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This essay examines nature in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in the light of Lyotard’s discourse of ecology and his other philosophical ideas. His postmodernist criticism of conformity and representability, as asserted in his notion of ecology and implied throughout his whole philosophy, provides a lens through which to see nature as an unruly agent that challenges Western development in epistemological and linguistic terms. Such an understanding of nature, Lyotard suggests, necessitates the deconstructive power of avant-garde art, especially literary writing, which Conrad’s 1899 text best prefigures. Set mainly in the wilderness of colonial Congo during the nineteenth century, the widely acknowledged postcolonial novella at once invites an ecocritical reading of how European developed culture struggles and eventually fails to prove mastery over African nature.

Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) causes inflammation and has adverse effects on the growth of broiler chicks. Meanwhile, plant derivations improve the growth performance and decrease inflammation, but they do not have enough stability. Encapsulation of essential oils is a new strategy for decreasing their instability. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of encapsulated thyme essential oil (ETEO) on growth, inflammatory cytokines, and amino acid profiles of broiler chicks challenged with S. Typhimurium. Three hundred one-d-old broiler chicks were assigned into 6 groups, and 5 replications per group. The broiler chicks (3 groups) were challenged with S. Typhimurium on day 21 and birds received basal diet (positive control), encapsulated thyme (P-ETEO), and non-capsulated thyme (P-NETEO), while other groups received the same diets, but under normal as a negative control, encapsulated thyme (N-ETEO) and non-capsulated thyme (N-NETEO). Growth performance, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and serum amino acid profiles were assessed on day 42. The challenged birds in positive control showed lower growth performance, higher concentration for inflammatory cytokines, and disturbed blood serum concentrations for amino acid profiles compared to the negative control (PS. Typhimurium had negative effects on growth, immunity, and inflammation, but dietary inclusion of the ETEO could decrease its negative effects.

Emerging epidemic-prone diseases have introduced numerous health and economic challenges in recent years. Given current knowledge of COVID-19, herd immunity through vaccines alone is unlikely. In addition, vaccination of the global population is an ongoing challenge. Besides, the questions regarding the prevalence and the timing of immunization are still under investigation. Therefore, medical treatment remains essential in the management of COVID-19. Herein, recent advances from beginning observations of COVID-19 outbreak to an understanding of the essential factors contributing to the spread and transmission of COVID-19 and its treatment are reviewed. Furthermore, an in-depth discussion on the epidemiological aspects, clinical symptoms and most efficient medical treatment strategies to mitigate the mortality and spread rates of COVID-19 is presented.

In the current work, the heterostructures highly PEC activity photoelectrodes composed of mixed metal oxides (TiO2-RuO2-Ta2O5 (TRT)), polypyrrole- N doped reduced graphene oxide (PPy-NrGO) were prepared by electrodeposition of PPy-NrGO films on the TRT- coated titanium (Ti) plates as substrates. The TRT coatings were deposited on Ti plates via the sol-gel technique. The effects of the Ta2O5 molar ratios were followed using physical and PEC measurements. Morphology studies showed that the surface structure of photoelectrodes alters remarkably by changing the Ta2O5 content in the mixture of metal oxides. TRT/PPy-NrGO photoelectrodes indicated to have a decreasing impact on the charge transfer resistance at the photoelectrode/electrolyte interfaces. The overall PEC water splitting performances of photoelectrodes were compared by measuring photocurrent density at 0 and 1.23 V vs. RHE, Tafel slopes, charge carrier density, stability, hydrogen evaluation reaction (HER) and oxygen evaluation reaction (OER) efficiencies. The highest HER (43.68% at −0.4 V) and OER (17.51% at 0.45 V) efficiencies were obtained in photoelectrodes comprising of 20 mol% Ta2O5 which possessed charge carrier density (5.9 × 1018) of about 1.7 times higher than that considered for TRT (0%)/PPy-NrGO with no Ta2O5 in the mixture of metal oxides.

Electrochemical degradation of a resistant pharmaceutical, Phenazopyridine hydrochloride (PhP), was evaluated on three different dimensionally stable anodes. The main objective of this study was to investigate the catalytic performance of the three Ti-based multilayer IrO2/Ta2O5 coated anodes which were made up by thermal decomposition method. The effect of operative parameters including current intensity (mA), initial pH of the solution, initial concentration of PhP (mg L−1) and electrolysis time were investigated comprehensively. This comparative study demonstrated that PhP mineralization was occurred consequently on the Ti/IrO2-Ta2O5 (70–30) and Ti/IrO2-Ta2O5 (50–50) electrodes rapidly but it was much slower on the Ti/IrO2-Ta2O5 (30–70) electrode. The performance of the electrodes revealed that the percentage of anodic materials alters the PhP degradation rate. The developed electrodes were characterized by scanning electronic microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies were performed to investigate the efficiency of the electrodes. Decolorization of Php samples were carried out with UV-Vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, complete mineralization of PhP on Ti/IrO2-Ta2O5 (70–30) was confirmed by total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. The TOC results have shown higher mineralization of PhP (72.2%) in 180 min of electrolysis. Moreover, the intermediates were identified during electrochemical degradation of PhP by GC-MS.

Background Primary palmar hyperhidrosis (PPH) is a disorder related to sympathetic dysfunction. Iontophoresis can be used to reduce sweating rate. Sympathetic skin response (SSR) is commonly used to evaluate the sympathetic system. However, scarce evidence exists about the reliability of SSR parameters. Objective To assess the relative and absolute reliability of SSR before and after the application of iontophoresis with aluminum chloride hexahydrate (ACH) gel or tap water in subjects with PPH. Methods Twenty subjects were randomized to receive either iontophoresis with ACH gel or tap water. Three SSRs (amplitude and latency) with 5 s intervals from both hands in both groups were recorded before and after the application of iontophoresis for 30 min. Reliability of amplitude and latency of the SSR was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals, standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimal detectable change (MDC). Results Amplitudes and latencies of SSR showed good to excellent test–retest reliability for ICC in both groups before iontophoresis. Except for right hand latency which was moderate (0.5–0.75). After iontophoresis, the ACH gel group still showed good to excellent agreement for SSR parameters, while the reliability of SSR parameters in the tap water group was reduced. Conclusion Subjects with PPH showed high intra-rater reliability for SSR parameters which was maintained after ACH gel iontophoresis and decreased after tap water iontophoresis. It seems that media used for iontophoresis or the state of media (gel vs liquid) may affect the reliability of SSR. Further research is recommended.

Despite the existence of conventional methods for recycling chips, solid-state techniques have become popular, whereby waste metals are directly recycled into consolidated products with the desired shapes and designs. We investigated the feasibility of recycling phosphor bronze chips through a hot extrusion process using aluminum powder as a metal binder for the fabrication of a metal-fiber-reinforced aluminum matrix composite. To do so, mixtures containing 20vol%–50vol% of chips were prepared, cold-compacted, and extruded. The quality of the consolidated samples was evaluated by determining the density of the fabricated composites and studying their microstructures. In addition, we performed tensile and hardness tests to evaluate the mechanical properties of the fabricated composites. We also analyzed the fracture surfaces of the samples to study the fracture mechanism as a function of the volume fraction of phosphor bronze chips in the fabricated composite. The results indicated that the most effective consolidation occurred in the sample containing 20vol% of chips extruded at 465°C in which the chips serve as ideal fibers for improving the mechanical properties, especially the ultimate tensile strength, in comparison with those of Al matrixes that contain no chips but are produced under the same conditions.

Introduction: Patient safety culture is an important factor in reducing hospital's adverse event and improving patient safety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between patient safety culture and adverse events in hospitals of Hamadan city. Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytical study which was performed in hospitals of Hamadan in 2018. The study population consisted of nurses working in hospitals. The patient safety culture questionnaire and adverse event checklist were used for data collection. Questionnaires were completed by 650 nurses. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the variables. Results: The highest mean score of patient safety culture was related to the dimension of organizational learning, and the lowest score was for exchange and transfer of information. 35.4 percent of nurses said they had seen at least one patient fall in the past year (the least adverse event). Moreover, 51.9 percent of nurses stated that at least one pressure ulcer, or a complaint by a patient or his/her family had happened at their workplace in the past year (the most adverse event). Finally, the mean score of the patient safety culture had a significant relationship with the incidence of adverse events. Conclusion: This study confirms the patient safety culture as a predictor of adverse events. Hence, health officials and hospital administrators should provide prerequisites for promoting patient safety culture and reducing adverse events through different strategies, such as encouraging adverse events reporting as well as holding nurse training courses. © 2020. All Rights Reserved.

In this article, after the Constitution, Iranian intellectuals on the basis of which institution or field should be considered for the cause of modernization, civilization, development, or other related concepts are divided into two groups. The first group considers the state the cause for development and the second group that seeks the agent outside the domain of state. The question is which of the two theories have been more successful in their claims according to their historical results. The claim and hypothesis of this study is that the theories of the second group, in the search for ways of direct development of the state, eventually hinder reform, engage in direct conflict with the state, and lead the process of society's transformation to a revolution or a repressive state. To justify this claim, this article will look at the history of Iranian intellectual development theories after the Constitution. The research method in this paper is "Inference based on the best explanation ", abbreviated as IBE. It seems that in the first two constitutional and Pahlavi periods, statism and in the second Pahlavi and Islamic Republic era anti-statism were dominant. During the Second Pahlavi era and the Islamic Republic, two types of ideas were produced that were common to anti-statism and the main criticisms included: Theories of return to self and backwardness degeneration. Both are equally guilty of delaying the creation of a proper relationship between the state and the nation in the light of upholding up-to-date citizen rights and maintaining the sovereignty of the state.

Because no study has evaluated the postoperative pain caused by the shape of dental implants, this study compared the level of postoperative pain between tapered and cylindrical implants inserted in the posterior region of the maxilla.The study was designed as a double-blinded randomized clinical trial and conducted in 50 healthy patients 20 to 60 years old who were edentulous in the posterior maxilla and were candidates for single implantation. All patients had the same surgical difficulty with appropriate bone width and height. BioHorizons (Birmingham, AL) implants (tapered vs cylindrical) with 4.5-mm platform diameter were randomly selected for each group. The visual analog scale was used to evaluate the level of pain. Pain severity in each group was measured at 30-minute, 3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour, 2-day, 3-day, and 1-week intervals. The predictor variable was implant shape and the outcome was postoperative pain severity. Data were statistically analyzed with SPPS 16 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL) at the significance level of a P value less than .05.Fifty patients (n = 25 per group) with the mean age of 43.7 ± 10.9 years were included in this study. The pain level in the 2 groups reached its maximum at the 6-hour postoperative interval. Pain severity decreased significantly over time in the 2 implant groups (P .001). Severities of postoperative pain in the tapered group at 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-hour intervals were statistically lower than those in the cylindrical group (P .05).Implant shape had an impact on postoperative pain. It can be concluded that tapered implants lead to less postoperative pain compared with cylindrical ones.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are a key example of the innovation in material science to develop nanotechnology-based delivery systems. Biological and pharmaceutical applications of the MSNs garnered more attention recently due to their potential in carrying therapeutic agents. When utilized as nanocarriers, the uniquely structured MSNs are capable of acting as an effective drug, gene, protein, and antigen delivery vehicle for an assortment of therapeutic regimens to mitigate the progress of diseases, inflammatory responses, and cancer. The biocompatibility of MSN particles along with their multipurpose applications have been the subject of multiple studies in the nano/biotechnology and nanomedical communities concerning the effective and safe use of these delivery systems for diagnosis and management of various diseases. Concentrating on their drug vector applicability, this review presents an in-depth overview and discussion on the biosafety of MSNs and their evaluation in clinical trials. Additionally, other impactful issues surrounding the synthetic aspects, biological use (i.e., drug delivery, gene delivery, protein delivery and antigen delivery), uptake pathway, as well as other points of interest for MSNs will be discussed. To conclude the review, a discussion concerning emerging trends alongside the anticipated future advancements for these carries will be undertaken.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of preoperative administration of oral montelukast on the amount of postoperative pain following bimaxillary orthognathic surgery.All healthy skeletal class III deformity candidates for bimaxillary orthognathic surgery were included in this triple-blind randomized clinical trial. The subjects were randomly divided into placebo and montelukast groups. One hour before the surgery, a 10 mL of apple juice was given to each and every patient; however, a 10 mg tablet of montelukast was dissolved in the juice for the intervention group. All operations were performed by the same surgical team, under the same general anesthesia protocols. The outcome variable was the amount of postoperative pain (1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-hour intervals) which was measured during the first 24 hours using a Visual Analog Scale. For statistical analysis, the significance level was set at 0.05 using SPSS 23.A total of 60 consecutive patients, comprising 31 females (51.7%) and 29 males (48.3%) with an average age of 25.2 ± 2.2 were recruited. The average surgical duration was 193 ± 28.0 minutes. In general, pain intensity exhibited an increasing trend from the first hour postoperatively, reaching its peak in the 12th hour and decreasing thereafter. Nevertheless, the average amount of pain was significantly higher in the placebo group compared with the montelukast group, in all the studied time intervals (P.05). The number of patients who required postoperative opioid analgesics was significantly higher in the placebo group compared to the montelukast group (P = .024). Moreover, the duration of surgery had a direct and significant effect on the postoperative pain intensity (P.001).It might be concluded that preoperative administration of montelukast is effective in reducing postoperative pain following bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Further studies are necessary for more relevancy.

In this study, SWAT hydrological model was used to differentiate the effects of drought and changes in land use on hydrological balance of the system in Eskandari Watershed area. To this end, The SWAT model was implemented separately using other user maps to investigate the impact of land use changes on the hydrological cycle of the watershed. Additionally, Van Loon model was used to investigate the effects of drought and water scarcity on discharge. The results showed that the watershed area could meet its environmental needs due to an 11% decrease in rainfall and droughts in 2008 and 2009. Additionally, the average monthly simulated flows were 2.4 m3/s and 2.9 m3/s in the natural and turbulent periods, respectively, indicating a decrease of nearly 18%, which is related to the 11% decrease in rainfall in this Watershed. Furthermore, the average observational flow in the turbulent period was 4 mm, which showed a growth of nearly 13% in comparison to the observational flow in the turbulent period. Decreased rainfall and increased discharge in this period indicated the effect of land use change and human activities on the catchment.

Background: There is no pharmacological intervention on the treatment of hypoxemia and respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients. Objective: The objective of the study was to study the effect of the reduced form of methylene blue (MB) on the improvement of oxygen saturation (SpO2) and respiratory rate (RR). Methods: In an academic medical center, 80 hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 were randomly assigned to receive either oral MB along with standard of care (SOC) (MB group, n = 40) or SOC only (SOC group, n=40). The primary outcomes were SpO2 and RR on the 3rd and 5th days. The secondary outcomes were hospital stay and mortality within 28 days. Results: In the MB group, a significant improvement in SpO2 and RR was observed on the 3rd day (for both, p < 0.0001) and also the 5th day (for both, p < 0.0001). In the SOC group, there was no significant improvement in SpO2 (p = 0.24) and RR (p = 0.20) on the 3rd day, although there was a significant improvement of SpO2 (p = 0.002) and RR (p = 0.01) on the 5th day. In the MB group in comparison to the SOC group, the rate ratio of increased SpO2 was 13.5 and 2.1 times on the 3rd and 5th days, respectively. In the MB group compared with the SOC group, the rate ratio of RR improvement was 10.1 and 3.7 times on the 3rd and 5th days, respectively. The hospital stay was significantly shortened in the MB group (p = 0.004), and the mortality was 12.5% and 22.5% in the MB and SOC groups, respectively. Conclusions: The addition of MB to the treatment protocols significantly improved SpO2 and respiratory distress in COVID-19 patients, which resulted in decreased hospital stay and mortality. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04370288.

Nowadays, the entry of organic compounds into water resources is one of the leading global concerns due to the lack of water resources and rapid population growth. In this research, anodic oxidation (AO) method was used to remove 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) from aqueous solutions via Ni/RuO