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Construction projects in Iraq suffer from many complex problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the most critical factors affecting the performance of Iraqi construction projects, delving into their identification, analysis, and understanding. A comprehensive list of 32 influential factors was compiled through site surveys, interviews with engineers and experts, and a review of previous research. These factors were categorized into eight groups: planning and management, design and engineering, procurement and supply chain, workforce and labor, technology and innovation, environmental and regulatory aspects, site conditions and infrastructure, and external factors. One hundred and ten questionnaires were distributed to project stakeholders, including owners, consultants, and contractors. The results found that the five most important factors affecting performance ranked using the relative importance Index are poor planning, failure to allocate resources properly, unavailability of skilled labor, poor labor productivity, and volatile economic conditions. Based on these results, for solutions to be effective, they must be adapted to the local environment. Project participants must be interested in planning as it is essential to address the same. The skills of project workers must be developed through training programs. Communication with project stakeholders must be coordinated to contribute to the decision-making process.

The initial concept of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) design is complicated and unique due to performance parameters like payload capacity, engine power, endurance, service altitude, etc. required to perform a wide range of missions. Empirical correlations between key design parameters can approximate initial characteristics but to explore the entire design space while considering sensitivities of interacting parameters, comprehensive, time consuming and computationally expensive trade-off studies are required to converge the early concept appraisal. The current paper explores the potential of Machine Learning (ML) techniques for rapid and accurate estimation of UAV design parameters in the conceptual phase by extracting knowledge from UAVs already in service. An ML framework based on five different regression models is formulated to estimate the parameters significant to mission profile using database of fixed-wing UAVs key design attributes. The predictive performance of the presented ML approach shows excellent agreement with the actual values during validation and comparatively, turns out to be more accurate than the existing methodology based on empirical correlations. Overall, ML techniques have a great potential for being applied as a surrogate model for evaluating novel UAV design concepts using less computational time and resources.

Three-dimensional printing (3DP), known as additive layer manufacturing (ALM), is a manufacturing process in which a three-dimensional structure is constructed by successive addition of deposited layers. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) has evolved as the most frequently utilized ALM process because of its cost-effectiveness and ease of operation. Nevertheless, layer adhesion, delamination, and quality of the finished product remain issues associated with the FDM process parameters. These issues need to be addressed in order to satisfy the requirements commonly imposed by the conventional manufacturing industry. This work is focused on the optimization of the FDM process and post-process parameters for Polylactic acid (PLA) samples in an effort to maximize their tensile strength. Infill density and pattern type, layer height, and print temperature are the process parameters, while annealing temperature is the post-process parameter considered for the investigation. Analysis based on the Taguchi L18 orthogonal array shows that the gyroid infill pattern and annealing cycle at 90 °C results in a maximum ultimate tensile strength (UTM) of 37.15 MPa. Furthermore, the regression model developed for the five variables under study was able to predict the UTS with an accuracy of more than 96%.

IntroductionDuring the last two decades, the villages around Lake Urmia have undergone fundamental changes both in terms of agricultural income and population structure due to the decrease in the water level of the lake and the limitation of agricultural water abstraction. The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting the resilience of rural livelihoods in the region.Data and MethodThis research is an applied one in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical based on method. The statistical population of the study is 2101 households in the villages around Lake Urmia within the Urmia County. The sample size is 363 households that were selected by proportional assignment to the population of each village and by simple random sampling method.Results and DiscussionA researcher-made questionnaire was the main instrument of the research whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.820) to the desired level. Data analysis was performed using mean comparison with T-Test and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) in SPSS.22 software. The normality of the data and the determination of the type of statistical test were determined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the relationship between livelihood resilience and livelihood capital with Spearman Correlation Coefficient was obtained. The results showed that nine components (3 components in economic dimension, 2 components in social dimension, 2 components in physical and environmental dimension and 2 components in institutional dimension- Organizational) are effective.ConclusionThe average numerical desirability of livelihood resilience factors in the target population shows that the economic factor ranks first (4.18), the physical-environmental factor ranks second (4.11), the institutional-organizational factor ranks third (3.93), and the social factor ranks third (3.93). The fourth (3.87), are located.

The length of the telomeres is maintained with the help of the enzyme telomerase constituting of two components, namely, a core reverse transcriptase protein (hTERT) and RNA (hTR). It serves as a significant and universal cancer target. In silico approaches play a crucial role in accelerating drug development processes, especially cancer drug repurposing is an attractive approach. The current study is aimed at the repurposing of FDA-approved drugs for their potential role as hTERT inhibitors. Accordingly, a library of 2,915 sets of FDA-approved drugs was generated from the ZINC database in order to screen for novel hTERT inhibitors; later on, these were subjected to molecular docking analysis. The top two hits, ZINC03784182 and ZINC01530694, were shortlisted for molecular dynamic simulation studies at 100 ns based on their binding scores. The RMSD, RMSF, Rg, SASA, and interaction energies were calculated for a 100-ns simulation period. The hit compounds were also analyzed for antitumor activity, and the results revealed promising cytotoxic activities of these compounds. The study has revealed the potential application of these drugs as antitumor agents that can be useful in treating cancer and can serve as lead compounds for further in vivo, in vitro, and clinical studies.

Purpose: Alternate formulation strategies need to be devised for improving the absorption and bioavailability of drug molecules administered through the intravaginal route. Enhancing the coating of vaginal mucosa can aid the achievement of this goal. The aim of the current study is to develop a mucoadhesive formulation having adequate adhesiveness, spreading, and viscosity profiles that can ensure good tissue absorption of adapalene upon intravaginal application.Method: A combination of mucoadhesive agents has been employed, including Carbopol-934, HPMC K-15M, and xanthan gum, in varying ratios to formulate five different gels. Furthermore, a cost-effective UV-spectroscopic analytical method was developed to quantify the amount of adapalene in tested samples, both of in vitro and in vivo origin. The analytical method was validated for different parameters, including specificity, linearity, range, accuracy, precision, and ruggedness. The modified USP-II apparatus was used for dissolution studies, while in vivo pharmacokinetic validation was performed in a murine model.Result: Of all the tested formulations, on the basis of the rheo-mechanical attributes, ACX3 performed better than the rest, including the commercially available intravaginal reference product. ACX3 had an average adhesion time of 12 min and a spread diameter of 37 mm. It showed 35 mm as average distance travelled by the diluted sample for leakage assessment. The analytical method developed for the adapalene muco-adhesive gel was within the range for all the validation parameters. For further evaluating the performance of the formulation, dissolution studies were conducted in simulated vaginal conditions which showed 94.83% of drug release within 5 minutes, while on completion of 30 min, it was measured to be 92.90%. Moreover, approximately 67% of the administered drug was recovered after 5 min of administration as evaluated through tissue recovery procedures in mice.Conclusion: The study aided in development of a formulation which can enhance the muco-adhesion of the drug molecule, resulting in an improved pharmacokinetic profile. Moreover, it established an efficient assay method which can be employed for in vitro and in vivo quantification of adapalene in simulated and physiological fluids.

Aim: Nosocomial infection is one the most important health problem in the world. In trauma patients, nosocomial infection is one the most important factor of morbidity and mortality, increased hospitalization days, economic costs, and patient dissatisfaction. This study aimed at assessing the frequency of nosocomial infection and its related factors in hospitalized trauma patients in Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 338 trauma patients who had been admitted to Kashan Beheshti Hospital during 2015. Data were collected using the questionnaire containing demographic and paraclinical results in trauma patients. The patients were examined for fever and nosocomial infection daily. The data were analyzed using t-test and Chi-square by the SPSS software version 16. Results: Twenty-one (6.2%) out of 338 trauma patients had nosocomial infection. There were 7 (33.3%) surgical site infections, 5 (23.8%) pneumonia, 5 (23.8%) soft-tissue infection, and 3 (14.2%) urinary tract infection and 4 (19.04%) fever with of unknown origin. There was a significant statistical association between underlying disease, duration of hospitalization, multiple trauma, surgical intervention, using the device, and history of admission to ICU with the rate of the infections. However, there was no significant association between sex, age, body mass index, and smoking with the rate of the infection. Conclusions: The rate of nosocomial infection was 6.2% and it was lower than other studies. The nosocomial infection is more frequent in patients with underlying diseases, with surgical intervention, admission in ICU, using device, multiple trauma, and more duration of hospitalization.

Participatory irrigation management as an approach to increase agricultural water productivity and reduce the cost of public management has been considered in Iran since the 1970s, along with global trends, and its implementation has been accompanied by many obstacles and problems. In this analytical-applied research with post-event approach, the weak of implementation of participatory irrigation management in Iran has been examined through the analysis of the content of research carried out in the country and relevant documents. To conduct this research, existing resources in the field of participatory irrigation management were identified from valid databases as far as possible and 38 sources were investigated and Atlas.ti7 software was used for data analysis. The analysis of 38 surveyed sources indicates that there are 12 domains of obstacles and problems in participatory irrigation management in Iran, which includes inadequate and anti-participation agricultural policies, neglecting of measures to provide conditions and planning, dominating narrow-minded cultures and establishing a climate of unreliability, lack of financial-credit support, a centralized and inflexible state structure, weakness in providing information and lack of information, preventive laws and regulations, lack of clarity and ambiguity in the nature and implementation of participatory irrigation management, inconsistency between users and responsible organizations, hard and soft ware and climate restrictions, incompatibility and inflexibility of applied management practices, unskilled and inefficient staff. In the end, some ways to move from the current situation and facilitate the implementation of participatory irrigation management have been suggested.

Purpose- Tourism, as a booming and dominant activity of this century, has a lot of effects in rural areas, including economic effects, which according to different spatial situations can have different intensity and directions of changes and developments. In this regard, this study was codified with the aim of spatial analysis of tourism impacts on rural areas of Rezvanshahr. Design/methodology/approach- According to the purpose, nature and method, this study is considered as a developmental and descriptive-analytical research, respectively. Documentary and survey methods have been used to obtain the required information and the TOPSIS model has been used to rank the economic and social needs of the villages studied. Using SPSS and GIS software, the collected data was processed and Pearson correlation test was used in inferential analysis of data. Findings- The results showed that the economic level of villages varies based on four indicators (the income level, unemployment rate, level of facilities and misery rate), the lowest and the highest of which are related to Kish-e-Khaleh village with 0.001 and Punnel village with 0.9056, respectively. Furthermore, the results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a significant relationship between the independent variable of the number of tourists and dependent variable of the local economy level with a correlation coefficient of 0.626 at a confidence level of 0.99. Research limitations / implications- The lack of documented information and the indeterminate number of tourists, especially in rural areas, are the most important challenges and problems of the study. Practical implications- Therefore, according to the findings, It is possible to shape the economic development of villages by developing tourism attractions and actualizing the potential of tourist attraction in settlements. Originality/value- Numerous studies have, so far, been carried out on tourism and rural economics. However, this study is valued based on the spatial analysis of the economy in the rural areas of the three types of coastal, plain and mountainous/ highland in the district of Rezvanshah and has not been addressed in previous studies.

Background: A sore throat is one of the common causes behind visits to the physician and antibiotic overtreatment in the world, especially in Iran. There are six ways of approaching pharyngitis patients. It is necessary to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis and find the best approach in all situations on group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis management to propose a pharyngitis guideline. Method: The decision tree of managing pharyngitis and its complications was drawn. The probability of every status and the branches of the tree were derived from the literature, and the cost of related diseases and complications were calculated based on the dossiers of the patients in two main pediatric central hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Further, cost-effectiveness, sensitivity, and threshold analyses were conducted to find out the best management strategy. Moreover, for a situation analysis of pharyngitis management in Iran, a questionnaire was designed and given to general practitioners and pediatricians; 130 subjects responded to it. The results were then analyzed. Results: The rapid test antigen (RTA) and culture strategy were proved to have the highest effect on the quality-adjusted life year. In addition, a less expensive strategy was solely observed to be the RTA. The worst effect gained (most quality-adjusted lost days) was, however, from the “treat none” strategy. Conclusion: According to our cost-effectiveness analysis, the best management of pharyngitis occurs in RTA alone, followed slightly by culture strategies; the “RTA then culture if needed” and “RTA and culture” approaches become possible options after them. The “treat all” and “treat none” approaches, however, were not proper strategies in any case.

Distortion and residual stress are two unwelcome byproducts of welding. The former diminishes the dimensional accuracy while the latter unfavorably affects the fatigue resistance of the components being joined. The present study is a multi-objective optimization aimed at minimizing both the welding-induced residual stress as well as distortion. Current, voltage, and welding speed were the welding parameters selected. It was observed that the parameters that minimize distortion were substantially different from those that minimized the residual stress. That is, enhancing dimensional accuracy by minimizing distortion results in an intensification of residual stresses. A compromise between the two objectives was therefore necessary. The contour plots produced from the response surfaces of the two objectives were overlaid to find a region with feasible parameters for both. This feasible region was used as the domain wherein to apply the novel butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA). This is the first instance of the application of the BOA to a multi-objective welding problem. Weld simulation and a confirmatory experiment based on the optimum weld parameters thus obtained corroborate the efficacy of the framework.

A unique approach was utilized to develop multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) silver (Ag) membranes. MWCNTs were impregnated with 1 wt% Ag loading, which resulted in a homogeneous dispersion of Ag in MWCNTs. MWCNTs impregnated with Ag were then uniaxially compacted at two different pressures of 80 MPa and 120 MPa to form a compact membrane. Compacted membranes were then sintered at two different temperatures of 800 °C and 900 °C to bind Ag particles with MWCNTs as Ag particles also act as a welding agent for CNTs. The powder mixture was characterized by FESEM, thermogravimetric analysis, and XRD, while the developed samples were characterized by calculating the porosity of membrane samples, contact angle, water flux and a diametral compression test. The developed membranes showed overall large water flux, while maximum porosity was found to decrease as the compaction load and sintering temperature increased. The mechanical strength of the membranes was found to increase as the compaction load increased. The hydrophilicity of the membranes remained unchanged after the addition of Ag particles. The developed membranes would be useful for removing a variety of contaminants from water.

Oxygen-rich SiAlON ceramics doped with various nanosized metal oxide (MO) stabilizers were synthesized with a view to examine their effect on thermal and mechanical characteristics. The nanosized starting powder precursors comprising Si3N4, AlN, Al2O3, and SiO2 along with oxides of Ba, Y, Mg, La, Nd, Eu, Dy, Er, and Yb as the MO charge stabilizer were employed in developing different SiAlON samples. Ultrasonic probe sonication was utilized to develop a homogenous mixture of initial powder precursors followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of the samples at the low temperature of 1500 °C coupled with 30 min of isothermal treatment. Sample compositions (according to general formula of alpha SiAlON: Mm/vv+Si12−(m+n)Alm+nOnN16−n) selected in the present study are represented by m value of 1.1 and n value of 1.6. The synthesized samples were evaluated for their physical behavior, microstructural and crystal structure evolution, and thermal and mechanical characteristics. More specifically, the sintered ceramics were examined by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to comprehend and relate the structural characteristics with the densification, thermal conductivity, hardness, and fracture toughness. The high reactivity of the nanopowders and the localized heating provided by SPS resulted in densified ceramics with relative densities in the range of 92–96%. Vickers hardness values were found to be in the range of 12.4–17.0 GPa and were seen to be profoundly influenced by the grain size of the alpha SiAlON (primary) phase. The fracture toughness of the samples was measured to be in the range of 4.1–6.2 MPa·m1/2. SiAlON samples synthesized using Er and Yb charge stabilizers were found to have the highest fracture toughness of 5.7 and 6.2 MPa·m1/2, primarily due to the relatively higher content of the elongated beta phase. While there was no obvious relationship between the thermal conductivity and the alpha SiAlON metal charge stabilizers, the values were seen to be influenced by the grain size of alpha phase where Dy-SiAlON had the lowest thermal conductivity of 5.79 W/m⋅K and Er-SiAlON showed the highest value of thermal conductivity (6.91 W/m⋅K). It was concluded that scientifically selected metal oxide charge stabilizers are beneficial in developing SiAlON ceramics with properties tailored according to specific applications.

The purpose of this study is to study the genius and creativity of the nomadic community in terms of adaptation with environment and protection of milk (as a perishable substance or product) in dispersed mountainous areas, identify how products produced in Sangsar tribe, and introduce milk derivations and its use as daily consumption and pharmaceutical, and identify work songs of nomadic producers as driving force of production, show the ability and capability of such a genius as a native and applied knowledge in the current conditions of society. This research has been conducted in field method with purposeful sampling and interviews with the producers of this dairy product in the nomads of the country sides of Sangsar tribes. The result shows that the tribes of Sangsar adapting with nature and providing their sustainable livelihoods, has been showing considerable ingenuity in maintaining milk production (a substance with fast perishable) and procuring various derivations of this substance and their experiments as a knowledge reserve can be used as expansion of modern knowledge.

Background: The efficacy of interferon (IFN) has recently improved by the replacement of standard IFN by the type conjugated with polyethylene glycol IFN (PEG IFN). However, the superiority of PEG IFN regimen to therapy with standard IFN remains uncertain. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess and compare the efficacy of the two standard IFN and PEG IFN regimens for the treatment of patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted as a retrospective, cohort study assessing 138 consecutive patients diagnosed as a case infected chronically with HBV. The patients were randomly assigned to receive standard IFN regimen (n = 71) intravenously or PEG IFN regimen (n = 67) intravenously for total 24 weeks. All patients were monitored monthly regarding serum aminotransferase level and hepatitis B e antigen (HBe-Ag) positivity as the viral load. Results: Overall, 8.4% in standard IFN group and 10.4% in PEG IFN responded to the treatment regimens with no between-group difference (P = 0.715). The response to treatment protocols was independent to gender, age, and viral load. In addition, 66.7% responded to standard IFN regimen, and 42.9% responded to PEG IFN regimen were positive for HBe-Ag with no difference between the two protocols (P = 0.639). Adjusted for HBe-Ag positivity, the type of IFN used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection could not be effective factor (odds ratio = 0.792, P = 0.690). Conclusion: Our study could not demonstrate the superiority of PEG IFN to standard IFN for treating chronic HBV infection.

Determination and identification of areas with economic potential, particularly in the production and processing of agricultural products and targeted investments in rural, urban and regional planning, is one of the important issues and it has a critical role in increasing employment, income, rural productivity and improve livelihood of this country. In this context, the aim of this study is to establish priority locations for processing agricultural cooperatives in rural areas of the West provinces (i.e. Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Ilam, Lorestan and Hamedan) by using TOPSIS. For this purpose, the availability of raw materials were selected as one of the most important factors affecting the establishment of cooperatives in rural areas of the West of the Country, and it was used to determine the weights while studying the literature by using the snowball sampling method. For this purpose, eleven instructor and experts from the industries in charge of agricultural products processing were selected and their comments were used. The results showed that based on the availability of raw materials to industries, rural areas of Kermanshah and Hamadan had the highest level of TOPSIS method based cooperatives and the rural areas in the provinces of Lorestan, Kurdistan, and Ilam was ranked third to the fifth.

Rural - urban broad and diverse relationships and interactions have important effects on human settlements in the form of population flows, goods, capital, information, innovation and ideas. Many of the developments that occur in towns and villages are results of rate and way of interactions between these spaces. The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors and mechanisms affecting rural- urban linkages of Karaj Metropolitan and surrounding villages and the impact of these links on rural spatial organization in the framework of regional network approach. The statistical sampling for this research comprised of 11 villages of Mohammad Abad district among them six villages have been chosen as a case sample using estimation method. Also, according to the survey purpose, 342 households were selected as sample using Cochran formula. Research samples were selected (both village and household) using distance and random sampling methods, respectively. Collecting information in this article has been carried out based on library and field studies. In field studies, required data and information have been collected using questioning and observation techniques and tools, such as questionnaires and observation card. Descriptive and inferential statistics, TOPSIS technique and SPSS software has been used for data analysis. Research findings show that, spatial flows, especially those of capital and people (population) interactions in the rural - urban area of study provides strong, physical- spatial changes (system of land use, housing, etc.) .But these developments have not positive in all dimensions and in all the villages and negative developments have followed as well (including land use changes in pomology and olericulture farming areas, and urban stlyle housing patterns) In fact, the lack of spatial planning for shaping organized and controlled flows and connections, as well as ignorance about the role of Karaj and its surrounding rural settlements has led to shortcomings is management of flows and connection modalities, and has therefore prevented development in the region.

Objective: To compare aesthetic perception of smile between gernal population and dentists by varyinglengths of maxillary lateral incisors. Introduction: Patient perception and expectation of their smile plays a very important role when providingan anterior tooth restoration. The aim of conducting the study was to compare the perception of esthetic smilebetween general population and dentists by varying length of maxillary lateral incisors. Design: Cross sectional study. Materials and Methods: A photograph of a female smile from frontal view was digitally altered to produceimages with varying lengths of maxillary lateral incisor. These images were arranged in descending order;from most attractive to least attractive by the participants. The participants of the study included two groups;first group comprised of Dental Surgeons where as second group consisted of general population. Results: Evaluation of the results showed a significant difference in aesthetic perception of smile betweenthe Dentist and general population. Conclusion: Perception of aesthetics is not similar between the dentists and the general population.

مقدمه: لیشمانیوز جلدی، جزء بیماری‌های انگلی اندمیك شایع در ایران به شمار می‌رود و یکی از معضلات مهم بهداشتی در استان اصفهان و به ویژه شهر بادرود می‌باشد كه شیوع آن در دهه‌ی گذشته دو برابر شده است. این مطالعه، به منظور تعیین اپیدمیولوژی و تابلوی بالینی لیشمانیوز جلدی در شهرستان بادرود در سال 1392 انجام شد. روش‌ها: این مطالعه‌ی توصیفی- مقطعی بر روی کلیه‌ی بیماران مبتلا به سالک شناسایی شده از طریق بیماریابی فعال در شهر بادرود در طی یک سال انجام شد. بیماران توسط پزشک ویزیت شدند و پرسش‌نامه‌ی حاوی اطلاعات دموگرافیک و تابلوی زخم، از طریق مصاحبه و معاینه‌ی بیماران تکمیل گردید. تشخیص، با آزمایش زخم از نظر جسم لیشمن انجام گرفت. اطلاعات با نرم‌افزار SPSS مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته‌ها: 63 بیمار مبتلا به لیشمانیوز جلدی، طی یک سال در شهر بادرود شناسایی شدند.6/55 درصد بیماران مرد بودند. گروه سنی 30-15 سال بیشترین فراوانی (8/23 درصد) را در بین مبتلایان داشت. 7/66 درصد بیماران سابقه‌ی اقامت در منطقه‌ی آقاعلی‌عباس را داشتند. تمامی زخم‌ها از نوع روستایی بود. بیشتر ضایعات لیشمانیوز جلدی، زخمی با ابعاد کمتر از 3 سانتی‌متر، بدون درد و همراه با خارش‌ و ترشح بودند. اندام‌ها شایع‌ترین محل ابتلا بود. اغلب موارد مبتلا، پس از درمان بهبودی کامل یا نسبی داشتند. نتیجه‌گیری: در این مطالعه، مشخص شد که در شهر بادرود، لیشمانیوز جلدی از نوع روستایی بود و در مردان و سنین بالای 15 سال شیوع بیشتری داشت. غالب موارد ابتلا پس از درمان بهبودی کامل یا نسبی داشتند.

Marriage and mate selection is one of the most important events in the social life which has been observed in various forms in different eras and societies. To achieve this, using qualitative content analysis, all marriages mentioned in the Shahnameh were analyzed. The results show that the kings and heroes as the class of Iranian society in the Shahnameh, for finding a matching partner, personal gain or for political expedience outside Iran have attempted to select mate. In general, it can be said that in ancient exogamy marriage is not only a common pattern, but it can be a time-honored tradition that goes back a thousand years.

Objectives: The elderly are more susceptible to the infectious diseaseswith higher risk of morbidity and mortality. Variouspresentations of infectious disease in the elderly can lead to delay in diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical featuresof infectious diseases and laboratory findings among the hospitalized elderly patients. Methods & Materials: In a cross sectional study, 248 older people admitted to Beheshti hospital of kashan, Iran, during the year 2009, with an infectious disease were recruited. The patient was diagnosed with an infection if fever or a local site of infection was present. After history taking and physical examination, laboratory tests including blood culture, urine culture, CBC, ESR, and CRP and diagnostic imagings such as sonography, CT scan and MRI were performed. Demographic information, clinical findings and laboratory tests results were recorded through interviews, as well as review of medical records. The results are presented by descriptive statistics. Results: Among a total of 248 patients with mean age of 74. 3 years old, 133(53.6%) were male. Most of the patients (78.4%) aged 60-75 years old. The most common chief complaint was fever (19.4%) followed by dyspnea (14.9%) and the most common underlying disease was hypertension (37%). Pneumonia was the most common infectious disease (23.4%) followed by Spiss (15.7%). a total of 117(47.2%) patients had a previous history of hospitalization. Conclusion: The most common infectious diseases leading to hospitalization and death in the elderly arepneumonia and sepsis.

Deep learning (DL) in orthopaedics has gained significant attention in recent years. Previous studies have shown that DL can be applied to a wide variety of orthopaedic tasks, including fracture detection, bone tumour diagnosis, implant recognition, and evaluation of osteoarthritis severity. The utilisation of DL is expected to increase, owing to its ability to present accurate diagnoses more efficiently than traditional methods in many scenarios. This reduces the time and cost of diagnosis for patients and orthopaedic surgeons. To our knowledge, no exclusive study has comprehensively reviewed all aspects of DL currently used in orthopaedic practice. This review addresses this knowledge gap using articles from Science Direct, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science between 2017 and 2023. The authors begin with the motivation for using DL in orthopaedics, including its ability to enhance diagnosis and treatment planning. The review then covers various applications of DL in orthopaedics, including fracture detection, detection of supraspinatus tears using MRI, osteoarthritis, prediction of types of arthroplasty implants, bone age assessment, and detection of joint-specific soft tissue disease. We also examine the challenges for implementing DL in orthopaedics, including the scarcity of data to train DL and the lack of interpretability, as well as possible solutions to these common pitfalls. Our work highlights the requirements to achieve trustworthiness in the outcomes generated by DL, including the need for accuracy, explainability, and fairness in the DL models. We pay particular attention to fusion techniques as one of the ways to increase trustworthiness, which have also been used to address the common multimodality in orthopaedics. Finally, we have reviewed the approval requirements set forth by the US Food and Drug Administration to enable the use of DL applications. As such, we aim to have this review function as a guide for researchers to develop a reliable DL application for orthopaedic tasks from scratch for use in the market., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) has been designed for motion control of knee-joint based on exoskeleton medical robot. The extended state observer (ESO) is the main part of ADRC structure, which is responsible for estimating both actual states and system uncertainties. The proposed control scheme has adopted two versions of observers as disturbance estimators: linear extended state observer (LESO) and nonlinear extended state observer (NESO). The efficacy of proposed ADRC is strongly related to the performance of used ESO. As such, a comparison study has been conducted to evaluate the performance of two ADRCs in terms of disturbance-rejection capability and robustness to variation in system parameters under two version of ESO (LSO and NLESO). In order to enhance the dynamic performance of ADRC, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm has been used to optimally tune the design parameters of control scheme. To show the effectiveness of proposed LESO-based ADRC and NLESO-based ADRC, numerical simulation have been conducted. The proposed controllers have tested for an uncertain exoskeleton-knee system, where a 20% change in parameters was permitted over their nominal values. The results indicate that the ADRC algorithm based on LESO outperforms the one based on NESO in terms of disturbances rejection ability and robustness to parameters' variations., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Fatty acids, particularly omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9, play a vital role in various biological processes. As the body cannot synthesize omega-3 and omega-6, dietary sources of these fatty acids are essential. Each omega fatty acid has a distinct chemical structure, source, and function. Cisplatin (CP) treatment is known to cause acute kidney injury (AKI) due to its inflammatory effects. This study explored the renoprotective potential of omega-3-6-9 when co-administered with cisplatin in a mice model. We divided adult mice into five groups: a control group received 0.5 ml of liquid paraffin; a cisplatin-only group; two groups were treated with low (50 mg/kg) and high (100 mg/kg) doses of omega-3-6-9 plus cisplatin; and a final group received vitamin E before cisplatin administration. The administration of omega-3-6-9 significantly decreased pro-inflammatory modulators and kidney function markers such as TNF-α, IL-1β, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine, indicating potential renoprotective effects. Our research concluded that omega-3- 6- 9 had anti-inflammatory properties and was effective against the harmful effects of cisplatin., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Apoptosis plays an essential role in the pathophysiologic processes of rheumatoid arthritis. A molecular probe that allows spatiotemporal observation of apoptosis in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo concomitantly would be useful to monitoring or predicting pathophysiologic stages. In this study we investigated whether cyclic apoptosis-targeting peptide-1 ( C ApoPep-1) can be used as an apoptosis imaging probe in inflammatory arthritis. We tested the utility of C ApoPep-1 for detecting apoptotic immune cells in vitro and ex vivo using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. The feasibility of visualizing and quantifying apoptosis using this probe was evaluated in a murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, especially after treatment. C ApoPep-1 peptide may successfully replace Annexin V for in vitro and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay for ex vivo in the measurement of apoptotic cells, thus function as a sensitive probe enough to be used clinically. In vivo imaging in CIA mice revealed that C ApoPep-1 had 42.9 times higher fluorescence intensity than Annexin V for apoptosis quantification. Furthermore, it may be used as an imaging probe for early detection of apoptotic response in situ after treatment. The C ApoPep-1 signal was mostly co-localized with the TUNEL signal (69.6% of TUNEL + cells) in defined cell populations in joint tissues of CIA mice. These results demonstrate that C ApoPep-1 is sufficiently sensitive to be used as an apoptosis imaging probe for multipurpose applications which could detect the same target across in vitro, in vivo, to ex vivo in inflammatory arthritis.

Objective: To compare the hormonal-metabolic profiles and reproductive outcomes in clomiphene-resistant patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance between women receiving metformin and those undergoing laparoscopic ovarian drilling., Methods: A total of 110 eligible participants were randomly allocated to diagnostic laparoscopy plus metformin therapy (group 1, n=55) or laparoscopic ovarian drilling (group 2, n=55). The t test was used for mean comparisons of hormonal-metabolic parameters and OGTT values before and after treatment. The chi(2) test was used for comparisons of ovulation, pregnancy, and abortion rates., Results: Groups 1 and 2 showed a significant decline in testosterone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (P<0.001 vs P<0.001), and luteinizing hormone (P<0.05 vs P<0.001), while the glucose to insulin ratio was significantly increased (P<0.001 vs P<0.05) compared with baseline. Group 2 patients had more regular cycles and higher rates of ovulation and pregnancy compared with group 1: 76.4% [42/55] vs 58.2% [32/55], P<0.04; 50.8% [131/258] vs 33.5% [94/281], P<0.001; and 38.2% [21/55] vs 20.0% [11/55], P<0.03, respectively. The difference in the early abortion rate between the groups was not statistically significant., Conclusion: Although metformin results in a better attenuation of insulin resistance, laparoscopic ovarian drilling is associated with higher rates of ovulation and pregnancy., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Three anthraquinones, named anthrasesamones A, B and C, were isolated from the roots of Sesamum indicum, and their respective structures were determined to be 1-hydroxy-2-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)anthraquinone, 1,4-dihydroxy-2-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)anthraquinone and 2-chloro-1,4-dihydroxy-3-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)anthraquinone on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. Two known anthraquinones were also isolated for the first time from S. indicum roots and characterized as 2-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)anthraquinone and (E)-2-(4-methylpenta-1,3-dienyl)anthraquinone. Anthrasesamone C is a rare chlorinated anthraquinone in higher plants.

A red naphthoquinone, named hydroxysesamone, was isolated from the roots of Sesamum indicum together with a known yellow naphthoxirene derivative, 2,3-epoxy-2,3-dihydro-5,8-dihydroxy-2-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone, named 2,3-epoxysesamone. The structure of the naphthoquinone was characterized as 2,5,8-trihydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone on the basis of spectral evidence. Full assignments of NMR resonances of 2,3-epoxysesamone were also confirmed by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic experiments. Chlorosesamone, hydroxysesamone and 2,3-epoxysesamone all showed antifungal activities toward Cladosporium fulvum.

A new chlorinated red naphthoquinone pigment having antifungal activity, named chlorosesamone, was isolated from the roots of Sesamum indicum. Its structure was characterized as 2-chloro-5,8-dihydroxy-3-(3methyl-2-butenyl)- 1,4-na phthoquinone on the basis of spectral evidence.