Introduction: Faculty members are considered as basic resources of every university. Therefore, educational needs assessment in order to empower most faculty members is an inseparable part of educational planning. Methods: The study was conducted using a descriptive cross sectional method. The population consisted of university professors. About 65% professors participated. The reliability and validity of data collection tool, a self-made researcher questionnaire, was approved according to different studies. The participants were selected through census method and the results were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The highest priority of the professors in this study included the realms of modern methods and techniques of teaching (68%), training tips and consultation (62%), methods of professional promotion (61%), academic regulations and rules (58/3%), applying computers in education (55%), evidence-based practice (47%), and student assessment methods (43%). Among different academic ranks (p=. / 043) or instructors of basic sciences and clinical sciences (p =. / 053), there was no statistically significant difference between the instructors' preference to attend the workshops virtually or in person and they mostly preferred to attend the workshops in person. Conclusion: Holding educational workshops, considering educational priorities, to empower professors functionally, seems necessary.

Introduction: The homeostasis of magnesium (Mg) is perturbed in chronic kidney disease. It has been supposed that plasma Mg has a principal role to regulate the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Plasma Mg is capable of modulating secretion of PTH. Recent investigations showed that low serum Mg levels in patients with kidney disease have been linked to increased mortality. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between serum Mg and PTH levels in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 56 hemodialysis patients in hemodialysis center of Hajar hospital of Shahrekord in 2015. Regular hemodialysis patients who had at least three months history of dialysis were enrolled to the study. The serum levels of Mg, calcium, phosphorus, intact PTH (iPTH), alkaline phosphatase, albumin and bicarbonate were measured. Results: In this study, 61.5% of the 52 patients were male. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) of patients' age was 60.5 ± 17.7 years with median of 63 years old. The average duration of dialysis was 44±39.5 months (median 36 months). Additionally the dialysis dose was 517 ± 479 weeks (median; 414 weeks). Mean ± SD of serum iPTH and Mg were 360.1 ± 238.2 pg/mL and 2.2 ± 0.2 mg/mL respectively. In this study we found a significantly positive correlation of iPTH with serum Mg levels (r = 0.28, P = 0.04). Conclusion: This study shows impact of Mg on parathormone secretion. Our findings require further investigations with larger and multicentric studies. Please cite this paper as: Fooladgar M, Malekpour A, Asgari-Savadjani S, Mardani S. Serum magnesium in association with parathyroid hormone levels in routine hemodialysis patients. J Parathyr Dis. 2018;6(1):13-15.

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Introduction: Serum creatinine level is currently being used as an indicator to detect acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery, which is delayed and unreliable. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the AKI in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery by measurement of urinary creatinine and plasma kidney injury molecule (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 96 patients undergoing CABG were divided based on their serum creatinine level of the fourth day after procedure into two groups of AKI (an increase of creatinine more than 0.3 mg/dl or more than 150 % of its baseline level) and non-AKI. In both groups urinary KIM-1 and urinary NGAL were measured on the first day of surgery (first 24 h). Results: No significant difference was observed in baseline creatinine between the two groups (P>0.05). However postoperative serum creatinine, creatinine changes, urinary NGAL and KIM1 showed significant difference between the groups (P<0.05). Serum creatinine was positively correlated with KIM-1 (r = 0.666, P<0.001) and NGAL (r = 0.660, P<0.001). KIM-1 and NGAL had high ability to detect AKI [area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve of 0.929 and 0.838, respectively]. The NGAL at cut-off point of 97.4 had 86% sensitivity and 80% specificity and KIM-1 at cut-off point of 14.8 had 84% sensitivity and 89% specificity. Conclusion: KIM-1 and NGAL had high ability to detect AKI. However, KIM-1 had higher detection ability than that of NGAL.

Background and aims:Thalassemia patients are predisposed to septicemia due to iron overload. The iron chelators have a potential role in the treatment of septicemia. This study was conducted to investigate the in vitro effect of iron chelators, deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), and deferasirox (DFS) on the growth of effective bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and their synergistic effect with each other and antibiotics. Materials and Methods: Five bacterial strains were incubated in the presence of seven chelators in Mueller Hinton agar and the number of colonies was recorded for each sample. Antibiotic discs were placed in the plates. Susceptibility to antibiotics was assessed by disc diffusion method (Kirby-Bauer test) and also the zone inhibition around the disc was measured in mm after incubating the relevant plate at 37°C for a day. Results: The growth of all the studied bacteria increased in the presence of iron and was inhibited in the presence of different chelators. Chelators and antibiotics had synergistic effects on growth inhibition of Escherichia coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa in culture medium, while the growth inhibition of Y. enterocolitica was seen in the presence of deferiprone and deferasirox combination. Conclusion: Chelators in combination with antibiotics exert synergistic effects on growth inhibition of prevalent bacteria (except for Y. enterocolitica).

Background:The association between the function of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and different components of calcium metabolism has remained unclear in patients with renal dysfunction undergoing hemodialysis. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the association of the level of FGF23 and calcium metabolism status in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods:This cross-sectional study conducted on 90 consecutive patients suffering end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who underwent hemodialysis. The serum levels of FGF23 and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were measured using the ELISA technique.Results: The serum levels of FGF23 were directly associated with iPTH level (r = 0.251, P = 0.020) and slightly with the duration of dialysis (r = 0.203, P = 0.063). However serum FGF23 was not significantly related to other indices including levels of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, albumin, and even body mass index (BMI). No difference was found in the level of FGF23 between men and women with ESRD under hemodialysis. Conclusions: In ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis, the association of FGF23 with iPTH was detected, while there was not any relationship of FGF23 with other indices including calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D.

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