Computation of Gutman Index of Some Cactus Chains

Let G be a finite connected graph of order n. The Gutman index Gut(G) of G is defined as $\sum_{\{x,y\}\subseteq V(G)}deg(x)deg(y)d(x, y)$, where deg(x) is the degree of vertex x in G and d(x, y) is the distance between vertices x and y in G. A cactus graph is a connected graph in which no edge lies in more than one cycle. In this paper we compute the exact value of Gutman index of some cactus chains

Evaluation the results of colon transit time in patients with chronic constipation resistant to treatment

Background: Determining colon transit time (CTT) is one of the simplest, reproducible, safe, inexpensive, reliable, patient-acceptable and fully applicable methods in the evaluation of patients with constipation. Objective was to determine the results of colon transit time (CTT) in patients with chronic drug resistant constipation. Methods: In this study, 30 people with constipation for at least three months and had defecation at most twice a week and did not respond to basic treatments were studied from October 2019 to June 2021 at Ardabil city hospital. 20 metal markers were given orally. Abdominal x-ray was performed on the 6th day and the number and speed of markers were considered. Patients also discontinued their anti-constipation medications. According to the CTT pattern, the causes of refractory chronic constipation were identified. Results: Of all 30 patients, 13 (43.3%) were male and 17 (56.7%) were female. The mean age of patients was 45.4 years with a standard deviation of 15.92. The greatest number of underlying diseases was related to blood pressure with 10 cases (33.3%). Of all patients, 19 patients (63.3%) had normal transit time colon despite chronic constipation. In terms of disorders; 5 patients (16.7%) had colon inertia, 3 patients (10%) had outlet obstruction and 3 patients (10%) had hindgut dysfunction. There was no significant relationship between colon transit time outcomes and patients’ gender and age. Conclusions: Examination of transit time colon in patients showed that the finding was normal in most of cases.

Implementation of an Intelligent Adaptive Controller for an Electrohydraulic Servo System Based on a Brain Mechanism of Emotional Learning

In this paper, an experimental analysis of identification and an online intelligent adaptive position tracking control based on an emotional learning model of the human brain (BELBIC) for an electrohydraulic servo (EHS) system is presented. A mathematical model of the system is derived and the parameters of the model are identified. The BELBIC is designed based upon this dynamic model and utilized to control the real laboratorial EHS system. The experimental results are compared to those obtained from an optimal PID controller to prove that classic linear controllers fail to achieve good tracking of the desired output, especially when the hydraulic actuator operates at various frequencies and pressures. The results demonstrate an excellent improvement in control action, without any increase in control effort, for the proposed approach. Finally, it can be concluded from the experimental results that the BELBIC is able to respond quickly to any disturbance and variation in the system parameters, showing a high degree of adaptability and robustness due to its online learning ability

Survey the Antibiotics Prescription by General Practitioners for Outpatients in Ardabil City in 2013

Background & objectives: One of the most proven trajectories for analyzing the drug consumption patterns in the community is to assess the prescriptions. Using the antibiotics for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases not only leads to the loss of pathogens but also causes various complications, the most important of which is the drug resistance. The aim of current study was investigating the different antibiotics prescript by general practitioners (GPs) for outpatients in Ardabil city. Methods: This study is designed based on the cross-sectional method. The number of 2,000 copies (according to Morgan) from total of 526000 copies sent to Ardabil health insurance during the 4 seasons of 2013 were randomly evaluated. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, ANOVA and T-Test using spss software. The P ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study the average drug per prescription was 3.6 and 54.9% of the prescriptions included antibiotics so that the cefixime, azithromycin, Co-amoxiclave and penicillin 6.3.3 were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics, respectively. The highest prescriptions belonged to penicillins (39.4%) cephalosporins (27.7%) and macrolides (18.3%). The most expensive antibiotic was cefixime tablet (32% of the total cost). The most of the antibiotics were prescribed to be taken orally (tablets or capsules). The mean price of each prescription was 74539±71050 Rials. The highest rate of antibiotic prescription was related to the autumn and then winter and there was a significant relationship between the the number of antibiotics in different seasons of the year (p = 0.005). Conclusion: The average drugs of each prescription are in accordance with local statistics, but much higher than the global figures. The frequency of antibiotics prescription was higher than the global, several Middle Eastern and even African countries’ indices but was lower than the average level of some regions in the country. The pattern of prescribing antibiotics among the Ardabil GPs shows the more drugs in number and expensive broad-spectrum. The average price of prescripts was higher than the national average. These findings suggest that prescription and using antibiotics is not desirable in Ardabil

Therapeutic Effect of Conjugated Linoleic Acid Supplementation on Moderate Acne

Background & objectives: Acne Vulgaris is a chronic inflammation of pilosebaceous glands. Some studies have indicated the significant decrease of linoleic acid in the sebum composition of the patients with acne. The aim of this study was to determine the probable therapeutic effects of linoleic acid on moderate acne. Methods: In a double-blind randomized clinical trial, 40 women with moderate acne were divided into two groups, each group with 20 each with 20 samples. After recording the nutritional and demographic factors, the case group received, 100 mg oral doxycycline daily plus 3 gr conjugated linoleic acid and the control group received 100 mg doxycycline daily plus 4-3 oral paraffin capsules as placebo for one month. The number of acne lesions were counted before and after treatment and the mean of   Acne Severity Index (ASI) and Global Acne Grading System (GAGS) were determined for each group. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software using chi-square, independent t-test and paired t-test. Results: The mean age was 22.8±5.5, in the case group and21.7±5.1 in placebo group indicating no statistically significant deference (p=0.51). At the end of treatment there was no statistically significant deference between the two groups in decreasing acne (p=0.31). During the treatment, ASI reduced from 129.5±13 to 77±11.6 in the case group and from 132±18.6 to 67.5±11.6 in the placebo group, –but there was no statistically significant deference between the two groups (p=0.37). Conclusion: It seems using 3 gr oral conjugated linoleic acid daily for 1 month has no effect on remission of acne

Hyperhomocysteinemia, low vitamin B12, and low folic acid: Are risk factors of cerebral vascular thrombosis in northwest Iran?

Background: Cerebral vascular thrombosis (CVT) is the thrombosis of intracranial and sinuses. The aim of this is to estimate of risk of low folic acid, low vitamin B12, and hyperhomocysteinemia (hyper-Hcys) for CVT. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 patients with CVT and 36 healthy controls participated in a cross-sectional case-control study. The deficient levels of folic acid and vitamin B12 defined as 90 th percentile of homocysteine of control group. Results: Patients had higher levels of total homocysteine (tHcys) than controls (14.7 ± 6.5 vs. 6.4 ± 2.7 μmol/L, P = 0.001). Also, vitamin B12 level in case group was lower compared to control subjects (185.4 ± 58 vs. 299 ± 75 ng/mL, P = 0.001). Hyper-Hcys and low vitamin B12 were significantly more prevalent in CVT patients than controls. Although, significant independent association with risk of CVT was found for hyper-Hcys [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 14.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6-77.1, P = 0.002] and low vitamin B12 (adjusted OR 24.6, 95% CI: 2.3-262.9, P = 0.008). Association between low folic acid and risk of CVT was not significant. A significant negative correlation was found between the levels of tHcys and vitamin B12 (r = −0.32, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Hyper-Hcys and low vitamin B12 were related with the high risk for CVT