sh. zare

 Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has ameliorative effects for treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) disease. Moreover, there is a growing interest in using MSCs-derived secretome (Sec) containing trophic factors secreted by MSCs for KOA treatment. Recently, some studies have suggested that the combination of MSCs and Sec has the potential to treat the diseases. 

 This study aimed to evaluate the ameliorative effects of combined administration of infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP)-derived MSCs, a type of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), for treating degenerated cartilage in a rat model of KOA. 

 IPFP-ASCs were isolated from the IPFP of male rats. Sec was obtained from IPFP-ASCs in the fourth passage. Eight weeks after the induction of KOA by collagenase II, the rats were divided into 5 groups (n=5), including a control group with no treatment, and four experimental groups that received sodium hyaluronate (Hyalgan®, Hya), ASCs, Sec, and IPFP-ASCs+Sec, respectively by an infrapatellar injection. To perform the pathological and radiological evaluations, the animals were sacrificed 8 weeks later. 

 Our findings indicated that combined administration of the IPFP-ASCs and Sec statistically (P<0.05) improved scores of medial tibial and femoral condyles and medial fabella osteophytes. Also, it statistically (P<0.05) enhances the cartilage surface, matrix, cell distribution and population viability, and subchondral bone indices. No statistical difference was observed between IPFP-ASCs+Sec and IPFP-ASCs. 

 Administration of IPFP-ASCs+Sec has a therapeutic potential to treat KOA in rats. However, there is no difference in the combined administration of IPFP-ASCs and Sec with IPFP-ASCs alone.

Tunneling in urban areas by passing underneath several buildings causes subsidence due to stress relief and development of elastic and plastic deformations. If these subsidences are not controlled, the structures on the ground will be seriously damaged. Nowadays, several methods are used for tunnel analysis and design and for urban tunnels, which excavated in shallow and soft grounds, the best way is using numerical methods. Choosing the Appropriate behavioral model is one of the most basic steps in numerical analysis. tunnel excavation frequently uses the Mohr–Coulomb behavior model in numerical models.The Mohr-Coulomb elastic-plastic model is one of the most widely used models, used in cases evaluating the hardness of materials, independent of the surface tension. If the Mohr-Coulomb used for modeling of tunnel where in depth tunneling excavation is involved and where an increase in maximum ground surface settlement and decrease in the reliability of stability of tunnels can be seen, which may not be appropriate in some conditions. The more appropriate model should be used to solve this problem, one that can model the hardness of materials based on changes in the level of stress.In this study, the effect of different soil parameters on the ground surface settlement of Qom metro line A in Hardening Soil, Mohr–Coulomb and Drager Prager behavior models was investigated using the finite difference method. First, modeling of ground surface settlement was performed and the analysis results were compared with instrumentation data. Then, the effect of modulus of elasticity, friction angle, cohesion, Poisson's ratio and specific gravity parameters in different behavior models was investigated. The results of this research indicated that the Hardening Soil behavior model and the Drager Prager behavior model have the most and the least changes from the changes of soil parameters of Qom metro line A, respectively.

One of the important cost items in mechanized tunneling is the cost of repairing or replacing the disc cutters that have suffered from normal wear during the boring of the hard abrasive rocks. For inspecting the health of the disc cutters, the boring operation shall be stopped, and after checking, the worn disc cutters may be replaced. In this work, the dynamic process of the TBM boring in the jointed rocks is simulated using a real-scale numerical analysis based on the rock fracturing factor using the discrete element method (DEM). The stress distributions induced within the disc cutters as well as the development of the plastic zones in the rock are investigated and compared with the actual results recorded in the Kerman water conveyance tunnel (KWCT). The numerical results indicate that the increase in the rock fracturing causes a decrease in the induced stresses and an increase in the size of the plastic zone. In other words, a higher penetration rate as well as more lifetime for disc cutters can be achieved in highly fractured rocks. Moreover, the average von Misses stress in the disc cutters in the highly fractured rocks is predicted about 16-23% less than stress induced in the slightly fractured rocks. Due to the TBM tunneling, the volume of the plastic zone as well as the actual penetration depth in the highly fracturing rocks are also about 40% and 42% higher than in the slightly fractured rocks under applying the same TBM parameters, respectively.

Despite many improvement in the underground construction by mechanized ‎methods and the whole section, the drilling and blasting still plays an important ‎role in the construction of tunnels and mines. In addition to various advantages ‎such as flexibility and low capital cost, this method also has disadvantages, one of ‎which is the expansion of the blast damage zone around the underground ‎structure, which leads to increased joints and cracks in the surrounding ‎environment and consequently reduced resistance and increased permeability ‎also In some cases land subsidence occurs . Various factors affect the damage ‎zone. Various methods such as measurement, experimental and modeling ‎methods are available to investigate these factors. In this paper, numerical ‎modeling has been done for three different state of drilling a. In addition to a brief ‎mention of different factors affecting the damage zone, it is determined that the ‎maximum impact on the damage area is related to tensile strength and cohesion ‎of rock. In addition, the effect of rock geological strength index (GSI) has been ‎investigated as one of the important factors in recognizing rock mass and the ‎effect of reducing the damage area with increasing GSI has been observed.‎

The purpose of this work is to present an approach for the probabilistic stability analysis of tunnels considering the heterogeneity of geo-mechanical properties. A stochastic procedure is followed to account for the variability in the rock mass property characterization. The finite difference method is coupled with the Monte Carlo simulation technique to incorporate the randomness of rock mass properties. Moreover, a particular performance function is defined to investigate the excavation serviceability based on the permissible deformations. In order to validate the analysis, the probabilistic and the deterministic results are compared with the in-situ measurements. It can be observed that in both the probabilistic and deterministic analyses the largest displacements occur in the invert. In contrast, the smallest displacements are recorded in the sidewalls. Utilizing the performance function, the probability of failure for the invert, crown, left, and right wall is estimated as 100%, 68.8%, 16.2%, and 20.9%, respectively. Comparing the measured and calculated convergences, it is conjectured that the deterministic analysis underestimates the displacements, while the measured values are very close to the mean values predicted by the probabilistic analysis. The results obtained indicate that the presented approach could be a reliable technique compared to the conventional deterministic method.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a very prevalent and complex hormonal imbalance that affects almost 5 to 10% of women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine and histomorphometric changes of ovary in polycystic ovary syndrome induced in rats by letrozole after administration of Evening primrose oil.

In this experimental study conducted in 2019, 32 healthy rats with a mean weight of 200 to 250 g were included in the study. The mice were randomly divided into 4 equal groups; Group 1: EPO at dose of 500 mg/kg was injected intraperitoneally for twenty-eight days. Group 2: PCOS was administered orally at letrozole at dose of 1 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. The third group: PCOS was induced and for twenty-eight days, EPO at dose of 500 mg/kg was administered by intraperitoneal injection and the fourth group was induced by PCOS and EPO at a dose of 1000 mg/kg for twenty-eight days. It was administered by intraperitoneal injection. Finally, after fixing the ovarian tissues, histological sections were prepared serially and folliculogenesis was performed based on counting different types of follicles. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests.

Histomorphometric data showed that EPO at dose of 500 mg/kg increased corpus luteum in the PCOS group treated with EPO compared with the control group (p <0.05). EPO also reduced cystic follicles in both doses compared to the control group (p <0.05)

According to the results of histomorphometric study of ovarian tissue, it can be suggested that EPO can have beneficial effects on polycystic ovary syndrome by improving the maturation of follicles.

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) and hydraulic testing of pre-existing fractures (HTPF) are efficient hydraulic methods in order to determine the in-situ stress of rock mass. Generally, the minimum (Sh) and maximum (SH) horizontal principal stresses are measured by hydraulic methods; the vertical stress (SV) is calculated by the weight of the overburden layers. In this work, 37 HF and HTPF tests are conducted in a meta-sandstone, which has about 10% inter-layer phyllite. The artesian circumstance, considerable gap between the drilling and hydraulic tests in the long borehole, no underground access tunnel to rock cavern at the early stages of projects, and a simplified hypothesis theory of HF are the main challenges and limitations of the HF/HTPF measurements. Due to the instability in the long borehole, the drill rig type and borehole length are revised; also TV logger is added to the process of selection of the test’s deep. The HF/HTPF data is sequentially analyzed by the classic and inversion methods in order to achieve an optimum number of hydraulic tests. Besides, The SH magnitude in the inversion method is lower than the classic method; the relevant geological data and the faulting plan analysis lead to validate the SH and Sh magnitudes and the azimuths obtained by the classic method. The measured SH and Sh magnitudes are 7-17 MPa and 4-11 MPa, respectively; the calculated vertical stress magnitude is 6-14 MPa at the test locations. Indeed, the stress state is (SH > SV > Sh), and SH azimuth range is 56-93 degrees.

Hydraulic fracturing based on the use of guar gum water-base fluid with appropriate viscosity has been recognized as a viable solution for extracting oil and natural gas from the reservoir due to its unique benefits such as low cost and proppant carrying capacity. However, the lack of knowledge of reservoirs fractures has challenged field applications. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of fluid injection rate on fracture pressure and geometry of fractures. To achieve this goal, a series of hydraulic fracturing experiments were performed on limestone rock samples using a guar gum water- base fluid. To investigate the effect of fluid injection rate, CT scan technology was also used to describe the geometric parameters of the fracture. The results of experiments show that with increasing fluid flow rate injected from 1 to 6 ml/min, breakdown pressure and fracture opening increase. As the volume of consumed fluid increases the breakdown time decreases. The findings of this study reveal that low guar gum-flow rates can create a better inter- connected fracture network than higher flow rates.

Evaluation of TBM performance is very important in estimating the cost and time of a tunnel project. Sensitivity analysis of a model is performed to examine the influence of the input variables on the output variables. In this study, results variability of main models of TBM penetration rate (PR) prediction have been investigated based on the geological and field performance data at Lar-Kalan water conveyance tunnel. The overall results indicate that increase of thrust force, CLI, RPM, porosity, and fracturing factor and the decrease of Q value, quartz content, unconfined compressive strength, tensile strength, induced biaxial stress on tunnel face, and RQD increases the PR. Sensitivity analysis has been evaluated on the basis of the two Tornado and Spider charts for different models, and the effect of the input parameters variation on the variation of the PR have been investigated and the parameters that have the greatest influence on the PR were specified. Among the geological conditions, the variation of the Q value, porosity, UCS, RQD and among the machine parameters, variation of the thrust force and RPM have the greatest impact on the variation of the penetration rate in the project.

Evaluation of the interaction between a new and the existing underground structures is one of the important problems in urban tunneling. In this work, using FLAC3D, four numerical models of single- and twin-tube tunnels in urban areas are developed, where the horizontal distance between the single- and twin-tube tunnels are varied. The aim is to analyze the effects of the horizontal distances, considering various criteria such as the deformation of linings, the forces and moments exerted on the twin-tube tunnels and their safety factors, the subsidence that occur on the surface and the nearby buildings, the stability of the single-tube tunnel, and the stability of the pillar lying between the single- and twin-tube tunnels. Considering the above-mentioned criteria, the results obtained indicate that the interaction between the single- and twin-tube tunnels is virtually negligible in the distance more than three times the single-tube tunnel diameter. Also the stability of the pillar lying between the tunnels makes the distance to be chosen at least 1.5 times the single-tube tunnel diameter.

Mechanized excavation of the large cross section tunnels in rock condition has some hazards. Machine purchasing costs, fault zones, water inflows, squeezing, face instability, and etc. are some of the hazards which may cause excavation stop for a long time. In addition to mechanized excavation advantages, machine inflexibility in the complex geological conditions, high investment costs, technical, geometrical and political risks are the major disadvantages. Due to the high investment costs in this method, assessment and ranking the mentioned hazards are of a great importance. In this study, the tunneling risks of Alborz Western Tunnel (AWT) has been investigated using the fuzzy multi criteria decision making methods. The AWT in Tehran Shomal Highway is one of the major country project that considered to be excavated by an EPB shield machine. By analyzing geological condition and survey of some specialist's point of view, in this study, 17 possible hazards have been identified, and assessed by fuzzy TOPSIS and ELECTRE methods. Results shown that insufficient experience in mechanized tunneling of the large diameter tunnel and gas emission in the tunnel and investment and purchasing the machine are the most important risks in the project.

Red palm weevil (RPW)Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olive. (Col,: Dryophthoridae) is the most important and most dangerous pest under the internal quarantine law in Iran. larvae cause the death date palms by feeding the tissues (vines) and emptying the trunk. Pest control chemical methods (spray, injection, fumigation and soil, irrigation pesticide application) are part of integrated pest management programmes. This research was conducted to investigate the efficacy insecticide Flupyradifurone20% with trade names Sivanto® and injection device (5cc automatic syringe, initiated and re-designed by the author) and injection trunk technique for controlling red palm weevil in randomized complete block design with four treatment and four replications. The results showed there was a significant difference between the treatments for the dead and live larvae and adult at 1% level. So Flupyradifurone20% treatments with concentration of 100ml (20gr active ingredient) injection with 100ml water and Flupyradifurone20% with concentration of 100ml (20gr active ingredient) injection rates the average of 9.7 and 8.3 per palm tree, respectively had the most effect on controlling the larvae in compared to Confidor35% injection and spray Flupyradifurone20% on the trunk. Experimental results showed that injection of the pesticide into a trunk is a suitable and effective method for controlling RPW and device 5cc automatic syringe can be used for injection into the trunk.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most important reproductive and endocrine disorders in women. Evening primrose oil is a phytosterogenic plants, and there are many reports about the effects of phytoestrogens on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. Regarding the side effects of existing drugs, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of evening primrose oil (EPO) on changes in sex hormones, serum glucose and insulin levels and insulin sensitivity in PCOS.
In this experimental study 30 female Sprague Dawley rats with regular sexual cycle were divided into five groups (n=6). Group 1: control. Group 2: (control treatment) received evening primrose oil gavage at dose of 1000mg/kg for 21 days. Group 3: PCOS induced by estradiol valerate. Group 4: After induction of PCOS received evening primrose oil gavage at dose of 1000mg/kg for 21 days. Group 5: After induction of PCOS received evening primrose oil gavage at dose of 2000mg/kg for 21 days. Finally, blood samples were collected from heart and then sex hormones, glucose and insulin concentrations were determined. The results were analyzed by SPSS software using one-way ANOVA and Duncan 's test.
The FSH level increased significantly in the fourth and fifth groups compared to the third (p By changing the concentration of FSH, LH and testosterone hormones in polycystic ovary syndrome, evening primrose oil, can reduce the complications of these hormonal changes. EPO also reduces insulin and serum glucose and increases insulin sensitivity in PCOS. With more complete studies, Evening primrose oil can be recommended as a good alternative to chemical drugs for the treatment of PCOS.

Evaluation of the interaction between new and existing underground structures is one of the most important problems in urban tunneling. In this paper, three-dimentional finite difference numerical model of single and twin tunnels in urban areas has been presented. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of changing the depth of excavating single tunnel, in constant horizontal distance, on the interaction of single and twin tunnels considering various criteria including forces and moments exerted on twin-tunnels lining and their safety factors, subsidence of ground surface and nearby buildings, excavation stability of single tunnel and stability of pillar lying between single and twin tunnels. The case study is related to single and twin tunnels of Tabriz urban railway, in northwest of Iran. Results indicated that increasing depth of single tunnel causes average safety factor of Sahand tunnel to decrease (6.52 to 6.35) and that of Sabalan to increase (6.78 to 7.02). As the depth of single tunnel increases, excavation stability of single tunnel increases and surface subsidence decreases. The stability of pillar lying between twin and single tunnels increases as the depth of single tunnel increases.

According to the government's approach to change energy price in 2010, this study conducted to compare economic and energy efficiency of potato grower in Quchan. A random sampling was used to collect data through 50 farmers by using a face-to-face questionnaire and analysis by IDEA model. Result indicated that farmers had different ranking in economic and energy efficiency index, so that, only 22% of farmers in upper bounds of inputs were 100% efficient. Also, none of firms were not 100% efficient. In addition, share of more inputs in total costs of production is lower than shares in total energy consumption. So that, share of water, fertilizer, machines, seed and labor in energy consumption were 56,19,12,11 and 1 percent respectively while, share of them in total cost were 18,6,7,32 and 35 percent respectively. So optimal pricing can lead farmers to use inputs more efficient.

To evaluate the effect of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and municipal compost on the essential yeild of savory pot experiment in 2009 was carried out in the Darab region. Different doses of compost was in four levels، including: zero C0:، 10C1:، 20C2: and 30C3: tons per hectare and nitrogen fertilizer include: zero N0:، 30N1:، 60 N2: and 90N3: kg of pure nitrogen from urea per hectare. Analysis of variance showed that the consumption of different amounts of nitrogen، compost and interaction between them on dry matter yield and height، percentage and yield of essential oil of savory، is statistically significant. Comparison of mean showed that treatment 90 kg N/ha along with 30 tons of municipal compost consumption per hectare (N3C3) with an average 50/8 g dry weight in pot greatest and treatments without N and compost (N0C0) and non-N with 10 and 20 tons of compost ha (N0C1 and N0C2) were mean 23/69، 23/42 and 24/63 g dry weight، the lowest plant dry weight were allocated to pot. N fertilizer and compost on the number of lateral branches per plant and nitrogen application on mean stem diameter was significant. N3 with an average 24/75 lateral branches and C3 with a mean 22/19 lateral branches، were the highest number of lateral branches per plant. N2C3 with mean of 2/13 percent of most essential oil produced. The most essential yield of the combination treatment N3C3، respectively. Generally produce more essential oil percent and to have more dry matter level N2C3 be seems appropriate.

One of the most important issues in mechanized tunneling specially in the urban areas is selection of the suitable boring machine. Geological and geotechnical conditions، soil type and variations، underground water level، site location and urban conditions are important parameters that influence the machine type and excavation method in the urban areas. In this paper in addition to the mentioned parameters the performance of mechanized machines and guidelines of the machine selection is assessed for Tehran Metro Line7 tunnel (East-West part). East-West tunnel is located between Takhti Stadium، A7 station in the east of Tehran and N7 station in Navvab-Safavi highway. The tunnel boring diameter is 9. 15 m and tunnel length is 12360 m. According to geological studies the ground soil is divided into four types based on the soil type، grain size distribution and geotechnical conditions. The divided types cover wide range of the soil from clay to sand. Also more than 60 % of the tunnel length is located blow the underground water level. Various parameters such as tunnel route، soil type، site conditions، underground water level، project time schedule and different shield machines performance and limitations have been considered for machine selection. Among the different shield machines in the soft ground، EPB type shield machine is chosen as a suitable tunnel boring machine for the project. In addition to required auxiliary equipment، lower excavation costs and higher performance، the EPB type machine is a suitable option in comparison to other shield machines based on the project soil type. The EPB shield has priority over other shield types due to range of applications and excavation in different mode (open، EPB، slurry); therefore this type is recommended for the project.

The relationship between socio demographic status and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) has not been well documented in most population of Asian countries including Iran. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of HRQOL in general population living in Bandar Abbas. This cross sectional study was conducted among general population living in Bandar Abass, Iran from Jun to Jul, 2007. Using a multistage sampling method, a random sample of individuals aged 15 years and over were inter­viewed through SF-36 questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis were used to predict determinant factors on health related quality of life. Overall, 1675 Iranian adults were interviewed. The majority of the participants were female (50.4%), married (70.9%) and employed (36.8%). The range of education years of most participants (56.7%) were from 6 to 12 years. Female participated in this study had significantly poorer HRQOL than male in all aspects of SF-36 except for Role Emotional (P< 0.001). Furthermore there were significant differences between different age groups in all individually scales and two summaries (P< 0.001). After adjusting for the impacts of other socio demographic factors, variable such as older age, female gender and lower educational level could independently decrease both mental and physical aspect of HRQOL (P< 0.01). Female, older and less educated people are at higher risk of poorer health quality of life in both mental and physical aspects and should be considered as high risk groups in priority health programs.

Unripe cervix is the most important factor in failure of labor induction. This study is conducted to compare the efficacy and side effects of Dinoproston and high dose Oxytocin as ripening agents in labor induction. In this double blinded randomized clinical trial, 120 women with unfavorable cervix who underwent labor induction were randomly assigned to vaginal Dinoproston (9 mg) or intravenous high dose Oxytocin (6 miu/min) groups. Initial 12 hours Bishop-Score, labor induction to labor duration, delivery type, 1 and 5 minute APGAR, side effects on mother or neonate, hospitalization duration and hospitalization costs were recorded. Data were analysed using t and Chi-square tests by means of Minitab statistical software. The results showed that vaginal Dinoproston was effective in shortening latent phase of labor (P<0.01). But, mean Bishop-Score over the initial 12 hours, the interval between labor induction to delivery, and side effects for mother or neonate were not different between the two groups. Based on the results, although hospitalization duration was not different between the groups, hospitalization costs for Dinoproston group was significantly higher (P<0.05). It seems that inspite of shortening the latent phase of labor in vaginal Dinoproston group, it is not more effective than high dose Osytocin as an adjuvant to labor induction in women with unfavorable cervix.

Growth and puberty disorders and endocrine abnormalities are seen in major thalassaemia in the background of chronic anemia or iron retention following transfusion. In a case-control study, 109 thalassaemic patients, aged 8 to 18 years, were compared with 107 healthy individuals in the same age range in order to evaluate growth and puberty state and detecting high risk age groups. Thalassaemic patients were divided into good control (ferritin <1500 ng/dl) and poor control (ferritin >1500 ng/dl) groups. Only 14% of thalassaemic patients were in good control group. Short stature [SDS (Standard Deviation Score) less than -2.5] was seen in 64% of patients. Statistically significant differences were found between SDS of height and weight in healthy individuals and thalassaemic patients (P<0.01). SDS for height was -3.2 vs -0.89 and SDS for weight was -2.91 vs -1.16 for thalassaemic and healthy individuals, respectively. Furthermore, SDS for weight and SDS for height were positively correlated in both thalassaemic patients and healthy individuals. This correlation was stronger in thalassaemic patients (r=0.86). From another point of view, in those older than 14 years, there was a significant difference between height and weight of thalassaemic patients and healthy individuals (P<0.01). The prevalence of hypogonadism in this study was about 60%. The mean ages of puberty onset in thalassaemic and healthy boys were 16.5 ±1 and 11.6 ± 2 years and for girls were 16±3 and 10 ± 1 years, respectively (P<0.01). There was no difference in onset of puberty in 8 to 11 year-old thalassaemic patients in both good and poor control groups, whereas it was statistically significant in 12 to 14 years old patients of both groups (P<0.05). This study reveals a strong relationship between growth retardation and weight loss in thalassaemic patients, especially above the age of 14, as well as the role of poor control of plasma ferritin in puberty delay. It was also shown that, because of the equal prevalences of short stature and hypogonadism in thalassemic patients, hypogonadism can be an important factor in short stature of these patients.