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Complete descriptions of the particle-size distribution (PSD) curve should provide more information about various soil properties as opposed to only the textural composition (sand, silt and clay (SSC) fractions). We evaluated the performance of 19 models describing PSD data of soils using a range of efficiency criteria. While different criteria produced different rankings of the models, six of the 19 models consistently performed the best. Mean errors of the six models were found to depend on the particle diameter, with larger error percentages occurring in the smaller size range. Neither SSC nor the geometric mean diameter and its standard deviation correlated significantly with the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs); however, the parameters of several PSD models showed significant correlation with Kfs. Porosity, mean weight diameter of the aggregates, and bulk density also showed significant correlations with PSD model parameters. Results of this study are promising for developing more accurate pedotransfer functions.

Background and Aim: Genital wart is the most common sexually transmitted infection and its role in cervical cancer has been confirmed. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the frequency of its genotypes in the patients with genital lesions referring to the clinics in Sanandaj, Iran. Material and Method: This descriptive analytical study included 50 women with genital lesions referring to the clinics in Sanandaj City from February 2016 to February 2017. Biopsy samples were examined for four genotypes (HPV 16, 18 (high risk) and HPV 11, 6 (Low risk)) by PCR. Demographic information and risk factors were recorded in a questionnaire for every patient. Using spss v.20 software, data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Fischer test was used to investigate the relationship between the risk factors and HPV infection. Results: The results showed that 28 cases (56%) were HPV positive. Among the four genotypes of HPV, HPV 6 was the most frequent (32%), followed by the types of 18 (12%), 16 (6%) and 11 (2%). Co-infection of HPV-16 and 18 were found in 2 cases (7.1%).The mean age of the patients with HPV infection was 34.07 ± 8.7 years and the mean age of the first sexual contact was 21.22 ± 4.8 years. No significant association was found between the risk factors and HPV infection (P> 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of HPV infection and its asymptomatic course in many cases, early detection and treatment of the genital warts, especially HPV16 and 18, can lead to prevention of cervical cancer.

Background and Aim: Considering the importance of sepsis and its complications in the mortality of the patients admitted to different parts of hospital and the importance of early diagnosis and timely and appropriate treatment in the patients' survival, we investigated the value of procalcitonin serum level for the differential diagnosis between infectious and noninfectious SIRS in the patients referring to Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj. Material and Methods: In this descriptive analytical (case-control) study, we measured procalcitonin level in SIRS positive patients who had been referring to Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj. After obtaing the results of the lab.tests the patients were divided into two groups of infectious SIRS (case group) and non-infectious (control group) based on the final diagnosis made by our infectious diseases specialist. Patients with history of antibiotic intake within the last 48 hours, mechanical trauma, heat stroke, recent surgery, cancer and severe burn were excluded from the study. Each group consisted of 30 patients. Using SPSS software, data were analyzed by independent T-test to compare the quantitative data between the two groups. We also used Pearson correlation test to investigate the relationship between procalcitonin serum level and variables related to vital signs and blood markers. P

Background and Aim: In recent decades, the emergence of resistant strains of staphylococcus aureus, pneumococci, enterococcus and intestinal gram-negative bacteria due to the inappropriate use of antibiotics has emphasized the necessity of proper use of antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriate antibiotic administration by general practitioner in the emergency department of a teaching hospital (Tohid Hospital) in Sanandaj, Iran. Material and Methods: In this prospective descriptive study we evaluated the prescriptions for 170 patients who had been referring to the emergency department of Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj from May 2013 to May 2014. We selected 14 to 15 patients every month in a period of one year. After examination and writing prescriptions by the general practitioner, the patients were re-examined by an infectious diseases specialist. Finally, general practitioners and infectious diseases specialist's prescriptions data were recorded and compared with each other in regard to age, gender and prescribed drugs. Using spss v.18 software the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Among 170 patients, 52.4% (89) were male and 47.6% (81) were female with an average age of 39.86 ± 15.44 years. According to the results of this study, 11.18% of patients who had received antibiotics prescribed by the general practitioner did not require antibiotics. The exact compatibility and similarity of the prescribed antibiotics by the general practitioner and infectious diseases specialist for a specific patient was 7.8%. The mean numbers of the drugs prescribed by general practitioner and infectious diseases specialist was 2.08 and 2.21, respectively. The most common prescribed antibiotics by the infectious diseases specialist and general practitioner were ciprofloxacin (13.3%) and azithromycin (13.3%). Ciprofloxacin (21.3%) and cefixime (12%) were the most common antibiotics prescribed by the general practitioner. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed necessity of educational programs for general practitioners about antibiotic prescription.

Background & Aim: Myocardial infarction is an important event and a huge change in patients' and their family life. The negative psychosocial consequences of the disease are well documented. However, studies on positive effects following myocardial infarction are much more limited. The aim of this study was to explore positive effects of illness following acute myocardial infarction. Material & Methods: This paper is a part of findings of a more extensive grounded theory study. Eighteen people with first time myocardial infarction were selected by purposeful and theoretical sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using constant comparison method Results: The findings showed that the participants have experienced one or more positive effects of the disease. Positive effects of illness were emerged in three main categories including: healthy lifestyle, worthwhile life/health, and promotion of social interaction/ interpersonal relationship. Conclusion: Patient with myocardial infarction experience huge tensions. However, the disease would also result in positive effects which could, in turn, facilitate recovery from illness and the process of adjustment to illness.

Ferropenia and consequent iron deficiency anemia (IDA), β-thalassemia, and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency are three main common hematological problems in Iran. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of these problems in Turkish migrating nomads in southern Iran. From June to October 2006, the blood sample of 152 Turkish migrating nomadic children including 79 (52%) males and 73 (48%) females were evaluated for iron indices and G6PD deficiency in southern Iran. The family history of thalassemia, favism, and signs and symptoms related to anemia of participants were determined. RBC count, different types of Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, SI, TIBC and SF were measured immediately after blood sampling. Twenty-seven (17.7%) children had serum ferritin (SF) level

Background: Peritonitis is a grievous surgical emergency, characterized by the inflammation of the peritoneum and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in surgical situations. This study investigated the delayed presentation impact on 30-day mortality in emergency laparotomies for peritonitis patients in Karachi. Methods: This longitudinal study was employed on 148 peritonitis patients at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, selected through non-probability convenient sampling. The study included secondary peritonitis-diagnosed patients of all ages and genders admitted from December 2022 to August 2023. Data encompassed pre-hospital experiences, care received at our center, and previous medical consultations. National Exploratory Laparotomy Audit (NELA) score estimated the 30-day mortality rate. SPSS version 26.0 was used, with qualitative variables presented as percentages and frequencies, considering p

Background: The aim of the study is to evaluate correlation between hyperhomocysteinemia and oxidative stress with severity of atherosclerosis lesions. Materials and Methods: The patients (52 males and 36 females) were selected from individuals with angiographically defined CAD admitted to the shahid Madani Hospital. Control groups were selected from sex and age matched apparently healthy individuals (15 Males and 24 Females). Serum Homocysteine levles were measured by ELISA method (Awareness stat fax-2100 Model). Total antionxidant capacity of samples was determined by Autoanalyzer (COBAS MIRA plus model) using Randox kits. The correlation between the measured parameters and extension of atherosclerotic lesions were calculated using statistical analysis in the both groups. Results: The mean levels of Homocysteine in patients and control groups were 20.38 ± 10.22 μmol/l and 18.56 ± 9.47 μmol/L respectively and the differences were not significant (p> 0.05) . In the patient group the mean level of Antioxidant capacity was 1.34 ± 0.12 mmol/L. whereas that of control was 1.39 ± 0.12 mmol/L (p>0.05). Using statistical analysis no correlation was noticed between extension of atherosclerosis lesions٫ low total antioxidant capacity and high serum total homocysteine . Conclusion: In this study no significant differences between levels of homocysteine and total antioxidant in patients and control groups and no marked relationship between studied parameters suggest, that hyperhomocysteinemia has no important role in progress of atherosclerosis lesions.

Abstract Background There is evidence that traumatic birth experiences are associated with psychological impairments. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of childbirth-related post-traumatic stress symptoms and its obstetric and perinatal risk factors among a sample of Iranian women. Methods This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Bushehr, Iran during a 3-months period from July to September 2009. Data were collected from all women attending eleven healthcare centers for postnatal care 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth. Those who had a traumatic delivery were identified and entered into the study. In order to assess childbirth-related post-traumatic stress, the Post-traumatic Symptom Scale-Interview (PSS-I) was administered. Data on demographic, obstetric and perinatal characteristics also were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the association between childbirth-related post-traumatic stress and demographic and obstetric and perinatal variables. Results In all, 400 women were initially evaluated. Of these, 218 women (54.5%) had a traumatic delivery and overall, 80 women (20%) were found to be suffering from post-partum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that post-partum PTSD was associated with educational level, gestational age at delivery, number of prenatal care visits, pregnancy complications, pregnancy intervals, labor duration, and mode of delivery. Conclusions The findings indicated that the prevalence of traumatic birth experiences and post-partum PTSD were relatively high among Iranian women. The findings also indicated that obstetric and perinatal variables were independently the most significant contributing factors to women’s post-partum PTSD. It seems that a better perinatal care and supportive childbirth might help to reduce the burden of post-partum PTSD among this population.

Ankistrodesmus sp, has been comprehensively studied for their potential in the production of biodiesel due to their biomass productivity and high lipid content. This study examined the biomass productivity, and concentration, lipid productivity, and concentration, and lipid contents of Ankistrodesmus sp. IFRPD 1061 under several phosphorus concentrations. The optimum conditions were attained at 0.12 g/L KH2PO4. The highest lipid content reached to 35.950 ± 4.253% (w/w) in 22 days cultivation. An open pond cultivation system was used with the addition of 10 mM sodium acetate on every fourth day (0, 4, 8 and 12) of cultivation and KH2PO4 on twelfth day of cultivation. The obtained biomass productivity and concentration, lipid productivity and concentration and lipid content were 0.709 ± 0.027 g/L, 48.304 ± 1.894 mg/L/day, 0.214 ± 0.004 g/L 14.550 ± 0.215 mg/L/day and 30.154 ± 1.627% (w/w) in 14 days of cultivation, respectively. The results exhibited that addition of 10 mM sodium acetate and KH2PO4 may enhance lipid accumulation within algae cells in an open pond cultivation system.

Substrate loading enhancement in fermenter generates difficulty in mixing that results in low ethanol yield owing to insufficient mass transfer. Thus, this study evaluated the efficiency of a six-blade Rushton turbine and a three-blade marine type propeller in a 3 L stirred tank bioreactor (STBR) by using steam exploded and alkaline pretreated oil palm trunk (OPT) fibers in a unique batch and fed-batch strategy. The fed-batch began with 5% (w/v) solid loading and after 12 h of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) reaction, 2.5% (w/v) solid was added in the bioreactor with 6 h interval. The marine and Rushton impellers were compared at 5% (w/v) batch and 20% (w/v) fed-batch SSF, using agitation rate of 100 rpm. At 5% (w/v) solid loading, the highest ethanol concentration and theoretical yield were 15.66 ± 1.71 g/L and 61.69 ± 2.34%, and 12.10 ± 0.98 g/L and 54.01 ± 3.52%, respectively for marine and Rushton impeller. At high solid loading (20% w/v), the marine impeller achieved maximum ethanol concentration of 41.33 ± 2.02 g/L at 72 h of fermentation, with a low power consumption of 54.73 kW. The Rushton impeller resulted in ethanol concentration of 39.08 ± 1.47 g/L at 96 h of fermentation with relatively higher power consumption of 83.62 kW. The marine impeller is therefore efficient with the fed-batch strategy.

Background & objective Nowadays demand for producing agricultural products has been increasing. So to investigate the effect of tillage and planting pattern using crop residue for corn forage a research was carried out in the research field of in the Dezful city of Khuzestan province. Methods & Materials A split strip plot design was applied using 3 replications based on randomized complete block design. Treatments tillage methods at three levels (tillage, minimum tillage and no-tillage) was as the main factor and management of wheat residues (Chamran cultivar) at two levels (maintaining residues standing and removing all crop residues from the soil surface) was as a secondary factor.Results The results were shown that conventional tillage under no residue and no-tillage under residue condition product the most and the least emergence rate of 3.73 and 1.96 respectively. Also conventional tillage under no residue used 10230 m3/ha compared to no-tillage covered by residue 6341 m3/ha (p≤0.01).No-tillage with an average of 2.74 and conventional tillage with 2.19 kg/m3 showed the highest and lowest physical efficiency of water consumption, respectively (p≤0.01).ConclusionThe use and development of conservation cultivation systems (especially minimum tillage) in corn can help maintain conservation of production resources such as water, soil and the environment. The use of conservation tillage systems along with the preservation of residues at the soil surface, increasing moisture storage, reducing irrigation water consumption, increasing soil organic matter and fertility and saving labor and time spent on tillage operations can be a model suitable for planting corn.

The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic with the characteristics of asymptomatic condition, long incubation period and poor treatment has influenced the entire globe. Coronaviruses are important emergent pathogens, specifically, the recently emerged sever acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causative virus of the current COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate the virus and curtail the infection risk, vaccines are the most hopeful solution. The protein structure and genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 were processed and provided in record time; providing feasibility to the development of COVID-19 vaccines. In an unprecedented scientific and technological effort, vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed in less than one year. This review addresses the approaches adopted for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and the effectiveness of the currently approved vaccines.

Dental caries is a biofilm-mediated, sugar-driven, multifactorial, dynamic disease that results in the phasic demineralization and remineralization of dental hard tissues. Despite scientific advances in cariology, dental caries remains a severe global concern. The aim of this study was to determine the optimization of microbial and molecular techniques for the detection of cariogenic pathogens in dental caries patients, the prevalence of cariogenic bacteria on the basis of socioeconomic, climatological, and hygienic factors, and in vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of selected synthetic antibiotics and herbal extracts. In this study, oral samples were collected from 900 patients for bacterial strain screening on a biochemical and molecular basis. Plant extracts, such as ginger, garlic, neem, tulsi, amla, and aloe vera, were used to check the antimicrobial activity against the isolated strains. Synthetic antimicrobial agents, such as penicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, metronidazole, doxycycline, ceftazidime, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin, were also used to access the antimicrobial activity. Among 900 patients, 63% were males and 37% were females, patients aged between 36 and 58 (45.7%) years were prone to disease, and the most common symptom was toothache (61%). For oral diseases, 21% used herbs, 36% used antibiotics, and 48% were self-medicated, owing to sweets consumption (60.66%) and fizzy drinks and fast food (51.56%). Staphylococcus mutans (29.11%) and Streptococcus sobrinus (28.11%) were found as the most abundant strains. Seven bacterial strains were successfully screened and predicted to be closely related to genera S. sobrinus, S. mutans, Actinomyces naeslundii, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Eubacterium nodatum, Propionibacterium acidifaciens, and Treponema Pallidum. Among plant extracts, the maximum zone of inhibition was recorded by ginger (22.36 mm) and amla (20.01 mm), while among synthetic antibiotics, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin were most effective against all microbes. This study concluded that phyto extracts of ginger and amla were considered suitable alternatives to synthetic antibiotics to treat dental diseases.

Soon after the first COVID-19 positive case was detected in Wuhan, China, the virus spread around the globe, and in no time, it was declared as a global pandemic by the WHO. Testing, which is the first step in identifying and diagnosing COVID-19, became the first need of the masses. Therefore, testing kits for COVID-19 were manufactured for efficiently detecting COVID-19. However, due to limited resources in the densely populated countries, testing capacity even after a year is still a limiting factor for COVID-19 diagnosis on a larger scale and contributes to a lag in disease tracking and containment. Due to this reason, we started this study to provide a better cost-effective solution for enhancing the testing capacity so that the maximum number of people could get tested for COVID-19. For this purpose, we utilized the approach of artificial neural networks (ANN) to acquire the relevant data on COVID-19 and its testing. The data were analyzed by using Machine Learning, and probabilistic algorithms were applied to obtain a statistically proven solution for COVID-19 testing. The results obtained through ANN indicated that sample pooling is not only an effective way but also regarded as a “Gold standard” for testing samples when the prevalence of the disease is low in the population and the chances of getting a positive result are less. We further demonstrated through algorithms that pooling samples from 16 individuals is better than pooling samples of 8 individuals when there is a high likelihood of getting negative test results. These findings provide ground to the fact that if sample pooling will be employed on a larger scale, testing capacity will be considerably increased within limited available resources without compromising the test specificity. It will provide healthcare units and enterprises with solutions through scientifically proven algorithms, thus, saving a considerable amount of time and finances. This will eventually help in containing the spread of the pandemic in densely populated areas including vulnerably confined groups, such as nursing homes, hospitals, cruise ships, and military ships.

According to laboratory data, the thermal conductivity ratio of an antifreeze-based hybrid nanofluid containing graphene oxide (GO) and Copper oxide (CuO) was modeled using mathematical methods, one is based on an artificial brain structure model, and the other is based on curve-fitting method. A two-variable empirical based correlation (R2 = 0.996) as a function of temperature and volume fraction suggested from the curve-fitting method. In the brain structure-based section, an artificial neural network employed by applying temperature and concentration as input variables and thermal conductivity ratio as the desired output. The correlation coefficient (R) values of designed ANN are 0.999963, 0.999409, and 0.999103 for train, validation and test, respectively. Mean squared errors (MSE) values of designed ANN are 1.01743e-6, 5.01019e-5, and 2.90237e-5 for train, validation and test, respectively. The findings indicated that the artificial neural network and the proposed correlation can predict the thermal conductivity ratio of GO-CuO (50:50%)/EG-Water (50:50%) hybrid nanofluid with high accuracy.

Oil palm frond as an abundant and inexpensive lignocellulosic waste was used to optimize alkaline pretreatment for ethanol production. The studied lignocellulosic waste is one of the largest biomasses (47%) in oil palm waste. Oil palm frond fibers were processed by steam explosion, hot water extraction, and alkaline extraction pretreatment, followed by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), for ethanol production as an alternative energy resource. To optimize alkaline extraction for oil palm frond, a Taguchi method with a three-factor design constituted a concentration of NaOH (15%, 20%, and 25%), time (30, 60, and 90 min), and temperature (70, 80, and 90 °C). An optimum alkaline extraction condition of 15% NaOH at 90 °C for 60 min gave the highest percentage of α-cellulose (80.74%) and the lowest percentages of lignin (15.99%), ash (1.05%), and pentosan (2.09%). In addition, the optimized pretreatment condition significantly improved α-cellulose to 52.65% and removed lignin up to 51.78%. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was carried out with 10% (dry weight) alkaline pretreated OPF fibers, Celluclast 1.5 L (15 FU/gram substrate), Novozyme 188 (15 IU/gram substrate), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae SC90 at 40 and 45 °C. The highest ethanol concentration, theoretical ethanol yield, and ethanol productivity observed at 40 °C were 33.15 g/L, 72.54%, and 0.55 g/L/h, respectively. The results suggest that an optimized alkaline pretreatment process using palm frond as a lignocellulosic waste is a sustainable approach to produce efficient ethanol production.

Liquid paraffin as a coolant fluid can be applied in electronic devices as a result to its suitable capabilities such as electrical insulating, high heat capacity, chemical and thermal stability, and high boiling point. However, the poor thermal conductivity of paraffin has been confined its thermal cooling application. Addition of high conductor nanoparticles to paraffin can fix this drawback properly. In this article, the influence of the nanoparticles on the thermal conductivity of base material was assessed. Temperature (20-50°C) and volume fractions (0-3%) effect on the thermal conductivity of paraffin/alumina nanofluids have been considered. Nanofluid samples were prepared applying the two-step method. The thermal conductivity was measured by a KD2 pro instrument. The results indicated the thermal conductivity augments smoothly with an increase in volume fraction of nanoparticles as well as temperature. Moreover, it observed that for nanofluids with more volume-fraction the temperature affection is more remarkable. Thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE) and effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of the nanofluid was calculated and new correlations were reported to predict the values of them based on the volume fraction of nanoparticles and temperature of nanofluid accurately.

In the present study, the mixed convection heat transfer for a nanofluid flow inside solar cell cooling system was numerically investigated. To this end, an inclined two-dimensional channel with insulated walls was taken under study. The solar cells were assumed to locate on one side of channel where the nanofluid enters at constant temperature. The study has been carried out for the Richardson numbers in the range 0.01 ⩽ Ri ⩽ 20, with solid volume fraction 0 ⩽ φ ⩽ 0.04, Reynolds number 100 and for Prandtl number 7.02. The effects of solid volume fraction and solar cells location in terms of Richardson number on the flow and temperature fields and also the heat transfer rate were studied. The results showed that the presence of nanoparticles led to an increase in temperature gradient and heat transfer near the solar cells. It was also observed that the maximum heat transfer in solar cells occurs in minimum inclination angle of channel at a certain relative distance between the cells.

With Mars colonisation becoming a reality for the near future, it is of importance to analyse how crew and cargo can be transported between Earth and a colony on Mars. This article is a feasibility and design study of a launch vehicle whose mission is to shuttle crew and cargo from Low Mars Orbit to a colony on the Martian surface. A single-stage reusable rocket has been selected to fulfil this mission, code-named Charon. The mission profile of such a vehicle was created, leading to a Maximum Growth Allowance (MGA) Delta-V budget of 6.2 km/s. With the mission profile in mind, each subsystem underwent a preliminary design. With reliability and maintainability in mind, subsystems were designed for redundancy and modularity, and an abort system was included for an added level of safety. The iterative design process resulted in a vehicle with a MGA mass of 198.7 tons, capable of transporting 1200 kg of cargo and a crew of 6 people to a 500 km orbit and back. The preliminary design of the vehicle is deemed safe. Following a fault tree analysis, the Single Launch Loss of Mission, Vehicle and Crew (SL-LOM, SL-LOV, SL-LOC) probabilities are computed to be of 0.975%, 0.12%, and 0.079%. Finally, from the vehicle’s constraints on the base, the feasibility of the project has been reflected upon. It is deemed that such a concept is of high interest only when the base is already operational, due to the launch and maintenance infrastructure that it requires, as well as the power it requires from the Martian base.

AbstractIntroduction: Observance of ethical codes in dental research has received little attention. This research aims to evaluate observance of national research ethics codes in research proceedings of doctoral dissertations in the Faculty of Dentistry, Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch in 2004-2009.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical research was conducted on 200 doctoral dissertations. National ethics codes in medical research were evaluated by two researchers. Data was recorded in specially designed forms and analyzed by descriptive statistical tests.Result: In all the dissertations – human and non-human research studies – all the ethics codes in relation to confidentiality of data, conformity with cultural and religious principles, and the possibility of side effects for the subjects, had been observed. In relation to human studies 89 dissertations lacked informed written consent forms, with oral consent taken in 83% of cases. In only 14 cases (15.7%) of the participants were aware of their right to exclude themselves whenever they wished. In laboratory research dissertations (111 cases) in only 47% of cases all the ethics codes had been observed.Conclusion: All the sixteen medical ethics codes in human research had not been observed in any of the research protocols; in laboratory research, almost half of the protocols had observed scientific ethics principles (5 codes), which might be attributed to a lack of importance of registration of ethics codes in research protocols despite the fact that researchers usually observe them in dissertation protocols. Key words: Clinical trial, Codes of Ethics, Informed consent, Laboratory research.