Dimension Reduction by Mutual Information Discriminant Analysis

In the past few decades, researchers have proposed many discriminant analysis (DA) algorithms for the study of high-dimensional data in a variety of problems. Most DA algorithms for feature extraction are based on transformations that simultaneously maximize the between-class scatter and minimize the withinclass scatter matrices. This paper presents a novel DA algorithm for feature extraction using mutual information (MI). However, it is not always easy to obtain an accurate estimation for high-dimensional MI. In this paper, we propose an efficient method for feature extraction that is based on one-dimensional MI estimations. We will refer to this algorithm as mutual information discriminant analysis (MIDA). The performance of this proposed method was evaluated using UCI databases. The results indicate that MIDA provides robust performance over different data sets with different characteristics and that MIDA always performs better than, or at least comparable to, the best performing algorithms.Comment: 13pages, 3 tables, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Application

Effect of Ephedrine on Pain and Hemodynamic Status on Injection of Propofol

Background: Propofol is one of the drugs most commonly used during induction of anesthesia. The induction dose of propofol can lead to hemodynamic changes such as hypotension and bradycardia. Pain on injection is another side effect of propofol. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different doses of ephedrine on hemodynamic status and pain on injection of propofol compared to lidocaine and placebo.Methods: In the present study, 100 patients were enrolled. A 22 gauge cannula was inserted into the veins on the non-dominant hand of all patients. The patients were randomly allocated to 4 groups and 10 ml/kg of saline was administered over 10 minutes from each of the cannulas. Then, patients received either of these pretreatments: 2 ml of Saline (group S); 2 ml lidocaine 2% (40 mg) (group L); Ephedrine (30 ug/kg) (group E1); or Ephedrine (70 ug/kg) (group E2). After 30 seconds all patients were administered 2.5 mg/kg of propofol with a rate of 1 ml per second. The patients were asked to give a score from 0 to 10 (0 = no pain and 10 = most severe pain) every 5 seconds until loss of consciousness. Systolic and diastolic pressures and heart rate were recorded before induction of anesthesia, before intubation, and 1, 3, and 5 minutes after intubation.Results: Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure and heart rate following induction in E1 and E2 groups were higher than S and L groups (P < 0.001). There were no differences in systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure and heart rate 1, 3, and 5 minutes after intubation between groups. Lidocaine and both doses of ephedrine reduced pain on injection of propofol similarly.Conclusions: Lidocaine and high and low doses of ephedrine reduce the intensity of pain on injection of propofol. Small doses of ephedrine attenuate blood pressure and heart rate reduction after induction of anesthesia with propofol

Effect of A Probiotic Preparation on Gut Microbiota in Critically Ill Septic Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Sepsis promotes severe physiologic alterations in patients, and it has been reported to induce profound changes in the gut microbial composition. The decrease of ‘health‑benefiting’ microbes and the increase in dysbiosis in critically ill patients are thought to induce or aggravate sepsis. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of a probiotic preparation, Lactocare®, on gut microbiota in critically ill septic patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: Forty critically ill patients diagnosed with sepsis were assessed in this pilot randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized into two groups: Lactocare and control groups. Patients in the Lactocare group received two capsules of Lactocare® for 10 days. Fecal samples were taken from all patients on days 1 and 10 for determining the gut microbial pattern. The primary outcome was gut microbial flora, and secondary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay and mortality. Results: Intragroup changes showed that all microbial flora considerably changed during the study period; the number of microbial flora significantly decreased in the control group and increased in the Lactocare group. Patients in the Lactocare group had a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea and infection with multidrug-resistant organisms. There was no difference in ICU length of stay in the Lactocare group compared to the control group (p= 0.289). The mortality rate was 30% in the control group compared to 20% in the Lactocare group (p: 0.465). Conclusion: This study showed a remarkable effect of the probiotic preparation on the gut microbiota in critically ill septic patients as it decreased the number of opportunistic pathogens. However, additional clinical research is needed to translate research into clinical practice to refine the clinical indication of the specific probiotic strains

Endocarditis with Aeromonas salmonicida

Aeromonas salmonicida (A. salmonicida) is a facultative Gram-negative bacillus, inhabiting in water. It is a common source of furunculosis and septicemia in fish. Report on the human infection with this organism is rare. A male farmer referred with weakness and intermittent fever. He had cardiac valves’ regurgitation due to fever with rheumatic heart disease. He had a history of swimming in well water. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed a mobile mass of 1.3 × 0.9 cm attached to the mitral valve chordae, suggestive of a vegetation. Aeromonas salmonicida was isolated from the blood. After cardiac surgery and taking ceftriaxone for 4 weeks, he was discharged in good general condition. Five previous case reports of human infection with this organism were found. The patient was the sixth human case, and the first endocarditis, reported with this organism. A. salmonicida is a rare agent for human infection. Contact with water is a risk factor for this type of infection. It seems that the use of modern diagnostic methods has been effective in identifying the microorganism