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В исследовании изучали связь между удовлетворенностью жизнью и привязанностью к месту у пожилых людей. В общей сложности 200 жителей города Кермана (Иран) ответили на вопросы об удовлетворенности жизнью и привязанности к месту. Данные были проанализированы с использованием χ2, дисперсионного анализа, корреляции и иерархического множественного регрессионного анализа с помощью программного обеспечения SPSS версии 18. Примерно 51,4 % испытуемых имели средний уровень удовлетворенности жизнью. Среднее значение удовлетворенности жизнью было значительно ниже у мужчин старше 80 лет, состоящих в браке, имеющих более трех хронических заболеваний и плохую самооценку здоровья. У большинства респондентов (56,6 %) был средний уровень привязанности к месту. Существует значительная корреляция удовлетворенности жизнью и привязанности к месту. На независимые переменные приходилось 34,2 % дисперсии удовлетворенности жизнью. Люди с более высокой привязанностью имели более высокий уровень удовлетворенности жизнью, чем люди с более низкой привязанностью к месту. Привязанность к месту является подходящей стратегией для повышения удовлетворенности жизнью в старости. This study examined the association between life satisfaction and place attachment in the older adult. A total of 200 subjects of Kerman city, Iran, responded to questionnaires on life satisfaction and place attachment. The data were analyzed using chi-square, analysis of variance, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis by the SPSS software version 18. Approximately 51,4 % of the subjects had intermediate life satisfaction. The Life satisfaction mean was significantly lower in subjects over 80 of the male gender, single marital status, with more than 3 chronic diseases and bad self-rated health. The majority of respondents had intermediate levels of place attachment (56,6 %). There was a significant correlation between life satisfaction and place attachment. Independent variables accounted for 34,2 % of the variance in life satisfaction. Individuals with higher attachment had higher levels of life satisfaction than those with lower place attachment. Place attachment is an appropriate strategy to increase life satisfaction in aging.

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the evolution of ischemic stroke, but the data regarding the association between stroke severity and vitamin D level is scarce. Methods: Patients with first-ever ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory, within seven days after the stroke, were recruited. The control group included age- and gender-matched individuals. We compared 25-OH vitamin D (vitamin D), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and osteopontin levels between stroke patients and the control group. The association between stroke severity according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the Alberta stroke program early CT score (ASPECTS) and levels of vitamin D and inflammatory biomarkers were also studied. Results: There was an association between hypertension (P=0.035), diabetes mellitus (P=0.043), smoking (P=0.016), history of ischemic heart disease (P=0.002), higher SAA (P

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in infants. The Postnatal Growth and ROP (G-ROP) study proposed new screening criteria for ROP. This study aimed to validate the G-ROP screening criteria in a group of Iranian premature infants who were treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for at least 40 days. Methods: In this retrospective study, we extracted the data pertaining to infants admitted to the NICU from January 2020 to December 2021. We screened all the included infants for ROP based on the Iranian national screening criteria. We applied the G-ROP criteria to our study population, and if no criterion was met, the infant was exempted from ROP screening. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of the G-ROP guidelines for ROP detection, along with its capacity for predicting the requirement for ROP treatment. Moreover, we compared the G-ROP guidelines with the Iranian and North American guidelines for ROP screening. Results: A total of 166 premature infants with complete datasets were included: 130 had ROP, of whom 61 were treated. There were 109 female infants (65.7%). The mean (standard deviation [SD]) birth weight and gestational age were 1080 (256) g and 28.28 (1.97) weeks, respectively. Applying the G-ROP criteria, 127 of 130 infants with ROP were identified (sensitivity, 97.69%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 95.11% – 100%), and of 36 infants without ROP, three were correctly excluded (specificity, 8.33%; 95% CI, 0% – 17.36%). The G-ROP criteria did not fail to identify infants who required treatment for ROP (sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 98.29 – 100) and had a specificity of 8.69% (95% CI, 2.04% – 15.34%). Although the Iranian and North American criteria had 100% sensitivity for infants with any stage of ROP, they could not detect infants without ROP (0% specificity). Conclusions: The G-ROP screening criteria had a sensitivity of 100% in identifying infants requiring treatment for ROP in our high-risk group; however, specificity was not sufficiently high. Further studies with larger numbers of referred infants could confirm a decrease in the burden of retinal examinations using these criteria.

The study aims to classify the eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) based on the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) vascular density maps using a supervised machine learning algorithm.OCTA vascular density maps (at superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), and total retina (R) levels) of 148 eyes from 78 patients with diabetic retinopathy (45 PDR and 103 NPDR) was used to classify the images to NPDR and PDR groups based on a supervised machine learning algorithm known as the support vector machine (SVM) classifier optimized by a genetic evolutionary algorithm.The implemented algorithm in three different models reached up to 85% accuracy in classifying PDR and NPDR in all three levels of vascular density maps. The deep retinal layer vascular density map demonstrated the best performance with a 90% accuracy in discriminating between PDR and NPDR.The current study on a limited number of patients with diabetic retinopathy demonstrated that a supervised machine learning-based method known as SVM can be used to differentiate PDR and NPDR patients using OCTA vascular density maps.

Millions of cataract surgeries with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation are performed worldwide. Although cataract surgery brings many benefits to the patients, the risk of various complications is still a concern. One of the infrequent adverse events but potentially affecting on patients’ visual acuity and contrast sensitivity is losing the transparency of IOL. IOL opacification may lead to IOL removal or exchange, which is unpleasant to both the patient and the surgeon. Several reports of acute IOL clouding are available in the literature describing various etiologies of this phenomenon, however, the exact mechanism remained unclear in some cases. Herein, we aimed to review the causes and outcomes of intraoperative and early postoperative IOL opacification.

There is an increasing demand for the performance optimization under the reliability constraints in various engineering problems. These problems are commonly known as reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) problems. Among different RBDO frameworks, the decoupled methods are widely accepted for their high efficiency and stability. However, when facing problems with high nonlinearity and nonnormally distributed random variables, they lose their computational performance. In this study, a new efficient decoupled method with two level quantile-based sampling strategy is presented. The strategies introduced for two level sampling followed by information reuse of nearby designs are intended to enhance the sampling from failure region, thus reducing the number of samples to improve the efficiency of sampling-based methods. Compared with the existing methods which decouples RBDO in the design space and thus need to struggle with searching for most probable point (MPP), the proposed method decouples RBDO in the probability space to further make beneficial use of an efficient optimal shifting value search strategy to reach an optimal design in less iterations. By comparing the proposed method with crude MCS and other sampling-based methods through benchmark examples, our proposed method proved to be competitive in dramatically saving the computational cost.

For the first time, alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) was used to differentiate Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the presence of BMP-4 and Retinoic acid. So, SSCs were isolated from testis of 3-6 day-old mice by enzymatic digestion by collagenase and trypsin. The Cell suspension was cultured for one week in DMEM/F12 and 20% FBS in presence of GDNF growth factor. The proliferated cells were divided between control and treatment groups. In the control group, the cells were cultured for three weeks in DMEM/F12 containing 10% FBS in presence of 10-6 M retinoic acid and 40 ng/ml of BMP-4. A dose of 0.1 M AKG was added to the treatment group. The presence of Sertoli cells in culture system was confirmed by positive reaction of vimentin immunocytochemistry. The colonies that appeared on Sertoli cells also showed positive alkaline phosphatase activity and Oct4 immunocytochemistry reaction. qRT-PCR studies showed that the expression of Acrosin and Sycp3 genes was low in two groups after 7 days of culture. 21 days after culture, in the treatment group, the expression of Acrosin and Sycp3 genes was significantly increased rather than control group (p≤0.05). Large number of early spermatids were observed in the treatment group based on TEM studies.

The main properties of the logamediate inflation driven by a non-canonical scalar field in the framework of DGP braneworld gravity are investigated. Considering high energy conditions we calculate the slow-roll parameters, analytically. Then, we deal with the perturbation theory and calculate the most important respective parameters such as the scalar spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. We find that the spectrum of scalar fluctuations is always red-tilted. Also, we understand that the running in the scalar spectral index is nearly zero. Finally, we compare this inflationary scenario with the latest observational results from Planck 2018.

To compare the functional and anatomical outcome of fluorescein angiography (FA) versus indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of non-resolving central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). In this prospective interventional case series, all patients with non-resolving CSCR, defined as persistent SRF involving subfoveal area for at least three months, were nonrandomly assigned to receive either FA or ICGA-guided half dose PDT. Baseline and 4 months post-treatment data including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the status of foveal subretinal fluid, subfoveal choroidal thickness, choroidal vascularity index, pigment epithelial detachment area, treatment and PDT spot numbers were collected. Thirty-six eyes were included; 24 received ICGA-guided and 12 received FA-guided PDT. Overall, improvement in BCVA and choroidal parameters were observed in all patients. There was no significant difference in baseline parameters as well as follow-up measurements between groups. However, the mean total energy dose and spot number in the IGCA-guided PDT were significantly higher than the FA-guided PDT group (P = 0.001). Both FA-guided and ICGA-guided half-dose PDT were effective in the treatment of non-resolving CSCR, with favorable functional and anatomical outcome. In FA group, PDT with smaller spot sizes and fewer numbers of spots were applied.

Background: In sport context learning a skill, and performing it flawlessly is of great importance. There is a unanimous consensus among sport scientists, coaches, and athletes, that along with physical, technical and tactical skills, psychological skills are also necessary for an optimal sport performance. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of mental toughness in motor learning and sport performance in wrestling. Methods: This study was semi-experimental and its population were physical education students of the University of Tehran in 2018. Using intensive sampling method, 28 student-athletes, who never had any past wrestling skill practices, were selected. Subsequently, using Mental Toughness-48 questionnaires, they were divided into two equal groups of high and low in mental toughness. After that, all participants were randomly assigned into two groups of equal size and 30 wrestling skills were taught to them twice a week for 3 months by two professional wrestling coaches. Their motor learning was assessed by three other professional coaches in the last week of training and one week after the last session. Motor learning score was obtained by calculating the mean scores of acquisition and retention stages. Then, two groups with high and low levels of mental toughness were compared regarding their motor learning scores. Tools used in this study included demographic consent form, wrestling skills test and The Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 (MTQ 48). Results: The results suggested that mentally tough student-athletes demonstrated significantly higher motor learning scores compared with their counterparts who had lower levels of mental toughness (P ≤ 0/05). This advantage was persistent both in the acquisition and retention stages (P ≤ 0/05). Conclusions: It was concluded that mental toughness could be considered as a key factor in motor learning. Therefore, it is recommended to coaches and athletes to develop mental toughness in order to enhance motor learning and achieve successful performance.

Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images are widely used in diagnosis of ocular conditions. However, random shift and orientation changes of the retinal layers in OCT B-scans yield to appearance variations across the scans. These variations reduce the accuracy of the algorithms applied in the analysis of OCT images. In this study, we propose a preprocessing step to compensate these variations and align B-scans. At first, by incorporating total variation (TV) loss in the well-known Unet model, we propose a TV-Unet model to accurately detect the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in each B-scan. Then we use the detected RPE layer in the alignment method to form a curvature curve and a reference line. A novel window transferring-based alignment approach is applied to force the curve points to form a straight line, while preserving the shape and size of the pathological lesions. Since detection of RPE layer is a crucial step in the proposed alignment method, we utilized various datasets to train and test the TV-Unet and provided a multimodal, device-independent OCT image alignment method. The TV-Unet localizes the RPE layer in OCT images with low boundary error (maximum of 1.94pixels) and high Dice coefficient (minimum of 0.98). Quantitative and qualitative results indicated that the proposed method can efficiently detects the RPE layer and align OCT images while preserving the structure and size of the retinal lesions (biomarkers) in the OCT scans.

The purpose of current study was to evaluate different optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics in eyes with diabetic retinopathy with and without diabetic macular edema (DME). In this retrospective study, macular OCTA images of eyes with non-proliferative or proliferative diabetic retinopathy were evaluated. Vascular density, vascular complexity and non-perfusion densities were compared between eyes with and without DME. One-hundred-thirty-eight eyes of 92 diabetic patients including 49 eyes with DME were included. In multivariate analysis, the presence of DME was positively associated with geometric perfusion deficit (GPD) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP), capillary non-perfusion (CNP) of SCP, and GPD in deep capillary plexus (DCP) (all P

Doi: 10.1007/s10658-021-02410-9

In this article we study a constant-roll inflationary model in the context of the DGP brane-world cosmology caused by a quintessence scalar field. We determine an analytical solution for the Friedman equation coupled to the equation of motion of the scaler field. The evolution of the primordial scalar and tensor perturbations is also studied. To check the viability of the model we use numerical approaches and plot some figures. Our results for the scalar spectral index and the tensor to scaler ratio show good consistency with observations for given values of model parameters., arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2201.02666

Combining genetic data with ecological niche models is an effective approach for exploring climatic and nonclimatic environmental variables affecting spatial patterns of intraspecific genetic variation. Here, we adopted this combined approach to evaluate genetic structure and ecological niche of the Indian gray mongoose (Urva edwardsii) in Iran, as the most western part of the species range. Using mtDNA, we confirmed the presence of two highly differentiated clades. Then, we incorporated ensemble of small models (ESMs) using climatic and nonclimatic variables with genetic data to assess whether genetic differentiation among clades was coupled with their ecological niche. Climate niche divergence was also examined based on a principal component analysis on climatic factors only. The relative habitat suitability values predicted by the ESMs for both clades revealed their niche separation. Between‐clade climate only niche comparison revealed that climate space occupied by clades is similar to some extent, but the niches that they utilize differ between the distribution ranges of clades. We found that in the absence of evidence for recent genetic exchanges, distribution models suggest the species occurs in different niches and that there are apparent areas of disconnection across the species range. The estimated divergence time between the two Iranian clades (4.9 Mya) coincides with the uplifting of the Zagros Mountains during the Early Pliocene. The Zagros mountain‐building event seems to have prevented the distribution of U. edwardsii populations between the western and eastern parts of the mountains as a result of vicariance events. Our findings indicated that the two U. edwardsii genetic clades in Iran can be considered as two conservation units and can be utilized to develop habitat‐specific and climate change‐integrated management strategies., Combining genetic data with ecological niche modeling is an effective approach for defining conservation units and exploring environmental variables that affect spatial patterns of genetic variation. We found two distinct genetic clades within H. edwardsii significantly correlated with different climate features. Niche‐based distribution models revealed that the two molecular clades occupy distinct environmental spaces, which are not similar, and equivalent.

To investigate the alteration of choroid in patients with very severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) or early proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) following panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). Thirty-nine eyes of 21 patients with very severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) (19 eyes) and early proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (20 eyes) were recruited. Enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography at baseline, 1, and 6 months after PRP was employed to measure choroidal parameters including total choroidal area (TCA) and choroidal vascular index (CVI). In eyes with very severe NPDR, subfoveal TCA decreased non-significantly at month 1, which increased significantly at month 6 (539 ± 131µm2, 502 ± 134µm2, and 598 ± 168µm2 at baseline and months 1 and 6, respectively; P = 0.003). Subfoveal CVI increased at month 1 and then decreased at month 6 (68.25 ± 3.05, 69.74 ± 3.62, and 67.84 ± 1.77 at baseline and months 1 and 6, respectively; P

There are limited data on the impact of COVID-19 in children with a kidney transplant (KT). We conducted a prospective cohort study through the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (IROC) to collect clinical outcome data about COVID-19 in pediatric KT patients. Twenty-two IROC centers that care for 2732 patients submitted testing and outcomes data for 281 patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. Testing indications included symptoms and/or potential exposures to COVID-19 (N = 134, 47.7%) and/or testing per hospital policy (N = 154, 54.8%). Overall, 24 (8.5%) patients tested positive, of which 15 (63%) were symptomatic. Of the COVID-19-positive patients, 16 were managed as outpatients, six received non-ICU inpatient care and two were admitted to the ICU. There were no episodes of respiratory failure, allograft loss, or death associated with COVID-19. To estimate incidence, subanalysis was performed for 13 centers that care for 1686 patients that submitted all negative and positive COVID-19 results. Of the 229 tested patients at these 13 centers, 10 (5 asymptomatic) patients tested positive, yielding an overall incidence of 0.6% and an incidence among tested patients of 4.4%. Pediatric KT patients in the United States had a low estimated incidence of COVID-19 disease and excellent short-term outcomes.

Purpose: To describe the optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis at different stages of activity.Methods: Observational case series.Results: A total of 32 eyes of 31 patients were included; 43 sets of OCT were reviewed. A total of 14 lesions were classified as active, 13 as partially active, and 16 as inactive. All active lesions demonstrated increased retinal thickness and reflectivity with blurring of details of retinal layers. Choroidal granuloma was detected in eight (61.5%) and serous retinal detachment in nine (64%). In partially active lesions, sustained thickening and/or attachment of posterior hyaloid face with fine epiretinal membrane was the hallmark. Scarified lesions showed decreased retinal and choroidal thickness starting from the periphery. Characteristic signs for decreased activity of a lesion seen in majority of both partially active and inactive lesions were RPE changes and retina-RPE approximation. We called this unique feature 'hourglass configuration'.Conclusion: Features in OCT are helpful to specify and monitor the activity of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis.

Background: Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) has been proposed as a possible potential treatment for ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of micro-embolic brain infarcts after RIPC in patients with stroke who underwent elective carotid artery stenting (CAS) treatment. Methods: This study was managed at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in southwest Iran. Patients undergoing CAS were randomly allocated into RIPC and control groups. Patients in the RIPC group received three intermittent cycles of 5-minute arm ischemia followed by reperfusion using manual blood cuff inflation/deflation less than 30 minutes before CAS treatment. Afterward, stenting surgery was conducted. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), was acquired within the first 24 hours after CAS. Results: Seventy-four patients were recruited (79.7% men, age: 72.30 ± 8.57). Both groups of RIPC and control had no significant difference in baseline parameters (P > 0.05). Fifteen patients (40.5%) in the RIPC group and 19 (54.1%) patients in the control group developed restricted lesions in DWI MRI. In DWI+ patients, there were no significant differences according to the number of lesions, lesion surface area, largest lesion diameter, cortical infarcts percent, and ipsilateral and bilateral infarcts between the two groups. Conclusion: Although RIPC is a safe and non-invasive modality before CAS to decrease infarcts, this study did not show the advantage of RIPC in the prevention of infarcts following CAS. It may be because of the small sample size.

Objectives High-risk behaviors (HRBs) represent significant health threats for adolescents and significantly affect adolescents’ mental health. Adolescents often engage in risky behaviors. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between high-risk behaviors (HRBs) and mental health in adolescents in Rabor. Content The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study that was performed on 334 girl and boy students aged 12–18 years in Rabor city in 2021. In this study, adolescents answered high risk behaviors and mental health questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS-26 software and the spearman correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis (univariate and multivariate analysis) were used to analyze the data. Summary and Outlook In this study, the mean age was 15.25 ± 1.78. The findings indicate that smoking and hookah use were higher in boys than girls. Among the demographic variables, age and level of education had a positive and significant relationship with HRBs and mental health (p

Purpose: To investigate the presence of persistent ocular pain after 23-gauge pars plana vitreoretinal surgeryMethod: This is a prospective study including patients who underwent 23-gauge vitrectomy or silicone removal with local or general anesthesia. We evaluated the symptoms of ocular neuropathic pain before and two months after surgery using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) questionnaire, and the impact of reported ocular symptoms on quality of life. Correlation between ocular pain and factors such as patient demographics and underlying conditions were also assessed.Result: Seventy-five patients with a mean age of 58.93 ± 12.05 years were evaluated. Forty-four (58.7%) were males. Sixty-seven (89.3%) patients underwent vitrectomy and eight had silicone removal surgery, all using 23-gauge instruments. there was an increasing trend in eye pain scores at two months after surgery which did not reach a statistical significance. However, the analgesic consumption increased from 4% before surgery to 17.3% two months after surgery. Patients who reported increased analgesic usage two months after surgery, scored worse in items of the quality-of-life questionnaire. In addition, patients who reported ocular and facial pain and photophobia before surgery had higher chances of analgesic consumption after surgery (p-value: 0.03, 0.003, and 0.001, respectively). Those who reported migraine headaches had higher chances of reporting eye symptoms, postoperatively (p-value: 0.041). Conclusion: Surgeries involving 23-gauge incisions may not induce ocular neuropathic pain. However, increased use of analgesics after surgery was observed.

Carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) could be considered for preventing stroke in patients with carotid artery stenosis. This study aimed to determine the incidence and the risk factors of the early and mid-term complications associated with CAS.This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from March 2011 to March 2019. Patients at high risk and standard risk for carotid endarterectomy were included. The primary composite outcome was defined as stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and death in the first 30 days after CAS. All-cause mortality, vascular mortality, and stroke were investigated during mid-term follow-up.A total of 579 patients (618 CAS) were recruited (mean age: 71.52 years). Overall, 394 (68.40%), 211 (36.63%), 179 (31.07%), and 96 (16.72%) patients had hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, or were cigarette smokers, respectively. Primary composite outcomes were observed in 2.59% of patients (1.55% stroke, 0.69% MI, and 1.72% death). Atrial fibrillation was a predictor of primary composite outcome in multivariate logistic regression (p = .048). The presence of total occlusion in the contralateral carotid artery was significantly associated with the risk of stroke in univariate logistic regression (p = .041). The patients were followed for a period ranging from 1 to 83 months. The overall survival rate for all-cause mortality was 93.48% at 1 year, 77.24% at 5 years, and 52.92% at 8 years. All-cause mortality was significantly higher among patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis (p = .014).CAS provides acceptable short-term and mid-term outcomes in a unique population of high- and standard-surgical-risk, symptomatic and asymptomatic, octogenarian, and nonoctogenarian patients.

Objectives: There are several reports of the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). In this study, we aimed to compare the hospitalization rate of CVST before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (before vaccination program). Materials and methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the hospitalization rate of adult CVST patients in Namazi hospital, a tertiary referral center in the south of Iran, was compared in two periods of time. We defined March 2018 to March 2019 as the pre-COVID-19 period and March 2020 to March 2021 as the COVID-19 period. Results: 50 and 77 adult CVST patients were hospitalized in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, respectively. The crude CVST hospitalization rate increased from 14.33 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 21.7 per million in the COVID-19 era (P = 0.021). However, after age and sex adjustment, the incremental trend in hospitalization rate was not significant (95% CrI: -2.2, 5.14). Patients > 50-year-old were more often hospitalized in the COVID-19 period (P = 0.042). SARS-CoV-2 PCR test was done in 49.3% out of all COVID-19 period patients, which were positive in 6.5%. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≥3 at three-month follow-up was associated with age (P = 0.015) and malignancy (P = 0.014) in pre-COVID period; and was associated with age (P = 0.025), altered mental status on admission time (P

Purpose: Determine the risk of immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) for COVID-19 infection morbidity.Method: A telemedicine survey on patients of a referral uveitis clinic was performed. Signs of infection, habits, and hospitalizations during the 7 months of the COVID-19 pandemic prior to the study date were recorded. Suggestive findings in chest CT scan and/or positive RT-PCR were considered as confirmed COVID-19 infection while those with only suggestive symptoms were considered as suspected cases. Risk factors including sanitary measures and IMT were compared between patients with confirmed cases and patients without infection.Result: 694 patients were included. Eight patients were identified as confirmed cases and 22 patients as suspected cases of COVID-19 infection. Close contact with infected persons was the only significant risk factor for contracting COVID-19.Conclusion: Using IMT did not affect hospitalization and/or ICU admission and can thus be continued during the pandemic, provided that instructions for preventive measures are followed.

Objective: This study aimed to explain the parents’ attitude towards their children with disabilities based on religious belief and social support through the mediating role of marital satisfaction. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The statistical population included 200 parents of the students in the schools and care centers for the students with disabilities in Tabriz. The parents were selected through the available sampling method. They completed the questionnaires on parental attitude, marital satisfaction, social support, and religious belief. The software of SPSS-25 and AMOS-18 was used to analyze the data. Findings: The findings of the correlation coefficient showed that there was the highest correlation (0.59) between the positive parents’ attitude towards the children with disabilities and religious belief. Furthermore, the findings of path analysis showed that the highest path coefficient was related to the effect of parents’ attitudes through religious belief (0.38), as well as marital satisfaction, and social support (0.20) respectively. Conclusion: According to these findings, the strong religious belief of people in the society and marital satisfaction and social support will cause the parents to have positive attitudes towards their children and accept them better.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although considerable advances have been made in understanding the cellular effector mechanisms responsible for donor-specific antibody (DSA) generation leading to antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR), the identification of cellular regulators of such immune responses is lacking. METHOD In a cohort of 96 kidney transplant recipients, we used high-dimensional flow cytometry to concomitantly profile and track the two major subsets of regulatory lymphocytes in the blood: T regulatory (TREG) and transitional B (TrB) cells. Additionally, we established co-culture assays to address their respective capacities to suppress antibody responses in vitro. RESULTS TREG and TrB were potent suppressors of T follicular helper-mediated B cell differentiation into plasmablast and antibody generation. While TREG and TrB were both durably expanded in patients who did not develop DSA post-transplant, patients who manifested DSA and progressed to ABMR displayed a marked and persistent numerical reduction in TREG and TrB cells. Strikingly, specific cell clusters expressing the transcription factor T-bet were selectively depleted in both TREG and TrB compartments in patients with ABMR. Importantly, the coordinated loss of these T-bet + CXCR5+ TREG and T-bet+CD21–TrB cell clusters was correlated with increased and inflammatory DSA responses, more extensive microvascular inflammation and a higher rate of kidney allograft loss. CONCLUSION Our study identified coordinated and persistent defects in the regulatory T and B cell responses in patients undergoing ABMR, which may contribute to their loss of humoral immune regulation and thus warranting timely therapeutic interventions to replenish and sustain TREG and TrB cells in these patients.

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, several cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) have been reported in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. This study provides a series of patients with CVST and SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods: Consecutive patients with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as clinical and radiological characteristics of CVST, were reported from three teaching hospitals in the South West, North West, and the center of Iran from June to July 2020. We also searched the abstract archives until the end of August 2020 and gathered 28 reported cases. The diagnostic criteria for SARS-CoV-2 infection were determined according to SARS-CoV-2 detection in oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal samples in clinically suspected patients. Demographics, main COVID-19 symptoms, confirmatory tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis, the interval between the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and CVST, clinical and radiological features of CVST, therapeutic strategies, CVST outcomes, rate of hemorrhagic transformation, and mortality rate were investigated.Results: Six patients (aged 31 to 62 years old) with confirmed CVST and SARS-CoV-2 infection were admitted to our centers. Four patients had no respiratory symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Five out of six patients developed the clinical manifestations of CVST and SARS-CoV-2 infection simultaneously. Three patients had known predisposing factors for CVST. Despite receiving CVST and SARS-CoV-2 infection treatments, four out of six patients passed away.Conclusions: The role of SARS-CoV-2 as a “cause” versus an “additive contributor” remains to be elucidated. Practitioners should be aware of the possibility of CVST in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Five populations of a new dagger nematode species were recovered from natural grasslands and forests of north and northwest Iran, and described based upon morphological and molecular data in present paper. Xiphinema hyrcaniense n. sp. is characterized by 3.9–5.5 mm long females, having 102–142 μm long odontostyle, 64–88 μm long odontophore, guiding ring located at 115–147 μm distance from anterior end, two equally developed genital branches having crystalloids in tubular part of uteri and pseudo-Z-organ at their junction with pars dilatata uteri, short, rounded to dorsally more convex tail with a mucro or in few specimens, without it. Common males with 72–95 μm long spicules and four juvenile developmental stages. The new species is similar to six known species belonging to artificial morphospecies group 5, especially looking closest to X. montenegrinum in its general morphology, but could be separated by ontogenesis of tail shape and morphometric indices. In molecular phylogenetic analyses using partial large subunit, and internal transcribe spacer 1 ribosomal DNA (LSU D2-D3 and ITS1 rDNA) sequences, the new species formed a clade with X. cretense and Xiphinema sp. in LSU; and in ITS1 tree, with X. dentatum and X. paradentatum. © 2021, Koninklijke Nederlandse Planteziektenkundige Vereniging.

Background:Previous studies have demonstrated the strong association of inflammatory cytokines and vitamin D (VitD) deficiency and ischemic stroke (IS) pathogenesis. Due to the negative correlation between long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Malat1 and pro-inflammatory factors we decided to investigate the associations between Malat1 expression with serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and VitD levels in IS patients. Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 63 IS patients were included. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to evaluate the serum levels of VitD and IL-1β. Malat1 expression was evaluated by the real-time polymerase chain reaction test. The associations between Malat1expression with VitD and IL-1β were analysed with linear regression (Stepwise model) and Pearson’s correlation analysis. Results: The Malat1 expression was inversely correlated with stroke severity (r=-0.25, P=0.043). Stepwise regression analysis showed a significant positive relationship between VitD level and Malat1 expression (Beta=0.28, P=0.02), and also showed a non-significant negative relationship between IL-1β and stroke severity. VitD level showed a positive Pearson correlation with Malat1 (r=0.28, P=0.023) and a negative correlation with IL-1β (r=-0.29, P=0.018) while it could not detect a significantly negative correlation with stroke severity. Conclusion: For the first time the associations between Malat1 expression with IL-1β and VitD in IS patients was analyzed. We found a significant positive relationship between VitD and Malat1. This correlation needs to be investigated with a larger sample size to achieve a strong and reliable association between VitD and Malat1.[GMJ.2023;12:e2457]

Visualizing single-cell transcriptomics data in an informative way is a major challenge in biological data analysis. Clustering of cells is a prominent analysis step and the results are usually visualized in a planar embedding of the cells using methods like PCA, t-SNE, or UMAP. Given a cluster of cells, one frequently searches for the genes highly expressed specifically in that cluster. At this point, visualization is usually replaced by studying a list of differentially expressed genes. Association Plots are derived from correspondence analysis and constitute a planar visualization of the features which characterize a given cluster of observations. We have adapted Association Plots to address the challenge of visualizing cluster-specific genes in large single-cell data sets. Our method is made available as a free R package called APL. We demonstrate the application of APL and Association Plots to single-cell RNA-seq data on two example data sets. First, we present how to delineate novel marker genes using Association Plots with the example of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell data. Second, we show how to apply Association Plots for annotating cell clusters to known cell types using Association Plots and a predefined list of marker genes. To do this we will use data from the human cell atlas of fetal gene expression. Results from Association Plots will also be compared to methods for deriving differentially expressed genes, and we will show the integration of APL with Gene Ontology Enrichment.

To present long-term visual and structural outcome of treatment in two forms of flat irregular pigment epithelial detachment (FIPED): avascular (aFIPED) and vascularized (vFIPED) in eyes within pachychoroid spectrum. Prospective interventional case series. FIPED were classified into two subgroups; aFIPED and vFIPED based on OCTA. aFIPED underwent PDT, and vFIPED underwent either PDT, IVB, or combination of PDT&IVB. Vision, subretinal or intraretinal fluid, and choroidal biomarkers such as choroidal thickness, area, choroidal vascular index (CVI), and PED area were measured at baseline and last follow-up. Fifteen eyes with aFIPED were followed for a mean of 14.7 ± 10.8 months. Their vision improved, (0.44 ± 0.37–0.33 ± 0.40 LogMAR, p = 0.009) with significant reduction of fluid, choroidal area, thickness, PED area and increase in CVI. Twenty eyes with vFIPED were followed for a mean of 16.5 ± 8.2 months. The same pattern of choroidal alterations without visual improvement was observed in eyes underwent PDT alone. Combination therapy resulted in improvement of vision (0.38 ± 0.10–0.23 ± 0.17 LogMAR, p = 0.006) with reduction of choroidal area and thickness, with an increase in CVI. IVB alone could not change vision or choroidal structure. Single session PDT may lead to sustained visual improvement and structural change in eyes with aFIPED. Combination of PDT and IVB may be a better choice in eyes with vFIPED.

We report follow-up data from an ongoing prospective cohort study of COVID-19 in pediatric kidney transplantation through the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (IROC).Patient-level data from the IROC registry were combined with testing, indication, and outcomes data collected to describe the epidemiology of COVID testing, treatment, and clinical outcomes; determine the incidence of a positive COVID-19 test; describe rates of COVID-19 testing; and assess for clinical predictors of a positive COVID-19 test.From September 2020 to February 2021, 21 centers that care for 2690 patients submitted data from 648 COVID-19 tests on 465 patients. Most patients required supportive care only and were treated as outpatients, 16% experienced inpatient care, and 5% experienced intensive care. Allograft complications were rare, with acute kidney injury most common (7%). There was 1 case of respiratory failure and 1 death attributed to COVID-19. Twelve centers that care for 1730 patients submitted complete testing data on 351 patients. The incidence of COVID-19 among patients at these centers was 4%, whereas the incidence among tested patients was 19%. Risk factors to predict a positive COVID-19 test included age 12 years, symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.Despite the increase in testing and positive tests over this study period, the incidence of allograft loss or death related to COVID-19 remained extremely low, with allograft loss or death each occurring in 1% of COVID-19-positive patients and in less than 0.1% of all transplant patients within the IROC cohort. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Background There are several reports of the association between SARS-CoV-2infection (COVID-19) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). In this study, we aimed to compare the hospitalization rate of CVST before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (before vaccination program). Methods In this retrospective cohort study, the hospitalization rate of adult CVST patients in Namazi hospital, a tertiary referral center in the south of Iran, was compared in two periods of time. We defined March 2018 to March 2019 as the pre-COVID-19 period and March 2020 to March 2021 as the COVID-19 period. Results 50 and 77 adult CVST patients were hospitalized in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, respectively. The crude CVST hospitalization rate increased from 14.33 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 21.7 per million in the COVID-19 era (P=0.021). However, after age and sex adjustment, the incremental trend in hospitalization rate was not significant (95% CrI: -2.2, 5.14). Patients > 50-year-old were more often hospitalized in the COVID-19 period. (P=0.042) SARS-CoV-2 PCR test was done in 49.3% out of all COVID-19 period patients, which were positive in 6.5%. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≥3 at three-month follow-up was associated with age (P=0.015) and malignancy (P=0.014) in pre-COVID period; and was associated with age (P=0.025), altered mental status on admission time (P

Background To evaluate the additive effect of topical or sub-tenon injection of interferon (IFN)-α 2b in the treatment of refractory diabetic macular edema. Methods In this prospective study patients with center-involved DME who were unresponsive to 3 monthly consecutive IVB injections were recruited. Patients were divided into three groups: group1, received IFN- α 2b topical drop at a dose of 1mIU/ml four times a day for 3 months. Group 2, received a single sub-tenon injection of 1mIU/ml IFN- α 2b at the enrollment. Group 3 received artificial tears four times a day for 3 months (control group). All groups received three consecutive monthly IVB injections and were evaluated monthly up to 1 month following the last IVB injection. Results In this study, 59 eyes of 35 patients with refractory DME were assessed. The final follow-up showed that although CMT decreased in all groups, only patients in Group 2 had statistically significant lower CMT compared to their baseline values (change in CMT: − 117 ± 213 µm; p-value = 0.025). Comparison of CMT changes between three groups showed no statistically significant difference, although it was higher in group 2 (change in CMT: − 117 ± 213 µm (Group2) vs. − 49 ± 173 (Group 1) vs. − 36 ± 86 (Group 3); p-value = 0.085). Considering eyes with baseline CMT > 400 µm, sub-tenon injection of IFN α2b led to a significant reduction of CMT at the first month and final follow-up visit (CMT change: − 166 ± 210, − 145 ± 231 µm; p-value = 0.018 and 0.035, respectively). In this subgroup, eyes in Group 2 had lower CMT at the first month following treatment in comparison with the control group (CMT: 444 ± 123 µm vs. 544 ± 96 µm, p-value = 0.042). Alterations of CDVA were not statistically significant among groups, although patients in Group 1 had a significant improvement in vision at second and last follow up (CDVA change: − 0.23 ± 0.39, − 0.20 ± 0.43 logMAR; p-value = 0.030 and 0.010, respectively). Conclusions In short term, Sub-tenon injection of IFN might have an additive anatomical effect in eyes with refractory DME. Validation of this observation requires further prospective controlled studies.

Objective The purpose of the current study was to collect the data on the occurrence of seizures in patients with COVID-19 and to clarify the circumstances of the occurrence of seizures in these patients. Methods All consecutive patients who referred to healthcare facilities anywhere in Fars province (located in South Iran with a population of 4.851 million people) from February 19 until June 2, 2020, and had confirmed COVID-19 by positive result on polymerase chain reaction testing and seizure were included. Results During the study period, 6,147 people had confirmed COVID-19 in Fars province, Iran; 110 people died from the illness (case fatality rate 1.79%). During this time period, five people had seizures (seizure rate 0.08%). In four patients, seizure was one of the presenting manifestations, and in one person, it happened during the course of hospital admission. Two patients had status epilepticus. All patients experienced hypoxemia and four of them needed respirator. Two patients had related metabolic derangements and one had cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lymphocytic pleocytosis. Brain imaging was abnormal in three patients. Four patients died. Conclusion New-onset seizures in critically ill patients with COVID-19 should be considered as acute symptomatic seizures and the treating physician should try to determine the etiology of the seizure and manage the cause immediately and appropriately. Detailed clinical, neurological, imaging, and electrophysiological investigations and attempts to isolate SARS-CoV-2 from CSF may clarify the role played by this virus in causing seizures in these patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10072-020-04731-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Interspecific hybridization increasingly occurs in the course of anthropogenic actions, such as species translocations and introductions, and habitat modifications or occurs in sympatric species due to the shortage of conspecific mates. Compared with anthropogenically caused hybridization, natural hybridization is more difficult to prove, but both play an important role in conservation. In this study, we detected hybridization of two gazelle sister species, Gazella bennettii (adapted to dry areas) and Gazella subgutturosa (adapted to open plains), in five habitat areas, where G. bennettii naturally occur in central Iran. The hybrids have a nuclear genomic identity (based on two introns), habitat preference, and phenotype of G. bennettii, but the mitochondrial identity (based on cyt b) of G. subgutturosa. We suggest that natural hybridization of female G. subgutturosa and male G. bennettii happened twice in central Iran in prehistoric times, based on the haplotype pattern that we found. However, we found indications of recent hybridization between both species under special circumstances, for example, in breeding centers, due to translocations, or in areas of sympatry due to the shortage of conspecific mates. Therefore, these two species must be kept separately in the breeding centers, and introduction of one of them into the habitat of the other must be strictly avoided.

The genus Dolichodorus was discovered from a natural forest in Gilan province, north Iran, in association with an oak tree. The recovered population represents a new species, and was described and illustrated based upon morphological and molecular data, as D. rex n. sp. It is characterized by 2171–3275 μm long females having offset crown-like cephalic region with well sclerotized cephalic framework, raised perioral disc apparently with a small raised oral plate, 118.5, 130.0 μm long stylet, its conus ca. 55% of the total length and three posteriorly sloping knobs, 291–316 μm long pharynx with a short overlap, secretory-excretory pore at slightly variable position (one-two annuli posterior, or four annuli anterior to metacorpus base), vulva sunken in body, at %50 of the body length, vagina heavily sclerotized with two drop-like refractive pieces close to the vulval opening, 78–104 μm long tail with proximal convex conoid, and conical distal part with pointed to blunt tip; and a 2634 μm long male with 108.5 μm long stylet, 291 μm long pharynx, 20 μm long tail and 53 μm long spicules. In molecular phylogenetic analyses using partial sequences of the small, and D2-D3 expansion segments of the large subunit ribosomal DNA, the new species formed a clade with two other currently sequenced species of the genus in both phylogenies.

Goitered gazelles, Gazella subgutturosa, exist in arid and semiarid regions of Asia from the Middle to the Far East. Although large populations were present over a vast area until recently, a decline of the population as a result of hunting, poaching, and habitat loss led to the IUCN classification of G. subgutturosa as “vulnerable." We examined genetic diversity, structure, and phylogeny of G. subgutturosa using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences from 18 geographically distant populations in Iran. The median‐joining network of cyt b haplotypes indicated that three clades of goitered gazelles can be distinguished: a Middle Eastern clade west of the Zagros Mountains (and connected to populations in Turkey and Iraq), a Central Iranian clade (with connection to Azerbaijan), and an Asiatic clade in northeastern Iran (with connection to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and other Asian countries as far as northeastern China and Mongolia). Based on our results, we argue that Iran is the center of diversification of goitered gazelles, due to the presence of large mountain ranges and deserts that lead to the separation of populations. In accordance with previous morphological studies, we identified the Asiatic clade as the subspecies G. s. yarkandensis, and the other two clades as the nominate form G. s. subgutturosa. The new genetic information for goitered gazelles in Iran provides the basis for future national conservation programs of this species., Based on our results, we argue that Iran is the center of diversification of goitered gazelles, due to the presence of large mountain ranges and deserts that lead to the separation of populations. In accordance with previous morphological studies, we identified the Asiatic clade as the subspecies G. s. yarkandensis, and the other two clades as the nominate form G. s. subgutturosa.

Studies related to Islamic psychology have been expanding in recent decades in Iran, and various studies have been carried out under this title. Despite the importance of the nature of Islamic psychology, unfortunately, studies have not systematically addressed the nature of Islamic psychology, and the lack of discussion about this issue is clear evident. In the present article, the researcher has attempted to explain various views on the nature of Islamic psychology by examining studies related to Islamic psychology. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical and the method of data collection is library and interview with experts in this field. In this paper, the researcher has attempted to examine the views of these two areas by examining the nature of Islamic psychology by distinguishing between the Islamic and the scientific aspects of studies related to Islamic psychology. The findings of this study, evaluating the views of Islamic psychology scholars on the nature of Islamic psychology, are divided into two parts, which is an essential step in the path of theoretical and practical research in Islamic psychology.

Objectives To evaluate the outcomes and complications of Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) in children with congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED). Methods Eighteen eyes from 10 children with CHED who underwent standard phakic DSAEK were enrolled in this retrospective interventional case series. Medical records including slit-lamp biomicroscopy, cycloplegic refraction, visual acuity, and measurements of central corneal thickness, corneal topography, and endothelial cell density were evaluated. All complications were recorded. Results The mean age of cases was 8.1±4.2 (range: 3-16) years at the time of surgery. Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty was performed successfully in all eyes, which survived in 16/18 (88.9%) of cases during a median follow-up period of 38 (range 19-64) months. In patients with clear graft, best-corrected visual acuity was improved to a range of 20/100 to 20/40 and improved to fix and follow in one younger child. Endothelial cell density decreased by an average of 42.1%, comparing baseline and 6-month follow-up and was relatively stable thereafter. A marked flattening of the anterior corneal curvature (mean change of anterior K reading: +2.56±3.14 diopters) was observed after DSAEK. The only major complication in patients with clear graft was intraocular pressure elevation in 61.1% of the eyes, which was easily controlled with one antiglaucoma medication. None of the eyes developed cataract. Conclusion Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty is a safe and successful procedure in children with an acceptable graft survival in a mid-term follow-up period. A marked hyperopic shift could occur after DSAEK in children with CHED.

The glassy carbon electrode was modified by gold nanoparticles (AuNps)–Fe3O4 beads/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Surface morphology characterization of the bare and modified electrodes was characterized by scanning electron microscopy technique. This modified glassy carbon electrode was applied for electro-catalytic determination of loratadine. The modified electrode lowered the reduction overpotential of loratadine with the enhancement of its peak current; this behavior was attributed to the electro-catalytic activity of the modified electrode toward loratadine electro-reduction. Various parameters, such as pH of the working solution, amounts of MWCNTs, Fe3O4 beads and AuNps affecting the electrochemical performance of the modified electrode toward loratadine determination were optimized. The linear response of the modified electrode toward loratadine concentration using hydrodynamic amperometry method was between 0.05–5 μM with a detection limit of 0.04 μM (S/N = 3). The modified electrode figures of merit were high repeatability, reproducibility, long-term life time and low response time (

BackgroundThe islands in the Persian Gulf are home to several species of gazelles, i.e.,Gazella bennettii,G. subgutturosa, and a new subspecies of Mountain gazelles which was discovered on Farur Island and described for the first time in 1993 asGazella gazella dareshurii. Later, phylogenetic analyses showed that the Mountain gazelles consist of two species:G. gazellaandG. arabica. As the Farur gazelles are more closely related to the Arabian forms of the Mountain gazelles, this subspecies is regarded to beG. arabica dareshurii. Until now, the origin of this subspecies has been an enigma.ResultsHere, we used mitochondrial cytb, two nuclear introns (CHD2 and ZNF618), and morphological data to address this question by investigating the taxonomic position of the Farur gazelles. The results show that this population is monophyletic and split from otherG. arabicapopulations probably 10,000 BP.ConclusionsIt is a natural relict population that was trapped on the island due to the rising sea levels of the Persian Gulf after the Last Glacial Maximum. Intermittent drought and flooding are suggested to be the main factors balancing population growth in the absence of natural predators on this monsoon-influenced island. Conservation actions should focus on preserving the natural situation of the island (cease introducing mesquite tree and other invasive species, stop building new construction and roads, and caution in providing water sources and forage), and possibly introducing individuals to other islands (not inhabited by gazelles) or to fenced areas on the Iranian mainland (strictly isolated from other gazelle populations) when the population reaches the carrying capacity of the island.

In the present study, we demonstrate comprehensive three-dimensional breakthrough pollutant advection-dispersion curve predictions throughout the 3D block of a highly heterogeneous fractured aquife...