The bi-reforming reaction to produce syngas from CH 4 and CO 2 offers significant advantages over dry reforming and oxy-CO 2 with respect to catalyst deactivation by carbonization. This approach has potential for powerful new alternatives and is entering the stage of increasing advanced research toward commercialization of the technology. Research is ongoing to develop catalysts that are resistant to high temperatures and the presence of a more oxidative environment due to steam. All current research on bi-reforming catalysis is focused on Nibased catalysts, a logical extension based on commercial materials on steam/methane reforming and dry reforming. However, recent work on thermally stable crystalline oxides has promise, particularly in resisting carbon deposition while remaining stable at the demanding conditions of bi-reforming.

ObjectivesResearchers have attempted to design various scoring systems to determine the severity and predict the outcome of critically ill patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of SOFA score in predicting 1-month outcome of these patients in emergency department.MethodsThe present study is a prospective cross-sectional study of >18 year old non-trauma critically ill patients presented to EDs of 3 hospitals, Tehran, Iran, during October 2014 to October 2015. Baseline characteristics, SOFA score variables, and 1-month outcome of patients were recorded and screening performance characteristics of the score were calculated using STATA 11 software.Results140 patients with the mean age of 68.36 ± 18.62 years (18–95) were included (53.5% male). The most common complaints were decrease in level of consciousness (76.43%) and sepsis (60.0%), were the most frequent final diagnoses. Mean SOFA score of the patients was 7.13 ± 2.36 (minimum 2 and maximum 16). 72 (51.43%) patients died during the following 30 days and 16 (11.43%) patients were affected with multiple organ failure. Area under the ROC curve of SOFA score in predicting mortality of studied patients was 0.73 (95%CI: 0.65–0.81) (Fig. 2). Table 2 depicts screening performance characteristics of this scale in prediction of 1-month mortality in the best cut-off point of ≥7. At this cut-off point, sensitivity and specificity of SOFA in predicting 1-month mortality were 75% and 63.23%, respectively.ConclusionFindings of the present study showed that SOFA scoring system has fair accuracy in predicting 1-month mortality of critically ill patients. However, until a more reliable scoring system is developed, SOFA might be useful for narrative prediction of patient outcome considering its acceptable likelihood ratios.

BackgroundMany patients are brought to crowded emergency departments (ED) of hospitals every day for evaluation of head injuries, headaches, neurologic deficits etc. CT scan of the head is the most common diagnostic measure used to search for pathologies. In many EDs the initial interpretation of images are performed by emergency physicians (EP). Since most decisions are made based on the initial interpretation of the images by emergency physicians and not the radiologists, it is necessary to assess the accuracy of interpretations made by the former group.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to compare the findings reported in the interpretation of head CTs by emergency physicians and compare to radiologists (the gold standard).Materials and MethodsThis was a prospective cross sectional study conducted from March to May 2009 in a teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran. All non-contrast head CTs obtained during the study period were copied on DVDs and sent separately to a radiologist, 6 emergency medicine (EM) attending physicians and 14 senior EM residents for interpretation. Clinical information pertaining to each patient was also sent with each CT. The radiologist’s interpretation was considered as the gold standard and reference for comparison. Data from EM physicians and residents were compared with the reference as well as with each other and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 18.5.ResultsOut of 544 CT scans, EM physicians had 35 false negatives and 53 false positives compared with radiologist’s interpretations (P < 0.0001). EM residents had 74 false negatives and 12 false positives compared with radiologist’s interpretations (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsBoth EPs and ER residents either missed or falsely called a significant number of pathologies in their interpretations. The interpretations of EPs and ER residents were more sensitive and more specific, respectively. These findings revealed the need for increased training time in head CT reading for residents and the necessity of attending continuing medical education workshops for emergency physicians.

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BACKGROUND:The Alvarado score is utilized to determine the likelihood of appendicitis based on clinical signs, symptoms, and laboratory results. The goal of this study was to determine whether Alvarado scores can be used to aid in the accurate diagnosis of appendicitis.

We are introducing magnetic nanoparticles modified with poly(2-amino thiophenol) as a new solid-phase for extraction of heavy metals ions including lead(II), copper(II) and silver(I). The synthesized sorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. Separation of the synthesized sorbent from the sample solution was simply achieved by applying external magnetic field. Determination of the extracted ions was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). Effects of pH value, adsorption and desorption time, type, concentration and volume of the eluent, breakthrough volume, and effect of potentially interfering ions were studied. Under optimized conditions, the extraction efficiency is >95%, and the limits of detection are 2.1, 0.4 and 1.1 ng mL -1 for the ions of lead, copper and silver, respectively, and the adsorption capacities for these ions are 78.2, 68.1 and 52.3 mg g -1 . The obtained data for adsorption capacity of the sorbent shows the high tendency of the sorbent toward the mentioned target ions. Finally, this sorbent can be used as a simple, rapid, reliable, selective and sensitive method for determination of trace levels of lead(II), copper(II) and silver(I) in different food samples.

Background: The role of prognosis-prediction by scoring systems is an issue of importance to decrease the mortality rate in children with trauma. In this study, our goal was to evaluate the prognosis of trauma among children younger than 17 years of age and the contributing factors in the setting of a teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we evaluated 151 consecutive children, younger than 17 years of age, victims of trauma who were admitted to a teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran between November 2009 and March 2010. Results: In this study, the mean PTS was 11.04 that this variable was 7.58 in cases with morbidity which was significantly higher than non-morbid cases (P = 0.001). Conclusions: The result of our study indicates that pediatric trauma scoring system can be used as a tool to predict the prognosis of trauma in children

Background Until now, no valid alternative exists for predicting central venous pressure (CVP) with lower invasiveness than central venous catheter. Purpose To explore inferior vena cava diameter (IVCD) measurement accuracy by ultrasonography as a surrogate variable for determination of central venous pressure (CVP). Material and Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of all published studies in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar were conducted from inception to July 2013. We used the STROBE checklist for quality assessment and meta-regression. Results Thirty-seven papers with 2843 cases were identified. The correlation coefficients between each one of IVCD, inspiratory IVC (iIVC), IVC collapsibility index (IVCCI), and expiratory IVC (eIVC) with CVP, were 0.68, 0.60, 0.54, and 0.44, respectively. There was no evidence of publication bias ( P = 0.28). Based on meta-regression, male gender was an important source of heterogeneity (OR = 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 1-1.03), which resulted in a higher correlation between IVCD and CVP. The present study showed a higher strength of association with CVP pertaining to IVCD, iIVC, IVCCI, and eIVC, respectively, and they were higher in men. Conclusion This study does not support the measurement of IVCD by ultrasonography as an acceptable surrogate variable to determine CVP among critical patients.