Natural Gas Refinery Wastewater Treatment by Zeolites

The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the SAR (Sodium Adsorption Ratio) and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) reduction in reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate, using two types of natural zeolites. In order to reduce salinity of wastewater, experiments are carried out by varying the type of zeolite, concentration of zeolite, and residence time. The results show that both zeolites can lower the SAR and TDS of wastewater; however, Rhyolitic tuff is more effective than clinoptilolite. It is observed that the concentration of zeolite has not significant effects on wastewater treatment so, using the lowest level of selected concentration reduces the cost of desalination. In addition, the effect of residence time is negligible. The experimental set up shows that the SAR reduction slop is higher than TDS

Quality-by-design model in optimization of PEG-PLGA nano micelles for targeted cancer therapy

Poly (D,L-Lactic-co-Glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer approved by FDA for clinical uses. Surface functionalization of self-assembly micelles made of PLGA with Poly- Ethylene Glycol (PEG) improves its stability and half-life in blood circulation via inhibiting adsorption of proteins on the surface and consequently decreasing opsonization rate. The purpose of present study was to optimize PEG amount absorbed on PLGA (PEGabsPLGA) micelles by application of quality by design approach. Based on risk assessment, effect of three variables including PLGA concentration, PEG concentration and molecular weight (MW) of PLGA were studied. Central composite design was implemented for design of experimentation with 26 runs. The PEGabsPLGA nano drug delivery system (NDDS), produced by o/w method, was optimized according to particle size, polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential values. Validation of the model was successfully performed with three representative formulations from the design space. As a result, 43.79 mg of PLGA with MW of 30,000-60,000 was incorporated with 12.61 mg of PEG to obtain a 69 nm NDDS (predicted 67.72 nm) with the PDI value equal to 0.124 (predicted 0.112). The results successfully led to the preparation of the most stable nanoparticles which were stable at room temperature for six months.Q2WOS:0004510080000442-s2.0-8505527889

Geriatric syndromes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A comparison between young and elderly patients

BACKGROUND: In the general geriatric population, Geriatric syndromes (GSs) predict greater likelihood of hospitalization, increased health care use and cost. The present study aimed to compare GSs among young and elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).METHODS: In a cross-sectional study a total of 98 participants, including 65 elderly (≥60 years) and 33 young adult patients (<60 years) with RA who referred to the geriatric and rheumatologic clinic were enrolled. Patients were categorized into three groups (healthy elderly, n=27; elderly with RA, n=38; and young people with RA, n=33). GSs were assessed using mini-mental state exam (MMSE), five-item geriatric depression scale-15 (GDS-15), mini nutritional assessment (MNA), and asking patients about history of falls in the past year. The RA activity in patients was assessed using disease activity for rheumatoid arthritis score-28 (DAS-28) scale, serum ESR (mm/h) level.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant differences in terms of DAS-28 (2.23±1.01 vs. 0.64±0.97, P=0.025) and ESR (28.10±6.64 vs. 23.09±7.65 mm/h, P=0.042) between healthy elderly and RA elderly patients. Elderly patients with RA were significantly more prone to have cognitive impairment (P=0.002), fall (P=0.005), malnutrition (P<0.001), urinary incontinence (P<0.001), and functional disability (P=0.021) compared to healthy elderlies and young RA patients. The results of binary logistic regression revealed that in elderly RA patients, higher DAS-28 score [odds ratio (OR) = 1.96; 95% CI 1.03, 3.84; P=0.041] was an independent risk factors for the GSs.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of some features of GSs were higher in the elderly RA patients than healthy elderly and young RA patients

Viable Extreme Preterm Birth and Some Neonatal Outcomes in Double Cerclage versus Traditional Cerclage: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The pregnant women at higher risk of preterm labor, referred to the perinatal clinic of Kosar University Hospital in Urmia district of Iran, were enrolled into a parallel randomized clinical trial. In the investigational arm of the clinical trial, a double cervical cerclage procedure was performed addition to McDonald cerclage. In the control group however, only McDonald cerclage was performed. Extreme preterm labor (GA < 33 weeks) was the primary endpoint of this clinical trial. Age, gestational age at cerclage time, and gravidity were not found to be statistically different between the groups. Means of gestational age were 37.4 and 36.2 weeks, respectively, for the investigational and control groups. The gestational age was 1.2 weeks longer for double cerclage group but the difference was not found to be statistically significant. Preterm birth before 33 weeks of gestation was not experienced by any of the patients who received double cerclage, but five women in control group developed such an extreme preterm labor (P < 0.05). The absolute risk reduction in using double cerclage over traditional method was 18 percent (95% confidence interval, 4%–32%). Double cerclage appeared to have higher efficacy than traditional cerclage in preventing preterm labor <33 weeks of gestation

Islamic Gerontology, Importance of Localizing Aging Studies in Iran: A Review of Quran and Hadith

سابقه و هدف: بحث بومی‌سازی علوم در مراکز دانشگاهی ایران در کلیه‌ی گرایش‌های مرتبط با کار بر روی انسان، موضوعی است که همواره نقد شده است و دیدگاه‌های همسو و غیرهمسوی فراوانی داشته است. در میان دانش‌های نوین شکل‌گرفته در اواخر قرن بیستم، دانش مطالعه‌ی حیات زیستی، روانی و اجتماعی افراد سالمند یا جرونتولوژی در واقع از جدیدترین شاخه‌های علوم است. همانند علوم دیگر ریشه‌ی نوین این علم در غرب بنیان نهاده شده؛ و برای نخستین بار در سال‌های اخیر در دانشگاه‌های ایران پایه‌ریزی شده است. این مطالعه در پی بیان خاستگاه‌های نظری، اسلامی و عقیدتی این حوزه از دانش در جامعه‌ی شرقی و اسلامی است. روش کار: این پژوهش مطالعه‌یی‌ مروری ازنوع کتابخانه‌یی است. در این مطالعه ابتدا به مجموعه‌ی آیات قرآنی، احادیث، سوابق و مستندات تاریخی با محوریّت سالمندان مراجعه شد؛ و متون مرتبط با واژگان کلیدی سالمند و سالمندی گردآوری و ثبت شد. در این پژوهش همه‌ی موارد اخلاقی رعایت شده است. علاوه‌براین، نویسندگان مقاله هیچ‌گونه تضاد منافعی گزارش نکرده‌اند. یافته‌ها: مطابق منابع موجود فقهی و اسلامی به نظر می‌رسد برای بومی‌سازی و استناد به منابع قرآنی و روایی اسلامی، بسترهای کهن فرهنگ ایرانی و اسناد فقهی فراهم است و توجه به آنها ضرورت دارد. نتیجه‌گیری: با توجه به کامل و جاودانه بودن اسلام و احاطه‌ی آن بر ساختار وجودی انسان و نیازهای حقیقی او، تدوین سرفصل دروس مصوب رشته‌ی جدید سالمندی مبتنی بر اصول و موازین اسلامی، ضرورت دارد. استناد مقاله به این صورت است: Asadollahi&nbsp; A, BahadoriF, EftekharianF. Islamic Gerontology, Importance of Localizing Aging Studies in Iran: A Review of Quran and Hadith. J Res Relig Health. 2018; 4(2): 117- 127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22037/jrrh.v4i2.17087Background and Objective: Discussion of localizing sciences in all fields of humanities is a contentious issue in Iranian academic settings and has its supporters and opponents. Among new branches of sciences developed in the 20th century, the science of biological, psychological, and social aspects of older adults, known as gerontology, is a recent one. Like other modern sciences, this field of study has an occidental origin. In recent years, it has also found its place in academic settings in Iran. The present study aimed to discover the theoretical, Islamic, and ideological origins of gerontology in oriental and Islamic society. Method: This library-based study was an attempt to review available resources. To this end, Quranic verses, hadiths, and historical documents about the elderly were consulted. Keywords such as the elderly and old age were used to search for these resources. All ethical issues were observed in the study and the researchers declared no conflict of interests. Results: According to the available resources of Islamic jurisprudence, it seems that the current situation is appropriate for localizing gerontology through referring to Quranic resources, Islamic hadiths, ancient history of Iranian culture, and documents on Islamic jurisprudence. Conclusion: Considering the thorough and eternal nature of Islam and its dominance on human’s existential structure and his real needs, it is necessary to design the curriculum of gerontology, which is a newly established discipline, based on Islamic principles and standards. &nbsp; Please cite this article as: Asadollahi&nbsp; A, BahadoriF, EftekharianF. Islamic Gerontology, Importance of Localizing Aging Studies in Iran: A Review of Quran and Hadith. J Res Relig Health. 2018; 4(2): 117- 127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22037/jrrh.v4i2.17087DOI: https://doi.org/10.22037/jrrh.v4i2.1708

Correlation between morphological and biological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells and hepatocytes derived from rat mesenchymal stem cells in vitro

Hepatocyte dysfunction with the possibility of eventual organ failure is created from most liver diseases. Images of cell morphology can be obtained nondestructively using a conventional inverted microscope. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate several morphological parameters of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSCs-derived hepatocytes, in vitro, and their correlation with biological activities. Our results show that MSCs are clonogenic and self-renewal and these cells showed apoptotic property. There were significant difference in confluence rate and doubling time rate among serial passages (P&lt;0.01). When MSCs were cultured with fibroblast growth factor – 4 (FGF-4) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), approximately 80-90% of cells became small, round and epithelioid on day 21 that was increasingly similar to hepatocytes in appearance. Compared with the control, levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin (ALB) and urea increased significantly from day 12, 16 and 20, respectively and were higher on day 24 (P &lt; 0.01). The AFP, ALB and urea production level of the large polygonal cells was markedly higher than that of cells with other morphologies. In conclusion, morphological parameters such as polygonal index, cell adhesion area, morphologic changes, proliferation and double nucleoli rate might be use as an indication of differentiation of bone marrow-MSCs into hepatocytes and their functions.Key words: Hepatocyte, stem cell, morphological parameter, polygonal index

Investigating the cytotoxicity of dual-cure bulk-fill resin materials on L929 cells

The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate cytotoxic effects of dual-cure bulk-fill resin materials polymerized with a third-generation LED light-curing unit (LCU) on L929 fibroblast cells in terms of morphology and viability. Three novel dual-cure, flowable bulk-fill materials (Fill-Up!(TM)) a bioactive material (ACTIVA (TM) BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE (TM)), and a dual-cure bulk-fill composite material (HyperFIL (R) HAp) polymerized by LED LCU (VALO (TM) Cordless) were tested. Each material was placed in plastic rings (4 mm x 5 mm) in a single layer. Unpolymerized rings filled with each material were placed in direct contact with cells and then polymerized. After polymerization, the removed medium was readded to wells. In this study, four control groups were performed: the medium-free control group, medium control group, physical control group, and light applied control group. Three samples were prepared from each group. After 24 h, the morphology of cells was examined and a WST-1 test was performed. The percentage of cell viability (PCV) of each group was calculated. The experiment was repeated three times. Data were analyzed by a Kruskal-Wallis Test and a Mann-Whitney U test. p 0.05). All control groups showed acceptable PCV (>70%) and cells were spindle-like, similar to the original fibroblast cells. It can be suggested that clinicians should pay attention when applying dual-cure bulk-fill materials in deep cavities, or they should use a liner material under these materials.Bezmialem Vakif Universit

Porosity effects in flame length of the porous burners

Furnaces are the devices for providing heat to the industrial systems like boilers, gas turbines and etc. The main challenge of furnaces is emission of huge air pollutants. However, porous burners produce less contaminant compared to others. The quality of the combustion process in the porous burners depends on the length of flame in the porous medium. In this paper, the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is used to investigate the porosity effects on the flame length of the combustion process in porous burner. The simulation results demonstrate that increasing the porosity increases the flame length and the combustion zone extends forward. So, combustion quality increases and production of carbon monoxide decrease. It is possible to conclude that temperature distribution in low porosity burner is lower and more uniform than high porosity one. Therefore, by increasing the porosity of the burner, the production of nitrogen oxides increases. So, using an intermediate porosity in the burner appears to be reasonable