Effectiveness of Current Therapy of Bacterial Vaginosis

The study was conducted in order to evaluate effectiveness of the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with different therapeutic regimes according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). During a one-year period (February 2000-February 2001) the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Center was visited by 482 women aged 14-51. The diagnosis of BV was established by standard methods: Amsel\u27s clinical criteria and Gram stain of vaginal discharge. The first-line treatment was oral Metronidazole 2 g single dose. Second line was Metronidazole 500 mg twice daily orally for 7 days or oral Clindamycin 300 mg twice daily for seven days. BV was confirmed in 74 women (15.4%). Most often it was observed in women aged 17-30 years of age. Thirty-three (44.6% of total) were young women 14-21 years of age. Thirty-one (42%) women received a follow-up examination and of those, 11 (38.7%) needed a repeat treatment for BV due to unsatisfactory results of this treatment. It is concluded that treatment of BV with standard methods was not always effective with no significant difference between women under 21 years and older women found in regards to response to treatment. Besides antibiotic treatment, the so-called Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus) can be taken into consideration as an alternative treatment. Additional research about the therapeutic effect of this type of drugs is needed

Androgen Excess Disorders in Women: The Severe Insulin-Resistant Hyperandrogenic Syndrome, HAIR-AN

HAIR-AN syndrome (hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, acanthosis nigricans) is a subset of the polycystic ovary syndrome, where the patients demonstrate severe insulin resistance. It is theorized that both genetic and environmental factors, such as obesity, give rise to the development of HAIR-AN. Diagnosis is primarily clinical, with laboratory values lending further support. Treatment is aimed at decreasing insulin resistance, regulating ovulation, and decreasing acne, acanthosis nigricans, and hirsutism

Two source energy balance model

Presented at the fifth international conference on irrigation and drainage, Irrigation and drainage for food, energy and the environment on November 3-6, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah.Includes bibliographical references.Spatial estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) from satellite imagery is important in agricultural studies because it provides information about the spatial variability of crop growing patterns and health, as well as for crop water requirements. The two-source energy balance model is one of the techniques used successfully in estimating ET spatially, through the estimation of surface energy fluxes such as sensible heat flux H, soil heat flux G, net radiation Rn, and latent heat flux LE, the latter being extrapolated to daily ET. The current study applies the two-source model to rain fed agricultural field located in the Walnut Creek watershed south of Ames, Iowa. Landsat TM images used to perform the analysis with the support of ground based data were acquired during the SMACEX project conducted in the summer of 2002. A visual basic interface called SETMI was programmed to interact with ArcGIS and perform the analysis spatially. A footprint model was used to compare the estimates of the different fluxes with measurements from eddy covariance flux towers. Two different closure methods were used to overcome the lack of closure problem in the eddy covariance measurements. Generally, the results show good agreements between the measurements and the estimates. The results show an underestimation of sensible heat flux with RMSE of 30 (Wm-2) and latent heat flux with RMSE of 45 (Wm-2). The net radiation and the soil heat flux shows RMSE of 17 (Wm-2) and 29 (Wm-2), respectively. The daily ET resulted in a RMSE of 0.71 (mm/day) and BIAS of -0.29 (mm/day)

Development and validation of spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for determination of cilnidipine

Purpose: To develop simple and reliable quantitative methods for the determination of cilnidipine (CLD) in pharmaceutical tablets.Methods: Two simple and sensitive methods (spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric) were developed for the determination of cilnidipine (CLD) in pure form and in a pharmaceutical preparation. Spectrophotometric method (A) is based on oxidation of CLD with a known excess amount of Nbromosuccinamide (NBS) in acidic medium, followed by addition of methyl orange indicator and absorbance measurement at 510 nm. The spectrofluorimetric method (B) is based on oxidation of CLD to cerium (IV), followed by measurement of fluorescence emission of Ce (III) at 350 nm. Factors that affect the performance of the two methods were studied and optimized.Results: The spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric procedures were successfully used for measuring CLD levels in pharmaceutical dosage form, in the ranges of 2.0 - 25.0 and 0.25 - 11.2 μg/mL, at detection limits of 1.05 and 0.13 μg/mL, respectively. There were no significant differences between the proposed methods and a standard reference method (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The developed methods provide simple and reliable procedures for quantitative measurement of CLD in bulk and tablet forms. Keywords: Cilnidipine, Oxidation, Spectrophotometric, Spectrofluorimetric, Drug formulatio

Prepubertal Office Gynecology

Clinical presentation and complaints of the vulvo-vaginal area are quite prevalent in the pediatric population and the primary care providers the first individuals called upon to evaluate the patients. One of the most difficult tasks for an individual that rarely performs the genitourinary examination is performing one on a pediatric patient. This chapter has been written to aid the primary care provider in successful examination, documentation and diagnosis

Dating Violence in Adolescence

Adolescent dating violence is a health and social problem, worldwide. The objective of this chapter was to identify the risk factors and consequences of dating violence, assess the prevention measures taken to increase awareness regarding it and provide an overview of the screening and interventional tools used to support the teens involved in dating violence. Methods: A review of the literature, published in the last 29 years, was conducted and the content was clinically analyzed. Conclusions: There is an increasing trend of dating violence in a younger population. Consistent definitions, comprehensive assessment tools and focused screening are required to assess the actual prevalence of dating violence. Dating history, context of the date, peer influence, prior history of abuse, alcohol and drugs have been identified as significant risk factors for dating violence. Dating violence has acute as well as long term effects on the body and mind. Since, victims may not report it or even may not identify dating violence as a hazard, the responsibility of screening for it lies heavily on health care providers. Interventional measures should be implemented in a non-judgmental manner, giving due importance to the safety of the adolescents. Primary prevention programs are the key feature to reduce dating violence and require the co-operative participation of several components of the community including school personnel, health care providers, parents and the youth

Stoichiometry and particle morphology effects on the aptitude to compaction of apatitic structure powders

Symposium on Powder Science and Technology - Powders and Sintered Material, Albi, FRANCE, MAY 23-25, 2007International audienceApatitic calcium phosphates powders with Ca/P molar ratio of 1.5 to 1.8 were synthesized at 25 degrees C using the neutralization method. These powders, differing by stoichiometry and particle morphology, were compacted in similar conditions. For a similar morphology of particles, compacts of the non-stoichiometric powders have better cohesion than those of the stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (Ca-10(PO4)(6)(OH)(2): Ca/P=11.67). The lacunar structure, with deficiency of calcium (Ca10-x (HPO4)(x)(PO4)(6-x)(OH)(2-x): 1.5 <Ca/P<1.67), seems to favour the densification process and cohesion between particles during the compaction. The better tensile strength (0.79 MPa) was obtained for the powder with the lowest atomic ratio (Ca/P=1.5, x=1). The apatite powder (Ca/P = 1.78), which has a smooth and porous structure, presented the best transmission load ratio (95.5%), the lowest die-wall friction (mu=0.1) and the highest strength (3.12 MPa). These results show the importance of chemical composition and morphological properties of synthesized particles in the development of better hydroxyapatite powders for the compaction process