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"nBackground: Though many therapeutic modalities have been suggested but still no definite treatment for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is available. Many compounds including Alkaloid, Quinones, Iridoids, Terpenes, Indole analogue have been documented to have antileishmania activity invitro. On the other hand, the aforementioned compounds can be found in the herbs including Thyme, Yarrow. Propolis is a brown color substance that is collected by honey bee from plants. Regarding the lack of data about the possible efficacy of these herbs against leishmaniasis, we have decided to evaluate and compare the efficacy of herbal extract of Thyme, Yarrow, Propolis and systemic glucantime against cutaneous leishmaniasis in Balb/c, and to formulate drugs without harmful chemical material and without side effect. "nMethods: During three weeks of inoculation of parasite in base tail of mice, lesions will appear in the inoculation site. The animals divided into seven groups. We used mix alchoholic extract solution two times a day, checked lesions weekly for six week and measured size of lesion in the base of tail with kulis- vernieh. "nResults: We observed significant difference between mean of lesion diameter before and after treatment in control, Yarrow and Thyme groups (p0.05). "nConclusion: Alchoholic extract to Thyme and Yarrow have good effect on lesions treatment, we suggest repeat of this study with Thyme and Yarrow extract in gel or cream base in first stage of lesions appearance.

Abstract: Applying protective coatings on metallic interconnects are being considered as the most effective approach to improve the metal endurance in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. The importance of a high green density to improve the sintered density and various properties of sintered ceramic materials is also well-known. In the present study, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of (Mn,Co)3O4 powder in iodine-added ethanol suspension was studied under constant voltage (50V) and concentration (10g.l−1). The packing behavior of green layers was investigated during deposition. An increase in solid fraction participating in the coating layer was observed with deposition time, showing that the microstructure of the deposit becomes more close-packed when EPD is prolonged. A kinetic relation based on density–time proportionality was proposed regarding the mechanism of packing of particles during EPD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, there has been a lot of research in Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA) technology because it promises low power consumption, low complexity, low latency, and compact space. Simultaneously, approximate arithmetic, a new paradigm in computing, streamlines the computational process and emerges as a low-power, high-performance design approach for arithmetic circuits. Furthermore, the XOR gate has been widely used in digital design and is a basic building block that can be used in many upcoming technologies. The full adder (FA) circuit is a key component of QCA technology and is utilized in arithmetic logic operations including subtraction, multiplication, and division. A great deal of research has been done on the design of approximate FA, full subtractor (FS), full adder/subtractor (FA/S), and 4-bit ripple carry adder (RCA) based on XOR logic, establishing them as essential components in the creation of QCA-based arithmetic circuits. This study presents three new and effective QCA-based circuits, based on XOR logic: an approximate FA, an approximate FS, an approximate FA/S, and an approximate 4-bit ripple carry adder (RCA). Interestingly, some designs have inputs on one side and outputs on the other, making it easier to reach the components without being encircled by other cells and leading to a more effective circuit design. In particular, a delay of 0.5 clock phases, an area of 0.01 μm2, and implementation utilizing just 11 cells was accomplished in the approximate FA and subtractor designs. In a similar vein, the estimated FA/S designs showed 0.5 clock phase delay, 0.01 μm2 area, and 12 cells used for implementation. An approximate 4-bit RCA is proposed using 64 QCA cells. The effectiveness of these designs is evaluated through functional verification with the QCADesigner program. According to simulation results, these proposed solutions not only function well but significantly outperform previous ideas in terms of speed and space. The proposed FA, FS, and RCA designs surpassed the previous best designs by 21%, 21%, and 43%, respectively, in terms of cell count., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Seyedi, Abdoli. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of short-term (~1 y) drought events-the most common duration of drought-globally. Yet the impact of this intensification of drought on ecosystem functioning remains poorly resolved. This is due in part to the widely disparate approaches ecologists have employed to study drought, variation in the severity and duration of drought studied, and differences among ecosystems in vegetation, edaphic and climatic attributes that can mediate drought impacts. To overcome these problems and better identify the factors that modulate drought responses, we used a coordinated distributed experiment to quantify the impact of short-term drought on grassland and shrubland ecosystems. With a standardized approach, we imposed ~a single year of drought at 100 sites on six continents. Here we show that loss of a foundational ecosystem function-aboveground net primary production (ANPP)-was 60% greater at sites that experienced statistically extreme drought (1-in-100-y event) vs. those sites where drought was nominal (historically more common) in magnitude (35% vs. 21%, respectively). This reduction in a key carbon cycle process with a single year of extreme drought greatly exceeds previously reported losses for grasslands and shrublands. Our global experiment also revealed high variability in drought response but that relative reductions in ANPP were greater in drier ecosystems and those with fewer plant species. Overall, our results demonstrate with unprecedented rigor that the global impacts of projected increases in drought severity have been significantly underestimated and that drier and less diverse sites are likely to be most vulnerable to extreme drought., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Prior to the long-term utilization of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), one of the most remarkable electrochemical energy conversion devices, a variety of difficult experimental validation procedures is required, so it would be time-consuming and steep to predict the applicability of these devices in the future. For numerous years, extensive efforts have been made to develop mathematical models to predict the effects of various characteristics of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) components on their performance (e.g., voltage). Taking advantage of the machine learning (ML) method, however, some issues caused by assumptions and calculation costs in mathematical modeling could be alleviated. This paper presents a machine learning approach to predict the anode-supported SOFCs performance as one of the most promising types of SOFCs based on architectural and operational variables. Accordingly, a dataset was collected from a study about the effects of cell parameters on the output voltage of a Ni-YSZ anode-supported cell. Convolutional machine learning models and multilayer perceptron neural networks were implemented to predict the current-voltage dependency. The resulting neural network model could properly predict, with more than 0.998 R 2 score, a mean squared error of 9.6 × 10 -5 , and mean absolute error of 6 × 10 -3 (V). Conventional models such as the Gaussian process as one of the most powerful models exhibits a prediction accuracy of 0.996 R 2 score, 10 -4 mean squared, and 6 × 10 -3 (V) absolute error. The results showed that the built neural network could predict the effect of cell parameters on current-voltage dependency more accurately than previous mathematical and artificial neural network models. It is noteworthy that this procedure used in this study is general and can be easily applied to other materials datasets.

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) caused by Leishmania major is an important endemic disease and a major public health concern in Iran. Following an outbreak of leishmaniasis in 2013 in one of the important foci in Iran, the researchers were prompted to determine the underlying causes of the epidemic. Adult sand flies were collected using sticky traps and aspirating tubes and infection with Leishmania parasites was evaluated. Also, rodents were captured using Sherman live traps and stray dogs were hunted and were tested for the presence of leishmanial infection. Active case detection was also conducted and data related to each household were recorded using a researcher-designed form. Nested PCR and PCR-RLFP techniques were employed to determine Leishmania infection in the samples. Phlebotomus papatasi was the most dominant species among the 7 different species of sand flies collected in this study. Sergentomyia clydei , Sergentomyia theodori , and Sergentomyia grekovi were identified for the first time in the study area. 20% of collected Ph. papatasi species and one Meriones libycus were infected with Leishmania major . Stray dogs demonstrated no lesions on different parts of their body. The relative frequency of active lesions and scars on the dogs were respectively 5.49% and 1.23% in 2013 and 5.82% and 0.56% in 2014. The highest number of ZCL cases due to L. major was recorded in Ardestan city. Phlebotomus papatasi is the main vector and M. libycus seems to be the primary reservoir host of ZCL in the suburbs of this city. Furthermore, due to the low density of rodent reservoir hosts in the study area, we support the hypothesis that humans may have had a role in maintaining the parasite cycle in the population., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest/competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (© Indian Society for Parasitology 2022.)

Background: Leishmaniasis is an expanding neglected tropical disease in the world reporting from 98 countries including Iran. This study focused on eco-epidemiological determinants of the disease following a rapid and unexpected increase of leishmaniasis incidence in a strategic residential district in North-East of Isfahan County, Iran., Methods: This study was accomplished from Apr 2012 to Jan 2014 in a strategic residential zone in North-East of Isfahan County, Esfahan, Iran. Monthly activity, parity, Leishmania infection and susceptibility tests, were determined on sand flies. Some portion of inhabitants and school children were surveyed to find active or passive cases of leishmaniasis and also wild rodents were collected to determine reservoir host., Results: Totally 5223 sand flies belonging to Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia genus were collected and identified; Ph. papa-tasi was the dominant species and started to appear in May and disappeared in Oct. The majority of living dissected sand flies were unfed and parous. Ph. papatasi showed 4.6% Leishmania infection through direct examination and 39.54% by nested-PCR respectively. Phlebotomus papatasi was susceptible against deltametrin 0.05%. Totally 2149 people were surveyed and incidence and prevalence of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis estimated as 45.39 and 314.40 per 1000 population. Rodents showed 73.91% and 80% Leishmania infection by direct examination and nested-PCR respectively., Conclusion: Cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. major has been established in this area. Rodent control operation and personal protection are highly recommended to control the disease in this focus., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Nezamzadeh-Ezhiyeh et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Background: Esfahan Province is considered as one of the main focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. Recently, ZCL distribution is expanding through this province leading to report of new cases in non-endemic areas. In the current study epidemiological aspects of ZCL has been investigated in Naein County in Esfahan Province., Methods: Adult sand flies were collected from beginning to the end of their seasonal activity. Rodents were caught by Sherman live traps once a month for one year. To active case detection, a hundred households in each selected village were visited in November and December 2016. Nested-PCR was employed to detect Leishmania parasite in the vector, reservoir and human., Results: Totally 1562 sand flies including Phlebotomus sergenti , Phlebotomus papatasi , Sergentomyia sintoni and Sergentomyia mervinae were collected and identified. No Leishmania infection was detected in the collected sand flies. All of the 30 collected rodents were identified as Rhombomys opimus , and of these 3.3% and 26.7% were infected by Leishmania major using microscopic and molecular technique respectively. Totally, 914 individuals were investigated and the ulcer and scar rates of ZCL calculated to be at 1.1 and 15.3 per 1000 population, respectively. Molecular results confirmed L. major infection in human and reservoir samples., Conclusion: It is concluded that ZCL is established in the area in low endemicity, and it is extrapolated the disease will not be a serious increasing health problem in the near future in this region., (Copyright© Iranian Society of Medical Entomology & Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Background Poisoning with methadone is considered dangerous and fatal, which can lead to decreased consciousness, coma, apnea and eventually death. Aims The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of educating the clients of rehabilitation (rehab) centers on the frequency of methadone poisoning among children. Methods In the present semi-experimental study, the study population included all of the clients referred to the rehab centers in an urban area of Iran who received treatment with methadone. Samples were selected using the census method. The data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire of which the content validity has been approved. To perform the educational program, educational brochures were distributed among all the rehab centers (33 centers) and one face-to-face educational session was conducted at each center. Six months after the intervention, the number of under 12 year-old children who were referred to hospital with methadone poisoning was calculated and compared to the same number from the 6 months prior to the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18. Results According to the results, the number of methadone poisonings during the 6-month period prior to the study was 29, while the same number during the 6-month period after the intervention was 9. Fisher's exact test showed a significant difference between the number of methadone poisonings before and after the intervention (p < 0.001). Conclusion The increased level of knowledge among the parents referred to rehab centers could decrease the rate of poisoning among their children. Therefore, performing this educational program is recommended for all the rehab centers.

In the present study, the chitosan (bottom layer)/polyacrylonitrile (top layer, PAN) nanofibers were coated on the sponge surface. The synthesized magnetic Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 nanozeolites have been loaded into the chitosan/PAN nanofibers to increase the performance of nanofibers toward absorption of lubricating oil, motor oil and pump oil from water surfaces. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used to characterize the synthesized nanozeolites. The morphology and wettability of nanofibers were determined using SEM and water contact angle tests. The influence of Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 nanozeolite content and chitosan/PAN/Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 nanofiber thickness was evaluated on the potential of sponges for oils absorption. The maximum capacity of the chitosan/PAN/Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 nanofibers coated sponges for absorption of motor oil, lubricating oil and pump oil was found to be 99.4, 95.3 and 88.1g/g, in Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 2wt.% and nanofiber thickness of 12μm (chitosan layer of 2μm and PAN layer of 10μm). The reusability of nanofibrous sponges showed that the hydrophobic chitosan/PAN/Fe 3 O 4 - ZSM-5 nanofibers coated sponges can be easily reused in water-oil separation for many cycles., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sand flies of subgenus Adlerius has a wide geographical distribution in Iran and are mostly found in wild form in mountainous areas. They are always considered as probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis. The objective of this study was to determine the Adlerius species and its composition in an endemic focus of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in northwest of the country., Methods: Sand flies were collected from 6 different areas of Azarbaijan-e-Sharqi Province using sticky paper traps from August to September which is active season for sand flies in this area, in 2009. The flies were mounted and identified. The length of third antennal segments, ascoid, labrum, coxite, surstyle, style, aedeagus, genital filament, genital pump, width of style, and the end of aedeagus were measured and the number of costal hairs group was also counted as the morphological characters., Results: A total of 30 adult sand flies, (26 males and 4 females) including Phlebotomus halepensis (46.8%), P. longiductus (13.3%), P. balcanicus (23.3%), P. comatus (3.3%), and Adlerius spp. (13.3%) belong to subgenus Adlerius were identified respectively in 6 counties. One P. comatus male was captured in front of a cave located in the hillside of a mountain covered with the vegetation in Varzeqan area., Conclusion: The presence of at least 5 species of the subgenus Adlerius in Azarbaijan-e-Sharqi Province, an endemic focus of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in Iran, shows that the risk of parasite transmission among man and reservoir animals is high during the active season of sand flies. P. comatus is a new record for Iran and needs to be added to the list of Iranian phlebotomines of subgenus Adlerius.

Many rodent species act as reservoir hosts of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in endemic areas. In the present study a simple and reliable assay based on nested PCR was developed for the detection and identification of Leishmania parasites from rodent skin samples. We designed Leishmania-specific primers that successfully amplified ITS regions of Leishmania major, Leishmania gerbilli and Leishmania turanica using nested PCR. Out of 95 field collected Rhombomys opimus, 21 were positive by microscopic examination and 48 by nested PCR. The percentage of gerbils infected with L. major, L. gerbilli and L. turanica was 3.2%, 1.1% and 27.4%, respectively. In 15.8% of the rodents, we found mixed natural infections by L. major and L. turanica, 1.1% by L. major and L. gerbilli, and 2.1% by the three species. We concluded that this method is simple and reliable for detecting and identifying Leishmania species circulating in rodent populations.

Accurate morphological differentiation between the liver fluke species Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica is difficult. We evaluated PCR-restriction enzyme profiles of internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) that could aid in their identification. Fifty F. hepatica and 30 F. gigantica specimens were collected from different hosts in three provinces of Iran. For DNA extraction, we crushed fragments of the worms between two glass slides as a new method to break down the cells. DNA from the crushed materials was then extracted with a conventional phenol-chloroform method and with the newly developed technique, commercial FTA cards. A primer pair was selected to amplify a 463-bp region of the ITS1 sequence. After sequencing 14 samples and in silico analysis, cutting sites of all known enzymes were predicted and TasI was selected as the enzyme that yielded the most informative profile. Crushing produced enough DNA for PCR amplification with both the phenol-chloroform and commercial FTA card method. The DNA extracted from all samples was successfully amplified and yielded a single sharp band of the expected size. Digestion of PCR products with TasI allowed us to distinguish the two species. In all samples, molecular identification was consistent with morphological identification. Our PCR-restriction enzyme profile is a simple, rapid and reliable method for differentiating F. hepatica and F. gigantica, and can be used for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania major has become a hot topic in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine some ecological aspects of sand flies in the study area., Methods: Sand flies were collected biweekly from indoors and outdoors fixed places in the selected villages, using 30 sticky paper traps from the beginning to the end of the active season of 2006 in Kerman Province, south of Iran. The flies were mounted and identified. Some blood fed and gravid female sand flies of rodent burrows and indoors were dissected and examined microscopically for natural promastigote infection of Leishmania parasite during August to September., Results: In total, 2439 specimens comprising 8 species (3 Phlebotomus and 5 Sergentomyia) were identified. The most common sand fly was P. papatasi and represented 87.1% of sand flies from indoors and 57.2% from outdoors. The activity of the species extended from April to end October. There are two peaks in the density curve of this species, one in June and the second in August. Natural promastigote infection was found in P. papatasi (12.7%)., Conclusion: Phlebotomus papatasi is considered as a probable vector among gerbils and to humans with a high percentage of promastigote infection in this new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis. The Bahraman area which until recently was unknown as an endemic area seems now to represent a focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission in Iran.

Background & Objectives: Rodents belonging to Gerbillinae subfamily are the main reservoir hosts of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. Regarding the important role of these rodents in the maintenance of Leishmania major in the nature, their identification with morphometric, cytogenetic and molecular methods seems to be essential. The karyotype study of these species, captured from a new focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis located in the south of Isfahan Province was carried out in 2007., Methods: Twenty specimens containing seventeen Meriones persicus and three Nesokia indica were captured from Mobarakeh rural district south of Isfahan. Giemsa-stained karyotypes of these two species were prepared from bone marrow chromosome preparations. Systematic important characters of the body and cranium (incisors, molars, occipitonasal, condylobasal, zygomatic, tympanic bullae, etc.) of these rodents were studied. Cranium size was measured using a Vernier calipers., Results: Specimens of M. persicus and N. indica had 2n = 42. The karyotype study of these species included metacentric, sub-metacentric and acrocentric chromosomes. Morphological studies were completely matched with the reported characters of these species and further confirmed the diagnoses., Interpretation & Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, M. persicus and N. indica are two completely differentiated rodents species that were collected from a new focus and they can also be differentiated morphologically.

In the study carried out in the rural district of Borkhar (Isfahan, Iran) from March 2003 to March 2004 efficacy of deltamethrin impregnated bed nets (IBs) and curtains (ICs), polyester mesh size 156 holes/ inch2, (25 holes/cm2) were compared to that of non-impregnated bed nets (NIBs) and curtains (NICs), in relation to zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) control. Deltamethrin impregnated bed nets and curtains at 25 mg a.i./m2 were distributed among 168 households in one of the villages and NIBs plus NICs among the same number of households in another village. In the third village similar numbers of households were used as control. Health education messages were disseminated to ensure the population's compliance with the proper use of bed nets and curtains in the two intervention areas. Entomological surveys using sticky paper traps were carried out in ten households in each village for the collection of sand flies from indoors and outdoors, every two weeks to assess the impact of insecticide impregnated bed nets and curtains on the density of Phlebotomus papatasi. Deltamethrin susceptibility tests and also bioassay tests were carried out on this species by WHO standard method. Case findings were done by house-to-house visits once a season and all the inhabitants of the selected households in each village were examined. The results showed that IBs and ICs can provide a definite personal protection against sand fly bites and interrupted the transmission of ZCL in the intervention village. NIBs and NICs did not provide any protection against the disease. There was no significant difference in monthly density of P. papatasi in indoors and outdoors among the villages (P > 0.05). Susceptibility tests showed that this species was susceptible to deltamethrin in the field population in the area. Bioassays confirmed that the treated nets with deltamethrin remain effective for more than three months and was an excellent mean of individual protection. It is recommended that IBs and ICs can be used widely in the control of ZCL in other similar foci such as hyperendemic and mesoendemic areas of Iran.