amirali aali

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a major challenge to the diagnosis and management of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a non-invasive technique that can assess myocardial ischemia and viability, as well as provide prognostic information for patients with IHD. However, the role of MPI in COVID-19 patients is not well established.

A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was conducted to identify relevant studies published until Aprile 24th, 2024. The inclusion criteria were: (1) studies that performed MPI in COVID-19 patients; (2) studies that reported the results of MPI in terms of ischemia, infarction, or perfusion defects; and (3) studies that compared MPI with other diagnostic modalities or clinical outcomes. The quality of the studies was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool for diagnostic accuracy studies or the ROBIS tool for systematic reviews. A narrative synthesis was performed to summarize the main findings and recommendations.

A total of twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. The included study information was categorized into the following aspects: Change in the crude number of MPI scans performed, accidental and definite findings in MPI, and the prognostic outcome of COVID patients who underwent MPI.

During Covid-19 pandemic a reduction in the number of MPI studies was seen. Individuals with a history of COVID-19 infection have higher likelihood of developing ischemic heart disease (IHD). SARS-CoV-2 is an independent risk factor for the development of IHD.

Identifying the appropriate places for implementing various management actions in the watershed is a challenging issue. Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) is an approach to assist managers in solving this problem. This study aimed to determine appropriate places for gabion check dams, earth embankments, and stone and mortar dams using the MCA technique in the Dorahan watershed in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. First, a criteria tree was developed to integrate some ecological maps (flooding, erosion, channel number, slope, and geomorphology) with economic variables (distance to villages and roads) and spatial restriction variables (stream order, slope, geomorphology, and elevation). Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was used to compare and weight the variables and management options. The eigenvalue vectors were measured for all criteria used in AHP. According to the AHP, the eigenvalues of flooding and erosion as the most important variables were 0.36 and 0.32, respectively. The management options against all criteria were then compared and earth embankment with an eigenvalue of 0.494 was recognized as the best management option in the watershed. Stone and mortar dams and gabion check dams were the two later management options with eigenvectors of 0.316 and 0.126, respectively.  All criteria maps were produced in a raster format by ILWIS software and were then imported into the Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) model. The appropriate areas for the construction of these management options (different kinds of small dams) were then mapped in the watershed. Sub-watersheds 6 and 7 were identified as the most suitable area for implementing these management options. A similar approach can be used to identify the best management practices for suggesting other bio-mechanical projects.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of morbidity and death worldwide. DM will affect 570.9 million people worldwide by 2025. The usefulness of vitamin C in improving diabetes control has been a point of contention.

This clinical-trial double-blind study with control groups was conducted on 164 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The intervention group received 1000 mg of oral vitamin C daily, and a placebo was administered to the controls. To analyze the obtained data, one-way ANOVA was used in SPSS software (version 20). A P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Fasting blood sugar (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were improved significantly in the intervention group (P< 0.05), while the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol were unaffected (P> 0.05). HbA1C and LDL levels in the control group increased significantly (P< 0.05). Meanwhile, this group's HDL levels decreased considerably.

Our findings support the consumption of vitamin C to complement the primary treatment for DM. According to our results, vitamin C provides a clear benefit over a placebo in the treatment of diabetic patients' serum parameters.