Allegory and Ambiguity in the Films of Majid Majidi: A Theodicy of Meaning

This paper explores the place of traditional metaphysics in Iranian cinema through an analysis of three films by Majid Majidi. Countering evaluations of Majidi’s films as tritely patriarchal or heavy-handedly logocentric, this paper considers images and allegories in Majidi’s films as responses to the pains of modernity. Majidi’s films, specifically, Children of Heaven, Baran, and the Color of God, draw on Sufi and Shii theologies to locate meaning in a world changed by war, modernization, economic disparity, and nationalism. The result is a sense of ambiguity that aims at both realism and transcendence

Is Additional Fluid Therapy Effective in the Treatment of Children with Urinary Tract Infection?

Introduction: Urinary tract infection can result in many complications such as abscess, hypertension, renal failure, renal scar, reflux, etc. Since there is no general agreement on the administration of additional fluid (1.5 times maintenance) for the early treatment of UTI, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of additional fluid therapy.Materials and Methods: In This clinical trial study, 206 children with UTI who were admitted at Amir Kabir Hospital (Arak, Iran) from March 2012 to March 2013 were divided into two groups of 103. One group received the usual amount of maintenance fluid while the other group received 1.5 times more than usual maintenance. The course of the resolution of dysuria, frequency, malodorous urine, abdominal pain, and fever was compared between the two groups. Urine culture was performed for all patients 2, 7-10, and 90 days after admission. The patients were age and sex matched. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the X2 method based on independent sample t-test.Results: Additional fluid had a significant effect on malodorous urine dysuria. However, it had an inverse effect on the treatment of fever and urinary frequency as it made them last longer. There was no difference in other parameters like abdominal pain and urine culture in 3 stages.Conclusions: Based on our study, the intake of excessive amounts of water has no significant effects on the results of the UTI treatment. However, due to lack of adequate evidence, further studies should be conducted in this field.Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection; Child; Fluid Therapy

Allegory and Ambiguity in the Films of Majid Majidi: A Theodicy of Meaning (Farsi)

This paper explores the place of traditional metaphysics in Iranian cinema through an analysis of three films by Majid Majidi. Countering evaluations of Majidi’s films as tritely patriarchal or heavy-handedly logocentric, this paper considers images and allegories in Majidi’s films as responses to the pains of modernity. Majidi’s films, specifically, Children of Heaven, Baran, and the Color of God, draw on Sufi and Shii theologies to locate meaning in a world changed by war, modernization, economic disparity, and nationalism. The result is a sense of ambiguity that aims at both realism and transcendence

Rod photoreceptors drive circadian photoentrainment across a wide range of light intensities.

In mammals, synchronization of the circadian pacemaker in the hypothalamus is achieved through direct input from the eyes conveyed by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Circadian photoentrainment can be maintained by rod and cone photoreceptors, but their functional contributions and their retinal circuits that impinge on ipRGCs are not well understood. Using mice that lack functional rods or in which rods are the only functional photoreceptors, we found that rods were solely responsible for photoentrainment at scotopic light intensities. Rods were also capable of driving circadian photoentrainment at photopic intensities at which they were incapable of supporting a visually guided behavior. Using mice in which cone photoreceptors were ablated, we found that rods signal through cones at high light intensities, but not at low light intensities. Thus, rods use two distinct retinal circuits to drive ipRGC function to support circadian photoentrainment across a wide range of light intensities

Cyclic fatigue resistance and fractographic analysis of RaCe and ProTaper rotary NiTi instruments

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the fatigue and fracture modes of RaCe and ProTaper rotary instruments. MATERIALS & METHODS: Fatigue resistance was evaluated by rotating the files 30° or 60° and with 2 or 5mm radius of curvature. RaCe taper 06 size 25 and ProTaper F1 files (n=40) were used. The number of rotations to failure was analyzed by two-way ANOVA and independent sample    t-test. Fracture surfaces were examined under a scanning electron microscope.RESULTS: Both files exhibited significantly more resistance to fracture when angle severity was reduced and increase in curvature radius (P=0.000). ProTaper demonstrated higher number of cycle of failure (P=0.0029) in one group (r=5mm, 60º). SEM observation revealed fatigue mark/features in 17 specimens, shear characteristics in 37 samples, and tensile overload in 26 samples.CONCLUSION: Radius of curvature was the main factor in torsional and fatigue failures

The Effect of Magnesium Sulfate on Renal Colic Pain Relief; a Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Renal colic can be managed by preventing the contraction movements of ureter muscles. By reducing acetylcholine in the nerve terminals, magnesium sulfate could be effective in this regard. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of magnesium sulfate on acute renal colic pain relief. Method: The present study was a double-blind clinical trial in which the patients suffering from acute renal colic were randomly divided into 2 groups of who either received standard protocol (intravenous infusion of 0.1 mg/Kg morphine sulfate, 30 mg of Ketorolac, and 100 ml normal saline as placebo/15 minutes) or standard protocol plus 15 mg/Kg of intravenous magnesium sulfate 50%/100 ml normal saline/15 minutes. Severity of patients’ pain was measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline, and 30 and 60 minutes after infusion. The collected data were analyzed using STATA statistical software. Results: 100 cases were randomly allocated to intervention or control group. The two groups were similar in baseline pain score and demographic characteristics. At 30 and 60 minutes, mean pain score was less in the intervention group compared to the control group. Moreover, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant regarding the additional amount of morphine, suggesting that the intervention group needed less additional morphine than the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Magnesium sulfate can be used as an adjunct drug in treatment of patients suffering from renal colic. It not only alleviates the pain in the patients, but also diminishes the need for pain medications

Fatigue Durability Analysis of Collecting Rapping System in Electrostatic Precipitators under Impact Loading

Due to the importance of collecting rapping system in electrostatic precipitators (ESP) and controlling the relevant damage under impact loading, fatigue durability of this system is analyzed in the present study based on the numerical and experimental results considering fatigue damage growth and vibration acceleration in the collecting system because of the successive impact of rapping hammers. By microscopic examination of the fracture surface of rapping hammer, beach marks obviously show typical fatigue failure in the rapping hammer arm. In addition, the microscopic examination of the cross section of the collecting plates indicates the corrosion voids which cause crack and eventually fatigue failure. The finite element method is applied to determine both the stress and concentration positions of dynamic stress on the rapping system under impact loading. The paper results can be utilized in system optimization and new material selection for the system by evaluating rapping system durability

Correlation of Sacral Ratio and Reflux-Related Renal Injury in Children with Vesicoureteral reflux with and without Nephropathy

Introduction: Vesicoureteral reflux refers to the retrograde flow of the urine from the bladder to the ureter and kidney. The ureteral attachment to the bladder is normally oblique, between the bladder mucosa and detrusor muscle, creating a flap-value mechanism that prevents reflux. Reflux occurs when the submucosal tunnel between the mucosa and detrusor muscle is short or absent. The inflammatory reaction caused by pyelonephritis can result in scarring, which is also termed reflux nephropathy. Since sacral bone anomalies have a direct influence on the final function of the urinary and bowel systems, this study was performed to investigate the relationship between sacral ratio and reflux nephropathy.Materials and Methods: In this case–control study, the case -control group included 200 children under 9 years old who were referred to Amir-Kabir Hospital clinics with urinary tract infection and according to the VCUG and DMSA results, children with various grades of VUR entered the study. The sacral ratio was measured in the two groups and compared by a radiologist. The data were analyzed using Chi-2 and Mann Whitney Tests and software SPSS 16.Results: The case group included 48 males and 52 females with a mean age of 3.7 years old who had reflux nephropathy, and the control group included 47 males and 53 females with a mean age of 4.1 years who did not have reflux nephropathy. Sacral ratio abnormality was detected in 64% and 23.7% of the cases and controls respectively, which showed a significant difference (p-value=0.003).Conclusions: Sacral ratio abnormality was more common in children with vesicoureteral reflux and reflux nephropathy than children with VUR without reflux nephropathy.Keywords: Vesico-Ureteral  Reflux;  Sacral agenesis; Child;  Diagnostic imaging