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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Donohue syndrome (DS) is an extremely rare and usually fatal inherited disease resulted from mutations in the INSR (Insulin Receptor) gene and delineated by severe insulin resistance with fasting hypoglycemia, postprandial hyperglycemia, and facial dysmorphism. Optimal treatment of these cases is unclear and most DS cases die during the first two years of life. Herein, we introduce a case of leprechaunism due to the rarity of this syndrome (one case in every four million birth) revealed by clinical and laboratory findings. CASE REPORT: We present a 4-day old boy with an abnormal facial appearance, low birth weight who was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) due to poor feeding and jaundice. The patient had coarse facies, hypertrichosis, abdominal distention, genitomegaly, and acanthosis nigricans. Laboratory examinations revealed fasting hypoglycemia, postprandial hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. The diagnosis of Donohue Syndrome was characterized by the combination of dysmorphic features and biochemical results. Supportive care such as normalizing blood glucose and continuous feeding was initiated. He was discharged with good condition several days later but was admitted again at 6 months of age due to sepsis and then died. CONCLUSION: According to the present case report, close monitoring of blood glucose as well as caring to prevent infection and sepsis is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Combination therapy has been considered as a potential approach to overcome antimicrobial resistance. In this study the antimicrobial effects of active compounds produced by some marine Streptomyces spp. in combination with some standard antibiotics against multidrug-resistant pathogens was investigated. Materials and Methods: In this laboratory study, the bacteria isolated from Caspian Sea were tested for their ability to produce antimicrobial compounds active against some drug-resistant pathogens using disc diffusion methods. Then, the producer strains were cultivated in suitable liquid media. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the ethyl acetate extracts were measured against some drug-resistant species including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) using microbroth dilution technique. Data was analysed using paired t-test. Results: In the first screening, strains MN2, MN39, MN40 and MN41 showed a broad antimicrobial activity against MRSA, VRE, Salmonella typhi and pseudomonas aeruginosa, among which, the best MIC against MRSA was obtained from strain MN39 at 280 (μg/ml). These extracts in combination with some standard antibiotics resulted in a noticeable improved antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, while in some cases the activity was decreased. Conclusion: The bioactive compounds produced by actinomyces possess remarkable antimicrobial properties against drug-resistant pathogens when used in a combination therapy with standard antibiotics which requires further research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superhydrophobic drag reduction changes the structures of turbulent flow. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear. The aim of this study is to determine the alternations of turbulent flow due to applying a streamwise micro-featured superhydrophobic wall. Large eddy simulations are performed to explore the effect of micro-features on near-wall behaviors. The results indicate that the outward motion of the lifted low-speed streaks is restricted to the lower wall layers and the region of maximum production of streamwise vorticities is shifted toward the micro-featured wall. The quadrant analysis of Reynolds stress shows that there is a stronger increase in outward motion of high-speed fluid and inward motion of low-speed fluid than ejection and sweep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-location field experiment was conducted to study the possible alleviation of drought stress effects on red bean by ultrasonication and 24-epi-brassinolid. Locations were Agricultural Research Center in Shahrood, Iran and the other in bean farm, 40 km off Shahrood city in 2015. Experiment factors included irrigation of main plots at three levels of normal irrigation (60 mm evaporation from evaporation pan), mild stress (90 mm evaporation from evaporation pan) and severe stress (120 mm evaporation from evaporation pan). Stress levels were applied after 4-leaf stage and ultrasound waves treatments (in two levels of nonuse of seeds irradiation and use of irradiation for 3 minutes at 32 °C) and 24-epi- brassinolid foliar application (in two levels of nonuse of foliar application and foliar application at a rate of 0.1 mg/L at 50% flowering during two stages) which were located in sub-plots. The evaluated properties included grain yield and contents of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, proline and ascorbate. The results showed that with severe water stress (comparison of severe stress and lack of stress), grain yield showed a significant decrease in both experiment sites, however 24-epi-brassinolid foliar application and use of ultrasonic waves in both normal and stress conditions increased the grain yield. The same condition was established for evaluated enzymes. Thus it could be stated that irradiation of ultrasonic waves and 24-epi-brassinolid foliar application for cultivating beans play important role in increment of competitive strength of plant in water deficit condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaling relations for the velocity profile and circulation time, which can be used in design and scale-up, are of great importance in rotating drums. We conducted simulations by discrete element method at various operating conditions (which covers both rolling and cascading regimes) for spherical and non-spherical particles. New scaling relations were proposed for evaluating and fully characterize velocity profile and circulation time in both rolling and cascading regimes. Using dynamic angle of repose, effect of shape was included in these correlations to extend them to spherical and non-spherical particles. Simulation results can satisfactorily reproduce experimental measurements. Visual results show that transition from rolling to cascading regime depends not only on Froude number, fill level and particle size, but also on the particle shape. The surface velocity is scaled with peak velocity and half chord length and its profile is asymmetric with the maximum occurring after the mid-chord position for all simulations. We obtained a correlation for the peak velocity based on our simulations as well as available experimental data in literature. We also found the velocity profiles along the bed depth in active and passive layers. Our results show that the circulation time of particles follow a log-normal distribution. The mean circulation time decreases with rotation speed and drum diameter and increases with fill ratio. This value is greater for spherical particles compared to non-spherical particles. Correlations are also proposed for mean and standard deviation of the circulation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A class of Kirchhoff type systems with nonlinear boundary conditions considered in this paper. By using the method of Nehari manifold, it is proved that the system possesses two nontrivial nonnegative solutions if the parameters are small enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to inter-compare a number of global land surface emissivity products over various land-cover conditions to assess their consistency. Ultimately, the discrepancies between the studied emissivity products will help interpreting the divergences among numerical weather prediction models in which land emissivity is a key surface boundary parameter. The intercompared retrieved land emissivity products were generated over five-year period (2003-2007) using observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) and Windsat. First, all products were reprocessed in the same projection and spatial resolution as they were generated from sensors with various configurations. Then, the mean value and standard deviations of monthly emissivity values were calculated for each product to assess the spatial distribution of the consistencies/inconsistencies among the products across the globe. The emissivity values from four products were also compared to soil moisture estimates and satellite-based vegetation index to assess their sensitivities to the changes in land surface conditions. Results show that systematic differences among products exist and variation of emissivities at each product has similar frequency dependency at any land cover type. Monthly means of emissivity values from AMSR-E in the vertical and horizontal polarizations seem to be systematically lower across various land cover condition which may be attributed to the 1.30 a.m./p.m. overpass time of the sensor and possibly a residual skin temperature effect in the product. The standard deviation of the analysed products was the lowest (less than 0.01) in rain forest regions for all products and the highest in northern latitudes, above 0.04 for AMSR-E and SSM/I and around 0.03 for WindSat. Despite differences in absolute emissivity estimates, all products were similarly sensitive to changes in soil moisture and vegetation. The correlation between the emissivity polarization differences and NDVI values showed similar spatial distribution across the products with values close to the unit except over densely vegetated and desert areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Multiple sclerosis affects the patients' self-esteem by changing body imaging. This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational interventions on patients' self-esteem with multiple sclerosis. Materials & Methods The present study was a quasi-experimental study with control group which was done on patients with multiple sclerosis of Mashhad in 2012-13. Participants were 75 patients referred to the Mashhad Multiple Sclerosis Society who were selected using continuous sampling and were assigned into two experimental (37 cases) and control (38 cases) groups. The tools including demographic and Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaires were used. Educational intervention was presented in three (each 45min) sessions to the experimental group. Then the participants were carried out learned items during four weeks. At the end, both groups were completed the Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire again. Data was analyzed by SPSS 11.5 software using paired T, independent T and Chi-square tests. Findings 47 participants were female and their mean age was 34.2±3.7. No significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in any of demographic variables (p>0.05). A significant difference was observed between self-esteem and demographic variables (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the scores of self-esteem before intervention. Whereas, a significant increase was observed in the scores of experimental group compared with control group after intervention. Conclusion Educational interventions are effective on patients' self-esteem with multiple sclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents one of applications of the Ant colony algorithm method for the reconfiguration of distribution networks with dispersed generation (DG) to reduce power losses and voltage profile improvement .The configuration optimization problem of distribution networks is a combination optimization with a large search space involved the operational constraints of the distribution. Dispersed generation sources such as fuel cells, solar cells, wind mills and micro gas turbines can be strategically allocated in distribution networks for reducing power losses, network reinforcement, improving network efficiency and reliability. The performance of the proposed method was investigated on two distribution networks consisting of 16 and 10 buses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a naturally widely-occurring dietary, cosmetic, and therapeutic flavonoid, kaempferol has gained much consideration for its nutritional and pharmaceutical properties in recent years. Although there have been performed a high number of studies associated with different aspects of kaempferol's analytical investigations, the lack of a comprehensive summary of the various methods and other plant sources that have been reported for this compound is being felt, especially for many biological applications. This study, aimed to provide a detailed compilation consisting of sources (plant species) and analytical information that was precisely related to the natural flavonoid (kaempferol). There is a trend in analytical research that supports the application of modern eco-friendly instruments and methods. In conclusion, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is the most general advanced method used widely today for the extraction of kaempferol. During recent years, there is an increasing tendency towards the identification of kaempferol by different methods., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: It is controversial whether double-J (DJ) stent insertion is necessary in tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for patients with staghorn stones. We compared the outcomes of using ureteral catheters and double-J stents in tubeless complete supine PCNL (csPCNL) of staghorn stones., Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, from May 2008 to August 2022, 123 patients who underwent tubeless csPCNL were assessed. Patients were divided into two groups by either tubeless csPCNL with DJ stent (Group I; n = 23) or totally tubeless just with perioperative ureteral stent (Group II; n = 100). Demographic characteristics, stone-related factors, perioperative and postoperative parameters were compared in groups., Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable in groups. The operative time in group I was significantly longer than group II (68.26 vs. 55.25 min, P = 0.05). However, the duration of hospitalization in Group I was shorter than the other group (1.81 vs. 2.37 days, P = 0.03). Stone free rate was notably higher in Group I (90.5% vs. 79.8.0%) with no statistically significant difference. No significant differences were found in major complications. Patients in Group II had a significantly shorter time to return to normal life (6.48 vs. 7.91 day; P = 0.043). Multivariable linear regression showed the preoperative creatinine level and stone size can affect the operative time (P = 0.02). In addition, stone number and underlying disease can affect the length of hospital stay (P = 0.007 & 0.030, respectively)., Conclusion: Although not inserting a double J stent after csPCNL has acceptable results, because of higher residual rate in staghorn stone which cause more incidence of renal colic, longer time of hospital stay and return to normal life, inserting DJ stent is recommended., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system with limited capacity that can temporarily store and process information. The purpose of this study was to investigate functional connectivity based on phase synchronization during WM and its relationship with the behavioral response. In this regard, we recorded EEG/Eye tracking data of seventeen healthy subjects while performing a memory-guided saccade (MGS) task with two different positions (near eccentricity and far eccentricity). We computed saccade error as memory performance and measured functional connectivity using Phase Locking Value (PLV) in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz). The results showed that PLV is negatively correlated with saccade error. Our finding indicated that during the maintenance period, PLV between the frontal and visual area in trials with low saccade error increased significantly compared to trials with high saccade error. Furthermore, we observed a significant difference between PLV for near and far conditions in the delay period. The results suggest that PLV in memory maintenance, in addition to predicting saccade error as behavioral performance, can be related to the coding of spatial information in WM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Many events in power networks which caused failure and outage of subsystems have root in design and initial selection of equipment and their specification. This concern will be important while the any kind of expanding and acclimation plan need to be executed to strengthen the existing infrastructures in order to provide better condition with regard to satisfied criteria. In Iran one of the most adverse environmental occurrences known Fine Dust, may force several distribution utilities to be changed due to new technical requirements. Medium voltage level regrading in way to decrease or unification of distribution system have been proposed in this paper to reach reduced faults and fast replacement of equipment in damaged situations. Voltage level changing and selection have been investigated in order to increase the network strengthen and reselection of equipment and redesigning critical sections of system against natural events that called fine dust with aim to attain an upgraded distribution utility. Operating of existing 33 kV and 11 kV network in 20 kV level and investigation of changing process have been done for Ahvaz medium voltage distribution system as a case study in these paper's sections. Calculations and results will be contained maximum current capacities in different line conductors, insulation and air clearances assessment, poles acceptable mechanical values, short circuit current and protection coordination for changing voltage level in distribution system., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Scientists and medical professionals are actively striving to improve the efficacy of treatment methods for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most frequently occurring cancer within the oral cavity, by exploring the potential of natural products. The active pharmacological compounds found in lichenized fungi have shown potential for aiding in cancer treatment. Recent research aims to evaluate the impact of the lichenized fungus Ramalina sinensis (R. sinensis) on the cell viability and apoptosis of OSCC cell lines, considering the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer capabilities of lichens., Methods: Ramalina sinensis (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes) was selected for investigation of its effects on a human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line. Acetone and methanol extracts of R. sinensis on an OSCC cell line (KB cell line, NCBI Code: C152) were investigated. Viability was assessed by MTT assay analysis, and apoptotic cells were measured using flow cytometry analysis. Scratch assay was used to assess cell migration. The chemical composition and metabolic profiling of R. sinensis were investigated., Results: The growth and multiplication of KB cells were observed to undergo a gradual but remarkable inhibition when exposed to various concentrations. Specifically, concentrations of 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL exhibited a significant suppressive effect on the proliferation of KB cells. The inhibition of cell proliferation exhibited a statistically significant difference between the extracts obtained from acetone and methanol. Flow cytometry results show an increase in apoptosis of OSCC cells by acetone extract. R. sinensis exerted a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the migration of OSCC cells. The chemical composition of R. sinensis was investigated using liquid chromatography positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS), and 33 compounds in the acetone and methanol extracts of R. sinensis were detected., Conclusion: The findings provide evidence supporting the beneficial effects of R. sinensis extract on inducing apoptosis in OSCC cells and exerting anti-cancer properties., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Offshore operations are generally challenging and hazardous, and the workers are exposed to conditions that may lead to fatigue. A cross-sectional study evaluated physical and psychological job demands and their associations with fatigue among offshore workers. The offshore workers (n = 251) completed a questionnaire including demographic/job details, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI‒20), and Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Data were analysed using linear regression modelling. Results indicated that the physical (particularly performing repetitive motions and applying pressure with hands and wrists) and psychological (e.g., intense task concentration and fast working) job demands were relatively high. The total mean (SD) fatigue score (MFI‒20) was 56.3 (13.9). Individual factors (Body Mass Index ‒ BMI), physical job demands (awkward working postures, frequent moving/lifting heavy objects and doing lots of physical efforts) and psychological job demands (task interruptions by other people and doing an excessive amount of work) were the main variables associated with different dimensions of fatigue in the multivariate models. While physical fatigue was only associated with the physical job demands, both physical and psychological job demands were significantly associated with mental fatigue in the multivariate context. The findings have possible implications for job design and implementation of intervention programmes to promote health and performance of the employees., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)