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AbstractThe aim of the current research is to identify the factors affecting the weakening of entrepreneurship in university graduates of Payam Noor universities in Tehran province. According to its purpose, the research method is applicable in terms of purpose, and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) in terms of implementation; of thematic analysis type, and exploratory in terms of the nature. The statistical population of the research in the qualitative part includes 11 experts in the field of entrepreneurship and management professors, selected by purposeful sampling. In the quantitative part, the statistical population of the research includes 3750 final year students. The sample size is 384 people based on Cochran's formula. Multi-stage cluster sampling (PPS) was used in this part. The data collection tool is a semi-structured interview (qualitative dimension) in the qualitative part; and in the quantitative part, the questionnaire is taken from the qualitative part. The analysis in the qualitative part is thematic analysis, and in the quantitative part it is confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS and PLS software. The output of the research is to emphasize the strengthening of four variables, including the individual and personal capabilities and qualifications of the graduates, strengthening the educational elements related to the development of entrepreneurship in the university, strengthening the government's support conditions (facilitation, support and encouragement), and finally intervention in the six environments effective on academic entrepreneurship. Extended abstractIntroductionAn integrated view of human resources in several discussions of higher education, employment, national development, transition from the concept of first and second generation universities and the tendency towards third generation universities and similar cases has caused the training of entrepreneurial personnel to be one of the basic tasks in leader educational institutions such as first-tier universities (Yazdan Panah & Zabeidi, 2017). Entrepreneurship education and academic entrepreneurship empowers human resources in a standard process and leads to an innovative business in the university or near the university, alone or with others. From the point of view of students, entrepreneurship is attractive due to the simultaneous response to three needs of affiliation, belonging, and success. Most students' life experiences have shown that the tendency towards academic entrepreneurship makes it easier to find a job and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of students, creating space for independent work experience and facilitating the process of realizing individual and organizational entrepreneurship (Grecu & Denes, 2017).Therefore, the researcher asked the main question: what are the factors affecting the weakening of entrepreneurship in university graduates of Payam Noor universities in Tehran province?Theoretical FrameworkThe entrepreneurial university and academic entrepreneurship in the new world has been removed from the emphasis of mere theory and are considered as one of the main drivers of social systems and the link between the university (technology and innovation systems), industry (production systems), and the government (the factor of creating development conditions) (Boruck Klein & Cesar Mafra, 2020). Based on this, the three concepts of entrepreneurship education, academic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial university are considered as related concepts and generally having a longitudinal relationship with each other (Klucznik, 2021).Academic entrepreneurship depends on the entrepreneurial behavior of the members and active human resources in the university. Management studies show that identity development precedes behavioral actions and in order to realize academic entrepreneurship focused on students, it is necessary to strengthen their entrepreneurial identity in different ways as much as possible, and it is based on the level of behavioral expectations (Hayter et al, 2022).Mahmudi Khamiri Pur et al, (2022) investigated the identification of factors affecting the improvement of faculty members with an entrepreneurial approach (case study: Payam Noor University, Hormozgan Province). Based on the interviews conducted with experts in the field of human resources improvement, 71 basic themes along with 25 organizing themes were identified, and categorized based on the conclusion of the researcher in 5 comprehensive dimensions including the dimensions of individual improvement, organizational improvement, educational improvement, research improvement, and professional improvement.Karimpour Malekshah et al, (2022) investigated the identification of components and measuring the relationships of entrepreneurial knowledge dimensions in large-scale cooperatives. Based on the findings obtained from the research, the pattern of entrepreneurial knowledge formation in large-scale cooperatives has four dimensions: individual characteristics, infrastructure and organization, environment, and support. Also, in order to measure the effectiveness and affectability of the dimensions together, with the help of the Dimtel method, it was determined that the causes include individual characteristics, infrastructures, and the organization; and the effects include the environment and support.Research methodologyAccording to its purpose, the research method is applicable, and in terms of implementation, it is mixed (qualitative-quantitative), of thematic analysis type, and in terms of the nature, is exploratory type research. The statistical population of the research in the qualitative part is experts in the field of entrepreneurship and management professors, entrepreneurs who have more than 5 years of work experience and have relevant research activities in this field (project manager or main collaborator), and familiar with the structure and activity procedure of Payam Noor University (a previous student of the university, a lecturer at Payam Noor University, or have other meaningful and effective connections with this university). Sampling method in the qualitative dimension is targeted sampling; the research was conducted on the selected and introduced people as the statistical population, and eleven experts were selected as the research sample. In the quantitative part, the statistical population of this research includes final year students studying in 18 units and centers of Payam Noor in Tehran province in multiple disciplinary groups of humanities, basic sciences, technical and engineering; boys and girls separated, as well as graduates of the year of 1401 Payam Noor universities in the province. The number of qualified students is around 1750 and the number of graduating students is around 2000 (previous years). According to this rule, the total number of people in the statistical community under investigation is 3750 people. According to Cochran's formula, the sample size is equivalent to 384 questionnaires. Combined methods, semi-structured interview (qualitative dimension) and questionnaire survey of the target population and library studies (quantitative dimension) have been used collect information in this research.Research findingsThe analysis is thematic in the qualitative part, and confirmatory factor analysis in the quantitative part using SPSS and PLS software. The output of the research is to emphasize the strengthening of four variables, including the individual and personal capabilities and qualifications of the graduates, strengthening the educational elements related to the development of entrepreneurship in the university, strengthening the government's support conditions (facilitation, support and encouragement), and finally intervention in the six effective environments on academic entrepreneurship.ConclusionThe current research has been conducted with the aim of identifying factors affecting entrepreneurship among college graduates of Payam Noor universities in Tehran province. The result of this research is in agreement with the results of Mahmudi Khamiri Pur et al, (2022), Karimpour Malekshah et al, (2022), Daneshniya et al, (2021), Akbari et al, (2020), Dorri et al, (2020) ), Keshavarz (2014). Akbari et al, (2020) showed that the identification analysis of 20 components is stated in five main categories: 1- strategy and management, 2- structure and processes, 3- culture, 4- educational system, and 5- network of interactions as main components and categories of the formation of an entrepreneurial university. Finally, in order to show the importance and priority of these components as an input to the decisions of policy makers in the field of higher education to move the country's universities towards entrepreneurial universities, the hierarchical group analysis method has been used. In this regard, while using the opinions of 7 specialists and technical experts in the field of higher education, the weight and priority of the categories and components have been calculated and presented. Based on this, the five components of leadership, entrepreneurial organization, resource management, entrepreneurial attitude and laws have the highest weight and importance.According to the research results, the following suggestions were made:In order to improve the skills and competences and individual qualifications of the graduates, proposing the development of the concept of education in addition to the topics of education, holding skill courses, providing suitable platforms and conditions for taking role models and finding role models from entrepreneurial people are part of the recommendations that can be presented. In the aspect of improving skills, investments should be made on the technical skills, management skills and communication skills of the graduates, respectively.In order to strengthen and improve the attitudes, behaviors and values ​​of graduates and students regarding entrepreneurship, it is necessary to work on the psychological field of people and change values ​​and improve behaviors with concrete value creation.

This paper reports the preparation and characterization of asymmetric membranes for direct air capture (DAC) in polysulfone membrane contactors. In the previous studies it was found that blending the polysulfone with modified Lupasol G20 improved the polysulfone membrane performance; however, the hydrophobicity and stability of the additive require improvement for the application in gas/liquid system. In order to achieve this objective, in the current study, Lupasol G20 was grafted with phenyl isocyanate via urea linkages in a solvent-free and eco-friendly method. Membranes with different amount of the additive were prepared by phase inversion and characterized by several techniques in terms of morphology, porosity, wettability, and stability in aqueous KOH solution. Finally, CO2 solubility and mass transfer coefficient were determined and correlated with membranes’ performance in the direct air capture device. In general, it was found that the presence of the additive greatly improved the characteristics of the membranes in terms of CO2 capture efficiency and robustness, outperforming the results obtained previously. The best results for were obtained with 5% additive content reaching 0.18 [mol/m2s].

This study aimed to develop a model for developing a shared economy with an economic development approach in the Iranian sports industry. The research method was a two-stage exploratory combination of instrument making. In the qualitative part, the purposeful sampling method and theoretical saturation technique were performed. The tools used were to identify semi-structured interviews (with focus groups) and study documents. To ensure the validity and reliability of the study, the Lincoln and Guba evaluation methods were used. In the quantitative part, the research method was a descriptive survey. The statistical population was the economic activists in sports and sports marketing students. According to Cochran’s sample size determination formula, 384 people were considered as the sample. to collect data from the questionnaire of the framework model of the shared economy model in sports with an economic development approach that includes 43 items that have been extracted according to the theoretical foundations and the qualitative part of the research. Eight professors of sports management were used to evaluate the face validity and the carcass model was used for the content validity of the questionnaire questions. (CVR=0.86) and content validity was confirmed. Cronbach's approved alpha was also used. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data to evaluate the fit of the research model. The results of the research in the qualitative section showed that after examining the Delphi method and performing the first stage, 31 items were identified. In the second stage, 40 items were identified, and in the third stage; Finally, 50 items were identified. The three dimensions of human ecology, fiscal policy, and value-oriented processes emerged as a framework for the model of a shared economy in sports with an economic development approach. And in the quantitative part, the human ecology dimension with a value of 0.71 affects the value-oriented process dimension with a value of 0.65 and the fiscal policy dimension with a value of 0.63 affects the framework for the development of a shared economy in sport. The results also showed that the research model has a good fit. Therefore, it is suggested that the sports organizations' managers pay attention to the factors of this research to implement economic development by emphasizing a shared economy.

Stealthy zero-dynamics attacks are a subset of false data injection attacks (FDIAs) that are especially dangerous, as they are designed to be undetectable by any intrusion detection mechanisms. This paper shows that stealthy attacks can be more destructive on power electronic dominated grids (PEDGs) than traditional power systems, by taking advantage of the low inertia property of PEDGs. The low inertia of these power grids causes the system to be prone to frequency instability when disturbances occur, meaning that an attacker can cause more harm to a system in a shorter amount of time. Another advantage to the attacker is an increased amount of telecommunication devices in PEDGs which provides the attacker with a larger attack surface. It is thus critical that we strive to design PEDGs in such a manner that we minimize their susceptibility to stealthy attacks. We provide a small signal model for a PEDG system, along with the the state space representation of the low-inertia part of the system, and we show that even without the state-space model of the whole system, a stealthy zero-dynamics attack can be constructed and can be successful on a PEDG. Results are also provided to show that strategically choosing model parameters in the design phase of the system can prevent the existence of stealthy zero-dynamics attacks.

Introduction:As a source of government revenue for the provision of various social, welfare, and cultural services, taxes have a long history. With regard to their role in the economic and social developments of societies despite the lack of desirable and a voluntary tax payment behavior, it is necessary to identify the social contexts of tax payment so as to encourage trust and public participation in this process. Thus, this study aimed to explore the social contexts for tax payment behavior and identify the conditions and factors that play a role in increasing or decreasing public trust and participation in it. Materials & Methods:To meet the purpose of the research and achieve a deep understanding of the social context concerning this issue, an interpretive paradigm and qualitative approach was employed based on the grounded theory. The theoretical purposive sampling was used to select the participants. The financial managers of production companies in Yazd Province in Iran, who had lived experiences of the context and consented to participate in this research, were selected as the target community. 13 managers with different ages and work and management experiences participated in the study. The data obtained from the interviews were transcribed and analyzed as soon as they were collected so as to reveal the relevant ambiguous and sensitive points and obtain the final theory; thus, the researcher could pay more attention to them in the subsequent interviews. Sampling continued until the theoretical saturation was reached. At the open coding stage, the text was analyzed line by line (sometimes word by word) and the annotations and additional explanations were written as comments in the Microsoft Word file in the margins of the interview text and the attached concepts. In the next stage, the obtained concepts and subcategories were reduced to the main categories and the core category was constructed in relation to the main categories and subcategories obtained from the previous two stages based on a fixed comparison technique. Finally, to show the structure and process of the discovery and construction of the core category, a paradigm model was drawn up, which consisted of 5 sections: causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, axial phenomenon, strategies, and consequences. Throughout the process, we adhered to the ethics and scientific principles by maintaining confidentiality of the information and using nicknames for the participants, besides observing other ethical considerations, such as participant’s consent and non-manipulation of data. Discussion of Results & Conclusions:The research findings indicated 29 main categories and one core category entitled "tax value inversion". Based on this paradigm model, the evidence from the participants' narratives and theoretical design of the research was presented. The research results demonstrated the formation of axial phenomenon called "tax evasion/compulsory taxation". In this way, the actors were faced by a situation that involved coercion and mutual distrust, especially institutional distrust. Accordingly, they were reluctant to pay taxes and even avoided paying them. They made various justifications and excuses to legitimize their tax evasion, resulting in the reduced amount of the paid taxes. However, once they failed in their tax evasion, they were forced by the tax officers to pay them. In general, it could be said that a number of micro and especially macro factors played a role in directing either a voluntary or evasive tax behavior. Both cultural factors, such as a weak tax culture, taxpayers' misconceptions of the tax system functions, and their intentions, and structural and macro factors, including political, economic, and social conditions, played roles in the voluntary or odd taxpayers' performance. For example, the results indicated that economic anomalies, self-interpretation of laws, lack of transparency of tax laws, and structural corruption played significant roles in the taxpayers' increased dissatisfaction and tendencies to evade taxes. Also, it could be said that one of the excuses and justifications made by the actors and taxpayers for tax evasion was a kind of covert protest against the structural conditions of the society, such as political distrust, social despair in improving the situation, expanded injustice, and lack of transparency in taxation and economy. In fact, taxation has lost its value and meaning and become as an anti-value in tandem with the improper structural conditions of the society, economy, and culture. All these have led to collective/national disorder, reproduction of anomic distrust, and very little development in tax systems.

Purpose: This study aims to locate the Customer Order Decoupling Point (CODP) based on supply chain typology using Make to Stock (MTS) and Make to Order (MTO) approaches for standard and innovative products in the Bushehr Polymer industry.Design/methodology/approach: Two mathematical models have been proposed that seek to minimize the costs of mass production, customized production, and transportation costs. To solve and simulate the models, MATLAB R2019a software has been used. Then, the indicators and requirements of pulling and pushing production management strategies have been extracted and calculated.Findings: The results indicated that the polymerization stages of the products include six stages: casting, molding, extrusion, bonding, cutting, and forming. Also, findings indicated that the optimal locating of (CODP) for polymer products is in the pushing production area and the cutting and molding stage. The determined optimal location indicated that the producer will have the lowest cost at this location for future production. It was inferred that the (CODP) point is based on the supply chain typology approach in the cutting and mass production area. Considering the nature of the linear model minimization of this research, the total cost index (C) indicated the lowest value in this area.Research limitations/implications: Due to the unique characteristics of the case study, the results of this research cannot be generalized to other industries. The covid-19 pandemic resulted in difficult access to data. The lack of research-related studies was another limitation. It was recommended to examine the position (CODP) in the LARG, sustainable and robust supply chain. Also, it was suggested to perform similar research in other industries and compare the results. Practical implications: Most of the company's products were located in the mass production area or standard products, hence, the company must maintain its profit margin by focusing and relying on this area. On the other hand, it should be noted that in the current economic situation, accepting separate orders outside the normal production conditions, not only does not benefit the company but also leads to the loss of the available resources spent on production lines. The supply chain typology of polymer products outlined that the values of the variables of the studied model in a period of 12 months can be calculated based on the point of separation of the customer order.Originality/value: This study removes additional and ineffective patterns in the literature and enumerates the necessary indicators to determine the point of CODP. The innovation aspect of this study is the typological approach of the polymer supply chain and identifying its six steps for determining the CODP point to manage cost and time.

Abstract In this article, we synthesized a novel dendritic 2-oxazoline, 2-(3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazole), and its amide precursor N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)benzamide. Of the distinct synthetic routes explored, it was established that the direct amidation of esters with sodium methoxide followed by the dehydrative cyclisation with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone as oxidizing agent and triphenylphosphine was the most efficient route to synthesize the dendritic 2-oxazoline. Besides, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)benzamide exhibited a monotropic columnar mesophase, whilst the dendritic 2-oxazoline does not exhibited a liquid crystalline mesophase. At the end, the first attempts to polymerize the 2-oxazoline monomer via cationic ring opening polymerization showed promising results. Therefore, the dendritic 2-oxazoline could be used as a mesogenic monomer in the synthesis of side-chain liquid-crystalline polyoxazolines that might self-assembly into columnar structures.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of upper extremity coordination exercises based on fatigue prediction on fine and gross manual dexterity, upper limb motor function, shoulder and elbow proprioception, occupational performance, and activities of daily living in chronic stroke survivors. Methods: In this pilot double-blind randomized clinical trial, 24 chronic strokes were enrolled using the non-probability sampling method. Participants were randomly allocated to the control (received routine occupational therapy) and intervention (received upper extremity coordination exercises based on fatigue prediction using the Kinect) groups. Before and after the interventions (six weeks, three sessions/week, 45 min/session), as well as six weeks after completion of interventions, participants were assessed using the following tools: Box-Block Test, Purdue-Pegboard Test, Wolf-Motor Function Test, Action Research Arm Test, Manual Ability Measure-16, Grip Dynamometer, Shoulder Position Sense Test (SPST), Elbow Position Sense Test (EPST), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Shah-Barthel Index (SH-BI), and Multi-dimensional Fatigue Inventory. This project was carried out in the rehabilitation department of Shafa-Yahyaeian Hospital from May 2019 to June 2020. Results: The results showed a significant improvement in all assessments of both control and intervention groups (P≤0.05), except for SH-BI. Further, the improvement of EPST and SPST scores in the intervention group was significantly greater than the control group (P≤0.05). Also, a significant decrease in fatigue severity was observed in both control and intervention groups (P≤0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that upper extremity coordination exercises based on fatigue prediction in combination with routine occupational therapy could lead to improvement of upper extremity sensory-motor functions and power grip and caused a decrease in fatigue severity in chronic stroke.

Background and purpose: Nowadays, widespread use of automated teller machines (ATMs), has increased the possibility of contamination of hands due to contact with the surfaces of these devices. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of bacterial contamination and antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolated bacteria from the keyboard of these devices in Sari, north of Iran. Materials and methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, the keyboards of 200 ATMs were sampled by sterile swab and transferred to the laboratory. The samples were inoculated in TSB medium and, after 24 hours of incubation at 37 ° C, were cultured on specific solid media and incubated. Then, the isolated bacteria were identified and their antibiotic resistance pattern was examined by disk agar diffusion method. Results: Bacterial contamination was observed in 97% of the samples. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most frequent identified bacteria (36.08%), while Bacillus cereus was the least frequent bacteria (1.54%). K. pneumoniae showed a high resistance rate against Tetracycline (91.42%) and a low resistance rate towards Imipenem (2.85%). Conclusion: Regular disinfection of ATM keyboards has a significant role in reducing and controlling bacterial contamination. Also, due to increased antibiotic resistance of isolated bacteria, it is possible to combat this problem by precise monitoring on the performance of antimicrobial stewardship programs.

This study was conducted to examine the synthesis of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles, using the hydroethanolic extract of Citrus aurantium flowers, through the application of FeCl2.4H2O, FeCl3.6H2O, and Zinc Acetate. The present piece of work is regarded important especially when ascertaining the potential of a widely distributed underused mangrove associated plant, C. aurantium, as used in the folk medicine. The as-prepared ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles was adequately dispersed and stabilized in an aqueous solution through biological ligands extracted from C. aurantium flowers. The functional groups existing in the bio-ligands of the crude extract particularly the polyphenol compounds act like reducing and stabilizing agents in the formation of nanoparticles. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles have been characterized using different modern techniques, such as UV–Visible spectroscopy, HR-TEM, DLS, XRD, FT-IR, XPS analyses, etc. The EDS and FT-IR methods were capable of detecting the presence of the Zn element inside the structure of nanocomposite. However, magnetic properties of the Zn ferrite materials are reduced significantly due to the agglomeration, particularly in aqueous solution. In this research, it was attempted to synthesize polyphenol coated Zn ferrite through the green synthesis method in order to prevent agglomeration among the nanoparticles. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the presence of polyphenols on the surface of ZnFe2O4 ferrite. The XRD and FESEM results showed that both the degree of crystallinity and particle size of the materials increased with an increase in the precipitation temperature.

The hyper-immunoglobulin M (HIGM) syndrome comprises a group of rare inherited immunodeficiency disorders characterized by normal or elevated levels of serum IgM with low or absent levels of serum IgG, IgA, and IgE. Patients with this syndrome usually present with a history of recurrent infections or opportunistic infections. Here, we report two male cousins from homozygote twin mothers. The first cousin presented with no signs or symptoms other than neutropenia, which was accidentally found in a routine blood test. Immunological workup in this patient showed undetectable IgG and IgA levels and normal IgM levels. The second cousin had a history of recurrent infections, and at the time of admission, he was diagnosed with Pneumocystis jirovecii infection. The immunologic workup of this patient showed undetectable IgG, decreased IgA, and increased IgM level. Due to their interesting family relationship, genetic analysis was performed, which detected a novel mutation in exon 2 (c.266 del G) of the CD40 ligand gene (CD40LG).

Introduction and aim. Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an immune-mediated destruction of liver cells, in recognition of interface hepatitis, seropositivity for autoantibodies, and interface hepatitis in histology sections. Hepatocyte destruction in AIH is the direct result of CD4+ T-cell destruction. Yet, Th17 mediated immune attach and a diversity of cytokine networks, including pro-inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin 1 (IL-1) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6), set the stage for the destructive liver damage.Material and method. Peripheral blood samples from 57 patients, with AIH, recruited from referrals to the main pediatric hospital in Tehran. Single nucleotide polymorphisms for the following cytokines genes, were evaluated through, polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) assay: IL-1a (C/T -889), IL-Ια (C/T -511), IL-1 β (C/T +3962), IL-1 receptor (IL-1R; C/T Pst-I 1970), IL-1RA (C/T Mspa-I 11100), and IL-6 (C/G -174 and A/G nt565).Results. Significant higher frequency of genotype AA was detected in patients in IL-6 at position nt565 (15.8% in AIH patients vs. 2.9% in controls, p = 0.003). The haplotype GA of IL-6 at -174 and nt565, was significantly overrepresented in the AIH group, compared to (20.9% of AIH vs. 1.4% in controls p < 0.0001).Conclusion. Results of our study, indicate significant deviation toward high yield IL-6 polymorphisms, in AIH patients. These data could bring new insights in pathophysiology of disease, which could contribute to developing novel treatments for AIH.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common oral ulcerative inflammatory disease with unknown etiology. IL-2 and IFN-γ are secreted by Th1 cells and the elevated levels of them have been reported in RAS. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL-2 and IFN-γ genes could alter the cytokine production. The aim of this study was to investigate frequencies of IL-2 and IFN-γ alleles and genotypes in a group of patients with minor-RAS (MiRAS). PCR-SSP method used to type genomic DNA of 64 Iranian patients with MiRAS for IL-2 gene (G –330 T) and (G +166 T) and IFN-γ gene at position UTR5644 (A/T). Frequency of each allele and genotype was compared with control group. IL-2 +166 G allele was significantly lower among patients which was reflected in significantly decreased of GG genotype at this position, while IL-2 +166 T allele was significantly higher among patients, IL-2 GT genotype was also significantly higher in RAS patients. No significant differences were found regarding IL-2 –330 G/T allele frequencies, while IL-2 GT genotype at this position was significantly higher among patients and IL-2 –330 TT genotype was significantly lower among RAS patients. Although no significant differences were found in IFN-γ allele frequencies at UTR5644 (A/T), AT genotype at this position was significantly overrepresented among patients compared with controls. Results of this study suggest that certain SNPs of IL-2 and IFN-γ genes have association with predisposition of individuals to RAS. More studies in different ethnic groups are needed to confirm results of this study.

In this article all the effective parameters in response of nonlinear passive viscous systems are investigated. Here, the term response is referred to the maximum inter-story drift and maximum absolute acceleration of the stories. Inter-story drift is known as the structural failure index and maximum absolute acceleration is known as the nonstructural and acceleration sensitive equipment in buildings. Based on the results, the more effective parameters in these systems are initial stiffness and strength of the building, amount of supplemental damping used in the system, stiffness of the braces connecting the dampers to the building and number of the stories. In order to show the effect of each pre-mentioned parameters, many linear and nonlinear passive control systems were analyzed by the time history method. For decreasing the influence of dominant input frequency of the excitation record and also for generalization, two white noise time histories normalized to the 1g were used as the input excitation. The results show that reduction of stiffness and strength are the key parameters in reducing absolute acceleration and also increasing the brace stiffness and supplemental damping are the most effective parameters in reduction of inter-story drift. In other words, if in design of passive control systems, only increasing the damping of the system is considered, the absolute acceleration of the system may be increased and as the result the acceleration sensitive equipment will experience the most failure during the earthquake.

In the present study, numerical study of Al2O3-water nanofluid flow in different coiled wire inserted tubes are performed to investigate the effects of inserting coiled wires in tubes on the fluid dynamic and heat transfer performance ofv nanofluids. The numerical simulations of nanofluids are performed using two phase mixture model. The flow regime and the wall boundary conditions are assumed to be laminar and constant heat flux respectively. The effects of inserting coiled wires in tubes on different parameters such as heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, temperature distribution, velocity distribution and secondary flows are presented and discussed. The results show that using coiled wire in tubes leading to increase in about 13.44% but increase the Δp about 14.66% with respect to the flow without nanofluid and coiled wire. Similarly, using nanofluid leading to increase in about 5.52% but increase the Δp about 8.92%. Finally, using both of the mentioned heat transfer enhancement mechanisms leading to increase in about 17.51% but increase the value of Δp about 22.86%.

This study has been conducted to evaluate the allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies of the polymorphic gene coding TGF-β in recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). TGF-β gene typing was done by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) assay. Allele frequencies were estimated by direct gene counting. C allele at codon 25 was significantly increased, while G allele at this position was significantly decreased in patients compared to the controls. A significantly higher frequency of CG genotype at codon 25 was found in control group. CC genotype and TT genotype at codon 10 of the gene was significantly decreased, while CT genotype at the same position was significantly increased in patients, indicating that CT heterozygosity at codon 10 TGF-β is associated with greater risk of RAS. CG and TG haplotypes were significantly decreased while CC and TC haplotypes were significantly increased in patients compared with controls. This study indicates the TGF-β single nucleotide polymorphisms could play a role in RAS pathogenesis. Thereby certain SNPs of TGF-β gene have an association with RAS pathogenesis.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is known as the most common chronic disease of the oral cavity, which affects a range of 5-25% of the population. RAS appears to be associated with some human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles and haplotypes. This study attempts to survey the distribution of HLA-DRB and -DQB alleles among Iranian RAS patients and healthy controls. In order to evaluate the association of HLA-DR and DQ alleles and haplotypes, 54 patients with RAS and 100 unrelated healthy subjects as control group were investigated. Our data indicated that DRB1*13:17, DRB1*15:01, and DRB5*01 were significantly more frequent in RAS patients in comparison to controls. However, DRB3:01allele frequency was higher in the controls compared to the patients. The significantly frequent allele in the patients compared with the healthy subjects was HLA-DQB1*03:02. However, both HLA-DQB1*02:01 and HLA-DQB1*03:01 alleles were most frequent in the healthy individuals rather than the patients. The DRB*04/DQB1*03:01 and DRB*01:01/DQB1*02:01 haplotypes were significantly distributed in healthy subjects compared with patients. However, DRB*07:01/DQB1*03:02 haplotype was found to be significantly frequent in patients than controls. In respect of HLA genes, factors are involved in the incidence of RAS; various HLA-DRB and HLA-DQB1 alleles and the related haplotypes are suggested to be the three main RAS susceptibility factors in our population study.

Equality is one of the principles and fundamental rights of human being. There has been lots of talk about equality and justice, but the legal aspect of this principle is still under dispute. Human beings are born equal, so their life has an equal moral value. This principle, along with prohibiting discrimination and bias rejection, has a great impact in the legislative and administrative decisions and is accepted in the Constitution and international norms. But here the important point in this matter is a formation of a paradox in the concept of the principle of equality in today's law. There is a kind of discrimination in the legal and social relationship, within the quest for equality. Privileges that granted to soldiers returning from war and their descendants is an issue that arises during or immediately after every war and because of its discriminatory nature becomes a controversial matter at first glance, and there are widespread opinions regarding this issue. In this article, we try to examine justifying reasons for giving employment priorities to veterans based on the theory of permissible discrimination and equality and to allude to isargaran and veterans' employment priority in Iran and the United States law. Therefore, at first, we examine the theoretical discussions and preference of veterans in America's law. In the next part, in the light of the findings of the first part, veterans and isargaran employment preference will be debated in the United States and Iran's judicial system. Discussing this privilege, we conclude that this privilege is granted to veterans and isargaran according to the theory of permissible discrimination and equality and none of these theories is completely accepted by the legislature of Iran and America and various theories have been used according to time and place. برابری یکی از اصول و حقوق بنیادین بشر به شمار می‌رود این اصل در کنار منع تبعیض و نفی جانبداری در قانونگذاری و تصمیمات اداری تأثیر فراوانی دارد و در قوانین اساسی و قواعد بین‌المللی پذیرفته شده است. اما نکتۀ مهم در این امر شکل‌گیری تناقضی در مفهوم اصل برابری در حقوق امروز است که از بطن تلاش برای برابری، گونه‌ای تبعیض در مناسبات حقوقی و اجتماعی به وجود می‌آید. این اقدام را تبعیض‌روا می‌نامند که نوعی تبعیض‌زدایی از طریق تبعیض است. از طرف دیگر امتیازات اعطایی به سربازان بازگشته از جنگ و بازماندگان آن‌ها موضوعی است که در خلال یا بلافاصله پس از هر جنگ مطرح و به سبب ماهیت تبعیض‌آمیز آن در نگاه اولیه به موضوعی بحث‌برانگیز تبدیل می‌شود و نظریات گسترده‌ای در مورد آن وجود دارد. در این نوشتار سعی بر آن است تا اولویت استخدامی ایثارگران را در چارچوب نظریه‌های تبعیض‌روا و برابری بررسی کنیم و در این زمینه اشاره‌ای هم به بحث امتیازات کهنه‌سربازان در حقوق ایالات متحده خواهیم داشت. لذا ابتدا مباحث نظری و امتیازات کهنه‌سربازان در حقوق امریکا را بررسی می‌کنیم و در بخش بعد در پرتو یافته‌های قسمت اول، اولویت‌های استخدامی ایثارگران در نظام حقوقی جمهوری اسلامی ایران به بحث گذاشته خواهد شد. با بحث در مورد امتیازات به این نتیجه خواهیم رسید که تبعیض‌روا و برابری یکی از دلایل این امتیازات بوده و هیچ‌کدام از این نظریات به طور کامل از طرف قانونگذار ایران و امریکا پذیرفته نشده است و به فراخور زمان و مکان از نظریالت مختلف استفاده شده است.

An implicit finite difference numerical model has been developed to investigate the influence of fracture heterogeneity on the propagation of thermal front in a single horizontal fracture-matrix system. Instead of depending on a complex and data-demanding geostatistical method for a precise representation of fracture aperture, a statistical linear congruential generator (LCG) method was applied in the present study to replicate the unpredictable nature of fracture aperture morphology. The results have been compared with the parallel plate model and simple sinusoidal model. Finally, sensitivity analysis of fracture aperture size and fluid flow rate has been carried out to identify the conditions at which fracture heterogeneity is critical. The results indicate that LCG-aperture enhances the heat transfer between fracture and hot rock matrix compared to the parallel and sinusoidal fractures. Further, the temperature profiles in hot rock indicate that there was a greater loss of heat for the case of LCG-aperture (25% loss) compared to sinusoidal (16%) and parallel plate (8%) apertures. It was found that heterogeneity does not play a major role at small fracture aperture size (≤50 μm) and at low flow rates. However, as fracture aperture size increases, the heterogeneity plays a vital part even at low flow rates.

Introduction: Our aim was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in patients with acute scrotum. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients with acute scrotum were evaluated and divided into 3 groups: 46 with acute epididymitis (group 1), 23 with spermatic cord torsion (group 2), and 51 with other noninflammatory causes of acute scrotum (group 3). Serum levels CRP and ESR were measured at the time of admission. Results: Of the patients in group 1, 44 (95.6%) had elevated serum levels of CRP (mean, 67.77 ± 47.80 mg/L). In contrast, only 1 patient in group 2 had a significant increase in the serum level of CRP (mean, 9.0 ± 4.90 mg/L), and the patients in group 3 did not have any significant increase in the CRP levels (mean, 7.0 ± 2.2 mg/L) (P < .001). The mean ESR values were 45.9 ± 21.4 mm/h, 14.2 ± 11.2 mm/h, and 8.8 ± 7.5 mm/h, in groups 1 to 3, respectively (P < .001). The cutoff points for distinguishing between epididymitis and noninflammatory causes of acute scrotum were 24 mg/L for CRP and 15.5 mm/h for ESR. The sensitivity and specificity values were 93.4% and 100% for CRP and 95.6% and 85.1% for ESR, respectively. Conclusion: Based on our findings, serum levels of CRP and ESR can provide helpful information for differentiation between epididymitis and other causes of acute scrotum. We recommend CRP and ESR measurements before making a decision of surgical intervention.

Purpose: Acute urinary retention in children is a relatively rare entity. There are a variety of causes that are poorly defined in the literature. We review our cases of acute urinary retention in children at three major pediatrics centers in Iran. Materials and Methods: Between 1996 and 2003, children (up to 14 years old) who had been referred due to acute urinary retention were examined. Urinary retention was defined as inability to empty the bladder volitionally for more than 12 hours with a urine volume greater than expected for age or a palpably distended bladder. All data from the patients’ past medical history, physical examination, and laboratory and radiographic assessments were collected. Also, cystourethroscopy and urodynamic procedures had been carried out according to patient’s conditions. Patients with secondary urinary retention, including those with surgical history, immobility or chronic neurological disorders, mental retardation, and drugs or narcotics consumption were excluded from study. Results: There were 86 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, consisting of 58 males with a median age of 4 years (range 1 month to 14 years) and 58 females with a median age of 4 years (range 4 month to 14 years). Etiologies were lower urinary tract stone in 27.9%, neurological disorders in 10.4%, trauma in 10.4%, local inflammatory causes in 9.1%, urinary tract infection in 7.4%, ureterocele in 7.4%, benign obstructing lesions in 5.8%, iatrogenic in 5.8%, constipation in 4.6%, imperforated hymen in 3.5%, and large prostate utricle, urethral foreign body, and rhabdomyosarcoma each in 1 case (1.1%). Conclusion: The most common cause of acute urinary retention was lower urinary tract stone in our pediatric cases. Ureterocele and stone were the main findings in girls and boys, respectively, and urinary retention in boys was twice as prevalent as that in girls.

Identification of phenological stages is the first step to study the plant response to environmental changes, such as climate, temperature, precipitation, fertilization, irrigation and biological control. In order to identify the phenological stages, 100 seedlings were studied at 5-10 days intervals. Stem and leaf length growth were measured by ruler and caliper to draw growth rate curve. Results showed that annual, biennial and 3- years old and older up to productive age of Pinus sylvestris were classified into 10, 10, 9 and 8 groups, respectively. Time of phenological stages was slightly different between biennial and older seedlings. Sigmoidal growth curve of biennial seedlings revealed that the effect of middle part of last year stem on increased seedling height was more than upper part (apical meristem). Hence any parameter that increases middle part of annual seedling will consequently increase the length growth of biennial seedlings. Stem elongation was affected by phenological stage of lammas shoot at the late growth season. Appearance of leaf buds coincides maximum length growth of seedling stem and young trees.

In order to amend usage effects of N fertilizer on Spruce seedlings and reduce its environmental compacts, an experiment was conducted during years 2005-2006 to investigate effects of N fertilizer application amount and time on growth of one and two year old seedlings of Spruce (Piceaabies) in a nursery near Moscow city. The fertilizer application time was considered on account of phenological stages. The fertilizer amount and time treatments were applied simultaneously. The fertilizer amount treatments consisted of 0 (control), 40, 110 and 180 kg/ha. The fertilizer time treatments for two year seedlings consisted of tree and six phenological stages during 2005-2006 and for one year old seedlings consisted of four phenological stages in 2005. This trial was carried out under spilt plot in completely randomized block design with three replications in the nursery. Results showed that application of N fertilizer time treatments affected the seedlings height and diameter greater than the amount treatments. Interaction of fertilizing time and fertilizing amount treatment at first growth period on seedlings heights was significant (probability of 95%) at two fertilizing time treatments, including: 5.07.05 or interval between completing root system and stop of summer growth (difference between control and the other fertilizer amount treatments) and 23.08.05 or interval of forming lateral bud and beginning formation of apical bud (difference between both fertilizing levels of 110 and 40 kg/ha and in one side control and 180 kg/ha on the other side). From time point of view, most nutritive requirements of the two year old seedlings, were observed at phenological stages of intensive shoot growth and increment and bud development (G1-B2), indicating that minimum consumption of fertilizer in this period was able to leave equal or greater effect on seedling growth compared to maximum consumption at the other phenological stages.