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Background and purpose: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers, with over one million new cases annually, and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, after lung cancer. This disease is highly heterogeneous, with different primary sites, histological types, molecular classifications, and biological behaviors. The Cancer Genome Atlas has identified four distinct subtypes of gastric adenocarcinoma. In recent decades, various molecular studies have been conducted to understand the mechanisms underlying gastric cancer development and progression, as well as to identify new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Several intracellular processes, including changes in gene expression, can contribute to the development and progression of gastric cancer. Gene expression changes are also implicated in other diseases, such as heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and diabetes. The CLU gene, an evolutionarily conserved gene, encodes the protein clusterin, which plays a role in various cellular processes, including cell-cell adhesion and programmed cell death. Clusterin has multiple roles in carcinogenesis and tumor invasion. This gene is classified as a metastasis suppressor gene, meaning it does not undergo mutations in tumors but is often downregulated in expression. The aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between changes in CLU gene expression and the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, fifty tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected from gastric cancer patients. The relative gene expression of CLU was assessed using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RNA extraction was performed using RNX-plus solution, and cDNA synthesis was carried out using the BIOFACT kit, following the Random Hexamer and oligo(dT) mixed primer method. Gene expression levels were measured using the StepOnePlus thermocycler, with GAPDH serving as the internal control gene. Additionally, a bioinformatics analysis was conducted to evaluate the expression of the CLU gene in two distinct groups of gastric cancer patients. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to assess the impact of CLU expression levels on patient survival rates. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of CLU expression across multiple types of cancer was conducted using TCGA data. Results: The analysis of CLU gene expression showed that its expression level in tumor samples was 0.46 compared to adjacent normal tissues. Using data from two additional cohorts, we confirmed that CLU gene expression was consistently lower in tumor samples compared to normal samples. At all stages of gastric cancer, CLU expression was significantly reduced compared to adjacent normal tissue. Survival analysis revealed significant differences in overall survival between patients with high CLU expression and those with lower expression. Lower CLU expression was associated with reduced patient survival time. Further analysis showed that in most cancers studied, CLU expression was generally decreased. Conclusion: The expression of the CLU gene can be used as a prognostic marker in gastric cancer, and CLU gene therapy may be considered as a potential treatment option for gastric cancer.

AbstractEmbedding quality provision in physical education (PE) programmes in school settings remains a perennial concern among stakeholders worldwide. The demise of PE and sports participation in schools elevated the dialogue to comprehend the underpinning issues which erode its progress in Iraq. The study’s three aims are as follows: First, it aims to identify the potential items that define the quality aspects of PE (primary through university level) among professionals. Second, gender perceptions were gauged on the retained factors through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Third, perceptions of professionals working in various jobs were measured on the aspects of quality PE (QPE). Except for two statements (Items 6 and 44—low communality), professionals perceived all items to potentially indicate QPE. The items were gauged through an EFA for each subfactor separately. A t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were implemented to measure the differences in gender and job positions on the subfactors of QPE. Male and female professionals reported significant differences in all the subfactors. However, the perception of QPE by job position did not show any significant differences. Further, a 2 (gender) × 3 (job positions: primary school vs. high school vs. university) MANOVA was analysed, which highlighted a significant interaction effect (Wilks’ l = .92) among the professionals; but η2 (=.038) had a medium effect. The study provided a foundation for identifying items for measuring the QPE among professionals in Iraq. Nevertheless, significant gender differences for all QPE subfactors warrant future research to comprehend the underlying issues.

The increasing use of wind resources has led to new challenges in transmission network expansion planning (TNEP). Wind curtailment due to improper expansion of transmission lines prevents the optimal use of these renewable resources. In addition, the uncertainty of these resources puts expansion decisions at risk. In this paper, risk-constrained TNEP in electricity markets in the presence of wind resources is presented with the aim of increasing the utilization of these resources by considering the wind curtailment cost and reducing expected energy not supplied (EENS). For this purpose, a risk-constrained bi-level stochastic model is used. At the upper level, transmission network expansion decisions are made by the independent system operator (ISO) with the aim of minimizing network investment cost and EENS cost. At the lower level, the market-clearing problems are solved maximizing social welfare. Using duality theory, the bi-level problem is converted into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem. The proposed framework is analyzed using Garver’s six-bus test system and the IEEE 24-bus reliability test system (RTS). The simulation results indicate that considering wind curtailment cost has increased the use of wind units and reduced the expected energy produced by fossil units, which is important from an environmental point of view. However, considering the risk, due to the uncertainty of wind resources, the energy produced by these resources has decreased.

The aim of this paper is to dynamic analyses of rectangular columns using different types of Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) rebars (CFRP-AFRP-GFRP) and compare them with steel rebars under impact loading. For this purpose, first, to evaluate the effect of FRP, the 25 cm column with 12mm rebars are placed under three types of impact loads in near the base, middle and the whole column. Then, to evaluate the reinforcement size effect, 12 mm rebars is replaced with 18 mm and the effect of the impact load on the whole column is evaluated. In the next step to evaluate the effect of cross sectional dimensions, the impact load across the column with the rectangular cross sectional with 35 cm dimensions will be examined. Finally, 20 models are prepared and examined by the finite element method and the results related to displacement, stress and energy are calculated. The results show that FRP reinforcements are more resistant to impact load than steel reinforcements and CFRP polymer reinforcement has performed better than other existing reinforcements. In general, it can be said that the use of Fibre-reinforced plastic reinforcement can be a measure to strengthen structures against impact load.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effective factors on the productivity of human capital via an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) in General office of Sports and Youth in Khorasan Razavi Province. The present study is a qualitative research with an analytical nature and it is also an applied one that was conducted via interpretive structural modeling. Literature review, interviews and ISM questionnaires were used for data collection. The research population included professors and experts in sports management, managers, deputies and staff of the General office of Sports and Youth in Khorasan Razavi, of which 35 people were totally selected through purposeful sampling in three stages of this study. According to the research findings, 59 effective indicators were identified under seven major dimensions playing role in improving the productivity of human capital, which were classified into five levels. Motivational factors, organizational culture and work environment, the relationship between managers and employees along with individual factors, the quality of labor force, and finally the technology factor were identified under five levels of the model. Finally, it can be concluded that managers in sports organizations should pay special attention to the technology factor and its indicators, which have been identified as the foundation of improving employees’ productivity, which then provides the ground for exploiting other dimensions at higher levels.

Sports advertising is one of the methods used by most companies to introduce their brands and products and expand their market. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between brand identity transfer and sport commitment with the mediating role of promotional and advertising tools from the perspective of sports consumers in Iran. 500 sports consumers participated in this study and completed the research questionnaire. The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that there is a significant relationship between brand identity transfer and sport commitment and their dimensions, with the mediating role of promotional and advertising tools. Further, TV, mobile and social networks should have a priority over other promotional tools when transferring brand identity and sports commitment of consumers. Besides, contributing to the advancement of theory, this study has important practical implications for sport marketers and managers who are searching effective promotional and advertising tools to re-engage existing consumers or to acquire new ones.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a prevalent nosocomial illness in mechanically ventilated patients. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation of bacterial profiles from Endotracheal Tubes of patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit in southwest Iran. According to the standard operating method, the microbiological laboratory conducts bacteria culture and susceptibility testing on endotracheal Tube samples suspected of carrying a bacterial infection. The Clinical and laboratory standards institute (CLSI) techniques are used to determine the Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacterial isolates to antibiotics using the disk diffusion method. The crystal violet staining method was used to assess the biofilm-forming potential of isolates in a 96-well microtiter plate. In total, (51%) GPBs were included in this study. The isolated GPB were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (16%), S. aureus (14%). In total, (40%) of GNB were included in this study. The isolated GNB were Klebsiella spp. (36%), A. baumannii (22%), P. aeruginosa (35%). (32%) bacterial strains were MDR and (29%) strains were XDR. The results of biofilm formation showed (72%) were biofilm producers. VAP is a common and severe nosocomial infection in mechanically ventilated patients. Controlling biofilm formation, whether on the ET or in the oropharyngeal cavity, is thus an important technique for treating VAP. Colistin and linezolid are antibiotics that are effective against practically all resistant GNB and GPB isolates.

Translators often translate rhetoric as rumor, semantics, sermon, or eloquence. Romans called oratory and orator as rhetorica and rhetor respectively. As the beauty of an architecture is the product of the exquisiteness of its different parts, rhetoric and aesthetic aspects of poetry is also the result of the aesthetics of its structural units, including the attention to the phonetic structure and the use of techniques and methods that enhance the aesthetic effects of the vocal of speech more and more. Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Mawlana)’s skill in expressing concepts and using language is shown in his sonnets by utilizing poetic creations and artistic processing as well as various figures of speech. The mastery of Mawlana on language has a great contribution to his artistic personality and literary creativeness. As one of the most prominent Iranian poets and mystics in Iran, Rumi has skillfully used the phonological elements of the language to musically create his own words and, as a result, has had a greater impact on the addressee. By using his knowledge of language capacities especially in the field of phonology, he has not only made music and formed pictures but also has paid special courtesy to transfer the necessary concepts to the addressee. Hence, Mawlana’s prominent and distinguishing feature in this field is his selection of appropriate formal elements in order to induce his poetic meanings in a way that his sonnets are not only regarded as a suitable tool to transfer the supreme concepts of his mystic thought, but also as a kind of musical tool to impress the aesthetic emotions of the addressee. Results of this research, which are based on a bibliographic and descriptive-analytical method, show that Rumi has used phonetic clusters at all phonological, lexical and syntactical levels appropriately.

This method reported the use of tartaric acid as a green and highly efficient catalyst for the convenient synthesis of polysubstituted quinolines and xanthenes derivatives in excellent yields under solvent-free conditions. The main advantages of this one-pot procedure are the green and economic availability of the catalyst, simple experimental and work-up procedures.

In this work, a simple and economical procedure for the synthesis of spiro-4H-pyranderivatives has been found through the three-component, one-pot condensation of isatin/acenaphthequinone, malononitrile and different reagents including 1, 3-dicrbonyl compounds, naphthol and 4-hydroxycumarin under thermal and solvent-free conditions in the presence ofFe2O3 as an efficient catalyst. The major advantages of this methodology are mild reaction conditions, eco-friendly, environmentally benign, non-toxic and inexpensive catalyst, experimentally simplicity, good yields and short reaction times.

An efficient and environmental friendly methodology for the synthesis of polysubstituted dihydro-2-oxypyrroles via a one-pot four-component domino condensation of dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate, formaldehyde and amines (aromatic and aliphatic) at present of salicylic acid as an economical and naturally green Brønsted acid catalyst under ambient temperature with excellent yields and short reaction times is described. Green, natural, inexpensive and non-toxic catalyst, easily separated with no column chromatographic separation and highly efficient is an option for the simple synthesis of these rings.

Objective: Medical plants, as rich sources of natural antioxidants with antidiabetic effects, are used worldwide to diminish a variety of symptoms and many diseases. R. ribes L., which belongs to the family of polygonaceae, can provide symptomatic relief and assist in the prevention of the secondary complications of the diabetes. Material and Methods: 36 female adult rats were randomly divided into 6 groups of 6. Normal Control groups treated with normal saline. Positive control groups treated with hydroalcohlic extract of R. ribes root (150 mg/kg) daily by gavages for 4 consecutive weeks. Diabetes was inducedby injection of 120 mg/kg alloxan monohydrate intraperitoneally. Two diabetic groups were treated with different doses of R. ribes root extract. The sixth diabetic groups were treated with glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg). At the end of 28 days, blood samples were collected and their kidney tissues were processed for light microscopy. Results: The results showed that hydro-alcoholic extract of R. ribes decreased the level of glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea and creatinine in diabetic rats (p

Background and Objective: Use of medicinal plants for attenuation of hyperglycemia and restoration of lipids to normal level is clinically very important. We decided to assess the preventive role of aqueous extract of Berberis Integerrima root on the serum levels of glucose, insulin, and lipid profile in Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.Materials and Methods: Forty male rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: 1- normal (N); 2- normal + barberry (N+B) (they received barberry root extract for 6 weeks); 3- diabetic (D) (they received STZ, 65 mg/kg BW /i.p.); 4- diabetic + barberry before (D+Bb) (they received barberry root extract for 3 weeks before STZ injection and continued for another three weeks); and 5- diabetic + barberry after (D+Ba) (three days after STZ injection, they received barberry root extract for 3 weeks). The experimental groups received barberry root extract (500 mg/kg bw) intra gastric by gavage for 6 weeks and the experimental period for each rat was 6 weeks.Results: Diabetic rats showed a significant increase in serum glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, and food intake as well as a decrease in HDL-C, body weight and serum insulin, compared to the other groups. Administration of the barberry root extract in diabetic rats restored these changes towards normal to some extent.Conclusion: In this study, for the first time, we showed that the administration of the barberry root extract before diabetes induction resulted in better amelioration in the serum levels of glucose, insulin, and lipid profile, compared to the group receiving it after induction: this indicates that the barberry root extract can play both a preventive and a therapeutic role in such patients.

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are small heat-stable proteins that participate in dithiol-disulfide exchange reactions. In contrast to other organisms, plants contain six different Trx types: f, m, x, y, o and h. The h-type Trx consists of multiple forms that involved in different processes such as cellular protection against oxidative, biotic and abiotic stresses. Two thioredoxin h-type genes, called VvTrxh4 and VvCxxS2, were isolated of grape (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Askari) berry tissue and were cloned into pUC19 plasmid vector. Reverse transcription was carried out using Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), to analyze biochemical, structural and phylogenetic characteristics. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the open reading frame of VvTrxh4 and VvCxxS2 genes are 345 bp and 381 bp long, respectively and encode for proteins of 114 and 126 amino acid residues, respectively. Protein sequence analysis showed that VvTrxh4 gene contains a typical catalytic site WCGPC, whereas VvCxxS2 gene harbors the non-typical active site WCIPS. The calculated molecular mass and the predicted isoelectric point of the deduced polypeptides for both VvTrxh4 and VvCxxS2 were 12.76 kDa and 5.22, and also 14.25 kDa and 4.68, respectively. Structural analysis showed that deduced proteins contain a identical 3D structure, whereas phylogenetic study of cloned genes with thioredoxin from other plants revealed that these genes are belonging to different subgroups. In the present research project, VvTrxh4 gene belongs to class IA, while VvCxxS2 gene belongs to class IIIB from h-type thioredoxins

Objective: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is the most commonly reported musculoskeletal overuse injury in active individuals, such as athletes, and is a multifactorial problem with no definite cause identified to date. Some studies have shown a relationship between impaired core and trunk sensorimotor control and knee disorders, especially PFP. The aim of this study was to evaluate trunk flexion proprioception by comparing the repositioning error between healthy athletes and athletes with PFP. Design: Cross-sectional case-control study. Setting: Rehabilitation sciences research center. Participants: Twenty healthy athletes and 20 athletes with PFP. Main Outcome Measures: To examine proprioception of trunk flexors, the absolute active and passive repositioning error at 30° and 60° trunk flexion were evaluated with isokinetic dynamometry. The results were compared between the two groups. Results: In the PFP group, the active trunk repositioning error at 30° flexion was significantly greater than in the healthy individuals (P < .001). The mean absolute active repositioning error at 30° flexion was 3.04° (1.37°) in the PFP group and 1.50° (0.70°) in the control group. There was no significant difference between groups in the active trunk repositioning error at 60° flexion (P = .066). The mean absolute active repositioning error at 60° flexion was 2.96° (1.26°) in the PFP group and 2.18° (0.99°) in the control group. The passive trunk repositioning error at 30° and 60° flexion was significantly greater in the PFP group (P = .013 and P - .004, respectively). The mean absolute passive repositioning error at 30° and 60° flexion in the PFP group was 2.94° (0.80°) and 3.13° (1.19°), respectively, and was 2.08° (1.08°) and 1.96° (0.71°), respectively, in the control group. The calculated eta-squared value showed that joint repositioning errors had large effect sizes (0.15-0.32). Conclusion: Trunk proprioception in the flexion direction may be impaired in patients with PFP. This finding suggests that trunk proprioception training may be important in rehabilitation for athletes with PFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]