General Extenders in Persian Discourse: Frequency and Grammatical Distribution

This study tries to investigate the frequency and grammatical distribution of general extenders in Persian. The analysis is based on a corpus of informal conversations. On some occasions, a comparison will also be made with the corpus of informal English compiled and analyzed by Overstreet (1999, 2005). The results of this study lay bare the fact that Persian speakers use adjunctive general extenders more frequently than disjunctive ones. It will also be demonstrated that Persian speakers use general extenders both at clause final and clause-internal positions. Finally, Persian general extenders will be examined with reference to their grammatical agreement requirements.Keywords: Discourse marker; frequency; general extender; grammatical distribution; Persia

A New, Simple and Practical Approach to Increase the Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Serum Levels of Neurotrophic Factors in Adult Males

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(2): 932-941, 2023. Environmental enrichment (EE) is defined as a combination of complex inanimate and social stimulation. Physical activity and EE may augment the beneficial effects of each other. This study aimed to assess the effects of running in an enriched environment on neurotrophic factors in adult males. Twelve volunteer adult males (age 26.75 ± 5.34 yrs, body mass 70.72 ± 8.61 kg, height 172.50 ± 5.68 cm, VO2max 56.8 ± 2.93) completed two sessions, each consisted of one hour of running at an intensity of 12-13 on the Borg Scale. One session was completed in a normal environment, while the other was performed in an enriched environment (running track with several obstacles). Participants completed this randomized cross-over study interspersed by two weeks. Ten minutes before and after each session, blood samples were collected from all participants. Serum levels of BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF were measured by ELISA. There was a statistically significant interaction of condition and exercise on BDNF, F (1, 11) = 43.71, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.799; IGF-1, F (1, 11) = 83.58, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.884; and VEGF, F (1, 11) = 31.86, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.743. There was also a significant effect of condition on BDNF F (1, 11) = 21.08, p = 0.001, = 0.657; IGF-1, F (1, 11) = 32.35, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.746; and VEGF, F (1, 11) = 116.29, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.914. In addition, there was a significant effect of Exercise on BDNF F (1, 11) = 52.86, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.828; IGF-1, F (1, 11) = 39.14, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.781; and VEGF, F (1, 11) = 171.21, p \u3c 0.001, = 0.940. One hour of moderate-intensity running in adult males significantly increased serum levels of BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF. But, exercising in an enriched environment may have a significantly greater effect. Therefore, if enhancing neurotrophic factors are desired outcomes of training sessions, then including obstacles may enhance the likelihood of achieving this goal

Lenition in Persian: A Case Study of Stop Consonants

In the present research, the lenition of stop consonants in Persian continuous speech has been investigated within the framework of laboratory phonology. Data were designed such that Persian stops were placed in three different consonantal positions, namely word initial, intervocalic word medial, and word final. Also, the stop consonants differed with respect to context (voiced vs. voiceless) as well as lexical stress (stressed vs. unstressed). Duration of stop consonants as well as their frequency of occurrence as stops, fricatives and approximants were computed. Results showed that voiceless stops resist lenition and do not lose their phonetic quality in any context. However, voiced stops show different magnitude of consonantal reduction depending on word position and context. This finding is in line with the phonetic approach to lenition, supporting the articulatory mechanisms underlying consonantal weakening, namely greater sonority, lesser articulatory effort and shortening. The results further agree with perceptual constraints underlying consonantal lenition which assume that stop consonants are more likely to be weakened inside a prosodic unit like a word rather than at its edges, also in intervocalic position, as they are surrounded with more sonorant sounds, and they are more likely to turn into approximants than fricatives

Prolonged fever in a case of end stage renal disease with remained guidewire

Central venous catheters,introduced for short-term dialysis,but occationally used as permanent vascular access in patient without alternative option. Hemodialysis(HD) patients presenting with fever have high rates of bacteremia,specially in patients with dialysis catheters and those with a history of bacteremia. [1]Herein,we report a case of  end stage renal disease with catheter infection complicated with endocarditi

Impact of Lesion Length on Functional Significance in Intermediate Coronary Lesions

Introduction: The present study aimed at assessing the role of lesion length in predicting Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) value for physiological evaluation of intermediate coronary lesions.Methods: In the current study, 68 patients with 83 coronary lesions were enrolled. All of the patients in this study underwent routine coronary angiography, according to appropriate indications. To evaluate physiologically significant intermediate coronary stenosis (defined between 40% and 70% on visual estimation), the Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) study was performed and the Quantitative Coronary Angiography (QCA) data were also assessed for measurement of lesion length. The correlation between QCA data and FFR values was also examined.Results: Eighty-three lesions were evaluated from 68 patients. Stenosis was considered physiologically significant when FFR was lower than 0.75. The FFR was significant in twelve lesions (14.5%). There was a negative correlation between FFR value and lesion length (r = -0.294 and P = 0.013). Moreover, lesion length in physiologically significant FFR group (21.07 ± 6.9) was greater than that of the non-significant FFR group (15.23 ± 6.5) (P value < 0.05). Furthermore, the correlation between QCA data and FFR values was also investigated, yet, there was only a positive correlation between FFR and Minimum Luminal Diameter (MLD) values (r = 0.248 and P value = 0.04). The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for predicting the significant FFR value demonstrated that a lesion length greater than 17.5 mm was the best cut-off point for prediction of the significant FFR value with acceptable sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 68.8%, respectively.Conclusions: There is a negative correlation between lesion length and FFR value in intermediate coronary lesions. In addition, a lesion length greater than 17.5 mm is the best cut- off point for prediction of significant FFR values

Molecular Analysis of Aquaglyceroporin 1 Gene in Non-Healing Clinical Isolates Obtained from Patients with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis from Central of Iran

Background: Regarding the antimonial-resistant of Leishmania spp., understanding of related mechanism is necessary. One of the most important involved molecules is aquaglyceropin1 (AQP1). The aim of this study was molecular analysis of AQP1 gene from antimonial-resistant clinical isolates and its expression. Methods: Overall, 150 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis referring to the reference laboratories of Yazd and Varzaneh,, located 105km southeast of Isfahan and 240km away from Yazd, were assessed from Jun 2015 to Dec 2017. After sampling, staining was done and evaluated for Leishman by microscope. Samples were collected in RNAlater solution for gene expression analysis in non-healing isolates. DNA extraction was performed from each slide with Leishman body. All patients with L. major isolates detected by ITS1-PCR-RFLP were followed for finding the resistant isolates, consequence of molecular characterization of AQP1 using PCR-RFLP. Gene expression of AQP1 from all resistant isolates was assessed in comparison with the one in a sensitive isolate. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS. The significance level was considered ≤0.05. Results: Five isolates were detected as antimonial resistant. Molecular detection and identification were appeared that all were L. major. The molecular characterization of AQP1 showed G562A mutation. Gene expression of AQP1 in resistant isolates showed 1.67 fold higher than the sensitive isolate. Conclusion: We reported a new point mutation of G562A in AQP1 gene involved in molecular mechanism in resistant isolates

Detection of acrA, acrB, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, and qepA genes among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Background: The distribution of drug resistance among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae has limited the therapeutic options. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of quinolone resistance genes among E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical strains isolated from three educational hospitals of Tehran, Iran. Materials and methods: A total of 100 strains of E. coli from Labbafinejad and Taleghani Hospitals and 100 strains of K. pneumoniae from Mofid Children and Taleghani Hospitals were collected between January 2013 and May 2014. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were done by disk diffusion method based on Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Detection of qepA, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, acrA, and acrB genes was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: In this study, fosfomycin and imipenem against E. coli and fosfomycin and tigecycline against K. pneumoniae had the best effect in antimicrobial susceptibility tests. PCR assay using specific primers demonstrated that the prevalence of qepA, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, acrA, and acrB genes among the 100 E. coli isolates was 0 (0%), 87 (87%), 92 (92%), and 84 (84%), respectively. The prevalence of qepA, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, acrA, and acrB genes among the 100 K. pneumoniae isolates was 4 (4%), 85 (85%), 94 (94%), and 87 (87%), respectively. Conclusion: The distribution of qepA, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, acrA, and acrB resistance determinants in E. coli and K. pneumoniae is a great concern. Therefore, infection control and prevention of spread of drug-resistant bacteria need careful management of medication and identification of resistant isolates

Is It Time to Review our Educational Program for the Electrocardiography Operators?

No abstract available

Efficacy of the Biomaterials 3 wt%-nanostrontium-hydroxyapatite-enhanced Calcium Phosphate Cement (nanoSr-CPC) and nanoSr-CPC-incorporated Simvastatin-loaded Poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid) Microspheres in Osteogenesis Improvement

Aims The purpose of this multi-phase explorative in vivo animal/surgical and in vitro multi-test experimental study was to (1) create a 3 wt%-nanostrontium hydroxyapatite-enhanced calcium phosphate cement (Sr-HA/CPC) for increasing bone formation and (2) creating a simvastatin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (SIM-loaded PLGA) microspheres plus CPC composite (SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC). The third goal was the extensive assessment of multiple in vitro and in vivo characteristics of the above experimental explorative products in vitro and in vivo (animal and surgical studies). Methods and results pertaining to Sr-HA/CPC Physical and chemical properties of the prepared Sr-HA/CPC were evaluated. MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase activities, and radiological and histological examinations of Sr-HA/CPC, CPC and negative control were compared. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that crystallinity of the prepared cement increased by increasing the powder-to-liquid ratio. Incorporation of Sr-HA into CPC increased MTT assay (biocompatibility) and ALP activity (P \u3c 0.05). Histomorphometry showed greater bone formation after 4 weeks, after implantation of Sr-HA/CPC in 10 rats compared to implantations of CPC or empty defects in the same rats (n = 30, ANOVA P \u3c 0.05). Methods and results pertaining to SIM-loaded PLGA microspheres + nanostrontium-CPC composite After SEM assessment, the produced composite of microspheres and enhanced CPC were implanted for 8 weeks in 10 rabbits, along with positive and negative controls, enhanced CPC, and enhanced CPC plus SIM (n = 50). In the control group, only a small amount of bone had been regenerated (localized at the boundary of the defect); whereas, other groups showed new bone formation within and around the materials. A significant difference was found in the osteogenesis induced by the groups sham control (16.96 ± 1.01), bone materials (32.28 ± 4.03), nanostrontium-CPC (24.84 ± 2.6), nanostrontium-CPC-simvastatin (40.12 ± 3.29), and SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC (44.8 ± 6.45) (ANOVA P \u3c 0.001). All the pairwise comparisons were significant (Tukey P \u3c 0.01), except that of nanostrontium-CPC-simvastatin and SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC. This confirmed the efficacy of the SIM-loaded PLGA + nanostrontium-CPC composite, and its superiority over all materials except SIM-containing nanostrontium-CPC