Background: Chronic cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it has additional cardiac adverse effects independent of coronary atherosclerosis. Patient and Methods: After informed consent and perm- ission from the review board of the hospital, 80 healthy subjects who were classified as smokers or non-smokers were included in the study. They were examined by standard echocardiography protocol which was followed by two-dimensional speckle tracking to assess the functions of the right ventricle. Results: The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was significantly reduced in smokers as compared to non-smokers (P < 0.05). The tricuspid flow peak late diastolic velocity (A wave) was significantly higher in smokers (P < 0.05, and hence the E/A ratio was signif- icantly lower (P < 0.05). The tissue Doppler imaging examination of right ventricular free wall showed that the peak systolic velocity of right ventricular (RV) free wall (S’), and the peak early diastolic velocity of RV free wall (E’) were significantly lower in smokers when compared to the control group (P < 0.05 for both). The global longit- udinal strain (GLS) assessed by 2D-speckle tracking echo- cardiography was also significantly reduced in smokers (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that chronic cigarette smoking causes alterations in long-axis systolic and diast- olic functions of right ventricle in healthy young subjects. These changes can be detected early with 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography.
Abstract
The Paper highlights on one of the main activities in marketing management. That is the internal marketing in the commercial banks and its relationship with the quality services offered to satisfy customers needs and wishes in order to reach he ultimate objectives of those banks. Two state and five private banks in Basrah city (Iraq) were taken in a field study. The survey covered the opinions of (184) state bank employees and (158) clients . The analysis of the survey shows that there is a strong relationship between the internal marketing ( in the banks covered by the survey) and the quality of banking objective services and the private banks show greater interest and concern to the internal ma
... Show MoreThe fouling depositions of crude oil stream were studied theoretically in a shell and tube heat exchanger to investigate the effect of depositions on the heat transfer process. The employed heat exchanger was with steam flowing in the inner tubes and crude oil in the shell at different velocities and bulk temperatures. It is assumed that fouling occurs only on the heated stream side (crude oil). The analysis was carried out for turbulent flow heat transfer conditions with wide range of Reynolds number, bulk temperature and time. Many previously proposed models for fouling resistance were employed to estimate a new model for fouling rate. It is found that the fouling rate and consequently the heat transfer coefficient were affected by Rey
... Show MoreLeishmaniasis a vector- borne disease caused by obligate intra -macrophage protozoa, is characterized by diversity and complexity. Leishmania are one of different genera within the family Trypanosomatidae. Visceral leishmaniasis occurs universally, but >90% of the cases are in five countries: north-eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal in the Indian subcontinent, Sudan in Africa and north-eastern Brazil in South America. Sodium stibogluconate (Sb) has become ineffective in the 1990’s in most of the high -burden areas and must be replaced. However, none of the traditional alternatives was satisfactory. Oral drugs are very suitable as the need for hospitalization and related costs are eliminate
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are initiated by microbial plaque, which accumulates in the sulcular region and induces an inflammatory response. The Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand / osteoprotegerin (RANKL/OPG) axis is involved in the regulation of bone metabolism in periodontitis, in which an increase in receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand or a decrease in osteoprotegerin can tip the balance in favor of osteoclastogenesis and the resorption of alveolar bone that is the hallmark of periodontitis. This study was performed to investigate the role of salivary levels of RANKL and OPG in pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis. Subjects and Methods: Fifty five subjects with chronic periodontitis with ages rang
... Show Moreplaque forming assay was used enumerate the number of plaque forming cells of anti-HBc in eight patintes with chronic hepatitis and eight health
The tunnel’s stability during construction is a very important matter. Some methods have been proposed for stability evaluation, but the hazard warning levels (HWLs) are more applicable among these methods. Despite monitoring and applying HWLs, several collapses in Shibli twin tunnels in Iran have cast doubts on the accuracy of this criterion in the presence of water. In this study, the critical strains under different water contents were measured through uniaxial compressive strength tests on 11 different shale and marl samples. A comparison of laboratory tests and numerical results shows that the influence of the moisture content on the critical strain is negligible. In addition, the results show that there is no dir
... Show MoreBackground: The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of implant site preparation in low-density bone using osseodensification method in terms of implant stability changes during the osseous healing period and peri-implant bone density using CBCT. Material and methods: This prospective observational clinical study included 24 patients who received 46 dental implants that were installed in low-density bone using the osseodensification method. CBCT was used to measure the bone density pre- and postoperatively and implant stability was measured using Periotest® immediately after implant insertion and then after 6 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively. The data were analyzed using paired t-test and the probability value <0.05 was conside
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