OBJECTIVE: Praseodymium-142 [T (1/2) = 19.12 h,[Formula: see text] = 2.162 MeV (96.3%), Eγ = 1575 keV (3.7%)] is one of the (141)Pr radioisotopes. Many studies have been attempted to assess the significance of usage (142)Pr in radionuclide therapy. In many studies, the dosimetric parameters of (142)Pr sources were calculated by modeling (142)Pr sources in the water phantom and scoring the energy deposited around it. However, the medical dosimetry calculations in water phantom consider Bremsstrahlung production, raising the question:"How important is to simulate human tissues instead of using water phantom?" This study answers these questions by estimation of (142)Pr Bremsstrahlung parameters. METHODS: The Bremsstrahlung parameters of (142)Pr as therapeutic beta nuclides in different human tissues (adipose, blood, brain, breast, cell nucleus, eye lens, gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidney, liver, lung deflated, lymph, muscle, ovary, pancreas, cartilage, red marrow, spongiosa, yellow marrow, skin, spleen, testis, thyroid and different skeleton bones) were calculated by extending the national council for radiation protection model. The specific Bremsstrahlung constant (Γ (Br)), probability of energy loss by beta during Bremsstrahlung emission (P (Br)) and Bremsstrahlung activity (A (release))(Br) were estimated. It should be mentioned that Monte Carlo simulation was used for estimation of (142)Pr Bremsstrahlung activity based on the element compositions of different human tissues and the calculated exposures from the anthropomorphic phantoms. RESULTS: Γ (Br) for yellow marrow was smallest amount (1.1962 × 10(-3) C/kg-cm(2)/MBq-h) compared to the other tissues and highest for cortical bone (2.4764 × 10(-3) C/kg-cm(2)/MBq-h), and, overall, Γ (Br) for skeletal tissues were greater than other tissues. In addition, Γ (Br) breast was 1.8261 × 10(-3) C/kg-cm(2)/MBq-h which was greater than sacrum and spongiosa bones. Moreover, according to (A (release))(Br) of (142)Pr, the patients receiving (142)Pr do not have to be hospitalized for radiation precautions and the Bremsstrahlung production does not prevent the therapy for outpatients. CONCLUSION: However, modeling (142)Pr source in water phantom for simulation of (142)Pr source in soft tissues could be acceptable due to similarity of Γ (Br) in water and soft tissues; this approximation is a gross computation in the mediums encompassing high atomic numbers. These data may be practical in the investigation of Bremsstrahlung absorbed dose where (142)Pr is involved in radionuclide therapy.

An efficient and environmentally friendly sample preparation method based on the application of hydrophobic 1-Hexylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [Hpy][PF(6)] ionic liquid (IL) as a microextraction solvent was proposed to preconcentrate terazosin. The performance of the microextraction method was improved by introducing a common ion of pyridinium IL into the sample solution. Due to the presence of the common ion, the solubility of IL significantly decreased. As a result, the phase separation successfully occurred even at high ionic strength, and the volume of the settled IL-phase was not influenced by variations in the ionic strength (up to 30% w/v). After preconcentration step, the enriched phase was introduced to the spectrofluorimeter for the determination of terazosin. The obtained results revealed that this system did not suffer from the limitations of that in conventional ionic-liquid microextraction. Under optimum experimental conditions, the proposed method provided a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.027 μg L(-1) and a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 2.4%. The present method was successfully applied to terazosin determination in actual pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples. Considering the large variety of ionic liquids, the proposed microextraction method earns many merits, and will present a wide application in the future.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of the intakes of ω-3 (including α-linolenic acid [ALA], eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] plus docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), the interaction, and the ratio of these PUFAs with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a random sample of participants (n = 2451, 19-84 y old) in the Tehran Lipid Glucose Study. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric characteristics, blood pressure, and fasting plasma concentrations of glucose and lipids were measured. The MetS was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. RESULTS: Among the PUFAs, the ALA and ω-6 PUFA intakes were inversely associated with the MetS. Subjects in the highest quartile of ALA and ω-6 fatty acid intakes had a 38%(odds ratio 0.62, 95% confidence interval 0.41-0.95) and a 0.47%(odds ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.31-0.89) lower prevalence of MetS, respectively, compared with those in the lowest quartile. The dietary ratio of ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acids was not associated with the MetS. When the interaction between ALA and ω-6 fatty acid was assessed, the ALA intake was associated with a lower prevalence of the MetS, without modification by the ω-6 PUFA intake. Subjects with at least the median ALA intake (1084 mg/d) had a lower prevalence of the MetS, irrespective of an ω-6 PUFA intake lower or higher than the median compared with subjects with intakes below the median for both. CONCLUSION: The ALA intake was inversely associated with the MetS, irrespective of the background intake of ω-6 PUFAs, in adults.

An orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC-PLS) method was developed for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of orotic acid (OA), creatinine (CRE), and uric acid (UA) in spiked real samples. By multivariate calibration methods, such as PLS regression, it is possible to obtain a model adjusted to the concentration values of the mixtures used in the calibration range. The effect of OSC used to remove the information unrelated to the target variables is studied. In this study, the calibration model is based on absorption spectra in the 220-320 nm rang for 36 different mixtures of OA, CRE and UA. Calibration matrices contained 1.74-47.00 of OA, 1.13-33.95 of CRE, and 1.68-28.58 of UA in µg/ml. The number of principal component for OA, CRE, and UA with OSC were 3, 4, and 4, and 4, 6, and 5, without OSC, respectively. The evaluation of the prediction errors for the prediction set reveals that the OSC-treated data give substantially lower root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) values than the original data. The RMSEP for OA, CRE, and UA with OSC were 0.69, 0.20, and 0.53 and 0.80, 0.69, and 0.73 without OSC, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the simultaneous determination of OA, CRE, and UA in spiked biological fluids with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of routine nasal packing with polyvinyl acetal sponge (Merocel) versus no packing, after endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyposis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This clinical, randomised, controlled trial was performed in an academic tertiary referral centre between 2008 and 2011. Sixty patients with resistant nasal polyposis underwent endoscopic sinus surgery, and were then randomly divided into two groups: packed and non-packed. The amount of bleeding and pain in each group during pack removal was documented. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the two groups in the outcome of surgery and complications. One patient in each group needed extra packing. In the packed group, the mean ± standard deviation pain score on pack removal was 61 ± 3 (using a visual analogue scale in which 0 = no pain and 100 = worst pain imaginable). CONCLUSION This study found no significant difference between polyvinyl acetal packed and non-packed groups, following endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyposis. This confirms the findings of similar studies, and supports the reconsideration of routine post-operative packing in selected cases.

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate the regional longitudinal strain/strain rate profiles in the right atrial wall to quantify right atrial function in systolic heart failure patients. BACKGROUND According to previous studies on the deformational properties of the left atrium, the systolic strain and strain rates represent the atrial reservoir function and the early and late diastolic strain rates show the conduit and booster functions, respectively. METHODS Thirty patients with a diagnosis of heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 35%) scheduled for right heart catheterization were enrolled. Echocardiography was performed to obtain right atrial deformation indices just before the procedure. The control group consisted of 32 healthy adults matched for age and sex. The deformity indices obtained consisted of the right atrial peak systolic strain (RAS), right atrial peak systolic strain rate (RASSR), right atrial early diastolic strain rate (RAEDSR), and right atrial late diastolic strain rate (RALDSR). RESULTS The right atrial deformation indices were significantly compromised in the heart failure patients versus the normal subjects (RAS: 68.5 +/- 53.9 vs 189.3 +/- 61.2, P = 0.000; RASSR: 2.9 +/- 1.9 vs. 5.3 +/- 1.5, P = 0.000).There was a significant correlation between the RAS and RASSR and cardiac output (RAS: r = 0.5, P = 0.005; RASSR: r = 0.5, P = 0.003), and cardiac index (RAS: r = 0.6, P = 0.001; RASSR: r = 0.6, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION In light of our findings, we conclude that a diminished RA function, as assessed by strain imaging, plays a critical role in the pathophysiological process of heart failure patients.

OBJECTIVE Standardized patients (SPs) have been developed to measure practitioner performance in actual practice settings, but results have not been fully validated for psychiatric disorders. This study describes the process of creating reliable and valid SPs for unannounced assessment of general-practitioners' management of depression disorders in Iran. METHOD Ten psychology and nursing students (potential SPs) took part in a five-session course involving training in dialogue and body language. Five scenarios, along with corresponding checklists representing common presentations of mood disorders in primary-care settings, were developed by an expert group. The SPs' role-play performance of their respective scenario was videotaped and scored independently by three psychiatrists according to an observational rating scale to assess validity. The role-play was repeated after 1 week with the same scenario and the same doctor, to assess test-retest reliability. The reliability of each checklist to be used by the SPs was assessed by testing interrater reliability between groups of SPs. RESULTS The cutoff score for the SPs' portrayal validity was 90% or above for all SPs. Mean interrater reliability for the checklists was acceptable for the SPs watching the same videos and filling in the checklists, while the mean kappa for assessing concurrent validity in filling in the checklists was lower. The test-retest performance for assessing reliability resulted in a mean kappa of 0.72. All SPs except one, who was not recruited, performed acceptably well. CONCLUSION The authors have demonstrated a thorough validation of the technique of using standardized patients in the portrayal of depressive disorders in primary-care settings in Iran, which creates confidence in employing this technique to evaluate doctors' performance, for example, after an educational intervention. Similar methods of validation can be used for SPs' portrayal of other psychiatric disorders.

Previous studies on animals have revealed that garlic (Allium sativum) is effective in reducing blood and tissue lead concentrations. The aim of this study was to investigate therapeutic effects of garlic and compare it with D-penicillamine in patients with chronic lead poisoning. After coordination and obtaining informed consent, clinical examinations and blood lead concentration (BLC) of 117 workers at a car battery industry were investigated. BLC was determined by heated graphite atomization technique of an atomic absorption spectrometer. The workers were randomly assigned into two groups of garlic (1200 micrograms allicin, 3 times daily) and D-penicillamine (250 milligrams, 3 times daily) and treated for 4 weeks. BLC was determined again 10 days post-treatment. Clinical signs and symptoms of lead poisoning were also investigated and compared with the initial findings. Clinical improvement was significant in a number of clinical manifestations including irritability (P=0.031), headache (P=0.028), decreased deep tendon reflex (P=0.019) and mean systolic blood pressure (0.021) after treatment with garlic but not D-penicillamine. BLCs were reduced significantly (P=0.002 and P=0.025) from 426.32 ± 185.128 μg/L to 347.34 ± 121.056 μg/L and from 417.47 ± 192.54 μg/L to 315.76 ± 140.00 μg/L in the garlic and D-penicillamine groups, respectively, with no significant difference (P=0.892) between the two groups. The frequency of side effects was significantly (P= 0.023) higher in D-penicillamine than in the garlic group. Thus, garlic seems safer clinically and as effective as D-penicillamine. Therefore, garlic can be recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate lead poisoning.

Infection-induced inflammation triggers catabolism of proteins and amino acids. Phenylalanine and tryptophan are 2 amino acids related to infections that regulate immune responses. Polyomavirus BK (BKV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) are important pathogens after kidney transplantation. We investigated the clinical relevance of phenylalanine, tryptophan, and tryptophan metabolites (kynurenine and quinolinic acid) plasma levels in kidney transplant recipients with active CMV (BKV(-)CMV(+), n = 12) or BK virus infection (BKV(+)CMV(-), n = 37). Recipients without active viral infections (CMV(-)BKV(-), n = 28) and CMV(-)BKV(-) healthy individuals (HCs, n = 50) served as controls. In contrast to BKV infection, activated CMV infection is tightly linked to increased phenylalanine and tryptophan metabolite plasma levels (p ≤ 0.002). The association of phenylalanine (cutoff 50 μmol/L) with CMV infection demonstrates high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (94%). By contrast, kynurenine (p = 0.029) and quinolinic acid (p = 0.003) values reflect the severity of CMV infection. In this early proof-of-concept trial, evidence indicates that activated CMV infection is strongly associated with increased phenylalanine as well as kynurenine and quinolinic acid plasma levels. Moreover, tryptophan metabolite levels correlate with disease severity. Measurement of these amino acids is an inexpensive and fast method expected to complete conventional diagnostic assays.

Anaerobic growth of the bacterium strain HxN1 with n-hexane gives nearly equal amounts of (2R,1'R)- and (2S,1'R)-(1-methylpentyl)succinate, which are formed by the radical addition of the hydrocarbon to fumarate. The highly selective attack on the pro-S hydrogen atom at C2 of n-hexane is associated with inversion of the configuration at C2 during binding to fumarate and exhibits isotopic discrimination against a C(2) H bond.