To Be Me: The contingency of the body

Exploring my Iranian and immigrant identity, this dossier investigates factors that contribute to the formation of my identity through the experience of living in a complex and repressive society. This dossier is composed of an extended artist statement, a case study of UK-based, Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum’s art practices, documentation of a selection of my artworks, and a Curriculum Vitae. In my extended artist statement, I engage with feminist post-structuralist theories to explore my identity as multiple, performative, and contingent. I also discuss how I use these feminist post-structuralist theories in my art practice to question the phallocentric dominant ideology of spaces I have lived in and to construct new desiring subjects. To bring nuance to my artist statement, in the documentation of my art, I present my body art practices as a process involved in the construction of my identity. With my case study, I explore the way Hatoum’s body art practices represent a state of being in the geopolitics of exile

X-Inactive-Specific Transcript: Review of Its Functions in the Carcinogenesis

X-inactive–specific transcript (XIST) is one of the firstly discovered long non-coding RNAs with prominent roles in the process of X inactivation. Moreover, this transcript contributes in the carcinogenic process in different tissues. In addition to interacting with chromatin modifying molecules, XIST can be served as a molecular sponge for miRNAs to modulate expression of miRNA targets. Most of the studies have indicated an oncogenic role for XIST. However, in prostate cancer, a single study has indicated a tumor suppressor role for this lncRNA. Similar result has been reported for XIST in oral squamous cell carcinoma. In hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteosarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma, different studies have reported inconsistent results. In the present manuscript, we review function of XIST in the carcinogenesis

No East No West: Artwork

No East, No West is a slogan, that was formulated at the beginning of the governing of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979).  The slogan addresses the state’s rejection of the influence of both Soviet and American Powers in Iran, and its intention to establish an independent government. The current Iranian political regime has assigned sets of rules such as compulsory hijab for women corresponding to their ideology of being powerful and independent. This leads to marginalizing and violating many women’s rights in Iran.     &nbsp

Adherence to Empiric Antibiotic Therapy Guideline in a Referral Teaching Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Antibiotic guidelines have proven to be a simple and effective intervention to guide the choice of appropriate empiric antibiotic regimens. The goals of this study were to evaluate adherence to guidelines and streamlining of antibiotics. Hospital records of hospitalized patients in infectious diseases ward Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from May 2008 to September 2009 were reviewed. Adherence to guideline was defined as the use of empiric antibiotic in accordance with the clinical diagnosis and local guideline recommendations. In this study, 528 patients with a confirmed infectious disease diagnosis were considered for analysis. The four most frequent diagnoses were skin and soft tissue infections, tuberculosis, respiratory tract infections, and HIV associated opportunistic infections. The most frequent prescribed antibiotic was ceftriaxone. Overall adherence to guideline was 70.8% and the adherence for the most frequent diagnosis was 68%. Frequency of compatibility with the guidelines for were administrated regimes on the basis of drug selection, dosage form and drug dosing were 86.2%, 97% and 84.7%, respectively. The mean lag time between patients' hospital admission and starting empiric therapy was 1.69±4.9 days. In general, physicians' adherence with guidelines for empiric antibiotic therapy was high in infectious disease ward with a justified delay. Larger studies are required to establish these conclusions

Brain tumors: Special characters for research and banking

A brain tumor is an intracranial neoplasm within the brain or in the central spinal canal. Primary malignant brain tumors affect about 200,000 people worldwide every year. Brain cells have special characters. Due to the specific properties of brain tumors, including epidemiology, growth, and division, investigation of brain tumors and the interpretation of results is not simple. Research to identify the genetic alterations of human tumors improves our knowledge of tumor biology, genetic interactions, progression, and preclinical therapeutic assessment. Obtaining data for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy requires sufficient samples, and brain tumors have a wide range. As a result, establishing the bank of brain tumors is very important and essential

A review on the role of oncogenic lncRNA OIP5-AS1 in human malignancies

OIP5-AS1 is a long non-coding transcript with high expression in nervous system, but crucial functions in the neoplastic transformation. This lncRNA partake in the regulation of cell cycle transition at different points. Moreover, it acts a competing endogenous RNA for tens of microRNAs among them are miR-338-3p, miR-204-5p, miR-641, miR-422a, miR-367-3p, miR-153-3p, miR-186, miR-369-3p, miR-137, miR-342-3p, miR‑429, miR-3163, miR-363-3p, miR-186a-5p, hsa-miR-26a-3p, miR‑300, miR‐217, miR-378a-3p and miR-448. OIP5-AS1 influence the carcinogenesis via different routes among them is modulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Expression of OIP5-AS1 has been elevated in nearly all kinds of neoplastic tissues except for multiple myeloma. Moreover, in bladder, gastric cancer and lung cancers, assessment of its expression in clinical samples has led to conflicting results. In the current paper, we have provided a comprehensive collection of research papers that evaluated function of OIP5-AS1 in diverse cancer types

Evaluation of Plasma Concentrations of Homocysteine, IL-6, TNF-Alpha, Hs-CRP, and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Patients with End-Stage Renal Failure

It has been proved that hyperhomocysteinemia has a high prevalence in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which may contribute to the high cardiovascular risk in these patients. Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of high mortality rate in ESRD patients. The aim of the present study was to assess five important factors in patients with ESRD (the amount of homocysteine, IL-6, TNF-alpha, hs-CRP, and Total Antioxidant Capacity). These factors were surveyed in ESRD patients to compare with healthy subjects. In a cross-sectional study, we enrolled 80 patients on maintenance hemodialysis and measured the inflammatory and oxidative stress indicators. The plasma samples were assayed for five above mentioned variables using standard protocols. Two-hour post hemodialysis plasma samples were also assayed for TAC. Plasma levels of inflammation markers, IL-6 and hs-CRP, homocysteine were significantly increased in ESRD group versus control group. This increase was also found in TNF-α levels as compared to the controls, but the differences were not statistically significant. Also, the post dialysis samples had significantly lower levels of TAC as compared to predialysis ones

The relationship between COVID‐19 viral load and disease severity: A systematic review

International audiencePatients with COVID-19 may present different viral loads levels. However, the relationship between viral load and disease severity in COVID-19 is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the association between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and COVID-19 severity