solved through the proposed method. All the analyses in this paper were performed in MATLAB. This paper indicated that the problem(Eulerian Circuits in Complete Graphs) could be studied and solved from the perspective of operations research

Application of multivariate regression on magnetic data to determine further drilling site for iron exploration

In this study, a new approach of the multivariate regression model has been applied to make a precise mathematical model to determine further drilling for the detailed iron exploration in the Koohbaba area, Northwest of Iran. Furthermore, to figure out the additional drilling locations, the ore length to the total core ratio for the drilled boreholes has been used based on the geophysical exploration dataset. Hence, different regression analyses including linear, cubic, and quadratic models have been applied. In this study, the ore length to the total core ratio of the chosen drilled boreholes has been considered as a dependent variable; besides, the outputs of the magnetic data using the UP10 (10m upward-continuation), RTP (reduction to the pole), and A.S. (analytic signal) techniques have been designated as independent variables. Based on probability value (p-value), coefficients of determination (R2 and R2_adj), and efficiency formula (EF), the fourth regression model has revealed the best results. The accuracy of the model has been confirmed by the defined ratio of boreholes and demonstrated by four additional drilled boreholes in the study area. Therefore, the results of the regression analysis are reasonable and can be used to determine the additional drilling for the detailed exploration

FUCOM-MOORA and FUCOM-MOOSRA: new MCDM-based knowledge-driven procedures for mineral potential mapping in greenfields

AbstractIn this study, we present the application of two novel hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques in the mineral potential mapping (MPM), namely FUCOM-MOORA and FUCOM-MOOSRA, as robust computational frameworks for MPM. These were applied to a set of exploration targeting criteria of skarn. The multi-objective optimization method on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA) and the multi-objective optimization on the basis of simple ratio analysis (MOOSRA) approaches are used to prioritize and rank individual cells. What makes MOORA and MOOSRA more reliable compared to many other methods is the fact that the optimizations procedure is applied to calculate the prospectivity score of individual unit cells. This reduces the uncertainty stemming from erroneous mathematical calculations. The full consistency method (FUCOM), on the other hand, is useful for assigning weights to the spatial proxies. The FUCOM method, as a pairwise comparison method, reduces a large number of pairwise comparisons of similar and popular approaches such as analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with $$n\left( {n - 1} \right)/2$$ n n - 1 / 2 and the best–worst method (BWM) with $$2n - 3$$ 2 n - 3 number of pairwise comparisons with $$n - 1$$ n - 1 which leads to a less time-consuming and more consistent performance compared with AHP and BWM. These were applied to a set of exploration targeting criteria of skarn iron deposits from Central Iran. Two potential maps were retrieved from the procedures applied, the comparison of which using correct classification rates and field checks revealed the superiority of FUCOM-MOOSRA over the FUCOM-MOORA

Editorial: Genomic strategies for efficient microbial cell factories

No abstract availabl

Autophagy induction regulates influenza virus replication in a time-dependent manner

Autophagy plays a key role in host defence responses against microbial infections by promoting degradation of pathogens and participating in acquired immunity. The interaction between autophagy and viruses is complex, and this pathway is hijacked by several viruses. Influenza virus (IV) interferes with autophagy through its replication and increases the accumulation of autophagosomes by blocking lysosome fusion. Thus, autophagy could be an effective area for antiviral research.Methodology. In this study, we evaluated the effect of autophagy on IV replication. Two cell lines were transfected with Beclin-1 expression plasmid before (prophylactic approach) and after (therapeutic approach) IV inoculation.Results/Key findings. Beclin-1 overexpression in the cells infected by virus induced autophagy to 26 %. The log10haemagglutinin titre and TCID50 (tissue culture infective dose giving 50 % infection) of replicating virus were measured at 24 and 48 h post-infection. In the prophylactic approach, the virus titre was enhanced significantly at 24 h post-infection (P≤0.01), but it was not significantly different from the control at 48 h post-infection. In contrast, the therapeutic approach of autophagy induction inhibited the virus replication at 24 and 48 h post-infection. Additionally, we showed that inhibition of autophagy using 3-methyladenine reduced viral replication. Conclusion. This study revealed that the virus (H1N1) titre was controlled in a time-dependent manner following autophagy induction in host cells. Manipulation of autophagy during the IV life cycle can be targeted both for antiviral aims and for increasing viral yield for virus production