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Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a direct measure of coronary atherosclerosis. The study investigated the effect of bariatric surgery on CAC scores in people with severe obesity subjected to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). This prospective study included 129 people with severe obesity in two groups; the LSG group (n=74) subjected to surgery and the diet group (n=55), managed by a diet regimen and lifestyle modification. Cardiovascular risk was assessed by Framingham risk score (FRS) and coronary calcium score (CCS) measured by computed tomography initially and after 3 years. The two groups had a comparable CAD risk before treatment according to FRS or CCS. After treatment, CCS improved significantly in the LSG group (p=0.008) but not in the diet group (p=0.149). There was no correlation between FRS and CCS (r=0.005, p=0.952). Treatment resulted in significant weight reduction and improved fasting blood glucose and lipid profile in the two groups. The change of weight, blood glucose, and HDL, and remission of diabetes mellitus (DM) were significantly higher in the LSG group compared to the diet group. LSG may reduce the risk of developing future cardiovascular comorbidities evidenced by reducing CAC scores. Significant weight reduction and improvement of cardiovascular risk factors may recommend LSG as a cardioprotective procedure in people with severe obesity.

Purpose Epicardial fat thickness is an interesting parameter of early atherosclerosis. We prospectively assessed whether weight loss following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) leads to a significant reduction in the epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and the correlation between the decline in the epicardial fat thickness with other clinical parameters. Methods A prospective analysis of 98 cases that were scheduled to undergo LSG and followed up for 12 months was conducted. EFT was assessed using two-dimensional (2 D) echocardiography. Results A total of 98 cases and 70 controls were enrolled. EFT demonstrated a significant reduction at follow-up in the whole group (median 8.9 (1.95) versus 7.65 (1.67) mm, respectively). The degree of reduction was higher in the LSG cohort compared to control cohort 1.3 (0.4) versus 1 (0.4), respectively; p

Despite the increasing amount of waste being reused, recycled, or energetically valorized, landfills continue to play an important role in waste management strategies. Many researchers have studied various aspects of landfilling, regarding positive or negative features. However, a few of them have summarized the related literature, resulted in a lack of overall progress understanding. This paper aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis of landfilling research during 2000–2017. Various aspects, such as document types, languages, major journals, key countries, authors, and keywords were all systematically analyzed. The collaborations among authors and countries were wholly constructed, visualized, and evaluated through the application of social network analysis based on co-authorship relations. Moreover, to discover the most leading topics on landfill discussion, keyword clustering analysis was conducted using co-occurrences relations. The research showed that the number of landfill-related publications has significantly increased within the period. Regarding both quality and quantity, the United States was the most leading country. As well, Rowe, R.K., from Canada, was quantitatively the most productive author. The findings of this study indicated that landfill leachate was the most studied topic in the literature. Besides, the keywords “global warming” and “sustainability” had the highest rate of growth during the studied period. This paper also demonstrated that the most productive countries in landfill research have had a significant contribution to decrease the total amount of landfilling using other waste disposal alternatives (such as incineration with/without energy recovery) or waste management strategies.

Biofuel production from sugarcane has been researched in terms of the environment. Performing a bibliometric method and visual network analysis, the purpose of this study is to assess the trends in sugarcane and bioethanol researches and recognize the associated hotspots based on 4958 publications from 1991 to 2020. The geographical distribution of articles and per capita sugarcane production in the world were also examined. As a widely used database in the field of bibliometric, the Scopus database was used in this research to collect relevant literature. The research method includes the bibliometric analysis of documents and citations, subject categories, journals, countries, institutions, authors, geographical distribution status of articles and annual sugarcane production, top articles. Finally, the social network of the author's keywords was reviewed. The VOSviewer software was used for performing graphic maps showing the co-authorship and communication of countries, authors and keywords. The results show a high growth in the number of published documents in this field and the tendency change from agricultural sciences to environmental sciences in documents and journals. Based on the study's gained results, Brazil is the undisputed leader, publishing 43.8% of the documents in last three decades, followed by the USA and India.

Aims Worsening of renal function (WRF) is a common complication in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We aimed to evaluate the role of intrarenal Doppler ultrasound (IRD) in the early prediction of WRF in this patient group. Methods and results Among 90 patients (age: 57.5 ± 11.1 years; 62% male) hospitalized with ADHF, resistivity index (RI), acceleration time (AT), and pulsatility index (PI) were measured on admission and at 24 and 72 h. WRF was defined as increased serum creatinine ≥0.3 mg/dL from baseline. Adverse clinical outcomes were defined as the composite of death, use of vasopressors, and need for ultrafiltration for refractory oedema. WRF developed in 40% of patients. Mean values of renal AT, RI, and PI on admission were 59.7 ± 15, 0.717 ± 0.08, and 1.5 ± 0.48 ms, respectively. At 24 h, there was significant decrease in AT (to 56.7 ± 10 ms, P = 0.02) and renal RI (to 0.732 ± 0.07; P

A new portfolio of remotely operated casing running and casing drilling tools that connect to the rig's top drive and use the top drive's rotational power, hoisting and circulation capabilities for improved casing running operations. The value is increased safety and efficiency compared to conventional running operations, plus the ability to instantly push down or reciprocate while rotating and circulating, helping to get strings to bottom. Applications include normal casing installation in pre-drilled wells on most rigs with a top drive system, and extended reach, deviated, and troublesome wells. Additional application includes casing drilling technology where the entire well bore can be drilled with the casing string; eliminating the need for drill pipe and bottom hole assemblies. The new system combines several conventional casing handling tools into one: Power TongMain Hoisting ElevatorSingle Joint ElevatorFill-up and Circulation ToolWeight CompensatorLink Tilt (Stabber)Safety Interlock SystemTorque turn monitoring Lab and field test results have proven that the new technology provides: Greater casing running efficiencyIncreased safety by reduction of personnel and remote operation. Step change in technology will allow oil & gas operators to increase drilling performance and reduce well construction costs.