Explicit soliton-black hole correspondence for static configurations

We construct an explicit map that transforms static, generalized sine-Gordon metrics to black hole type metrics. This, in particular, provides for a further description of the Cadoni correspondence (which extends the Gegenberg-Kunstatter correspondence) of soliton solutions and extremal black hole solutions in 2D dilaton gravity.Comment: Submitted to Phys Rev D, 7 pages, no figure

Effect of vitamin C and quercetin treatment on the liver histopathologic profile in congenital lead exposed male rat pups

Introduction: Lead is one of the most important environmental pollutants due to its vast use in various industries. Lead accumulation in different organs, especially the brain, liver and kidneys can cause serious health problems. Lead exposure is more dangerous during fetal period and childhood. Materials and Methods: Timed pregnant female rats divided into 6 groups. Group 1served as control group and received tap water, group 2 received 500 mg/liter lead acetate in the drinking water from 5th day of gestation up to 25th day post-partum, group 3 received the same dose of lead acetate along with daily IP injection of 40mg/kg quercetin, Group 4 received the same dose of lead acetate along with 2g/liter vitamin C, groups 5 and 6 received vitamin C and quercetin respectively like groups 2 and 3 but without lead acetate. On the 25th day postpartum, 6 male pups in each group were deeply anesthetized by chloroform; livers were removed and processed for Hematoxyline- Eosin staining. The microscopic slides were photographed and liver tissue morphological characteristics were evaluated. Results: Lead exposure caused extensive histopathologic changes in liver tissue including hepatocyte degradation, cell nucleus bifurcation and inflammation around hepatic veins. Quercetin and vitamin C treatment could prevent these pathologic changes to a considerable extent. Conclusion: Vitamin C in drinking water and quercetin via IP injection could protect the liver tissue against lead hepatotoxic effects. © 2015, Iranian Society of Physiology and Pharmacology. All rights reserved

The effect of applying pressure to the LIV3 and LI4 on the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of simple acupressure protocol in LIV3, LI4 and placebo points on the quality of life (QOL) in women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Method: This paper reports a randomized, single blinded clinical trial. 97 participants (students in of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Iran) with PMS were allocated to three groups to receive 20 minutes acupressure on different acupoints for 14 days before menstruation for three consecutive menstrual cycles (training and then two cycles self applied acupressure).The acupoints were LIV3 and LI4; one group received acupressure at a placebo point. Each participant completed the PSST scale (to determine PMS severity), HADS scale (for depression and anxiety), and quality of life SF12. Results: The number of people with moderate/severe PMS decreased in LIV3 and LI4 acupressure groups by the second and third cycles compared with the placebo group (p<0.04). Moreover, depression and anxiety scores significantly decreased in the LIV3 and LI4 groups by the second and third cycles compared with the placebo group (p<0.05).Analyzing the score of SF12 fields in the second and third cycles showed a significant difference in all dimensions between the intervention and placebo groups. There was no significant difference between LIV3 and LI4 acupressure groups in decrease of PMS symptoms, anxiety and depression and improving SF12scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: Performing the simple acupressure protocol at LIV3 and LI4 is an effective method to decrease the severity of PMS symptoms, anxiety and depression, and to improve the QOL. Pressure at LIV3 and LI4 appear to be equally effective

Effect of Different Doses of Curcumin on Sperm Parameters and Oxidative Stress in Testis of D-Galactose Induced Aging Mice Model

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Aging is accompanied with low concentration of testosterone hormone and apoptosis induction in the testis. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of different doses of curcumin as the active ingredient of Curcuma Longa Turmeric, on sperm quality and oxidative stress in mice D-galactose-induced aging model. METHODS: 48 Balb/c mice (n=8) were randomly assigned to 6 groups: control, Sham, D-galactose and Curcumin 1 to 3 groups. 300 mg/kg of D-galactose was injected to D-galactose group. Curcumin 1 to 3 were injected D-galactose + 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg curcumin intraperitoneally. Then, the oxidative stress based on biochemical parameters and sperm analysis according to WHO guideline were evaluated on day 42 of the experiment. FINDINGS: Mean sperm count in control group was (4.17±0.84) while it reduced after reception of 300 mg/kg D-galactose (3.06±0.86). There was a significant increase in the sperm parameters in Curcumin group compared to the D-galactose group (p<0.05). A significant increase was observed in the level of thiol and superoxide dismutase enzyme in curcumin group 3, compared to the D-galactose group (p≤0.001). Significant decreases in catalase and malondialdehyde enzymes were observed in the D-galactose group, compared to the curcumin 1, curcumin 2 and curcumin 3 groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Administration of curcumin for 2 weeks improved sperm parameters and decreased oxidative stress in testis of mice D-galactose-induced aging model

The Effect of Land Abandonment on Biological, Physical and Chemical Properties of Soils

Introduction Changing land use may have a major influence on physical, chemical, and biological soil properties with a consequence for soil functioning and productivity. Abandonment of agricultural lands is actually a kind of restoration of these lands to their original natural conditions, which is often done through human intervention. Soil restoration after land abandonment is a complex phenomenon. The pastures of our country are typically cultivated in rainfed methods, and the use of agricultural inputs such as animal manure, poisons, and chemical fertilizers is not very common. Therefore the continuous cultivation of a product and the lack of use of agricultural inputs causes a gradual decrease in fertility and increase erosion. Hence, after years of cultivation, the production potential decreases, and the land is abandoned. Materials and Methods This study was conducted to determine the effects of land abandonment on some physical, chemical, and biological soil properties in the 0-20 and 20-40 cm depth at three different sites including Lal Abad, Qaleh Kohneh and Chalab-e Pain, using 2×2 factorial layout arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil were measured by conventional laboratory methods. Electrical conductivity of saturated paste extract (ECe) with electrical conductivity meter device in saturated paste extract, pH of saturated paste with pH meter device, and bulk density by cylinder method were determined in the samples. The amount of dispersible clay (DC) was determined by the method of Gee and Bauder and the Mean Weight Diameter (MWD) was determined by the method of the wet sieve. The amount of absorbable phosphorus by extraction method and total soil nitrogen by Keldahl method were measured in the samples. The amount of soil organic carbon (OC) in the samples was determined by the method of Walkley and Black. Mineralization of organic carbon (soil respiration) (Cmin) and metabolic quotient (qCO2) were obtained by validated and conventional methods. Results and Discussion  The results showed that the abandonment of agricultural lands significantly increased the MWD and reduced the amount of dispersible clay. Bulk density also decreased due to the abandonment of agricultural land in all areas except the Qaleh Kohneh area. The results of the analysis of the chemical characteristics of the soil indicated a decrease in soil pH in all areas and depths, except in the Qaleh Kohneh area. The biological results also showed that the abandonment of agricultural lands caused the change in biological characteristics. Abandonment of agricultural lands in all three regions led to an increase in microbial biomass carbon and soil microbial respiration. High microbial respiration in abandoned lands is probably related to more organic carbon in these soils. Loss of soil organic matter due to cultivation and improper soil management is often the main reason for reducing soil respiration in agricultural lands compared to abandoned lands. Conclusion Changing land use from agriculture to abandonment improved the physical, chemical, and biological indicators of soil quality, especially the surface layer of the soil, which ultimately led to the improvement of soil quality in all the studied areas. It can be concluded that the release of agricultural lands has increased soil health by increasing the carbon input into the soil, improving the soil aggregates, and improving the microbial activity of the soil

Comparison the Effect of Placenta Membrane Using Alone or With Silver Sulfadiazine in Treatment of Burns in Rats

Aims: Silver sulfadiazine is widely used for burning wound. Studies have shown that, dressing wounds with placental membrane can accelerate their healing. Our objective was to evaluate the recovery of second-degree burns in male rats that treated with topical Silver sulfadiazine-impregnated placental amniotic membrane. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, 64 male rats were divided into 4 similar groups. In all rats, the second degree burn was induced under general anesthesia. Wound dressing in the first group (control) included simple dressing, but amniotic membrane in second group, and Silver sulfadiazine in third group and in the fourth group it was Silver sulfadiazine impregnated amniotic membrane. At the end of the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day, under the general anesthesia, the tissue biopsies were taken from burns and microscopic evaluation was done. Data were analyzed statistically using ANOVA and P less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Findings: In treated groups, the PMN leukocyte count was significantly lower than control (p<0.001), also the amount of granular formation and its organization, the number of fibroblasts, and the rate of wound healing were greater than control (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in measured parameters between the 3 treatment groups. Conclusion: Considering the biological effects of the ammonium membrane, it is recommended to use it as an effective dressing method to accelerate burn wound healing

Predictive Monitoring of Business Processes

Modern information systems that support complex business processes generally maintain significant amounts of process execution data, particularly records of events corresponding to the execution of activities (event logs). In this paper, we present an approach to analyze such event logs in order to predictively monitor business goals during business process execution. At any point during an execution of a process, the user can define business goals in the form of linear temporal logic rules. When an activity is being executed, the framework identifies input data values that are more (or less) likely to lead to the achievement of each business goal. Unlike reactive compliance monitoring approaches that detect violations only after they have occurred, our predictive monitoring approach provides early advice so that users can steer ongoing process executions towards the achievement of business goals. In other words, violations are predicted (and potentially prevented) rather than merely detected. The approach has been implemented in the ProM process mining toolset and validated on a real-life log pertaining to the treatment of cancer patients in a large hospital

Investigating the effect of light color temperature on selective attention, error and human reaction time

Background and aims: The reaction time of humans that affected by several factors includes the time that takes to stimulate the sensory organs and the stimulus effect is transmitted to the brain, then is perceived and the decision is made; consequently, the command resulting from the decision of the brain is sent from the brain to the functional organs. Failure to respond at the right time may result in human error and accidents. There are important factors that affect the reaction time. Attention is one of the important factors affecting the speed of the reaction. Selective attention and correct perception of several stimuli among the other stimuli is one of the effective factors in promoting performance and safety. Additionally, various environmental factors may be effective in determining selective attention, increasing the number of errors and the human response time in detecting triggers. Lighting is one of the factors affecting the processing mechanisms of the brain. In the design of indoor and outdoor lighting systems, the quality parameters of the lighting system are usually less considered. Color temperature is one of the most important qualitative parameters of light, which is measured by the Kelvin unit and is an indicator for the brightness and color of the light. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of light color temperature on selective attention, error rate and reaction time. Methods: This research is an interventional and laboratory study in order to determine the effect of the light color temperature on human error, selective attention, and reaction time of students in Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) of Tehran during the fall of 2018. All students were in the same age range. The inclusion criteria for this study were; not having any eye-related diseases, such as diminished vision and subtlety, and mental-psychiatric disorders. On the day before performing the test, participants were informed to: have enough sleep and rest, adhere to a regular diet, and avoid taking medicines, coffee and caffeinated drinks. In this interventional study, 92 students (36 female and 56 male) from Tarbiat Modarres University of Tehran with an average age of 28.33 years were recruited as subjects. The measurements and tests related to selective attention and reaction time of individuals were performed in 4 locations with an equal lighting system and different color temperatures (3500, 4000, 5000, or 6500 degrees Kelvin). In the first step of the study, in order to determine the effect of light color temperature on the studied parameters, the participants were randomly divided into four groups with 24 subjects in each group. Before the main test was being performed, the participants were kept in rooms adjusted to a brightness of 3500° K to rest for at least 5 minutes in order to be adapted to the situation, and then, in the same conditions, to become familiar with the test method they were studied with the Stroop software. In the second step, each group was placed in a separate room where the levels of brightness had been designed with one of the lighting systems to yield a color temperature of 3500, 4000, 5000, and 6500° K. Cognitive performance tests including reaction time, accuracy and selective attention were measured using Stroop tests. Measurement of score interference and time interference, which are indicators for selective attention, were calculated by measuring the difference in the error rate and the reaction time in detecting incongruent and consonant words. Stroop test was used to determine the reaction time, error and other parameters. This test consists of two parts; the practice and the main test, each of them has two stages. The first step is to name the color of circular shapes that appears on the laptop monitor screen. The participant, upon viewing the image, applies pressure on keyboard buttons which are labeled with colors corresponding to the ones on the screen. The second step is to name the word which appears in a white box. The names of the colors appear, and as soon as the correct word is recognized, the participant should press the color word associated to the word on the keyboard. The third step, which is the main stage of the test, is a non-consistent word (red-green-blue) that shown randomly and sequentially on the monitor's screen. The subject must only press the keyboard button with the same color, only emphasizing the color and regardless of its connotation. In this test, 48 consistent colored words (the color of the word is identical with the meaning of the word; red, yellow, green and blue) and 48 non-consistent colored words (the color of the word is not the same as the word meaning; for example, the blue word shown in red). The time lap between the stimulants was 800 milliseconds and the duration of each of them was 2000 milliseconds. The subject's task was to select the correct color only. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Based on the results of this study, the highest mean of correct selection (474.49 ± 10.65) and the lowest mean of the correct ones (654.49 ± 11.77) were assigned to the color temperature of 6500 and 3500 ° K, respectively. Also, the highest mean of error rate (15.65 ± 9.77) and the lowest mean of error rate (10.94 ± 9.4) were reported at a color temperature of 3500 and 6500 ° K, respectively. According to the results of this study, with increase in color temperature from 3500 to 5000° Kelvin, the number of questions that were not responded decreased. Likewise, the number of unanswered questions for the color temperature of 6500 °K slightly increased compared to the color temperature of 5000 and 4000 °K. The results also indicated that, with an increase in color temperature from 3500 to 6500 °K, the reaction time to visual stimuli also decreased. The highest interference score was in the light color temperature of 3500 °K which indicates that the number of faults in naming inconsistent words relative to consonant words was higher in color temperature of 3500° K compared to other color temperatures. Also, according to Fig. 3, the maximum interference time was at 6500 ° K. This indicates that the performance time of the subjects in naming inconsistent words was higher relative to consonants in color temperature of 6,500° K compared to other color temperatures. Although the average response time under lighting condition with color temperature of 6500° K (718.95 ± 65.33) was less than the color temperature of 3500° K (728.58 ± 43.48), according to the results of the study, with a decrease in color temperature, the increase in mean response time was observed, but this difference was not significant (p p). Also, based on independent t-test (Table 2), there was a significant relationship between subjects' gender and variables such as interference score, interference time and number of unanswered questions. For all of these three variables (interference score, interference time and number of unanswered questions) mean in men was significantly lower than women (p <0.05). Based on subjects' gender, the average response time under different color temperatures showed that the response time (or reaction time) of female under lighting conditions with 3000 and 5,000 ° K was higher than male, while under lighting conditions with 4000 and 6500° K the response time of male was higher than female students. Although the average response time under different color temperatures was different between male and female subjects, based on the results of independent t-test, such difference was not significant. Conclusion: In general, the results of this study showed that when subjects are exposed to light color temperature of 6,500 ° K, the number of correct responses by them is higher than those exposed to other color temperatures, and with increasing the color temperature, the number of correct answers increases. Also, according to the results of this study, the error rate decrease by increasing color temperature of light source. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested to make use of light sources with a color temperature of 6,500 ° K in designing the lighting system of the places where human reaction time and error are high importance. Accordingly, it is recommended to repeat this study in other demographic groups, as well as taking into account the qualitative parameters of the lighting system in addition to its quantitative parameters. © 2020 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Interpretation of Brain Morphology in Association to Alzheimer's Disease Dementia Classification Using Graph Convolutional Networks on Triangulated Meshes

We propose a mesh-based technique to aid in the classification of Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) using mesh representations of the cortex and subcortical structures. Deep learning methods for classification tasks that utilize structural neuroimaging often require extensive learning parameters to optimize. Frequently, these approaches for automated medical diagnosis also lack visual interpretability for areas in the brain involved in making a diagnosis. This work: (a) analyzes brain shape using surface information of the cortex and subcortical structures, (b) proposes a residual learning framework for state-of-the-art graph convolutional networks which offer a significant reduction in learnable parameters, and (c) offers visual interpretability of the network via class-specific gradient information that localizes important regions of interest in our inputs. With our proposed method leveraging the use of cortical and subcortical surface information, we outperform other machine learning methods with a 96.35% testing accuracy for the ADD vs. healthy control problem. We confirm the validity of our model by observing its performance in a 25-trial Monte Carlo cross-validation. The generated visualization maps in our study show correspondences with current knowledge regarding the structural localization of pathological changes in the brain associated to dementia of the Alzheimer's type.Comment: Accepted for the Shape in Medical Imaging (ShapeMI) workshop at MICCAI International Conference 202