A thermodynamic analysis of forced convection through porous media using pore scale modeling

The flow thorough porous media is analyzed from a thermodynamic perspective, with a particular focus on the entropy generation inside the porous media, using a pore scale modeling approach. A single representative elementary volume was utilized to reduce the CPU time. Periodic boundary conditions were employed for the vertical boundaries, by re-injecting the velocity and temperature profiles from the outlet to the inlet and iterating. The entropy generation was determined for both circular and square cross-sectional configurations, and the effects of different Reynolds numbers, assuming Darcy and Forchheimer regimes, were also taken into account. Three porosities were evaluated and discussed for each cross-sectional configuration, and streamlines, isothermal lines and the local entropy generation rate contours were determined and compared. The local entropy generation rate contours indicated that the highest entropy generation regions were close to the inlet for low Reynolds flows and near the central cylinder for high Reynolds flows. Increasing Reynolds number from 100 to 200 reveals disturbances in the dimensionless volume averaged entropy generation rate trend that may be due to a change in the fluid flow regime. According to Bejan number evaluation for both cross-section configurations, it is demonstrated that is mainly provoked by the heat transfer irreversibility. A performance evaluation criterion parameter was calculated for different case-studies. By this parameter, conditions for obtaining the least entropy generation and the highest Nusselt number could be achieved simultaneously. Indeed, this parameter utilizes both the first and the second laws of thermodynamics to present the best case-study. According to the performance evaluation criterion, it is indicated that the square cross-section configuration with o=0.64 exhibits better thermal performance for low Reynolds number flows. A comparison between the equal porosity cases for two different cross-sectional configurations indicated that the square cross-section demonstrated a higher performance evaluation criterion than the circular cross-section, for a variety of different Reynolds numbers

Wound antiseptic plants: An overview of the most important medicinal plants in iran affecting wound infections

Surgical site infection refers to infection in surgical site which is created within 30 days after surgery. Infection may occur by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi and worms. In traditional Iranian medicine, many plants are used to control and treat infections. Therefore, the present paper aims to recognize and introduce antiseptic medicinal herbs by which we can produce effective natural remedies for infection control. Medicinal herbs such as chamomile, flax, veneris, oleander, savory, mallow, castor, sage, garlic, harmala etc. are the most important medicinal plants for disinfecting wounds in Iran. © 2009-2016, JGPT. All Rights Reserved

A radiographic survey of eggshell powder effect on tibial bone defect repair tested in dog

Abstract. Objective: Nowadays, skeletal system injuries are of major importance. In addition, it is recommended to use materials for hard tissue repair in open or closed fractures. It is important to use complex minerals with a beneficial effect on hard tissue repair, stimulating cell growth in the bone. Materials that could help avoid bone fracture inflammatory reaction and speed up bone fracture repair are of utmost importance in the treatment of bone fractures.Material and Method: Similar to minerals, the inner eggshell membrane consists of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins with high pH, high calcium absorptive capacity and with faster bone fracture repair ability. In the present radiographic survey, eggshell-derived bone graft substitutes were used for bone defect repair in 8 dog tibia, measuring bone density on the day of implant placement and 30 and 60 days after placement. Results: In fact, the result of this study shows the difference in bone growth and misshapen bones between treatment and control sites. Conclusion: Cell growth was adequate in treatment sites and misshapen bones were less frequent here than in control sites

Evaluation of the frequency of phenotype and genotype of Van A and Van B genes in vancomycine resistant enterococcus isolated from clinical sample of Alzahra Hospitals in Isfahan

زمینه و هدف: انتروکوک ها جزء فلور طبیعی دستگاه گوارش انسان می باشند، ولی تحت شرایطی می توانند باعث عفونت شوند و نقش مهمی در پخش ژن های مقاومت و ایجاد سویه های مقاوم به آنتی بیوتیک دارند. با افزایش استفاده از آنتی بیوتیک ونکومایسین، انتروکوک های مقاوم به وانکومایسین (VRE)یکی از پاتوژن های شایع بیمارستانی در سراسر دنیا هستند. ﺍﻳﻦ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪ با هدف ﺑﺮﺭﺳﻰ شیوع و فراوانی ژن های ﻣﻘﺎﻭﻣﺖ ﺩﺭ ﺳﻄﺢ ﻓﻨﻮﺗﻴﭙﻰ‬ ﻭ ژﻧﻮﺗﻴﭙﻰ در انتروکوک های مقاوم به وانکومایسین انجام شده است.‬ ‫ﺭﻭﺵ بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی مقطعی، پس از جداسازی و تشخیص 165 سویه انتروکوک از نمونه های بالینی بخش های مختلف بیمارستان الزهرا (س) اصفهان در سال 1390 ﻭ ﺍﻧﺠﺎﻡ ﺗﺴﺖ ﻫﺎﻯ ﺗﺄﻳﻴﺪﻯ، ﺍﻧﺘﺮﻭﻛﻮﻙﻫﺎ ﺍﺯ ﻧﻈﺮ ﻣﻘﺎﻭﻣﺖ ﺑﻪ ﻭاﻧﻜﻮﻣﺎﻳﺴﻴﻦ ﺑﺎ ﺭﻭﺵ ﺍﻧﺘﺸﺎﺭ ﺩﻳﺴﻚ ﻭ همچنین آزمون E-test مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. نمونه های انتروکوک های مقاوم به وانکومایسین با استفاده از روش Real Time-PCR از لحاظ وجود ژن های مقاوم به وانکومایسین VanA و VanB مورد مطالعه قرار گرفت. ﻳافته ها: نتایج نشان داد از میان 165 ایزوله انتروکوک جمع آوری شده از نمونه های بالینی 79(48) انتروکوک با روش انتشار دیسک به ونکومایسین مقاوم بودند، اما با روش E-test فقط 40(25) انتروکوک دارای مقاومت سطح بالا به ونکومایسین بودند. با روش Real time-PCR از 40 نمونه مورد نظر 37 مورد (5/92) حاوی ژن Van A و 3 مورد (5/7) حاوی ژن Van B بودند. نتیجه گیری :براساس نتایج به دست آمده، تعداد سویه های جدا شده دارای ژن VanA بیشتر از سویه های جدا شده دارای ژن VanB در بیمارستان الزهرا (س) اصفهان می باشد. روش ژنوتیپی Real time-PCR دارای اختصاصیت بالا نسبت به روش های فنوتیپی انتشار دیسک و E-TEST را می باشد

An overview of the effectiveness of the most important native medicinal plants of iran on hemorrhoid based on iranian traditional medicine textbooks

Hemorrhoid diseaseoccursfollowing the blood-filling of vascular structures of submucosal networks in the anal area. Patients usually feel no painsand the symptoms include a feeling of rectal congestion, mucus secretion, and bright red blood dripping. Surgical treatment is of the most common treatment methods of hemorrhoid. In addition to the usual treatments, classic therapies and complementary medicine are also applied. Medicinal herbs have been traditionally a source for the treatment of many diseases. Many native medicinal plants of Iran have had effective properties on hemorrhoid. Thus, in this review,the effective medicinal plants of Iranian ethnobotanical resources on hemorrhoid were reported. In this review study, a search for articles by the keywords hemorrhoid,ethnobotanical, and medicinal plants was done. A search on the databases, such as Scopus, ISI C, S ID, MegIran,and a number of other databases was performed. Based on the results obtained, 11 herbs from different parts of Iran are traditionally used to treat anorexia. Such medicinal plants as pistachio from mountainous trees, yarrow, camel thorn, etc. are of the effective herbs on hemorrhoid. © 2009-2016, JGPT. All Rights Reserved

Frequent use of stun gun may be associated with vibrationinduced Raynaud’s phenomenon: A case series

Introduction: Stun guns are energy-conducting weapons that are becoming more frequently used by law enforcement officials to subdue combative individuals, or civilians for the case of security. Although complications related to stun guns are well known for the victim, less is known about stun guns complications among their users. Case Series: In this case series, we reported vibration-induced Raynaud’s phenomenon in four individuals who were recurrent users of stun guns. Two patients were male and two were female. Symptoms varied from moderate to severe. Although both hands were involved, symptoms were more severe in the right hand. Nifedipine was prescribed for all cases. Two patients received Losartan, as well. All patients reported a decrease in their symptoms in follow-up visits. Conclusion: While further research is needed, clinicians should remain vigilant to stun gun usage as a possible cause of Raynaud’s phenomenon

A Comparison of Selective Classification Methods in DNA Microar¬ray Data of Cancer: Some Recommendations for Application in Health Promotion

Background: The aim of this study was to apply a new method for se¬lecting a few genes, out of thousands, as plausible markers of a disease.Methods: Hierarchical clustering technique was used along with Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Naïve Bayes (NB) classifiers to select marker-genes of three types of breast cancer. In this method, at each step, one sub¬ject is left out and the algorithm iteratively selects some clusters of genes from the remainder of subjects and selects a representative gene from each cluster. Then, classifiers are constructed based on these genes and the accu¬racy of each classifier to predict the class of left-out subject is recorded. The classifier with higher precision is considered superior.Results: Combining classification techniques with clustering method re¬sulted in fewer genes with high degree of statistical precision. Although all classifiers selected a few genes from pre-determined highly ranked genes, the precision did not decrease. SVM precision was 100% with 22 genes instead of 50 genes while the NB resulted in higher precision of 97.95% in this case. When 20 highly ranked genes selected to be fed to the algorithm, same precision was obtained using 6 and 5 genes with SVM and NB clas¬sifiers respectively.Conclusion: Using hybrid method could be effective in choosing fewer number of plausible marker genes so that the classification precision of these markers is increased. In addition, this method enables detecting new plausible markers that their association to disease under study is not bio¬logically proved

Bilateral Primary Intraocular Lymphoma

Purpose: To report a case of bilateral primary intraocular lymphoma. Case report: A 33-year-old man presented with bilateral blurred vision since two years ago. Examination revealed large keratic precipitates, anterior chamber reaction, posterior subcapsular cataracts, and vitreous infiltration. After a short trial of topical and periocular steroids, diagnostic 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy was performed and cytologic evaluation of the aspirate confirmed a diagnosis of intraocular lymphoma. The patient was subsequently managed with intravitreal methotrexate in both eyes and responded favorably. Central nervous system workup for lymphoma was negative. Conclusion: Primary intraocular lymphoma should be considered in young adults suffering from chronic recalcitrant panuveitis

Therapeutic Possibilities of Ceftazidime Nanoparticles in Devastating Pseudomonas Ophthalmic Infections; Keratitis and Endophthalmitis

As the number of contact‐lens wearers rises worldwide, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) keratitis is attracting more attention as a major public health issue. Corneal lesions of PA, being the most intimidating complication of contact‐lens wearer, can progress rapidly in spite of local antibiotic treatment, and may result in perforation and the permanent loss of vision. One of the explanations proposed for the evasion of the pathogen from immune responses of the host as well as antibacterial treatment is the fact that invasive clinical isolates of PA have the unusual ability to invade and replicate within surface corneal epithelial cells. In this manner, PA is left with an intracellular sanctuary. Endophthalmitis, albeit rare, is another ophthalmic infection faced by the challenge of drug delivery that can be potentially catastrophic. The present hypothesis is that nanoparticles can carry anti‐pseudomonas antibiotics (e.g. ceftazidime) through the membranes, into the “hidden zone” of the pathogen, hence being an effective and potent therapeutic approach against pseudomonas keratitis and endophthalmitis

a cross-sectional study

Background The purpose of this study is to assess attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in individuals aged 15–49 years in Tehran. Methods Utilizing the attitudes section of an original cross-sectional study (n = 755) aimed at assessing sexual health needs of adults, this paper examined personal attitudes towards premarital dating, non-sexual relationships and sexual encounters in both male and female adults aged between 15–49 years. Multi-stage cluster random sampling and a validated/reliable questionnaire were used. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using statistical software. Results The results indicated that the majority of the participants were supportive of dating. Almost three-fourths of the males were more positively inclined towards non-sexual, yet tactile, affectionate interactions between unmarried males and females as opposed to only half of the females (70 % vs. 50.5 %). Also, males held significantly more liberal attitudes than females in their acceptance of premarital sex. On preserving virginity prior to marriage, 43 % of the males felt that it was important for a female to be a virgin, whereas only 26 % felt it was important for males to remain a virgin. Interestingly, more females (61 %) supported the importance of a female’s virginity compared with the importance of males’ virginity (48 %). This study showed that, being a male, of a younger age, single, and being less religious or being secular were important determinants of a liberal sexual attitude. Conclusion These results might reflect a socio-cultural transition in the sexual attitudes of different age groups of participants - a phenomenon that will need empirical studies to unpack in the Iranian socio-cultural context