CRITICIZING THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL PLURALISM BASICS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE HOLY QURAN’S AYAT

Abstract. Understanding of the religious texts and the emergence process of various interpretations areamongst the challenging topics in the present era. Epistemological pluralism is amongst the notions proposed in the rea of Holy Quran understanding and interpretation. The theory is a form of epistemological relativism that realizes the cognizance or verity as relative based on time, place, society, culture, inheritance and belief in such a way that the thing that is considered as cognizance depends on the value or the importance of one or several of the abovementioned variables. The necessity of epistemological pluralism is the closing of the perception and conversation while the canonical ruler intends a special purpose of offering a text and pours his intention within the cast of words. The most important basics of the theory are: human cognizance relativity, originality of senses and human’s materialism, non- specification of a text’s meaning. The present writing aims at investigation of the foundations of epistemological pluralism and it has been carried out based on an analytical-descriptive method from n intra-religion standpoint and takes advantage of the holy Quran’s AYAT to criticize and challenge the issue.Keywords: epistemological pluralism, relativity of cognizance, originality of sense, semantic specification

Dry Eye Syndrome

Our understanding of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), also known as dry eye syndrome, has been changed over recent years. Until lately, the condition was thought to be merely due to aqueous tear insufficiency. Today, it is understood that KCS is a multifactorial disorder due to inflammation of the ocular surface and lacrimal gland, neurotrophic deficiency and meibomian gland dysfunction. This change in paradigm has led to the development of new and more effective medications

The Impact of Electronic Advertising on the Cereal Importers' Decision to Buy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of electronic advertising on the cereal importers' decision to buy. The present research is a causal descriptive-survey study and an applied study regarding the purpose. The statistical population of the present study is comprised of cereals importers in the first six months of the year 2016, which consist of 202 companies. Sample size was obtained through Cochran formula as 132, and then the questionnaire is distributed through random and classical sampling. The data was collected using two questionnaires: the pre-designed questionnaires was for evaluating electronic advertisement including 4 components and 20 questions, and a researcher-made questionnaire based on Philip Cutler's purchase decision theory to assess purchasing decision and consisted of 4 components, with 47 items. Both of the questionnaires were based on the five-degree Likert spectrum and their reliability was measured using the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The data collected through the questionnaire was entered into the spss19 software system. For the inferential statistics of variables to statistically analyze the data, different statistical tests including Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Pearson correlation test and linear regression were used. The results of the research indicated that electronic advertising has a positive and significant effect on the decision making of cereal importers' purchase. Also, the dimensions of electronic advertising including banner, e-mail, web site, and search engines have a positive and significant effect on shoppers' e-shopping decision. Keywords: electronic advertising, banner, e-mail, web site, search engine

Multi-objective, multi-year dynamic generation and transmission expansion planning- renewable energy sources integration for Iran's National Power Grid

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Meesmann Corneal Dystrophy; a Clinico-Pathologic, Ultrastructural and Confocal Scan Report

Purpose: To report the microstructural features of Meesmann corneal dystrophy (MCD) in two patients. Case Report: The first patient was a 10-year-old boy who presented with bilateral visual loss, diffuse corneal epithelial microcystic changes, high myopia and amblyopia. With a clinical impression of MCD, automated lamellar therapeutic keratoplasty was performed in his left eye. Histopathologic examination of the corneal button disclosed epithelial cell swelling and cyst-like intracytoplasmic inclusions. The cells contained moderate amounts of periodic acid-Schiff-positive and diastase-sensitive material (glycogen). Transmission electron microscopy revealed numerous vacuoles and moderate numbers of electron-dense membrane-bound bodies in the cytoplasm, similar to lysosomes, some engulfed by the vacuoles. The second patient was a 17-year-old female with a clinical diagnosis of MCD and episodes of recurrent corneal erosion. On confocal scan examination of both corneas, hyporeflective round-shaped areas measuring 6.8 to 41.4 μm were seen within the superficial epithelium together with irregular and ill-defined high-contrast areas in the sub-basal epithelial region. The subepithelial nervous plexus was not visible due to regional hyperreflectivity. Conclusion: This case report further adds to the microstructural features of Meesmann corneal dystrophy and suggests confocal scan as a non-invasive method for delineating the microstructural appearance of this rare dystrophy

Immunologic Corneal Graft Rejection after Administration of Topical Latanoprost: a Report of Two Patients

Purpose: To report endothelial corneal graft rejection after administration of topical latanoprost eye drops. Case Report: Two eyes of two patients with a history of multiple intraocular procedures prior to penetrating keratoplasty developed endothelial graft rejection one month after administration of topical latanoprost. Cystoid macular edema developed simultaneously in one patient. Conclusion: Latanoprost may trigger endothelial graft rejection in susceptible eyes

The effects of Ramadan fasting on the health and function of the eye

Background: Ramadan fasting may alter a variety of physiological parameters which by themselves influence ocular system. Here, we review the effects of Ramadan fasting on the health and function of the eye. Materials and Methods: Literature records in PubMed/ MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Iran Medex databases as well as proceedings of related meetings from January 1986 to March 2014 were systematically reviewed. The search key words was based on the terms “Ramadan Fasting,” “Ramadan,” “Islamic Fasting,” “Fasting in Ramadan” accompanied with one of the eye, tear drop, myopia, intraocular pressure (IOP), tear break up time, basal tear secretion, refractive error, and visual acuity. Results: Predawn water loading and dehydration in the evening are shown to increase and decrease IOP and tear secretion, respectively. Ocular blood flow is changed in Ramadan fasting, and patients with ocular vein occlusion may experience more frequent attacks. There are no or minimal fluctuations in visual acuity and refractive errors, but most of them are decompensated after Ramadan. Conclusion: Although the influence of fasting in different eye parameters is evaluated in several studies, there are no or only limited studies conducted on patients suffering from glaucoma, damage to ophthalmic vasculature, tear dysfunction, and minimal visual acuity. Such studies are required to make a definite decision before fasting is declared harmless to these patients

Specular Microscopic Features of Corneal Endothelial Vacuolation

Purpose: To introduce a specular microscopic reference image for endothelial vacuolation in donated corneas. Methods: Two corneas from a donor with diffuse, round to oval dark areas at the endothelial level on slit lamp biomicroscopy and one normal-appearing donor cornea underwent specular microscopy, histopathologic evaluation and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Specular microscopy of the two corneas with abnormal-looking endothelium revealed large numbers of dark, round to oval structures within the endothelium in favor of endothelial vacuolation. Light microscopy disclosed variable sized cyst-like structures within the cytoplasm. Transmission electron microscopy showed electronlucent and relatively large-sized intracytoplasmic vacuoles. These features were not observed in the endothelium of the normal cornea. Conclusion: The specular microscopic features of endothelial vacuolation in donated corneas were confirmed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, therefore the specular image may be proposed as a reference to eye banks

A 27-Year Report from the Central Eye Bank of Iran: A complete translation from Farsi

This article is based on a study first reported in Farsi in the Bina Journal of Ophthalmology, titled گزارش عملکرد سه دهه اي بانک چشم جمهوري اسلامي ايران, Volume 24, Issue 2 (Winter 2019) 2019/05/28. Original URL: https://www.sid.ir/fa/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?ID=487896 Purpose: To report the 27-year statistical data from the Central Eye Bank of Iran (CEBI) and its activity. Methods: All CEBI records regarding procured eyes, tissue utilizations, corneal transplants per capita, and indications for keratoplasty from 1991 to 2017 were analyzed. Results: In total, 115,743 whole eyes were donated during the 27-year period. Out of the 114,169 eyes donated between 1994 and 2017, 95,314 eyes were distributed for transplantation, and 95,057 corneas were actually transplanted. The mean annual rate of corneal transplants per capita was 55.10−6 ± 27.10−6. Although penetrating keratoplasty (PKP, 70%) was the most common technique of corneal transplantation during the study period, it exhibited a decreasing trend between 2006 and 2017 (P = 0.048). It was in contrast to Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) that demonstrated an increasing trend during the same period (P < 0.001). Keratoconus (KCN, 39.70%) was the most leading indication for keratoplasty over the last three decades followed by bullous keratopathy (BK, 18.5%), corneal scar and opacities (15.7%), and graft failure (GF, 7.5%), with an increasing trend for BK, GF, and KCN. A majority of scleral tissues (83.7%) were utilized for orbital implant protection. Conclusion: An increasing trend in the number of procured eyes was observed over the past 27 years in Iran. The most leading indications for corneal transplantation were KCN and BK. While PKP was the most common keratoplasty technique, DSAEK showed an increasing trend over the last 12 years

Shear Strength Prediction of FRP-reinforced Concrete Beams Using an Extreme Gradient Boosting Framework

Despite the importance and accuracy of empirical models, most of the existing models are only accurate on the collected experimental data. Adding new data, or even considering noise or variance in the data leads to loss of model accuracy. The objective of this paper is to alleviate overfitting and develop a more accurate and reliable alternative method using a decision-tree-based ensemble Machine Learning algorithm that uses a gradient boosting framework for the prediction of the ultimate shear strength of FRP-reinforced concrete beams without stirrups. To enhance the robustness of the results, make full use of training samples (without the validation set), and alleviate the randomness in selecting test samples, the K-Fold Cross Validation method is employed. Using a dataset including 205 samples, results show that the extreme gradient boosting framework (XGBoost) providing better prediction. In fact, XGBoost results have higher precision and higher generalization in comparison with the empirical equations, the current design codes of practice, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator model (LASSO), and Random Forest model (RF)