INTERACTION AND CONTRADICTION BETWEEN CARMELITE MISSIONARIES AND SHIITE CLERICS IN IRAN DURING SAFAVID DYNASTY

After the beginning of the Safavid State and expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, the presence of European states citizens and evangelistic missionary associations in Iran highly intensified. These associations who mostly were entering Iran for political and religious purposes, in some periods like Shah Abbas I reign could establish bases for themselves in Iran and could work there for long whiles. Among these missionary associations, the Carmelite missionaries who in the beginning entered Iran as Pope`s ambassadors are very significant. The Carmelites had a continuous presence in the Iran`s Shi`ite community for about 160 years (1608-1768 AD / 1018-1182 AH) and performed various religious, political and cultural activities. They converted some Shi`ites of Iran into Christianity during 1618-1621 AD/ 1027-1030 AH that this their attempt faced the intense reaction of Shia scholars. The authors in this study at the first order attend to discuss the contexts and the quality of the presence of the Carmelite missionaries in Iran, then analyze the interaction and opposition between them and the Shi`ite clerics as well as people`s masses and explain its consequences by noting some evidence

The Seven Heavens of the Holy Quran in Mulla Sadra and Fakhr Razi's View

Several Quranic verses have mentioned the concept of the "Seven Heavens". There is no unanimity among the scholars about its interpretation and meaning. Mulla Sadra believes that it is impossible to understand the seven heavens through sensory and material tools, and that the only way to understand its truth and essence is to appeal to the holy Quran and Hadith. He considers the seven heavens as the world of imagination. On the other hand, Fakhr Razi appeals to Ptolemaic system of astrology to interpret the seven heavens and provides a definition based on astrologers' view. He believes that the seven heavens are seven material spheres which go around the Earth. Elaborating on Mulla Sadra and Fakhr Razi's view on the issue, the present paper criticizes the latter's view, and approves and emphasizes on the former's view which is based on Quranic verses and hadiths

Synthesis of Nano Magnetite Fe3O4 Based Vanadic Acid: A Highly Efficient and Recyclable Novel Nano-catalyst for the Synthesis of 4,4’-(arylmethylene)-bis(3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-ols)

Nano magnetic Fe3O4 based vanadic acid [MNPs@VO(OH)2] (average diameter 20–26 nm) has been synthesized by grafting VOCl3 on the Fe3O4 surface nanoparticles as a retrievable supporter to produce novel heterogeneous reusable solid acid with dual ability (Bronsted and Lewis acid) followed by stirring in the air. The resultant material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Significantly, the as-prepared [MNPs@VO(OH)2] exhibits a high catalytic activity in the synthesis of 4,4’-(arylmethylene)bis(3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-ols). Additionally, the newly synthesized heterogeneous solid acid catalyst can be reused for several times without apparent loss of its catalytic activity. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

A Comparison Between the Effectiveness of Neuro Linguistic Programing’ and Transactional Analysis Training on Managerial Effectiveness

Abstract Managerial effectiveness has always been one of the most important expectations of organizations from managers. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of teaching Neuro Linguistic Programming and transactional analysis on managerial effectiveness. The research design was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, control group and 2 months follow up. The population was all the middle male managers of Pars Khodro Company, and the sample consisted of 66 managers who distributed randomly in the experimental and control groups. The instruments of this study were: Gupta Management effectiveness Questionnaire, Transactional Analysis Protocol Based on Moradi, Shafiabadi and Salimi Protocol (2016) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming Protocol Based on Kajbaf, Moqaddas and Aghaei Protocol (2011). To analyze the data, repeated measures analysis of variance was used. Findings showed a significant difference between the mean of managerial effectiveness in the experimental and the control groups and showed that the Transactional analysis method has a significant effect on increasing the managerial effectiveness scores of managers; But this effect was not significant in Neuro Linguistic Programming method .Also, the pairwise comparison of the means indicated that Transactional analysis training was more effective than the Neuro Linguistic Programming training on managerial effectiveness. Therefore, it can be concluded that managers can increase their effectiveness by learning Transactional analysis techniques, and organizations can increase the productivity of their managers by holding these training courses

اثر شستشوی با محلول های مختلف بر میزان بروز عفونت زخم

Introduction: Management of acute and chronic wounds has significantly altered in the last decade but little attention has been paid to the solution used for cleansing the wounds. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the effects of tap water, distilled water, and normal saline for wound cleansing in emergency department. Methods: This is a double-blind randomized clinical trial with a 10-day follow up. Patients who had superficial wounds were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups: normal saline, distilled water, and tap water. The wounds were cleansed using a 20 - 60 milliliter syringe with an 18 gauge needle. All the patients were discharged with the same antibiotic and were followed 48 hours and 10-day to determine the presence or absence of infection symptoms. The evaluated outcomes were infection incidence in the first 48 hours and 10 days after being discharged. Results: 1200 patients were included in the present study (57% male, average age 25.5 ± 11.0 years). 43 (3.5%) patients showed infection symptoms in the first 48 hours. Ten (2.5%) patients were in normal saline treated group, 15 (3.7%) patients were in distilled water group, and 18 (4.4%) patients were in tap water treated group (p=0.32). 13 (3.2%) patients in normal saline group, 20 (4.9%) patients in distilled water group and 23 (5.6%) in the tap water group did not take their antibiotics. Prevalence of infection were higher in patients who did not take antibiotics (p < 0.001). The 10-day follow-up revealed that all the patients were recovered and showed no infection symptoms. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the prevalence of infection in using the 3 agents (normal saline, distilled water and tap water) for cleansing wounds was similar. Therefore, drinking water could be considered as an alternative for cleansing wounds.مقدمه: مدیریت زخم های حاد و مزمن در دهه اخیر تغییرات زیادی داشته اما توجه بسیار کمی بر نوع محلول مورد استفاده در شستشوی زخم شده است. بر این اساس مطالعه حاضر با هدف مقایسه بروز عفونت زخم در سه روش شستشوی زخم با نرمال سالین، آب مقطر و آب معمولی در مراجعین به اورژانس طراحی شد. روش کار: مطالعه حاضر یک کارآزمایی بالینی تصادفی شده دوسویه کور با پیگیری 10 روزه می باشد. در پژوهش حاضر موارد زخم های سطحی مراجعه کننده به اورژانس، به طور تصادفی توسط یکی از محلول های نرمال سالین، آب مقطر و آب معمولی شستشو داده شدند. تمامی بیماران با آنتی بیوتیک مشابه ای مرخص شدند و پس از 48 ساعت و 10 روز بیماران از نظر بروز احتمالی علایم پیگیری شدند. پیامدهای مورد ارزیابی شامل بروز عفونت و بهبودی طی 48 ساعت ابتدایی و 10 روز پس از ترخیص در نظر گرفته شد. يافته ها: در مطالعه حاضر 1200 بیمار وارد شدند (57/0 درصد مرد، میانگین سنی 11/0±25/5 سال). 43 (3/5 درصد) بیمار در پیگیری 48 ساعته علائم عفونت را نشان دادند. از این بین 10 (2/5 درصد) بیمار در گروه تحت درمان با نرمال سالین، 15 (3/7 درصد) بیمار در گروه آب مقطر و 18 (4/4 درصد) بیمار در گروه شستشو با آب معمولی بودند (0/32=p). سیزده (3/2 درصد) بیمار در گروه نرمال سالین، 20 (4/9 درصد) فرد در گروه آب مقطر و 23 (5/6 درصد) بیمار در گروه تحت درمان با آب معمولی از مصرف آنتی بیوتیک ممانعت کرده بودند (0/24=p). شیوع عفونت در بیمارانی بیشتر بود که از مصرف آنتی بیوتیک ممانعت کرده بودند (0/001>p). در نهایت نیز پیگیری 10 روزه نشان داد تمامی بیماران بهبودی یافته و هیچ علامتی از بروز عفونت در آنها مشاهده نشد. نتيجه گيری: یافته های مطالعه حاضر نشان داد شیوع عفونت در سه روش شستشوی زخم با نرمال سالین، آب مقطر و آب معمولی مشابه هم می باشد. بنابراین استفاده از آب آشامیدنی ممکن است به عنوان یک روش جایگزین در شستشوی زخم در نظر گرفته شود

Tangeretin protects renal tubular epithelial cells against experimental cisplatin toxicity

Objective(s): Cisplatin is an effective antineoplastic agent; its clinical utility, however, is limited by a few salient toxic side effects like nephrotoxicity. This study aimed to determine the potential protective effects of tangeretin, a citrus-derived flavonoid, against renal tubular cell injury in cisplatin-induced renal toxicity of rats.Materials and Methods: Tangeretin was injected intraperitoneally at 2.5 and 5 mg/kg doses for 10 days, and a single dose of cisplatin (8 mg/kg) was injected on the 7th day. Tests of kidney function and tubular injury in renal tissues and urine together with oxidative stress and inflammation markers were examined.Results: Tangeretin ameliorated cisplatin-induced elevations in serum creatinine, BUN, and histopathologic changes. It also attenuated kidney oxidative stress elicited by cisplatin as demonstrated by reduced MDA and increased GSH, CAT, and SOD activities, elevated Nrf2 expression and protein levels of its downstream effectors, HO-1 and NQO-1. Tangeretin further alleviated inflammation evoked by cisplatin as indicated by reduced NF-κB p65 subunit phosphorylation with a simultaneous decrement in its downstream effectors IL-1β and TNF-α expression and protein levels. Moreover, it declined caspase-3 protein levels and TUNEL positive cells in the kidneys, the markers of apoptosis and DNA fragmentation, thus improving renal endurance. Additionally, tangeretin mitigated renal levels of KIM-1 and NGAL, as well as urinary cystatin C and β2-microglobulin concentrations, the markers of renal tubular injury.Conclusion: Collectively, these data signify the binary profit of tangeretin: enhancement of renal protective mechanisms against cisplatin and attenuation of renal tubular cell injuries induced by the agent

Proinflammatory Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms in Bullous Pemphigoid

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a rare autoimmune skin blistering disease, characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against hemidesmosomal autoantigens. Cytokine expression is altered in BP patients, and several of these differently expressed cytokines, including IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, and TNF-α, contribute to disease pathogenesis. Since genetic polymorphisms in the genes of these cytokines might be implicated in susceptibility to BP disease, we aimed at testing this implication in susceptibility to BP in an Iranian cohort. Blood samples were collected from the subjects and genomic DNA was extracted. To detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), IL-1α (rs1800587), IL-1β (rs1143627, rs16944, rs1143634), IL-8 (rs4073), and TNF-α (rs1799964, rs1800630, rs1799724, and rs361525) genes were genotyped in BP patients and healthy controls as well as IL-8 (rs4073) in pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients. Quantitative gene expression was evaluated by RT-PCR analysis. A significant difference was observed in the distribution of genotypes or alleles of IL-8 SNP between the BP patients and controls. The A-allele of IL-8 SNP is significantly more prevalent in the control individuals compared to the BP patient. To further validate this observation, we included PV patients as an additional control. Again, the A-allele of IL-8 SNP is significantly more prevalent in the PV compared to the BP patients. While we observed a trend toward significant differences regarding alleles of TNF-α rs1799724 as well as alleles of TNF-α rs1799964, this difference was, however, not evident after correction for multiple analysis. There was no significant difference in all other studied SNPs. In contrast to IL-1α, IL-1β, and TNF-α, IL-8 gene expression levels were significantly higher in the patients than that of controls. The minor allele in IL-8 SNP might play a protective role in susceptibility to BP in Iranian patients. Although higher expression levels of IL-8 gene was found in the patients compared with healthy controls, these levels, however, suggest no association with the examined polymorphism. Moreover, further investigation revealed an elevation in gene expression between wild and polymorphic genotypes of IL-1α rs1800587 and TNF-α rs361525 in the patient group and these SNPs are therefore associated with altering the levels of gene expression

The Relationship between Work-Family Conflict, Job Stress, and Accidental Potential: A case study of Tehran-Shahrood fiber optic line construction project

Introduction: Today, work-family conflict and occupational stress are considered as a common and costly problem in work environments. Almost all people are faced with such challenges. Work-family conflict is a sub-set of psychological factors. The main purpose of this research was to measure the correlation among work-family conflict, occupational stress, and incident talent. Moreover, we classified the employees in each of these three variables. Methods: In order to collect data in this applied research, we used questionnaire. The statistical population included all the employees of a fiber-optic line construction project. A total of 250 samples were selected randomly. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlation test, frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviation. Results: Findings indicated that job stress and work-family conflict had a positive correlation with the accidental potential among employees. Moreover, we found that among the sub-scales of work-family conflict, the highest score was related to the behavioral conflict in the family (9.19). Among the stress subscales, the highest score was attributed to the job performance subscale (18.43). Conclusion: The results show that the increased work stress and work-family conflict lead to an increase in the level of incidence. Therefore, a psychologist should be present in the work and training environments to control and manage the stress, divide the family and work duties, address these problems, and reduce the incidents. &nbsp

Knowledge levels and attitudes of health care professionals toward patients with hepatitis C infection

AIM: To study knowledge levels and attitudes of health care providers toward patients with hepatitis C virus infection in Guilan, a northern province of Iran