Cephalometric Comparison of Position of the Hyoid Bone in Class I and Class II Patients

Background: According to the close proximity of hyoid bone with dentofacial structures and its muscular attachments, a probable relationship between it and different types of skeletal patterns is suspected. Objectives: The aim of this study is compare the position of hyoid bone in skeletal class I and class II patients. Methods: In this study 50 cephalograms were divided into two groups, skeletal class I (1 ≤ ANB ≤ 4) and skeletal class II (ANB > 4), with 24 and 26 patients in each group, respectively. Horizontal and vertical position of hyoid bone were evaluated. SPSS software and student t-test were used to analyze the data. Results: According to the results of our study, there is no statistically significant difference between the hyoid bone position in skeletal class I and skeletal class II patients. Conclusions: Since the hyoid bone position is similar in skeletal class I and class II patients, the skeletal pattern is not the only determinant of the position of hyoid bon

Damage evaluation of H-section steel columns under impulsive blast loads via gene expression programming

Increasing terrorist attacks towards ordinary or strategic buildings and soft targets represent one of the major impetus to improve existing methods of design for blast-resistant structures. When a building undergoes an extreme dynamic event such as blast or impact, local damage of its key structural components (i.e., the columns) may lead to severe failure and even collapse of the entire building. Consequently, the availability of simplified, time efficient and reliable methods of analysis can be relevant for design. In this paper, H-section steel columns subjected to blast loads are numerically investigated, so as to derive practical formulations for damage evaluation assessment. The strategy is based on parametric Finite Element (FE) models (with up to 5600 configurations), validated towards experiments and, used as an extensive data bank, for further elaboration via Gene Expression Programming. Analytical formulations are in fact proposed for calculating some relevant parameters of design, such as (a) the initial and (b) the residual axial capacity of the examined columns. The collected results show that the proposed formulations can offer a good level of accuracy and high calculation efficiency for blast loaded H-section steel columns. In addition, an expression is proposed to relate the damage index (based residual axial capacity) to the conventional displacement/rotational index. Sensitivity analyses and some calculation examples are finally presented, to further investigate the potential of the approach for design purposes

Evaluation of spironolactone plus hydrochlorothiazide in reducing proteinuria in type 2 diabetic nephropathy

Introduction: Inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) are the basic drugs for treatment of diabetic nephropathy, as to some extent is spironolactone. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of spironolactone versus spironolactone plus hydrochlorothiazide in decreasing proteinuria in type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) patients. Methods: In a double-blind clinical trial, 60 T2DM patients with nephropathy randomly assigned to three equal groups were enrolled. Spironolactone (50 mg/day) plus placebo, spironolactone (50 mg/day) plus hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg/day), and hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg/day) plus placebo were prescribed, respectively. The duration of treatment was three months for all patients. Urine protein was measured at the beginning and end of the study and analysis of data was performed. Results: Twenty-six of the patients were male, with a total mean age of 56.88.3 years. Mean 24-h urine protein was reduced in patients in groups 1 and 2 compared to the third group (p < 0.001). Serum potassium in the first group showed a significant increase of 0.26 meq/lit with mean 4.64 +/- 0.28 meq/lit (p=0.002), but it did not change in the second and third groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that spironolactone plus hydrochlorothiazide is an effective and inexpensive modality in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy without increasing serum potassium

A Branching Process for Convergent Product Optimization

We consider a discrete time branching process where the population consists of k types of convergent products, an action is chosen for that which affects the lifetime, the number and types of its functions, and the profit received. The problem of maximizing the expected profit is shown to be equivalent to a generalized Markov decision problem of maximizing the expected profit is shown to be equivalent to a generalized Markov decision problem where the  transition matrices are non-negative but not necessarily sub stochastic

Comparison of Ultrasonography and Intravenous Urography in the Screening and Diagnosis of Hematuria Causes

&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction:&lt;/strong&gt; Our aim was to compare transabdominal ultrasonography (US) and intravenous urography (IVU) in the evaluation of patients with hematuria.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Materials and Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Two hundred patients with hematuria were assessed by US and IVU, and if needed, by cystoscopy, ureteroscopy, and CT scan, to determine the definite cause of hematuria. The results of US and IVU were compared according to the definite diagnoses.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Of 97 patients with microscopic hematuria, 44 (45%) had a documented cause for hematuria, and of 103 patients with gross hematuria, 76 (74%) had a definite disorder (P &lt; .001). Urinary calculi were found in 105 patients, 93 (88.5%) and 73 (69.5%) of which were detected by US and IVU, respectively (P &lt; .001). There were 3 and 6 cases of kidney and bladder neoplasms, respectively, all of which were revealed by US, but only 2 renal tumors were detectable on IVU. Ultrasonography had a higher sensitivity than IVU for diagnoses of kidney calculi, lower ureteral calculi, and urologic neoplasms (95.3% versus 65.1% for kidney calculi, P = .039; 89.7% versus 69.2% for lower ureteral calculi, P &lt; .001; and 100% versus 22.3% for urologic neoplasms, P &lt; .001), but in calculi of the middle and upper ureter and of the whole ureter, there were no differences between US and IVU.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/strong&gt; Our results are in favor of using US in the initial evaluation of hematuria. However, we must choose our diagnostic tool according to the patient’s condition and suspected disorders causing hematuria.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Correlation evaluation of sexuality disorders with serum Prolactin, adequacy of dialysis, and some laboratory findings in Hemodialysis patients

Background: Sexuality disorders and infertility are common in hemodialysis patients and may be due to hormonal disorders, uremic milieu, drugs effect and psychological problems. The aim of this study was the evaluation of association between sexuality disorders and some demographic and laboratory indices in hemodialysis patients. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 60 male hemodialysis patients in Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari Province, southwest of Iran, were studied. Demographic criteria including age, blood pressure, and laboratory findings such as before and after dialysis serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), parathyroid hormone (PTH), Ca, P, K, prolactin, Fe, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and ferritin levels and dialysis efficacy index (Clearance multiplied by time/volume or Kt/V) were obtained for all participants. Sexually function was evaluated using International index of erectile function-15 (IIEF-15) check-list. Findings: Mean age of the patients was 58.9 ± 19.9 years. The patients had significant disorders in all aspects of sexually functions including erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction (P < 0.05 for all). Sexually function decreased significantly with increasing age. Serum PTH level was inversely correlated with erectile function and overall sexual satisfaction. Post dialysis BUN was associated with orgasmic dysfunction and intercourse satisfaction problem. In addition, pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure was inversely correlated with orgasmic function and overall intercourse satisfaction. Conclusion: Our findings showed that in Hemodialysis patients, control of hyperparathyroidism and blood pressure, and increasing of dialysis efficacy may lead to improvement of sexually function in hemodialysis patients

Association of retinopathy and intima media thickness of common carotid artery in type 2 diabetic patients

Background: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the relationship between retinopathy and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 154 diabetic patients who had a history of diabetic disease were evaluated in two equal groups of 77 patients with and without retinopathy, respectively. CIMT was evaluated in all of the patients. Results: Mean age of the patients was 59.65 +/- 9.37 years. Mean CIMT of all patients was 0.84 +/- 0.18. CIMT of patients with retinopathy was significantly greater than patients without retinopathy (P < 0.001). CIMT also correlated with age, duration of diabetes, systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine. Conclusion: CIMT may be used as a simple, available and noninvasive method for screening of macro and microvascular complication of diabetic patients

Clinical and Radiographic Alterations in Bilateral Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head Following Laser Acupuncture: A Case Report

Introduction: Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head is an increasingly common cause of musculoskeletal disability with unknown etiology. Traumatic and non-traumatic factors can be effective in its occurrence. About 50% of cases are bilateral. The underlying treatment is prosthetic replacement surgical procedure.Case Presentation: We report a case of bilateral AVN of femoral heads who was a candidate for prosthetic replacement surgery but improved significantly, using laser acupuncture. The patient was a 55-year-old woman with a diagnosis of bilateral osteonecrosis of the femoral head for five years. As the patient declined the surgical option, laser acupuncture was started for pain control. Regarding the signs of bilateral femoral head recovery (according to the MRI scan criteria), a total of 3 courses of laser acupuncture (each course was 20 sessions) with 2 months intervals was performed. Ten acupuncture points: Li4, Li11, St36, SP6, LIV3, GB4, GB5, GB6, GB13, GB14, GB20, GB30, GB31, GB34, were irradiated bilaterally using red 650 nm laser, 100 mW, 1505 Hz frequency, duty cycle 50 3 J/point and near infrared 810 nm laser, 100 mW, 1705 Hz frequency, duty cycle 50 3 J/point, for 2 minutes. The patient received 3 laser therapy courses. During the first-course, laser therapy was done every other day to reduce pain. For the second and third courses, according to pain decrease, therapy was done every week.Results: The results of the MRI scans and x-ray studies show progressive regeneration of the right femoral head from VI to B II and of the left from V to C II (based on the standard table of Pennsylvania).Conclusion: It seems that this procedure may be mentioned in future research projects, especially in cases with high risks of surgery