CD73 a novel marker for the diagnosis of benign and malignant salivary gland tumors

Ecto-5?-nucleotidase (CD73) plays an important role in the development of several types of cancer; however, its prognostic significance in salivary gland tumors remains unknown. The current study was conducted to investigate the expression of CD73 in such tumors. In this retrospective study, immunohistochemical expression of CD73 was evaluated in 25 pleomorphic adenomas, 20 mucoepidermoid carcinomas and 20 adenoid cystic carcinomas using the Envision technique. Labeling indices of CD73 expression were calculated and compared between lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the CD73 expression was significantly higher in salivary gland tumors than in normal salivary gland tissue (p0.05). The findings suggest that CD73 can be an independent and useful biomarker for predicting the clinical behavior of salivary gland tumors

Transformation of Public Spaces and Changing Pattern of Mobility in a Historic City, Case Study: Isfahan, Iran

Esfahan is one of the central and historic cities of Iran, which dates back to 2000 years ago. The city is enriched with crafts and folk art, which has lead to it being registered as part of the Creative Cities Network of UNESCO. The centerpiece of the city, NaghsheJahan Square, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and it well represents the brand of the city Esfahan; its intricate mixture of historic architecture, viable urban space for work and recreation for its citizens, and a welcoming landmark on tourists’ maps. The variety of typologies used to build the urban spaces has lead to strong pedestrian patterns throughout a coherence network. Hence, these areas have a powerful potential to change structure, mobility patterns and people’s perception. In spite of this, in recent decades, new developments and urban changes such as mega malls and recreational sites have resulted in new poles in design and architecture in the outside areas of the urban city. This phenomenon is leading to movement of people, energy and resources as well as changes in life styles, the image of the city and its mobility patterns. The objective of this article is to further analyze and discuss how urban transformation and urban changes in a micro and macro scale affect the mobility pattern and pedestrian flow. In order to this, methodology used is based on analysis of literature and environment in two levels; first, urban transformation analysis based on public urban space’s typology and urban space analysis; and second, mobility patterns based on space character and pedestrian flows. The results show that emergence of structures such as megamalls City Center or Dreamland Project create daily driving flows, which decrease urban space’s perception. In conclusion, in historic cities, such as Esfahan, urban changes should be planned and centered around its historic fabric, and public urban spaces should be designed and controlled with mobility’s patterns in mind

Comparison of Men and Women's Viewpoints about Barriers and Strategies for Developing Organic Animal food Consumption in Kermanshah City

Background: Considering the important role of women along men in consuming a food product, the aim of the current study was studying women's and men's insight about barriers and solutions to increase the consumption of livestock-originated organic products in Kermanshah city. Methods: Using the Delphi method, 13 barriers and 15 solutions were extracted from answers given by animal husbandry specialists and were used for preparing the questionnaire. A total of 395 men and women in Kermanshah answered the questions and data were analyzed by Friedman’s test using SPSS 15 software. Results: The least frequently used sources of information for men and women were television and the most frequent was written media (books, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet). In both groups, the most important challenge facing the development of organic animal food consumption was the high cost of these products and the least important challenge was their inappropriate form. But men's and women's views on ways to develop organic products consumption were not the same. For men, the most and least important factors in using organic livestock products were the creation of confidence in the organicity of these products and their internal and external marketing, respectively. On the other hand, women believed that price adjustment was the most important strategy and brand and logo development was the least important in promoting the consumption of such products. Conclusion: From the consumers' point of view, considering the economic, infrastructural and cultural indices can eliminate the barriers of consumption of organic products. Keywords: Barriers, Solutions, Economic index, Infrastructural index, Cultural inde

THE EFFECTS OF FORM-FOCUSED INSTRUCTION ON LOWER-INTERMEDIATE EFL IRANIAN LEARNERS’ GRAMMAR LEARNING

One of the most controversial questions raised by classroom second language acquisition (SLA) researchers is whether and how to include grammar in second language (L2) classrooms. This study tried to investigate how the form-focused instruction affects lower-intermediate EFL Iranian learners’ grammar learning. Based on an experimental data collection and analysis, the design of the study was a pre-test and post-test which dealt with 45 female participants at the pre-intermediate level. The pre-test was administered at the beginning of the course; then, the researchers observed two groups-- experimental (FFI) and control groups (traditional method). The researchers used an observation checklist which contained some items to investigate if the teacher used the related items in classes. Afterwards, the researchers provided the frequency of observation of teachers’ operations which showed differences between the FFI and the traditional instruction. After observing the teaching sessions, we administered the same test as a post-test to both groups, the experimental and the control group. The data were analyzed through two types of t-tests, independent t-test and paired t-test.Key Words: form-focused Instruction (FFI); traditional Grammar Instruction

Investigating the Effect of Using Waste Ultra-high-molecular-weight Polyethylene on the Fatigue Life of Asphalt Mixture

One of the effective parameters in the occurrence of fatigue cracking distress is the asphalt binder properties used, which must be controlled by appropriate asphalt binder or additives. In this study, the effect of using Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated on the fatigue cracking potential of asphalt mixtures. Two types of aggregates, asphalt binder performance grade (PG) 64-16, and UHMWPE additive in two percent of the asphalt binder were used in this study, which were tested at two temperatures and five different stress levels. Marshall mix design and indirect tensile fatigue test (ITFT) were used to determine the optimum content of the asphalt binder and the fatigue life of asphalt mixtures, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the application of polymer additives increased the fatigue life of the asphalt mixtures. The fatigue life of specimens made with granite aggregates was longer than those made with limestone aggregates, and the increased life due to the use of UHMWPE was longer in samples made with granite aggregates. As expected, increasing in temperature and stress levels reduced the fatigue life of the asphalt mixtures. This decrease was much lower in samples made of asphalt binder modified with polymeric materials than in control samples

The relationship of hyperlipidemia with maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnancy: A cross-sectional study

Background: Concentrations of plasma lipids levels during pregnancy clearly increases. According to some studies, dyslipidemia is effective in the incidence of preeclampsia and insulin resistance. Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between hyperlipidemia and maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted on two groups of pregnant women with hyperlipidemia and normal ones to assess maternal and neonatal outcomes. Maternal data including gestational age, mother’s age, body mass index, and maternal weight gain during pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, cholestasis, and delivery method. Also, birth weight and Apgar score were gathered as the neonatal outcomes. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of abnormal lipid parameters increased with increasing gestational age. In pregnant women with dyslipidemia in combination with increased triglyceride, cholesterol and Low-density lipoprotein, and decreased High-density lipoprotein, the incidence rates of gestational diabetes (p < 0.001), preeclampsia (p < 0.001), cholestasis (p = 0.041), fetal growth retardation (p < 0.001), and macrosomia (p < 0.001) were statistically higher. Conclusion: Dyslipidemia was associated with some adverse effects of pregnancy and harmful fetal outcomes. Therefore, it seems that adding laboratory assessment of lipid profiles before and during pregnancy can be effective in early diagnosis of dyslipidemia. Key words: Dyslipidemias, Gestational diabetes, Preeclampsia, Fetal macrosomia

Dihydronaphthalenone chalconoid derivatives as potential cathepsin B inhibitors; design, synthesis, cytotoxicity evaluation and docking analysis

Cathepsin B, an abundant expressed cysteine peptidase, plays a key role in cancer cell proliferation, tumor metastasis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, invasion and migration. Therefore, development of cathepsin B inhibitors to treat cancer is of great significance. In this study, dihydronaphthalenone chalconoid derivatives containing different benzyliden moieties were synthesized via an efficient route in microwave condition that resulted in the desired compounds in high yields compared to acid- or base-catalyzed refluxing conditions. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was evaluated against K562, HT-29 and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines by MTT assay. P1, P3 and P9 (containing 4-OCH3, 3-NO2 and 4-CN moieties on phenyl ring, respectively) exhibited good cytotoxic activity with an IC50 range of 7.1-28.9 μM. Molecular docking analysis was carried out to investigate the possible interactions and binding modes of all compounds with cathepsin B. The most promising compounds, P1, P3 and P9 were well accommodated within the active site and had the least estimated free binding energies. It was concluded from both MTT assay and docking studies that some dihydronaphthalenone chalconoid derivatives could be suggested as effective cytotoxic agents and potential cathepsin B inhibitors

THE EFFECTS OF FORM-FOCUSED INSTRUCTION ON LOWER-INTERMEDIATE EFL IRANIAN LEARNERS’ GRAMMAR LEARNING

One of the most controversial questions raised by classroom second language acquisition (SLA) researchers is whether and how to include grammar in second language (L2) classrooms. This study tried to investigate how the form-focused instruction affects lowerintermediate EFL Iranian learners’ grammar learning. Based on an experimental data collection and analysis, the study followed the pre-test and post-test design performed on 45 female participants at the pre-intermediate level. The pre-test was administered at the beginning of the course; then, the researcher divided the participants into two groups: experimental (FFI) and control group (traditional method). The researcher also used an observation checklist to ascertain if the teacher used the related items in classes. Afterwards, the researcher provided the frequency of observation of teachers’ operations which showed differences between the FFI and the traditional instruction. After observing the teaching sessions, the researchers administered the same test as a post-test to both groups. . The data were analyzed using independent t-test and paired t-test