The status quo of teacher-training courses in the Iranian EFL context: a focus on models of professional education and dynamic assessment

Given that Teacher-Training Courses (TTC’s) have responsibility for assisting prospective teachers with building up a repertoire of technical & pedagogic knowledge, the systematically evaluation of such courses is regarded as seminal (Lynch, 2003 and Peacock, 2009). Therefore, the present study is an attempt to (a) probe into the way professional expertise is acquired by preservice Iranian EFL teachers, (b) analyze the instructional content of TTC’s currently held in Iran, with a focus on teachings on Dynamic Assessment (DA), and (c) examine preservice teachers’ and TTC trainers’ opinions about the TTC’s. To this end, 9 purposefully selected TTC’s were observed, employing participant observation, and content analyses were carried out on their syllabi. Also, 107 TTC participants filled out a questionnaire, and 14 TTC instructors were interviewed; the sampling of the TTC participants and instructors was nonprobability convenient. Results of descriptive statistics showed that accounting for 84.73% of all the instructional attempts, the craft model was the most frequently prevalent model of teacher learning. Content analyses and preservice teacher questionnaire results signified that writing skill was marginalized in all the courses, and none of them included instructions on DA in their syllabi. Open, selective, and axial coding as well as content analyses of the collected data gave rise to eight themes delineating major areas fueling the current research-practice divide in the TTC syllabi. Findings of the study provide an opportunity to examine the status quo, strengths, and weaknesses of the TTC’s. The eight identified impediments to the employment of research in pedagogy could help reach a framework for factors that might induce TTC organizers to disregard the implication of relevant research findings for the courses they run

The application of human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells in wound healing: A narrative review

Management and treatment of chronic wounds remain a significant problem in clinical practice. Stem cell therapies are an important and promising approach for regenerative medicine because of their self-renewal and differentiation potential. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a major cellular source for regeneration, are present in almost all tissues. The use of embryonic stem cells is morally controversial because of the need to nurture and destroy embryonic cells. Therefore, adult umbilical cord tissues are of particular importance as an alternative source of perinatal tissues. Wharton Jelly is a gelatinous connective tissue in the umbilical cord containing MSCs that can differentiate into osteogenic, adipose, chondrogenic, and other lineages. These cells do not express the MHC-II molecule and show immunomodulatory properties that make them viable for allogeneic and xenogenic transplants in cell therapy. Therefore, the umbilical cord, especially the part named Wharton's jelly, is an important and promising source of mesenchymal stem cells

Study of Pluto's Atmosphere Based on 2020 Stellar Occultation Light Curve Results

On 6 Jun 2020, Pluto's stellar occultation was successfully observed at a ground-based observatory and Pluto's atmospheric parameters were investigated. We used an atmospheric model of Pluto (DO15), assuming a spherical and transparent pure N2 atmosphere. Using ray-tracing code the stellar occultation light curve was satisfactorily fitted to this model. We found that Pluto's atmospheric pressure at the reference radius of 1215 km is 6.72+_0.21 {\mu}bar. Our estimated pressure shows a continuation of the increasing pressure studied in 2016 consistent with a seasonal volatile transport model. We concluded that the N2 condensation processes in the Sputnik Planitia glacier are increasing due to the heating of the N2 ice in this basin. This study's result was shown on the diagram of the annual evolution of atmospheric pressure.Comment: 4 figures, 2 table

Differential Co-Expression Network Analysis Reveals Key Hub-High Traffic Genes as Potential Therapeutic Targets for COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundThe recent emergence of COVID-19, rapid worldwide spread, and incomplete knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection have limited development of therapeutic strategies. Our objective was to systematically investigate molecular regulatory mechanisms of COVID-19, using a combination of high throughput RNA-sequencing-based transcriptomics and systems biology approaches. MethodsRNA-Seq data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PSPRINGER NATUREs) of healthy persons, mild and severe 17 COVID-19 patients were analyzed to generate a gene expression matrix. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify co-expression modules in healthy samples as a reference set. For differential co-expression network analysis, module preservation and module-trait relationships approaches were used to identify key modules. Then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, based on co-expressed hub genes, were constructed to identify hub genes/TFs with the highest information transfer (hub-high traffic genes) within candidate modules. ResultsBased on differential co-expression network analysis, connectivity patterns and network density, 72% (15 of 21) of modules identified in healthy samples were altered by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 caused systemic perturbations in host biological gene networks. In functional enrichment analysis, among 15 non-preserved modules and two significant highly-correlated modules (identified by MTRs), 9 modules were directly related to the host immune response and COVID-19 immunopathogenesis. Intriguingly, systemic investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection identified signaling pathways and key genes/proteins associated with COVID-19's main hallmarks, e.g., cytokine storm, respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury (ALI), lymphopenia, coagulation disorders, thrombosis, and pregnancy complications, as well as comorbidities associated with COVID-19, e.g., asthma, diabetic complications, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), liver disorders and acute kidney injury (AKI). Topological analysis with betweenness centrality (BC) identified 290 hub-high traffic genes, central in both co-expression and PPI networks. We also identified several transcriptional regulatory factors, including NFKB1, HIF1A, AHR, and TP53, with important immunoregulatory roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, several hub-high traffic genes, including IL6, IL1B, IL10, TNF, SOCS1, SOCS3, ICAM1, PTEN, RHOA, GDI2, SUMO1, CASP1, IRAK3, HSPA5, ADRB2, PRF1, GZMB, OASL, CCL5, HSP90AA1, HSPD1, IFNG, MAPK1, RAB5A, and TNFRSF1A had the highest rates of information transfer in 9 candidate modules and central roles in COVID-19 immunopathogenesis. ConclusionThis study provides comprehensive information on molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-host interactions and identifies several hub-high traffic genes as promising therapeutic targets for the COVID-19 pandemic

Urinary incontinence and pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy: a clinical trial

Background: To examine the association among pelvic girdle pain (PGP), urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function in pregnant women in second and third trimester. Methods: 300 pregnant women who admitted for standard pregnancy care were enrolled in the study. Urinary incontinency was measured via the international consultation on incontinence questionnaire short form. Pelvic girdle pain was diagnosed according to existing guidelines. Vaginal examination assessed pelvic muscles contract- relax patterns and muscle strength. The software stata version 13 (Stata Corp., TX, USA) was used for data analysis. Results: Overall 300 women (150 with PGP and 150 without PGP) were included in final analyses. There was not significant differences between the demographic data including, body mass index before pregnancy, maternal age, mode of delivery. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in women with pelvic girdle pain was 41.5 percent (CI 95%: 32.01- 51.48) while the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women without pain was 21.9 percent (CI 95%: 14.99-30.03). Using logistic regression, the relationship between urinary incontinence and pelvic girdle pain was significant. (CI 95%: 1.07-3.31, P=0.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between PGP and pelvic floor muscle function and results showed that pelvic floor muscle strength in women with PGP was significantly lower than women without PGP. (CI 95%: 0.24-0.68, OR= 0.4, P<0.001). The duration of the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in patients with PGP was significantly shorter than women without PGP. (CI 95%: 0.21-0.60, OR =0.35, P<0.001). Conclusion: There was a significant association between pelvic girdle pain and urinary incontinence during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and also the pelvic floor muscle strength and duration of the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in women with pelvic girdle pain was significantly lower than those without PGP

Effect of mixed culture of yeast and microalgae on acetyl-CoA carboxylase and Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase expression

International audienceIn recent years, some studies have reported that co-culturing green algae and yeast improve lipid and biomass concentration. In this study, a co-culture of the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula glutinis and the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris was consequently conducted with inoculation of microalga and yeast in growth and stationary phases, respectively. For the first time, the expression of two pivotal enzymes in fatty acids synthetic pathway, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, was evaluated. To evaluate the synergistic impacts of the mixed culture on the enzymes expression, several co-culture models were designed, including the use of different ratio of microalgae to yeast or the use of residual cell-free medium of yeast; a positive impact on enzymes overexpression was shown in the case of the co-culture of the two microorganisms, and when the remaining cell-free medium of yeast was added to the microalgal culture. The results of in vitro co-culture demonstrated increased 6- and 5-fold of nervonic acid (C24:1) and behenic acid (C22:0) concentrations, respectively, in 2:1 microalgae to yeast co-culture as compared to the monoculture batches. Addition of yeast residual cell-free medium in the 2:1 ratio to the microalgal culture enhanced 9 and 6 times nervonic acid (C24:1) and behenic acid (C22:0) amounts, respectively

Vancomycin Capped with Silver Nanoparticles as an Antibacterial Agent against Multi-Drug Resistance Bacteria

Purpose: Many antimicrobial medications are available to combat infections. However, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has produced antibiotic resistance in the case of many bacterial pathogens. This study focuses on the development of nanoparticles (NPs) that enhance the in vitro antibiotic activity of vancomycin against multi-drug resistant (MDR) organisms. Methods: Spherical shaped thioglycolic acid-stabilized silver nanoparticles (TGA-AgNPs) were prepared by using a simple chemical reduction method. Then, vancomycin was conjugated to the terminal carboxyl of TGA in the presence of N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N’-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). Afterwards, the antibacterial activity of these nanoconjugates was examined by using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay against MDR bacteria. Results: The rate of vancomycin bound to the AgNPs was 19.6%. The MIC values of vancomycin (Van)-capped AgNPs against tested pathogens were in the range of (3.2, 1.6, 0.8, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, 0.05, and 0.025 µl/ml). The MIC was 0.1 µg/ml for VRE, MIC≤0.02 µg/ml for MRSE, and 0.05 µg/ml for S. aureus. The MIC corresponded to the MBC for all bacterial species. Conclusion: This study indicated that some antimicrobial agents like vancomycin can be conjugated with AgNPs. This can lead to increased antimicrobial activity against MDR microorganisms

Molecular survey on Merkel cell polyomavirus in patients with colorectal cancer

Background: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) has been associated with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in humans, and its role in other human cancers is under investigation. The aim of this study was to investigate MCV genome infection in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: This retrospective, case-control study used archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from colorectal cancer patients (cases) and matched healthy subjects (controls) diagnosed by an expert pathologist from hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from 2011 to 2016. After DNA extraction with a QIAamp® DNA FFPE Tissue Kit, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for diagnosis. A positive control was produced by cloning with the Generay Biotechnology system. SPSS v.22 was used for analysis of demographic variables. Results: There were 157 participants included in the study: 66 were cases and 91 were controls. Their mean ages (±SD) were 59.35±14.48 and 57.21±14.66, respectively. The proportion of males was 57.6% in the case group and 57.1% in the control group. None of the samples were positive for MCV expression by real-time PCR assay. Association was detected between males with CRC and tumor location in the rectum and between males with CRC and the mucinous tumor type. Conclusion: None of the tissues from the CRC or non-cancerous control groups were positive for MCV genome infection, although a low viral load, the sample type, or the method of use should not be neglected. Further studies are recommended to obtain more comprehensive results

Novel agonists of benzodiazepine receptors: Design, synthesis, binding assay and pharmacological evaluation of diphenyl-1,2,4-triazole derivatives

Benzodiazepines (BZD) are widely used in neurological disorders. The use of classical benzodiazepines is limited due to side effects. In this study, based on the structure–activity relationship (SAR) of Benzodiazepine receptors, new derivatives of 4-amino-3,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazole as benzodiazepine agonists with selective effects were designed and synthesized. Docking studies showed that pharmacophore groups of the designed structures and zolpidem, a benzodiazepine receptor agonist, are properly matched and are located well in the GABA receptor. The triazole group of the compound 4j, N N-(3,5-diphenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-2-((4-fluorobenzyl)amino)acetamide, was near the nitrogen moiety of the imidazole ring of zolpidem providing the hydrogen bond acceptor in the suitable direction in the BDZ-binding site of GABAA receptor model (α1β2ϒ2). The compounds were synthesized with acceptable yield and in-vitro affinity for the BZD receptor was determined. Compound 4j had the best affinity for the BZD site of action on GABAA receptor complex (Ki = 2.56 nM and IC50 = 6.10 nM). In addition, the sedative-hypnotic effect, the locomotor activity, and evaluated memory of the novel compounds were assessed by pentobarbital-induced sleeping, open field, and passive avoidance tests respectively. Most of the novel compounds showed significant hypnotic activity with no impairment on learning and memory performance in the mouse. The pharmacological effects of the compounds were antagonized by flumazenil, a BZD antagonist, which confirms the involvement of BZD receptors in the biological effects