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Giardiasis is one of the opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, especially among organ transplant recipients.This study aimed to investigate the prevalence ofA prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 heart transplant recipients (aged 1-17 years). Transplant patients were on oral Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) from the first day of transplantation as a prophylaxis regimen. The prevalence ofOut of 53 patients studied, 11 (20.75%) had gastrointestinal symptoms, and 42 (79.25%) were asymptomatic cases. No significant difference was observed between patients with and without gastrointestinal symptoms regarding type of heart disorders (p=0.13). The overall prevalence ofThe incidence of

Summary In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), inflammation is sustained by an exaggerated response of lymphocytes. This results from enhanced expression of anti-apoptotic B cell lymphoma (BCL-2) and BCL-XL associated with a diminished turnover. Azathioprine (AZA) directly targets BCL-2 family-mediated apoptosis. We investigated whether the BCL-2 family expression pattern could be used to predict treatment response to AZA and determined whether BCL-2 inhibitor A-1211212 effectively diminishes lymphocytes and ameliorates inflammation in a model of colitis. BCL-2 family expression pattern was determined by next-generation sequencing (NGS). BCL-2 inhibitor was administered orally to Il10-/- mice. Haematological analyses were performed with an ADVIA 2120 and changes in immune cells were investigated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS). We determined similar expression levels of BCL-2 family members in patients with remission and patients refractory to treatment, showing that BCL-2 family expression can not predict AZA treatment response. Expression was not correlated with the modified Truelove and Witts activity index (MTWAI). BCL-2 inhibitor initiated cell death in T cells from patients refractory to AZA and reduced lymphocyte count in Il10-/- mice. FACS revealed diminished CD8+ T cells upon BCL-2 inhibitor in Il10-/- mice without influencing platelets. Tnf, Il1β, IfnƔ and Mcp-1 were decreased upon BCL-2 inhibitor. A-1211212 positively altered the colonic mucosa and ameliorated inflammation in mice. Pro-apoptotic BCL-2 inhibitor A-1211212 diminishes lymphocytes and ameliorates colitis in Il10-/- mice without inducing thrombocytopenia. BCL-2 inhibition could be a new therapy option for patients refractory to AZA.

The development of light technologies, allowing anatomical visualisation of otherwise hidden structures, led to significant advances in ENT in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Natural light from the sun, and from candles, was initially harnessed using mirrors. Later, the invention of limelight and electricity preceded the emergence of the modern-day endoscope, which, in tandem with the discovery of coherent fibre-optics in the 1950s, significantly expanded the surgical repertoire available to otolaryngologists. This study aimed to trace the rich history of ENT through the specialty's use of light.

Summary Exaggerated activation of lymphocytes contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Medical therapies are linked to the BCL-2 family-mediated apoptosis. Imbalance in BCL-2 family proteins may cause failure in therapeutic responses. We investigated the role of BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-737 for lymphocyte apoptosis in mice under inflammatory conditions. B.6129P2-interleukin (IL)-10tm1Cgn/J (IL-10−/−) weighing 25–30 g with ongoing colitis were used. Fifty mg/kg/day ABT-737 was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.). Haematological analyses were performed with an ADVIA 2120 flow cytometer and mass cytometry with a CyTOF 2. Following i.p. administration, ABT-737 was detected in both spontaneous and acute colitis in peripheral blood (PBL) and colon tissue. Treatment led to lymphopenia. CD4+CD44+CD62L+ central memory and CD8+, CD44+ CD62L− central memory T cells were decreased in PBL upon ABT-737 compared to vehicle-receiving controls. Increased apoptosis upon ABT-737 was determined in blood lymphocytes, splenocytes and Peyer's patches and was accompanied by a decrease in TNF and IL-1B. ABT-737 positively altered the colonic mucosa and ameliorated inflammation, as shown by colonoscopy, histology and colon length. A decreased BIM/BCL-2 ratio or absence of BIM in both Bim−/− and Il10−/− × Bim−/− impeded the protective effect of ABT-737. The BIM/BCL-2 ratio decreased with age and during the course of treatment. Thus, long-term treatment resulted in adapted TNF levels and macroscopic mucosal damage. ABT-737 was efficacious in diminishing lymphocytes and ameliorating colitis in a BIM-dependent manner. Regulation of inappropriate survival of lymphocytes by ABT-737 may provide a therapeutic strategy in IBD.

We have employed Decision Tree, Artificial Neural Networks, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machine to improve churn prediction.Using the data of an Iranian mobile company these techniques were experienced and were compared to each other.We proposed a hybrid methodology which made considerable improvements to the value of some of evaluations metrics.Results showed that above 95% accuracy for Recall and Precision is easily achievable.A new methodology for extracting influential features is introduced and experienced. To survive in today's telecommunication business it is imperative to distinguish customers who are not reluctant to move toward a competitor. Therefore, customer churn prediction has become an essential issue in telecommunication business. In such competitive business a reliable customer predictor will be regarded priceless. This paper has employed data mining classification techniques including Decision Tree, Artificial Neural Networks, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machine so as to compare their performances. Using the data of an Iranian mobile company, not only were these techniques experienced and compared to one another, but also we have drawn a parallel between some different prominent data mining software. Analyzing the techniques' behavior and coming to know their specialties, we proposed a hybrid methodology which made considerable improvements to the value of some of the evaluations metrics. The proposed methodology results showed that above 95% accuracy for Recall and Precision is easily achievable. Apart from that a new methodology for extracting influential features in dataset was introduced and experienced.

A transparent thin layer of indium–tin oxide (ITO) is coated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by a spin coating process. The surface is treated by a pulsed Nd-YAG laser. We investigate the effect of laser treatment on crystallization and bonding processes of the thin layer using atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The best results are obtained when the pulse frequency, duration, and energy were 1000 Hz, 0.2 to 20 ms, and 25 to 40 J, respectively. The results show that the ITO layer coated on a flexible PET substrate is conductive and transparent. The sheet resistance obtained is 0.6 kΩ, and the transparency of a 350-nm layer in the visible range is more than 83.6%. Using the Nd-YAG laser treatment, we increase the conductivity by a factor of 100 times, and higher bonding performances are achieved.

The fragmentation processes of internal energy selected acetic acid anhydride cations, Ac2O+, were investigated by imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (iPEPICO) spectroscopy. The first dissociation channel leads to the formation of CH3C(O)OCO+ (m/z = 87) by a CH3-loss. The 0 K appearance energy (E0) was determined to be 10.289 ± 0.010 eV, in excellent agreement with the G4-calculated 10.28 eV transition state (TS) energy. Based on the thermochemical onset of CH3C(O)OCO+, a reverse barrier of 40 kJ mol−1 was found. The second dissociation channel leads to the formation of the acetyl cation, CH3CO+ (m/z = 43). The appearance of trace amounts of acetone in the mass spectra, statistical modeling of the branching ratios, and quantum chemical calculations point to the existence of a post-transition-state bifurcation on the potential energy surface and a single TS leading to multiple products. That is, at higher excess energies, the CH3-group may swerve back along an orbiting pathway to form the acetone cation by CO2-loss instead of leaving directly. The acetone cation thus formed is then energetic enough to lose a methyl group and yield the acetyl cation at a phenomenological E0 = 10.316 ± 0.015 eV. The acetyl cation, which dominates the breakdown diagram up to 16 eV photon energy, is also formed by sequential CO2-loss from the CH3C(O)OCO+ intermediate at E0 = 10.53 ± 0.03 eV. The CH3+ (m/z = 15) fragment ion appears above 13 eV photon energy. This species can be produced directly from the parent ion or via two sequential dissociation channels: by acetyl radical loss from the acetone cation or CO-loss from the acetyl cation.

One ofthe known complications of diabetes is hearing impairment. This comparative study in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, aimed to evaluate the association of diabetes mellitus and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) among a non-elderly population. Among 160 subjects aged < 60 years with no history of occupational noise exposure (80 diabetics and 80 age- and sex-matched non-diabetic controls), 45% of diabetic patients and 20% of controls had SNHL (OR 3.5, 95% CI: 1.6-6.6). Age at onset and duration of diabetes were associated with SNHL. Diabetes mellitus may be a risk factor for hearing loss regardless of age and smoking. Determining the cause of SNHL in diabetic patients may lead to development of better treatment options.

In this work, we report the synthesis of nickel titanate nanoparticles loaded on nanomesoporous MCM-41 nanoparticles to determine the effect of MCM-41 nanoparticles on the photocatalytic activities of nickel titanate (NiTiO3) nanoparticles by using simple solid-state dispersion (SSD) method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) analysis were used to characterize the size and morphology of the obtained nanocomposite. The photocatalytic activity (PA) of the as-prepared NiTiO3 loaded on MCM-41 was evaluated by degradation of the methylene blue under irradiation of UV and visible light. The results showed that NiTiO3 loaded on nanosize MCM-41 has higher photocatalytic activity than that of NiTiO3 nanoparticles.

In this literature, the analytic solution of the nonlinear heat transfer over an unsteady stretching permeable surface with prescribed wall temperature is obtained utilizing the newly developed analytic method, namely the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The analytic results are compared with the numerical solution (NS) in which the comparison reveals good agreement between the numerical solution and HAM solution. In addition, the convergence of the obtained HAM solution is discussed explicitly. Finally, the validation of achieved analytic solution through all values of the Prandtl number ( Pr ) has been shown in the article.

In this paper, the differential quadrature method (DQM) was employed to study nonlinear analysis of annular isotropic membrane in which an attempt was made to explore the applicability and accuracy of DQM for nonlinear analysis of a structural membrane. For this purpose, the large deformation analyses of symmetric circular membranes were investigated. Relaxed strain energy function in conjunction with Green’s strain and perfectly flexible assumptions was utilized for modeling the nonlinear behavior of the membranes. The nonlinear governing equations were discretized at whole domain grid points, and boundary conditions were implemented exactly at boundary grid points. Comparative studies were made between approaches for different boundaries. Convergence of the methodology was demonstrated, and the results were compared with existing solutions of other methods, such as dynamic relaxation. It was shown that accurate results were obtained even when utilizing only a small number of grid points.

Background: Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH), also known as Heck’s disease, is a very rare disease of the oral cavity especially in Asia. It is a disease of children and young adults. Various causes have been implicated but in majority of cases FEH is caused by some subtypes of human papilloma virus (HPV) especially 13 and 32. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a useful tool to identify HPV in FEH as it is a rapid and sensitive method. Objective: This study was designed to determine special HPV subtypes in seven cases of Heck’s disease referring to our department by using PCR analysis. Method: Paraffin sections of seven patients clinically diagnosed as FEH with compatible histhopathological features underwent DNA extraction procedures for PCR examination. Initially, all specimens were tested for presence of HPV virus followed by specific PCR testing for 16, 18, 13, and 32 subtypes in positive samples. Results: Human papilloma virus was found in all samples. In five cases HPV13 and in one case HPV32 was positive. One case showed strong reactivity for HPV but none of tested subtypes were positive. All cases were negative for HPV 16 and 18. Conclusions: Similar with other studies about FEH, most of our cases were associated with HPV 13 but other subtypes may also be implicated.

This paper presents a computationally efficient and accurate new methodology in the differential quadrature analysis of structural mechanics for flexible membranes ballooning in three dimensions under a negative air pressure differential. The differential quadrature method is employed to discretize the resulting equations in the axial direction as well as for the solution procedure. The weighting coefficients employed are not exclusive, and any accurate and efficient method such as the generalized differential quadrature method may be used to produce the methods weighting coefficients. A second-order paraboloid of revolution is assumed to describe the ballooning shape. This study asserts the accuracy, convergency, and efficiency of the methodology by solving some typical stability, straining analysis membrane problems, and comparing the results with those of the exact solutions and/or those of physical tests.

In this work Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr1.9Ca2.1Cu3O10-y superconducting system (Bi2223) has been prepared by solid state reaction and the effect of nanoalumina additive on the phase formation and supercoducting properties have been investigated. XRD investigations show that addition of 0.2 wt% of nanoalumina on the superconducting system improved Bi-2223 phase formation . The results show that Jc increases from 36 A/cm2 for the nanoalumina free sample to 107 A/cm2 for the sample with 0.5 wt% nanoalumina.On the other hand results show that the transition temperature (Tc) of all samples is around 108 K and addition of nanoalumina has not affected Tc significantly .

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study has been employed for predicting the inhibitory activities of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase inhibitors. A data set consisted of 72 compounds was selected, and then different types of molecular descriptors were calculated. The whole data set was split into a training set (80% of the dataset) and a test set (20% of the dataset) using principle component analysis. The stepwise (SW) and the genetic algorithm (GA) techniques were used as variable selection tools. Multiple linear regression method was then used to linearly correlate the selected descriptors with inhibitory activities. Several validation technique including leave-one-out and leave-group-out cross-validation, Y-randomization method were used to evaluate the internal capability of the derived models. The external prediction ability of the derived models was further analyzed using modified r2, concordance correlation coefficient values and Golbraikh and Tropsha acceptable model criteria's. Based on the derived results (GA-MLR), some new insights toward molecular structural requirements for obtaining better inhibitory activity were obtained. © 2016,Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors.All rights reserved.

Remote sensing is known to indicate nitrogen stress in field crops such as cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Multi-temporal images can indicate many yield-limiting factors in a production system as a change in canopy reflectance. The objective of this research was to test various spatial models to analyze the variations in GNDVI, a vegetative index derived from aerial remote sensing data in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) region, in response to nitrogen treatments and petiole nitrate content. Four experiments were conducted in two irrigated cotton fields with five N rates (0, 34, 67, 101, and 134 kg N ha-1) during 2003-2005. Six regression models tested included an ordinary least square (OLS) model developed with N treatments as the fixed effect and blocks within a location as the random effect, and five spatial models. The five spatial models were developed by incorporating the spatial correlation structure in the regression model through various covariance models. The five covariance models used in this study were a spherical variogram model fitted to the mixed OLS model residual, a power (POW) or autoregressive model, a POW model with heterogeneous variance at different fields, an anisotropic power model, and an anisotropic power model with heterogeneous variance for fields. The spatial model with anisotropic power covariance structure was the most accurate model because it accounted for the difference in covariance structure along and across rows. With this model structure, 92% of the variation in GNDVI was explained by N rates and days after planting (DAP). Only 30% of the variability in GNDVI could be explained by petiole nitrates and DAP together. In general, all spatial models performed better than the OLS model, indicating that auto-correlated data tend to inflate R2 values. Therefore, spatial regression models are better suited to analyze autocorrelated data.

Nitrogen (N) fertilization continues to be of primary importance in the economically successful production of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Profit margins of producers might be expanded by increasing the uptake efficiency of applied N. Recently, N fertilization of crops grown in the Mississippi River Delta has been suspected to impact water quality in the Gulf of Mexico. Improving efficiency of N uptake could alleviate some environmental concerns by increasing the retention of N at the site of application. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of replacing preplant N applications with postemergent N applications on the growth and yield characteristics of cotton. Delayed applications of the recommended rate of N fertilizer (112 kg N ha−1) were tested for four years under irrigated and dry land production conditions. The N rate was applied either preplant, after crop emergence, or at first square. Further, 112 kg N ha−1 was split applied evenly at preplant + first square, and af...

This paper discusses the design of a vehicle for in-pipe inspection using omnidirectional wheels and active stabilizing control. A novel propulsion mechanism is discussed using omnidirectional wheels (or omni-wheels) is presented which allows direct control of the orientation in the pipe. This paper will show the development and evaluation of a prototype model. Rapid prototyping techniques have been used in this proof-of-principle.

L.)isavaluablefruitcultivatedintheworldasanimportantplant. Therearealotofindustriesengagedwiththedrying,processing,qualitycontrolandsortingoftomato. Arapidandreli-ablemeasurementofqualitativefactorsoftomatoanditsproductscanbeaseriousnecessityfortheproducersandindustrialists. TheobjectiveofthisresearchwastoimplementSERSasamoderntechniquetoevaluatesomequal-itativeparametersoftomatojuice. Topreventtheeffectofcartenoidsandflorescencebackground,thejuiceswerecentrifuged. SilvercolloidwaspreparedaccordingtoLeeandMeiselmethodforSERSexperiments. TheresultswerecomparedwiththespectraobtainedfromordinaryspontaneousRamanspectroscopytechniquedata. Threemajorbandsassignedtocarbohydratesintomatoweredetectedandanalyzed. Moreover,amediumbandrelatedtoproteinscouldbeidentified. ComparisonofSERSspectrawiththenormalspontaneousRamanspectraprovedthatSERShasaprivilegeinthemeasurementofcarbohydratesandproteinsasaneffective,rapidandprecisetechnique.PACSnumbers:78.30.

The structural properties of the system FeSi(111) developing upon the deposition of (sub)monolayer quantities of iron by solid-phase epitaxy and the early stages of silicide formation were investigated with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). AES data indicate that the iron-silicon (silicide) reaction starts well below room temperature. Independent of the amount of iron deposited, i.e. up to 7 monolayers (ML), two distinct film structures, namely a (1 × 1) and a (2 × 2) phase form at different annealing temperatures. Substantial differences between the two phases in stoichiometry and structure are indicated by AES amplitudes as well as LEED intensities (IV spectra). Three types of islands or film patches are observed by STM for the (2 × 2) phase, exhibiting different growth modes. Nevertheless, we find the same adatom termination in (2 × 2) arrangement on all types of islands. Combination of the LEED, AES and STM results suggests that film growth is incomplete, with different amounts of clean surface areas exposed depending on the initial coverage (Θ). For Θ ≤ 5 ML the crystalline structures of the film patches are probably similar for each phase at different coverages, but different between the (1 × 1) and the (2 × 2) phases.

The effects of 5 rates of Cu (0-200 mg/kg) amendment to a Candler fine sand (Typic Quartzipsamment) on root and shoot growth and concentrations of Cu in the respective plant parts of Cleopatra mandarin (CM) and Swingle citrumelo (SC) rootstock seedlings were evaluated at 3 pH levels ranging from pH 5 to 7. Rootstock, rate of Cu, and soil pH significantly influenced root and shoot dry weights (DW) and Cu concentration. Shoot dry weight of CM seedlings at pH 6 was 18% and 15% lower than that at pH 5 and 7, respectively. Shoot dry weight of SC seedlings at pH 6 was 18% lower than that at pH 7. Root dry weight of SC at pH 6 was 17% and 20% lower than that at pH 5 and 7, respectively. Shoot dry weight of CM in soil amended with 200 mg/kg Cu was lower by 21% compared with that of the seedlings in the soil without Cu amendment. The root dry weight was lower by 37% and 18%, respectively, for the CM and SC seedlings in the soil amended with 200 mg/kg of Cu compared with that in the soil that received no Cu. Concentrations of Cu in the roots of both rootstocks at all 3 pH levels showed a significant linear relationship with the soil Cu measured by Mehlich 3 (M3) extraction. However, the accumulation of Cu in the roots with an increase in M3 extractable soil Cu was greater at pH 6 than at pH 5 or 7. Furthermore, accumulation of Cu in the roots was greater in the CM compared with the SC seedling. The differential accumulation of Cu in the roots was proposed to be responsible, in part, for the greater tolerance of the CM rootstock to Cu toxicity when compared with the SC rootstock.

Eutrophication is threatening water quality in Delaware's Inland Bays watershed, one of the largest aquatic ecosystems in the eastern USA and also the site of a highly concentrated poultry (Callus gallus) industry. Since many (>85%) soils in this watershed are now high or excessive in P, a better understanding of P transformations in poultry litter-amended soils is needed. Our objectives were to determine the influence of poultry litter on P release from three soils from this watershed, on the amount and chemical forms of soil P, and on soil P sorption capacity. Phosphorus release from litter-amended soils was determined in a 110-d leached incubation study using three soils and two litter rates (18 and 36 Mg/ha). Phosphorus was separated into nonoccluded (NOC-P), occluded P (OC-P), and calcium bound P (Ca-P) by sequential fractionation. Changes in P sorption capacity were quantified by a P sorption index. Net soluble P (NSP) released from the litter-amended soils ranged from 1.1 to 15.0 mg/kg and was

One ofthe known complications of diabetes is hearing impairment. This comparative study in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, aimed to evaluate the association of diabetes mellitus and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) among a non-elderly population. Among 160 subjects aged60 years with no history of occupational noise exposure (80 diabetics and 80 age- and sex-matched non-diabetic controls), 45% of diabetic patients and 20% of controls had SNHL (OR 3.5, 95% CI: 1.6-6.6). Age at onset and duration of diabetes were associated with SNHL. Diabetes mellitus may be a risk factor for hearing loss regardless of age and smoking. Determining the cause of SNHL in diabetic patients may lead to development of better treatment options.

This paper studied on magnetohydrodynamics flow and heat transfer outside a stretching cylinder. Momentum and energy equations are reduced using similarity transformation and converted into a system of ordinary differential equations which are solved analytically by the homotopy analysis method. The effects of the parameters involved, namely the magnetic parameter (M), Prandtl number (Pr) and Reynolds number (Re) on the velocity and temperature fields are investigated. The obtained results are valid for the whole solutions' domain with high accuracy. These methods can be easily extended to other linear and nonlinear equations and so can be found widely applicable in engineering and sciences. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

TiO2 is known to be one of the best photocatalysts among the semiconductors. In order to improve its photocatalytic features, it is necessary to be able to control factors such as the mean particle size, nanocrystalline system, grain shapes and diffraction. Nanocrystalline TiO2 sample powders were produced using H2O2 and Ti(OBu)4 as precursor materials and their above features were then characterized by using XRD, Raman spectroscopy and SEM. The grain size was calculated using the Debye Scherrer formula for anatase phase, 15 nm, which is in agreement with the value obtained by SEM imaging. Ti(OBu)4 was added dropwise to a very ice‐cold solution of H2O2 under intensive stirring. This immediately yielded a red solution which was shortly followed by a strong exothermic reaction due to the unstable nature of the reaction at this stage. This process also involved rigorous giving off of H2O2, O2, and butyl alcohol. A yellow transparent peroxo‐polytitanic (PPT) acid gel was thus prepared. This gel was then heate...

In this paper the synthesis of the fine and homogenous nano crystalline TiO2 particles obtained from Ti (OBU)4 in the presence of H2O2 by Sol‐Gel technique is investigated. The calcinations of the precursor powders of TiO2 samples were performed at 550°C, 750°C and 950°C. The metastable anatase form can be transformed thermally into rutile phase but the rate critically depends on the specific growth environment. The collected synthesized powders were characterized by micro Raman back‐scattering spectroscopy, FTIR Spectroscopy, XRD and SEM imaging. With XRD results and also from the sample surface morphology, the size of nanocrystalline particles were determined, which showed that our samples had nano scale and also confirmed presence of pure TiO2 phases in the synthesized structures. The recorded Raman spectra confirmed that nanocrystalline anatase phase powder, which is famous for its application as photo catalyst, was produced at 550°C. At 750 °C and 950 °C mixed and pure rutile phases were observed, respectively.

Background most obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients meet psychiatrists 5 to 10 years after onset of OCD. Its relatively high prevalence ratio and the delay in seeking help suggest that patients with OCD may seek help at nonpsychiatric clinics. the present study was undertaken to provide some epidemiological data on the prevalence and severity of OCD in dermatological patients. Method The participants included 265 consecutive patients with primary dermatologic chief complaint. They were visited by a dermatologist and diagnosis of dermatological lesion was done according to ICD-10. All patients were visited by a psychiatry resident and were screened for OCD using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID-I). If the diagnosis of OCD has been made, the Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale(Y-BOCS) was used to evaluate the severity of OCD. To analyze the data student t-test for quantitative variables and X 2 tests for categorical variables. Results From the total of 265 patients, 24(9.1%) met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for OCD and 9(37.5%) with OCD had previously been diagnosed with OCD, however, only three were treated pharmacologically. The most symptoms were pathological doubt (29.1%), fear of contamination(29.1%)and washing (54.16%). Severity of OCD according to Y-BOCS was evaluated among patients with OCD. Six (25%) were found with subclinical OCD, 11(45.8%) had mild OCD, six(25%) had moderate OCD, and one (4.2%) was detected with sever OCD. Conclusion prevalence of OCD in dermatology clinic was higher compared with general population.

This progress report provides results of Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedures (TCLP) and Synthetic Leachate Test Procedure (SLTP) for the alfalfa stem ash. The TCLP simulates solute leaching in landfill by using acetic acid as a solvent and SLTP simulates potential for leaching from synthetic acid rain. This report also provides information on detailed chemical characterization of organic and inorganic constituents of the ash. The analysis performed includes information on compounds that may represent a potential risk to human or animal health and those constituents that may have beneficial use as soil amendments and conditioners. A sample of the fly (filter) ash from the test burn conducted in Finland was received in May 1997 and used for initial investigation. Three additional fly ash samples and one sample of bottom ash (reactor bed ash) were received in June 1997. The samples were either tested at the University of Minnesota or sent to a reputable laboratory, and various tests were conducted according to the standard methods. The result of the comprehensive tests conducted in May 1997 (report submitted previously) were used as a screening procedure for conducting tests on June 1997 samples. To provide a more comprehensive representation of ash characteristics the results for fly ash received in May are presented along with results from fly ash samples received in July. The average, range and coefficient of variation (CV) are provided. The TCLP and SLTP tests conducted in the laboratory indicated that the concentration of heavy metals were below or close to the detection limits for fly and bottom ash samples (Tables 1 and 2). The ash was also characterized for a number of classes of organic compounds that may pose potential environmental or health risks. These are polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), total and individual dioxin and furan compounds.

Under the supervision of Russia, a new security system is progressively being established in Central Asia and Caucasus. The final form and modality of this new security system has not yet emerged; it is still in the ‘moulding’. However, two things are clear: (1) the emerging security system differs quite markedly from its predecessor, under which the Central Asian and Caucasian republics were still an integral part of the USSR and (2) the process is a direct result of the unprecedented transformations that have occurred within the former Soviet Union. The Soviet-Russian empire had three different dimensions: (1) it was a superpower, second only to the USA, in political and military terms, (2) it had an external empire which roughly embraced the Warsaw Pact countries and (3) it was in possession of an internal empire, that is all the non-Russian parts of the Soviet Union which were to different degrees — submitted to Russia’s domination. In this chapter, I shall only deal with two parts of the internal empire: Central Asia and Caucasus. Central Asia and Caucasus are facing a huge range of complex problems including such things as nation state building as well as ethnic, economic, political and environmental issues. In the following, I shall focus only on their security concerns. I will try to answer the following questions. What impact did the Soviet Union’s collapse have on the political evolution of the newly independent republics of Central Asia and Caucasus?

There are four major cooperation networks to which the Central Asian and Caucasian newly independent states have committed themselves, each differing with respect to composition and objectives. None of these cooperation networks are purely Central Asian or purely Caucasian; not even merely Central Asian and Caucasian. In all these cooperation networks, there are always several extra-regional actors who are also part of the networks and generally the latter are the network initiators. The largest and most complex of them is the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which embraces all eight independent states of Central Asia and Caucasus, the Russian Federation, the Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

The Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, is generally known for its caviar. To the delight of consumers of the exclusive caviar, the caviar production will be able to continue as long as the sturgeon is not threatened by pollution. However, the situation remains alarming because the supply of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea has dropped from 200 million tons in 1990 to no more than 60 million tons today. By the year 2000, the Caspian Sea will not only be known merely for its caviar but also for its gigantic oil and gas deposits. The latest tests performed by Western experts after the collapse of the Soviet Union show that the Caspian Sea, with more than 68 billion barrels (= 9092 billion tons) of oil, has the world’s third largest oil deposits, only surpassed by the Persian Gulf and Siberia. Everything indicates that the deposits are even larger than the preliminary evaluation has shown. According to the technical jargon, the oil deposits in this region belong to category A + B + C1, almost equivalent of ‘proven-plus-probable’. The amount of gas deposits is just as impressive as the amount of oil deposits. Kazakhstan alone has natural gas deposits of approximately 1.5 trillion m3. In addition, both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan possess large gas deposits, however not as large as those in Kazakhstan. A true eldorado! (see Table 11.1).

Introduction Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder which is usually characterized by two types of symptoms, namely.obsessions and compulsions. Objectives Psychosomatic disorders include psycho-cutaneous disease, obsessive-compulsive disorde r(OCD) might be expressed as dermatological lesion and are known as dermo-OCD. Aims The aim of this study were to determine the prevalence and severity of OCD and its relationship with dermatological disease in sari, Iran, 2011. Method The sample consisted of 265 consecutively presenting dermatological patients who agreed to participate in the study, the subjects were assessed with structured clinical interview (SCID-I) by psychiatrist resident and also completed the yalebrown obsessive compulsive scale(Y-BOCS). T-test and chi-square were used to analyze of data. Results Of the 265 dermatological patients, 24(9.1%) met DSM-IV criteria for OCD. Only 9(37.5%) of them had previousely been diagnosed as OCD. The most common obsession were washing 13(54.1) and pathological doubt 7 (25%), contamination7 (25%), checking 7(25%). Conclusion There is a high prevalence of OCD in dermatological patients and with considerating of importance of OCD with comorbitiy of skin disease, dermatologist must be aware about relationship between two disorders and referring OCD patients to psychiatrist.