Analysis of causes and outcomes of corneal transplantation in al-zahra eye hospital in southeast of Iran from 2011-2016

Background: Corneal transplantation is known as the most successful and common type of organ transplant, but it calls for more intensive and long-term care. Given the lack of adequate information on this important surgery in this province and the differences between indications and causes of corneal transplantation, the present research was carried out to examine the causes and outcomes of corneal transplant in patients visiting Al-Zahra eye hospital who had received donated cornea in the past five years.Methods: In a retrospective analytical-descriptive study 135 files of 149 eyes that had gone through corneal transplantation were examined. Information on the age, gender, residence, indications, and surgery consequences was extracted and was analyzed in SPSS 19 statistical software with descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation.Results: The highest transplant indication was keratoconus with a frequency of 39.9% followed by bullous keratopathy, corneal opacity, and transplant rejection with frequencies of 16.1, 12.7, and 10.1%, respectively. Other indications were corneal scar (9.4%), corneal perforation (2.7%), trauma (2.7%), and Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy (1.3%) in the order mentioned. Concerning postoperative complications in this research, 57.7% of the eyes (86 cases) showed no complication. Moreover, complications were mostly related to astigmatism with a frequency of 30.8% (46 cases).Conclusions: In general, the most common indication in this research was keratoconus. Most surgeries were also complication-free and most complications were associated with astigmatism

Restoring the Web: Personal and Communal Integration in N. Scott Momaday\u27s House Made of Dawn and Leslie Marmon Silko\u27s Ceremony

Restoring the Web asserts that N. Scott Momaday\u27s House Made of Dawn and Leslie Marmon Silko\u27s Ceremony are novelized emergence myths, detailing the emergence of their respective protagonists\u27 identities. Abel and Tayo\u27s journey employ the framework of the monomyth of separation, initiation, and return. Explored by the essay are separation from self, family, and community. Community includes the earth and their relationship to the natural world that has left these men on the edge of oblivion. Navajo healing ceremonies, invoking the supernatural, initiates their emergence journey, a journey of discovery, in which their identity is (re)constructed. As with all heroes who have suffered injury and overcome challenging circumstance, Abel and Tayo return to their communities with the ability to help others. Theirs is a story of hope, the antidote for what Silko calls the disease of despair

Note-Taking and Listening Comprehension of Conversations and Mini-Lectures: Any Benefit?

This study aimed at investigating the effect of note-taking strategy on listening comprehension of conversations and mini-lectures. The participants consisted of 24 Iranian high-beginner English language learners from two intact groups. One group served as a control and the other one as an experimental. During the study, the experimental group benefi ted from note-taking strategy instruction (the Sentence Method) and listened to the recordings while taking notes but the control group listened to the same recordings without taking notes. A listening comprehension post-test comprising four sections was administered and a questionnaire surveyed the students’ reactions to the opportunity to take notes. The results showed no statistically signifi cant mean differences between the two groups.Key words: Note-taking strategy; The sentence method; Conversations; Mini-lecture

Frequency of cataract in Iran: A meta-analysis and systematic review

PURPOSE: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness and the second cause of low vision in the world. In the world, Asia has the highest number of blind population. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the frequency of clinical cataracts in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The frequency of clinical cataract was defined based on the international criteria and the measured outcome of the disease. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. We explored PubMed, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, and national databases (scientific information database, Magiran) to evaluate the clinical cataract of cataract in the Iranian populations from 1995 to July 2017. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 14.0 software. RESULTS: Of 283 studies, 27 studies utilized meta-analysis. In 2017, the pooled overall frequency of clinical cataract in 59668 people was 9.27 (95 confidence interval CI: 8.09, 10.45, I2 = 98.82%). Based on subgroup analysis, in the random effect method, the frequency of clinical cataract in males and females were 8.03% (CI: 6.78, 9.28) and 8.32% (CI: 7.08, 9.55), respectively. CONCLUSION: Regarding the high frequency of clinical cataract in Iran, it seems that paying attention to the results of the current study and the application of international policy plans may contribute to better cataract control in Iran. © 2018 Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology

Foliar applicaton of asparagine and casein on biochemical and morphological attributes of garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) plants under greenhouse conditions

In this study, the effect of foliar application of Asparagine (ASN) and Casein (CSN) during the vegetative stage at four rates (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg l-1) was investigated on garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.). The results showed that asparagine application, especially at a high level, could significantly increase the morpho-physiological traits such as plant height, leaf and stem fresh weights and leaf and stem dry weights, leaf pigments (chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b) and leaf nutrients content (Nitrogen and Phosphorus). Also, the results indicated that casein application at 50 mg l-1 rate had the best performance through in stem and root fresh weights, stem dry weight and diameter of main stem traits. Casein application at rate 100 mg l-1 had the highest leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content. Generally, our findings suggest that the use of asparagine and casein can be considered as an appropriate growth regulator in garden cress cultivation

Fulvic acid affects pepper antioxidant activity and fruit quality

Fulvic acid has been considered as a valuable fertilizer for sustainable agriculture. The present investigation  was undertaken to evaluate the effect of fulvic acid (FA) on antioxidant compounds and fruit quality of pepper  under field conditions. Plants were grown in the Department of Horticulture Farm, Ferdowsi University of  Mashhad, Iran (latitude 36‹ 17Œ N, longitude 59‹ 35Œ E and 985 m elevation). The experiment was designed in randomized block design with three replications. Treatments consisted of five levels of fulvic acid (0, 25, 100, 175 and 250 mg kg-1). The results indicate that fruit antioxidant activity, total phenolic, carbohydrate,  capsaicin and carotenoids contents were influenced by fulvic acid, but total flavonoid and ascorbic acid  contents were not affected significantly by fulvic acid treatments applications. FA applied at 25 mg kg-1 resulted in the highest carbohydrate content, lycopene and ƒÀ-carotene contents, while the lowest values  were recorded in the control. Fulvic acid treatments positively affected fruit quality (total soluble solids and titratable acidity); total soluble solids and titratable acidity significantly increased in response to FA  treatments. These results confirm that the use of fulvic acid have a positive effect on antioxidant activity and quality of hot pepper under field conditions.Key words: Fulvic acid, antioxidant activity, quality, pepper

A Systematic Review of the Possibility of Determining Age Based on DNA Methylation of the ELOVL2 Gene in Human Samples

Background: In forensic medicine, predicting the age of a victim or suspect can be a clue to solving a crime. Epigenetics has recently played a vital role in age prediction in forensic medicine. Cytosine methylation at cytosine and guanine separated by phosphate (CpG) sites is well recognized as a novel epigenetic marker for age estimation. This study aimed to summarize the information obtained from previous studies to determine age by evaluating DNA methylation in the ELOVL2 gene.Methods: In this systematic review, all related articles published between 2012 and 2022 were extracted by searching reputable scientific databases, such as ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus. After selecting the appropriate articles, the full text of the articles was prepared and fully evaluated by the researchers. The protocol of this study was carried out based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement.Results: Out of 307 articles, 5 articles were eligible for review according to the study protocol. The strongest correlation between DNA methylation and age was observed at sites 11044644 and 11044634 on chromosome 6 in the living cases. The relationship between the chronological age and the age calculated through DNA methylation was above 90% with an approximate error ranging from 7.5 to 10.4. However, the relationship between the chronological age and the age calculated through DNA methylation was above 90% in the multivariate analysis of sites 11044624 and 11044634 on chromosome 6. In this case, the calculation error reached approximately 6.9 years. Hence, considering a combination of multiple cytosine and guanine separated by phosphate (CpG) sites improves the calculation accuracy and reduces the error percentage. The relationships between DNA methylation and the age at sites 11044880 and 11044640 on chromosome 6 were significantly less reported in the blood samples taken from the dead and in those taken from the living (nearly 64%–78.5%).Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that DNA methylation in the ELOVL2 gene could help predict a person’s biological age

RESPONSES OF EGGPLANT (SOLANUM MELONGENA L.) TO DIFFERENT RATES OF NITROGEN UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on growth and yield of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) under field conditions. Nitrogen was applied in four rates (0, 50, 100 and 150 Kg/ha). Average plant height, lateral stem number, leaf chlorophyll content, flower number, fruit weight and plant yield were determined , Increasing rates of Nitrogen significantly affected plant vegetative growth (plant height, lateral stem number, and leaf chlorophyll content).The highest lateral stem number and leaf chlorophyll content were obtained in plants receiving 150 Kg N ha -1. Nitrogen fertilizer affected flower number and the days to first flowering. Nitrogen application decreased the days to first flowering and treated plants flowered early than control. It was observed that fertilization with 100 Kg N ha-1 resulted in the highest average fruit weight and fruit yield. Our results showed that nitrogen fertilization has strongly influenced vegetative and reproductive growth of eggplant plants grown under field conditions

Individual modelling of leaf area in cress and radish using leaf dimensions and weight

Purpose: The objective of this study was to establish equations to estimate leaf area (LA) using length (L), width (W), fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW), length × width (L×W), width/length (W/L) of cress leaves as a leafy vegetable and radish  leaves as a root vegetable. Research method: An experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions to study the relationship between leaf dimension and weight with LA of these two vegetable plants. Observed LA was obtained by an automatic measuring device and leaf dimensions were measured by a ruler. Regression analyses of LA versus L, W, FW, DW, L×W and W/L led several models that could be used for estimating the area of individual cress and radish leaves. Findings: A linear model employing FW as an independent variable [LA=0.295 (Fresh W.)+ 1.430] resulted the most accurate estimate (R2 = 0.912, RMSE = 1.52) of cress LA. For radish, a linear model using W as an independent variable [LA=22.50 (W) + 7.46] showed the most accuracy (R2 = 0.874, RMSE = 11.26) for estimating LA. Validation of the regression models showed that the correlation between measured and simulated values using these equations was quite acceptable for radish and cress (R2 = 0.922, 0.876), respectively. Research limitations: Evaluation of more leafy vegetables possibly had better results. Originality/Value: The results showed that cress and radish LA could be monitored quickly, accurately, and non-destructively by using the leaf FW and leaf W models, respectively