Persia, the Land of Shiite Faith: The Migration of Imam Ahl al-Bayt and the Encounter between Two Belief Systems in Persia

This article attempts to trace the fundamental role of early Persian beliefs, Zoroastrians, to the decision of Ahl al-Bayt’s choice to migrate to Persia (Iran). This research is based on the fact that there are many places for pilgrimage to imams in Iran.  Specifically, this research investigates the similarity of several concepts in both religions, Zoroaster and Islam, regarding the teaching in the principle of God (Ilahiyyah), the principle of life after death (eschatology), and the principle of justice and morals of the religion embraced before Islam in Persia. Several studies have also reported on the distortions, opposition, and the consequences of encountering the two beliefs for the first time between Persian beliefs and Islamic teachings. This study employs a qualitative method with historical analysis and literature study along with relevant information of the study.  This article also uses the theory of migration and identity to see the interconnectedness of religion in the migration context. The results of this study show the factors that the Persians are interested in accepting and understanding the teachings of Islam. Those are: first, the emotional closeness of beliefs and moral values between Muslims and Zoroastrians (Magi); Second, the inclusive nature of Islam; third, the absence of racial, gender, and status discrimination in Islamic teachings. The descendants of imams Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet Muhammad SAW continued the prophet's preaching and the Imams in expanding the spread of Islamic teachings to various regions. During this expansion process, they found Iran as the most secure, and suitable region to accept the presence and teaching of Islam especially the Shiite sect. Therefore, they decided to migrate to Iran, and until now Iran is known as a Shiite country

Effect of aggregate on elasticity and strength properties of mortars under simulated exposure conditions.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between properties of rock and the corresponding mortars under different environmental conditions as determined by compressive stress testing. The mortars were prepared with different type of aggregates but the same proportions of water, cement and aggregate. The rock aggregates were mostly carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite). The mortar blocks were cured for 28 days. Three cores were drilled from each mortar block. The cores were first tested for water adsorption and absorption. Then, a series of compressive tests, up to 6.9 MPa (1000 psi), were performed on the mortar cores. The compressive tests were carried out under seven different environmental conditions: room (ambient) relative humidity (about 40% RE) and 98% RH, saturated in water, and saturated in 3% NaCl solution. All the tests were done at room temperatures (about 21°C) and freezing temperature (-20°C). The mortar data so obtained were then combined with the rock aggregate test results from previous studies, which included compressive tests (under same conditions), adsorption, absorption and magnesium sulphate loss. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, page: 1478. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2001

Comparison of the Precision of Measurements in Three Types of Micropipettes according to NCCLS EP5-A2 and ISO 8655-6

Micropipettes or piston pipettes are used to make most volume measurements in fields such as health, chemistry, biology, pharmacy and genetics. Laboratories must ensure that results obtained using these instruments are reliable; therefore, it is necessary to calibrate micropipettes. Before the start of the calibration process, we must check the precision of measurements. The objective of this work is to compare several methods for calculating the precision of three kinds of micropipettes according to the reference value in ISO 8655-6. The medical tests will not have accurate results, if the volume of the liquid doesn’t transfer precisely by micropipettes. Thus, the physician might potentially face problems in the disease diagnosis and its control. In the NCCLS EP5-A2, there is a method to specify and assess the precision of micropipettes by using CV (Coefficient of Variation). Also there are other methods to estimate and test the CV theory, in the formal statistics texts which could be applied to assess the micropipettes precision. In this research we evaluate the precision of lab micropipettes. Three brands of micropipettes, A, B and C are assigned to measure the distilled water mass by using accurate scale which is accurate up to 10-6 to measure 50-gram weights. The experimental environment is a metrology lab which is approved by Iran Standard and Industrial Researches Organization. A technician sampled at the beginning of the experiment and then after 2 hours, the same technician repeated the sampling. Overall, each micropipette is used to measure 40 times with 10-repeat times for single measurement in 28 work days. Common statistical methods are used to estimate and test the CV. Point estimation of CV for micropipettes A, B and C were 0.50%, 0.64% and 1.56%, respectively. Furthermore, the upper limit of 95% confidence bounds for these three micropipettes using the exact method were 0.53%, 0.69% and 1.65%, respectively. Micropipette A met the ISO 8655-6 standard level, but micropipettes B and C did not. On average, measurement errors in micropipettes B and C were respectively 30% and 3.11 times more than micropipette A. By using the approach of CLS EP5-A2 and confidence interval for CV, precision of the three micropipettes were compared. Only one of them met the ISO 8655-6 standard level, but the others failed

Language Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Different Types of Writing Paragraph: Do the Raters Notice Such Effect.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two types of paragraph on EFL learners’ written production. It addressed the issue of how three aspects of language production (i.e. complexity, accuracy, and fluency) vary among two types of paragraphs (i.e. paragraphs of chronology and cause-effect) written by EFL learners. Thirty intermediate level learners of English participated in the study. Each learner wrote the two specified types of paragraphs in the final exam of their writing course. In the first phase of the study, separate paired t-tests were conducted on each dependent variable to see whether there were any statistically significant differences in measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency across the paragraph types. In the second phase of the study, to investigate if the raters detect the inconsistencies in the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of paragraphs written by a learner, four raters were asked to rate 12 paragraphs written by six learners whose paragraphs differed extremely in one of the three features. The findings revealed that EFL learners performed significantly better in paragraphs of chronology than the paragraphs of cause-effect in terms of fluency and accuracy. However, the analysis of complexity measures showed that there was no significant difference between the two types of paragraphs. In the qualitative analysis, it was found that raters did not consistently consider these three features in their examining the quality of the paragraphs. They paid attention to qualities such as coherence, cohesion and unity more consistently

Validity of bioconjugated silica nanoparticles in comparison with direct smear, culture, and polymerase chain reaction for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum specimens

Alireza Ekrami1, Ali Reza Samarbaf-Zadeh2, Azar Khosravi1, Behrooz Zargar3, Mohamad Alavi1, Mansor Amin2, Alireza Kiasat3 1Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, 2Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, 3Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran Background: Tuberculosis is a public health problem worldwide, and new easy to perform diagnostic methods with high accuracy are necessary for optimal control of the disease. Recently, fluorescent silica nanoparticles (FSNP) has attracted immense interest for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this study was to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical samples using bioconjugated FSNP compared with microscopic examination, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nested PCR, and culture as the gold standard. Methods: In total, 152 sputum specimens were obtained from patients who were suspected to have pulmonary tuberculosis. All samples were examined by the four techniques described. Results: The assay showed 97.1% sensitivity (95% confidence interval [CI] 91–99.2) and 91.35% specificity (CI 78.3–97.1). Furthermore, assays using variable bacterial concentrations indicated that 100 colony forming units/mL of M. tuberculosis could be detected. There were no differences between the results obtained from two types of mouse monoclonal antibody against Hsp-65 and 16 KDa antigens. Conclusion: We performed this assay in a large number of clinical samples to confirm the diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of the test and can recommend its application for diagnosis of M. tuberculosis. We believe that this method is more convenient for routine diagnosis of M. tuberculosis in sputum and will be more easily applicable in the field, and with sufficient sensitivity. Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, fluorescent silica nanoparticles, bioconjugation, IS611

A 16-Year-Old Girl with Acute Onset Respiratory Distress

A 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability (known case of Down syndrome) arrived in the emergency eepartment with complaints of severe breathlessness, bloody salivation (bright red blood or clots), and difficulty in speaking and swallowing of liquids and solids. The patient gradually developed progressive bloody salivation and hoarseness, never had any history of trauma to the head and neck and respiratory problems, and was symptomatic from the previous 48 h. Furthermore, the patient had a positive history of peptic ulcer, chronic consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and traveled out of town and drank water from a well in the mentioned period. On admission, the patient had a respiratory rate of 17 per min, pulse rate of 89 per min, blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg, 90% O2 saturation in room air, and 38°C axillary temperature. The only positive finding on physical examination was inspiratory stridor. The auscultation of lung and heart sounds was normal. Digital rectal examination revealed brown feces. Throat examination was not possible owing to lack of patient cooperation. After initial assessment and essential consideration, electrocardiography (ECG) and imaging was performed. The ECG showed normal sinus rhythm, and analysis of arterial blood gas revealed the following: pH = 7. 35, Pa-CO2 = 39 mmHg, HCO3 = 24 mEq/L, PaO2 = 89 mmHg, and O2 saturation = 92%. All other laboratory data, including complete blood counts (CBC), urine analysis, hepatic and renal function tests, and coagulation profile were in the normal range.  What is your diagnosis

Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with interstitial lung disease admitted to Razi Hospital, the North of Iran

Respiratory disease is the third cause of death, which accounts for one-seventh of all deaths worldwide and millions of people suffer from chronic lung disease in the world. Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are one of the most important lung diseases. So, we aimed to evaluate demographic data and clinical characteristics of ILD patients in our region. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on patients diagnosed with ILD who were referred to Razi Hospital, Rasht, Iran during 2013-2018. Out of a total of 300 participants, 160 (53.3%) patients were non-occupational exposed. The most prevalent clinical symptoms and signs were coughs, dyspnea, and abnormal findings in lung auscultation. Totally, 113 (37.7%) of patients mostly consumed methotrexate. Among 158 patients with reported antinuclear antibody (ANA) status, 29 (18.4%) cases were positive. In 186 (71.3%) cases with available pathological findings, alveolar wall thickening, fibroblast deposition, and honeycomb pattern was reported. Also, granulomatous lung tissue and diffuse fibrosis were detected in 58 (22.2%) patients.  ILD patients with different clinical conditions may show regional differences in risk factors, patient exposure, access to medical facilities for diagnosis and treatment, and genetic differences, which require careful attention to these factors individually in each region.

Effect of Beloved Person’s Voice on Chest Tube Removal Pain in Patients undergoing Open Heart Surgery: Fuzzy Logistic Regression Model

Chest tube removal pain is one of the important complications after open heart surgery. The removal of a chest tube is a painful and frightening experience and should be managed with as little pain and distress as possible. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of beloved person’s voice on chest tube removal pain in patients undergoing open heart surgery. 128 patients were randomly assigned to two groups: one group listened to beloved person’s voice during the procedure, and the other did not. Since pain was measured by linguistic terms, a fuzzy logistic regression was applied for modeling. After controlling for the potential confounders, based on fuzzy logistic regression, the beloved person’s voice reduced the risk of pain. Therefore, using beloved person’s voice could be effective, inexpensive and safe for distraction and reduction of pain

Pacta Sunt Servanda

The necessity of accomplishing the contract has been expressed in the form of the principle of irrevocability, the irrevocability of fulfilling the contract, fulfilling the covenant, holiness and compulsory of contracts, irrevocability and compulsory of contract. The purpose of all these principles is summarized in the contract and becomes a binding force as soon as it is created, to which the parties participating are bound by its provisions. In jurisprudence and Iranian law, the pacta sunt servanda is interpreted as the principle of the irrevocability of contracts. the pacta sunt servanda has been accepted in jurisprudence and Iranian law. The principle of irrevocability is different from that of the pacta sunt servanda. From 219 of the Civil Code, some have inferred the principle of irrevocability in the position of doubt in the revocability and irrevocability of contracts, and others have inferred the pacta sunt servanda of absolute contracts, both revocable and irrevocable. This article tries to identify the pacta sunt servanda in Iranian law, provisions, concepts, and sources and explain its differences with the principle of irrevocability and similar principles in Iranian law, jurisprudence, and foreign la