Purpose The present study estimated the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Patients and Methods A study group consisting of 60 ...adult patients (34 women and 26 men) diagnosed with GERD was matched by age and gender to a control group of 60 patients without any signs or symptoms of GERD. The diagnosis of TMD was established using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders. Results Of the 60 patients in the study group, 22 (36.6%) had TMD compared with 11 (18.3%) in the control group ( P = .025). Most patients with TMD in both groups were diagnosed with myofascial pain: 19 (31.7%) in the study group versus 9 (15%) in the control group ( P = .031). Conclusions The increased TMD prevalence in patients with GERD should be explored further to better characterize the association between TMD and GERD. The physicians treating the 2 disorders should consider the clinical implications of this association.
A statistically based modeling technique is developed for characterizing in-band and out-of-band intermodulation and cross-modulation distortions in multichannel amplifier environments. The model is ...based on a new multiple envelope memoryless behavioral model that captures the black-box characteristics of multichannel amplifiers. A power amplifier with a two code-division multiple-access channel signal is characterized experimentally and verifies the approach.
A nonlinear statistical analysis for modeling distortion, cross modulation, and jammer susceptibility of CDMA signals in a nonlinear RF system is presented. The development of the statistical ...technique is presented here and applied to various interference scenarios. It is shown that relatively higher nonlinearities must be included in the RF system model so that nonlinear distortion is adequately captured.
A fractional-order fuzzy proportional integral derivative (PID) controller is a controller that combines the benefits of fractional calculus and fuzzy logic with the conventional PID controller. In ...this paper, a four-stage optimization algorithm is proposed for the design of a Type-2 Fuzzy fractional-order PID controller based on the Fourier Series Method (FSM). Three distinct control structures are introduced: Type-2 fuzzy fractional PD + fractional PI controller, Type-2 fuzzy fractional PID, and Type-2 fuzzy fractional PD + Type-2 fuzzy fractional PI controller. In addition to a modified multi-performance criterion cost function, four integral performance criteria are employed as cost functions for each stage. The suggested algorithm avoids the utilization of the approximation equivalent for the fractional-order system and instead employs FSM. Furthermore, the approach optimizes the nonlinearity within the upper membership function (UMF) and the uncertainty range through the lower membership function, as opposed to arbitrary selection. By considering variations in the membership functions, the outcomes exhibit a superior response compared to previous investigations. The results of the three control structures are compared with the traditional PID controller, and simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of this technique. The findings suggest that by optimizing different integral performance criteria using this design technique, controllers for both integer and fractional-order plants can yield favorable step responses. The proposed algorithm is validated by comparing its step response performance with that of previous research, followed by a discussion on sensitivity analysis and computational requirements.
There is currently an upsurge of interest in phytochemicals as new sources of natural antioxidants. The aim is to use them in foods and pharmaceutical preparations in order to replace synthetic ...antioxidants, which are being restricted due to their potential health risks and toxicity. The relative levels of antioxidant activity and the total phenolic content of aqueous and methanolic extracts of a total of 51 plant species of Jordanian origin have been determined using the improved ABTS
+
method and the Folin–Ciocalteu colorimetric method. The total phenolic content of aqueous and methanolic extracts of the investigated plant species ranged from 2.8 to 70.3 and from 2.6 to 59.6
mg GAE/g dry weight, respectively, while the total antioxidant capacity ranged from 12.9 to 731 and from 10.1 to 720
μmol TE/g dry weight, respectively. Based on our results, a number of plant species, namely,
Arbutus andrachne,
Hypericum triquetrifolium and
Rosmarinus officinalis, were identified as among the best sources of free radical-scavenging compounds. There was positive linear correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for aqueous and methanolic extracts. Thus, it was concluded that phenolic compounds were the predominant antioxidant components in the investigated plant species.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Background:
Due to the huge number of drugs available and the rapid growth and change in drug information, healthcare professionals, especially physicians, frequently require reliable, easily ...accessible, rapid, and accurate reference sources to obtain the necessary drug information. Several sources of information are available for physicians to use and select from; however, the information-seeking behaviour of healthcare providers is varied, and this process can be challenging.
Objectives:
In this study, Jordanian physicians were approached to evaluate the drug information they require, the sources of information they use, the perceived credibility of the sources, and the challenges they face when searching for the most accurate and current information about drugs.
Methods:
This is an observational, cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to practising physicians in Jordan using a convenience sampling method (purposive sampling followed by snowball sampling) regardless of their speciality, age, gender, seniority, or place of employment.
Results:
Three hundred and eighty physicians participated in the study. Most participants responded that they performed drug information searches on a weekly (155, 40.8%) or a daily basis (150, 39.5%). The drug-related information that physicians most frequently searched for concerned dosage regimens and adverse drug events. The majority of surveyed doctors (97.9%) reported using online websites to acquire drug information; UpToDate
®
, Medscape and
Drugs.com
were the most frequently used online databases, although many participants did not consider online sources to be the most reliable source. The most prevalent and recurrent challenges encountered concerned an inability to access subscription-only journals and websites (56.6%), difficulty identifying trusted and credible sources (41.8%) and the enormous number of available sources (35.3%). However, these challenges were less of a problem for physicians who currently work or have previously worked in academia (
p
< 0.001).
Conclusion:
This study demonstrated that Jordanian physicians frequently use online websites to look for drug information and all doctors face challenges throughout this process particularly those with no experience in academia. This suggests that being in academia makes the process of information-seeking easier which highlights the need for academics to transfer their knowledge and experience to their non-academic colleagues and the upcoming generations of physicians.
A generalized approach for estimating in-band distortion spectrum when a wireless communication signal is processed by a nonlinear amplifier is presented. The output spectrum is represented as the ...sum of uncorrelated components using Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization without any restriction on the statistical properties of the input signals. The analysis allows the accurate estimation of in-band distortion and hence the effective SNR, Rho and EVM of wireless communication systems. The approach is verified by measurements of in-band distortion using feed-forward cancellation.
A new behavioral modeling approach based on the piece wise linear (PWL) approximation of nonlinear functions is presented. The PWL model is obtained using threshold decomposition of the input-output ...characteristics. The PWL model is proved to provide a better modeling stability and modeling error performance than conventional polynomial models specially in the design of digital predistorters.
