An Investigation of the Interdependence between Writing in Persian as L1 and English as L2 on Female Intermediate Students: Language Problem or Writing Problem

English is the leading foreign language enjoying a prestigious position in many countries, including Iran. Many Iranian learners start learning English from first grade of junior high school; some other people send their children to English institutes as early as primary school or even pre-school, yet the problem is that most of them have problems in obtaining the satisfactory level of proficiency either in receptive skills (Listening and Reading) or productive skills (Speaking and Writing) or in both. Among the four skills, writing is of great importance. Hence, the current study examined the interdependence between writing in Persian (L1) and English (L2). For this purpose, 30 Iranian EFL learners majoring in English Translation at Islamic Azad University of Qaemshahr were selected. First of all, a TOEFL test was used to homogenize the learners. Then, the participants were asked to write English and Persian compositions on the same topic in narrative, descriptive and expository genres in two separate sessions, first L2 compositions then L1 composition after a two- week delay. These writings were scored according to the ESL Composition Profile (Jacobs et al. 1981) by two scorers for each language. Using Pearson product-moment correlation, the correlation between L2 proficiency and L1 writing to L2 writing was examined. The outcomes displayed large correlations between L2 proficiency and L2 writing but no correlation between L1 writing and L2 writing. The findings entail some pedagogical implications for improving EFL learners' L2 writing ability through getting more knowledge in English rather than focusing on Persian writing

Clinical Results of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Frozen Shoulder

Background: Frozen shoulder is a common cause of shoulder pain and disability. Several treatments are utilized to reduce patients' pain and improve range of motion (ROM). Recent researches have been conducted on Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection. In this study, the clinical results of PRP injection for patients with frozen shoulder was assessed. Materials and Methods: Forty-four patients in phases I or II of frozen shoulder were treated with PRP. During the first session, two syringes of PRP were injected in the subacromial bursa and intra-articular space; this process was repeated after four weeks. In the second stage, PRP was injected only in the glenohumeral joint. Results: The average pre-treatment flexion was about 65°; abduction was 70°while external rotation was 22°. Also, baseline scores for VAS, DASH, and SF-12 Health Survey questionnaire were 8.4, 65.9 and 26, respectively. After 25 weeks follow-up, all patients showed significant improvement in shoulder ROM, pain, and function (p˂0.001). Patients reported 66.7% improvement in pain, 51.6% in DASH score, and 100% in SF-12 Health Survey questionnaire. They were also 65% satisfied with the treatment protocol. Conclusion: This case series study demonstrated clinically and statistically significant improvement in patients' pain and disability outcomes following PRP injection. These results provide support for PRP as a safe treatment protocol that decreases pain and increases upper limb function. In addition, it can also improve shoulder range of motion

Effect of Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells on K562 Leukemia Cell Line

Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generating considerable interest in terms of their ability. EVs defined themselves as a route for intercellular communication between the origin cells and the recipient ones by transferring information. This paper investigates the influence of peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived EVs on proliferation and apoptosis of the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line k562. Trypan blue staining was used to detect cell viability subsequently, metabolic activity was assessed by the MTT assay. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression were evaluated using flowcytometric assay after treatment of k562 cell line with MNC derived EVs. Our results showed that MNC-EVs have no inhibitory effect on k562 cell growth and proliferation. Our data did not reveal any significant variations in the case of enhancing k562 cell line growth following treatment with MNC derived EVs. It seems tumour-derived extracellular vesicles support tumour cells growth by communicating with each other through their extracellular vesicles

The Prevalence and Mortality in COVID-19 Positive Patients with Hip Fracture: a Case-Series and Literature Review

Background: The novel coronavirus has spread rapidly worldwide, with exceptionally high mortality in the elderly. Patients with hip fracture have an average age of 80 years, with an estimated 2.8 comorbidities per patient. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hip fracture care services and the associated mortality rate. Methods: PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant studies linked to mortality in COVID-19 patients who have undergone hip surgeries using the keywords “COVID-19” OR “SARS-cov-2” OR “Coronavirus Infections”; AND “Surgery” OR “Hip” OR “Fracture” OR “Orthopedics.” We included all patients with hip fractures but excluded pathological fractures and other non-traumatic hip pathologies 30 studies for the final review were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: 30 studies were included in the review. The overall mortality was 10.52%. There was a significant difference in the mortality rate between patients with positive and negative tests and between the operative patients who tested positive and the operative patients who tested negative. Conclusions: COVID-19-infected elderly patients with hip fractures have a higher mortality rate than non-COVID-19 infected cases. Further studies are warranted to examine the morbidity and mortality rates in COVID-19-positive patients with hip fractures and investigate how these outcomes can be improved

Survey On Methanol Poisoning Epidemic in Rafsanjan City in Year 2013

Background: Examination and early detection of the methanol toxicity epidemic are very important, so identification and initiation of appropriate therapy can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigation methanol poisoning epidemic in  Rafsanjan city.Methods: This case series study was conducted in 252 patients with methanol poisoning in 2013 in the Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib hospital of Rafsanjan. Data were through interviews and records that were collected at hospital admission. Due to the large number of patients and the possible lack of ability of rapid measurement of serum levels of methanol and need of rapid intervention, treatment to reduce any further complications, early diagnosis and treatment were carried out by clinical history and interpretation of arterial blood gas test results. Data record on provided checklists and then analyzed using SPSS version 19.Results: The mean pH was 0.13±7.27. The most frequent clinical features were visual disturbances (39.7%), dyspnea (1.2%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (7.1%). There was a trend towards decreasing PCO2 with decreasing pH amongst the patients surviving. The opposite trend was demonstrated in the dying; the difference was highly significant by linear regression analyses (P< 0.001).Conclusions: Methanol poisoning still has a high morbidity and mortality, mainly because of late diagnosis and treatment. Respiratory arrest, coma and severe metabolic acidosis upon admission were strong predictors of poor outcome. Early admission and ability of respiratory compensation of metabolic acidosis were associated with survival

Materia Medica Used in Jaundice Based on Persian Medicine

Jaundice is recognized by increased bilirubin level of blood and yellow appearance in skin, sclera and mucous membrane. Natural products have been used for treatment of jaundice for a long time and Persian Medicine can be a good source of natural drugs for this purpose. This study was done to find the materia medica used for jaundice based on Persian medicine (PM) texts including The Canon of Medicine (al-qanun), Al Hawi Fi Al Tibb, Tuhfat al-Mu’minin, Hedayat al-Motealemin fi Tibb, Zakhireye Khwarazmshahi, Al-Abniah 'an Haqaeq al-Adwia, Makhzan ul-Adwia and Ikhtiyarat Badie. One hundred eleven materia medica belonging to 51 families were identified as herbal remedies for treating jaundice. Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae and Zingiberaceae were the most dominant families. The results of this study may be present sources for pharmacological studies and development of new herbal medicines for jaundice. Asparagus, echium, arnebia, chicory, citron and purgative manna could be good candidate Materia Medica for future studies.  <br /

FUSION FRAMES AND G-FRAMES IN TENSOR PRODUCT AND DIRECT SUM OF HILBERT SPACES

In this paper we study fusion frames and g-frames for the tensor products and direct sums of Hilbert spaces. We show that the tensor product of a finite number of g-frames (resp. fusion frames, g-Riesz bases) is a g-frame (resp. fusion frame, g-Riesz basis) for the tensor product space and vice versa. Moreover we obtain some important results in tensor products and direct sums of g-frames, fusion frames, resolutions of the identity and duals

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes, zeolite and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can affect plant Ni concentration in a Ni-polluted soil that was naturally polluted with diesel fuel

Remediation of soils polluted with heavy metals or petroleum hydrocarbons is one of the environmental problems. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of carbon nanotubes, zeolite and AMF on triticale Ni concentration in a soil co-contaminated with diesel fuel and Ni. Treatments consisted of applying multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNs) and zeolite at the rates of 0 , 1 and 2 % (W/W) in a Ni-polluted soil (0, 75 and 150 mg Ni/kg soil) which was naturally polluted with diesel fuel under cultivation of triticale plant inoculated with AMF. After 70 days, plants were harvested and soil and plant Ni concentration was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Soil microbial respiration and degradation of diesel fuel were also measured. Applying 2 % (W/W) zeolite and MWCNs significantly increased the diesel fuel degradation in soil by 12.3% and 14.5 %, respectively, while the plant Ni concentration was decreased by 8.9 % and 13.1%, respectively. Increasing soil pollution with Ni from 0 to 75 mg/kg soil significantly decreased the degradation of diesel fuel in the soil under cultivation of plant inoculated with AMF by 14.4%. In addition, the soil microbial respiration was also decreased by 11.8%. The results of this study showed that application of zeolite and MWCNs had significant effect on increasing diesel fuel degradation in heavy metal polluted soil that is a positive point in environmental studies