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The impact of low levels of vitamin D (Vit D) on the severity of cardiovascular diseases has become a significant challenge. This study aimed to assess this impact. This pilot cross-sectional study enrolled two hundred patients referred to Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran for myocardial perfusion imaging in 2019. The assessment included myocardial perfusion imaging and Vit D level evaluation. Quantitative ischemia analysis utilized Estimated Summed Stress Scores (SSS), Summed Rest Scores (SRS), and Summed Difference Scores (SDS). Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI) results were categorized into normal, mild ischemia, moderate ischemia, and severe ischemia based on estimated SSS. Ischemia severity was aligned with established criteria, designating severe quantitative ischemia as SSS>13. Vit D was categorized using cutoffs at 10, 20, and 30 ng/mL. Mann-Whitney U-test was used for quantitative variables and Chi Square test for qualitative variables. Chi Square test revealed a significant association between categorized Vit D levels below 10 ng/mL and severe ischemia (SSS>13) (P<0.001). Total Vit D level and also categorized Vit D with cut-offs of 10, 20, and 30 ng/mL showed no association with abnormal MPI. SSS was notably higher in patients with Vit D levels below 10 ng/mL (P=0.026). The findings of this study emphasize an association between Vit D level below 10 ng/mL and severe myocardial ischemia, as indicated by SSS.

Introduction: Eating fatty food is a common technique for decreasing extra cardiac activity, but sometimes patients refuse to eat fatty foods due to various reasons during myocardial perfusion imaging. The aim of this study is to introduce an alternative method for patients who are not able to use fatty foods to accelerate the transit of radiotracer from the liver. Methods: A total of 100 patients were randomized into four groups to take 200 cc of lemon juice, 200 cc of pomegranate juice, 200 cc of secanjabin, and 100 mg of fatty meal, 10 min after injection of 20 mCi 99mTc-MIBI, respectively in groups A, B, C, and D. The study is carried out in both rest and stress imaging at 30 and 50 min post-injection. Using ROI- based analysis, means of activity counts in heart and liver and, then the mean of heart/liver (H/L) ratios were calculated. Results:According to data analysis of both rest and stress imaging at min 30 and 50, A and D groups had significantly higher H/L ratio than groups B and C. Comparing the images of groups in both rest and stress protocol at minutes 30 and 50, A and D groups had significantly higher H/L ratio at 50 minutes in comparison with 30 minutes. Conclusion: In patients who refrain from eating fatty foods, drinking of diluted lemon juice may be recommended as a simple technique and the best alternative to decrease extra-cardiac activity and increase the H/L ratio.

Purpose: Despite therapeutic effects of radioiodine in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, there are some disadvantages due to harmful radiation to other tissues. According to the current guidelines, patients are recommended to drink lots of water and frequent voiding to reduce the amount of 131I in the body. This study was designed to assess the impact of the amount of liquid intake on reduction of the measured dose rate of radioiodine-treated patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer without metastasis who had undergone total thyroidectomy and had been treated with radioiodine were selected. The patients were divided into two groups according to the amount of their fluid intake which was measured during the first 48 h after 131I administration. In all patients, the dose rate was measured immediately and 48 h after iodine administration. Results: Each group included 21 patients. Dose rate ratio (the ratio of the second dose rate to the first dose rate) and dose rate difference ratio (the ratio of the difference between the two measured dose rates to the first dose rate) were calculated for each patient. Despite the significant difference in the amount of the liquid drunk, no statistically significant difference was seen between the different groups in parameters of dose-rate ratio and dose-rate difference ratio. Conclusion: Higher fluid intake (>60 ml/h in our study) alone would not effectively reduce the patient's radiation dose rate at least not more than a well-hydrated state. It seems that other interfering factors in the thyroidectomized patients may also have some impacts on this physiologic process.

Introduction: Metallic artifacts due to pacemaker/ implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) leads in CT images can produce artifactual uptake in cardiac SPECT/CT images. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the metallic artifacts due to pacemaker and ICD leads on myocardial SPECT/CT imaging. Methods: The study included 9 patients who underwent myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). A cardiac phantom with an inserted solid defect was used. The SPECT images were corrected for attenuation using both artifactual CT and CT corrected using metal artifact reduction (MAR). VOI-based analysis was performed in artifactual regions. Results:In phantom studies, mean-of-relative-difference in white-region, between artifact-free attenuation-map without/with MAR were changed from 9.2 and 2.1 to 3.7 and 1.2 for ICD and pacemaker lead, respectively. However, these values for typical patient were 9.7±7.0 and 3.8±2.4 for ICD and pacemaker leads respectively, in white-region. MAR effectively reduces the artifacts in white-regions while this reduction is not significant in black-regions. Conclusion: Following application of MAR, visual and quantification analyses revealed that while quality of CT images were significantly improved, the improvements in the SPECT/CT images were not as pronounced or significant. Therefore cardiac SPECT images corrected for attenuation using CT in the presence of metallic-leads can be interpreted without correction for metal artefacts.

Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi L.) is considered a valuable spice and medicinal herb. In this study, the essential oil content and composition of the aerial parts of ajowan were investigated under different drying treatments (sun, shade, oven at 45 °C, oven at 65 °C, microwave, and freeze drying). Moreover, the phenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant capacity of samples were also assessed. Fresh samples produced the highest essential oil content (1.05%), followed by those treated under sun (0.7%) and shade drying (0.95%). Based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), thirty compounds were determined in which thymol (34.84–83.1%), carvacrol (0.15–32.36%), p-cymene (0.09–13.66%), and γ-terpinene (3.12–22.58%) were the most abundant. Among the drying methods, freeze drying revealed the highest thymol content, followed by drying in a 45 °C oven. The highest TPC (total phenolic content) and TFC (total flavonoid content) were obtained in the fresh sample (38.23 mg TAE g−1 dry weight (DW)) and in the sample oven-dried at 45 °C (7.3 mg QE g−1 DW), respectively. Based on the HPLC results, caffeic acid (18.04–21.32 mg/100 gDW) and ferulic acid (13.102–19.436 mg/100 g DW) were the most abundant phenolic acids, while among flavonoids, rutin constituted the highest amount (10.26–19.88 mg/100 gDW). Overall, freeze drying was the most promising method of drying for preserving the phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) compounds and oil components.

Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) is an important spice in the food industry, as a well as a medicinal plant with remarkable antioxidant properties. In this study, its essential oil content, chemical composition, flavonoid content, phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity were evaluated under three irrigation regimes (50, 70, and 90% field capacity) and different amounts of nano silicon (0, 1.5, and 3 mM) in ten populations of ajowan. Based on the GC–MS analysis, thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, and γ-terpinene were determined as the main components of the oil. The thymol content ranged from 34.16% in the Ardabil population (irrigation at 50% and nano silicon at 1.5 mM) to 65.71% in the Khorbir population (without nano silicon and irrigation at 50%). The highest phenolic content was in Khormo with irrigation at 90% and without nano silicon (172.3 mg TAE/g DW), while the lowest was found in Hamedan (irrigation at 50% and without nano silicon (7.2 mg TAE/g DW)). Irrigation at 50% and no nano silicon treatment led to an increase in total flavonoids in Ardabil (46.786 mg QUE/g DW). The antioxidant activity of ajowan was evaluated using the DPPH assay. Accordingly, the highest antioxidant capacity was observed in Khormo (irrigation at 90% without nano silicon; 4126 µg/mL). Moreover, the highest thymol content was observed in the Khorbir population with irrigation at 50% and without nano silicon treatment. Furthermore, correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) provide new insights into the production of ajowan from their substrates under nano silicon treatment and water deficit conditions. Finally, the results revealed information on how to improve the desired essential oil profile and antioxidant capacity of extracts for industrial producers.

Effective resistance to intellectual property theft, reverse engineering, and hardware Trojan insertion in integrated circuit supply chains is increasingly essential, for which many solutions have been proposed. Accordingly, strong attacks are also designed in this field. One way to achieve the above goal is obfuscation. The hardware obfuscation method hides the primary function of the circuit and the normal Netlist from the attacker by adding several key gates in the original Netlist. The functionality circuit is correct only if the correct key is applied; otherwise, the circuit is obfuscated. In recent years, various obfuscation methods have been proposed. One is logic locking, the most prominent hardware protection technique since it can protect against untrusted items. Logic locking induces functional and structural changes to a design even before the layout generation. We secured the circuit against hardware Trojan insertion with a secure logic locking method based on the insertion of key gates in interference mode. We call our proposed method Secure Interference Logic Locking, SILL. SILL is based on minimum controllability in paths with maximum fan-out. In this method, we have reduced the number of key gates required for circuit obfuscation and created the maximum Hamming distance between normal and obscure outputs. In addition, the key gates are added to the circuit’s complete interference, and the AES algorithm is used to generate the key. Our proposed method, SILL, was simulated in the Vivado simulation environment; the algorithms used in this method were prepared in VHDL language and designed to allow parallel execution, then applied on the original Netlist of the ISCAS85 benchmark circuits. By analyzing and comparing the results of this simulation to recent works, the amount of hardware consumption has decreased (about 5% space consumption and about a 0.15-nanosecond time delay). Then, the SAT attack algorithm was tested on ISCAS85 benchmark circuits that were obfuscated with SILL. The execution time of the attack in the second attempt was 0.24 nanoseconds longer compared to similar recent works, and it timed out in the fourth attempt. The resistance of our proposed method, having less hardware overhead and higher speed is more effective against SAT attacks than the existing conventional methods.

Vegetables can be treated with biofertilizers as an alternative to chemical fertilizers because of their low toxicity. We investigated the effects of foliar spraying of Azotobacter under different levels of nitrogen (100, 150 and 200 mg/L in nutrient solution) on the growth, nutritional value, nitrate accumulation and antioxidant enzyme activities of hydroponically grown lettuce. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with four replicates in a factorial combination. Plants treated with Azotobacter and 200 mg/L nitrogen had greater leaf area and photosynthetic pigments than plants treated with 200 mg/L nitrogen without spraying with Azotobacter. Increasing nitrogen levels increased leaf number, fresh and dry weights, leaf area and nitrate accumulation in lettuce plants. Peroxidase (POD) activity increased by 95.4% at a nitrogen level of 200 mg/L compared to a nitrogen level of 100 mg/L. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity and leaf phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) concentrations were the highest in plants treated with a nitrogen source of 100 mg/L without foliar application of Azotobacter. As nitrogen levels increased in all treatments, nitrate reductase (NR) activity decreased and reached a minimum at the 200 mg/L nitrogen level. In general, foliar application of Azotobacter sp. can be used to promote plant growth and reduce nitrate accumulation in lettuce.

Background: Resistance to artemisinin has threatened major achievements in malaria control, more investigations is needed about resistant strains and related genes. We aimed to induce resistance to artesunate in the Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain using intermittent exposure method and comparing P.fk13 gene sequence between susceptible and resistance strains. Methods: P. falciparum 3D7 strain was cultured according to Trager & Jensen method with some modifications. Serial concentrations between 10-2 mol/l, to 10-7mol/l were prepared, then P. falciparum 3D7 was exposed to each of the dilution to determine IC50 and lethal dose. Sensitivity reduction process was started from the concentration of 10-7mol/l and ended at 10-2mol/l. Exposed parasites were collected after at least 27 days after cultivation in each drug concentration. DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing process were performed to investigate any possible mutations in the P.fk13 gene sequence. Results: Effectiveness of 10-2mol/l concentration of artemisinin was found as a lethal dose. IC50 value was equal to 5˟10-4 mol/l. The resistant strain was provided in the lab, sequenced and registered in the gene bank as P.f Art -2, (accession number MH796123. 1). Alignment of this registered sample showed no mutation in P.f kelch13 gene in comparison with standard strain submitted in the GenBank. Conclusion: Resistance to artesunate in malaria parasite may occur but with no mutation in the P.f kelch13 gene. Therefore, whole genome sequencing should be applied to determine mutations in resistant strains.

Purpose This study aims to compare the efficacy of Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + Tongue Base Radiofrequency (TB-RF) and Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + modified thyrohyoid suspension techniques + TB-RF which aimed to suspend base of tongue muscles anteriorly toward thyroid cartilage. Methods This randomized controlled trial study was conducted on 48 cases of confirmed OSA between Jan, 2019 and Aug, 2022. We divided patients into two groups. One group underwent Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + modified thyrohyoid suspension + TB-RF technique, and another one underwent Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + TB-RF. Then, Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI), mean and lowest O 2 saturation, Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Stanford Subjective Snoring Scale (SSSS), and T90 indexes were evaluated before and after each surgery. Results The mean ± SD age was 39.4 ± 11.17 years. Of the 48 patients, 79.1% ( n  = 33) were male and 20.9% ( n  = 15) were female. AHI and SSSS in the Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + modified thyrohyoid suspension group were significantly better than Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty group ( P -value; 0.010). Though, there was no significant difference in terms of mean saturation, lowest desaturation, ESS, DSST, and T90 scores. The success rate in the Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + modified thyrohyoid suspension and Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty groups, according to the Sher criteria: a minimum of 50% reduction with a final AHI less than 20, were 75% (18/24) and 41.7% (10/24), respectively. It was significantly higher in the Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty + modified thyrohyoid suspension group ( P -value: 0.021). Conclusion The addition of modified thyrohyoid suspension technique to Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty have better surgical outcomes and more success rate than Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty in OSA patients. Trial registration: IRCT: IRCT20190602043791N2. https://en.irct.ir/trial/53365 .