In-vitro Model System for Calcific Band Keratopathy and Inhibitory Effects of C60 Fullerene Derivatives

Calcific band keratopathy (CBK) is a degenerative condition resulting in the deposition of calcium salts in the superficial layers of the cornea and causing significant visual disturbance and pain of the affected eye. The amount of CBK precipitates recovered from the affected eye is very small rendering a great challenge in development of an effective and non-invasive treatment for this condition. This provides an impetus to study the possible chemical factors that may contribute to the development of CBK in an effort to develop a more efficient and un-intrusive treatment for this condition. To this end, we have developed an in-vitro model system resembling band keratopathy's chemical composition and morphology thus providing insight to the mechanism of formation and allowing for mass production of the material furthering the advances of therapeutic targeting CBK. Our study is the fIrst to demonstrate that low molecular silicon can assist in the formation of CBK. Given the predominance of calcium and presence of silicon in CBK material, we have investigated the effect of calcium and silicon chelators on our reference and synthetic samples. Our results reveals nitrilotris( methylene) phosphonic acid, citric acid, and fructose as promising choices for chelation therapy for band keratopathy. The unique structural, physical, and photo-, electro-chemical properties of buckminsterfullerne C60 and its derivatives have rendered them particularly interesting for the field of nanomedicine. Toward this end, we have synthesized and investigated a series of derivatized C60 fullerenes possessing amine and amino acid pendant groups as inhibitors of the zinc enzymes carbonic anhydrases (CAs) and the human immunodeficiency virus type I aspartic protease (HIV -1 PR). Computational studies were performed in order to shed light in understanding the inhibition mechanism of CAs by these derivatives. Our collaborative investigation reveals that the CA isoforms show diverse inhibition profiles with our fullerene derivatives. Both computational and experimental techniques confirmed anti HIV -1 PR inhibitory effects of our C60 derivatives. Additionally, we have synthesized a series of C60 fullerene-peptides in order to investigate their cellular uptake, interference in vitro with specific DNA binding and inhibition of neuroblastoma cell growth. Our in vitro cell studies show that these fullerene-peptides are capable of penetrating into cytoplasm of the JF neuroblastoma cells. Cell viability study was undertaken in order to examine the biological response of our fullerene peptides for neuroblastoma cell proliferation

A hybrid functions method for solving linear and non-linear systems of ordinary differential equations

In the present paper, we use a hybrid method to solve linear or non-linear systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). By using this method, these systems are reduced to a linear or non-linear system of algebraic equations. In error discussion of the suggested method, an upper bound of the error is obtained. Also, to survey the accuracy and the efficiency of the present method, some examples are solved and comparisons between the obtained results with those of several other methods are carried out

From Commands to Goal-based Dialogs: A Roadmap to Achieve Natural Language Interaction in RoboCup@Home

On the one hand, speech is a key aspect to people's communication. On the other, it is widely acknowledged that language proficiency is related to intelligence. Therefore, intelligent robots should be able to understand, at least, people's orders within their application domain. These insights are not new in RoboCup@Home, but we lack of a long-term plan to evaluate this approach. In this paper we conduct a brief review of the achievements on automated speech recognition and natural language understanding in RoboCup@Home. Furthermore, we discuss main challenges to tackle in spoken human-robot interaction within the scope of this competition. Finally, we contribute by presenting a pipelined road map to engender research in the area of natural language understanding applied to domestic service robotics.Comment: 12 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. Accepted and presented (poster) in the RoboCup 2018 Symposium. In pres

Fantasies of Reason: Science, Superstition, and the Supernatural in Iran

This dissertation examines uncertainties about the supernatural among members of the urban middle class in Tehran, Iran. In particular, I attend to the ways in which the category of the supernatural (mavara) has become, for some people, an object of potential scientific (`elmi) inquiry that must be distinguished from approaches usually ascribed to the rural, the uneducated, and the poor, often deemed as either superstitions (khorafat) or parochically religious (dini). By examining a range of encounters with the supernatural - such as attempts to explain communications with the souls of the dead, make sense of spirit possession, and differentiate real magic from charlatanism - I highlight the varied modalities through which perspectives and forms of reasoning imagined to be rational and scientific are brought to bear on matters that are understood to lie, at least partially, within the purview of religious knowledge. I situate such supernatural encounters against a backdrop of state disciplinary and coercive measures, thereby illuminating important shifts in Iran's politico-religious landscape in the past two decades, such as the waning of the religious authority of the Shi`i ulama among certain sections of society. This declining authority does not necessarily imply a weakened interest in Islam (although this is sometimes the case). Rather, it has opened up a space for reception and deliberation of a multiplicity of sources of religious knowledge, both Islamic and non-Islamic. These include forms of Western-imported spirituality and occultism that have been entering Iran for over a century, with their most recent wave consisting of translated texts of New Age spirituality, self-help success literature, and popular psychology that have gained popularity since the end of the war with Iraq. The metaphysical models on offer through these spiritual systems are usually promoted and understood as scientific rather than religious. That is, rather than being seen as contradicting Islamic notions, these formulations are often viewed as parallel to them. By attending to such notions and their everyday manifestations, my project brings into focus various hybrid forms of religious-scientific knowledge, experience, and discourse that have largely been ignored in the study of modern Muslim societies

Brachial endothelial function and carotid intima-media thickness in patients with coronary artery disease

     Endothelial dysfunction and carotid intima-media thickness are 2 indicators of subclinical cardiovascular disease. The aim of study was to analyze brachial flow mediated dilation(FMD)and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT)in patients with coronary artery disease, and investigate the relationship between endothelial function, CIMT and coronary artery disease risk factors.56 men and women aged between 25 to 75 years with coronary artery disease were recruited. FMD and CIMT was measured by B-mode ultrasonography. Data were presented  as  mean  ±  SE.  Pearson correlation  coefficients  were  used  to  evaluate associations   and  T-test  and  Chi-square  tests  were  used  for  quantitative  and qualitative variables. P-values  <  0.05  were considered  to  indicate  statistically  significant  differences. The mean age of subjects was 59.37±1.28 years. The frequencies of one, two and three-vessel coronary artery disease were 61%, 35.1% and 3.9%, respectively. The mean of CIMT in patients was 0.79±0.02 mm, and 65.5% of patients had CIMT more than 0.8 mm.The mean of FMD was 4.79±0.55% and 65.4% of patients had FMD lower than 5.3%. CIMT was correlated directly with number of diseased vessels, age andtotal cholesterol and was correlated inversely with HDL-C.Non-invasive measurement of FMD and CIMT are interrelated techniques that probably assess the same atherosclerotic process from functional and anatomic viewpoints.In these patients an increase in CIMT and decrease in FMD may warrant more aggressive risk factor control through the beginning of effective medical treatment

Theory of Mind - Zusammenhänge von affektiven und kognitiven Theory of Mind Fähigkeiten bei Patienten mit Schizophrenie

Thema und Zielsetzung Unter der Theory of Mind (ToM, Premack und Woodruff 1978) wird die Fähigkeit verstanden, sich selbst und anderen mentale Zustände zuschreiben zu können. Es handelt sich um einen Prozess der sozialen Kognition, der als relevanter Faktor zum Verständnis psychischer Störungen beiträgt. Im Bereich der Schizophrenieforschung wurden in der Vergangenheit Hinweise für das Vorliegen von ToM-Defiziten bei Patienten mit schizophrenen Störungen gefunden. ToM-Fähigkeiten werden in verschiedene Komponenten unterteilt und es wird postuliert, dass Patienten mit Schizophrenie in allen Bereichen Defizite vorweisen. Die genauen Zusammenhänge zwischen den unterschiedlichen Komponenten der ToM-Fähigkeit und dem Krankheitsbild der Schizophrenie wurden bislang nicht hinreichend untersucht. Ziel dieser Promotionsarbeit ist es, durch Untersuchung der Wechselbeziehung zwischen verschiedenen Komponenten der ToM-Fähigkeiten und Symptomen der Schizophrenieerkrankung, Kenntnisse über zugrunde liegende Prozesse der Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung der Erkrankung zu gewinnen. Es sollte untersucht werden, ob stadien- und geschlechtsabhängige Unterschiede in den affektiven und kognitiven ToM-Leistungen von schizophrenen Patienten im Vergleich zu gesunden Probanden bestehen. Außerdem sollte der Frage nachgegangen werden, ob und wie Defizite in kognitiven ToM-Leistungen in Beziehung zu allgemeinen Wahn und Verfolgungswahn stehen. Methodik In einer Querschnittsstudie wurden 30 an Schizophrenie erkrankte Patienten mit 19 gesunden Kontrollprobanden hinsichtlich ihrer ToM-Leistungen verglichen. Beide Gruppen bearbeiteten vier verschiedene ToM-Aufgaben, welche aus verbalen, visuellen und videobasierten Verfahren bestanden und sowohl affektive als auch kognitive ToM-Leistungen erfassten. Zum Testapparat gehörten ferner Verfahren zur Erfassung der Psychopathologie und neuropsychologischer Defizite in anderen Bereichen. Relevant für die Gruppenvergleiche innerhalb der Patientengruppe waren außerdem die symptomspezifische Einteilung nach der Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) sowie die Remissionseinteilung nach Andreasen.Relevante Ergebnisse Die Gruppe der an Schizophrenie erkrankten Patienten zeigte im Vergleich zu den gesunden Probanden eine signifikant schlechtere Leistung in den affektiven ToM-Fähigkeiten. Die Patienten schnitten sowohl in der akuten als auch in der remittierten Gruppe schlechter ab. Dahingegen konnten keine signifikanten Defizite zwischen Patienten und Kontrollprobanden in den kognitiven ToM-Leistungen nachgewiesen werden. Des Weiteren belegen die Ergebnisse einen spezifischen Zusammenhang zwischen Defiziten in kognitiven ToM-Fähigkeiten und stärker ausgeprägten allgemeinen Wahnüberzeugungen. Eine Untersuchung signifikanter ToM-Defizite im Sinne einer Hyper-ToM im Bereich der kognitiven ToM bei Patienten mit paranoider Schizophrenie im Vergleich zur übrigen Patientengruppe und der Kontrollgruppe, zeigte keine relevanten Unterschiede. Schließlich stellte sich kein geschlechtsspezifischer Unterschied bezüglich affektiver und kognitiver ToM-Fähigkeiten in der erhobenen Patienten- und Kontrollprobandenstichprobe dar. Schlussfolgerung Die Befunde dieser Studie sprechen für die Annahme, dass die ToM-Beeinträchtigung ein andauerndes Merkmal der schizophrenen Erkrankung darstellt. Ferner kann vermutet werden, dass bei Patienten mit schizophrenen Störungen kognitive ToM-Beeinträchtigungen geringer ausgeprägt sind als affektive ToM-Defizite. Zudem zeigen sich erneut Hinweise dafür, dass Defizite in kognitiven ToM-Fähigkeiten die Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung allgemeiner Wahngedanken beeinflussen

Epidemiology of Dry Eye and Its Determinants Among University Students

This is a Letter to the Editor and does not have an abstract. Please download the PDF or view the article HTML

Revisiting the Core and Cover of Quality in Higher Education

Member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) have committed themselves to promote a program of action to improve and reform their educational institutions and curricula on the basis of the "OIC Vision 1441". As part of this commitment, a process has been initiated to review current international university ranking systems and to create a specific mechanism for ranking universities of the OIC countries. In this study, we explore the criteria that emerged as an outcome of this process and have been adopted for the purpose of ranking OIC universities. We raise the challenge that, although the idea of an OIC-specific ranking mechanism is a potentially valuable initiation for the Islamic countries to converge and cooperate, the whole endeavor tends to deal only with rudimentary issues in science, education, and research. The core conceptions, taken for granted and almost left untreated, continue to exist under the disguise of the newly fabricated criteria. For each one of the five major sets of criteria (Research, Education, International out-look, Facilities, and Socio-economic impact) we discuss why we believe they deal with the 'cover' rather than the 'core' of quality in higher education and research. We further discuss that truly alternative practices in the context of specific socio-cultural values, require revisiting underlying and taken for granted understandings of science, research, and technology. To walk our own way and to challenge the dominant mainstream global forces, we need a fundamentally alternative view of the quality and value of knowledge and basically of the value of the human being