characteristic Findings of primary sclerosing cholangitis on endoscopic Retrograde cholangiography: Which is the Most common Finding?

Abstract Background: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease and one of the most common indications for cholangiography (ERCP). We undertook this study to clarify whether there is a specific pattern of involvement of the biliary tract in patients with PSC and to evaluate features of PSC disease on ERCP in order to be able to manage this disease better. Methods: This retrospective study included 45 patients admitted to Taleghani Hospital in 2004–2010 and diagnosed to have PSC on the basis of typical cholangiographic findings in combination with clinical and laboratory data. Patients suspected to have secondary sclerosing cholangitis were excluded. Demographic and clinical data were recorded, along with cholangiographic findings and the frequency of large duct and small duct PSC. Results: Forty-five patients of mean age 34.8 (range 15–66) years were included. Twenty-nine patients (64.4%) had inflammatory bowel disease, and the frequency of large duct PSC and small duct PSC was 93.4% and 6.6%, respectively. The intrahepatic ducts alone were involved in 11 (24.4%) patients and the extrahepatic ducts were involved in 14 (31.1%), with 17 (37.7%) patients having both intrahepatic and extrahepatic PSC. Three (6.6%) patients did not have bile duct involvement on ERCP, and their disease was diagnosed by liver biopsy as small duct PSC. The most common type of cholangiographic feature of intrahepatic duct involvement was type 2, found in 15 (33.3%) patients, with type 3 being the most common type of extrahepatic duct involvement and detected in 16 (35.5%) patients. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the most common PSC finding on ERCP is involvement of both the extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts, with small duct PSC being less common than large duct PSC

Medium term load forecasting in distribution systems based on multi linear regression & principal component analysis: A novel approach:A novel approach

An accurate medium term load forecast (MTLF) is essential for expansion planning studies of distribution systems. Also the mid-term electric load as a function of time has a complex nonlinear behavior which makes the ordinary linear prediction methods seems insufficient. In this paper, a combination of multi linear regression and principle components analysis is used to predict weekly electrical peak load of Yazd city distribution system. According to the prediction results, main benefits of proposed method are simplicity of calculations and high accuracy forecasting for multi-horizon predictions. MATLAB© is used to implement the forecaster model

Investigation of the Strength and Thickness of Upper Posterior Cervical Muscles in Women with Tension Headache

Introduction: In the etiology of tension type headache, the weakness of the upper posterior cervical muscles is associated to myofascial pain in cranio-cervical area. The aim of this study was to compare the strength and the thickness of the upper posterior neck muscles in women with chronic tension type headache and healthy control. Materials and methods: The strength and the thickness of upper posterior neck muscles were measured in 33 women (16 women with chronic tension type headache and 16 healthy controls). The strength of the upper cervical extensor muscles and the thickness of semispinalis capitis, splenius capitis, rectus capitis posterior major and oblique capitis superior muscles were measured by a custom made isometric device and a real-time ultrasonography machine. Pain was assessed by a visual analogue scale. Results: The strength of the muscles was significantly lower in patients with chronic tension type headache than the control group (P<0.001). Only, the thicknesses of rectus capitis posterior major and oblique capitis superior muscles were significantly smaller in patients compare to the healthy controls (P<0.001). A statistical negative correlation had been found between the levels of pain and the strength of upper posterior neck muscles (r=-0.65, P=0.006). Conclusion: The results have indicated that rectus posterior major and oblique capitis superior muscles may be weaker in patients with chronic tension type headache than controls. The results may be useful when evaluating the patients with chronic tension type headache by means of the level of upper cervical muscle strength and the muscle thickness measurements.Keywords: Strength, Thickness, Tension Chronic Headache, Upper Posterior Neck Muscle

Medium term load forecasting in distribution systems based on multi linear regression & principal component analysis: A novel approach: A novel approach

An accurate medium term load forecast (MTLF) is essential for expansion planning studies of distribution systems. Also the mid-term electric load as a function of time has a complex nonlinear behavior which makes the ordinary linear prediction methods seems insufficient. In this paper, a combination of multi linear regression and principle components analysis is used to predict weekly electrical peak load of Yazd city distribution system. According to the prediction results, main benefits of proposed method are simplicity of calculations and high accuracy forecasting for multi-horizon predictions. MATLAB© is used to implement the forecaster model