Inclusion of intercultural Education Criteria in Iranian Official English Textbooks

The present study, with the concern for inclusion of the intercultural dimensions in the process of language learning and teaching, looked at the content of the some official English textbooks designed and authored by Ministry of Education in Iran to find out whether the cultural dimensions of English speaking world have been included in official high school English textbooks. The study is a qualitative study in nature, based on content analysis. It examined the subject of each lesson and the content of different parts included in each units to find the representation of intercultural studies. The results of the study revealed the lack of intercultural perspective inclusion within official English textbooks in Iran. Keywords: Intercultural education, National curriculum of Islamic Republic of Iran. Official English textbook

An Investigation on Ecological Aspects of Crested and Intermediate Wheat Grasses in Semi-Steppe Vegetation of Iran

Crested and intermediate wheat grasses (Agropyron cristatum (L.)Gaertn., Thinopyrum intermedium (H.)Beauv.) are adapted to relatively dry conditions in Iran and have a significant role in providing good forage quality for domestic sheep and wild ungulates in summer rangelands. These grasses occur at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,800 m. A. cristatum is a bunch grass with diverse spikes and medium height (40 cm) and is common on open and exposed knolls, whereas T. intermedium, with height of 115 cm and with long rhizomes, is found in more moist niches in gully bottoms. The objectives of this study were to determine forage values, canopy coverage, production, local distribution, and phenological stages of these species in Golestan National Park, which is representative of the semi-steppe zone in Iran

Plant Species Diversity on Protected and Non-Protected Areas of Golestan National Park and Vicinity Areas

It is important to monitor the status of native rangeland vegetation in order to maintain existing grassland remnants which are valuable for wildlife. In the Steppe region, there has been concern that grazing of late-successional ecosystems may decrease plant species diversity on a local and regional scale and adversely affect rare, threatened, or endangered species. Native vegetation is the best indicator of the potential productivity of a specific location. Range-land herbage production is important for multiple land uses such as livestock production, wildlife food and cover, and protection against erosion. In eastern Oregon, variability in rangeland productivity is linked to the amount and timing of precipitation received over the winter and early summer (Sneva, 1982). Estimates of above-ground plant production have been reported for many sites in the protected and non-protected areas of northeastern of Iran as well as around the world. Plant species diversity in this study was viewed at the alpha level, that is, the number and relative abundance of species within a particular habitat type (Whittaker 1975). The objective of this study was to determine the productivity, species composition, and diversity of a steppe and semi-steppe rangeland in northeastern Iran

Correlation of vascularization and inflammation with severity of oral Leukoplakia

Background & objective: Changes in submucosal vascularization and inflammation, determined by immunohistochemistry staining, were shown to be correlated with the development of dysplasia and invasiveness of epithelial cells in premalignant and malignant lesions. This study evaluated changes in sections routinely stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) in order to investigate vascular density and intensity of inflammatory cells infiltration during the progression of oral leukoplakia with mild dysplasia to Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC).The aim of the research was to determine whether changes in sub-mucosal vascularity and inflammatory infiltration of leukoplakia in routine H&E-stained sections could contribute to the assessment of severity of the lesion. Methods: In this cross-sectional, comparative and descriptive study, vascular density and inflammation intensity of 125 available samples of H&E-stained sections, consisting of 35 cases of mild and moderate dysplasia, 38 severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ, and 52 SCC, were investigated. To analyze the data, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Tukey’s post hoc test, and cumulative ordinal logistic regression were conducted. Results: There was a significantly higher vascular density in cases with severe dysplasia, in situ carcinoma, and SCC compared to those with mild to moderate dysplasia (P<0.0001). However, the difference in vascularity was not statically significant between severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and SCC (P=0.78). Intensity of inflammatory cells infiltration in the underlying connective tissue was significantly different among the three groups (P<0.0001), and the highest intensity of inflammatory cells infiltration was seen in the SCC group. Conclusions: Increased submucosal vascularization and inflammatory cells infiltration can contribute further to predicting more aggressive epithelial dysplasia

The Effect of Translation -Shifts Instruction on Translation Quality

Inspired by the notion of "Descriptive Translation Studies", the present study looked for adopting new translation teaching methods. It tried to introduce the concept of translation shifts to a number of translation students in translation workshops. The assumption was based on the idea that the study of translation shifts can lead to finding some generalizations happened in the process of translation, the study of these general rules can help the translation students create translated texts which enjoy higher quality in comparison with translated texts, performed earlier. In pursuit of this aim, some English translation students were chosen from among BA students in North-Branch, Tehran-Azad University. The homogeneity of the subjects was determined through a TOEFL examination. The students attended some translation workshops to receive some instruction and became familiar and conscious about the general rules of translation process. Through the treatment, students were required to recognize the shifts happened in the process of translation in several translation texts. Finally, the differences between translation quality of the subjects before and after treatment were examined through two translation production tests. The tests were corrected according to Farahzad's "evaluation model" (1992). The post test scores after treatment confirmed the positive effects of the teaching on translation quality.. Keywords: Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Translation Shifts

Carbon Nanotube-Based UV-Curable Nanocomposite Coatings

This chapter covers the preparation and properties of ultraviolet (UV)-curable nanocomposite containing carbon nanotubes as fillers. UV-curing technology is of particular interest due to its unique properties such as rapid curing process and solvent-free formulation. Alongside with the advantages of utilizing this curing method, carbon nanotubes undergo benefits including high aspect ratio, high transparency, and good mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are hollow cylindrical shaped configuration; consist of one, two, or more walls with an interlayer of non-covalent van der Waals force acting among the carbon atoms of various walls. Besides influencing the UV curing process, the CNTs loaded UV-curable nanocomposites sustain modified surface, thermal, mechanical, physical, and conductive properties which are discussed in this chapter. The health and safety concerns of using these classes of nanocomposite are further discussed

Teaching Anatomy: need or taste?

Background: Anatomy is one of the core sections of Basic Medical Sciences. Given the central role of anatomy, the development of medical knowledge and reach new horizons in science is not possible without relying on anatomy. Since in the anatomy science, students are familiar with the basic terms of medical language, the anatomy's hard to know and have a negative attitude towards this course. With these conditions, anatomy professors&nbsp;have an important&nbsp;role in providing incentives for medical students. However, sometimes applying tastes and the entry of too much anatomical detail creates conditions that cut the&nbsp;motivation&nbsp;for medical students. Therefore, this article seeks to&nbsp;offer&nbsp;solutions to&nbsp;cut&nbsp;apply tasteless and coordinate the teaching of anatomy to interest and motivate medical students to increase this lesson