Experiencing Maze (Taste) and Namaze (Untaste)

This article used a descriptive-analytical method to investigate the introvertive and extrovertive mystical experiences of Baha Walad and Laozi, based on the views of Walter Stace. Both types of gnostic experience are found in Baha Walad’s experiences, referred to metaphorically as “taste”. In extrovertive gnostic experience, God is hidden in the instinct and the reality of hidden senses and forms the essence of the universe. Behind all the sensual, spiritual, material, and physical phenomena of the universe, Baha experiences a God who is the agent and the possessor. The mystical introvertive and extrovertive experiences of Baha are realized by denying the senses, faces, and sensual appearances and attaining the unity which is the universe without question, without condition, and placeless. The truth of Allah is existentially based on nothingness, simplicity, and nebulousness. In Laozi's mystical experience, both types of mystical experience are found, which, unlike Baha's experience, has been metaphorically named “untaste”. In the extrovertive experience of Laozi, not only are both existence and nature Dao's manifestations, but He has a permanent presence in the world and is followed by existence and nature. In the introvertive mystical experience of Lozi, Dao is an entirely unknown and non-existent matter that eluding from any cognitive experience and only Shen Jen's soul can be aware of

Predisposing Factors for Methadone Poisoning in Children Hospitalized at ‎Kerman Afzalipour Hospital, Iran

Background: Methadone is a synthetic opioid that has been used to relieve severe pain in addiction withdrawal. Unfortunately, due to non-standard supply and storage, the incidence of poisoning and deaths caused by this drug is increasing daily. The purpose of this study was to determine the underlying causes of methadone poisoning in children admitted to Kerman Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, during 2012. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 105 children diagnosed with methadone poisoning and admitted to the pediatric emergency ward at Kerman Afzalipour Hospital. The required information was recorded through interviews with parents, patient examination, and if necessary telephone calls with the parents. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Findings: Mean age of children was 3.9 ± 2.4 years and 59.0% of them were boys. Most parents had a high school diploma or a lower level of education. In all cases, a family member or relative, or at least one person in a party they attended was an addict. In most cases, methadone was fed to the child by mistake instead of water or other drugs. Parental substance abuse, employment status, and family income were significantly associated with methadone poisoning. Conclusion: Training of methadone storage in individuals who need to use this drug can help to prevent accidental ingestion and poisoning of children

Bone Tissue Response to Plasma Sprayed Hydroxyapatite Coatings: An In Vivo Study on Rabbit Femoral Condyles

In this study, hydroxyapatite was coated on titanium substrates by plasma spraying process. A well-known porous and lamellar microstructure was found in the lateral and outer surface of coating. The phase composition was studied by XRD and the morphological and the microstructural aspects were investigated by scanning electron and optical microscopy. The hardness of coatings and substrates was measured by Vickers indentation method. For in vivo study, rabbit condyles were exposed to two groups of coated and uncoated samples. Radiographyically, different parameters such as bone lysis, sclerosis, displacement of samples and bone resorption were taken into consideration and no statistically differences between the two groups, with no sign of infection on the edges of each hole were found. Histopathological interpretation of all coated samples indicated that the extent of callus and thickness of speculae were quite distinct from that of uncoated group. In this group, the space between implant and canal was filled up with matured connective tissues and plenty of bone speculae of woven bone in nature. However, these speculaes were thinner and immature as compared to coated samples

Bone Tissue Response to Plasma Sprayed Hydroxyapatite Coatings: An In Vivo Study on Rabbit Femoral Condyles

In this study, hydroxyapatite was coated on titanium substrates by plasma spraying process. A well-known porous and lamellar microstructure was found in the lateral and outer surface of coating. The phase composition was studied by XRD and the morphological and the microstructural aspects were investigated by scanning electron and optical microscopy. The hardness of coatings and substrates was measured by Vickers indentation method. For in vivo study, rabbit condyles were exposed to two groups of coated and uncoated samples. Radiographyically, different parameters such as bone lysis, sclerosis, displacement of samples and bone resorption were taken into consideration and no statistically differences between the two groups, with no sign of infection on the edges of each hole were found. Histopathological interpretation of all coated samples indicated that the extent of callus and thickness of speculae were quite distinct from that of uncoated group. In this group, the space between implant and canal was filled up with matured connective tissues and plenty of bone speculae of woven bone in nature. However, these speculaes were thinner and immature as compared to coated samples

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Analysis of free in-plane vibrations of a rectangular plate with various boundary conditions canonical form using the modified Riley-Ritz method

This paper investigates the free in-plane vibrations of rectangular sheets under various boundary conditions using an improved Riley-Ritz method. A novel approach involving graph theory and canonical forms is introduced, marking a first in the study of symmetric structures. The research presents an advanced version of Riley’s theory for accurately computing the natural frequencies of structures, showing significant improvements in efficiency and precision over traditional methods like Monte Carlo simulations. Key findings include the ability of the upgraded Riley theory and graphs to conduct comprehensive structural reliability and sensitivity analyses, particularly in evaluating changes in failure risk and aiding in precise design. Numerical analysis demonstrates the method’s rapid convergence and accuracy, proving its effectiveness in structural analysis. The study also explores the impact of geometric parameter variations on the free vibrations of rectangular sheets, offering crucial insights for various engineering applications. These findings have broad implications in mechanical, marine, aerospace, and civil engineering, particularly in the design and analysis of structural components such as fuselages, airplanes, missiles, and tank bottoms

The Elements of Absurdity in Bahrām Sadeqī’s Malakut

Contemporary Iranian fiction writers are undoubtedly influenced by Western literature. In the 1950s, the Theater of the Absurd became one of the first and most widely recognized literary traditions in theatre, affecting both English and other languages. There are a number of Iranian writers who are influenced by that movement, including Bahrām Sadeqī. The aim of this article is to address the following questions: "Do elements of absurdity exist in Malakut?" Accordingly, “Could it be considered an absurd story?” The present article first examines the social, political, and literary contexts of the Theater of the Absurd in Europe, followed by a description of its historical accounts and its early practitioners. In addition, it is vital to analyze the appreciation and implications of absurdity in literature based on earlier credible studies of the Theater of the Absurd. The third step is to gather different examples of the selected elements from the story text, each followed by an explanation. Due to the use of many of the important elements of absurdity in his work, the writer has been able to create characters and worlds that are intricately woven with their innermost temperaments and predispositions. Thus, Malakut can be considered one of the most prominent examples of Persian absurd fiction

Antibacterial and anticancer activities of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles using Artemisia khorassanica extract: Bax and Bcl2 apoptosis gene expression analysis

Introdution: Recently, the biosynthesis of nanoparticles and the use of medicinal plants for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has attracted researchers due to its low cost and eco-friendly characteristics. The aim of this study was to synthesis of AgNPs using Artemisia khorassanica and analysis of its antibacterial and anti-cancer activities. Methods: In this experimental study, ethanolic extract of A. khorassanica was prepared and AgNPs was synthesized. Subsequently, Antibacterial and anti-cancer activities of AgNPs on lung cancer cell line were assessed using microdilution and MTT methods, respectively. Finally, the Bax and Bcl2 apoptotic gene expression was analyzed via Real Time PCR. Results: The result of antibacterial activity showed that the AgNPs had a significant effect on gram negative bacteria. In addition to, AgNPs in 100 µg/mL had significant cytotoxic effect to lung cancer cell line. The statistical analysis of Real Time PCR results by one-way ANOVA test indicated that the Bax and Bcl2 gene expression were 3.03±0.67 (P<0.001) up-regulated and 0.38±0.15 (P<0.001) down-regulated, respectively. Conclusion: The results show that the biosynthesis of AgNPs using A. khorassanica extract is low-cost and simple and due to its antibacterial and anticancer activities can be used as drug candidate

Comparing the Musculoskeletal Profile of the Elderly With and Without History of Falling

Objectives: The purpose of current study was to study and compare the musculoskeletal profile of the&nbsp;elderly with and without the history of falling living at nursing homes in Rasht, Iran. Methods & Materials: A total of 54 elderly men and women, aged 60 years and older participated in this&nbsp;study. Of them, 16 (fall group) experienced a fall in the previous year [Mean(SD) of age: 79(9.90) years;&nbsp;height: 1.51(0.103) m; and weight: 60.03(11.12) kg] and 38 (no fall group) had no history of falling [Mean(SD) of age: 70.16(8.16) years; height: 1.56(0.11) m; and weight 65.6(14.93) kg]. The foot arch, distance&nbsp;between femoral condyles, kyphosis, lordosis, flexibility and the ability to walk were measured by ruler,&nbsp;caliper, flexible ruler, sit and reach test, and functional gait assessment questionnaires, respectively. Data&nbsp;analysis was done through independent t-test using SPSS. Study significance level was set at 0.05. Results: In the fall group the mean(SD) of measured variables were as follows: body mass index (BMI): 25.95(3.35) kg/m2; foot arch: 9.94(4.34) mm; flexibility: 8.25(6.38) cm, lordosis: 20.86(9.48) degree; kyphosis: 35.07(14.98) degree. And in no fall group, the same variables were as follows: BMI: 26.87(5.12)&nbsp;kg/m2; foot arch: 10.95(5.60) mm; flexibility: 8.16(5.24) cm; lordosis 26.66(14.78) degree; and kyphosis: 41.11(9.84) degree. These variables were not significantly different between the groups; however, the&nbsp;functional gait assessment and distance between femoral condyles test showed significant differences. In the group with a history of fall, the functional gait assessment and distance between femoral condyles&nbsp;were 12.50(7.07) and 2.74(2.38) cm and in the group without a history of fall functional gait assessment&nbsp;and distance between femoral condyles were 23.63(5.49) and 1.20(1.4) cm, respectively. According to&nbsp;the results, in the fall group, the distance between femoral condyles was more and the performance&nbsp;level was less (P&le;0.05). Conclusion: Results showed that none of the variables of foot arch, flexibility, lordosis, and kyphosis were&nbsp;significantly different between 2 groups and were not risk factors for falling among older people. While&nbsp;the distance between femoral condyles and functional gait assessment in 2 groups were significantly&nbsp;different. It seems that functional gait assessment test and the distance between two condyles were the&nbsp;best indexes for the distinction between 2 groups. Perhaps, this method can be used as an appropriate&nbsp;way for predicting and consequently preventing the elderly from falling

Electrophoretic Deposition of Hydroxyapatite: Electrophoretic deposition of hydroxyapatite

The purpose of this study was to investigate the deposition of the hydroxyapatite(HA) coating via the electrophoresis procedure. The HAdeposition was performedin an ethanol, methanol, acetone and isopropanol suspension. Methanol was foundto be the best deposition media. Among the different environmental conditions,including the encapsulation of the samples under two vacuum types of pressure(10-5-10-4and 2×10-2Torr) and also thepurge of the argon gas in the tube-likefurnace, the optimum environment was the one demonstrating the encapsulation underthe vacuum pressure of 2×10-2Torr (washing with argon gas of 99.9% purity). Afterthe examination of 3 sintering temperatures (1020, 1050 and 1100 ºC), the sinteringtemperature at 1050 ºC illustrated the most desired results. The samples sintered underthese conditions were apparently intact, most of the interfacial part of the coatingwas found to be attached to the substrate surface irregularities and no single crackswere observed