a. tavakoli

Blind and deaf individuals, due to their physical disability, may encounter more problems in regard with oral and dental care. The present study aimed to compare  DMFT index mean within blind and deaf students in comparison with the healthy students.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 44 blind and 88 deaf students aged between  6-18 were selected via the census method. Moreover, 134 healthy subjects were randomly selected as the study controls. Permanent teeth examination was accomplished using natural light, catheter, and disposable mirror. DMFT index was utilized to assess the participants’ dental status. The study data were analyzed using SPSS software (ver, 16) via ANOVA and LSD tests. 

The mean DMFT within blind, deaf and healthy students was reported as 1.73 ±2.11, 2.86 ± 2.74 and 1.06±1.31 respectively. A significant difference was observed in DMFT index between healthy students with  the blind (P-value=0.047) as well as deaf (P-value=0.000) students. In addition, a significant difference was detected between the blind and deaf students (P-value= 0.011).

Based on the results of this study, higher values of DMFT index mean was observed in the blind and deaf individuals compared to the controls. Therefore, promotion of oral and dental care through a proper education seems to be essential within these individuals.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a food crop with high protein, fiber, and minerals. One of the important issues in the formation of seed yield is how photosynthetic materials are allocated in plants. This may be especially important when the plant is experiencing drought stress. Brassinosteroids are a group of steroid hormones that have been implicated in a wide range of physiological processes. Brassinosteroids increase crop yield by altering plant metabolism and protecting plants from environmental stresses. Considering that one of the major problems of agriculture is water shortage, the present study was assessed aimed to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on the allocation of photosynthetic materials and some traits related to drought resistance in two common bean genotypes under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by using this hormone.

In order to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on photosynthetic material allocation and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by application of this hormone, an experiment was conducted in split factorial based on randomized complete block design at the research farm of the University of Zanjan during 2016-2017. In this experiment, optimal irrigation and drought stress were applied to main plots and common bean genotypes (at two levels of Kusha cultivar and COS16 genotype) and different concentrations of Epibrassinolide (at four levels of no application or control, 2, 4, and 6 μM) were allocated to sub plots as factorial. In the flowering stage, drought stress was applied and simultaneously with drought stress, common bean plants, were sprayed with Epibrassinolide. In this study, relative water content, proline content, and malondialdehyde content were studied at the peak of the drought stress. Also, dry weights of leaf, stem, and pod and the ratio of leaf, stem, and pod dry weights to total plant weight were studied at two times (peak of the drought stress and one week after re-irrigation).

The results showed that drought stress decreased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the optimal irrigation. Common bean plant under drought stress allocated less photosynthetic materials to leaves and stems and more photosynthetic materials to pods. The Kusha cultivar under optimal irrigation had the highest seed yield (with an average of 3025.45 kg ha-1) and the COS16 genotype under drought stress had the lowest one (with an average of 980.89 kg ha-1). The Kusha cultivar in optimal irrigation condition was the superior genotype due to its high seed yield, but drought stress had a more negative effect on the Kusha cultivar. Also, application of different concentrations of Epibrassinolide increased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the control. The highest seed yield was obtained by application of 2 μM Epibrassinolide (with an average of 2068.2 kg ha-1). So that, application of this concentration increased the seed yield by 46.07% compared to the control. Epibrassinolide application also increased the drought stress tolerance by decreasing the amount of malondialdehyde and increasing the relative leaf water content and proline content.

Therefore, application of Epibrassinolide can be suggested as a solution to increase common bean seed yield and increase drought tolerance of this plant. In addition, obtaining comprehensive information on the positive effects of Epibrassinolide requires the study of this hormone in different climatic conditions.

 Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are worldwide distributed pathogens that cause a variety of illnesses, including gastrointestinal infections. These viruses are considered as important pathogens in wastewater, reclamation, and reused water. We aimed to investigate the molecular prevalence and characterization of HAdV in wastewater samples as well as air samples of aeration tanks of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Tehran, Iran.

 From November 2017 to April 2018, a total of 14 wastewater and 9 air samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of HAdV by an integrated cell culture/polymerase chain reaction (ICC/PCR) technique. The samples were collected from the Ekbatan WWTP in the west of Tehran. To capture bio-aerosols, a liquid impingement biosampler was used. Typing of HAdV was performed by sequencing analysis.

 Out of nine untreated wastewater samples, one sample (11.1%) was positive for the presence of HAdV cytopathic effect (CPE), while two (40.4%) of five treated wastewater samples were positive for the HAdV CPE. The results of PCR assay also showed that 44.4 % (four out of 9 samples) of the untreated wastewater and 60% (three out of 5 samples) of the treated wastewater samples were positive for HAdV genome. Regarding the air samples of aeration tanks, four (44.4%) of nine samples were positive for the presence of the HAdV genome. HAdV in the wastewater samples were type B (40%), type C (40%), and type D (20%) and all four positive air samples for HAdV were type C.

 The human adenovirus detected in 50% of the wastewater and 44.44% of the air samples of the wastewater treatment plant of the Ekbatan, Tehran, Iran.

Free gingival graft is the most commonly practiced predictable technique for gingival augmentation.

To assess the effectiveness of human amniotic membrane, a biological dressing, on wound healing and post-operative pain after its application on the palatal donor site after free gingival graft surgery.

Of 27 eligible patients, 15 were randomized into a test group and received human amniotic membrane dressing sutured over their palatal donor site; 12 were randomized into a control group in whom the palatal donor site was only sutured. Standard clinical photographs were taken at 7, 14, and 21 days post-operatively and evaluated by 3 periodontists. The pain score at the donor site was assessed by a visual analog score; the number of analgesics taken was also recorded.

The mean color match scores were higher in the test group than the control group at 14 (p<0.01) and 21 days after surgery (p=0.02). The difference in tissue texture (p=0.01) and inflammation (p=0.02) between the two groups was only significant on day 14 (p<0.05). The pattern of pain relief was better in the test group compared with the control group, especially in first days, although the differences were not significant in terms of the number of analgesics taken or the pain score.

Application of human amniotic membrane can accelerate wound healing and may decrease post-operative pain and discomfort by a limited amount

Thermal conductivity is defined as the ability of a material to heat transfer. In other words, thermal conductivity is the natural tendency of material to energy dispersion when temperature equilibrium disturbed by the imposition of a temperature gradient. Therefore, it plays a significant role in the issues of heat transfer. Due to the various applications of nanoscale materials in heat transfer and the importance of determining the thermal conductivity of nanofluids, this study, investigates eleven models for predicting the thermal conductivity of nanofluids (includes water and TiO2 nanoparticles) and comparing the results of calculations with the experimental results in the articles. Based on this study, it was found that the effective thermal conductivity ratio (thermal conductivity of the mixture of basic fluid and distributed nanoparticle) to the basic fluid conductivity (keff/kf) for variable Volumetric percentages ranging from 0.01 to 0.03 varies between 1.01 and 1.1. In the other words, addition of nanoparticles in the range of 1 to 3 Volume percentage is able to promote the keff/kf to 1.1 (10%). Therefore, thermal conductivity of the mixture of basic fluid and distributed nanoparticle increases up to 10% compared with basic fluid. Also, increasing the diameter of the nanoparticles reduces the thermal conductivity improvement.

The academic status of the students is regarded as an important issue in the educational activities. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effective factors on the academic achievement of dentistry students at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences of Yazd.

This descriptive cross-Sectional study was carried out on 200 students from Shahid Sadoughi Dentistry School of Yazd in 2014 using the census method. All students with a GPA equal to or over 15 were considered as successful students and those with an average less than 14 were identified as unsuccessful students in regard with academic achievement. The study data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire, which were then analyzed using the SPSS software (ver 17) via Chi-Square test.

The results showed, a significant difference was observed between the two groups of students in terms of individual characteristics (such as gender, student status, place of residence, employment, smoking, family income, mother’s education level) and academic characteristics (such as time gap between high school graduation and entering the college, high school GPA, student ranking in Concourse exam, number of educational units completed and the educational failures)(P<0.05), while no significant difference was detected between the two groups in age, marital status, education as well as parents’ occupation (P>0.05).

The findings of the present study revealed that   successful and unsuccessful students are significantly different  in regard with individual and academic features. Moreover, the role of such factors as psycho-social factors are recommended to be evaluated in the future studies.

Peripheral Giant Cell Granuloma (PGCG) is recognized as a reactive lesion in oral cavity which demonstrates a marked gender predilection with more prevalence within females suggesting a possible role for steroid hormones (estrogen and progesterone) in pathogenesis, development and progression of the lesions. Therefore, this study aimed to the investigate the existence and distribution of estrogen and progesterone receptors in PGCG of the oral cavity.

In this case control study, Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and Immunohistochemical staining were performed on 10 PGCG paraffin blocks and 10 samples of normal gingival mucosa using estrogen and progesterone antibodies. The percentage of positive cells was determined using scaled eyepiece. The study data were then analyzed via SPSS software (ver.15) using Chi- square test.

In 10 cases of PGCG, estrogen and progesterone receptors demonstrated negative staining in osteoclastic giant cells, stromal cells, blood vessels, endothelial cells and oral mucosal epithelium. The staining for all samples of normal gingival mucosa was reported to be negative, as well (P value PR=0.220,
P value ER=1.250).

The findings of this study revealed no expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors in oral cavity PGCG. As a result, other factors expect for sexual hormones may be effective in progression and development of this lesion.

In recent years, the elderly people proportion in our community has increased due to the better public health accessibility and longer life expectancy. Oral health status of the elderly has a profound impact on their quality of life and social relationships. The aim of this study is to assess the frequency of dry mouth and burning mouth without any clinical signs between elders over the age of 65 in nursing homes in yazd province.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 225 institutionalized elderly from Sep 2012 to Aug 2012 in Yazd province. Dry mouth and burning mouth incidence were examined via applying a questionnaire and clinical procedures. Systemic disease background and history of medications usage were derived from the participant’s hospital records. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (versions 17) applying chi-square statistical test to compare variables and the significance level was set at 5% (p<0.05).

Eventually 225 elderly were selected, among which 9 cases were excluded due to lack of owning consistent criteria of the study. 61.1% (132) participants were females and 38.9% were males, whose age range and average were 77±3 and 65-91, respectively. In this study, a significant relation was observed between the frequency of dry mouth and the gender (p=0.02), though no statistically significant relation was observed between burning mouth incidence and the gender (p=0.16).

Based on the study findings, it seems that dry mouth and burning mouth involve prevalent disturbing problems within the elderly. However, other studies are necessitated to achieve more accurate results.

Nowadays, isomerization process plays an important role in producing valuable products in different industries. These reactions are limited by thermodynamic equilibrium and reaching beyond the equilibrium conversion and high selectivity in conventional reactors is not achievable. Therefore, using new technologies such as membrane reactors, for increasing the efficiency of this process is necessary. In this paper, isomerization of linear and cyclic hydrocarbons in membrane reactors was investigated and their performance was evaluated in comparison with conventional catalytic reactors which consist from zeolite membranes MFI and zoelite catalyst, according to the results presented in literature. The obtained results showed that in these reactors, membrane plays a vital role in increasing the reaction rate, selectivity, better controlling of the reaction, reducing in energy consumption and increasing the final efficiency of the reaction.

The objective of this study was to evaluate some morphological characteristics associated with grain yield potential on 20 bread wheat cultivars under two irrigation and drought stress conditions. The experiments were conducted at Research Farm of Agriculture College, University of Tehran, Karaj during 2001-2003. Twenty bread wheat cultivars were planted as subplots within each irrigation main plots in randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Drought stress was imposed at the end of flowering, and plants were re-watered when they showed signs of wilting, particularly during the morning. The results showed that the interactions between cultivars × year and cultivars × irrigation were significant for the grain yield. The cultivars showed significant differences in grain yield under drought stress condition in 2001-2003. Roshan, M-79-4 and Alvand in 2001-2002 and Azadi, Marvdasht and M-79-17 in 2002-2003 were most productive under drought stress condition, whereas C-79-12, MV-17 and Shahpasand in 2001-2002 and M-79-4, Roshan and Nicknajad in 2002-2003 performed visa versa. Correlation between grain yield and measured traits under irrigation condition was different from drought stress condition, suggesting that grain yield controlling mechanisms operate differently under these conditions. Drought stress caused a reduction in 1000 seed weight of cultivars. High 1000 seed weight and high grain number per ear were accompanied by high grain yield in drought stress and irrigation conditions, respectively. In the present study, clear relationship between grain yield and ear length was not observed.