Insomnia and restless leg syndrome in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis in Rafsanjan ali ibn abitaleb hospital

Background: Sleep is one of the most fundamental human needs; without any doubt sleep is even more essential for sick patients, especially for patients with chronic illnesses. Sleep disturbance may lead to anxiety and reduced quality of life. Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a sensory-motor disorder accompanied by a strong desire to move the legs or other parts of the body, which can cause sleep disturbance. Its etiology is unknown, but increased urea and creatinine levels before dialysis, iron deficiency due to kidney failure and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are mentioned as causes. Objectives: This study is designed to examine the prevalence of insomnia and restless leg syndrome in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis in Rafsanjan Ali Ibn Abitaleb Hospital. Patients and Methods: In this study we used two questionnaires to evaluate the presence of RLS and insomnia in ESRD patients who were undergoing hemodialysis treatment as kidney replacement therapy. Results: According to our results, 54.5 of patients were diagnosed with RLS, and of those 65.2 and 42.9 were women and men, respectively. RLS is seen more often among patients with blood group type A, but this result was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant correlation between RLS and a positive family history of RLS, between RLS and the number of hemodialysis treatments per week and also between RLS and the Insomnia Severity Index. Unlike previous studies, in this study we did not find any statistically significant correlation between RLS and biochemical factors such as serum iron, TIBC, BUN, creatinine, potassium, calcium and phosphorous levels. Conclusions: The frequency of RLS among our patients was remarkable and we conclude that all patients who are undergoing hemodialysis should be screened for RLS, which can assist in providing proper attention and treatment. © 2016, Nephrology and Urology Research Center

The spread-F Experiment (SpreadFEx): Program overview and first results

We performed an extensive experimental campaign (the spread F Experiment, or SpreadFEx) from September to November 2005 to attempt to define the role of neutral atmosphere dynamics, specifically wave motions propagating upward from the lower atmosphere, in seeding equatorial spread F and plasma bubbles extending to higher altitudes. Campaign measurements focused on the Brazilian sector and included ground-based optical, radar, digisonde, and GPS measurements at a number of fixed and temporary sites. Related data on convection and plasma bubble structures were also collected by GOES 12 and the GUVI instrument aboard the TIMED satellite. Initial results of our analyses of SpreadFEx and related data indicate 1) extensive gravity wave (GW) activity apparently linked to deep convection predominantly to the west of our measurement sites, 2) the presence of small-scale GWactivity confined to lower altitudes, 3) larger-scaleGWactivity apparently penetrating to much higher altitudes suggested by electron density and TEC fluctuations in the E and F regions, 4) substantial GW amplitudes implied by digisonde electron densities, and 5) apparent direct links of these perturbations in the lower F region to spread F and plasma bubbles extending to much higher altitudes. Related efforts with correlative data are defining 6) the occurrence and locations of deep convection, 7) the spatial and temporal evolutions of plasma bubbles, the 8) 2D (height-resolved) structures of plasma bubbles, and 9) the expected propagation of GWs and tides from the lower atmosphere into the thermosphere and ionosphere

Overview and Summary of the Spread F Experiment (SpreadFex)

We provide here an overview of, and a summary of results arising from, an extensive experimental campaign (the Spread F Experiment, or SpreadFEx) performed from September to November 2005, with primary measurements in Brazil. The motivation was to define the potential role of neutral atmosphere dynamics, specifically gravity wave motions propagating upward from the lower atmosphere, in seeding Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) and plasma bubbles extending to higher altitudes. Campaign measurements focused on the Brazilian sector and included ground-based optical, radar, digisonde, and GPS measurements at a number of fixed and temporary sites. Related data on convection and plasma bubble structures were also collected by GOES 12, and the GUVI instrument aboard the TIMED satellite

Antibacterial Activity of Methanol Extract of Achillea Wilhe lmsii C. Koch Flower and Leaf

Background and Objectives: Infection diseaseshave always been an important concern of human being and attracted theattention of a large number of professionals from the medical and laboratory community. On the other hand, antibiotic treatment can bring about microbial resistance and many side effects. Therefore, using medical plants with fewer side effects can be of great help in the treatment of these infections. The aim of this study was to examine antimicrobial effects of the flowers and leaves of methanol extract of Achilleawilhelmsii on the growth of some pathogenic bacteria.Methods: In this study, methanol extracts were obtained by Soxhlet apparatus and Rotary and were tested invitro against 4 bacteria species: Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Escherchia coli. Several concentrations of flowers and leaves of methanol extracts (20,30,50,400 mg/ml) were prepared by using DMSO solvent and then antimicrobial activity was tested using Agar well diffusion and dilution Test. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and AVONA statistical tests (p<0/001).Results: The results of this study showed that this plant had antimicrobial effects. Flower and leaves of methanol extracts had more inhibitory activity on Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, On the other hand, weak inhibition was observed in the Escherchia coli and thus did not have any inhibitory effect on Pseudomonas aeroginosa. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the flowers and leaves of methanol extracts of Achilleawilhelmsii have excellent antimicrobial effect on some of the bacteria. Therefore, its effect is better than that of selected antibiotics. However, we will be able to carry out researches for using this plant in the treatment of diseases

Epidemiology of COPD in Inpatients

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in both industrialized and developing countries and is projected to be the third most common cause of death in both men and women by the year 2020. Methods: This descriptive (case series) study evaluated risk factors of 300 COPD patients admitted in Shahid Sadoughi and Shohadaye Kargar hospitals of Yazd using the respiratory disease questionnaires. Results: 81.34% were men, 18.66% were women and their age range was between 33-92 years but majority of patients were in the 65-74 years age group (41.34%). Mean age of women were more than men which was significant (70.858.68). The results were as follows: Cigarette smoking was the only risk factor in 18.7% (23% of men), 43.6% had occupational COPD(87.5% of Women & 33.6% of Men), while 35% had both the risk factors (5.4% of Women & 41.7% of Men) and 2.7% had an underling disease as the only risk factor.55% of patients had only one risk factor (76.8% of Women & 50% of Men), 39.3% had two and 5.6% of patients had more than two risk factors. 77.7% of patients had occupational exposure overall, the most frequent occupation was farming but in women it was bread making in the bakery. The most frequent underling disease was HTN (29%) but the most frequent related disease was allergy (9.3%). There was a relationship between number of risk factors, duration of symptoms and disease severity but sex, type of job and different risk factors had no significant effects on it. Mean of FEV1 did not differ significantly in men and women (35.7416.57). Conclusion: Majority of patients were more than 65 years of age. The most frequent risk factor was occupational exposure that shows its important role in development of disease in both men & women. It is therefore necessary to perform screening tests like spirometry in this high risk group. Type of job, risk factor and sex had no effects on disease severity but number of risk factors had a significant effect this indicates that combination of risk factors is more important than type of risk factor for example we should try to prevent smoking in people with occupational exposure. Duration of symptoms also had a significant effect on severity and therefore emotional support, intensive treatment and rehabilitation programs should be considered in patients with chronic symptoms

Electrochemical Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions Using Taguchi Experimental Design

Taguchi optimization method (L32 orthogonal array) was applied as an experimental design to determine optimum conditions for methylene blue dye removal from aqueous solutions by electrocoagulation (EC). Various electrocoagualtion parameters such as initial pH, time of electrolysis, concentration of dye, electrodes gap, applied current, solution temperature, amount of supporting electrolyte, design and materials of electrodes were investigated. The results have been analyzed using signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The amount of electrolyte parameter has been found to be the most significant parameter on the color removal. The study shows that the Taguchi’s method is suitable to optimize the experiments for dye removal

Parameter estimation for instantaneous spectral imaging

Spectral imaging is a fundamental diagnostic technique in physical sciences with widespread application. Conventionally, spectral imaging techniques rely on a scanning process, which renders them unsuitable for dynamic scenes. Here we study the problem of estimating the physical parameters of interest from the measurements of a non-scanning spectral imager based on a parametric model. This inverse problem, which can be viewed as a multi-frame deblurring problem, is formulated as a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation problem. The global optimum of the nonlinear MAP problem is found using an efficient dynamic programming algorithm. Lastly, the method is illustrated for an application in solar spectral imaging. Numerical results suggest that estimation accuracy is comparable to the conventional slit spectroscopy, but with the added benefit of a two-dimensional field-of-view