The effect of low-dose combined oral contraceptive pills on brachial artery endothelial function and common carotid artery intima-media thickness.

Background: Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) are considered for their thrombogenicity and the risk of premature atherosclerosis and the stroke caused by them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between chronic use of low-dose COCs (ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg + levonorgestrel 150 mcg) and endothelial dysfunction and intima-media thickness.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, in 2011-2012, 60 healthy premenopausal women (30 cases of COC consumers and 30 controls as nonconsumers), aged between 25 and 45 years, participated in this study.

Olanzapine versus haloperidol: which can control stuttering better?

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of olanzapine versus haloperidol to control the signs and symptoms of stuttering.

Methods: Ninety-three patients were recruited in a 12-week single-blind randomized clinical trial, which was held between October 2009 and October 2010. Forty-three patients received olanzapine (5 mg/day) and 50 patients, haloperidol (2.

Histologic evaluation of chitosan as an accelerator of bone regeneration in microdrilled rat tibias.

Background: Chitosan compounds have been shown to be suitable bone replacement materials. To evaluate the accelerating effects of chitosan on the bone regeneration process and assessing its histopathological adverse effects, we conducted this study on rat tibias.

Materials And Methods: In a laboratory experimental study, micro-drilled bone defects were created in the upper tibia of each leg in 15 adult male rats.

Short-term safety of pulse steroid therapy in multiple sclerosis relapses.

Objective: To determine the short-term safety of high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone in acute attacks of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Method: In a prospective study, we evaluated the patients with MS who received high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone for acute attacks. By repeated physical and laboratory examinations and history taking, patients were assessed for adverse effects that would be related to pulse therapy before, within, and 3 months after the treatment.

Oral contraceptive misuse as a risk factor for cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis.

Background: Consumption of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) is a known risk factor for cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST) among women. We determined whether misuse of OCP could increase the risk of CVST in women.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted from 2003 to 2007 on 64 female patients with CVST admitted to Al- Zahra medical center and 232 healthy age-matched female OCP users as controls.

Telemedicine, telehealth or e-health? A bibliometric analysis of the trends in the use of these terms.

The terms 'telemedicine', 'telehealth' and 'e-health' are often used interchangeably. We examined the occurrence of these terms in the Scopus database. A total of 11,644 documents contained one of the three terms in the title or abstract.

Early-career registered nurses' participation in hospital quality improvement activities.

We surveyed 2 cohorts of early-career registered nurses from 15 states in the US, 2 years apart, to compare their reported participation in hospital quality improvement (QI) activities. We anticipated differences between the 2 cohorts because of the growth of several initiatives for engaging nurses in QI. There were no differences between the 2 cohorts across 14 measured activities, except for their reported use of appropriate strategies to improve hand-washing compliance to reduce nosocomial infection rates.

A multi-state assessment of employer-sponsored quality improvement education for early-career registered nurses.

Background: Increasing participation of registered nurses (RNs) in quality improvement (QI) is a promising strategy to close the health care quality chasm. For RNs to participate effectively in hospital QI, they must have adequate QI knowledge and skills.

Methods: This descriptive study assessed employer-sponsored QI education and RNs' preparedness across a wide range of QI steps and processes.

Charting the course for nurses' achievement of higher education levels.

To improve patient outcomes and meet the challenges of the U.S. health care system, the Institute of Medicine recommends higher educational attainment for the nursing workforce.

Work environment factors other than staffing associated with nurses' ratings of patient care quality.

Background: The impact of registered nurse (RN) staffing on patient care quality has been extensively studied. Identifying additional modifiable work environment factors linked to patient care quality is critical as the projected shortage of approximately 250,000 RNs over the next 15 years will limit institutions' ability to rely on RN staffing alone to ensure high-quality care.

Purpose: We examined the association between RNs' ratings of patient care quality and several novel work environment factors adjusting for the effects of two staffing variables: reported patient-to-RN ratios and ratings of staffing adequacy.

Review of the relationship between milk urea nitrogen and days in milk, parity, and monthly temperature mean in Iranian Holstein cows.

The objectives of this study were to determine the relationships between milk urea N and days in milk, parity, and season in Iranian Holstein cows. Twelve Iranian commercial dairy herds participated in a 13-mo study from December 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009. All cows were milked 3 times daily, housed in freestalls, and fed a total mixed ration twice a day.

A comparison of hydroponic and soil-based screening methods to identify salt tolerance in the field in barley.

Success in breeding crops for yield and other quantitative traits depends on the use of methods to evaluate genotypes accurately under field conditions. Although many screening criteria have been suggested to distinguish between genotypes for their salt tolerance under controlled environmental conditions, there is a need to test these criteria in the field. In this study, the salt tolerance, ion concentrations, and accumulation of compatible solutes of genotypes of barley with a range of putative salt tolerance were investigated using three growing conditions (hydroponics, soil in pots, and natural saline field).

A rare case of Trichosporon brain abscess, successfully treated with surgical excision and antifungal agents.

Trichosporonosis is an acute, sometimes fatal infection with the potential capability of disseminating to multiple deep organs. More than 100 cases of trichosporonosis have been described, particularly in patients with neutropenia or haematological malignancies. In 1970, Watson et al.

Barking seizure: acute episodes of barking in a 75-year-old previously healthy man.

A 75-year-old right-handed man was admitted to our emergency department complaining of recurrent episodes of involuntary 'barking' within the past 12h. The episodes had occurred after an initial two-minute attack from sleep involving tonic contraction of the upper extremities and jaw locking. By the time of admission, the patient had had a total of at least 7-10 'barking' episodes, each lasting 30-45 s.

Interferon-beta in pediatric multiple sclerosis patients: safety in short-term prescription.

None of the approved immunomodulatory drugs in adults Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients have been officially approved for the pediatric patients and are currently used off-label in this population. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and tolerability of intramuscular interferon beta1-a (Avonex(®)) and subcutaneously injected interferon beta1-b (Betaferon(®)) in children with definite relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Thirteen patients aged younger than 16, who were recently diagnosed with definite RRMS according to the McDonald's criteria, were enrolled in this study.

Association of pulp stones with coronary artery stenosis.

Background: Dental pulp stones are discrete calcifications in the pulp chamber which are often seen in deciduous and permanent teeth. It has been hypothesised that atherosclerosis can be associated with their development.

Objective: To determine whether a higher prevalence of dental pulp stones is correlated with coronary artery stenosis.

The proteome response of salt-resistant and salt-sensitive barley genotypes to long-term salinity stress.

Responses of plants to salinity stress and the development of salt tolerance are extremely complex. Proteomics is a powerful technique to identify proteins associated with a particular environmental or developmental signal. We employed a proteomic approach to further understand the mechanism of plant responses to salinity in a salt-tolerant (Afzal) and a salt-sensitive (Line 527) genotype of barley.

Effects of antiepileptic drugs on sexual function and reproductive hormones of male epileptic patients.

Background: Diminished libido and sexual dysfunction are unusually common among male epileptic patients. The most important etiologic factor may be antiepileptic drugs (AEDs)-induced androgen deficiency. We compared reproductive hormone levels among men with epilepsy taking various AEDs and normal controls.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with laboratory abnormalities of uncertain significance: A brief review.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neuron disease, is a progressive and devastating disease involving both lower and upper motor neurons, typically following a relentless progression towards death. Therefore, all efforts must be made by the clinician to exclude alternative and more treatable entities. ALS with laboratory abnormalities of uncertain significance is a subgroup of ALS that occurs in association with laboratory defined abnormalities that are of uncertain significance to the pathogenesis of ALS.