The Role of Explicit Interactive Metadiscourse Markers’ Instruction in Iranian EAP Learners’ Reading Comprehension

This research was conducted to investigate the role that explicit instruction of interactive metadiscourse markers plays in Iranian EAP learners’ reading comprehension performance. To this end, 36 students of business management in intermediate level of English language proficiency, both male and female, were asked to participate in this study. They, subsequently, were divided into two groups of equal size, that is, control and experimental. Prior to presenting the treatment to the experimental group, all the participants were given a reading comprehension test. Then, the learners in the experimental group were explicitly taught interactive metadiscourse markers in 10 allocated sessions. Meanwhile, students in the control group of the study were taught through the typical method of the university. Afterward, the students of both groups were given the previously used reading comprehension test again. Statistical analyses of the t-test revealed that those in the experimental group outperformed significantly in the post-test phase of the study (p<0.01). Therefore, it can be inferred that explicit instruction of interactive metadiscourse markers has the outstanding beneficial role in EAP learners’ reading comprehension

The protective effects of Crocin on testopathy in fat-fed and streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats: An experimental study

Background:&nbsp;Male hypogonadism is associated with type II diabetes mellitus due to&nbsp;testicular dysfunction. Medicinal plants have received considerable attention for the&nbsp;management of diabetes and its complications. Objective:&nbsp;The aim of present study was to evaluate the anti-diabetic and protective&nbsp;influence of Crocin on testopathy in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, type II of diabetes mellitus was induced by high-fat diet and low dose of streptozotocin. Male Wistar rats (8 weeks,150–200 gr, 18 rats; n= 6 per group) were divided into a control group (standard diet), diabetic group (streptozotocin+high-fat diet), and treatment group (High fat diet+streptozotocin+Crocin at 20 mg/kg/day, i.p. for 60 days). After 60 days, animals were euthanized, testis and epididymis were dissected, and weights of testes and sperm count were analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin-stained was done for histopathological examination. Blood samples were collected for the assessment of serum glucose and cholesterol. Results:&nbsp;High-fat diet and streptozotocin significantly increased the serum glucose and cholesterol levels as compared to the control group (p≤ 0. 001). Moreover, there was a significant decrease in the weight of right (p= 0.008) and left testes (p≤ 0.001) and also the total sperm count (p= 0.023) in the diabetic group compared with the control group. Current results also identified that type II diabetes mellitus induced degeneration in the morphology of seminiferous tubules. Application of Crocin could significantly decrease serum glucose and cholesterol levels (p= 0.003). Furthermore, Crocin treatment significantly increased the weight of the right (p= 0.026) and left (p= 0.014) testes and total sperm count (p= 0.000). Also, Crocin could attenuate the pathological changes of the testes in the treatment group. Conclusion: Present findings concluded that Crocin treatment improved diabetic&nbsp;testopathy and impairment of seminiferous tubules induced by high-fat diet and&nbsp;streptozotocin. Key words: Crocin, Reproductive system, Blood glucose, Streptozotocin, Diabetes

Study the relationship between medical sciences students' self-esteem and academic achievement of Guilan university of medical sciences

Background: Achievement of productivity and improvement of quality in the educational system is the effective, influential factors for countries development. Academic achievement is the main objective of the training program and the most important concerns of teachers, education officials, and university Student's families. Self-esteem is one of the factors affecting student academic achievement. This study is aimed to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement in Medical Sciences students of in 2014–2015. Subjects and Methods: This is a descriptive–correlational study. In this study, 537 university students were selected using random stratified sampling method from Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2014–2015. Data were collected using the standard self-esteem questionnaire of Cooper Smith consisting of four elements (general, social, familial, and educational) and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 and descriptive statistics such as Spearman correlation and Logistic Regression. Results: The results indicated a significant relationship between grade point average and educational self-esteem (P = 0.002, r = 0.135) and global self-esteem (P = 0.02, r = 0.102). There was also a significant relationship between composite Index educational status and general self-esteem (P = 0.019, r = 0.102) and academic achievement (P = 0.007, r = 0.116) and global self-esteem (P = 0.020, r = 0.102). Conclusions: According to the results, the highest mean score of self-esteem was related to the familial element, and the lowest average was in terms of social self-esteem, therefore, given the importance and necessity of self-esteem in academic achievement, strengthening of all aspects of self-esteem is suggested

LED visible light assisted photo-oxidation of acetaminophen using one-step synthesis of Cu,Fe@g-C3N4 nanosheet – Activated persulfate system in aqueous solutions

In this work, the synthesis of Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu) co-doped g-C3N4 was performed using the thermal decomposition of urea while iron nitrate and copper nitrate were used as dopant precursors. The fabricated catalyst (Fe-Cu@g-C3N4) was coupled with visible light and used for acetaminophen (APAP) degradation. The synthesized catalyst was characterized via several techniques including XRD, BET, BJH, SEM, TEM, EDX, EDS Dot mapping, DLS, and UV–Vis deflective reflectance spectroscopy. The performed characterization tests confirmed the successful synthesis of Fe-Cu co-doped g-C3N4 with high purity, nano-sheet structure and high porosity (79.93 m2/g). The complete APAP decomposition efficiency was achieved under optimal experimental conditions including pH of 11, catalyst dosage of 10 mg/L, PS dosage of 1 mM, and APAP concentration of 4 mg/L. The scavenging tests confirmed the major contribution of sulfate radicals and consequently, hydroxyl radicals for APAP removal. In addition, the kinetics of APAP degradation was studied and it revealed the pseudo first–order kinetics with 0.0698 min−1 rate constant. Finally, a plausible and tentative decomposition pathway was proposed for APAP degradation. The results of this study confirmed that the LED/catalyst (Cu, Fe@g-C3N4)/PS process could be an efficient and robust process for antibiotic-containing wastewater including hospital wastewater

The Effect of Telomerase Inhibition on the Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines Affecting the Pathogenesis of Multiple Myeloma Cell Line U266

Background and Objectives: Telomerase is an enzyme, which is overexpressed in 80-90% of cancers. Simultaneous activities of telomerase and NF-&kappa;B are required for progression of many cancers. In recent years, researchers have found out a close relationship between telomerase and the transcription factor NF-&kappa;B. Increased expression of telomerase is associated with significant increases in the expression level of NF-&kappa;B and endogenous genes, such as IL-6 and TNF-&alpha;. In recent years, several methods have been proposed to inhibit telomerase in cancer cells. Therefore, If it is possible to inhibit telomerase activity and consequently reduce the expression of inflammatory cytokines, the NF-&kappa;B signaling pathway, and the expression of target genes in the multiple myeloma disease. In this study, the effect of MST-312 (a derivative of green tea) with telomerase inhibition activity, was investigated on the treated U266 cell line and the expression of inflammatory cytokines. &nbsp; Methods: In this experimental study, U266 cells, were treated with different dosed of MST-312 for 48 hours, and cellular apoptosis, was assessed by Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit. Then, to assess the expression of IL-6 and TNF-&alpha; genes, cells were treated with MST-312 (2&mu;M for 48 hours) and the RNA of these cells, was extracted. In the following, real-time PCR method was used to investigate gene expression level. &nbsp; Results: In this study, an increase in apoptosis and a decrease in the expression of IL-6 and TNF-&alpha; genes in U266 cells, was observed after 48 hours of exposure with 2&mu;M MST-312. In addition, no cytotoxic effect was observed on normal blood mononuclear cells. &nbsp; Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that inhibition of telomerase activity by MST-312, can be considered as a novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma. &nbsp

Identification of stable chickpeas under dryland conditions by mixed models

Abstract Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important legume crops, mainly grown in tropical and subtropical climates. Evaluation of yield performance in crops under multienvironments is applied to verify the stability of cultivars. The aim of this study is to apply the analytical and experimental models to identify the high‐yielding and stable genotypes of chickpea under dryland conditions. Sixteen chickpea lines and two control cultivars were cultivated in randomized complete block design with three replications in four regions at three cropping seasons (2016–2019). Third type of biplot showed that G4, G15, G10, G9, and G18 were highly productive and widely stable. A selection index based on different weights of seed yield and WAASB stability indicated genotypes G7, G9, G15, G4, G16, G18, G12, and G5 were high yielding and stable. Data mining showed that high rainfall in winter can lead to high yield. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis indicated that rainfall in autumn and spring and low temperature in all of the three seasons involved in genotype by environment interaction (GEI). Factorial regression (FR) also indicated that temperature during spring and winter plays an important role in GEI. In conclusion, based on all experimental approaches, G15, G16, and G5 were stable and high‐yielding genotypes. The PLSR biplot indicated G15 was the genotype that less affected by high temperature in three seasons and lack of rainfall in spring and autumn, it can be used in cultivar introduction processes for dryland cultivation