zadeh

This meta-analysis was designed to reassess the prognostic and clinicopathologic values of the microRNA-125 family in GC patients.

The miR-125 family (including miR-125a, miR-125b) has been reported as being pivotal prognostic biomarkers of gastric cancer (GC). However, there is controversy about the role of the miR-125 family in predicting the progression of GC.

The miR-125 family (including miR-125a, miR-125b) has been reported as being pivotal prognostic biomarkers of gastric cancer (GC). However, there is controversy about the role of the miR-125 family in predicting the progression of GC.

The electronic databases of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for relevant studies. Overall survival (OS) rate as the primary outcome from each study was extracted. The overall hazard ratio (HR or survival rate in patients with GC) and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to evaluate the association between miR-125 family expression and prognosis and susceptibility to gastric cancer. The quality of evidence was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottava Scale (NOS). The extracted data was combined based on the random-effects model.

The low expression of miR-125 family predicts poor OS in GC patients. Thus, the miR-125 family may be helpful as a potential biomarker for the prognosis of gastric cancer.

Many commentators and some writers of anthropological works hold that the 30th Quranic verse of the Surah Ar-Rum argues for the immutability of Fitra (innate nature), but the irrefutable observation about the change in innate nature in terms of "intensity and weakness" and "actuality and strength" as well as the implication of numerous verses that innate nature can change and even decline, challenges this interpretation. The present study seeks to criticize the aforementioned view that the verse argues for the immutability of innate nature and provide a correct interpretation of the verse, using thematic interpretation. The research result shows that the mentioned verse concerned with the question of "variability or invariability of innate nature"; rather, the aim of the verse is to negate any sorts of "conversion" in God's "creation"; that is, the creation of God has laws that never change. The article also examines the idea of "the irreversibility and immutability of the tradition of God" to which the verses refer.

Finding the relationship between Quranic verses contributes to a proper understanding of verses and to the understanding of some ambiguous concepts. In commentary books, a number of related verses are mentioned, and having pairs of verses in one paragraph in commentary books and books of Quranic sciences can demonstrate the conceptual relationship between Quranic verses. The software books of Jam’i Tafsir Noor published by the Center of Computer Research in Islamic Sciences devote special attention to extracting the most frequent conjunctions from the verses that come together in one paragraph. This study shows that using data mining techniques contribute to finding and showing the hidden correlations between the data. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of this research has gone through two stages; in the first, the support and reliability coefficients, Lift criterion, Jaccard and cosine similarity were used to evaluate duplicate patterns, rules of coherence and accuracy of discovering the relationship between the verses and in the second, the results obtained from comparing this research with the work of other researchers show that the present research takes priority over the rivaling works.

One major component in designing breeding programs is accurate assessment of breeding values. In most countries, selection decisions in animal breeding are usually based on predicted genetic values obtained using best linear unbiased predictors (BLUP). The first applications of BLUP and mixed linear models are associated with assuming homogeneous variance components. However, numerous studies have showed that there exists heterogeneity variance for milk yield and genetic and residual variances are not constant between herd and different production level. The level of herd production, management and nutritional practices and breeding strategies are heterogeneous variance factors. The problem of heterogeneous variances in genetic evaluation of dairy cows is that above average animals in the more variable herds may be over evaluated and larger proportion of animals is selected from these herds than when variance is homogeneous. When heterogeneity is not properly taken into account, differences in variance components can result in biased estimates of breeding values, in-correct ranking of sire and dams elite and reduced genetic progress. In evaluation of dairy cows, a simple method to reduce heterogeneous phenotypic variance, is pre-adjustment of records prior to fitting the animal model. The objectives of this study were to investigate the heterogeneity variance components for milk test-day records as well as the impact of data pre-adjustment method on on genetic parameters, breeding values and re-ranking of the top sires and dams in the Iranian Holstein cows.

In this research, heterogeneity of variance components for milk production trait was investigated by using 1843985 test-day records of first parity of Iranian Holstein cows. Collected records were including 199353 cows in 983 herds that were collected by the Animal Breeding Center and Promotion of Animal Products of Iran. According to the average of herd-year production three groups (high, medium and low) were identified. The heterogeneity of variances was studied using the Bartlett’s test. A pre-correction method was used to correct heterogeneity of variance. Variance components, genetic correlations, heritabilities as well as animals’ breeding values (BVs) were estimated by ASreml program, using animal model. Spearman's rank correlations and re-ranking of top sire and dam before and after data pre-correction were estimated. The number of best sires and cows removed from top animal list after adjustment the heterogeneity of variance was obtained in order to investigate the benefit of this adjustment.

The results of Leven’s test for milk test-day records before data pre-correction were significant (P<0.001) which indicated the heterogenous of variances. Data correction did not result in homogeneity of variance across the herd-year classes but the heterogeneity of variance was decreased by 25%. Applying of the pre-correction method resulted in slightly higher heritabilities so that estimates of total heritabilities were 0.319±0.007 and 0.351 ±0.009 before and after adjustment for heterogeneity of variance, respectively. Additive genetic correlations for milk test-day records were estimated in the range of 0.345 to 0.985 before and 0.403 to 0.996 after pre-correction, respectively. Adjustment of data had a considerable effects on the top 1% of animals and caused that 14% and 20% of top sires and dams, respectively, to be excluded from selection when compared to the homogenous variance scenario. Substantially different in re-ranking of top animals occurred and the best of sire and dam cows had rank 8 and 23 after adjustment of heterogeneity of variance

The results showed that variance components of test-day records based on different production levels in Holstein cow population are not homogeneous and heterogeneity of variance may influence the ranking and genetic evaluation of top animals.

Adrenergic receptors have an important role in neural excitability and synaptic plasticity. Despite a lot of studies on these receptors, their exact role in brain disorders accompanied with hyperexcitability has not been determined. There are also controversies on their role in synaptic plasticity. In this review article, the important studies done in this regard have been reviewed to achieve a good summary of the effects of these receptors on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity. Despite the controversial results that have been reported in previous studies, it seems that alpha-1 and alpha-2 receptors decrease the neuronal excitability during seizure. Alpha 1A receptors, by acting on inhibitory interaneurons and increasing the GABAergic activity, are primarily responsible for the inhibitory function of alpha-1 receptors in reducing neuronal excitability, while beta-1 receptors may increase the excitability by increasing glutamate release. Moreover, alpha-1 receptor activity mostly induces long-term weakening in synapses. On the other hand, beta-adrenergic receptors increase the neuronal excitability and induce long-term potentiation through increasing both the glutamate release and the neurogenesis.

The theory of "separation of powers" is one of the most important theories and concepts in public law. Many authors have called this theory one of the most important means of restraining power. The basis of this theory is that each power system must have a specific task and not interfere with other powers’ particular affairs. Some have considered Montesquieu, the philosopher and the famous French lawyer of the eighteenth century, as the creator of the theory of separation of powers, but scholars such as Plato, Aristotle, Hugo Grotius, Pufendorf, and Jean Bodin are among the scholars who have spoken before about this. This theory is also reflected in the thought of Ibn Khaldun, who lived centuries before Montesquieu. Although Ibn Khaldun has not discussed the colloquial concept of “separation of powers”, he has spoken clearly about the necessity of separating the triple tasks and the limitation of power. After looking at the notion of "separation of powers", the author has made a comparative study of this subject in Ibn Khaldun and Montesquieu's thought, having a documentary and comparative approach. The novelty of this study is that it has corrected the common mistake made by Ibn Khaldun in his acceptance of the theory of "separation of powers" and proposed his correct theoretical form (acceptance of division of labor and distribution of duties) by citing his written works.

Nowadays, bone tissue repair with increasing bone disorders and injuries have special importance. Bone tissue engineering provided specific solutions to these problems. The present study was conducted with the aim of purification of recombinant fusion peptide containing hydroxyapatite affinity tag using the ceramic chromatography column.

In this study, a fusion peptide was designed which at one side comprised the heparin-binding domain sequence, which can be attached to various types of growth factors involved in tissue repair and entrap these factors at the site of the lesion. On the other side, it contained a tag, which included a sequence derived from a laboratory study based on phage expression. The reason for keeping the sequence of this tag is to attach the peptide to the scaffold containing hydroxyapatite and purifying the recombinant peptide by the hydroxyapatite column. Therefore, the gene sequence was optimized and synthesized for expression in the prokaryotic host of E.coli strain BL21. Then the gene sequence was subcloned by double digestion with the SacI and BamHI enzymes into the expression vector of pET-21a(+). The expression of the recombinant peptide was investigated by SDS-PAGE and western blot. In order to optimize the purification conditions, two-step purification was carried out by applying fundamental changes in the main work method of the manufacturer company and was purified with acceptable purity. Finally, the existence of peptide assemblies was investigated by the SLD method.

The results of PCR cloning, enzymatic digestion using SacI and BamHI enzymes and sequencing indicated the accuracy of the cloning process. On the other hand, expression of the fusion peptide was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot techniques, and its migration onto the gel resulted in a band cleavage of about 12 kDa. Changes made to the manufacturer's workflow allowed the purification process to be optimized and the results of the DLS method showed the purity of the purified peptide.

The results indicate the desirable expression and remarkable purity of the fusion peptide designed in this study.

Since electroencephalography (EEG) signal contains temporal information and fMRI carries spatial information, we can reasonably expect that a combination of the two contributes greatly to precise localization of epileptic focuses. With that in mind, we have first extracted spike patterns from outside of scanner EEG, through detecting and averaging the interictal epileptiform discharges (IED). Then, having implemented the correlation between the identified pattern and inside-scanner EEG, an automated system was developed to extract the temporal information when an epileptic seizure is triggered. We proceeded to convolve the obtained regressor with the hemodynamic response function (HRF) using the general linear model (GLM) for the purpose of localizing the epileptic focus. This study was conducted on 6 medication-resistant patients with epilepsy whose data was recorded in the National Brain Mapping Lab (NBML). The results of the proposed method are in line with the information provided in EEG for each of the 6 patients, and for the 4 patients who were candidates for brain surgery, they provided further information. The results suggest a significant improvement in localization accuracy and precision compared to existing methods in the literature.

Trehalose, as a natural disaccharide, is known as an autophagy inducer. The neuroprotectiveeffects of trehalose in the rat model of Parkinson′s disease were the aim of the present study.Parkinson′s disease model was induced by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in thestriatum of male Wistar rats. Apomorphine-induced behavior and substantia nigra neuronalcounts were applied to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of trehalose. The autophagy wasstudied using the expression of p62 and LC3II/LC3I ratio. In addition, the antioxidant effectsof trehalose were assessed by analyzing the levels of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like2 (Nrf2) and also glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and Catalase(CAT) enzymes. Moreover, the levels of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) anddopamine (DA) were assessed.The behavioral test showed that trehalose in the treatment groupreduced the damage to the substantial nigra dopaminergic neurons, which was characterizedby improved motor and reduced rotations in the treatment group as compared with the lesiongroup. In the histological examinations of the treatment group, trehalose prevented thedestruction of dopaminergic neurons. Trehalose treatments increased autophagy (high LC3II/LC3I ratio) and the expression of the p62 protein as well. Through p62-dependent manner,it led to increased nuclear translocation of Nrf2 transcription factor and elevated expressionof downstream antioxidant enzymes, such as GR, GPx, and CAT, restoring DA and DOPACcontents of the cells. In the current study, trehalose simultaneously protects substantia nigradopaminergic cells by activating both non-canonical p62/SQSTM1-Keap1-Nrf2 and autophagypathways.

One of the most well-known multimodality techniques is the integration of EEG and fMRI datasets. Convolution of EEG signals with hemodynamic response function is one of the most important methods to consider the effect of HRF in the fusion of EEG and fMRI data. However, the latencies and amplitudes of ERPs and fMRI spatial components are affected by the low pass filtering effect of HRF in each trial. In this paper, we have proposed a new method based on Advanced Coupled Matrix Tensor Factorization model to jointly factorize the EEG tensor and fMRI matrix while we simultaneously remove the effect of HRF through decomposition of fMRI dataset. Applying the proposed method to an auditory oddball paradigm of simultaneous EEG-fMRI recording, the well-known ERP of oddball paradigm and the corresponding fMRI spatial maps are estimated. The results demonstrate that our proposed approach is strongly capable of extracting the ERPs and their corresponding fMRI spatial components, while simultaneously estimates the trial to trial variations of these factors with accurate amplitude and latency in each trial.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) has at least two major roles in the evaluation of epileptic patients. First, MRS can help to understand the interaction between seizures and metabolic function. Thus, MRS is particularly interesting for basic science studies of seizures and epilepsy. Second, MRS can explain the nature of seizure control and/or provide localization information by measuring metabolic changes. So MRS can be used as a powerful complementary technique to structural MRI for diagnosis and assessment of response to therapy, and measurement of disease progression. The aim of this paper is to review the methodological aspects of 1H-MRS publications between 1994 to 2016, which utilized 1H-MRS in lateralizing the epileptogenic zone in lesional and non-lesional Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE), Extra-Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ETLE), and generalized epileptic patients to help the spectroscopist, magnetic resonance imaging technologists, and radiologists to improve the overall diagnostic sensitivity in epileptic patients.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania species. The early diagnosis is by clinical symptoms and direct observation of the parasites. Molecular methods are more sensitive than the direct microscopy. The identity of the species in Sistan-Baluchistan province has not been taken yet. ITS-rDNA was used to detect the species of Leishmania in patients in Sistan-Baluchistan province using molecular methods. This study was conducted during 2014-2015. 82 positive smear samples were collected for molecular studies. The parasites were inoculated in N.N.N culture (with RPMI-1640 medium and 10% fetal calf serum) for rapid proliferation. After DNA extraction, the PCR-RFLP was carried out to determine the Leishmania species. SPSS and Multalin software were used to analyze the results. 46 (56%) and 36 patients (44%) were diagnosed with Leishmania major and Tropica respectively. The dominant species in the city of Chabahar and Mirjaveh was Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major respectively. In the center region of the province, both leishmania major and tropica was diagnosed as responsible for the disease. PCR-RFLP has high sensitivity for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis and rapid species identification of the parasites.

A new topology for the design of microwave narrow band-pass filters (NBPFs) with wide out of band rejection and sharp edges, based on the use of Composite Right-Left Handed (CRLH) Transmission Line (TL) concept is presented. The proposed NBPF has been realized by using two different sections. The left-handed section is implemented by etching spiral complementary split ring resonator (SCSRR) unit-cell in the ground plane as well as series interdigital capacitors in the upper metal level while the right-handed section is implemented by etching SCSRR unit-cell in the ground plane and conventional microstrip transmission line shorted via a hole in the upper metal level. Accordingly, CRLH transmission line concept is implemented by this configuration which acts as a narrow band-pass filter. Because of the smaller electrical size of spiral resonators, the total electrical size of the proposed NBPF can be reduced by using this proposed configuration. Compared with some other reported NBPFs, the presented NBPF has great improvements in size reduction and selectivity. Consequently, a compact NBPF is designed which exhibits extremely sharp rejection skirts around the target passband. The equivalent circuit model of the designed filter and full-wave simulation results of the NBPF are also developed. To validate the design concept, the proposed NBPF has been fabricated and tested. Experimental verification is provided and good agreement has been found between simulation and measurement. The proposed NBPF has a passband which covers 2.25 to 2.45 GHz and its measured 3 dB fractional bandwidth is about 8.5%. The total size of the proposed NBPF is 0.25 λg× 0.06 λg, where λg is the guided wavelength at the center passband.

The effects of spark and injection characteristics as well as split injection on the performance and emissions of a spray-guided gasoline direct injection (SG-GDI) engine operating close to stoichiometric conditions are assessed. To accomplish this, a 6-holes injector is simulated and the results are validated against available experimental data for spray penetration length. In addition, an open-cycle multi-dimensional model is developed for a port fuel injection (PFI) engine and the model outcomes are verified against in-cylinder pressure profile and normalized heat release rate. The GDI engine model is yielded under the light of embedment of the above-mentioned models. The model is then employed for investigation of the effects of injector angle, injection pressure, start of first and second injections and two-stage fuel injection with different fuel mass ratios at first and second injections, i.e., split injection, on mixture formation, combustion and engine emissions. The results show the pivotal role of the injector angle on formation of the mixture and output power. On the other hand, it is indicated that while practicing the split injection strategy, the flammability of the relatively stratified lean mixture with fuel to air equivalence ratio of 1.15 around the spark plug, surpasses that of stratified mixture.

In this research, the artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multi-layered non-fuzzy inductive inference system (ANFIS) were used to model the output energy in dairy and beef cattle farms. For this purpose, according to Cochran's relation, 105 beef and dairy farms were randomly selected from five townships which were the main producers of this sector in Mazandaran province from 2016-2017. Using the energy balance of inputs and outputs, the input and output energy averages in beef production farms were calculated to be 16994.76 and 3449.85 MJcow-1 and for dairy production farms were equal to 100100 and 58277 MJcow-1, respectively. Also, ER (Energy Ratio), EP (Energy Productivity), SE (Special Energy) and NE (Net Energy) indices for dairy production farms were 0.58, 0.08 KgMJ-1, 12.5 MJKg-1 and -41825.93 MJcow-1, respectively and for beef production farms were calculated as 0.2, 0.02 KgMJ-1, 50 MJKg-1and 13544.91 MJcow-1, respectively. Using the results of statistical analysis of the data, modeling of the output energy for each unit of input energy was performed by two above methods (ANNs and ANFIS). The results showed that the model of nervous- fuzzy inference comparative multi-layered system with the correlation coefficient of 0.9899 for steer farms and 0.9933 for dairy farms, had better performance and accuracy than that of the artificial neural network with the correlation coefficient of 0.8118 and the structure of 6-16-1 for beef farms and correlation coefficient of 0.9837 and the structure of 5-12-1 for dairy farms.

Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the pathogenic filamentous fungi that could cause opportunistic infection, allergy and poisoning. Since, genetic sequencing of some of these fungi has been completed, identifying the protein profile of these fungus cells is necessary. One of these genes is the Annexin family. Annexin C4 is a new member of fungal annexins. This study investigates the effect of ANXC4 mutant gene in proteome profile of Aspergillus Fumigatus. Moreover, in order to enhance the power of protein complex separation, we used an optimized prefractionation method. Using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography eight fractions were separated. Then to confirm the protein concentration, each fraction was tested by SDS-PAGE. Protein profile of these fractions was analyzed using 2-DE, and Image Master software. Among the proteins identified statistically, two emerging proteins were observed. The results show that the expression of ANXC4 could affect the expression of some proteins in A.Fumigatus. To accurately identify these proteins, further experiments are needed including Mass spectrometry analysis.

In this study, linear alkyl-benzene calcium sulfonate nanoparticles were made using linear alkylbenzene. Calcium sulfonate nanoparticles are widely used as an additive in a variety of engine oils and have cleansing, anti-wear and anti-oxidant properties and anti-corrosion properties. In this method, a sulfonation set up was constructed and sulfonation reaction was carried out both directly and indirectly with Oleum, which in the indirect method had better yield and the amount of acid used was much less. Sulfonation was carried out on two types of light and heavy alkylbenzene the calcification step was carried out with CaO, and then the supernatural stage and carbonation with CO2 and CaO were performed for the first time with Ethanol green promoter, and The Total Base Number amount of for calcium was measured at different times. Carbonation time is very important and sensitive. In this research, residual sediments were reused in the carbonation reaction, and excellent results were obtained. It was also observed that the synthesis of linear calcium sulfonate nanoparticles with a high Total Base Number and a stable structure can only be carried out with heavy alkylbenzene C26. In this work, linear calcium sulfonate alkylated benzene nanoparticles were made completely transparent. (and) The Total Base Number 470, and the weight percent of calcium also reached 17.4, and the nanoparticle stability was also tested using the standard ASTM D2273 method. This result compared with two commercially available linear calcium sulfonate nanoparticles.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an eight-week aerobic training  program and chlorella supplementation on brain antioxidants of diabetic male rats. Fifty male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=10): aerobic training (AT), chlorella, training + chlorella, diabetic control and healthy control groups. Training was performed on a treadmill for eight weeks (5 sessions per week). Chlorella groups consumed chlorella powder solution once a day for eight weeks, each time with a dose of 5% of body weight. The rats of all the groups were anesthetized and sacrificed 48 hours following the last training session and after extraction of brain tissue, the levels of catalase and superoxide dismutase enzymes were measured. The activity of both enzymes (CAT and SOD) in all diabetic rats was higher than that in the healthy control group and of all three types of intervention led to a decrease in the amount of activity of these enzymes induced by diabetes. Also, the cumulative effect of supplementation and exercise was better than each other alone (P<0.05). Chlorella consumption and exercise in the brain of diabetic rats, contrary to expectation, were associated with an increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes, which appears to be due to the brain's efforts to relieve oxidative stress in the brain.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent movement disorder in elderly with progressive motor complications due to antioxidant defense system deficiency and accumulation of degraded proteins in dopaminergic neurons of midbrain. Ginkgolide is biologically active terpenic lactones as a polyphenol, with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of Ginkgolide in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model of PD. Intrastriatal 6-OHDA-parkinson’s disease rat model was pretreated with Ginkgolide at 50 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. Apomorphine-induced rotation test was applied to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of Ginkgolide. In addition, the antioxidant effects of Ginkgolide were assessed by analyzing the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), Glutathione-S-transferase (GST), reactive oxygen species (ROS) homovanillic acid (HVA), and dopamine (DA). Ginkgolide pretreatment led to reduced nigral and striatal TBARS, and ROS and increased the levels of GST, HVA, and DA. Meanwhile, Ginkgolide attenuates apomorphine-induced rotational bias and reduced contra-lateral rotation in Ginkgolide treatment group. These findings indicated the neuroprotective potential of Ginkgolide in 6- OHDA rat model of PD via amelioration of oxidative stress.

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) able to cause infection for an entire lifetime. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine seroprevalence of CMV among women of reproductive age in Iran. English and Persian databases such as Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, SID, Iran doc, Iran Medex, Magiran, and Medlib were searched (from 2008 to 2017) accurately using the key-words: Cytomegalovirus, Pregnant women or Pregnancy, Epidemiology, Prevalence and Iran. Results of 15 studies with total samples of 5253 persons from 2008 to 2017 were combined and meta-analyzed. The pooled prevalence rate of IgG among women was estimated 90% (95% CI: 87-93%). The highest prevalence rate of IgG was in Tehran, Rasht, Mashhad and Yasoj, all 100% (95% CI: 100-100%), and the low-est prevalence was in Jahrom 0.62% (95% CI: 53-71%). The overall prevalence rate of IgM among women was estimated at 0.06% (95% CI: 0.03-0.13%). The highest prevalence rate of IgM was in Kerman 0.34% (95% CI: 0.29-0.39%) and Mashhad 0.25% (95% CI: 0.2-0.31%), and the lowest prevalence was in Yasoj 0% (95% CI: 0.00%-0.00%) The prevalence of immunity in Iran, is satisfactory. Nevertheless, to maintain and increase the level of immunity across the country, it is necessary to routinely screen the women of reproductive ages across the country.

The present article is a review and critique of the book of Meaning in Visual Arts, by Erwin Panofsky. He is one of the mos t famous his torians of the twentieth century, who linked the European tradition of art his toriography with the American tradition, with his theories. Mos t of this author’s reputation is due to his innovative method of interpreting the artis tic symbols, called iconology. The book consis ts of three important articles by Panofsky and a critique by American scholar, Michael Ann Holly. The three primary articles of the book summarize Panofsky’s views on the methodology of his art his toriography and his methodology of iconology. The present article deals with the analysis of each of the articles in the four main sections. These sections relate, respectively, to the Panofsky’s theory of art his tory, the pathology of iconology methods in the his tory of art, the development of the Theory of Human Proportions in art, as well as a critical analysis of Panofsky’s views.

The aim of this study ws to evaluate knowledge and attitude towards euthanasia and understanding of  its pitfalls in medical education.

In a cross-sectional study in fall and winter 2015, medical students at different educational levels were asked to participate in this study. A questionnaire which was adopted from 3 foreign surveys after Persian translation by backward-forward method was used.  

The response rate was 88.36%. The reliability of the tool using Cronbach’s α was 0.72. The most common problem was detection of active involuntary euthanasia. In all, 67.2% were unable to define forbidden tasks for a critically ill patient. 84.9% agreed to ratify the law to introduce permissible cases of euthanasia. However, 62.4% were concerned about misuse of such law by some people, 77.6% were agreed euthanasia about themselves in complex medical situations. In all, 66.7% believed palliative medicine is a good way to relief patent's unpleasant symptoms, to Improve patient's quality of life.  

It seems that lack of awareness of the advances in palliative medicine and its goal to Improve the quality of life in dying patient is one of the reasons for the relatively high level of agreement for doing euthanasia.

Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain stem is the main pathological aspect of Parkinson’s disease (PD). 17 β-estradiol (E2) has neuroprotective effects on substantia nigra, however, the underlined mechanism is not well-known. In this study, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of E2 in the ovariectomized 6-hydroxydopamine- (6-OHDA) rat model of PD. In this experimental study, all animals were ovariectomized to avoid any further bias in E2 levels and then these ovariectomized rats were randomly assigned into three experimental groups (10 rats in each group): ovariectomized control group (OCG), ovariectomized degeneration group receiving 25 μg of 6-OHDA into the left corpus striatum (ODG), and ovariectomized E2 pretreatment group pretreated with 0.1 mgkg-1of 17 β-estradiol for three days prior to the destruction of corpus striatum with 6-OHDA (OE2PTG). The apomorphine behavioral test and Nissl staining were performed in all experimental groups. The expressions of Sequestosome-1 (P62), Unc- 51 like autophagy activating kinase (Ulk1), and microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (Lc3) genes were evaluated using reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). E2 administration reduced the damages to the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. The motor behavior, the number of rotations, and histological tests in the treatment group showed the cell survival improvement in comparison with the control groups indicating that E2 can inhibit the neurodegeneration. P62 and Lc3 were expressed in all experimental groups while Ulk1 was not expressed in ODG group. Moreover, Ulk1 was expressed after the treatment with E2 in OE2PTG group. E2 prevents neurodegeneration in dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain by over-expression of Ulk1 gene and augmenting the induction of autophagy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity of gold nanorods (GNRs) on the viability of spermatogonial cells (SSCs) and mouse acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells (EL4s). In this experimental study, SSCs were isolated from the neonate mice, following enzymatic digestion and differential plating. GNRs were synthesized, then modified by silica and finally conjugated with folic acid to form F-Si-GNRs. Different doses of F-Si-GNRs (25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 140 µM) were used on SSCs and EL4s. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) proliferation assay was performed to examine the GNRs toxicity. Flow cytometry was used to confirm the identity of the EL4s and SSCs. Also, the identity and functionality of SSCs were determined by the expression of specific spermatogonial genes and transplantation into recipient testes. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using an annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) kit. Flow cytometry showed that SSCs and EL4s were positive for Plzf and H-2kb, respectively. The viability percentage of SSCs and EL4s that were treated with 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 140 µM of F-Si-GNRs was 65.33 ± 3.51%, 60 ± 3.6%, 51.33 ± 3.51%, 49 ± 3%, 30.66 ± 2.08% and 16.33 ± 2.51% for SSCs and 57.66 ± 0.57%, 54.66 ± 1.5%, 39.66 ± 1.52%, 12.33 ± 2.51%, 10 ± 1% and 5.66 ± 1.15% for EL4s respectively. The results of the MTT assay indicated that 100 µM is the optimal dose to reach the highest and lowest level of cell death in EL4s and in SSCs, respectively. Cell death increased with increasing concentrations of F-Si-GNRs. Following utilization of F-Si-GNRs, there was a significant difference in the extent of apoptosis between cancer cells and SSCs.

Astragalus is one of the most valuable medicinal plants in Iran. The species of Astragalus verus is a native species of tragacant producer. Due to the importance of this species in the production of tragacant, exposed to extinction, the role of seed in its reproduction, as well as the possibility of its reproduction using micropropagation, this study was conducted with the aim of breaking seed dormancy, seed germination and direct regeneration of this plant. First, the effect of surface scratching on breaking of seed dormancy was investigated. Then, the effect of culture medium and sucrose concentration on seed germination and sterile seedling production was studied as factorial based on completely randomized design. The explants of hypocotyle and epicotyle were cultured on MS medium supplied by B5 vitamin containing BAP in 3 levels and IAA in 2 levels due to multiple shoot production. Rooting of multiple shoots was carried out on 1/2MS medium containing IAA in 2 levels and IBA in 3 levels based on completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 5 repeat.Scraping increased the germination rate by an average of 98%. Different media and sucrose concentration had no effect on germination percentage. With increasing sucrose, were increased the stem and root length, fresh weight and seedling dry weight. The highest percentage of shoots was obtained in MS medium containing 2 mg /L BAP without IAA with an average of 4.6 pcs. The highest percentage of rooting was obtained with 1.5 mg/l IAA with an average of 60%. The results of this study can be used in micropropagation, gene transformation and in vitro tragacant production.