Comparing the Efficacy of NCPAP and NIPPV in Infants with RDS after Extubation; A Randomized Clinical Trial

peer reviewe

Comparison of Intravenous Dexamethasone and Budesonide Nebulizer in the Treatment of Infantile Respiratory Distress Syndrome; A Randomized Clinical Trial

peer reviewe

The effect of probiotics on reducing hospitalization duration in infants with hyperbilirubinemia

peer reviewedBackground: Approximately 60% of term and 80% of premature infants are hospitalized for hyperbilirubinemia in the first week of life. Hyperbilirubinemia is the most common cause of infant hospitalization and readmission. Due to the high frequency of hyperbilirubinemia in infants and the high costs of treatment, it is necessary to find a way to decrease hospitalization duration. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the adjunctive effect of probiotics on decreasing hospitalization time for infants with hyperbilirubinemia. Methods: In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, 92 term infants with hyperbilirubinemia who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either the probiotic or control group. Patients in both groups underwent common phototherapy. Once a day, those in the probiotic group were also given half of a capsule of Prokid probiotic, while those in the control group received half of a placebo capsule. The duration of phototherapy and hospitalization, the blood groups of mothers and infants, and each patient’s bilirubin levels before and after phototherapy, direct Coombs test results, and levels of hemoglobin, G6PD, and reticulocytes were recorded. Results: Data from 92 patients with a mean age of 5.25 ± 2.35 days underwent analysis. The control group had 47 (51.1%) patients with a mean age of 5.19 ± 2.51 days and the probiotic group had 45 (48.9%) patients with a mean age of 5.31 ± 2.19 days (P = 0.81). The 92 patients had a mean bilirubin level of 16.70 ± 3.07 mg/dL, with a mean of 16.42 ± 3.53 mg/dL in the control group and 17.00 2.49 mg/dL in the probiotic group (P = 0.37). The duration of hospitalization averaged 3.34 ± 0.70 days overall, with an average of 3.55 ± 0.74 days for the control group and 3.13 ± 0.70 days for the probiotic group. The probiotic group had a significantly lower hospitalization stay in comparison to the control group (P = 0.004). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that probiotics may be beneficial as an adjunct treatment for infants with hyperbilirubinemia by reducing the duration of hospitalization

Assessment of Toxoplasma Seropositivity in Children Suffering from Anxiety Disorders.

peer reviewed[en] OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in children with anxiety disorders. MATERIALS & METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between Sep 2012 and May 2013 in Pediatrics Clinic of Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Children were assessed clinically. Diagnosis of patients with anxiety disorders was based on DSM-4 system, performed by child psychiatrist. Then their anti-Toxoplasma antibodies were measured. A questionnaire was verbally administered to all individuals' parents including demographic information and questions about life style, family history, medical history, economic situation, residence, nutritional patterns and contact with animals. RESULTS: Ninety-six male and female cases with a mean age of 8.56±2.5 and 8.42±1.9 yr underwent analysis. Anti- T. gondii IgG antibody was found in one case of each group. There was no significant difference between case and control groups for serum Toxoplasma IgG antibody (P=0.14). No case individuals had Anti- T. gondii IgM antibody, while it was found in one control individual. No significant difference was seen between case and control groups for Toxoplasma IgM antibody (P=0.27). CONCLUSION: Toxoplasmosis has no direct effect on the incidence of anxiety disorders. More studies are needed with a larger volume of individuals in future

Assessment of Toxoplasma Seropositivity in Children Suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

peer reviewedBackground: Toxoplasmosis, a protozoan infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is suggested to be a risk factor for many psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among children. Previous studies have assessed the correlation between ADHD and infectious diseases like toxoplasmosis. So we aimed to investigate the possible correlation between Toxoplasma seropositivity and ADHD in children. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study children with signs of ADHD were regarded as patients and underwent clinical assessments. Diagnosis of these patients was based on DSM-IV-TR system which was performed by a pediatric psychiatrist. Forty-eight Children without signs of ADHD or other psychic disorders were considered as control, and 48 patients were considered as case group. Parents were asked to answer a questionnaire including demographic, pregnancy and habitual questions. Blood samples were taken from all individuals and assessed for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies. Results: Ninety-six male and female patients with a mean age of 8.12 years underwent analysis. Seropositivity rate for anti-T.gondii IgG antibody was 4.2% in the case and 2.1% in control individuals (P=0.92). Anti-T.gondii IgM antibodies were not found in control individuals while it was found in 2.1% of case individuals (P=0.74). There was no statistically significant association between seroprevalence of IgM (P=0.74) and IgG (P=0.92) antibodies and ADHD in study individuals. Conclusion: Our findings showed that the toxoplasmosis seropositivity has no significant difference between children with and without ADHD. Further studies are needed with a larger amount of individuals. [GMJ. 2016;5(4):188-93

Switched Reluctance Linear Motor Force Ripple Suppression Based on Fixed Frequency Implicit Generalized Predictive Self-Correction Controller

An implicit generalized predictive self-correction controller (IGPC) is proposed in this paper to suppress the force ripple of switched reluctance linear motors (SRLMs). Due to its good robustness and rolling optimization features, the dynamic matrix controller (DMC), a kind of multi-step model predictive controller, is considered an effective method to suppress the force ripple of SRLMs. However, because DMC uses a fixed predictive model, it has high requirements for the accuracy of the predictive model, and the non-linear SRLMs make it difficult to adapt to different loads. To ease this problem, the IGPC proposed in this paper adopts a more flexible predictive model and improves the generalized predictive controller (GPC) to avoid solving the Diophantine equation online, which can adapt to different loads and reduce the system's burden. Besides, the proposed IGPC reduces the computational burden during matrix operations compared to DMC. In the simulation and experimental test based on a 100W 6/4 double-sided SRLM (DSRLM), the proposed IGPC is compared with DMC, and the force distribution function (FDF) adopts the current hysteresis, the results show that the proposed IGPC a better force ripple suppressing performance and has better load capacity compared with DMC

Emulation of IP Core Network for Testing of the Serving GRPS Support Node (SGSN) Routing Application

This thesis aims to investigate a method and tool for emulation of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) core network needed as an environment to test the routing functionality. GPRS is the most widely adopted mobile packet data delivery technology in the world. It utilizes an Intranet Protocol (IP)-based core network and involves significant changes to the way the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) air interface is structured. It also forms the basis of the future structure of mobile network transmission and switching. The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) is the most fundamental node in GPRS. Ericsson produces and manages an increasing number of SGSN nodes in the world. One of main functionalities of SGSN node is to forward IP packets according to the destination address in the IP header on IP core network. In each new release of SGSN, or when implementation or upgrades have been done on routing application on SGSN, design and test engineers at Ericsson need to emulate the IP core network. This must be done with use of many routers to generate huge amounts of data that can simulate the real world IP core network. The major goal of this thesis was to analyze and verifying the use of a suitable and economical solution to emulating IP Core Network of the GPRS system for testing of different functionality of the routing application running in SGSN , instead of building up a physical Core Network with different infrastructure and many routers. The method chosen for emulating the IP core network with many routers, and investigated in the thesis, is based on a Cisco simulator called “Dynamips”, which runs many actual Cisco Internetwork Operating Systems (IOS) with many different models of Cisco products in a virtual environment on Windows or Linux platforms. With this simulator, engineers at Ericsson will be able to use this simulator to emulate IP core network easily and efficiently to accomplish system test cases. A conclusion of this work is that Dynamips could be used to emulate many complicated IP core network scenarios, with many routers to generate huge amounts of data to simulate the real world IP core network. The emulated system fulfils its purpose for testing of the routing application of SGSN regarding different functionality and characteristics. This is done to ensure and verify that SGSN routing application meets its functional and technical requirements, and also helps to find undiscovered errors as well as helps to ensure that the individual components of routing application on SGSN are working correctly

Reduction of inappropriate principal features of the switched reluctance motor using sinusoidal rotor configuration

Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive analysis, electromagnetic evaluation, and prototyping of a novel motor structure called the sinusoidal rotor switched reluctance motor. In this innovative design, a significant departure from the conventional switched reluctance motor is observed, as modifications are made to the rotor with the goal of reduction torque ripple and radial force characteristics. Importantly, despite these advancements, the proposed motor retains the weight and volume characteristics of the traditional, type. The key attributes of these motors have been thoroughly assessed using the three‐dimensional finite element method, complemented by a sensitivity analysis aimed at identifying the most optimal configuration within the proposed design. The findings reveal that the suggested structure successfully achieves a notable reduction in torque ripple and radial force when compared to the traditional counterpart, albeit with an expected reduction in average torque. These features render the new topology particularly well‐suited for applications that prioritise noise and vibration reduction. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed topology is corroborated through experimental tests, providing empirical evidence of its advantages and potential for practical applications