Abstract-A systematic review of the literature on postherpetic neuralgia was performed. The authors identified studies using the National Library of Medicine's Medline database and Cochrane Library database. The authors determined absolute reduction rate, number needed to treat (NNT), 95% CI for NNT, and number needed to harm (NNH) for successful therapies of postherpetic neuralgia. Tricyclic antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin, opioids, and lidocaine patch were found to be effective in reducing the pain of postherpetic neuralgia. NEUROLOGY 2004;63:959 -965 Acute herpetic neuralgia is characterized as burning, aching, electric shock like pain, or unbearable itching in association with the outbreak of a herpes zoster rash. The pain is associated with dysesthesias, paresthesias, hyperalgesia, hyperesthesia, and allodynia (production of pain by innocuous stimuli).1 The pain may precede the onset of the herpetic rash and, rarely, herpetic neuralgia can occur without the development of a rash.2 Postherpetic neuralgia, persistence of the pain of herpes zoster more than 3 months after resolution of the rash, is relatively common, affecting 10 to 15% of those with herpes zoster. Zoster-associated pain is used to describe the continuum of pain from acute herpes zoster to the development of postherpetic neuralgia. The time interval used in the clinical case definition of postherpetic neuralgia varies in the literature from 1 to 6 months after resolution of the rash. The incidence of postherpetic neuralgia increases with age. 3 The duration of postherpetic neuralgia is highly variable. In a longitudinal study, of those who developed postherpetic neuralgia, only 48% were symptomatic 1 year after onset.4,5 A prospective study of postherpetic neuralgia, performed through a network of primary care providers in Iceland from 1990 to 1995, showed that 14 of the 25 who developed postherpetic neuralgia were symptomatic 12 months after onset.6 Thus, the natural history of resolution of postherpetic neuralgia over time is a confounder in the evaluation of treatment efficacy and may limit the ability to generalize the results of controlled clinical trials in this population.Administration of antiviral agents within 72 hours of the onset of herpes zoster can reduce the intensity and duration of acute illness, and can prevent postherpetic neuralgia, 7 as may the use of amitriptyline.8 Efforts at prevention of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia are important in that 40 to 50% of those with postherpetic neuralgia do not respond to any treatment. 9 The treatment of acute herpes zoster 10 and the prevention of postherpetic neuralgia are beyond the scope of this parameter.This practice parameter was developed to answer the following clinical question: In patients with postherpetic neuralgia, which treatments provide benefit in terms of decreased pain and improved quality of life?Process. We searched the National Library of Medicine's Medline database and the Cochrane database for peer-reviewed articles published between

Phenols are present in petroleum refining wastewater. An enzymatic method for removing phenols from industrial aqueous effluent has been developed in the past several years. In this method, a peroxidase enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of phenol by hydrogen peroxide generation of phenoxyl radicals. These radicals diffuse from the active center of the enzyme into solution and react nonenzymatically to eventually form higher oligomers and polymers, which can be removed from wastewater by conventional coagulation and sedimentation or filtration.In this study, Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) was applied to treat a petroleum refining wastewater containing 2 mM (188 mg/L) phenol in a batch and continuous-flow system. The latter consisted of a plug-flow reactor (PFR) where the reaction took place between phenol and hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by the enzyme in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). A flocculation tank followed the PFR where alum and sodium hydroxide were added and then the polymers formed were settled in a sedimentation tank and removed from the system. Most (95 to 99%) of the phenol was removed by the same dose of ARP required for the treatment of synthetic wastewater containing an equal amount of phenol. Polyethylene glycol, as an additive, reduced enzyme inactivation and consequently reduced the enzyme dose and the cost of the treatment process.Step feeding of hydrogen peroxide was not effective in reducing the enzyme requirement. A significant removal of chemical oxygen demand was achieved when using PEG to reduce the enzyme dose. Water Environ. Res., 73, 165 (2001).

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The impedance spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and electric modulus of bulk phenol red were measured, as a function of both frequency and temperature. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used for modeling its electrical properties. The two parts (real and imaginary) of its complex impedance (Z*) were analyzed and the activation energy related to the electrical relaxation process was evaluated. Nyquist curves were plotted showing semicircles for the different temperatures. The AC electrical conductivity follows a power law σac(ω) α ωη. The maximum barrier height Bm was derived for specific temperatures. A plausible mechanism for the AC conduction of bulk phenol red was deduced from the temperature reliance of the frequency exponent. The dielectric data was analyzed using electric modulus as a tool. In addition, ANNs were used to model the impedance parts and the total electrical conductivity. Numerous runs were tried, to obtain the best performance. The training and prediction results were compared to the equivalent experimental results, with a good match obtained. An equation describing the experimental results was obtained mathematically, based on the use of ANNs. The outputs demonstrated that ANNs are an admirable tool for modeling experimental results.

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