C-reactive protein and coronary calcium score association in coronary artery disease

Background: Both high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and spiral computed tomography coronary artery calcium score (CCS) are valid markers of cardiovascular risk. It is unknown whether hs-CRP is a marker of atherosclerotic burden or whether it reflects a process leading to acute coronary events. Methods and Results: We studied the relation between hs-CRP and CCS in 143 patients that were candidates for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In our cross-sectional study, we found no significant association between hs-CRP and CCS in bivariate (p = 0.162) and multivariate (p = 0.062) analysis, but in patients who did not use statins this association was positive and significant in bivariate analysis (p = 0.001), and in multivariate analysis this association was negative and significant (p = 0.008). Conclusions: High-sensitivity CRP was not correlated with CCS. The relation between CRP and clinical events might not be related to atherosclerotic burden. Measures of inflammation, such as hs-CRP, and indices of atherosclerosis, such as CCS, are likely to provide distinct information regarding cardiovascular risk

Experiments on seismic behaviour of steel sheathed cold-formed steel shear walls cladded by gypsum and fiber cement boards

Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the Building and Housing Research Center (BHRC) of Iran for providing testing equipment and technical support and Paya Sazeh Pasargad CO, Knauf Iran CO and SHERA CO for providing testing specimens and materials.Peer reviewedPostprin

Rare Presentation of Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral Zygomycosis: Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy

Rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis afflicts primarily diabetics and immunocompromised individual, but can also occur in normal hosts rarely. We here presented an interesting case of facial nerve palsy and multiple cold abscesses of neck due to rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis in an otherwise healthy man. Although some reports of facial nerve paralysis in conjunction with rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis exist, no case of bilateral complete facial paralysis has been reported in the literature to date

Photogrammetric Facial Analysis of Rhinoplasty Applicants in Shiraz

Background: Nose shape plays an important role in individuals’ facial appearance and its morphology depends on ethnicity, gender, and environmental conditions. Identifying nasal problems and measuring landmarks can lead to making a perfect surgery plan through preoperative image analysis. Methods: In this study, a photogrammetric analysis was performed on 120 female rhinoplasty applicants, aged 18-30 in Shiraz, Iran. Recorded parameters are nasal height and width, nasolabial and nasofrontal angle. Nasal indices were calculated according to heights and widths of noses. Also, facial asymmetry and nose hump checked for every patient. Results: Measurements showed that the average nasal index was 67.15 ± 4.72. Thus, the nose of rhinoplasty applicants was the leptorrhine type. Furthermore, the average nasofrontal and nasolabial angles were 145.22° ± 9.93°and 94.47° ± 14.25°. Among all applicants, 35 percent have an asymmetric nose and 31 percent have a nose hump. Conclusion:  An accurate facial analysis of rhinoplasty applicants was performed in this study, and the resultant facial profiles can be used in nose surgery planning and in further ethnic research

Determination of Fatty Acids Profile and Physicochemical Study of Sea Lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Oil from Bushehr City Coasts

Background: Sea lettuce is a kind green alga with scientific name "Ulva lactuca", has many uses in many countries. With Notice to the presence of this alga in the coasts of Bushehr and its ease of propagation and cultivation, we can take advantage of beneficial interest. The objectives of this current study was to determine the amount of total fat, survey the quality and quantity of some physicochemical parameters and the profile of fatty acids in its oil. Materials and Methods: After samples collecting of sea lettuce (Sea lettuce) from Bushehr coasts, sample preparation and extraction of fat, quantity of some physicochemical parameters according to AOAC method; and fatty acid profile were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Results: The acidity index in extracted oil in Shoraye-shahr, Bandargah and Naftkesh regions were, 0.73, 0.73 and 0.72 respectively, and the peroxide value was 0.75, 0.74 and 0.75 respectively. The refractive index and average oil contents for all areas were reported 3 % and 1412, respectively. In the three mentioned regions, sixteen fatty acids including (C6), (C10), (C12), (C13), (C14), (C15), (C16), (C17), (C18), (C19), (C20), (C21), (C18: 1), (C18: 2), (C18: 3) were identified with different amounts. Palmitic acid had the highest levels in all three regions. Conclusion: Sea lettuce contains different fatty acids that each of them has different applications in food industry, medicine and cosmetics. The favorable amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the sea lettuce oil increase their nutritional importance. Caltivating of this beneficial alga is suggested due to the appropriate geographic climate of Bushehr

Phospholipase A2 activity of the Persian Gulf upside-down jellyfish venom (Cassiopea andromeda)

Background: The venomous jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda can produce envenomation and different toxicological and biological effects by their nematocysts. The phospholipase A2 enzymes (PLA2) are toxic and induce various pharmacological effects including neurotoxicity, myotoxicity, and anticoagulant activities. The main aim of the current project was to screen the in vitro PLA2 activity of the C. andromeda crude venom. To better understand the experimental result; a molecular docking study was also performed. Materials and methods: The live specimens were collected from Nayband lagoon, by a trawl net, and separation of their tentacles was done according to Bloom 's et al., method. The PLA2 activity of crude venom was performed according to the acidimetric method of Tan and Tan. The lyophilized venom was subjected to Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectroscopy, and the obtained structures were used for docking study against PLA2. The indoxam was considered as standard control. Results: The PLA2 activity of the jellyfish crude venom was 413 ±0.08 µmol/min/mg. Analysis of the crude venom detected seven compounds (i-vii) using GC-MS. Docking data was also confirmed the experimental results. According to the docking results, the highest affinity [-6.7 (kcal/mol)] was observed in the compound “Pregn-5-ene-3,11-dione, 17,20:20,21 bis [methylenebis(oxy)]-, cyclic 3-(1,2-ethane diyl acetal”. Conclusions: A high PLA2 level was found in the venom of C. andromeda. There was a good correlation between in vitro and in silico studies

Clonidine Versus Chloral Hydrate for Recording Sleep EEG in Children

ObjectiveOne of the difficulties for conduct electroencephalography (EEG) in pediatric patient population is that they are not always cooperative during the procedure. Different medications have been used to induce sedation during EEG recording. In order to find a medication with least adverse effects and high efficacy, we aimed to compare clonidine and chloral hydrate as a premedication prior EEG performing in pediatric population. Materials & MethodsA prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial was carried out over 198 children (9 to 156 months) to investigate the sedative and adverse effects of clonidine and chloral hydrate. Patients, partially sleep-deprived the night before, were randomly divided in two groups of clonidine (100 patients) and chloral hydrate (98 patients), on an alternative day basis.Results The average sleep onset latency was significantly longer in the clonidine group than chloral hydrate group (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.0001). Sleep duration ranged between 15-150 minutes and it was not significantly different between two groups (Mann-Whitney test p = 0.2). Drowsiness with chloral hydrate terminated faster than with clonidine. Drowsiness after arousal was seen in 58% and 26.1% of patients in the clonidine and chloral hydrate groups respectively that was  significant  (Mann-Whitney test, p = 0.058). EEG results were reported normal in 77 subjects in the chloral hydrate group (77%) and in 69 subjects (69%) in the clonidine group (p = 0.161). Generalized epileptiform discharges  reported significantly  in the clonidine group  (Mann-Whitney test , p = 0.006).ConclusionThe results of this study showed that both chloral hydrate 5% (one ml/kg)and clonidine (4 μg/kg)could be administered as a pre medication agent for EEG recording in children , although drowsiness after arousal of clonidine is greater than chloral hydrate . However, the yield of generalized epileptiform discharges in the clonidine group was more than the chloral hydrate group.

Costs of hospital admission on primary immunodeficiency diseases

Background Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) are heterogeneous group of inherited disorders mainly characterized by recurrent infections leading to several times hospital admissions. The economic impact of PID is a challenging issue; therefore, this study was designed to determine the medical costs of hospitalizations in this group of patients as an indicator of the direct cost of these diseases. Methods One hundred and ten children with PID hospitalized in the Children’s Medical Center Hospital, Tehran, Iran were included in this study during Jan 2011 and Jan 2012. All direct costs during the admission period were calculated, using the hospital information system. Results Medical cost was $7.090 per patient per admission. Among them, about 1.580$ belong to drug consuming during hospitalization. Anti-infective drugs for systemic use were the most cost-consuming group of drugs, followed by alimentary tract and metabolism and blood and blood forming organs agents. Investigation of anti-infective group internally showed that immune sera and immunoglobulin and antiviral agents for systemic use consisting the most important medication for PID patients during hospital admission. Conclusion Although the results of economic evaluations in a region cannot necessarily be applied to other regions, having an overall estimation of hospital admission costs and types of drugs used during admission could be helpful in health policy system

Awareness and Attitude Towards Opioid and Stimulant Use and Lifetime Prevalence of the Drugs: A Study in 5 Large Cities of Iran

Background: Providing population-based data on awareness, attitude and practice of drug and stimulant use has policy implications. A national study was conducted among Iranian general population to explore life time prevalence, awareness and attitudes toward opioids and stimulant use.Methods:We recruited subjects from 5 provinces with heterogenic pattern of drug use. Participants were selected using stratified multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression model was applied to identify the variables that are associated with drug and stimulant use. Results:In total 2065 respondents including 1155 men (33.96 ± 10.40 years old) and 910 women (35.45 ± 12.21 years old) were recruited. Two-third of respondents had good awareness about adverse effects of opioid use. Corresponding figure in terms of stimulants was 81.4%. Almost 95% of participants reported a negative attitude towards either opioid or stimulant use. The lifetime prevalence of opioid use and stimulant use were 12.9% (men: 21.5%, women: 4.0%) and 7.3% (men: 9.6%, women: 4.9%), respectively. Gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]M/W =6.92; 95% CI: 2.92, 16.42), education (AORundergraduate/diploma or less = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.90), and marital status (AORothers/single = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.36, 3.33) were significantly related with opioid use. With respect to stimulant use, age was negatively associated with the outcome (AOR60+/20-29 years = 0.08: 95% CI; 0.01, 0.98) and men were 2 times more likely than women to use stimulants (ORM/W=2.15: 95% CI: 0.83, 5.56). In addition, marital status (AOROthers/singles = 3.45; 95% CI: 1.09, 10.93), and awareness (AORWeak and moderate/good = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.61) were independently correlated with stimulants use. Conclusion: While the attitude of Iranian adults toward opioid and stimulant use was negative, their awareness was not that adequate to prevent the drug use. Men and those with lower socio-economic status (SES) should be the focus of health promotion programs regarding opioid use. However, regarding stimulants use, promotion programs should target younger age groups and those with higher SES status