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Purpose: This study aimed to gain knowledge about the genetic reserves of native Iranian grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars and genotypes in tropical regions and to identify the best grapevine cultivars and genotypes existing in vineyards of Khuzestan province. Research Method: This study evaluated the phenotypic diversity of 60 grapevine cultivars and genotypes existing in tropical, subtropical region of Khuzestan province in Iran. Findings: The result showed that the most descriptive statistics in the most important quantitative traits are related to fresh weight of bunch, bunch length, bunch width, the number of berries per bunch, berry length, berry width, protein content, total soluble solids and titratanbe acidity. The native Iranian grape cultivars and genotypes of Khuzestan province included 'Bangi', 'Soltani' and 'Yershi' as the earliest, Iranian cultivars including 'Yaghouti Ghermez', 'Yaghouti Sabz' and 'Asgari' as mid-ripening and foreign cultivars including 'Flame Seedless' and 'Perlette' as late ripening respectively. The results of factor analysis showed that the highest coefficients of eigenvectors in 7 main components are related to the most important traits including fresh weight of bunch, fresh weight of berries, berry diameter, berry length, the number of berries per bunch, protein content, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and the content of chlorophyll which accounted for 84.28% of the total variance variation. To group cultivars and genotypes based on investigated traits from cluster analysis by Ward’s method was used. Cultivars and genotypes were grouped in 9 main clusters in 5 Euclidean distances. Research limitations: No limitations were encountered. Originality/Value: In this research, the significant diversity of grapevine cultivars and genotypes existing in vineyards of Khuzestan province showed the superiority of native cultivars and genotypes such as 'Soltani', 'Bangi (Ghermez)' and 'Yershi' in some traits compared to other foreign cultivars.

The new law on issuing checks has been approved by the Islamic Council parliament on November 4, 2018 in 25 articles and 20 comments. This law includes many innovations compared to the previous laws, of which Sayadi checks are the most important. In fact, in order to avoid the problems that may have arisen for check issuers and holders in the past, the legislator has replaced these types of checks with the old ones, and for its implementation, he has defined tasks for the banks in Three the registration of issuance and the payment of checks, white the investigations, we realized that despite the fact that the above-mentioned law has doubled the duties of the banks in relation to the checks, it has not been successful in terms of their civil liability, and it is limited to specific cases in the check issuance law. Therefore, in order to further study the relationship with the civil liability of banks in the new check issuance law and in special laws, the civil liability of banks has been investigated in relation to Sayadi checks. The result of his research showed that banks are responsible for the loss caused by failure to perform work based on the provisions of paragraph c of Article 35 of the monetary and banking law, article 8 of the civil liability law, and Note 5, Article 5 Repeated of the Check Law. They are responsible for registering, issuing and paying Sayadi checks. That the basis of this responsibility is based on the theory of fault and in some cases it seems to be a pure theory, Venice It saemes the type of this responsibility is contractual in all cases.

Abstract Background Forage inclusion in starters of young dairy calves has become an acceptable strategy in the last decade. To compensate for the lower energy provided by forage, concurrent lipid supplementation can be proposed. However, ruminal microbial activity and forage digestibility may be decreased by lipid supplementation. We hypothesized that the composite effect of forage and lipid supplements may be dependent on forage particle size and the type of lipid supplement. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of long (LP; geometric mean, 4.97 mm) vs. short alfalfa hay particle sizes (SP; geometric mean, 1.26 mm) with either soybean oil (SBO) or palm fatty acids (PLF) as lipid source in a 2 × 2 factorial design with treatments SP-SBO, SP-PLF, LP-SBO, and LP-PLF. Treatments (n = 13 with 6 males and 7 females each) were offered to Holstein calves (3 days old) with equal amounts of lipid (25 g/kg DM) throughout the experimental period. The milk offering scheme (d 1 to 53) was equal for all groups. Data collection continued until 20 d post-weaning. Results Interaction between forage particle size and lipid supplement was significant for the following readouts: the highest and lowest starter intakes during the pre-weaning period occurred in LP-PLF and LP-SBO, respectively. This was associated with similarly contrasting changes in average daily gain (ADG) during the post-weaning period, body weight at the end of experiment, withers height, digestibility of organic matter and neutral detergent fiber, and blood serum concentrations of glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and insulin during the pre-weaning period. During both pre- and post-weaning periods, the highest and lowest urinary excretion of allantoin and total purine derivatives, representing microbial protein synthesis, were observed in LP-PLF and LP-SBO, respectively, indicating that those diets were most and least favorable for rumen development. Irrespective of forage particle size, supplemental SBO vs. PLF increased serum malondialdehyde as an oxidative stress indicator across periods, increased blood urea nitrogen and feed efficiency in the pre-weaning period, and reduced hip height during the post-weaning period. Conclusions It can be concluded that feeding a rumen-inert, mostly saturated fatty acid source with alfalfa hay as long particle size is recommended with view on performance, whereas a combination soybean oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids should not be provided to milk-fed Holstein calves together with long particle forage. Feeding soybean oil and alfalfa hay as long particles is not advisable mainly due to lower starter consumption and impaired development of ruminal function. If dietary supplementation of soybean oil is applied, incorporation of forage as small particles should be preferred to support rumen development.

Abstract The assignment of an individual to the true population of origin using a low-panel of discriminant SNP markers is one of the most important applications of genomic data for practical use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of different Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approaches consisting Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Garson and Olden methods for feature selection of informative SNP markers from high-throughput genotyping data, that would be able to trace the true breed of unknown samples. The total of 795 animals from 37 breeds, genotyped by using the Illumina SNP 50k Bead chip were used in the current study and principal component analysis (PCA), log-likelihood ratios (LLR) and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) were applied to assess the performance of different assignment methods. The results revealed that the DNN, Garson, and Olden methods are able to assign individuals to true populations with 4270, 4937, and 7999 SNP markers, respectively. The PCA was used to determine how the animals allocated to the groups using all genotyped markers available on 50k Bead chip and the subset of SNP markers identified with different methods. The results indicated that all SNP panels are able to assign individuals into their true breeds. The success percentage of genetic assignment for different methods assessed by different levels of LLR showed that the success rate of 70% in the analysis was obtained by three methods with the number of markers of 110, 208, and 178 tags for DNN, Garson, and Olden methods, respectively. Also the results showed that DNN performed better than other two approaches by achieving 93% accuracy at the most stringent threshold. Finally, the identified SNPs were successfully used in independent out-group breeds consisting 120 individuals from eight breeds and the results indicated that these markers are able to correctly allocate all unknown samples to true population of origin. Furthermore, the NJ tree of allele-sharing distances on the validation dataset showed that the DNN has a high potential for feature selection. In general, the results of this study indicated that the DNN technique represents an efficient strategy for selecting a reduced pool of highly discriminant markers for assigning individuals to the true population of origin.

The study hypothesized that a 24% protein starter diet supplemented with inert fat (palm fatty acids; PLFs) instead of triglyceride-rich soybean oil (SBO) would promote the growth of dairy calves. The effects of different protein contents (20 vs 24% CP) and fat sources (SBO vs PLF at 2.5% DM) on growth, digestibility, blood metabolites, rumen protozoa and urinary nitrogen in dairy calves were investigated. A total of 52 female dairy calves (mean age 3 days and BW 40.7 kg) were allocated to the following treatments in a completely randomized design: (1) 20% CP starter diet supplemented with SBO (20CP-SBO), (2) 20% CP starter diet supplemented with PLF (20CP-PLF), (3) 24% CP starter diet supplemented with SBO (24CP-SBO), and (4) 24% CP starter diet supplemented with PLF (24CP-PLF). Calves were weaned on day 53, and the study ended on day 73. The 24CP diets enhanced starter feed intake, average daily gain (ADG), withers height, hip width, organic matter (OM) digestibility, and preweaning blood glucose compared to the 20CP diets. In contrast, SBO supplementation reduced feed intake, ADG, withers height, OM and CP digestibility, and pre- and postweaning blood glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate levels, while increasing preweaning aspartate aminotransferase, compared to PLF. SBO supplementation led to lower urinary excretion of purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis postweaning, and a reduction in protozoa population both pre- and postweaning. Calves fed PLF had higher starter intake than those fed SBO, regardless of the diet being 20CP or 24CP. Calves fed the 24CP-PLF diet had the highest ADG, while calves fed the 20CP-SBO diet had the lowest ADG. Calves fed the 20CP-SBO diet had lower feed efficiency than calves fed the other diets during the preweaning period and throughout the experimental period. Calves fed the 24CP-PLF diet had higher hip heights at weaning and on day 73 than calves fed the other diets. Calves fed the 20CP-SBO diet had lower neutral detergent fiber digestibility than calves fed the other diets. Calves fed the 24CP-SBO diet had higher postweaning blood urea nitrogen concentration than calves fed the other diets. Feeding the 20CP-SBO diet to dairy calves decreased urinary allantoin excretion and rumen microbial protein synthesis but increased urinary nitrogen excretion during the preweaning period. Our results suggest that PLF is more suitable than SBO in calf diets, especially when calves fed 24% CP, possibly due to improved nutrient digestibility.

ABSTRACT: The present study was intended to evaluate the effect of forage source (alfalfa hay; ALF vs. corn silage; CS) along with a supplemental fat source (soybean oil; SO vs. rumen-inert palm fatty acids; PF) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and ruminal fermentation in dairy calves. Forty-eight new-born Holstein female calves (3 d old) were assigned to one of 4 treatments: (1) alfalfa hay with soybean oil (ALF–SO); (2) alfalfa hay with palm fatty acids (ALF–PF); (3) corn silage with soybean oil (CS–SO); (4) corn silage with palm fatty acids (CS–PF). Starter diets had equal amounts of forage (100 g/kg dry matter; DM) and fat source (30 g/kg DM). Calves were fed a constant amount of milk (d 1 to 63) and had ad libitum access to water and starters (d 1 to 83). The lowest and greatest starter intakes during the preweaning period occurred in ALF–SO and CS–PF, respectively. This coincided with forage × fat source interaction for average daily gain (ADG) during preweaning. The forage source affected total DM intake and ADG over the entire period, body weight (BW) at weaning, and final BW with greater values in calves that received CS compared with ALF. The concentrations of total short-chain fatty acids and butyrate were increased, whereas concentration of acetate and acetate:propionate ratio were decreased in the rumen of calves fed CS compared with ALF. Feeding CS increased urinary excretion of allantoin and, as a trend, total purine derivatives (PD) and estimated microbial protein synthesis in comparison with ALF. The fat source affected starter intake, ADG, and BW postweaning with the highest values in PF. The digestibility of neutral detergent fiber, crude protein and, as a trend, organic matter were higher in calves fed PF compared with SO. Calves fed PF had lower ruminal ammonia-N concentration and urinary N excretion and greater urinary excretion of allantoin and total PD. Calves receiving SO had a lower ruminal protozoa population. In conclusion, supplementing starter diets with CS and PF is superior to ALF and SO. Interaction of the positive effects of CS and PF on performance underlines that concurrent supplementation of CS with PF is especially recommendable in young calves before weaning.

Background: Research background in students with reading disorders shows that central auditory processing disorder has a major role in improving this disorder as well as improving auditory perception in children. However, less research has been done on the role of computers and computer games in the education and rehabilitation of these children. Aims: The present research was conducted with the goal of examining the efficacy of a computer-assisted rehabilitation program for central auditory processing disorder on auditory perception and dictation of students with reading disorder. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test design and follow-up with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included all students in the second grade of elementary school who were referred to special centers for learning disabilities in Tehran in the academic year 2016-2017. To select the sample, using the available sampling method, among the children who met the inclusion criteria, 36 students were selected by the available method and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The research instruments were Fisher’s Auditory Problems Checklist (1976), Dichotic Digit test (2015), Speech in Noise test (2015), Auditory Perception (Hassanzadeh, 2015) and Dictation tests (Ministry of Education, 2018). In order to analyze the obtained data, the Repeated Measures ANOVA was used. Results: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in the variables of Auditory Perception and Dictation (p˃ 0.001). The results also demonstrated that not only there existed a significant difference between the two groups, but that the main effect of the time factor was significant for the variables of Auditory Perception and Dictation (p˃ 0.001) and there was a significant difference between the mean scores of Auditory Perception and Dictation variables in the pretest, posttest and follow-up. Conclusion: Due to the obtained results, it can be concluded that the computer-assisted rehabilitation program for central auditory processing disorder improves auditory perception and spelling problems of students with reading disorders.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most prevalent and extreme physio-pathological disorders in hospitalized patients, 20-40% of whom are hospitalized in the intensive Care Unit (ICU). Sepsis is the most commonplace reason for AKI in intensive care patients, accounting for 50% of ICU cases Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from 22 October 2016 to 22 October 2017. Two hundred and thirty-two selected patients at Al-Zahra Hospital in Esfahan were enrolled in the study. Patients were followed for 10 days to determine the short-term mortality rate. Data were analyzed using t-test and Chi-squared test using SPSS software (ver. 16). Results: In this study, 232 patients with sepsis were evaluated. Their mean age (± standard deviation) was 69.9 (18.4) years. The mean age of patients with acute kidney Injury (72.7 years) was significantly higher than the mean age of non-patients (non-AkI) (66.6 years) (p-value= 0.012). However, the significant difference was not between the age groups, but the p-value was near the significant border. The mortality rate of patients (53.6%) was significantly higher than the non-patients (non-AKI) (29.6%) (p-value

Abstract The new generation of photovoltaic (PV) systems represents higher sustainability during grid faults thanks to increased ancillary services, such as low voltage ride‐through (LVRT) capability used when the PV system is subjected to voltage sag. Unlike previously presented strategies that just dealt with voltage sag problem under uniform radiation conditions, in this study, a new control strategy implementing LVRT capability during low‐voltage faults under partial shading conditions is proposed. First, radiation levels are estimated by using the least‐squares curve fitting (LSCF) algorithm. Second, the voltage/current of maximum power points (MPPs) and minimum power points are calculated. Also, the corresponding algebraic function for the (Power ‐ Voltage) P‐V curve is extracted using only PV voltage and power vectors. Finally, under partial shading conditions, the moving operating point to the right side of MPP is well‐achieved through a power proportional‐integral controller. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, simulations and experiments are conducted on PV systems. The simulation and experimental results and the comparison made between this algorithm's performance and other methods confirm that the proposed algorithm outperforms other methods in terms of high accuracy, fast dynamic and low oscillations in different partial shading conditions and with different radiations.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between weaknesses in internal controls and the risk of fraud in financial reporting. There are two perspectives on the effectiveness of internal controls as an important part of the governance system for non-fraudulent conduct. According to the first view, the strengthening of internal controls reduces the occurrence of fraud, and according to the second view, because of the ability of managers to override internal controls, internal controls do not have the necessary effectiveness in terms of fraud. In order to achieve the research purpose, using sample data from 152 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2012 to 2017 and Logit regression approach to test the research hypotheses were studied. Benish's (1999) model was used to measure the risk of fraud in financial reporting. The findings suggest that, despite weaknesses in internal control and weaknesses in internal control, the risk of fraud in financial reporting increases. These findings are in line with the first view.

Forty newborn Holstein female calves (BW = 39.9 ± 2.1 kg) were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups (each consisting of 10 animals) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of supplemental soybean oil [0 vs. 3% soybean oil (SBO) on dry matter basis] and forage level [0 vs. 15% alfalfa hay (AH) on dry matter basis] to evaluate the interaction effect of supplemental fat and forage feeding level in starter feed of dairy calves. Treatments were; (1) neither SBO supplementation nor AH inclusion (NSBO-NAH); (2) SBO supplementation but no AH included (SBO-NAH); (3) no SBO supplementation but AH included (NSBO-AH); and (4) SBO supplementation with AH (SBO-AH). Calves had ad-libitum access to water and starters throughout the study and weaned on day 63 of age but remained in the study until day 73 of age. The results showed that SBO supplementation reduced starter intake, average daily gain (tendency) and faecal consistency compared to un-supplemented diets. The lowest digestibility for neutral detergent fibre and crude protein, as well as the lowest wither height and volatile fatty acid production, were found for SBO-AH diet among experimental treatments. Moreover, the lowest urinary purine derivatives excretion but the highest urinary nitrogen excretion found in SBO-AH diet indicated the lowest nitrogen utilisation efficiency among experimental treatments. In summary, based on the current study condition, because the negative effects of SBO supplementation were exacerbated when AH was incorporated in the starter feed, concurrent feeding of SBO and AH is not recommendable in young calves.HIGHLIGHTS Supplemental soybean oil and alfalfa hay inclusion in starter feed of dairy calves was evaluated. Supplementation of SBO reduced crude protein digestibility and ruminal propionate concentration and caused looser faecal consistency. The inclusion of AH exacerbated the negative effects of SBO supplementation on ruminal fermentation and microbial activity. Concurrent supplementation of SBO and AH inclusion is not recommendable in dairy calves.

Thirty-six male lambs (averaging BW = 24.4 kg) were assigned in a completely randomised design with the factorial arrangement (nine lambs per each treatment) to assess the effects of linseed processing method (ground vs. extruded) and dietary crude protein content (12% vs. 15%, DM basis) on performance, digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and protozoa population. Treatments were; (1) ground linseed with 12% CP (GLS-12CP), (2) ground linseed with 15% CP (GLS-15CP), (3) extruded linseed with 12% CP (ELS-12CP), and (4) extruded linseed with 15% CP (ELS-15CP). The study lasted 84 d, and the lambs had free access to experimental diets and water. Outcomes showed that dry matter intake, digestibility of organic matter, and crude protein were increased in lambs fed ground linseed compared to extruded linseed. Feeding extruded linseed decreased urinary allantoin concentration, total purine derivatives (PD), the ruminal proportion of propionate, and blood concentration of glucose and HDL-cholesterol compared to ground linseed diets. Regarding dietary protein content, results showed that dry matter intake, urinary concentration of allantoin and total PD were increased in 15CP diets compared to 12CP diets. Considering the interaction, results showed that average daily gain was improved in GLS-15CP treatment compared to other experimental treatments. In conclusion, results show that grinding the linseed is more beneficial compared to its extrusion in lamb nutrition. Moreover, 15CP diets had a beneficial effect when fed with either ground or extruded linseed and seem to compensate, to some extent, the negative effects of extruded linseed on the gain of growing lambs.Highlights Linseed processing methods (ground vs. extruded) and dietary protein content (12 vs. 15%, DM basis) were evaluated in growing lambs Ground linseed increased average daily gain, improved digestibility, and microbial protein yield compared to extruded linseed Ground linseed was more favourable than extruded linseed and 15% CP diet has additional advantages either with the ground or extruded linseed

A crisis is any event with low possibility of occurrence and high impact of consequences that disrupts the order of the main system or parts of it and threatens its stability. Therefore, a proper management of this event will play a pivotal role in the improvement of a society. In fact, making correct decisions for an optimal crisis management depends on the success of several levels, and the characteristics of crisis managers is one of them. In this sense, paying sufficient attention to this factor will be of high importance in the optimal management of crises and the better performance of managers. This research aims to explain the effect of crisis management characteristics on the performance of crisis managers using the Structural Equation Modeling (Case Study: Southeastern Provinces of Iran). The required data was collected using an analytical-descriptive method, and the statistical population encompasses all the members of the Crisis Management Headquarters in the Provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman, South Khorasan and Yazd, who are roughly 100 persons. Using Morgan and Krejcie sampling table, 80 people were selected as a statistical sample by stratified random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient test and Friedman test) were used to analyze the data. The results of this study not only confirmed the model of crisis management characteristics affecting the proper performance of crisis managers in the southeastern provinces of the country, but also showed that there is a significant difference between the crisis management characteristics of crisis managers (p

This study aimed to investigate the interaction of fatty acid (FA) source [calcium salt of soybean oil (n-6 FA) vs. calcium salt of linseed oil (n-3 FA) both 3% DM basis] with protein content (18% vs. 22% CP, based on DM) on growth performance, blood metabolites, immune function, skeletal growth indices, urinary purine derivatives (PD), and microbial protein synthesis (MPS) in young dairy calves. Forty 3-day-old calves (20 females and 20 males) with a starting body weight (BW) of 40.2 kg were assigned in a completely randomized block design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Experimental diets were: (1) n-6 FA with 18% CP (n-6-18CP), (2) n-6 FA with 22% CP (n-6-22CP), (3) n-3 FA with 18% CP (n-3-18CP), and (4) n-3 FA with 22% CP (n-3-22CP). Starter feed intake and average daily gain (ADG) were not influenced by experimental diets (p > 0.05). However, before weaning and the entire period, feed efficiency (FE) was greater in calves fed n-3 FA compared to n-6 FA (p < 0.05). Heart girth (weaning, p < 0.05) and hip height (weaning, p < 0.05 and final, p < 0.01) were highest among experimental treatments in calves who received n-3-22CP diets. The greatest blood glucose (p < 0.05) and insulin (p < 0.01) concentrations in the pre-weaning period and the lowest serum concentration of tumor necrosis factor (before weaning, p < 0.05) were observed in calves fed the n-3-22CP diet. However, the greatest blood urea N (before weaning, p < 0.05; after weaning, p < 0.05) and urinary N excretion (p < 0.05) were found in calves fed n-6-22CP diets compared to other experimental arrangements. In conclusion, offering calves with Ca-salt of n-3 FA along with 22% CP content may be related to improved nitrogen efficiency and immune function.

Background: Disease registration is an organized system for collecting, storing, retrieving, analyzing a particular disease or exposure to known substances in a specific population. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and design of the registration system for upper gastrointestinal bleeding patients based on patients referring to Al-Zahra and Khorshid hospitals, Isfahan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study is a research action study in which the members of the registration system team are hospital triage physicians, internal residents in the Emergency department of hospital, subspecialty assistants and gastroenterologists, statisticians (epidemiologists and methodologists), and two trained persons were specified to collect medical information and documents. The data collection tool is a researcher-made checklist. Based on the available tools, the most important criteria related to gastrointestinal bleeding were selected. In the next step, the criteria selected in the council, including team members, were reviewed and a preliminary draft was prepared to record the information of patients. Results: The results indicated the final version of the checklist in three parts including demographic variables (age, sex, education, et al.), main variables (as the minimum data required by a person to register in the checklist (patient's clinical signs)), extended main variables (its information is designed to be used to diagnose, treat, and follow-up the patient in later stages). Conclusion: It seems to be predictable by establishing a system for recording gastrointestinal bleeding diseases, disease prevalence, monitoring services and treatment of patients, survival analysis and evaluation of clinical care outcomes, finding patients at higher risk for emergency treatment, reviewing drug interventions, and interventional activities.

Aim of the study: The effects of forage source (alfalfa hay; AH vs. wheat straw; WS) with rumen undegradable to degradable protein ratio [low ratio (LR) = 28:72; high ratio (HR) = 36:64] were evaluated in young dairy calves. Area of study: Arak, Iran. Material and methods: Forty-eight 3-d old female Holstein dairy calves (44.5 kg of BW) were allocated in four treatments: (1) AH with low dietary RUP:RDP ratio (AH-LR); (2) AH with high dietary RUP:RDP ratio (AH-HR); (3) WS with low dietary RUP:RDP ratio (WS-LR); and (4) WS with high dietary RUP:RDP ratio (WS-HR), being RDP and RUP rumen degradable and undegradable proteins, respectively. The calves weaned on d 53 of the experiment and remained in the study until d 73 of age. Main results: The average daily gain and feed efficiency were improved in dairy calves receiving HR diets compared to LR diets during the post-weaning period (p

Introduction: As therapeutic interventions had completely failed to cope with the problems facing patients with cancer, consulting with a spiritual approach in patients with cancer has been considered by researchers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of spiritual consultation on life satisfaction of patients with cancer. Method: This was a clinical trial as pre-test and post-test design. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire. In the first part, demographic characteristics and in the second part, life satisfaction was evaluated by The Diener Life Satisfaction Scale. Totally, 76 patients with cancer admitted to Urmia city hospital were chosen by purposive sampling and then randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. Patients in the control group received routine care hospitals, but those in the intervention group received 10 sessions of spiritual counseling. SPSS software was used for data analysis. To compare the life satisfaction scores before and after the treatment, paired t-test and independent t- test were used. Results: The mean and standard deviation scores of life satisfaction of patients in the intervention group before and after the intervention were 18.92±3.33 and 23.66±2.77, respectively. Also in the control group, score of patients before and after the intervention were 19.53±2.88 and 19.55±2.78, respectively. Paired t-test showed that life satisfaction scores before and after the treatment only in the intervention group were significantly different (P

Background: Vitamin D plays an important role in neurodegenerative disorders as a crucial neuro-immunomodulator. Accumulating data provide evidences that vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is a candidate gene for susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease (PD). Aim: To find out whether the risk of the development of sporadic PD might be influenced by VDR gene polymorphisms in an Iranian population or not. Subjects and methods: A genetic study was conducted to investigate the relationship between VDR gene polymorphisms and the severity of PD. Fifty-nine PD patients and 53 matched-healthy controls were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) analysis. For this purpose, four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR gene including FokI T > C (rs 10735810), BsmI A > G (rs 1544410), ApaI A > C (rs 7975232), and TaqI C > T (rs 731236) have been evaluated. Results: Our genotyping studies revealed that holding ApaI a allele and FokI f allele could significantly increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease 1.85 and 2.46 times, respectively (p = 0.023 and 0.008). Moreover, Aa heterozygous of ApaI also shows a significantly elevated risk of developing PD when compared to AA homozygous (OR = 7.44, p = 0.005). For BsmI and TaqI polymorphisms, no significant difference in genotype or allele distribution was found between PD patients and the controls. Moreover, in this study, no significant association was found between different genotypes and Hoehn & Yahr staging and Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Stage (UPDRS) rating scale. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a possible association between the VDR FokI and ApaI polymorphism and PD, indicating that VDR polymorphisms may change genetic susceptibility to sporadic PD in the Iranian population.

Abstract Background: Vitamin D was recognized with protective effects on nerve cells of Parkinson’s patients. The relationship between several VDR gene polymorphisms and age and risk of the disease was determined. Also, the relationship between VDR gene FOKI genotypes and PD was specified. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between polymorphic loci of FokI, TaqI, BsmI, ApaI and serum factor related to vitamin D metabolism in Isfahan population. Materials and Methods: Case- control study of 125 Parkinson’s patients with their matched control individuals has been investigated based on Parkinson's disease brain bank criteria of Great Britain. After receiving consent, serum levels were measured. The genetic material was isolated by Miller protocol and polymorphisms has been analyzed and confirmed by repeated PCR-RFLP. Results: Comparing the five serum factors between healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease, we have shown a significant reduction in the levels of calcium, ALP and PTH (p

Background: This study aimed to assess several biochemical and oxidative stress parameters before and after radioiodine therapy in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer who consumed a low iodine diet and withdrawal of levothyroxine after total thyroidectomy. Methods:We enrolled 40 candidates for radioiodine therapy. Blood sampling was performed prior to as well as 72 h after consumption of 125-200 mCi of 131I. Total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and creatinine were measured. Oxidative stress parameters that included malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels were also assessed. Results: There were significantly decreased total protein, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase levels (P

The effects of a grain source (corn grain (CG) vs. barley grain (BG)) and starter protein content (19% vs. 22% CP, dry matter basis) on growth performance, digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and blood metabolites were evaluated in Holstein dairy calves. Forty 3-day-old female calves with a starting body weight of 39.3 kg were subjected to four treatments in a completely randomized design with two by two factorial arrangements. Treatments were: (1) CG + 19% CP (CG-19CP); (2) CG + 22% CP (CG-22CP); (3) BG + 19% CP (BG-19CP); and (4) BG + 22% CP (BG-22CP). All calves were weaned at 59 days of age and remained in the study until 73 days of age. Starter and total DM intake were not affected by grain source and dietary protein content (p > 0.05). The average daily gain and feed efficiency were improved, and ruminal total short-chain fatty acid, propionate, and butyrate concentrations were increased in BG calves compared to CG calves (p < 0.05). The ruminal concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (d 71; p = 0.02) and acetate (d 35; p = 0.02) were increased in CG fed calves compared to BG. The greatest wither height (p = 0.03) and blood insulin concentration (p = 0.03) were seen in BG-22CP treatment. In conclusion, BG has marginal benefit in the height of calves when fed with diet containing 22% CP which may be recommendable in replacement heifer rearing programs.

The aim of the current study was to compare the effect of different physical processing methods including roasting at 140 °C for 15 (R15) or 30 minutes (R30), gamma ray irradiation (γ-irradiation) at doses of 15 (γ15), 30 (γ30) and 45 (γ45) kGy, and microwaving at 800 W for 2 (MW2), 4 (MW4) and 6 minutes (MW6) of whole cottonseed (WCS) on ruminal degradation. In vitro crude protein (CP) digestibility and gossypol contents were compared as well. In situ experiment was conducted on three permanent rumen-fistulated bulls. Gossypol content was decreased among treatments (p

Banking industry of Iran as a bridge between supply and demand for funds due to the competitive forces has faced extensive developments. To survive in these volatile and turbulent conditions, awareness of the competitive forces at any time is helpful. This research aimed to identify and analyze the competitive forces affecting the banking industry of Qeshm during (1380- 1390). Therefore hybrid model Porter’s five forces and Analytical Network Process (ANP) was used. The research method was descriptive and survey data has been collected. The study population included all branches of the bank executives and experts active in Qeshm. The questionnaire was designed based on analytical network process and distributed among all. Research findings showed state-of-industry-competition index (SICI) increased in banking industry of Qeshm. Also by moving from 1380 to 1390 SICIPBC and SICIPBS were the maximum and SICITNE was the minimum. This means that the overall index increased competition in the banking industry has increased and the greatest threat that banks and financial institutions are facing is the threat of the bargaining power of customers and suppliers.

The current study aims to specify corporate social responsibility effect on relationship quality (organizational trust and job satisfaction) and its outcomes (organizational commitment and turnover intention). CSR was measured by four dimensions: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. This research is a descriptive- correlative one and is done as a survey. The statistical population is from Kayson Company. 7 running projects of the company were chosen. This company has 1662 employees. 315 persons were selected as sample. The sampling method was random and the members of sample are proportional to the number of employees in Kayson Company in each project. For the analysis of questionnaire data, SPSS and LISREL software packages were used. Statistical results are presented in statistical and descriptive analysis. The results of the research model by LISREL software show the reliability and validity of the proposed model. The findings of structural equation modeling showed that among four dimensions of social responsibility, only the economic model has a significant positive effect on organizational trust; moreover, ethical and philanthropic dimensions have shown to have an effect on job satisfaction. Also the effect of relationship quality on its outcomes is significant among all the variables (except the effect of organizational trust on turnover intention).

Today, service recovery strategies as an effective tool for retaining those customers, who are dissatisfied with the services, have become the focus of numerous Studies. The aim of this study is to identify and prioritize service recovery Strategies of Internet service providers (ISPS) for their service failures from customers' viewpoint. This is an applied and qualitative research. The statistical population of this study is the broadband customers of Mashhad city. The sample size is 383 persons, and the sampling method is Proportional Stratified Sampling. In this research, Fuzzy AHP approach and Microsoft Excel 2010 software are utilized. The results indicate that empowerment is ranked as the first important variable and Atonement, Explanation, Communication, Tangibles and Feedback are ranked as second to sixth variables.

Introduction: The passive sentence structure is one of the most interesting syntactic structures on language development. Studies in some languages have indicated that comprehension of this syntactic structure takes place late in the language acquisition process. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the comprehension of active and passive structures in 48-59- and 60-71-month-old Persian-speaking children. Material and Methods: 100 children aged 48-71 months (38 children aged 48-59 months and 62 children aged 60-71 months) participated in this study from seven different kindergartens and three preschools. Five active sentences and four passive sentences were uttered, and the children were asked to look at one of the four pictures in front of them and choose the correct one. After recording the replies, comprehension scores were compared between both age groups and both gender using independent t-test. In the end, the percentages of correct and wrong answers were analyzed. Results: There was a significant difference between the comprehension of active sentences by the children in both age groups (P < 0.050). Children aged 60-71 months scored higher. There were no significant differences between the comprehension of passive sentences between the two age groups (P > 0.050). Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the two genders in comprehension of active or passive sentences. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it appears that Persian-speaking children aged 48-71 months have a better comprehension of active sentences compared to passive sentences. Furthermore, despite the improvement in the comprehension of active sentences from 48 months to 71 months, no noticeable change occurred in the comprehension of passive structures.

This study aimed to identify the encouraging and deterrent forces of the sustainable tourism development in Lorestan province and formulating and prioritize appropriate strategies was done. In this regard, initially deterrent and encouraging forces were identified and prioritized based on ANP method. In the second step with using (PIP) model the most suitable strategies of sustainable tourism development to each of the forces were formulated. Finally in order to prioritize the sestrategies, paired comparisons between the formulated strategies based on research criteria established. The results “job creation” and “property price increasing” respectively were the most important forces among encouraging and deterrent forces. (1-A) strategy with emphasis on efficient and targeted use of increasing incentives to travel between the people in order to the exploit of tourist attractions and products to creating employment and income for the province people as the best strategy is suggested.

Background: The objectives of this study were to compare the interferon-induced protein 44-like (IFI44L) promoter methylation level between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and healthy controls and to evaluate its diagnostic value in SLE. Materials and Methods: The IFI44L promoter methylation level was measured in 49 patients with SLE and 50 healthy controls. Quantitative analysis of promoter methylation IFI44L gene in genomic DNA samples extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells was examined in SLE patients and healthy controls. The level of DNA methylation was compared between SLE patients and healthy controls as well as within SLE patient groups based on the presence of renal involvement. Moreover, diagnostic values of IFI44L were calculated. Results: The IFI44L promoter methylation level in SLE patients was significantly lower than healthy controls (median, 43.8 vs. 57, respectively; P = 0.008). The level of IFI44L promoter methylation was not significantly different between SLE patients with renal involvement and SLE patients without renal involvement (84.6% vs. 92.7%, respectively; P = 0.774). The IFI44L promoter methylation level ≤94.3% was the best cutoff point with a sensitivity of 91.8% and a specificity of 38% to distinguish patients with SLE from healthy individuals. Conclusion: The level of IFI44L promoter methylation from whole peripheral blood in Iranian SLE patients was significantly lower than healthy controls. Furthermore, the DNA methylation level of IFI44L promoter was not associated with renal damage in patients with SLE.

Numerous authors have pointed out the influence of trained and skillful human resource on tourism development. the aim of this paper is to, evaluate the quality of in-service training programs in tourism industry based on CIPP model in Fars Province. This model has four dimensions in eluding Context, Input, Process and Output.The data is obtained from a survey applied to a sample of 253 trainees from a 1480 population who attended the training programs over a period of 5 years between 2000 and 2005.T-tests were used to evaluate data. Finding demonstrated that each dimension of the model had high quality but they were rather different. So a number of recommendations are made to improvement the in-service programs.

The objective was to study the effects of partial replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with xylose-treated SBM (XSBM) as a source of rumen undegradable protein (RUP) in the starter concentrate of calves on performance, health status and selected blood metabolites. Twenty-one female Holstein dairy calves (body weight=39.6±2.3 kg) were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=7 each): i) starter concentrate with 25% SBM [control (CTR)]; ii) starter concentrate with 17.5% SBM +7.5% XSBM (7.5XSBM); and iii) starter concentrate with 12.5% SBM+12.5% XSBM (12.5XSBM). Calves received 2 L of milk twice daily, with ad libitum access to starter concentrates from d 4 until weaning (d 56). Performance and health status were recorded throughout the experiment. Blood samples collected on d 4, 35 and 56 were assayed for concentrations of glucose, total protein (TP), and plasma urea nitrogen (PUN). Starter intake (560, 400, and 420 g/d for CTR, 7.5XSBM, and 12.5XSBM, respectively), average daily gain (0.67, 0.6 and 0.57 kg/d), and feed to gain ratio (0.83, 0.67, and 0.74) were affected by treatments (P

Tourism industry is one of the human activities that has benefited greatly from Information Technology. This paper presents a conceptual model for accommodation in tourism industry. This model shows how recommendation system improves tourism services. This system is a subsystem of Decision Support Systems and includes various elements such as management model base, data model base and user interface. This system receives the tourists' conditions and preferences from user interface and proposes a range of choices to them. So tourists can select the best choice among the proposed choices in respect to his or her preferences and reserve an accommodation.

In spite of considerable growth of tourism industry in recent decades and it's important economic and cultural role in destinations, there is not consensus in tourism development and its outcomes, and few analysis have been done on the residents' attitude. Much of the recent studies are focused on economic effects of tourism development. Because of this reality, this paper focuses on residents perceptions into economic & cultural effects of tourism development.

جهانگردی، سفر موقت پاره ای از مردمان است به مقصدی غیر از محل زندگی عادی خود. در واقع صنعت جهانگردی تعاملاتی بین جامعه میزبان و میهمان پدید می آورد که پیامد طبیعی آن بروز تغییر و تحول در کیفیت و سطح زندگی، الگوهای فرهنگی – رفتاری و نظام ارزشی، روابط خانوادگی، نگرش ها ، آداب و سنن و به طور کلی تاثیر بر فرهنگ ساکنان محلی و یا گردشگران است. در این نوشتار، ضمن تشریح ارتباط فرهنگ و جهانگردی و نمایاندن نقش و اهمیت فرهنگ در توسعه این صنعت، به طرح دیدگاه های موافق و مخالف در باب پیامدها و آثار توسعه جهانگردی بر فرهنگ جوامع پرداخته می شود.

Background: Religion, spiritual well-being and hope are concepts that are frequently used as a source of coping in patients with cancer. However, few studies have examined these factors with independent measurement devices. Aim: To determine the relationship between religion, spiritual wellbeing, hope and quality of life in cancer patients admitted to Omid’s Hospital in Urmia city from August to January 2010. Methods: In this cross sectional descriptive-analytical research, 164 patients with cancer were selected using sequential convenience sampling. Data were collected using demographic characteristics form, quality of life questionnaire EORTC QOL-C30, Ellison and Paloutzain spiritual well- being questionnaire, Duke University Religion Index, and the Herth Hope Index. Data was analyzed using SPSS Software (v.11.5), statistical test Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regressions were done and P_value

Introduction: There is not enough time for any organization to experience everything by itself but it is possible to compare its processes with other organizations in order to fulfill its functions effectively. The main aim of this research was to assess and compare discharge processes in Ali-ebne Abitaleb and Quaem hospitals. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out on discharge department of Ali-ebne Abitaleb and Quaem hospitals in first half 2005. In order to assess discharge processes quantitative criteria including discharge manner, number of staff, characteristics of staff, equipment and process time and patient satisfaction as a qualitative criterion were applied. Data were collected by documents surveying, observation, time measuring and questionnaire. 50 internal and surgical inpatients that have stayed at hospital for at least 48 hour have been approached randomly and their satisfaction was measured through a reliable and valid questionnaire. Also for time measuring 60 aforementioned inpatients were surveyed. Statistical significance was considered with a P value of less than 0.05. Results: In two hospitals, discharge manner of patients was different. Mean time of processes fulfillment were significantly different. Total sum scores of equipment of discharge unit were 3.028 in Ali-ebne Abitaleb and 5.030 in Quaem hospitals. Total sum scores of staff characteristics of discharge unit were 2.24 in Ali-ebne Abitaleb and 8.90 in Quaem hospitals. Mean of patients' satisfaction was 2.37 in Ali-ebne Abitaleb and 3.85 in Quaem hospitals and were significantly different. Conclusion: Because of the differences between two hospitals regarding to time of processes fulfillment, equipment, staff number, staff characteristics and patients satisfaction it is recommended that Ali-ebne Abitaleb hospital benchmark itself with Quaem Hospital. Keywords: Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care); Patient Discharge; Hospitals, Teaching.