Epidemiology of urinary tract infection and antibiotic resistance pattern of E. coli in patients referred to Imam Ali hospital in Farokhshahr, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, Iran

زمینه و هدف: عفونت دستگاه ادراری یکی از شایع ترین عفونت های بیمارستانی است که الگوی مقاومت آنتی بیوتیکی آن در مناطق گوناگون متفاوت است. هدف این مطالعه تعیین فراوانی عوامل باکتریال ایجاد کننده عفونت ادراری و الگوی حساسیت و مقاومت آنتی بیوتیکی اشرشیاکلی (E. coli) در مراجعین سرپایی به مجتمع بیمارستانی امام علی(ع) فرخشهر بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی تحلیلی، در یک مدت 5 ماهه (بهمن1390 تا خرداد 1391) از تعداد 848 نفر بیمار مشکوک به عفونت ادراری مراجعه کننده به بیمارستان امام علی(ع)، نمونه ادرار جمع آوری شد. پس از جدا سازی عامل عفونت، با روش Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute آزمون حساسیت به آنتی بیوتیک انجام شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون آماری مجذور کای تجزیه و تحلیل شدند. یافته ها: از میان 848 نمونه واجد شرایط، نتیجه آزمایش کشت ادرار 74 نفر (72/8) مثبت بود. باکتری E.coli با 52 مورد (27/70) و باکتری استافیلوکوکوس با 15 مورد (27/20) شایع ترین باکتری‌های جداسازی شده بودند. از 52 نفر آلوده به باکتری E.coli 34 نفر (38/65) زن و 18 نفر (62/34) مرد بودند. بر اساس نتایج آنتی بیوگرام بیشترین موارد مقاومت، به ترتیب مربوط به آنتی بیوتیک آمپی سیلین (71/85)، نالیدیسیک اسید (78/78) و سیپروفلاکسین (51/46) بود. از سوی دیگر، بیشترین حساسیت مربوط به آنتی بیوتیک های نیتروفورانتوئین (30/92)، آمیکاسین (67/66) و جنتامایسین (50/62) بود. بیشترین موارد عفونت در رده ی سنی بالاتر از 47 سال مشاهده گردید. نتیجه گیری: آمپی سیلین و نیتروفورانتوئین به ترتیب دارای بیشترین میزان مقاومت و حساسیت آنتی بیوتیکی بوده اند و براساس نتایج بدست آمده، درمان تجربی با آمپی سیلین در اکثر بیماران مبتلا به عفونت ادراری مناسب نیست

The constituents of essential oils of Ferulago angulata (Schlecht.) Boiss at two different habitats, Nevakoh and Shahoo, Zagross Mountain, western Iran

Abstract – Ferulago angulata (Apiaceae), a medicinal plant of western Asia, contains essential oils that are used as a food preservative. This study examined and compared the composition of leaf oil with seed oil and of the oils from two different habitats (one from Nevakov and the other from Shahoo). The oil yield from seed was 5-fold that from leaves (3.2%/100g compared to 0.63%/100g). Cis-ocimene was the major constituent of the seed oil from both regions (64.8% and 76.11%) and a prominent constituent (>20% of the total oil) of the leaf oils of both habitats. α-Pinene was the next main component (7-27%) of all 4 oils. Seed oils, with one major component (cis-ocimene), differed from the leaf oils, which were composed mostly of 3 components (α-pinene, cis-ocimene, & germacrene D). Distinctions between the oils of the two habitats were less marked than the leaf-oil/seed-oil differences; the cis-ocimene content was higher and α-pinene was less in both seedand leaf-oils of the Shahoo habitats than the Nevakoh ecotype; trans-verbenol was absent from the Shahoo leaves, but reached a content of 5.8% in Nevahoh leaf-oil. Further distinctions were found in the content/presence/absence of 20-30 minor components of the oils

Analysis of liquid-waste injection wells in Illinois by mathematical models

This report contains the results of a preliminary theoretical study of the fate of liquid industrial wastes injected into deep geologic formations. The Jones and Laughlin Corporation well was used as a model and the geology of the area was idealized into a 15-layered homogeneous and an isotropic mathematical model. The finite element method was tested and proved to be an effective mathematical tool in the solution of the equation of flow. The flow and pressure build-up show that the rocks are capable of receiving greater volumes of waste than are now being injected without endangering the integrity of the aquifer or the confining layer.The mass-transport equation for large and complex ground-water reservoir systems was investigated, and it was concluded that the dispersion and diffusion parts of the equation are relatively insignificant, and under extreme conditions the dispersed zone will not be more than a few feet wide. Therefore, it was concluded that a more practical approach to the problem would be the solution of a system with a moving interface boundary in which mass transport results mainly from convection.To overcome difficulties encountered with computer time and memory in the solution of the mass-transport equation for large complex systems, an iterative method is proposed for the solution of the equations, which substantially reduces these difficulties.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Surve

Smart-BIM (Building Information Modeling)

Purpose: After a long period of international research and development, BIM has become mature. Many tools support the BIM process, or at least they claim. BIM not only offers opportunities for the Architectural Engineering and Construction industry, but also for the client. In this paper we don’t focus on the professional client, but on the client of a building assignment that act as the end-user. Involvement of the end user in the design process has been advocated by many scholars and designers, but has so far only marginally been adopted in practice. The importance of user participation is demonstrated by the lack of success of smart technologies in new housing or in renovation. Particularly elderly people resist accepting these technologies in their home environment, although they could benefit from these technologies to improve comfort and health care. As a result of poor understanding of these new technologies by both designers and end users, researchers observe that there is a mismatch between user demands and smart technology usability. Hence, this paper is an attempt to improve the role of users in the design process in two ways. Firstly, by adding the missing components of smart technology to current BIM model libraries. Secondly, by developing a virtual model in which users can interact with the smart technologies and configure their preferred layout. The final results are interesting not only for technology developers but also for housing designers who aim at improving the quality of life in future housing for aging society. Method: For a better understanding of BIM, a historical perspective is taken in this paper. The initiatives from different research institutes are discussed and how they affected each other. The up-take by the software industry is highlighted and their delicate relationship with science. In today’s design process BIM systems support spatial design that is accommodate by smart technology. Usually this smart technology is added after the spatial design in the final design stage by the installations expert. In our research we want to turn this process around; the smart technologies are accommodated by spatial design. Therefore we develop a design system with a library of smart components such as smart wall, smart kitchen and smart furniture. The difference between smart technologies and standard building components is that smart technologies interact with the building users. BIM allows for realistic visualization of designs in an early stage. In our prototype system, clients are presented a virtual space with a wide range of smart technologies. After being introduced to these technologies, the client expresses how these will fit within his/her activities. Following he/she can experience in the virtual model how smart technologies react when activities are executed. Results & Discussion A prototype system is presented that allows clients such as elderly to experience smart technologies. In contrast with traditional design it does not start from the spatial layout but from the activities that should be accommodated supported by smart technologies. We expect that fundamentally different layout will emerge from this approach. Although no experimental data are available yet, some first experiences will be discussed

Maternal Experiences of Their Unborn Child's Spiritual Care: Patterns of Abstinence in Iran

Preparing for pregnancy and childbirth has significant association with spirituality. Review of the literature shows that the spirituality of the “unborn child” has not yet attracted much critical attention. This study was conducted with the aim of exploration of maternal behaviors associated with the spiritual health of the unborn child. A qualitative approach was used to investigate the research question. Twenty-seven in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with 22 Iranian mothers in Tehran city (Iran) who were pregnant or had experienced pregnancy in 2012-2013. Data analysis was carried out using a conventional content analysis approach. “Refusing to eat forbidden food,” “Overcoming mental adversity,” “Regulating one’s social interactions,” “Preventing the effects of harmful environments on the senses,” “Avoidance of using insulting and abusive language,” “Keeping one’s mind and spirit free from evil traits,” and “Refraining from damaging behaviors” were important experiences that the mothers used for “Holistic Abstinence.” The results provide new information about the subjective experiences of Iranian women on the patterns of abstinence for the midwives, research community, policy makers, and planners of maternal and child health care services in order to contribute to holistic, culturally, and religiously competent prenatal care for Muslim pregnant women throughout the world

Interactive application of a virtual smart home

Smart Homes confront many challenges trying to move from vision to reality. Poor understanding of the concept of Smart Homes by both designers and end users causes many challenges in accepting smart homes by public. To overcome this problem, user participation in Smart Home design is advocated. On the other hand, there are no sufficient tools to design and represent real usage of smart spaces. Most BIM (Building Information Modeling) systems are lack of information needed in order to create a virtual environment which can interact with users. Filling this gap, we develop an application called VR Smart Home which supports: 1. Visualizing smart technologies, 2. Performing real-time interactions and tasks by users. The application presents a virtual smart home consisting of several smart technologies which can react to user interactions. The created virtual space in this application is different from conventional 3D space and has the capability of doing certain functions and reacting toward users’ interaction. The application utilizes three typical domestic tasks and several real-time interactions. Scripting the tasks makes the real-time interactions and system reactions possible. Accordingly, users can explore three predefined tasked named, cooking, working and contemplation inside the Virtual Smart Home on a touch screen LCD. The results from the first evaluations of the application reveal a positive attitude of users. They prove that when the users can directly execute a task in the virtual model, they can deliver a better comprehension of how smart technologies can be utilized. Hence, the application can be used as a toolset to improve communications among users and designers in the design processes of smart environments. Eventually, it can help designers to match the smart technology usability with users' demands

The effect of serum vitamin D normalization in preventing recurrences of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: A case-control study

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a condition with recurrent attacks in a significant proportion of patients. The present case- control study was conducted to assess the influence of serum vitamin D normalization on recurrent attacks of vitamin D deficient patients. Methods: Diagnosis of BPPV was made based on history and clinical examination and exclusion of other conditions. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) was measured using ELISA method and a levels of < 20 ng/ml was considered a deficiency of vitamin D. Inclusion criteria were as follows: history of recurrent attacks and serum 25-OHD < 20.ng/ml. While the patients with history of trauma, surgery and chronic systemic diseases were excluded. The patients were classified into two groups: treatment and control, intermittently. Both groups received Epley rehabilitation therapy one session per week for 4 weeks but the treatment group received an additional supplement of 50.000 IU of vitamin D (cholecalciferol) weekly for two months to achieve serum 25-OHD � 30 ng/ml and the study patients were followed-up for 6 months. Results: Twenty-seven patients were allocated to each group. At baseline, serum 25-OHD was similar (10.7�2.3 vs 11.41�1.9, P=0.23). At month 2, serum 25-OHD in the treatment group increased significantly to � 30 ng/ml, whereas serum 25-OHD in the control group remained unchanged (34.2�3.3 vs 10.6 10.6�2.2 ng/ml, P=0.001). During the follow-up period, attacks of BPPV in the treatment group decreased significantly compared with the control group (14.8 vs 96.3 OR= 0.18, P=0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the normalization of serum vitamin D significantly reduces BPPV recurrences