mohammad ansari

Preterm birth is defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation and is the leading cause of infant mortality. Therefore, researchers worldwide have identified various risk factors associated with preterm birth. The aim of this study was that using the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method identifies the areas most affected by preterm birth in Gerash County, considering maternal age groups, gestational weeks, and socioeconomic conditions. In this study, the GWR model was employed to examine the relationship between preterm birth and 26 risk factors in Gerash County. These 26 risk factors included various age groups, different gestational weeks, income level, history of cesarean section, placenta previa, inadequate maternal weight gain, history of urinary and genital tract infections, first-trimester bleeding, minor thalassemia, multiple pregnancies, thyroid disorders, diabetes, kidney diseases, history of hypertension, COVID-19, and blood-related complications as independent variables, and preterm birth as dependent variable. Among the 26 risk factors, 13 cases or half were significantly associated with preterm birth. Among these factors, some showed varying degrees of correlation in different parts of the county, making it easier to implement effective preventive and management measures in areas with high correlation. However, some factors such as thalassemia minor, inadequate weight gain, and gestational weeks 30-33 and 34-36 showed a very high correlation in all parts of the county, requiring significant attention for prevention. The practical results of the GWR model and its high power for spatial modeling can help managers and planners to identify sensitive areas of diseases and various issues, such as preterm birth, and manage them more effectively.

The Covid-19 pandemic has become a health problem due to its high rate of transmission and rapid spread worldwide. Therefore, in recent years, many researchers have investigated and spatially analyzed the covid-19 disease with different factors in order to policy and better manage these conditions. Therefore, in this research, by choosing the city of Gerash in Fars province as an example of the southern cities of the country, the efficiency of the GWR model was measured to determine the high-risk areas of death due to corona disease in different age groups.
In this research, the geographic weighted regression (GWR) model has been used to investigate the relationship between deaths caused by Corona in Gerash city and different age groups and spatial modeling for urban policy .
The results showed that among the 10 age groups, one of them, that is, the age group of 61-70 years old, has a significant relationship with the number of deaths, and the highest degree of correlation can be seen in the west of Gerash city, followed by the highest degree of correlation, respectively. It is 0.97 to the north, 0.92 to the center and 0.88 to the south
The specified places are economically weaker than other parts of the city, and the sections of society that are economically weaker are more vulnerable than other sections. Also, the practical results of the GWR model and its high power for modeling will help managers and planners to identify the critical points of pandemic conditions and use them for policy and better management.

Breast cancer has been a leading malignancy in women across the globe. In breast conserving treatment, radiation therapy plays an important role. This is clinically approved that breast conserving surgery followed by adjuvant radiation therapy produces as the same survival rate as radical breast RT. The aim of this study was to find out suitable number of IMRT fields to treat left-sided breast cancer and analyze the effects of increasing the number of fields in IMRT plans.We selected 105 patients retrospectively for this study diagnosed with left-sided breast cancer of age ranging from 33 to 74 years.  There were 52 cases of chest wall (CW) irradiation including SCF, 20 cases of BCS and 33 cases were of CW including supra-clavicular fossa (SCF) and internal mammary lymph nodes (IMLN).Our main objective was to analyze dose-distribution of left lung. Monitor Units (MUs) were also recorded and found almost same in these three modalities ranging from 1200 to 2000. The mean value of V20Gy(cc) in 11-bIMRT technique was found less by 8-17cc as compared to 7-and 9-bIMRT technique. It was observed that 11-bIMRT technique yielded slightly better outcomes in terms of V20Gy(cc). The technique 7-bIMRT gives slightly better result in controlling low-dose volume of underlying lung and heart. As the number of IMRT beams increases, it translates into better outcomes in terms of reducing high-dose volume as well as mean-dose of left lung. So, it is prudent to use ‘N’ number of IMRT fields such as 7≤ N ≤11 in left breast RT.

The literature of popular culture, based on beliefs, thoughts, and desires, has featured many adaptations and revisions of mythical epic narratives. It has been used as a model to create new stories that afford insight into the general perception and perspectives on these tales. This study aims to undertake a comparative analysis of the characters, actions, and mythical epic motifs of the story “Kor-e Asb-e Siah” in Bakhtiari culture and the story of "Siavash" in Shahnameh using document analysis. The comparative investigation encompasses an examination of their social backgrounds, physical attributes, and actions of stepmom characters, horse characteristics, and seeking asylum in another land. The results demonstrated significant similarities between these two stories; the main protagonists are princes with indeterminate maternal lineage, possessing corporeal beauty and horses that share similar qualities such as color, intelligence, and the ability to jump high. Additionally, their stepmothers are seeking for a sexual desire, both ultimately taking refuge in another land, getting married, and building a city and palace for themselves. Nevertheless, there are divergences between these stories; the story of Siavash features more politically motivated character behavior, whereas “Kor-e Asb-e Siah” emphasizes on familial matters. Hence, it could be concluded that “Kor-e Asb-e Siah” in Bakhtiari culture is a creative retelling or adaptation of the story of Siavash.

The main objective of this study was to assess the impacts of an increasing the number of IMRT beams on cardiac dose distribution in left-sided breast irradiation so that we can reduce the heart’s mean dose  up to clinically acceptable level. For this study 107 female patients, diagnosed with left-sided breast cancer were selected retrospectively. In 107 patients, there were 52 patients of chest wall irradiation including supra-clavicular fossa, while 22 patients were of breast-conserving surgery excluding supra-clavicular fossa and internal mammary lymph nodes, and 33 patients were of chest wall irradiation including internal mammary lymph nodes and supra-clavicular fossa. Exclusion criteria were previous history of left-sided breast radiation therapy, uncommon fractionated dose delivered in past, and indication of palliative radiation therapy. Intensity modulated radiotherapy plans were generated using 7, 9 and11 beams for each patient and the prescribed dose was 40.05 Gy in 15 fractions (2.67 Gy /fraction) for the targets. Heart: V5Gy(cc): This was a low-dose volume of our study in which the 11-bIMRT technique yielded better result as compared to 9- and 7-bIMRT. Maximum and minimum values of V5 were found 539.60cc in 9-bIMRT and 141.32cc in 11-bIMRT techniques respectively.V25Gy(cc): The maximum value of V25Gy was found 41.73cc in 7-bIMRT technique, while the lowest value was 0.29cc in 11-bIMRT. The IMRT technique with 11 beams showed comparatively better result on this parameter as well as 3-5cc volume of V25Gy was spared. Mean dose (Gy): Maximum value of mean dose was found 8.51Gy in 7-bIMRT while it was 6.53Gy in 11-bIMRT technique.    The study indicates that increasing the number of IMRT beams reduces heart’s high-dose volume and improves the quality of treatment plans. It is judicious to use 11-bIMRT technique in left-sided breast irradiation as it produces clinically acceptable mean heart dose.

The Chāhārfasl (Four Seasons) Bathhouse is considered as one of the most beautiful historic places with glorious tiles from the Qajar dynasty, Iran. This bathhouse is unique for its diverse artistic patterns, particularly in its apodyterium. The tile patterns and motifs of this bathhouse are a testimony to the past rich culture and art of the Islamic world, which in the absence of written documents would play a considerable role in depicting Qajar artistic taste. On the other hand, such traditional patterns reflect the beliefs and culture of the people. Therefore, an analysis of subjects and concepts of the mentioned patterns of these tiles can help us extend our understanding of Iranian architecture and art in the recent centuries. The shortage of academic studies on the architecture and art of Arak is a matter emphasizing the importance of carrying out a detailed investigation into its historic sites and places, most specifically the Chāhārfasl Bathhouse. It should also be noted that no specific study has ever been undertaken on the themes of this bathhouse’s ornaments. Considering this issue and the need to know more on art and culture connections, we proceeded to study the themes and subjects of the tiles in the bathhouse’s apodyterium. This study is based on analytical-descriptive methodology conducted by the means of field and desk research. The motifs studied here could be categorized as: sun, spiral icons, human soldiers, lion and dragon, lion and cow, birds, owl, flower and vase, landscapes and arabesque and khata’i. Results of the study indicate that these icons, patterns and designs are not just decorative, but they derive inspirations from epic, historic, religious, political and western figures.

The heat transfer and pressure drop of the air flow inside the square channel with perforated ribs are investigated experimentally. The effect of the perforation on the reduction of the low pressure region behind the ribs, and thus reduction in overall pressure drop, is evaluated. The Reynolds number is between 15000 and 50,000. Two values of 0.1 and 0.14 are selected for the ratio of the ribs height to the channel hydraulic diameter and three values of 20, 25 and 30 are considered for the ratio of the ribs pitch to the ribs height. The ratio of the hole diameter to the rib height are 0.3 and 0.5 respectively. It is found that the perforated ribs result in less pressure drop as well as reduced Nusselt number. Moreover, the effect of perforation is found to be unfeasible in the smaller pitch ratios. On the other hand, in long ribs, the perforation improves the performance coefficient up to 17%, the improvement is more evident in low Reynolds. In particular, for applications such as gas turbine or heaters, where the prime concern is to lower the wall temperature or increase the heat transfer and the blower energy consumption is less important, the current results show that using holes in the ribs can effectively enhance the flow thermal performance.

Chronic tinnitus is a disturbing condition that may affect different aspects of life. In this study, the therapeutic effect of electrical stimulation on chronic tinnitus was assessed. This was a clinical trial on 49 patients with persistent tinnitus for more than 6 months without a proper response to routine treatments. They were randomly allocated into two groups: the case group was treated with electrical stimulation for 6 sessions over 6 consecutive days, and the control group received a placebo. Before the intervention, one week and three months after the treatment sessions, patients were evaluated by comprehensive audiological assessments and hearing tests. The mean age of the participants was 40.37±9.32 and 41.35±9.24 in treatment and placebo groups, respectively. Tinnitus intensity was significantly decreased in the case group one week and three months after the treatment (P<0.05). Tinnitus handicap inventory score significantly decreased in the treatment group one week and three months after the treatment (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in tinnitus intensity after treatment, considering gender, age, tinnitus duration, and tinnitus type. Electrical stimulation could significantly reduce the severity of the tinnitus regardless of age, gender, duration, and type of tinnitus.

Medical malpractice and violations and following that litigation by patients and finally recycling by them, is faced doctors and medical community with the growing crisis. Medical malpractice, ie, abuse of the specific requirements of the medical profession has the responsibility of doctor In fact, Including diagnosis and treatment and disease management mistakes

This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study to determine Seven years old complaints about facial cosmetic surgery that referred to forensic medicine of Fars province that in 1385 to 92 years was conducted.

In terms of gender between men (34/5%) and women (65/5%) relatively large differences can be seen in the complaint. In our study in according to marital status a huge difference between married (36/4%) and single (54/6%) was seen in the complaint. Most physician were specialist with 57.4% (n = 31), and then Subspecialty with 27.8% (n = 15) and general practitioners were (13%) of cases. According to the results, 60% (n = 33) of physician were acquitted and 40% were sentences (n=22). The results of most frequent type of expertise (n=28) is related to ENT specialists (50.9%), followed by plastic surgery with 29.1% (n = 16) and GP (12.7%).The area of operation, the rhinoplasty is the most frequent complaint among the plaintiffs in 32 cases (58.2%). The type of malpractice, most malpractice was using inappropriate techniques with 27/3% of cases. In this regard, lack of skill, complications of treatment and compound, any 22/7% allocated to own.

Intra-osseous pathologic lesions of the jaw bones have different radiological and clinicopathological features from benign to malignant lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of jaw lesions in Isfahan, Iran, during 1992-2017. In this descriptive-analytical study, all records of intra-osseous jaw lesions were investigated. All information of patients such as age, gender, location of lesion, radiographic feature, and histopathological diagnosis was collected. The lesions were divided to 7 groups including inflammatory periapical lesions, developmental odontogenic cysts, odontogenic tumors, benign non-odontogenic bone lesions, malignant bone tumors, developmental lesions, and others. The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS software, using chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. A total of 1064 intra-osseous jaw lesions were evaluated. The mean age of patients with these lesions was 30.6 ± 15.1 years with the male to female ratio of 1.3:1. The most prevalent jaw lesions were inflammatory periapical lesions (49.9%), developmental odontogenic cysts (33.2%), benign non-odontogenic bone lesions (8.0%), odontogenic tumors (6.2%), developmental lesions (1.2%), malignant bone tumors (0.9%), and others (0.6%). Posterior region of mandibular bone was more affected. The frequency of jaw pathologic lesions according to site of lesions and age was statistically significant (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed based on gender (P > 0.050). Radicular cyst, dentigerous cyst, and central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) were the most prevalent. The most radiographic view was radiolucent. This study showed the clinicopathological information of intra-osseous jaw bone lesions in Isfahan population. Inflammatory periapical lesions, odontogenic cysts, and tumors were the most common intra-osseous jaw bone lesions. These results showed the importance of health education to patients for prevention of inflammatory periapical lesions.

The study area is part of the Alborz Mountains and the western part of the Central Alborz Zone Aster image processing have been used for mapping hydrothermal alteration zones in studied area. We have combinated hybrid algorithm of banding and false color with logical operators and thereshold setting that have been based on field, Laboratory and experimental studies. In this paper we present algorithm of logical operators mapping that was distinguished by propylation alteration of Calcite and Epidote– Chlorite minerals which was confirmed by the results of alterations. Separate altered zones by using the bandeag ratio method. Detect hydrothermal alteration (Argilic and Flick) according to the sampling and field observations results.

Cooling of blades is a challenge in advancement of gas turbines. Channels are used inside the blades to improve the heat transfer. Repeated ribs have significant impact on the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a channel. In this study the effect of ribs with specified geometry is numerically investigated. In a relatively large range of Reynolds from 10000 to 80000, the fluid flow and heat transfer were simulated. The finite volume method was implemented. To model the turbulence, the standard k– ε model was used. The thermal boundary condition was the constant heat flux at the channel surfaces. The magnitude of the heat flux was assigned in a way to result in temperature difference from 10 K to 15 K. The results of current research were compared to the available experimental data under similar flow conditions. The coefficient of pressure drop was comparable with experimental data both in two dimensional and three dimensional cases. In the two dimensional simulation, the heat transfer coefficient was similar to the experimental data in the range of this study. In the three dimensional simulation, accuracy of the heat transfer coefficient in the case of low Reynolds was not satisfactory. However, it improved progressively as the Reynolds number increased. It was observed that, the maximum improvement in the heat transfer and pressure drop are about more than 200% and 300% respectively. Heat transfer augmentation could be explained by the presence of the secondary flows and disruption of the boundary layer growth due to the ribs.

In this study we assessed the effect of bright light emitted by light box on fatigue, and sleepiness in nurses. 44 healthy female shift work nurses were allocated into two groups of intervention and control. In the first stage, bright light was emitted to the nurses in the intervention group by the light box, and bright light was not emitted to the control group. In the next stage (one month later), we emitted bright light to the control group of first stage and vice versa (cross over). Main outcome measure, we assessed after intervention were fatigue and sleepiness. We measured fatigue (Visual Analogue Scale) and, sleepiness (Karolinska Scale), every hour, during next 24 hours. Almost all the time during 24 hours of the assessment of Visual Analogue Scale the trend of changes in two groups were in opposite direction. The mean value of two groups were statistically different.  In addition, about Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, the effect of intervention on the mean values of KSS during 24 hours was significant and the mean values in two groups were significantly different and the trend of changes in two groups were in opposite direction. The bright light exposure in nurses resulted in changing the trend of fatigue in opposite direction compared to the controls. The minimum of fatigue occurred at 4 am which was time of maximum fatigue in controls. Also, the trend of changes of KSS was in opposite direction in cases and minimum sleepiness was at 4 am.

We aimed to determine the effect of lavandula angustifolia essential oil (LEO) on IL-23 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of relapse-remitting MS (RRMS) patients.
LEO was prepared using the hydrodistilation method on the plants aerial parts. 8 female RRMS patients and 8 healthy sex and age matched controls were entered into this study. PBMC cells were separated using Ficoll method and were treated with a concentration of 225 µg/ml LEO which and then the mRNAs were used for determining the effects of LEO on IL-23 and BDNF gene expressions using Quantitative Real Time PCR technique. Moreover in order to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of LEO, we measured the gene expression of IL-6 and IL-23 in stimulated healthy PBMC cells treated with LEO.
Results showed that there is no significant difference between PBMC of patients compared to healthy controls in case of IL-23 gene expression. Moreover, LEO has no significant effect on gene expression of IL-23 in PBMC of neither patients nor control. Also the results showed that BDNF gene expression is reduced to 41% compared to healthy controls and LEO can increase the BDNF gene expression by 81% in patients PBMCs. Moreover we observed that LEO can significantly reduce the LPS stimulated IL-6 gene expression in healthy PBMCs but had no significant effect on IL-23 gene expression.
The present study demonstrated that L.angustifolia essential oil may have a protective effect against neuron damage via increasing the gene expression of BDNF in PBMCs from RRMS patients. However, further studies are necessary to confirm our results.

To present a multiple-instructor, active-learning strategy in the undergraduate medical curriculum. This educational research is a descriptive one. Shared teaching sessions, were designed for undergraduate medical students in six organ-system based courses. Sessions that involved in-class discussions of integrated clinical cases were designed implemented and moderated by at least 3 faculties (clinicians and basic scientists). The participants in this study include the basic sciences medical students of The Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Students’ reactions were assessed using an immediate post-session evaluation form on a 5-point Likert scale. Six two-hour sessions for 2 cohorts of students, 2013 and 2014 medical students during their two first years of study were implemented from April 2014 to March 2015. 17 faculty members participated in the program, 21 cases were designed, and participation average was 60 % at 6 sessions. Students were highly appreciative of this strategy. The majority of students in each course strongly agreed that this learning practice positively contributed to their learning (78%) and provided better understanding and application of the material learned in an integrated classroom course (74%). They believed that the sessions affected their view about medicine (73%), and should be continued in future courses (80%). The percentage demonstrates the average of all courses. The program helped the students learn how to apply basic sciences concepts to clinical medicine. Evaluation of the program indicated that students found the sessions beneficial to their learning.

Excommunication was first practiced by a radical group called Kharijtes which remarkably harmed society. Later on and throughout the history radical followers of either of Shiites and Sunnis accused each other of blasphemy. Among these people Yusef Bahrani (Deceased. 1186 A.H) also believes in jurisprudential blasphemy of dissident. He uses various arguments to prove his claim. One of the arguments is the emphasis on the narrations as he thinks denote jurisprudential blasphemy of dissident. Using library studies and descriptive-analytical method, this research has tried to raise the narrations that Bahrani has discussed and provide valid response against them. This study shows that none of narrations that Bahrani has referred to; do not denote jurisprudential blasphemy or impurity of dissident. Although some scholars analyzed these narrations and inferred the theological blasphemy of dissident, most of them deduce the purity of adversary.

Recently, much attention has been directed towards considering activated microgelial cells as putative targets for treatment of neurological disorders. MigriHeal® as a novel herbal remedy was introduced for the treatment of migraine headaches. The previous researches has shown that MigriHeal® extracts can decrease NO in an in vitro inflammatory model. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of MigriHeal® on NO generation from LPS- stimulated microglia cells.
Neonatal rat primary microglial cells were isolated from the mixed glial cultures and the purity of the cultures was determined by immunocytochemistry. Microglial cells were pretreated with Migri-Heal® and activated by 1μg/ml LPS. Subsequently, NO levels in the culture supernatants were measured by a griess reaction. Our results showed that Migri-Heal® 50μg/ml significantly reduced NO level in inflamed microglia in a dose-dependent manner.
The results showed that different concentrations of Migri-Heal® had no prominent effect on cell viability in presence of LPS as compared with the control group. In addition, the pretreatment of microglia cells with Migri-Heal® can prevent from a morphological changes of the cells into the round and phagocytic shape.
Our study demonstrated that MigriHeal® might have NO scavenging properties. Integrative studies are warranted to uncover the novel pharmacological insights of this herbal remedy as an putative therapeutic approach against diseases - associated with inflammation.

Recently, based on herbal medicine of Iran, an herbal drug with medical effects named MigriHeal®, has been registered; it helps in prevention of migraine headache strokes. In this study, MigriHeal was administered for pure migraine patients and the aim of this study is proteomic analysis of plasma from patients with migraine headaches before and after treatment with MigriHeal®. Before and after administration of MigriHeal®, patient''s plasma was obtained, and then 2DE (2-dimensional electrophoresis) proteomic analysis of 11 patients was done. The Progenesis Same Spots ver.4 software was used for statistical analysis of the gels; according to ANOVA test analysis, we showed that the expression of two proteins named alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein (p-value: 0.023) and alpha-1-B-glycoprotein (p-value: 0.008) was decreased. Two identified proteins have anti-inflammatory effects and based on this finding we concluded inflammation is a pathologic mechanism of migraine, presumably, MigriHeal® has anti-inflammatory effects. Although these are not specific for the migraine and are altered in other diseases, these two proteins may be migraine biomarkers if measured simultaneously with quantitative methods in an expanded population.

Little in known regarding the clinical relevance of SIRT1 in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we aimed to evaluate mRNA expression, protein level and enzyme activity of SIRT1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from relapsing –remitting MS patients (RRMS) and healthy controls.
Twenty patients with RR-MS and twenty two age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this case-control study. Following PBMCs isolation, mRNA expression was evaluated by real time-PCR. SIRT1 activity and SIRT1 protein level were measured using a fluorometric assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively, in PBMC lysates.
There was no statistically significant difference in the mRNA expression of SIRT1 (p=0.56) and its protein levels (p=0.15) between MS patients and healthy subjects. By contrast, SIRT1 enzyme activity were significantly (p=0.008) lower in RRMS patients compared with that in healthy subjects.
Our findings demonstrated that enzyme activity of SIRT1 is significantly lower in PBMCs of RRMS patients in comparison with healthy subjects. However, more investigations are essential to clarify the role of SIRT1 in MS pathogenesis.

The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has long been postulated to play an integral role in the pathophysiology of migraine. Earlier studies showed that CGRP can stimulate the synthesis and release of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines from trigeminal ganglion glial cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 17β-estradiol in regulation of CGRP expression, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity, and NO and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) release in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with pure menstrual migraine and healthy individuals. This study was performed on twelve patients with pure menstrual migraine and twelve age-and sex-matched healthy individuals. PBMCs treated with 17β-estradiol for 24 hr at physiological and pharmacological doses. Gene expression was evaluated by real time-PCR. CGRP and IL-1β proteins in culture supernatant were determined by ELISA method. Activity of iNOS in PBMCs and total nitrite in the culture supernatant were measured by colorimetric assays. Treatment with 17β-estradiol had a biphasic effect on expression of CGRP. We found that 17β-estradiol treatment at pharmacological dose significantly increases mRNA expression of CGRP in both groups (P<0.001), whereas at physiological dose it could significantly decrease CGRP mRNA expression (P<0.001), CGRP protein levels, IL-1β release, NO production and iNOS activity only in patient groups (P<0.05). Collectively, it appears that 17β-estradiol can exert protective effect on decrease of inflammation in migraine via decrease in levels of CGRP, IL-1β and iNOS activity; however, more studies are necessary in this regard.

Migraine consisting of migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MO) is a painful neurovascular disorder affecting approximately 16% of the general population. A combination of genetic and environmental factors is involved in the pathogenesis of migraine. The MTHFR enzyme is involved in homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and it has been reported that 1298 A to C and 677 C to T mutations in the MTHFR gene are associated with an increased in plasma Hcy levels. Hcy is a highly reactive amino acid and causes endothelial injury. Because a plausible theory about vascular impairment in migraine, it is considered that mutations in MTHFR gene and folate metabolism are associated with migraine.
In total, 75 patients with migraine (24 with MA and 51with MO) in accordance with the IHS criteria participated in this case-control study. Control group were 128 normal matched healthy subjecys who selected from same region without history of migraine or other neurologic disorder after interviewing and examining by a physician. Mean age at entry was 36.42±9.6 and 31.64±8.9 years old in migraine and control group respectively. MTHFR polymorphisms were investigated by PCR-RFLP.
Genotypic results indicated that the prevalence of the MTHFR 677TT genotype in migraine subjects was higher than control (17.3% and 3.1% respectively, P0.001).
It seems that MTHFR C677T is a potential genetic risk factor for migraine attacks, both in MA and MO subclasses in Iranian population. C677T and A1298C joint effect could amplify the potential influence of each SNPs.

It is evident that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Dysregulation of antioxidant enzymes have been implicated in demylination and neuronal loss in MS. The aim of this study was to evaluate mRNA expression and activity of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and catalase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and healthy controls.

We recruited 20 RRMS patients and 20 age-and sex-matched healthy subjects. PBMCs were isolated, RNA was extracted and real time-PCR was used to evaluate mRNA expression of MnSOD and catalase. Enzyme activity of MnSOD and catalase were measured using colorimetric assays.

We found a significant increase in mRNA expression and activity of catalase in PBMCs from patients compared with controls, which was accompanied by reduced activity and expression of MnSOD in MS patients.

It appears that impaired antioxidant enzymes in term of high activity of catalase and decreased activity of MnSOD are involved in MS pathogenesis, however further studies are needed to establish this concept.

This study is an experimental investigation of two-phase water-air flow in hilly-terrain duct.The inclination angles for hill and valley configuration is ±7.5o. Review of the related literature showstheir results are limited to slug regime only. In the present study, flow regime map and pressure traces are investigated. This study reveals that the possible slug flow behavior categories exist along a valley and hill configuration are four and two, respectively. In an attempt to relate the qualitative flow behavior at a valley and hill to the flow pattern maps of upstream and downstream, this qualitative classification is superimposed on flow pattern maps where obtained independently for the upstream and downstream sections. The results show, flow has different behavior in hill in compare to valley at relatively low gas flow rates. However, at higher gas velocity, difference between hill and valley behavior decreases.It can be concluded, that the effect of hill and valley behavior are similar on flow regime at relatively high gas flow rates.

A number of studies on reproduction have mentioned Origanum Vulgare extract’s ability to reduce mortality rates and improve fertility rates. However، other studies have suggested that it is possible to use Origanum Vulgare extract to induce abortion. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different doses of Origanum Vulgare on embryo survival and macroscopic abnormalities in mice. In this study، 24 mice Balb/c female weighting approximately 25-30 g were divided into 4 groups. Origanum Vulgare extract was prepared; different concentrations (2. 5، 12. 5، and 25 mg in 0. 25 ml distilled water) were administered، by oral gavage، to three experimental groups of mice between day 6 (starting gastrulation) until day 15 of pregnancy (end of organogenesis). The control group consisted of six mice that received 0. 25 ml of distilled water daily. On day 16 of study، pregnant mice were anesthetized by chloroform and fetuses were removed and stained with Alcian Blue، Alizarin Red s and microwave irradiation. Morphological and skeletal abnormalities were investigated by light and stereomicroscopes. The results of this study showed that high doses of the Origanum Vulgare extract significantly decreased the mean number of embryos (100. 5، P>0. 05)، mean number of live embryos (70. 5، P>0. 05) in each mouse and resulted in significant reduction in mean weight (11848 mg، P>0. 05) and crown-rump length (11. 90. 23 mm، P>0. 05) and the overall size of fetuses compared to control group، whereas there was no significant difference between the groups receiving low dose of Origanum Vulgare extract with control group. In addition، under the effect of the Origanum Vulgare extract the subcutaneous bleeding seemed (20. 1، P>0. 05) significantly more frequent compared to the control group. Origanum Vulgare extract did not have any positive effect on fetal development; and high dosages led to an increased incidence rate of abortion and fetal malformations in the fetuses of women who received it.

Since nitric oxide (NO) has an oxidant activity, lower levels following a varicocelectomy may result in better functioning sperm, improved semen quality and consequently higher fertility rates. However, this procedure should be examined in more detail.. Accordingly, this study was performed to compare the before and after varicocelectomy levels of NO in the seminal fluid of infertile men..Patients and In this before and after comparative study, 20 consecutive patients attending a training hospital in Tehran, Iran were recruited. All of these men had primary or secondary infertility accompanied with a varicocele. A semen sample was collected from the men in two phases, first before their varicocelectomy and two months after their operation.. NO levels differed significantly across the study and the mean (± standard deviation) levels of NO in the patients were 30.59 ± 10.35 µM/L and 21.48 ± 32.14 µM/L in the before and after phases of the study, respectively (P = 0.009).. According to the results obtained in this study, it may be concluded that in future, levels of NO should be taken into consideration together with other parameters for the evaluation of patients who are affected by varicoceles, to determine probable therapeutic responses.