A study on tensor product surfaces in low-dimensional Euclidean spaces

We consider a special case for curves in two-, three-, and four-dimensional Euclidean spaces and obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for the tensor product surfaces of the planar unit circle centered at the origin and these curves to have a harmonic Gauss map.Розглянуто спецiальний випадок для кривих у дво-, три- та чотиривимiрних евклiдових просторах i отримано необхiдну та достатню умову, за якої поверхнi тензорного добутку плоского одиничного кола з центром у початку координат та цих кривих мають гармонiчне гауссове зображення

Study of antibacterial effect of total hydroalcoholic extract of Thymus daenensis and Lavandula officinalis on Listeria monocytogenes, an agent of food spoilage, using microdilution

Background: Listeria monocytogenes is an important bacterial agent of food spoilage and cause of listeriosis. Recently, plants have been increasingly considered as alternatives to chemical drugs for preserving foods. Therefore, it is highly important to study their antibacterial effects. This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial effect of Thymus daenensis and Lavandula officinalis on L. monocytogenes. Extraction was done by maceration using ethanol and concentration performed by rotary concentrator. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was examined by broth micro-dilution according to McFarland Equivalence (CFU/mL 105). To determine minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), all the wells without opacity were cultured on Mueller-Hinton agar. Total hydroalcoholic extract of T. daenensis and L. officinalis had a positive effect on L. monocytogenes and, at certain concentrations, could inhibit the bacterial growth. The best inhibitory effect on bacterial growth was obtained for T. daenensis extract at 16 μg/mL. Furthermore, this extract had the highest bactericidal effect on L. monocytogenes. Regarding the findings of this study, the extracts of T. daenensis and L. officinalis could be used as antibacterial agents in food and pharmaceutical industries

A comprehensive review on Allium hirtifolium Boiss as a medicinal and edible plant

Medicinal plants are native legacies with universal and global significance that are considered as one of the most valuable assets of each country. To gain knowledge of these plants is one of the most important indicators of development in any countries. Study of medicinal plants in any region is very important for different potentials of these plants such as pharmacologic and industrial aspects. Regarding recent interest in and lack of information on medicinal plants, their therapeutic properties, and the approaches to their preparation and extraction, native information and traditional knowledge could contribute significantly to initiating scientific investigations on these plants. Therefore, it is necessary to take significant measures to use and promote systematic methods of utilization of these valuable resources by knowing these plants and obtaining necessary information about their habitats, ecological characteristics, and therapeutic uses. In this article, the latest scientific information on Allium hirtifolium, a medicinal, industrial and edible plant, is presented

The Effects of Cognitive – Behavior Therapy and Drug Therapy on Quality of Life and Symptoms of Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract: Background & Aims: Psychological treatment and the efficacy of drug therapy are considered to be useful in quality of life and symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of cognitive-behavior therapy associated with drug therapy in comparison to drug therapy alone on the quality of life and symptoms of IBS patients with diarrhea predominance. Method: This study was a randomized clinical trial on 64 IBS patients. The patients were selected according to Rome-III criteria, and were divided into the two groups. Bowel Symptoms Severity and Frequency Scale (BSS-FS) and Quality Of Life (QOL-IBS) were used for evaluation of patients’ symptoms. The first group underwent cognitive-behavior therapy with medication therapy, and the second group only received medication. Data were analyzed using analysis of multiple covariances (MANCOVA). Results: The two groups showed significant difference in the QOL-IBS in post treatment and follow-up stages (P 0.05). Conclusion: Cognitive-behavior therapy associated with drug therapy can be useful in IBS patients with diarrhea predominance. However, stopping this treatment may lead to recurrence of the symptoms. Keywords: Neck muscles, Forward head posture, Craniovertebral angle, Electromyography, Pressure Bio-feedback devic

Phytochemical, pharmacological, and biochemical characteristics of essential oil of some Salvia L. Species

As sciences are advancing, medicinal plants are being increasingly studied for their chemical compounds and the properties of these compounds. Different compounds, with various properties, have been found in plants. The use of the medicinal plants and nature-based compounds in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, health, and food industries worldwide and public attention to the use of medicinal and fragrant plants highlight the need for basic and applied large studies in this area. Salvia L. is a large genus in family Lamiaceae. Different species of this genus have highly various essential compounds and amounts of these compounds. Since plant-based secondary metabolites are widely various, this article reported the significance of Salvia L. genus and some of its species regarding their essential compounds and pharmacologic characteristics. Presenting the latest important findings, this article summarized the scientific findings about the secondary compounds and pharmacologic and biochemical effects of some species of Salvia L

Automated image classification via unsupervised feature learning by K-means

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Research on image classification has grown rapidly in the field of machine learning. Many methods have already been implemented for image classification. Among all these methods, best results have been reported by neural network-based techniques. One of the most important steps in automated image classification is feature extraction. Feature extraction includes two parts: feature construction and feature selection. Many methods for feature extraction exist, but the best ones are related to deep-learning approaches such as network-in-network or deep convolutional network algorithms. Deep learning tries to focus on the level of abstraction and find higher levels of abstraction from the previous level by having multiple layers of hidden layers. The two main problems with using deep-learning approaches are the speed and the number of parameters that should be configured. Small changes or poor selection of parameters can alter the results completely or even make them worse. Tuning these parameters is usually impossible for normal users who do not have super computers because one should run the algorithm and try to tune the parameters according to the results obtained. Thus, this process can be very time consuming. This thesis attempts to address the speed and configuration issues found with traditional deep-network approaches. Some of the traditional methods of unsupervised learning are used to build an automated image-classification approach that takes less time both to configure and to run

Prevalence of Cryptosporidium Infection in Immunocompromised Patients, In South-West of Iran, 2009–10

Background: Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite with worldwide distribution. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection by antigen detection in faeces among immunocompromised patients referred to educational hospitals of Ahvaz City, South-West of Iran, 2009-2010.Methods: Fecal samples from 176 immunocompromised patients were collected and Cryptosporid­ium coproantigen test was performed using ELISA method (DRG kit, Germany). A questionnaire was completed for each case and the results were analyzed using descriptive and Chi-Square tests, by SPSS statistical software (15th version).Results: Our study indicated 5.1% Cryptosporidium infection prevalence in the immunocompro­mised participated population. Furthermore, 4.2 %, 4%, 4.5 % and 9.1% infection rates were identi­fied in children suffered from hematopoietic malignancy, adult cancer patients, renal trans­plant recipients, and HIV+ cases, respectively. There was not significant correlation between the infection and age and gender (P>0.05). Infection was most frequent among HIV+ patients.Conclusion: The present study confirmed the high prevalence of Cryptosporidium antigen in fe­cal samples of immunocompromised patients in the region. As no chemotherapeutic agents have yet proven, especially in immunosuppressed patients, therefore our results highlight the impor­tance of preventive intervention in these groups

Airway management in a case of expanding neck hematoma after carotid endarterectomy

Background: Respiratory obstruction is a fatal complication following carotid endarterectomy, which caused direct compression of trachea secondary to venous and lymphatic congestion.Cases Report: In this study, we report a complicated case of carotid endarterectomy   that required emergency intubation in difficult circumstance due to progressing hematoma and soft tissue edema.Conclusion: we report a case of hematoma and edema causing compromised airway following carotid endarterectomy (CEA), in which quick action to decompress the hematoma and prepare a secure airway lead to successful outcome

Der therapeutische Effekt der Hypnose bei chronischer Schmerzbehandlung : Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel der Behandlung von Migräne

6 – 12 % aller Männer und etwa doppelt so viele Frauen leiden unter Migräne. Ziel dieser randomisierten, kontrollierten Studie war es zu prüfen, ob die Hypnosetherapie mit indirekter Suggestion einen Effekt auf Häufigkeit, Dauer und Intensität der Migräneattacken aufweist. Es wurden 48 Patienten mit mindestens einer Migräneattacke pro Woche und mehr als 2-jähriger Erkrankungsdauer in die Untersuchung aufgenommen. Für 29 Patienten konnten vollständige Daten im gesamten Untersuchungszeitraum von neun Monaten erhoben werden. Als Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass eine multimodale stationäre Therapie mit und ohne Hypnosebehandlung in der Lage ist, bei schwerem Migräneleiden eine signifikante Besserung zu bewirken. Nach einer Hypnotherapie fällt aber der Grad der Besserung für alle untersuchten Parameter bereits zum Zeitpunkt der Entlassung signifikant höher aus. Noch deutlicher wird der Unterschied nach neun Monaten. Häufigkeit, Dauer und Intensität der Migräneattacken nehmen bei den hypnotherapierten und zur Autohypnose angeleiteten Patienten über den gesamten Beobachtungszeitraum weiter ab, während in der Kontrollgruppe alle Parameter im Verlauf wieder ansteigen und fast die Ausgangswerte erreichen. Im Gegensatz zur allgemeinen Vermutung hat der Grad der Suggestibilität keinen Einfluss auf das Ergebnis der Hypnosetherapie