Does a long reference list guarantee more citations? Analysis of Malaysian highly cited and review pPapers

Earlier publications have shown that the number of references as well as the number of received citations are field-dependent. Consequently, a long reference list may lead to more citations. The purpose of this article is to study the concrete relationship between number of references and citation counts. This article tries to find an answer for the concrete case of Malaysian highly cited papers and Malaysian review papers. Malaysian paper is a paper with at least one Malaysian affiliation. A total of 2466 papers consisting of two sets, namely 1966 review papers and 500 highly-cited articles, are studied. The statistical analysis shows that an increase in the number of references leads to a slight increase in the number of citations. Yet, this increase is not statistically significant. Therefore, a researcher should not try to increase the number of received citations by artificially increasing the number of references

علت تروما و پيامد نهايي حاصل از آن در بیماران مراجعه کننده به بخش اورژانس؛ یک مطالعه مقطعی

Introduction: Today trauma is considered as the first cause of death and disability of active population in developed and developing countries. Using preventive procedures in trauma events are effective when acute information and statistics present regarding types of trauma and their outcomes in the society. Thus, the present study was designed to assess the prevalence of trauma reasons and its outcome in traumatic patients hospitalized in three emergency departments of Isfahan, Iran. Methods: This cross- sectional study was performed on 1363 patients referred to three emergency departments of Isfahan during October, November, and December of 2010. Data collecting was done by using a checklist including demographic data, trauma mechanism and location, patients' transportation, anatomic site of injury, and patients' outcome after 24 hours. The data was analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: 1363 traumatic patients with mean age of 30.5 ±17.35 years (73.6% male) were studied. The mean time from event to reaching the ambulance was 9±7.81 minutes and average time of patient's transportation to the hospital 27.07±14.49. Motor vehicle crashes and falling from height were the most common trauma mechanisms and mortality (p<0.001). The rate of mortality and hospitalization in men respectively were 7 and 3.4 times more than women, (p=0.04). 1235 patients (90.6%) were discharged with good general condition. The rate of mortality and intensive care need were estimated 0.66% (9 patients) and 6.82% (93 patients), respectively. The most numbers of death were happened in 15-24 years (p<0.001) and the most hospitalizations in 25-44 years (p<0.001). Chest and head traumas were the most common causes of death. Conclusion: The study shows that motor vehicle crashes and falling form height in more than 80% of cases were the most frequent causes of trauma in patients referred to the emergency departments of these three hospitals. Also, the above mentioned were the most frequent mechanisms of trauma in died and intensive care needed patients. Above 90% of patients were discharged with good general condition.مقدمه: تروما اولین علت مرگ و میر و از علل اصلی از کار افتادگی و معلولیت جمعیت فعال در کشورهای در حال توسعه می باشد. بر طبق پیش بینی های سازمان جهانی بهداشت تا سال 2020 میلادی، حوادث ناشی از تصادفات به تنهایی دومین علت سال های از دست رفته زندگی در سراسر جهان را به خود اختصاص خواهند داد. استفاده از روش های پیشگیری کننده در زمینه وقوع تروما زمانی موثر واقع می شود که اطلاعات و آمار دقیقی درباره میزان بروز انواع مکانیسم های تروما و نتایج حاصل از آنها در جامعه موجود باشد. لذا مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسی شیوع علل مختلف تروما و پیامد نهایی حاصل از آنها در بیماران ترومایی بستری شده در اورژانس سه مرکز آموزشي و درماني شهر اصفهان طراحی شده است. روش کار: این مطالعه مقطعی در بیماران ترومایی که در فاصله زمانی اول مهر ماه تا پایان آذر ماه 1389 به اورژانس سه بیمارستان شهر اصفهان مراجعه کرده بودند صورت گرفت. جمع آوری اطلاعات از طریق چک لیستی مشتمل بر داده های دموگرافیک، مکانیسم تروما، محل رویداد حادثه، نحوه انتقال بیماران، محل آناتومیک آسیب و پیامد نهایی بیماران بعد از 24 ساعت انجام شد. داده ها در نرم افزار آماری SPSS و با روش های آمار توصیفی و تحلیلی آنالیز شدند. يافته ها: 1363 بیمار با میانگین سنی 35/17±5/30 سال طی این مدت به اورژانس های سه مرکز مورد مطالعه مراجعه کرده بودند (73.6% مرد). میانگین فاصله زمانی وقوع حادثه تا حضور آمبولانس اورژانس پیش بیمارستانی بر بالین بیماران 81/7±9 دقیقه و میانگین مدت زمان انتقال بیمار به بیمارستان 49/14±07/27 دقیقه بود. تصادف با وسیله نقلیه موتوری و سقوط از ارتفاع به ترتیب شایع ترین مکانیسم های تروما و در عین حال شایع ترین علت مرگ و میر بودند (001/0>p). میزان مرگ و میر و بستری مردان به ترتیب 7 و 4/3 برابر زنان بود (04/0= p). 1235 بیمار (6/90 درصد) با حال عمومی خوب ترخیص شدند. مرگ و میر و نیاز به بخش مراقبت های ویژه به ترتیب 66/0 ( 9 بیمار) و 82/6 (93 بیمار) درصد برآورد گردید. بیشترین میزان فوت مربوط  به گروه سنی 24-15 سال (001/0>p) و بیشترین میزان بستری مربوط به گروه 44-25 سال بود (001/0>p). بیشترین میزان فوت به دنبال ترومای قفسه سینه و سپس ترومای سر و صورت اتفاق افتاده بود. نتيجه گيری: تصادف با وسایل نقلیه موتوری و سقوط از ارتفاع به تنهایی بیش از 80 درصد از علل مراجعه بیماران به واحد های ترومای اورژانس سه بیمارستان مورد مطالعه را به خود اختصاص داده بودند. این در حالی است که همین دو علت شایعترین مکانیسم تروما در بیماران فوت شده و نیازمند بستری در بخش مراقبت های ویژه نیز بودند. بیش از 90 درصد بیماران با حال عمومی خوب از بخش اورژانس یا سایر بخش های بستری ترخیص شدند

Growth, Yield, and Water Productivity Responses of Pepper to Sub-Irrigated Planter Systems in a Greenhouse

A sub-irrigated planter (SIP) is a container irrigation technique in which water is supplied to the crop from the bottom, stored in a saturated media-filled reservoir beneath an unsaturated soil, and then delivered by capillary action to the root zone. The aim of this study was to optimize the water management and to assess the performance of this technique in terms of water use efficiency, soil moisture, and solute distribution in comparison with surface irrigation in a Mediterranean greenhouse. The experiment consisted of four SIP treatments, with a constant water level in the bottom reservoir in order to evaluate the effect of two different irrigation salinities (1.2 and 2.2 dS m−1) and two depths of substrate profiles (25 and 15 cm). The results showed that SIP is capable of significantly improving both water-use efficiency and plant productivity compared with surface irrigation. Also, a 24% average reduction in water consumption was observed while using SIP. Moreover, SIPs with a higher depth were recommended as the optimum treatments within SIPs. The type of irrigation method affected the salinity distribution in the substrate profile; the highest salinity levels were registered at the top layers in SIPs, whereas the maximum salinity levels for the surface treatments were observed at the bottom layers. SIPs provide a practical solution for the irrigation of plants in areas facing water quality and scarcity problems

Association between Genetic Variants Linked to Premature Ovarian Insufficiency and Inflammatory Markers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Premature menopause (PM) is the cessation of ovarian function before age 40. PM women are more likelyto have cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes, and mental disorders. This is the first study that assessed the associationof single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with anti-heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27), High-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP), and PM and serum pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB), as putative risk factors for CVDs. We aimed toexplore the association of oxidative stress markers with eight different SNPs shown to be related to premature menopause.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional research, we included 183 healthy women and 117 premature menopausalwomen. We determined baseline characteristics for all participants and measured serum hs-CRP, anti-HSP-27 antibody titer, and PAB levels using the established methods. Genotyping for eight SNPs was done usingthe tetra amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (Tetra-ARMS PCR) and allele-specificoligonucleotide PCR (ASO-PCR) methods.Results: We found a significant difference between mean serum PAB levels and the genetic variant of rs16991615(P=0.03). ANCOVA showed a significant effect of the genotypes rs4806660 and rs10183486 on hs-CRP serum levelsin the case and control groups, respectively (P=0.04 and P=0.007). ANCOVA also showed an association betweenrs244715 genotypes and anti-hsp27 serum levels in the case group (P=0.02). There was a significant effect of thegenotypes of rs451417 on the serum hs-CRP level in the control group (P=0.03).Conclusion: There was a significant association of the genetic variants related to PM with oxidative stress and inflammatorymarkers (serum PAB, anti-hsp27 antibody, and hs-CRP). Accordingly, this seems to be an effective approach topredicting susceptible subjects for cardiovascular and mental disorders as well as various cancers

Investigating the Decreased Bone Density Prevalence in People with Common Risk Factors Referred to Al-Zahra Educational-Medical Center in Isfahan City Years of 2018 and 2019

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a disease in skeletal system that is recognized by a lack of bone density and degeneration of bone tissue and can lead to increase the risk of bone fracture or even death. So, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of decreased bone density in people with common risk factors referred to Al-Zahra Educational-Medical Center in Isfahan City years 2018-2019. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. 3780 participants were included in the study by census sampling from April 2018 to March 2019. The risk factors considered in this study included gender, age, menopausal age, body mass index, history of mild trauma or fracture after the age of 40, hip fracture, autoimmune diseases, corticosteroid use, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, liver diseases, kidney diseases, malnutrition, alcohol consumption, smoking, and weight loss. Patients underwent bone densitometry. The criterion for diagnosing osteoporosis is T score, which indicated the ratio of an individual's bone density to baseline. Data were collected by a checklist and then analyzed in SPSS software version 16 at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The hip T-score in 1780 (47.1%) individuals and the spine T-score in 1724 (45.6%) individuals were between -1 and -2.5. There was a significant relation among gender, age, height, weight and body mass index, corticosteroid use, chronic kidney disease, premature menopause, hyperthyroidism, weight loss, autoimmune diseases, hip fracture, and the history of trauma or fracture after the age of 40.  hip T score, and there was a significant relationship between age, height, weight and body mass index, hyperthyroidism, weight loss, premature menopause, corticosteroid use, (P> 0.05). Spine T score was related to factors such as age, height, weight and body mass index, hyperthyroidism, weight loss, early menopause, corticosteroid use, history of trauma or fracture after 40 years (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of osteoporosis increases with age, and especially women with early menopause, and also in people with a history of trauma or fracture over the age of 40, hip fracture, corticosteroid use, hyperthyroidism, and autoimmune disease, chronic kidney disease, obesity and weight loss are common. Therefore, in order to prevent osteoporosis, necessary measures should be taken to prevent and correct the risk factors

A Comparative Study of “Subtitled” vs. “Auditory” Documentaries Comprehension among Persian Speakers of English

This study set out to compare the effect of modality of presentation (subtitled vs. auditory) on the retention of verbal content of documentary films among Iranian EFL students. To this end, 60 participants (30 male and 30 female students) of homogeneous English proficiency were volitionally assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: English soundtrack with no subtitles (ESONSU), no soundtrack with English subtitles (NSOESU). The sample was asked to watch five five-minute documentary clips with the presentation format varied in terms of the verbal information, which was alternatively given in soundtracks and subtitles. Thus, while one group was presented with subtitled documentary excerpts, the other group watched the same clips with the sound tracks. Comparison of the two groups on Mann-Whitney U test illustrated that there is not any significant difference between the rate of comprehension of subtitled documentaries as opposed to audible documentaries. However, females were found to outperform their male counterparts in both subtitled documentaries comprehension (median = 20 vs. male median = 13) and audible documentary comprehension (females’ median = 20.5 vs. males’ median = 13.5)

Recent advances in nanoformulations for co-delivery of curcumin and chemotherapeutic drugs

The application of chemotherapy in cancer treatment has been limited due to cause side effects such as toxicity against normal cells and drug resistance. In recent years, numerous studies have been focused on using natural products with chemotherapeutic drugs to enhance therapeutic efficiency and reduce cytotoxicity. On the other hand, encapsulation of drugs into nanoparticles (NPs) can improve solubility of hydrophobic drug; circulation time in blood and the residence at the pathological site by enhance permeation and retention (EPR) effect. It has been shown that curcumin (CUR) has  wide range of pharmacological activities against many diseases such as cancer. CUR has been demonstrated to be a potent chemosensitizer that can induce additive or synergistic effects with chemotherapeutic drugs against different cancer cell lines.  Recently, various types of nanocarriers have been investigated for CUR.  In this review, different co-formulations containing Cur and chemotherapeutic drugs used in cancer therapy are discussed with emphasis on their pharmaceutical properties

The Comparison of the Effects of Contrast Bath on Circulation of Contralateral Lower Limb in Type 2 Diabetic and Healthy Women

Background: Contrast bath is a thermal agent that is used as alternative heat and cold water on a target limb. Type 2 diabetes mellitus in long term leads to vascular insufficiency. It seems that contrast bath is useful for patients with diabetes mellitus due to the increase in blood flow and vascular pumping. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect(s) of contrast bath on circulation of contralateral lower limb in women with type 2diabetes mellitus compared to healthy subjects. Methods: Fifteen diabetic females aged between 30-60 years, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and 30 matched control females participated in this research. The oral temperature, skin temperature of the first web space of the foot, and the pulse of dorsalis pedis artery were measured and recorded. These results were evaluated prior to, immediately and 10 minutes after the contrast bath. The contrast bath protocol included the immersion of the right foot in the warm bath (38-44 °C) for four minutes and then in the cold bath (10-18 °C) for one minute. These processes were repeated five times as the total duration of the intervention was 24 minutes. The treatment was started and terminated with warm water. Repeated measures and independent t-test were used for data analysis. Results: The dorsalis pedis pulse was significantly higher at all times of the measurements except between immediately post the contrast bath and after 10 minutes of applying it in the diabetic group (P=0.58). The results of the skin temperature measurement demonstrated incremental changes in the healthy and the diabetic groups. The oral temperature at all times was not significantly different in the normal and the diabetic groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that contrast bath can increase circulation in the contralateral limb. However, its influence on superficial and deep blood flow is uncertain

Citrobacter farmeri phas32, an isolate from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) farm soil with high phytase production

Introduction: Phytase hydrolyzes phytic acid and enhances bioavailability of phosphorus and other nutritive minerals for monogastric animals, so it is commonly used as an important food additive. Materials and methods: The aim of this study was isolation of phytase producing bacteria from one of Shushtar's bean farms, Southwest of Iran by phytase screening medium (PSM) and optimization of the growth and enzyme productive conditions by the best isolate. Results: The best isolate was identified as Citrobacter farmeri strain phas32. Optimized conditions for phytase production by this isolate were 30˚C, pH 7, 0.25% phytic acid and 48 h incubation and phytase enzyme of phas32 had the best activity at 65˚C and pH 8.5. Enzyme unit and its molecular weight were 31 U/ml and 40 KD, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: Finally, based on these results it can be concluded that the Citrobacter farmeri strain phas32 is potent phytase producer that can be used for large scale enzyme production

Simulation of 1D surface and 2D subsurface water flow and nitrate transport in alternate and conventional furrow fertigation

48 Pags., 3 Tabls., 11 Figs. The definitive version is available at: http://link.springer.com/journal/271Increasing water and fertilizer productivity stands as a relevant challenge for sustainable agriculture. Alternate furrow irrigation and surface fertigation have long been identified as water and fertilizer conserving techniques in agricultural lands. The objective of this study was to simulate water flow and fertilizer transport in the soil surface and in the soil profile for variable and fixed alternate furrow fertigation and for conventional furrow fertigation. An experimental data set was used to calibrate and validate two simulation models: a 1D surface fertigation model and the 2D subsurface water and solute transfer model HYDRUS-2D. Both models were combined to simulate the fertigation process in furrow irrigation. The surface fertigation model could successfully simulate runoff discharge and nitrate concentration for all irrigation treatments. Six soil hydraulic and solute transport parameters were inversely estimated using the Levenberg–Marquardt optimization technique. The outcome of this process calibrated HYDRUS-2D to the observed field data. HYDRUS-2D was run in validation mode, simulating water content and nitrate concentration in the soil profiles of the wet furrows, ridges and dry furrows at the upstream, middle and downstream parts of the experimental field. This model produced adequate agreement between measured and predicted soil water content and nitrate concentration. The combined model stands as a valuable tool to better design and manage fertigation in alternate and conventional furrow irrigation.This research was funded by The Center of Excellence for Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Irrigation and Drainage Networks of the University of Tehran.Peer reviewe