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Background and Objective: Incidence of fungal infections particularly fungal sinusitis is increasing in Iran and identification of causative agents is essential for its control and treatment. This study was carried out to determine the fungus paranasal sinusitis in non- immunocompromised patients in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross – sectional study was done on 108 patients (73 males, 35 females) with chronic sinusitis ranged from 9 to 68 years, admitted to Amir Alam and Emam Khomeini hospitals in Tehran, Iran during 2006-07. Sinusitis in patients confirmed by radiologic images. Complementry information were obtained using questionnaires which including gender, job, presence of disposing disease diabetes and consumption immunocompromised drugs. Sinus samples were collected by washing and biopsy were carried out by two methods of fenestration and Cald-wel luc operations. Subsequently they were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA), SDA+chloramphenicol and blood agar (BA) media at 30°C and 37°C. Direct examination and fixative sample for histhologic evaluation was done and for colonies confirmation the slide culture method also was used. Results: 8 cases (7.4 %) were positive for fungal sinusitis with following sub type: 6 cases (Alternaria Spp), 1 case (Paecilomyces) and 1 case (Aspergillus flavus). The most fungal sinusitis (5 cases) were observed in 30-39 years patients. Conclusion: Considering the prevalence of 7.4 % fungal sinusitis and isolation of paecilomyces which is a rare subtype complematry investigation is recommended, in the field of research.

"n 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Background: The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of different cardiac diseases has been documented. Recently, effect of allopurinol in decreasing the production of ROS and improving cardiovascular pathogenesis has come into scientific interest. Animal studies have documented the benefit of allopurinol in improving left ventricular dilatation, hypertrophy and fibrosis, and myocardial contractility and in the prevention of systemic vasoconstriction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of allopurinol in improving diastolic dysfunction in ESRD patients with hyperuricemia."n"nMethods: This was an interventional study on 28 patients (19 males and 9 females) with ESRD and hyperuricemia. At the end of a one-month course of allopurinol therapy (100 mg daily), echocardiographic indices of diastolic dysfunction were measured and compared to the baseline indices."n"nResults: The mean level of uric acid was 7.5±0.96 mg/dl. The mean EF before and after the study were %44.28±%9.8 and %44.64±%9.7, (no significant difference), Respectively. The two indices of IVCT and A reversal were shown to have significant improvement after therapy (p=0.028 and 0.012, respectively). The grading of diastolic dysfunction didn't improve significantly after treatment with allopurinol."n"nConclusion: Significant improvement in some of studied indices, reproduced only in male subgroup of patients that might be related to a better response of males to allopurinol, however, a longer course of treatment may result in more favorable responses. Better patient selection in terms of "EF"s with normal distribution and repeating the study in non-dialysis hyperuricemic patients may result in more accurate information.

"nBackground: Studies of the association between post operative AF and Plasma level of NT- Pro BNP have reported conflicting findings. The aim of the present study was evaluation of the association between post coronary bypass graft- Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and Plasma level of NT- ProBNP as an independent risk factor of AF development in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft."n "nMethods: In a cohort study, 79 patients with sinus rhythm who admitted in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, during February 2009 and February 2010 for CABG are included the study and followed for developing post operative AF rhythm."n "nResults: Post operative AF was found in 17.7% of patients. The peak time from the operation to the first AF episode was in second post op day in ten patients (71.4%). The serum level of ProBNP in patients with AF was significantly higher (1624± 647 versus 221± 238 pg/ml, p< 0/0001). Increased age, Increased LA size and high plasma level of ProBNP were associated with increased risk for post op AF. After adjustment of risk factors, plasma level of ProBNP was the most important risk factor with odds ratio of 15.34 with CI 95% 1.77-132.95 and then LA diameter with odds ratio of 6.11 with CI 95% 0.99-37.42 was independently correlated with post op AF. Correlation between plasma level of ProBNP with age and LA size was seen too (LA size r = 0.0281, p= 0.012). Between age and ProBNP (r= 0.337, p= 0.002). The best cut off point for plasma ProBNP as a predictor of post op AF was 854 pg/ml."n "nConclusion: Increased level of preoperative ProBNP levels could be an independent predictor of post operative Atrial Fibrillation.

Clinical cases of Histoplasmosis have been reported from many parts of the world principally from the USA and to a lesser extent from central and South America. Sporadic cases are recorded in medical literature from Europe, Africa and Asia. Histoplasma capsulatum, the etiologic agen of histoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan geophilic fungus associated with avian and chiroptera. The association of bats with cases of histoplasmosis in man and the isolation of Histoplasma caplulatum from organs and feces fo naturally infected bats suggest that certain species of chiroptera may play a role in the epidemiology of histoplasmosi. For this purpose during 12 months between 1994 and 1995 a total of 800 bats representing 3 genous include Myotic, Rhinolophus and Sherbersi were examined from 2 caves in the North and West in Iran. The methods were based on direct examination, culture and inoculation to animals and Histoplasma capsulatum was not isolated.

In an attempt to investigate the fungous infections of AIDS stricken patients, a study which lasted 1.5 years was conducted, in which 21 patients were examined. The subjects were 20 males and a female. One of the male patients was from Uganda, another was an intravenous drug addict, and one had been abroad for sometimes and had received blood there. All other patients had also blood transfusion instances before 1984. To do the research, 414 laboratory specimens were gathered and examined regarding fungus involvement. The result showed 104 negative and 310 positive cases. Based on these findings and also clinical examination, all patients suffered from one or more fungous infections in the forms of oral candidiasis, perleche, candidal onychomycosis, perianal candidiasis, mucocutaneous candidiasis, tinea versicolor, pityrosporosis and rhodotrulosis. The latter caused skin lesion with scaling and is being reported for the first time. Candida parapsilosis and trichosporon pololans were also isolated specimens. However, concerning the diagnostic value of trichosporon pololans more investigation is needed.

Cornerstone design courses have become a major part of engineering curricula, where students with different personality types and learning styles work together to design, develop, build, and demonstrate the functionality of a prototype within the duration of a term. This study analyzes student and team performance against gender, personality types, and learning styles in a second-year engineering design course. Further, the correlations between several assessment mechanisms are studied, and the effects of three different instructional design approaches on students' performance are explored. Data have been collected on student performance and psychometrics, including marks, gender, personality type, and learning style from 2001 to 2018. To identify students' personality types and learning styles, Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI) and Neil Fleming's Learning VARK tests were administered. To evaluate students' performance in the course, a number of assessment mechanisms have been defined. Several statistical methods are used to analyze data, and to determine correlation between datasets. Over nearly two decades of marks, gender, MBTI, and VARK data for 2637 students are presented for an engineering design course. The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in performance across most assessments based on gender or gender distribution on a team. A better performance was observed from VK bimodal and quadmodal learning styles in most assessment mechanisms. Further, certain MBTI groups, namely, judging types outperformed their peers in engineering design assessments, with interesting interplay between MBTI dimensions for specific assessments and team dynamics. Traditional assessment mechanisms, such as engineering notebook and design proposals, are shown to be good predictors of student success. Lastly, scaffolded design activities and front-loading of lecture content were shown to be beneficial for student learning. There is negligible performance difference between female and male students in the engineering design course. Students whose preferred learning styles align with the assessment themes showed better performance in the course. The outcomes of this paper can be readily applied by instructors for design of assessment mechanisms, course materials, team formation, and instructional design.

Functionally graded material is a type of material characterized by gradual variations in the chemical composition and structure over volume. Dilution is a major concern in producing such materials produced using welding techniques. In this paper, the effects of the number and thickness of weld overlay layers on the dilution were systematically investigated for two common wire arc additive manufacturing processes. Gas metal arc welding and flux-cored arc welding processes were used to clad plain carbon steel substrate by 410 stainless steel and Stellite 6, respectively. Welding speed was varied to create weld layers with a thickness of 2 mm to 8 mm. The results showed that the weld thickness had the main effect on the dilution. Regarding the number and arrangement of the thin or thick weld layers, no direct effects on the dilution were observed. Consequently, by controlling the thickness of the weld overlay, the changes in the chemical composition in each weld layer could be justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]