Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in children using amplatzer duct occluder II: relationship between PDA type and risk of device protrusion into the descending aorta.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of Amplatzer Duct Occluder II (ADOII) among the various patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) types, and to assess the association between development of aortic obstruction and the PDA type in terms of measurable parameters as the device angulation and distance of upper end protrusion into the aortic lumen.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study involving 50 consecutive subjects who underwent ADO II device closure of PDA.

Results: The median age and weight at intervention were 13 months (5.

Doxorubicin-loaded drug-eluting beads versus conventional transarterial chemoembolization for nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aims: To compare the efficacy and safety profile of doxorubicin-loaded drug-eluting beads (DEB) to the conventional TACE (C-TACE) in the management of nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients And Methods: All patients with nonresectable HCC who underwent either c-TACE or DEB-TACE during the period 2006-2014 and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this retrospective study. Primary endpoints were tumor response rate at first imaging follow up, treatment-related liver toxicity, and treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE).

Practical Use of Computationally Frugal Model Analysis Methods.

Three challenges compromise the utility of mathematical models of groundwater and other environmental systems: (1) a dizzying array of model analysis methods and metrics make it difficult to compare evaluations of model adequacy, sensitivity, and uncertainty; (2) the high computational demands of many popular model analysis methods (requiring 1000's, 10,000 s, or more model runs) make them difficult to apply to complex models; and (3) many models are plagued by unrealistic nonlinearities arising from the numerical model formulation and implementation. This study proposes a strategy to address these challenges through a careful combination of model analysis and implementation methods. In this strategy, computationally frugal model analysis methods (often requiring a few dozen parallelizable model runs) play a major role, and computationally demanding methods are used for problems where (relatively) inexpensive diagnostics suggest the frugal methods are unreliable.

Valproate-induced enuresis: a prospective study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of secondary enuresis in children initiated on valproate treatment.

Method: This was a prospective study conducted in children aged 5 to 12 years with suspected newly diagnosed epilepsy and maintained on valproate for at least 1 month. Adverse events spontaneously reported by parents were recorded at each follow-up visit.

Accumulation of Transcripts Abundance after Barley Inoculation with Cochliobolus sativus.

Spot blotch caused by the hemibiotrophic pathogen Cochliobolus sativus has been the major yield-reducing factor for barley production during the last decade. Monitoring transcriptional reorganization triggered in response to this fungus is an essential first step for the functional analysis of genes involved in the process. To characterize the defense responses initiated by barley resistant and susceptible cultivars, a survey of transcript abundance at early time points of C.

NKX2-5 mutations in an inbred consanguineous population: genetic and phenotypic diversity.

NKX2-5 mutations are associated with different forms of congenital heart disease. Despite the knowledge gained from molecular and animal studies, genotype-phenotype correlations in humans are limited by the lack of large cohorts and the incomplete assessment of family members. We hypothesized that studying the role of NKX2-5 in inbred populations with homogeneous genetic backgrounds and high consanguinity rates such as Lebanon could help closing this gap.

Monitoring design for assessing compliance with numeric nutrient standards for rivers and streams using geospatial variables.

Implementation of numeric nutrient standards in Colorado has prompted a need for greater understanding of human impacts on ambient nutrient levels. This study explored the variability of annual nutrient concentrations due to upstream anthropogenic influences and developed a mathematical expression for the number of samples required to estimate median concentrations for standard compliance. A procedure grounded in statistical hypothesis testing was developed to estimate the number of annual samples required at monitoring locations while taking into account the difference between the median concentrations and the water quality standard for a lognormal population.

The role of interior watershed processes in improving parameter estimation and performance of watershed models.

Watershed models typically are evaluated solely through comparison of in-stream water and nutrient fluxes with measured data using established performance criteria, whereas processes and responses within the interior of the watershed that govern these global fluxes often are neglected. Due to the large number of parameters at the disposal of these models, circumstances may arise in which excellent global results are achieved using inaccurate magnitudes of these "intra-watershed" responses. When used for scenario analysis, a given model hence may inaccurately predict the global, in-stream effect of implementing land-use practices at the interior of the watershed.

Gene susceptibility in Iranian asthmatic patients: a narrative review.

As environmental factors are important in the development of asthma, genetic factors could have a critical role in the expression of the disease. Hence, we carried out a systematic review to assess the susceptible genes for asthma in Iranian population. We conducted a literature search by using the electronic database PubMed, Biological Abstracts Web of Science, Current Contents Connect, Cinahl, ScienceDirect, Scopus, IranMedex, and Scientific Information Database to identify articles that evaluated the association between genetic variants and the risk of asthma in Iranian population (until April 30, 2012).

Transcriptome Analysis of the Barley-Rhynchosporium secalis Interaction.

Leaf scald caused by the infection of Rhynchosporium secalis, is a worldwide crop disease resulting in significant loss of barley yield. In this study, a systematic sequencing of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was chosen to obtain a global picture of the assembly of genes involved in pathogenesis. To identify a large number of plant ESTs, which are induced at different time points, an amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) display of complementary DNA (cDNA) was utilized.

Transarterial therapy: an evolving treatment modality of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men, the seventh most common in women, and the third most common cause of death from cancer worldwide. Only 30-40% of liver cancer patients present early enough to undergo curative treatments such as surgery or liver transplantation. Local treatment with radiofrequency ablation or ethanol injection is often reserved for non-surgical candidates with early stages of disease.

Toward an integrated approach to nutritional quality, environmental sustainability, and economic viability: research and measurement gaps.

Nutrition is affected by numerous environmental and societal causes. This paper starts with a simple framework based on three domains: nutritional quality, economic viability, and environmental sustainability, and calls for an integrated approach in research to simultaneously account for all three. It highlights limitations in the current understanding of each domain, and how they influence one another.

A simple method for assessing severity of common root rot on barley.

Common root rot caused by Cochliobolus sativus is a serious disease of barley. A simple and reliable method for assessing this disease would enhance our capacity in identifying resistance sources and developing resistant barley cultivars. In searching for such a method, a conidial suspension of C.

Investigating the levels of serum vitamin d in patients with rheumatoid arthritis referred to rasoul-akram hospital during 2011-2012.

Vitamin D3 has a role in many autoimmune diseases and appears to play a function in controlling Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between serum level of vitamin D and RA disease activity score. The serum level of vitamin D in 75 RA patients referred to the rheumatology clinic of Rasoul-Akram hospital was measured.

Transluminal recanalization of chronic total occlusion of radial artery using rendezvous technique: a case report and literature review.

Although endovascular management of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is well studied, little information exists regarding endovascular treatment of critical upper limb ischemia. We report a case of transluminal recanalization of right radial artery chronic total occlusion (CTO) using rendezvous technique in a patient with critical hand ischemia and dry gangrene of the right index finger.

An evolving perspective about the origins of childhood undernutrition and nutritional interventions that includes the gut microbiome.

The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science and the World Health Organization (WHO) have worked together to formulate a research agenda for nutrition science. Undernutrition of children has profound effects on health, development, and achievement of full human capacity. Undernutrition is not simply caused by a lack of food, but results from a complex interplay of intra- and intergenerational factors.

Noninvasive Nitric Oxide Therapy in Right Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction Following Arterial Switch Procedure.

Right ventricular dysfunction is uncommon following surgical repair of dextrotransposition of great arteries (d-TGA) by the arterial switch procedure. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is a specific pulmonary vasolidator that has proven successful in treating pulmonary hypertension when delivered via endotracheal tube. We present a five-month-old infant with d-TGA and ventricular septal defect (VSD) who developed pulmonary hypertensive crisis, causing severe right ventricular dysfunction with hemodynamic deterioration at day 6 postsurgical repair by VSD closure and arterial switch.

Hepatitis B genotypes in iran.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a public health problem as a cause of liver diseases including hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. It is estimated that 350 million people live with chronic infection and about one million people die every year from complication of this chronic disease in the world. So far, ten HBV genotypes (A-J) has been identified which show a geographical distribution.

Prevalence of fibromyalgia in hemodialysis patients.

This study sought to determine the prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome and to identify whether fibromyalgia was associated with various clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters in hemodialysis patients. One hundred and forty-eight hemodialysis patients were examined for fibromyalgia symptoms according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Demographic characteristics, as well as causes of kidney failure, dialysis duration, and symptoms related to fibromyalgia were investigated.

Trends of Obesity in Iranian Adults from 1990s to late 2000s; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Obesity is currently emerging as a global epidemic, affecting 10% of adultpopulation worldwide. The primary objective of the current systematic reviewis to describe the trend of overall prevalence of obesity in Iranian women andmenthrough a meta-analysis.

Methods: We searched the medical literature published from 1990 to 2007 in Medline(PubMed), EMBASE database, and the Iranian digital library.

Technical considerations for maize flour and corn meal fortification in public health: consultation rationale and summary.

Fortification is the purposeful addition of vitamins and minerals to foods during their industrial processing, as a way to improve the nutrition and health of populations who consume these foods. Twelve countries have mandatory maize (Zea mays subsp. Mays) flour or meal fortification.

Measurement of colonic transit time based on radio opaque markers in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation; a cross-sectional study.

Background: Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders particularly in industrialized countries. Incidence of constipation varies from 3.4 % to 27.