Treatment of inappropriate sinus tachycardia with ivabradine in a patient with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and a dual chamber pacemaker.

We present the case of a 44-year-old woman with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and a dual chamber pacemaker. The patient suffered from inappropriate sinus tachycardia that had been resistant to treatment with traditional rate-slowing medications. Ivabradine--the specific sinus node I(f) current inhibitor--was used to successfully lower the heart rate.

4-(sec-Butyl-amino)-3-nitro-benzoic acid.

The asymmetric unit of title compound, C(11)H(14)N(2)O(4), consists of two crystallographically independent mol-ecules (A and B). In each, intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate S(6) ring motifs. The mean plane of the nitro group forms dihedral angles of 4.

2-[1-(2-Hydr-oxy-3-methoxy-benz-yl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]-6-methoxy-phenol methanol 1.13-solvate.

In the main mol-ecule of the title compound, C(22)H(20)N(2)O(4)·1.13CH(4)O, the dihedral angles between the benzimidazole plane and the two benzene rings are 80.53 (10) and 82.

2-[1-(2-Hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]-6-methoxyphenol monohydrate.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(22)H(20)N(2)O(4)·H(2)O, comprises a substituted benzimidazole molecule and a water mol-ecule of crystallization. The dihedral angles between the benzimidazole ring system and the two outer benzene rings are 16.54 (4) and 86.

6,6'-Dimeth-oxy-2,2'-[p-phenyl-ene-bis(nitrilo-methyl-idyne)]diphenol chloro-form disolvate.

The title compound, C(22)H(20)N(2)O(4)·2CHCl(3), a new Schiff base compound, lies across a crystallographic inversion centre. An intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond generates a six-membered ring, producing an S(6) ring motif. Inter-molecular bifurcated C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the two O atoms of the Schiff base ligand and the H atom of the chloro-form solvent of crystallization, generate an R(2) (1)(5) ring motif.

Influence of cimetidine and bromocriptine on prolactin levels in rat fertility.

The present study was designed to see the effects of parenterally administered drugs cimetidine and bromocriptine affecting serum prolactin upon the fertility of adult male albino rats. Ninety adult young male albino rats between the ages of 60 to 120 days were selected. The animals were divided into three groups.

Facile synthesis of carbon nanotube/natural bentonite composites as a stable catalyst for styrene synthesis.

Natural bentonite mineral, without any wet chemical treatment, was used directly to catalyze the growth of multi-wall CNTs and the produced CNTs/bentonite as an integrated composite stably catalyzed the oxidative dehydrogenation reaction over a long period of time; this concept provides a highly economical way for large-scale synthesis of nanocarbons and manufacture of styrene synthesis catalysts.

A comparison of treatments offered to patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Objective: To compare various treatment options provided to patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and assess improvement in liver status via reduction in serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Place And Duration Of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from April 2000 to April 2007.

The microscopic biological response of human chondrocytes to bovine bone scaffold.

This study was performed to determine the microscopic biological response of human nasal septum chondrocytes and human knee articular chondrocytes placed on a demineralized bovine bone scaffold. Both chondrocytes were cultured and seeded onto the bovine bone scaffold with seeding density of 1 x 105 cells per 100 microl/scaffold and incubated for 1, 2, 5 and 7 days. Proliferation and viability of the cells were measured by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity (MTT assay), adhesion study was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and differentiation study was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining and confocal laser scanning electron microscopy.

MDM2 SNP309 does not confer an increased risk to oral squamous cell carcinoma but may modulate the age of disease onset.

The MDM2 SNP309 has been associated with increased expression of the protein which could suppress p53 function, and has been shown to modulate risk to cancer. We have previously shown that overexpression of MDM2 is a common event in oral cancers. In the present study, we determined the association between the MDM2 SNP309 polymorphism and oral cancer in 207 oral cancer patients and 116 normal subjects.

Altered expression of cell cycle and apoptotic proteins in chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Background: A disrupted cell cycle progression of hepatocytes was reported in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, which can contribute significantly in the associated pathogenesis. The present study aimed to further elaborate these disruptions by evaluating the expression of key cell cycle and apoptotic proteins in chronic HCV infection with particular reference to genotype 3. Archival liver biopsy specimens of chronic HCV-infection (n = 46) and normal histology (n = 5) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against proliferation marker Mcm-2, G1 phase marker Cyclin D1, S phase marker Cyclin A, cell cycle regulators p21 (CDK inhibitor) and p53 (tumor suppressor protein), apoptotic protein Caspase-3 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.

Role of electrical stimulation for rehabilitation and regeneration after spinal cord injury: an overview.

Structural discontinuity in the spinal cord after injury results in a disruption in the impulse conduction resulting in loss of various bodily functions depending upon the level of injury. This article presents a summary of the scientific research employing electrical stimulation as a means for anatomical or functional recovery for patients suffering from spinal cord injury. Electrical stimulation in the form of functional electrical stimulation (FES) can help facilitate and improve upper/lower limb mobility along with other body functions lost due to injury e.

Anatomic pattern of arteriovenous crossings in branch retinal vein occlusion.

Objective: To determine the relative position of the two vessels at the site of venous obstruction, as it facilitates Arteriovenous adventitial sheathotomy and to look for the associated diseases with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) so as to create more awareness among the masses.

Methods: It was a case series carried out at the Ophthalmology out-patient department of Ziauddin University Hospital Karachi, Pakistan, from April 2005 to March 2006. The diagnosis of BRVO was made on the clinical basis.

Surfactants from biomass: a two-step cascade reaction for the synthesis of sorbitol fatty acid esters using solid acid catalysts.

Sorbitol fatty esters have been prepared through a two-step catalytic process which involves the protection of the polyalcohol by ketalization followed by esterification with the fatty acid. Inorganic molecular sieves with different pore topologies as well as heteropolyacids (HPA) were used as acid catalysts to perform both the ketalization and the esterification step. These catalysts are found to hydrolyze the ketal function and promote the esterification between the free hydroxy groups and oleic acid in a cascade process.

Bilateral Duplication of Renal Vessels: Anatomical, Medical and Surgical perspective.

A sound knowledge of variations of blood vessels is important during operative, diagnostic and endovascular procedures in the abdomen. Knowledge of the variations in the renal arteries is important for urologists, radiologists and surgeons in general. The objective of the case report is to bring awareness to clinicians about the variations in the blood supply of the kidney.

Pocket infection related to retained products of pacing.

With the advent of increasing number of implants and more complex pacing systems, referrals for explantations are likely to increase. These procedures have their attendant peri-procedural risks. We report a delayed complication of a system explant, which could have been avoided, and suggest changes in clinical practice that may prevent similar cases.

A case of diaphragmatic pacing with cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is now an accepted treatment for heart failure [McAlister et al. in Cardiac resynchronization therapy for patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction: a systematic review. JAMA 2007;297:2502-14.

Oxidative stress and asymmetric dimethylarginine are associated with cardiovascular complications in hemodialysis patients: improvements by L-arginine intake.

Background/aim: High incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a result of an interlaced relation between oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction (ED) and inflammation. This study tries to investigate the development of these processes in CKD patients receiving conservative treatment or on hemodialysis (HD). We also examined the modulating effect of oral L-arginine in HD patients having CVD.

Predictive factors for early aspiration in liver abscess.

Aim: To determine the predictive factors for early aspiration in liver abscess.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients with liver abscess from 1995 to 2004 was performed. Abscess was diagnosed as amebic in 661 (68%) patients, pyogenic in 200 (21%), indeterminate in 73 (8%) and mixed in 32 (3%).

A novel catalyst for synthesis of styrene: carbon nanofibers immobilized on activated carbon.

Carbon NanoFibers (CNFs) with hierarchically structure have been immobilized onto Activated Carbon (AC) by impregnation with an aqueous solution of Fe(CH3COO)2, reduction and subsequent chemical vapor decomposition of ethylene. The morphology of the CNFs can be modulated by adjusting the pH of the Fe(CH3COO)2 solution used for impregnating the AC. A stable yield of 35% in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene was obtained at a temperature of 673 K, around 200 K lower than the current industrial process.

Noninvasive predictors of large varices in patients hospitalized with gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage.

Aim: To identify noninvasive factors predicting the presence of large varices (LV) in patients hospitalized with gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage (GEVH).

Methods: Case records of patients admitted with GEVH between January 1998 and June 2005 were retrospectively analyzed. Relevant clinical parameters assessed included Child-Pugh class, ascites (clinical and/or on ultrasound), portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE), splenomegaly (clinical and/or on ultrasound), and hemodynamic instability.

Violence-related mortality in Iraq from 2002 to 2006.

Background: Estimates of the death toll in Iraq from the time of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 until June 2006 have ranged from 47,668 (from the Iraq Body Count) to 601,027 (from a national survey).

Ethyl 3-nitro-4-(propyl-amino)benzoate.

In the title compound, C(12)H(16)N(2)O(4), intra-molecular N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate S(6) and S(5) ring motifs, respectively. The nitro group is almost coplanar with the benzene ring, forming a dihedral angle of 6.2 (2)°.

2-Amino-N-(2-benz-yloxy-3-methoxy-benzyl-idene)aniline.

The title compound, C(21)H(20)N(2)O(2), a Schiff base ligand, contains two independent mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit, with similar conformations. In mol-ecule A, the central benzene ring forms dihedral angles of 30.79 (13) and 23.