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Abstract Although the IELTS speaking test assesses English verbal-communication competence accurately and reliably, its traditional, retroactive scoring framework stops short of providing detailed diagnostic information about individual test-takers’ specific domains of proficiency or deficiency. This study employed a cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) framework, grounded in cognitive psychology and diagnostic, formative feedback theories, to identify the specific cognitive (sub)skills and attributes required to successfully perform on the IELTS speaking test and examine the test-takers’ perceptions regarding the CDA and IELTS-speaking-assessment interface. The purpose was to integrate CDA and feedback literacy into the IELTS assessment. Adopting a cognitive/psychometric perspective, we conceptualized language proficiency as encompassing separate cognitive subskills that can be systematically measured and diagnosed. To this end, we analyzed speaking data from 500 pre-IELTS candidates and conducted 20 expert interviews. The thematic analysis employed through the MAXQDA software helped identify five specific subskills related to the IELTS speaking test. Using a similar thematic analysis procedure, we extracted five perceptive themes regarding an integrated IELTS-CDA framework from the interview data of 151 participants. The results have important implications for the practicality and efficacy of employing CDA to improve IELTS speaking interpretation and feedback.

Abstract Despite the scientific relevance of circular RNAs (circRNAs), the study of these RNAs in non-model organisms, especially in sheep, is still in its infancy. On the other hand, while some studies have focused on sheep circRNA identification in a limited number of tissues, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis that profile circRNA expression patterns across the tissues not yet investigated. In this study, 61 public RNA sequencing datasets from 12 different tissues were uniformly analyzed to identify circRNAs, profile their expression and investigate their various characteristics. We reported for the first time a circRNA expression landscape with functional annotation in sheep tissues not yet investigated including hippocampus, BonMarrowMacrophage, left-ventricle, thymus, ileum, reticulum and 23-day-embryo. A stringent computational pipeline was employed and 8919 exon-derived circRNAs with high confidence were identified, including 88 novel circRNAs. Tissue-specificity analysis revealed that 3059 circRNAs were tissue-specific, which were also more specific to the tissues than linear RNAs. The highest number of tissue-specific circRNAs was found in kidney, hippocampus and thymus, respectively. Co-expression analysis revealed that expression of circRNAs may not be affected by their host genes. While most of the host genes produced more than one isoform, only one isoform had dominant expression across the tissues. The host genes of the tissue-specific circRNAs were significantly enriched in biological/pathways terms linked to the important functions of their corresponding tissues, suggesting potential roles of circRNAs in modulating physiological activity of those tissues. Interestingly, functional terms related to the regulation and various signaling pathways were significantly enriched in all tissues, suggesting some common regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs to modulate the physiological functions of tissues. Finding of the present study provide a valuable resource for depicting the complexity of circRNAs expression across tissues of sheep, which can be useful for the field of sheep genomic and veterinary research.

Background: Treatment response in High-grade Glioma (HGG) patients changes based on their genetic and biological characteristics. MiRNAs, as important regulators of drug and radiation resistance, and the Apparent Diffusion Coefficients (ADC) value of tumor can be used as a prognostic predictor for glioma.Objective: This study aimed to identify some of the pre-treatment individual patient features for predicting the treatment response in HGG patients.Material and Methods: In this prospective study, 18 HGG patients, who were candidated for chemo-radiation treatment, participated after informed consent of the patients. The investigated features were the expression level of miR-222 and miR-205 in plasma, the ADC value of tumor, Body Mass Index (BMI), and age. Treatment response was assessed, and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression was used to obtain a model to predict the treatment response. Mann-Whitney U test was also applied to select the variables with a significant relationship with patients’ treatment response.Results: The LASSO coefficients for miR-205, miR-222, tumor’s mean ADC value, BMI, and age were 3.611, -1.683, 2.468, -0.184, and -0.024, respectively. Mann-Whitney U test results showed miR-205 and tumor’s mean ADC significantly related to treatment response (P-value˂0.05). Conclusion: The miR-205 expression level of the patient in plasma and tumor’s mean ADC value has the potential for prognostic predictors in HGG.

Abstract Background Endometriosis is a chronic disease affecting 6–10% of women worldwide. Sexual dysfunction has been reported in a significant percentage of these patients. Thus, the present study will be conducted to design, implement, and determine the effectiveness of an interventional program to improve the sexual function of women with endometriosis. Materials and methods This mixed-methods study will be carried out in three phases with a sequential exploratory approach. In the first phase (qualitative study) participants will be selected by purposive sampling in Isfahan, Iran. The data will be collected through in-depth interviews and field notes and analyzed using conventional content analysis. The interventional program will be designed in the second phase based on the results of the qualitative study and literature review and using the Delphi method and panel of experts. The interventional program will be implemented at the individual level in the third phase to investigate its effect on improving women’s sexual function. This phase includes quasi-experimental research, in which the pre- and post-intervention data will be collected from the intervention and control groups using the FSFI questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Ultimately, a suitable interventional program will be presented by combining the data obtained in the qualitative and quantitative phases of the research. Conclusion Conducting the present study, along with the design and implementation of an appropriate, native, and culturally sensitive interventional program, can contribute to improving the sexual function of women with endometriosis and enhancing the quality of sexual relations between couples.

Introduction: Infertility is a global health concern and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the infertile population is 27% to 65%. The role of vitamin D is proposed with the expression of receptors in all types of human reproductive tissues in reproductive health and the outcomes of ART. The present study was performed with aim to investigate the effect of vitamin D on ART outcomes. Methods: In this review study, a comprehensive search was conducted in all databases of Web of Science, Scopus, Proquest, Pubmed, SID, Magiran and Google Scholar were conducted from 2015 to 2023 with English keywords of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, Vitamin D, Infertility, Male infertility, Female infertility and their Persian equivalents. Results: In total, 15 qualified articles were selected from among 1014 articles found for this study. Based on a wide range of studies, vitamin D potentially plays an important role in human fertility, and a positive correlation between high concentration of vitamin D and clinical pregnancy rate, fetal quality, and live birth rate in ART was reported. Conclusion: The effects of vitamin D on ART outcomes are controversial and its deficiency is related to ART outcomes. Probably, the effect of vitamin D deficiency on fertility is not associated with all forms of infertility and the difference in dose, time of supply and type of vitamin D may play a role in the contradiction of the results. Identifying the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of infertility and ART outcomes still requires further studies.

Introduction: The quality of puberty can affect the sexual health and fertility of children. There is limited evidence about the risks associated with the use of assisted reproductive methods (ART) on the process of puberty. This review study was conducted with aim to investigate the puberty process in ART children.Methods: In this review study, to find the related articles regarding the puberty process in ART children, the databases of Web of Science, Scopous, Proquest and Pubmed and Persian databases of SID and Magiran and Google Scholar search engine were searched to find published studies using English keywords: Assisted Reproductive Technology, In vitro fertilization, Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, puberty, Tanner and adolescent and their Persian equivalents.Results: In total, among 1438 articles found, 10 articles were eligible for the research and were selected for this study. The prevalence of puberty disorders in ART children was not different compared to children resulting from spontaneous pregnancy. Tanner's stages, bone growth, hormonal status among adolescents resulting from ART were similar to the normal population, although in girls resulting from ART were exposed to earlier puberty and boys were exposed to small differences in sex hormones compared to children resulting from spontaneous pregnancy.Conclusion: Although many studies did not show a significant difference in the puberty process of ART adolescents compared to other adolescents, information on long-term follow-up is limited. Therefore, it is necessary to long-term follow-up of ART-born children until completion of puberty by child's sex and ART types.

Background and Objective: One of the basic strategies to reduce the prevalence of diseases among people in society, especially children and adolescents, during the epidemic of COVID-19 disease, is to observe hygiene and personal protection behaviors. The present study was conducted to determine the level of compliance with health protocols in primary schools of Ilam city during the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 in 1400-1401. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted in primary schools of Ilam city with a statistical sample of 49 schools (25 girls' schools and 24 boys' schools). In this study, the 2019 new coronavirus disease care and control checklist was used in schools, which has 15 questions with a total score of 100. Data with Kolmogorov-Smirnov and T-Test statistical tests using SPSS software. V21 was analyzed. Results: The results of this study showed that the highest and lowest scores are respectively related to the parameters of school health assessment before reopening (100 percent) and screening of people in terms of vaccination by PCR test (zero percent). The average score of compliance with the checklist was 74.3 in girls' schools and 74.38 in boys' schools. Also, the results of the T-Test showed that there is no significant relationship between the mean scores of girls' and boys' schools (p

Abstract In this paper, the PO method with the array theory are used to formulate the RCS of a grounded multi-height dielectric surface which can be employed in the design and optimization of a metasurface consisting of dielectric tiles with different heights and permittivities. The proposed closed form relations can be used instead of full wave simulation to design an optimized dielectric grounded metasurface, properly. Finally, three different RCS reducer metasurfaces are designed and optimized with three different dielectric tiles by using the proposed analytical relations. The results prove that the proposed ground dielectric metasurface achieve more than 10 dB RCS reduction at 4.4–16.3 GHz (114.9%) frequency range. This result proves the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed analytical method which can be used in the RCS reducer metasurfaces design.

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Even though early detection and diagnosis of this disease can reduce mortality considerably, several studies have shown that more than 92% of women are unaware of the risk factors for breast cancer and of breast cancer screening tests. The simultaneous promotion of screening and provision of education can increase community health and reduce medical costs, and students can play a leading role in informing and educating people in society. Aim The present study aims to examine the level of knowledge and attitude of female students in senior high schools in Fasa regarding breast cancer screening. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the random sampling method was applied to survey 350 female high school students, only 311 of whom completed the study. Questionnaires were completed in girls' high schools, and the data was analyzed by SPSS Software, Version 25. Results The results revealed that more than 87% of students were unaware or had incorrect information regarding breast cancer screening. The link between the type of breast cancer information sources and students' general knowledge was significant. Most students were aware of the risk of breast cancer, but they were uninformed of its symptoms, risk factors, and prevention strategies, and students with a family history of breast cancer had a higher score in terms of mammography knowledge than students with no family history of breast cancer, although this difference was not significant (mean ± standard deviation = 0.94 ± 0.90 vs. 0.67 ± 0.81, p = 0.19). Conclusion The level of awareness and attitude of Fasa high school girls regarding breast cancer and screening methods is not acceptable. Therefore, it is recommended that educational programs be implemented to increase the awareness of students in schools, so that the number of screenings increases with the institutionalization of this information. Likewise, by transferring information through students to their families, the level of awareness in the whole society will hopefully increase as well.

This study investigated the efficacy of grape residue in reducing water contamination. Our findings revealed significant reductions in nitrate leaching upon the application of grape residues. Smaller residue particle sizes recorded greater reductions in nitrate leaching compared to larger ones. Utilizing grape waste branches for biochar production offers a sustainable solution, improving water retention, organic matter content, and reducing nutrient leaching. Biochar not only enhances nutrient retention but also promotes microbial activity and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, benefiting soil health and crop productivity. It also helps combat drought and salinity stress. Overall, grape biochar shows potential in mitigating nitrate pollution, enhancing soil quality, and promoting agricultural sustainability. It is important to consider the optimal biochar application rate and particle size to maximize its effectiveness in reducing nitrate leaching while minimizing any potential negative impacts on crop yield. Further research is required to optimize biochar application rates, particle sizes, and long-term effects in diverse agricultural systems. Implementing biochar as a soil amendment holds promise in improving soil health, water quality, and overall sustainability.

Background: Glioma is one of the most drug and radiation-resistant tumors. Gliomas suffer from inter- and intratumor heterogeneity which makes the outcome of similar treatment protocols vary from patient to patient. This article is aimed to overview the potential imaging markers for individual diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response prediction in malignant glioma. Furthermore, the correlation between imaging findings and biological and clinical information of glioma patients is reviewed. Materials and Methods: The search strategy in this study is to select related studies from scientific websites such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science published until 2022. It comprised a combination of keywords such as Biomarkers, Diagnosis, Prognosis, Imaging techniques, and malignant glioma, according to Medical Subject Headings. Results: Some imaging parameters that are effective in glioma management include: ADC, FA, Ktrans, regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), ve, Cho/NAA and lactate/lipid ratios, intratumoral uptake of 18F-FET (for diagnostic application), RD, ADC, ve, vp, Ktrans, CBFT1, rCBV, tumor blood flow, Cho/NAA, lactate/lipid, MI/Cho, uptakes of 18F-FET, 11C-MET, and 18F-FLT (for prognostic and predictive application). Cerebral blood volume and Ktrans are related to molecular markers such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Preoperative ADCmin value of GBM tumors is associated with O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status. 2-hydroxyglutarate metabolite and dynamic 18F-FDOPA positron emission tomography uptake are related to isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations. Conclusion: Parameters including ADC, RD, FA, rCBV, Ktrans, vp, and uptake of 18F-FET are useful for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response prediction in glioma. A significant correlation between molecular markers such as VEGF, MGMT, and IDH mutations with some diffusion and perfusion imaging parameters has been identified.

Abstract At the forefront of biopharmaceutical industry, the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology offers a flexible and scalable platform to address the urgent need for world-wide immunization in pandemic situations. This strategic powerful platform has recently been used to immunize millions of people proving both of safety and highest level of clinical efficacy against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here we provide preclinical report of COReNAPCIN®; a vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 infection. COReNAPCIN® is a nucleoside modified mRNA-based vaccine formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for encoding the full-length prefusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein on the cell surface. Vaccination of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice and rhesus macaque with COReNAPCIN® induced strong humoral responses with high titers of virus-binding and neutralizing antibodies. Upon vaccination, a robust SARS-CoV-2 specific cellular immunity was also observed in both mice and non-human primate models. Additionally, vaccination protected rhesus macaques from symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathological damage to the lung upon challenging the animals with high viral loads of up to 2 × 108 live viral particles. Overall, our data provide supporting evidence for COReNAPCIN® as a potent vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 infection for clinical studies.

Abstract Regardless of the obvious message that is displayed on the cover of any text, sometimes there is another discourse in the context of the content that challenges the intention of the creators of the text in supporting the cover. In the light of reinterpreting and deconstructing the works, the dark labyrinths become clear and new concepts are presented. Ferdowsi and Sa’âlabi's two narratives of the story "Aleksander and the Daughter of the King of India", with a significant difference in the ending, is a familiar story of the marriage bond of the defeated beautiful girl with the conquering king. In examining the secondary discourse, the mechanisms of exercising power over the body are highlighted. Contrary to popular belief, these mechanisms are not only torture, rather, aesthetics is also considered a kind of care network that does not end when a woman enters the "other's" field (father's house) into her own field (wife's house). On the contrary, when a woman wins in the body test prepared by the institution of power, she is considered as a threat to the totalitarianism of the ruling system by deviating from the norms of socialization. In this study, in an analytical-descriptive way and with a sociological point of view, the elements in the mentioned story have been reconstructed and by using the opinions of the thinkers in this field, especially Michel Foucault, the mutual relations between the three elements of "beauty", knowledge", and "power" have been discussed. Extended Abstract Introduction In epics, girls have a limited number of choices. They have to wait for the fate that will be decided for them by the outcome of the war or current events. They are offered as a prize to the winner to encourage soldiers to fight through sexual incentives. In the story of "Iskander and Faghestan" in Shahnameh, we have the same conventional pattern. But Thaalibi's narration also has a second part, in which the girl who was given to Iskandar as an atonement, after passing the fitness test, was rejected by entering the field of "self" to remain in the pole of "other" and gender. The essentialism and the self-sufficient ego of the power institution must continue its pure life regardless of the interference of others. Theoretical Framework In his series of sociological discussions, which is influenced by the structuralism and psychoanalytical attitudes of thinkers like Lacan, especially in the book "Care and Punishment", Foucault refers to the prison as "the dense form of all disciplines”. He did not apply his views on literary works, and Lacan also examined only pictures and paintings in the discussion of "gaze", which are also used in cinema, there is a possibility of extending these views to literary texts. In this paper, it is attempted to explain the manifestations of dominance and care in a literary narrative from a sociological point of view, citing the above points of view. Methodology First, by doubting the obvious message of the text (the importance of aesthetics) and its other reading and white reading, the images were extracted and then described in an analytical-descriptive way. Although the main foundation of the research is Foucault's point of view, the fragments that were taken from his theory have been used to enrich the research. Discussion and Analysis Based on the findings, the relationship between the three areas of power, knowledge, and beauty in the story of Iskandar and Faghestan can be seen from four directions: knowledge in the service of power, gaze, from hiddenness to the position of the arena, rejection of other wisdom. The role of knowledge in the service of power is highlighted as well. The first time is when Kaid sees a series of dreams that only Mehran is able to interpret them. Again, the nine wise men of Rome use their knowledge to verify Kidd's claim. Faghestan is presented to the Roman envoys in a completely decorated form. According to his father, he was "in hiding" until the arrival of the Roman envoys. unlike the tests of knowledge and ability in epics, the Faghestan test is only a physical and wisdom has no effect on the result of this test. Conclusion Although the plot of the story highlights beauty and aesthetics, the secondary discourse affects the mechanisms of exercising power on the body. These mechanisms are applied to Faghestan's body as "other" in several ways. In first place, Kaid keeps her locked in a private space like a valuable commodity. Knowledge and power give the "other" body to the more powerful entity. Faghestan which has fully accepted its gender socialization, has no choice but to observe court customs and rituals. Finally, due to the disturbance it creates in the totalitarianism of the power institution, it is sent back; Because politics is alien to the logic of dialogue.

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is believed to be a non-invasive treatment for coronary artery disease and angina. The aim of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of EECP in refractory angina patients through a systematic reviews and meta-analysis. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature published on PubMed, Cochrane library, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Trip Database and Google Scholar databases using appropriate keywords and specific strategy with no time limit. Having selected and screened the studies based on the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluating their quality based on the Cochrane checklist. For the meta-analysis,the Mantel-Haenszel method or the generic Inverse Variance was used. Analyses were done with Review Manager 5.2 software. A number of 299 studies were initially reviewed and finally, seventeen studies were included in the meta-analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Also, thirteen outcomes were analyzed and the results of meta-analysis in twelve outcomes including (Systolic Blood Pressure (7 studies), Diastolic Blood Pressure (7 studies), Pulse Pressure (4 studies), Mean Arterial Pressures (4 studies), Heart Rate (6 studies), Angina episodes (7 studies), Walking distance (2 studies),Canadian Cardiovascular Society classification (6 studies), Flow-Mediated Dilation (3 studies), Daily Nitrate Usage (4 studies), Exercise Treadmill Test-Time (2 studies), ST-segment depression (2 studies)demonstrated a significant clinical advantage in the EECP treatment effectiveness in patients with angina. No significant difference was observed regarding EECP usefulness (P = 0.18) in the outcome of brachial artery diameter (2 studies). Based on the meta-analysis, the results indicate the safety and effectiveness of EECP in patients with angina pectoris and indicate the usefulness of this treatment in these patients. In general, the authors believe that the general conclusion in this regard requires some studies with a large sample size and a control group assignment.

Background & Aim: Being diagnosed with cancer during adolescence can cause disabilities and disrupt the achievement of important tasks during this period. Given the complex spiritual issues that adolescents face, emphasizing them can provide a unique framework for understanding and coping with illness. The purpose of this study was to determine factors related to spiritual coping in adolescents with cancer based on the "Reed self-transcendence theory". Methods & Materials: In this descriptive, correlational study, 270 adolescents with cancer referred to hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran in 2018-19 were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data was collected using the demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the “Adolescents Spiritual Coping Scale”, “Adolescents Hope Scale”, “Self-transcendence Scale: Adolescent version and “Adolescent Coping Scale”. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software version 19 through descriptive statistical methods, Kruskal–Wallis test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Spearmanchr('39')s correlation test and Path analysis. Results: Based on the Spearman correlation coefficient, the relationship of hope (rs=0.440, P

Abstract A severe complication associated with diabetes is diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Most patients with DFU require amputation. Although treatment of non‐healing diabetic ulcers is challenging, the use of novel therapies can be effective. In this report, we present the case of a woman with type 2 diabetes with DFU‐related osteomyelitis, who was treated with a combination therapy of trichloroacetic acid, calcium alginate and foam dressings, human autologous fibroblast injection, and a fibroblast cell‐seeded collagen scaffold. The results showed the positive effects of combination therapy on DFU. In the initial treatment, the wound area was measured to be 14 × 7 cm2, with a depth of 4 cm. After 6 months, the wound was measured to be 1.5 cm2, showing a 90% reduction of the wound area. Overall, this combination therapy was highly effective in the treatment of DFU‐related osteomyelitis, and could markedly prevent amputation among DFU patients.

Background & Aim: The inadequate level of pharmaceutical knowledge of nursing students carries the risk of medication errors, and this is one of the main concerns of clinical educators. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the effect of targeted and game-based pharmacology education on pharmacology scores of nursing students. Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental interventional study was conducted through the census method on third-semester nursing students of Abadan University of Medical Sciences in 2018-2019. The intervention included teaching clinical pharmacology in the form of game during an internship course (including 10 sessions). The first to third sessions included holding the pharmacology theoretical class, the fourth to ninth sessions included playing game, theoretical classes, and clinical practice, and the tenth session included a station review program and a competitive pharmaceutical data pool program. The pharmacology exam was given before and after the intervention. The data was analyzed by paired t-test using the SPSS software version 18. Results: There were 77 students until the end of the study, of whom 42 were female and 35 were male. Their mean age was 21±2 years, the total average of students was 15.57±3.81 with a mean pharmacology score of 14.74±3.42. According to the test results, the pre-test mean score was 26.06±5.83 and the post-test mean score was 31.58±4.02, which indicated a significant difference between before and after the intervention (P

This study was conducted in order to construct a list of self-esteem based on Islamic sources. The current study is descriptive-analytical and survey method. To do that, first, the necessary sources were studied and investigated according to Islamic sources in order to extract the attributes related to self-esteem. Then, a 90-item questionnaire was prepared, which was examined by Islamic and psychological experts, and finally 55 items remained, which were administered in the form of a survey study on a sample of 216 university students in Khomeini Shahr. The reliability of the self-esteem checklist was calculated and confirmed by three methods: "internal consistency (with Cronbach's alpha 0.89), retest 0.74 and halving 0.869. Validity of self-esteem checklist with three methods: Content validity review (with the opinion of twelve religious and psychological experts and calculation of CVR coefficient), criterion validity (positive and significant correlation of 0.73 self-esteem checklist with standard Borba moral intelligence questionnaire) and structural validity (factor analysis and factor model analysis) were examined in the sample and good results were obtained. Finally, standard T scores were calculated and a norm table was prepared for the self-esteem list. The results of this evaluation show that the list of self-esteem has desirable psychometric properties to measure the level of self-esteem in individuals based on Islamic sources.

Johne's disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is a major concern in dairy industry. Since, the pathogenesis of the disease is not clearly known, it is necessary to develop an approach to discover molecular mechanisms behind this disease with high confidence. Biological studies often suffer from issues with reproducibility. Lack of a method to find stable modules in co-expression networks from different datasets related to Johne's disease motivated us to present a computational pipeline to identify non-preserved consensus modules. Two RNA-Seq datasets related to MAP infection were analyzed, and consensus modules were detected and were subjected to the preservation analysis. The non-preserved consensus modules in both datasets were determined as they are modules whose connectivity and density are affected by the disease. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and TF genes in the non-preserved consensus modules were identified to construct integrated networks of lncRNA-mRNA-TF. These networks were confirmed by protein-protein interactions (PPIs) networks. Also, the overlapped hub genes between two datasets were considered hub genes of the consensus modules. Out of 66 consensus modules, 21 modules were non-preserved consensus modules, which were common in both datasets and 619 hub genes were members of these modules. Moreover, 34 lncRNA and 152 TF genes were identified in 12 and 19 non-preserved consensus modules, respectively. The predicted PPIs in 17 non-preserved consensus modules were significant, and 283 hub genes were commonly identified in both co-expression and PPIs networks. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that eight out of 21 modules were significantly enriched for biological processes associated with Johne's disease including “inflammatory response,” “interleukin-1-mediated signaling pathway”, “type I interferon signaling pathway,” “cytokine-mediated signaling pathway,” “regulation of interferon-beta production,” and “response to interferon-gamma.” Moreover, some genes (hub mRNA, TF, and lncRNA) were introduced as potential candidates for Johne's disease pathogenesis such as TLR2, NFKB1, IRF1, ATF3, TREM1, CDH26, HMGB1, STAT1, ISG15, CASP3. This study expanded our knowledge of molecular mechanisms involved in Johne's disease, and the presented pipeline enabled us to achieve more valid results.

Abstract Background Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and the fifth deadliest cancer among women in Iran. Educational interventions based on the proper behavior promoting models can lead to early diagnosis of cervical cancer.This study aimed to investigate the effects of educational intervention on performing Pap smear tests based on the Theory of Planned Behavior among women living in Fasa, Iran. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 participants. Thereafter, the educational intervention based on the results of cross-sectional study was conducted in a workshop form for 50 women as the intervention group and 50 women as the control group. Afterward, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and then analyzed via logistic regressions analysis, paired t test, independent t test, chi-square test, and McNemar test. Result According to the results, 45.7% of the patients had a history of performing a Pap smear test, and 20.7% of them regularly performed this test. The knowledge, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were the predictors of intention and behavior of Pap smear test among the women (P

In this work, zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized via the green and easy sol-gel method. Then, they have been characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) analysis. The XRD result showed that ZnO nanoparticles have a hexagonal phase structure with an average crystallite size of 18 nm. The TEM results revealed the nanoparticles size of about 25-35 nm with spherical morphology. The Tauc theory was used to calculate the optical band gap which was found to be 3.03 eV. BET analysis displayed that the specific surface area of the ZnO NPs was 15.87 m2/g. The impact of various parameters such as catalyst dosage, dye concentration, visible light irradiation and time were evaluated in dye degradation. The ZnO NPs shown high photocatalytic performance for degradation of malachite green dye at room temperature in aqueous solution so that 92% of malachite green (MG) was degraded in 90 min.

In this work, α-Fe2O3 (hematite) nanoparticles were synthesized using Arabic gum (AG) as a biotemplate source by the sol-gel method. This method has many advantages such as low-cost, nontoxicity, simple work-up, high efficiency, compounds uniformity, and high efficiency. The α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results of XRD analysis revealed the formation of the rhombohedral phase of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with an average crystallite size of 19 nm. The TEM image illustrated the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with average particle size of 45-50 nm. The application of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles as a photocatalyst was investigated for the degradation of the Congo red dye. The effects of photocatalyst dosage, initial dye concentration and visible light irradiation on dye degradation were assessed. The results demonstrated that the catalyst could degrade90% of the Congo red dye in 90 min. The α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles exhibited slight decrease in photocatalytic degradation of Congo red dye after four recycles.

Background: In recent years, numerous studies have addressed the role of other factors, especially the immune system, on developing diabetic retinopathy. Given the role of interferons in regulating immune system activities, the present study was conducted to investigate serum levels of interferon-gamma in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Materials and Methods: The present research was conducted on 42 patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic retinopathy in the case group and 41 patients with only type 2 diabetes in the control group. The two groups were matched in terms of age and gender. In the previous three months, the participants had not developed severe bacterial, viral or parasitic infections, not undergone ocular and non-ocular surgeries and not taken immunosuppressants. After measuring the patients’ systolic and diastolic blood pressures, their urine and blood samples were collected for the laboratory analysis of CBC, LDL, HDL, TG, total cholesterol, proteinuria, FBS, HbA1c, ESR, CRP, BUN, Creatinine and interferon gamma. The data collected were statistically analyzed in SPSS-18. Results: Out of 83 patients aged 41-78 years with type 2 diabetes, 42 patients were assigned to the case group and 41 to the control group. The mean of age of the case group was 59.69±6.866 years and that of the controls 58.71±7.410. Based on statistical methods, the two groups were matched in terms of age and gender. Although serum levels of interferon gamma were higher in the case group compared to in the controls, the difference was statistically insignificant (P>0.05). No significant differences were also observed between the two groups in terms of WBC, LDL, total cholesterol, FBS, CRP, Creatinine, HDL and diastolic blood pressure (P>0.05). According to the logistic regression model, the risk of developing retinopathy was approximately 8 times higher in the insulin users compared to in those using oral medicines. Conclusion: The statistical analysis and regression model did not suggest significant relationships between serum levels of interferon gamma and diabetic retinopathy. The two groups were significantly different in terms of insulin consumption. Further studies are recommended to be conducted to find the role of immunological factors in developing diabetic retinopathy.

Background: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), is a widespread infectious disease with high mortality and morbidity. Various medications are used for treating the disease, but several side effects and drug resistance have been reported. Herbal medicines are unlimited sources for discovering new medications to treat infectious diseases. We aimed to determine the leishmanicidal activity of three species of Iranian Artemisia herbal plant extracts in in-vitro. Methods: In-vitro anti-leishmanial activity of ethanolic extracts on both promastigotes and amastigotes was determined by using MTT method. IC50, CC50, EC50 and SI were calculated. The study was done in 2019-2020 in Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Results: All of the three Artemisia species significantly reduced the number of parasite promastigotes. Among them, A. persica had the highest leishmanicidal activity against parasite promastigotes. Cytotoxicity assay elucidated that the Artemisia had no toxicity to the host cells, and killed the L. major amastigotes very efficiently. By increasing the dose of extracts, the parasite number in both phases (promastigotes and amastigotes) was reduced significantly. Conclusion: These results indicated satisfactory anti-leishmanial activity of Artemisia extracts against ZCL in-vitro. Accordingly, Artemisia ethanolic extracts might be considered as a strong, effective and safe herbal compound for clearing the L. major with less toxicity to the host macrophages cells. Hence, it may be recognized as an excellent herbal therapy for treating the ZCL.

Johne’s disease is a chronic infection of ruminants that burdens dairy herds with a significant economic loss. The pathogenesis of the disease has not been revealed clearly due to its complex nature. In order to achieve deeper biological insights into molecular mechanisms involved in MAP infection resulting in Johne’s disease, a system biology approach was used. As far as is known, this is the first study that considers lncRNAs, TFs, and mRNAs, simultaneously, to construct an integrated gene regulatory network involved in MAP infection. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and functional enrichment analysis were conducted to explore coexpression modules from which nonpreserved modules had altered connectivity patterns. After identification of hub and hub-hub genes as well as TFs and lncRNAs in the nonpreserved modules, integrated networks of lncRNA-mRNA-TF were constructed, and cis and trans targets of lncRNAs were identified. Both cis and trans targets of lncRNAs were found in eight nonpreserved modules. Twenty-one of 47 nonpreserved modules showed significant biological processes related to the immune system and MAP infection. Some of the MAP infection’s related pathways in the most important nonpreserved modules comprise “positive regulation of cytokine-mediated signaling pathway,” “negative regulation of leukocyte migration,” “T-cell differentiation,” “neutrophil activation,” and “defense response.” Furthermore, several genes were identified in these modules, including SLC11A1, MAPK8IP1, HMGCR, IFNGR1, CMPK2, CORO1A, IRF1, LDLR, BOLA-DMB, and BOLA-DMA, which are potentially associated with MAP pathogenesis. This study not only enhanced our knowledge of molecular mechanisms behind MAP infection but also highlighted several promising hub and hub-hub genes involved in macrophage-pathogen interaction.

Background and Aims Caring for patients with epilepsy, creates many challenges for their family caregivers. The implementation of family-based interventions can facilitate the caring duty of caregivers and increase the quality of care for patients. This study aimed to investigate the effect of family-based care program on care burden in family caregivers of patients with epilepsy. Methods This clinical trial study was conducted in Ayatollah Kashani and Hajar hospitals in Shahrekord City, Iran for 7 months in 2016. Samples were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned in the intervention (n=50) and control (n=50) groups. For the intervention group, a family-centered care program was implemented including self-efficacy, self-esteem and evaluation, through education, support, problem solving and group discussion during four sessions. Data were collected by using Persian version of Zaritchr('39')s burden of care scale from the intervention and control groups in three stages; before, immediately, and two months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical t-test and ANOVA with repeated measurement in the SPSS. Results The mean score of burden of care in the intervention and control groups were 37.42 and 34, respectively before the intervention (P

Background & Aim: Besides medical treatment, self-care education is necessary for patients with heart failure. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of telenursing and education without follow-up in the caregivers of heart failure patients on the self-care behavior and clinical status of heart failure patients. Methods & Materials: This clinical trial (IRCT2016080829184N2) was performed on 66 heart failure patients referred to the clinic of Taleghani hospital in Abadan in 2015-2016. The patients were randomly divided into three groups: control, intervention-1 and intervention-2 groups. Control group did not receive any intervention. Patients and caregivers in the intervention-1 group received verbal education, and caregivers in the intervention-2 group received continuous phone follow-up plus verbal education. Self-care behavior, fatigue severity and exercise tolerance were assessed in the patients by the self-care behavior questionnaire, fatigue severity scale and six minutes walking test at baseline and the end of 3 months. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, paired t-test, ANOVA, ANCOVA and Scheffe post hoc test were used to analyze the data using the SPSS software v.18. Results: At baseline, three groups were consistent in terms of demographic variables and three variables. At the post-test, there was a significant difference between the intervention-2 group with the control group and intervention-1 group in self-care behavior (P

BACKGROUND:Neglected parasitic diseases (NTDs) like cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) have caused high mortality and morbidity rate in developing countries. This disease is considered as one of the six major tropical diseases, and has a great importance in HIV infected individuals as an opportunistic infection in those areas that both infections are endemic. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of the Urtica dioica L (U. dioica) aqueous extract as an anti-leishmanial herbal drug in-vitro and in-vivo, and in addition to that, evaluated two vital immune system cytokines including gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) plus nitric oxide (NO) and arginase activity against Leishmania major (L. major) infected mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In-vitro anti-leishmanial activity of U. dioica aqueous extract was determined using MTT method and also Parasite Rescue Transformation Assay. Also, the footpad lesion size and parasite load in BALB/c mice infected with L. major were quantified for in-vivo assessment. Furthermore, for evaluating the immune responses, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, NO and arginase were measured in the BALB/c mice. These results indicated that U. dioica extract significantly reduced the L. major promastigotes viability. According to the in-vitro cytotoxicity assay of the extract on Leishmania parasites (CC50) and infected macrophages (EC50), the extract had no toxicity to the macrophages, however it efficiently killed the L. major amastigotes. In addition, the lesion size, parasite load, IL-4, and ARG were decreased in the treated infected mice, however IFN-γ and NO were significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:This study established satisfactory results in Leishmania parasite clearing both in-vivo and in-vitro. Therefore, U. dioica extract can be considered as an effective and harmless herbal compound for killing the parasite without toxicity to the host macrophages. Furthermore, it also can treat the CL by switching the mouse immune response towards a cell-mediated response (Th1); hence, it may be identified as a perfect therapeutic herbal drug for CL treatment.

Abstract Discussion of complement types is among new grammatical issues, not addressed in all its aspects yet. Place of adverbial complement in the sentence is also worthy of attention and study, since it is categorized as types of adverbs and also types of complements. What is a complement? There are enormous differences in the definition of complement. So much that almost no two grammarians have the exact same views. This is because some define complement as “what completes the meaning of the noun before or the sentence in which it has been used”, and some consider “a special type which is prepositional complement”. Complements are noun phrases placed after the preposition in a sentence and are sometimes compulsory and sometimes optional in accordance with their role. Complement types: Complement categories are very diverse and different in books. Thus, perhaps Kamyar’s division in this respect is more complete since only prepositional complements are included and almost all types are expressed: 1) verb complements, 2) noun complements, 3) adjective complements, 4) adverb complements, 5) pseudo-sentence complements. Adverb types: Adverbs are classified based on type and structure: a) adverbs with no indicator: 1- specific adverb 2- adverbs in common with nouns 3- adverbs in common with adjectives. b) Adverbs with indicators: 1- Adverbs with nunation 2- prefix adverbs 3- adverbial complements Types of phrases: 1.The grammatical unit made of one or more related terms, where the main word or the nucleus is a noun is called a noun phrase. 2. The verb phrase appears in the location of the statement and includes one or more smaller units. The main element here is the verb. 3- Adverbial phrase is part of the sentence that the verb does not need, and thus can be removed. 4. A string of words used as a phrase with an adjective nucleus is called an adjective phrase. Before the adjective a qualitative preposition, or a grade preposition can be used, and it can be followed by noun phrases, prepositional phrase or adjective phrases in a complementary role. So the adjective phrase may also appear as only an adjective. 5. The prepositional phrase is made of “a preposition + noun phrase”. Prepositions are grammatical words that appear only in front of a noun phrase. Prepositional phrases are used with various grammatical relationships, especially prepositional complement in noun phrase, indirect object and complement in verb phrase and also complement or adverbial complement. Prepositional phrase is not used in direct object and subject’s grammatical relations. Place of the adverbial complement in the sentence: Since the complement is a noun phrase that comes after the preposition and the adverb is removable it is hard to determine the position of adverbial complement as a phrase. So instead of being limited to noun, verb and adverbial phrases, we had better also consider prepositional and adjectival phrases. Thus, all the complements are categorized as prepositional phrases. It is also more appropriate for nouns in common with adverbs to be called adverbial complements whose preposition is removed. Conclusion: Mainly, differences about complements is due to authors’ perceptions because some, especially older authors, consider the complement solely with the literal meaning of the word, i.e. something that completes, in their definitions, so in addition to prepositional complement they consider other components such as objects and predicate as complements. Some, on the other hand, consider the connotation of the term and only categorize nouns placed after prepositions as complements of different types. This difference in perception could solve many uncertainties regarding the complements. Adjective in common with adverbs are categorized as either adverbial phrase or the adjectival phrase according to their role in the sentence. Whenever they are perceived as an adjective, they will be categorized as adjectival phrase, and whenever they are perceived as an adverb, as adverbial phrase. Therefore, it is vital to consider a word’s meaning and use in different sentences to determine their place. Limiting phrases to verb, adverb, and noun in the subject of adverbial complement and adjectives that take the role of a predicate will lead to ambiguities that can be disambiguated solely through considering the other two types of phrases, i.e. adjectival phrases and prepositional phrases. It is better to separate the prepositional phrases and noun phrases and consider the prepositional phrase as a combination of the nucleus, as a preposition, and a noun phrase

مقدمه: هدف از انجام این مطالعه، تعیین تأثیر تزریق رمی‌فنتانیل، پروپوفول و ترکیب رمی‌فنتانیل- پروپوفول بر سطح آرام‌بخشی بیماران تحت عمل جراحی کاتاراکت به روش فیکو امولسیفیکاسیون با بی‌حسی موضعی و مقایسه‌ی آن با گروه شاهد بود. روش‌ها: در یک مطالعه‌ی کارآزمایی بالینی که در سال 1394 در بیمارستان فیض اصفهان انجام شد، 140 بیمار کاندیدای عمل جراحی فیکو امولسیفیکاسیون در 4 گروه 35 نفره توزیع شدند. جهت ایجاد آرام‌بخشی، به ترتیب پروپوفول، رمی‌فنتانیل، ترکیب پروپوفول-رمی‌فنتانیل و نرمال سالین تزریق شد و نمره‌ی آرام‌بخشی بیمار، در طی مدت عمل در چهار گروه مقایسه شد. یافته‌ها: گروه رمی‌فنتانیل از عمق آرام‌بخشی بالاتری در حین عمل برخوردار بودند. این نمره در قبل از شروع عمل در چهار گروه رمی‌فنتانیل، پروپوفول، رمی فنتانیل- پروپوفول و نرمال سالین به ترتیب 87/0 ± 31/3، 28/0 ± 91/4، 75/0 ± 97/2 و 30/0 ± 97/4 (001/0 > P) و در دقیقه‌ی 30 به ترتیب 01/0 ± 00/2، 55/0 ± 40/3، 00/1 ± 10/2 و 01/0 ± 00/3 بود (110/0 = P). تغییرات عمق آرام‌بخشی، در طی مدت عمل در چهار گروه، اختلاف معنی‌داری داشت (001/0 > P). نتیجه‌گیری: استفاده‌ی هم‌زمان رمی‌فنتانیل و پروپوفول در بیماران تحت عمل جراحی کاتاراکت با روش فیکو امولسیفیکاسیون، با عمق مناسب‌تر آرام‌بخشی در حین عمل و شدت درد کمتر در بعد از عمل و همچنین، مصرف کمتر مخدر همراه می‌باشد. از این رو، مصرف هم‌زمان این دو دارو در عمل جراحی فیکو امولسیفیکاسیون توصیه می‌گردد.

Background: Nowadays, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have received much attention because of their enormous potentials in many fields such as magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). The goal of hyperthermia is to increase the temperature of malignant cells to destroy them without any lethal effect on normal tissues. To investigate the effectiveness of cancer therapy by magnetic fluid hyperthermia, Fe0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles (FNPs) were used to undergo external magnetic field (f=515 kHz, H=100 G) in mice bearing implanted tumor. Methods: FNPs were synthesized via precipitation and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer, and Fourier transform infrared. For in vivo study, the mice bearing implanted tumor were divided into four groups (two mice per group), namely, control group, AMF group, MNPs group, and MNPs&AMF group. After 24 hours, the mice were sacrificed and each tumor specimen was prepared for histological analyses. The necrotic surface area was estimated by using graticule (Olympus, Japan) on tumor slides. Results: The mean diameter of FNPs was estimated around 9 nm by TEM image and M versus H curve indicates that this particle is among superparamagnetic materials. According to histological analyses, no significant difference in necrosis extent was observed among the four groups. Conclusion: FNPs are biocompatible and have a good size for biomedical applications. However, for MFH approach, larger diameters especially in the range of ferromagnetic particles due to hysteresis loss can induce efficient heat in the target region.

Background and Objectives:Increased antibiotic resistance as a result of using antimicrobial drugs and also their various adverse effects has caused that in recent years, investigation of medicinal plants beconsidered for discovering new medicinal resources against bacterial infections. This study was performed with the objective of determining the antimicrobial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Kleussiaodoratissimaagainst Enterococcus faecalis (PTTC 1609) and Salmonella typhi (PTTC 1349). Methods:In this experimental study, the antibacterial activity of the extracts was investigated by spreading of the extract on medium surface and disk agar diffusion method. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC( and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were also determined using tube dilution method. Analysis of the results was carried out by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: In agar disk diffusion method, all concentrations of ethanolic extract had inhibitory effect against Enterococcus faecalis. MIC of aqueous and ethanolic extracts for Enterococcus faecalis was 16 and 32mg/ml and for Salmonella typhiwas 64 and 32mg/ml, respectively.MBC of aqueous and ethanolic extracts for Enterococcus faecalis was 64 and 32mg/ml and for Salmonella typhi was 128 and 64mg/ml, respectively. Conclusion:The results showed that the ethanolic extract of Kelussiaodoratissima leave had higher inhibitory effects on the studied strains, compared to aqueous extracts in vitro.

Background & Aim: Exacerbation of the symptoms among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a part of the diseasechr('39')s cycle . Despite having medical treatments, most patients experience severe degrees of dyspnea. Self-management programs can help relieving the symptoms. T his study aimed to assess the effect of a self-management program on dyspnea and fatigue severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Methods & Materials: In this randomized clinical trial, 50 patients with COPD referred to Apadana clinic in Ahvaz were recruited into the study. Patients were randomly allocated to control and intervention groups. The intervention group received a self-management program designed based on the 5A model the control group did not receive any intervention. Patients were assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale and the Borg Dyspnea Scale at baseline and three month later. The Chi-squared test and t-test were used to analyze the data . Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in fatigue severity at baseline. At the end of the three months, the fatigue severity score differed significantly between the two groups (P=0.004). There was also significant reduction in the patientschr('39') dyspnea in the intervention group than the control group after 12 weeks (P

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of M2000, a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with immunosuppressive property and without gastro-nephrotoxicitic effects on matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and (MMP)-9 in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 cells. Gene expression and activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 are inhibited respectively by the tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 and (TIMP)-1 and are induced by extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (CD147/EMMPRIN). In this study, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine gene expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Flow cytometry and zymography were applied to determine cellular surface expression of CD147 and activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9, respectively. Our results showed that treatment of THP-1 cells with high concentration (25 µg/mL) of M2000 significantly decreased the cellular surface expression of CD147 (p

Proliferation of Leishmania (L.) parasites depends on polyamine availability, which can be generated by the L-arginine catabolism and the enzymatic activity of arginase (ARG) of the parasites and of the mammalian hosts. In the present study, we characterized and compared the arginase (arg) genes from pathogenic L. major and L. tropica and from non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. We quantified the level of the ARG activity in promastigotes and macrophages infected with pathogenic L. major and L. tropica and non-pathogenic L. tarentolae amastigotes. The ARG's amino acid sequences of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leishmania demonstrated virtually 98.6% and 88% identities with the reference L. major Friedlin ARG. Higher ARG activity was observed in all pathogenic promastigotes as compared to non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. In vitro infection of human macrophage cell line (THP1) with pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leishmania spp. resulted in increased ARG activities in the infected macrophages. The ARG activities present in vivo were assessed in susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice infected with L. major, L. tropica and L. tarentolae. We demonstrated that during the development of the infection, ARG is induced in both strains of mice infected with pathogenic Leishmania. However, in L. major infected BALB/c mice, the induction of ARG and parasite load increased simultaneously according to the time course of infection, whereas in C57BL/6 mice, the enzyme is upregulated solely during the period of footpad swelling. In L. tropica infected mice, the footpads' swellings were slow to develop and demonstrated minimal cutaneous pathology and ARG activity. In contrast, ARG activity was undetectable in mice inoculated with the non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. Our data suggest that infection by Leishmania parasites can increase ARG activity of the host and provides essential polyamines for parasite salvage and its replication. Moreover, the ARG of Leishmania is vital for parasite proliferation and required for infection in mice. ARG activity can be used as one of the main marker of the disease severity.

Objective(s): Short tandem repeat (STR) loci are the most informative DNA genetic markers for attempting to individualize biological material for application in paternity and forensic cases. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected and the total genomic DNA was extracted. The DNA samples were used for genotyping VWA and TPOX STR loci using PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results: This report presents allele frequency data and parameters of biological or legal interest, such as heterozygosity value, polymorphic information content (PIC), genetic diversity index (GD) and population parameter (θ) in Arab and non-Arab population of Khuzestan province (Iran) for the loci VWA and TPOX. Blood samples (N= 392 for VWA and N=308 for TPOX) were collected from individuals unrelated throughout Khuzestan province. The loci were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and silver staining. Chi-square test showed that neither STR loci were in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Conclusion: The examined STR loci in this study have proven a relatively high genetic variation in the Iranian population. The data could be used for construction of a forensic genetic database for the Iranian population.

Introduction & Objective: Teucrium polium belonging to Lamiaceae family has been widely used in traditional medicine for treatment of diseases. Regarding the existence of the active biological compounds in this plant, it seems that this plant has considerable antimicrobial ef-fects. The aim of this study is to investigate the antimicrobial effect of different concentra-tions of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Teucrium polium (different concentrations) on Escherichia coli PTCC 1330, Staphylococcus aureus PTCC 1337, Staphylococcus epider-midis PTCC 1435, Streptococcus pyogenes PTCC 1447 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PTCC 1310” in vitro”. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, antimicrobial effect of the extracts was ex-plored by two methods including “Collins method” (spreading of the extract on medium sur-face) and “disk agar diffusion method”. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were determined using the dilution method. Results: The results showed that in "disk agar diffusion method ", the ethanolic extract had the inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococ-cus aureus. The MIC of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts for Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 64 and 32 mg/ml, respectively and the MBC of aqueous and ethanolic extracts for Pseudo-monas aeruginsa was 256 and 128 mg/ml, respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed the highest level of resistance against the aqueous and ethanolic Teucrium polium extracts. Conclusion: The ethanolic extract of Teucrium polium “in vitro” showed a considerable antim-icrobial effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the gram-negative bacteria and Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus as the gram-positive bacteria.

The purpose of this study was to see the role of English language proficiency level and sex on Iranian students’ beliefs about language learning. This study also investigated the usefulness of the BALLI questionnaire (Horwits, 1988), which checks learners’ beliefs, for the context of Iranian English language learners through conducting an interview. A total of 171 Iranian learners from safir institute took a TOEFL test(2003) and filled out BALLI questionnaire. Based on their TOEFL scores, they were divided into two levels of high and low language proficiency and each group was divided into two groups of males and females. Thirty-two participants including all groups were randomly selected for the interview. The results of the data analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in the learners’ beliefs about language learning at different language proficiency levels, but there was no significant difference in this regard between males and females. Also, the study did not prove any interaction between the two factors of sex and language proficiency level. The difference in the results of the interview and the questionnaire in three questions reveal that the questionnaire, though useful, is better to be used along with other measuring instruments.

Introduction & Objective: Mental health disorders are common problems among hospital personnel and can cause even more psychosocial problems .One of the most significant problems is dysfunction in the quality work life of the personnel. The aim of this study is to determine the items of SCL90 test with quality of work life (QWL) among the personnel of Amiralmomenin hospital in Zabol. Materials & Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 200 health care workers working in Amiralmomenin hospital in Zabol who were selected by census method .After the data were collected using questionnaire (SCL-90 and QWL questionnaire),they were analysed by SPSS. Results: Our findings showed that 65.5% of the personnel had relatively optimal work life. Other findings showed that there was an impairment in mental health of the personnel in the domains of anxiety, hypochondriasis, interpersonal sensitivity and aggressiveness. Conclusion: According to the findings, paying more attention to mental health of the personnel to improve their quality of work life is essential.

An efficient synthesis of 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-pyrimidinones and -thiones using MCM-41 as the catalyst from an aldehyde, β-keto ester, and urea or thiourea under solvent-free conditions is described.

Sodium selenate efficiently catalyzes the three-component Biginelli reaction of an aldehyde, a,β-keto ester and urea or thiourea under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones or –thiones in excellent yields.

"nObjective: The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the combination of paid employment promotes or challenges the quality of life of married employed and unemployed women in Iran. "nMethod: The samples consisted of 250 married employed women (175 professionals and 75 non-professionals) and 250 married unemployed. Stratified convenience sampling technique was used for the selection of the sample. One demographic sheet and the Persian version of World Health Organization -Quality of Life (IRQOL) were chosen for collection of data. SPSS was used for analyzing data. "nResults: professional employed and unemployed women differed significantly on quality of life, physical health, and psychological health. Professional employed and unemployed women did not differ significantly on two of the subscales of quality of life, social relationship and environment. Professional employed women were found to be significantly higher on quality of life, physical health, psychological health, social relationship, and environment than non-professional women. Non-professional employed women were found to be significantly lower on quality of life, social relationship, and environment than unemployed women. Non- professional employed women did not differ significantly on physical health and psychological health than unemployed women. "nConclusions: The present study clearly evinces that employment status per se is not important. In other words, employment for women does not always ensure good quality of life. Status and level of works is important factor for creation the positive consequences of work in women.

Today, use of nanotechnology for cancer therapy is an active field of research. Early detection, accurate diagnosis, and individual treatment are the aims which cause nanotechnology as an attractive area for research. Among metallic nanomaterials, gold nanostructures have unique properties which make them remarkable candidates for biomedical approaches. Surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect of gold nanostructures leads to a maximum absorption in a particular electromagnetic wavelength. This wavelength changes with shape and size of the particles, so optical properties of gold nanostructures are adjustable. In this review, we will summarize the application of gold nanostructures in treatment of cancer especially as the agent in Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) and photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Intervascular stents provide clinical benefits in preventing occlusive coronary artery disease after angioplasty, but intimal hyperplasia and restenosis after stent implantation remains an unresolved problem. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), the main component of medial layer of arteries, play an important role in neointimal hyperplasia. After arterial injury, quiescent, contractile VSMCs undergo a change in phenotype; they proliferate and migrate from the media to the intima. It has been shown that the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in tissue formation, homeostasis and repair. The adhesion, proliferation, and migration of VSMCs are strongly influenced by interaction with ECM components including proteoglycans, glycoproteins such as fibronectin, collagen, elastic fibers (laminae). This interaction is further diversified under the influence of multiple transmembrane receptors and matrix proteinases. Hence, the coordinated regulation of VSMC function by these matrix components is an essential process for controlling the development and remodeling of the vascular system. Here the role of ECM in VSMC phenotypic modulation and neointimal hyperplasia will be reviewed.