A Huge Ovarian Cyst in a Middle-Aged Iranian Female

A 38-year-old Iranian woman was found to have a huge ovarian cystic mass. Her presenting symptom was vague abdominal pain and severe abdominal distention. She underwent laparotomy and after surgical removal, the mass was found to be mucinous cystadenoma on histology

Discovery of potential inhibitor against human Asparagine Endopeptidase

Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition of the central nervous system among old people. AD is characterized by two neuropathological hallmarks: Extracellular senile plaque deposits, composed of amyloid beta (Aβ), and Intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), made of truncated and hyperphosphorylated tau. Previous studies suggest that Asparagine Endopeptidase (AEP), a lysosomal cysteine proteinase, is activated during aging process. It proteolytically degrades tau and abolishes its microtubule assembly function, induces tau aggregation and triggers neurodegeneration.Methods and Results: Therefore, AEP is an attractive target of drug discovery against AD. In this study, we investigated the important pharmacophore feature required for inhibitors of AEP by generating a structure-based pharmacophore model followed by virtual screening and subsequent validation by molecular docking. The computational findings discussed in our study provide initial information of inhibitory effects of ligand, (ZINC3979524), over AEP. Conclusions: VS of the ZINC database against AEP led to select some good inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, this study can be a good starting point for in vitro and in vivo experimental studies and can establish as a novel therapeutic agent against A

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Willingness to Communicate among Iranian EFL Learners

English has changed into an international language after second world war and over a million people speak into it as their first, second or third language across the world. However, knowing a language is accompanied with speaking skill and the ability to communicate with it. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to find the factors which affect EFL students’ willingness to communicate (WTC). To find the relationships between willingness to communicate and students’ emotional intelligence (EQ- i) two questionnaires were used and 130 intermediate students were selected randomly from 6 language institutes in Saveh. Their level of language proficiency was determined through administering Cambridge Language Proficiency Test (Language, PET) and results of the Person Correlation Test showed a positive relationship between EFL Learners’ WTC and four factors of the EQ-i named: Interpersonal Relationship (IP), Empathy (EM), Assertiveness (AS), and Emotional Self-Awareness (ES) and emotional intelligence

Investigating the urban density on social relations

In modern cities, with changes occurring in the urban environments the social behaviors of the residents have been affected. Some of the changes have weakened social behaviors, while others have reinforced them, such that they impose new social roles on their own residents. According to various perspectives in relation with the urban density (environmental factors), such factors have had an undeniable impact on social relations (social behavior). Also, distinguishing the urban density into two dimensions of constructional and demographic density, the question that arises is: what relation is there between the urban density and social relations? In the present research, using the document and survey methods and also using a questionnaire for assessing the extent of social communications (residents of the Kashanak neighborhood) information needed was collected. Using the Pearson correlation tests method, data obtained were analyzed and in the end, the results indicated that the intensity of the correlation between the urban density and social relations was low and the type of impact of the constructional and demographic density on social relations was different, so that the impacts of the demographic density was consistent while that of the constructional density was inconsistent. In the end, given the fact the impact mentioned was low but it is non-negligible and it should be attended to in urban planning as an affective factor

A Contemplation on the Role of Gender in One's Identity: A Critical Review of Witt's "Uni-Essentialism" Thesis

Metaphysics of Gender is a branch of Feminist Philosophy in which the metaphysical issues about "Gender" are discussed. Charlotte Witt is a feminist philosopher, who analyzes gender from a particular point of view. Witt names her theory "Uni-Essentialism" which is an essentialist theory of gender, while differing deeply from customary essentialist theories. She avoids the current framework of debate between Realists and Nominalists, because her main question is about the role of gender in one's identity. She says that there are always some conflicts between norms of various social roles one occupies, and for this reason we all need a unifying normative principle. According to Witt, gender is that normative principle, which unifies and organizes all other roles. So, gender is essential for everyone, in an Aristotalian sense. In this paper the Uni-Essentialism thesis of Witt is analyzed and its weaknesses are discussed. Finally we will suggest some points for improvement and modification of the theory

Association between neutrophil geletinase-associated lipocalin and iron deficiency anemia in children on chronic dialysis

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common and associated with higher risk of death. Neutrophil geletinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a small 25 kDa glycoprotein, a member of lipocalin superfamily that released at the response of cellular stress from different cells. In addition, NGAL was studied as an iron regulatory glycoprotein and regulator of iron related gene. The aim of the current study was to determine any association between serum NGAL and body iron status markers in children on chronic dialysis. Materials and Methods: This correlation study was carried out between May 2012 and May 2013 and evaluated all dialysis patients less than 19 years in pediatric dialysis centers in Isfahan that didn’t have exclusion criteria. They were 40 children, including 23 persons on hemodialysis (HD) and 17 persons dialyzed by peritoneal dialysis (PD). Furthermore, we selected 40 children as healthy controls. We examined the relationship between plasma NGAL levels and indices of anemia such as ferritin, transferrin saturation (TSAT) and serum iron (SI) in dialysis children. Results: Serum NGAL level in children on chronic dialysis (group including both PD and HD patients) was significantly higher than healthy controls (P = 0.008). Furthermore, in this group Serum NGAL level had inverse correlation with TSAT (P = 0.04, r = −0.22), SI (P = 0.04, r = −0.2), white blood cells (P = 0.045, r = −0.26) and serum ferritin (P = 0.006, r = −0.3). In addition, HD patients had higher serum NGAL level than PD patients (P = 0.048). Conclusion: High serum NGAL level in low TSAT group demonstrated that NGAL probably has an important role in IDA in children on chronic dialysis; therefore, it can be a new marker for diagnosis of IDA in CKD

Investigating the effect of social media marketing on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and brand equity(Case study: Bank Mellat Isfahan branches)

Abstract The purpose of the present research is to investigate the impact of social media marketing on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and equity of the brand in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and correlative in terms of research method, and required data have been collected by using questionnaire and survey method. The statistical population of this research is the clients of Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. 384 acceptable samples were collected by simple random sampling method. Four social media marketing questionnaires with 11 questions, brand trust with 10 questions, brand special value with 16 questions, and brand loyalty with 15 questions were used as data collection tools. Data analysis was done using structural equation modeling and PLS software, and the research results show that social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and brand equity. That is, if the bank tries to create content in the virtual space through which attracts the attention on those platforms and encourage the readers to share it among social media,, the loyalty of the bank's customers will improve. The bank should spread its advertisements through the virtual space and attract the attention of the audience, as a result, trust in the brand will improve. Extended Abstract Introduction Today, a large number of users with different goals have joined virtual social networks and engage in various activities (Barreto, 2014). Organizations, either small or large, have entered social media and are slowly trying to discover its benefits (Bakeri, 2020). They have used Twitter, created fan pages on Facebook, posted videos on YouTube, and perhaps even created websites in the late 20th century (Zhang & Liu, 2021). Organizations today feel that the Social media are and will be a means of business (Naeem, 2021). The main goal of social media marketing is to create a business based on customer orientation and the credibility of a company in order to develop and manage work (Kim, 2012). No one can claim that there are only advantages and benefits in the field of social media marketing. Rather, in social media marketing, like all aspects of life, there are advantages and disadvantages together and side by side (Rosen, 2013). However, in our country, social networks have not been able to find their desired place in people's lives, and after all, culture creating in this field has not been done, and producers of products and services cannot make proper use of these networks. This issue has become the main problem in creating trust and loyalty of customers to the brand in social networks. In e-commerce, trust is considered the most important success factor. It should be said that according to previous studies, the recommendations of acquaintances and online opinions of consumers (word of mouth advertising) are the most reliable type of advertising in the world and the most important source of information for purchasing decisions. Many researchers consider the power of the internet as a social structure in creating and increasing brand trust and loyalty. It is argued that brand community in social networks increases brand loyalty through increasing brand trust. By increasing the capabilities of social networks, trust in the brand and then loyalty to the brand increases; therefore, brand trust plays a mediating role. According to the mentioned materials, the main problem of the research is whether social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and special value of the brand in Bank Mellat branches of Isfahan. Theoretical framework A social network is a social structure made up of groups - generally individual or organizational - which are connected by one or more types of dependencies. Social networks in the context of a complex information society depict the effective functioning of the network (convergence) and with a more detailed look, society is a combination of multiple networks: inter-organizational networks, intra-organizational networks, personal networks, computer networks, and furthermore, cross-border networks and information flows through these highways (Zhang & Liu, 2021). Brand equity has been defined in different ways for different purposes. But so far, no common consensus has been reached. The concept of brand equity has been the subject of a large number of studies, has been examined from different perspectives, and is often described as the value that a brand gives to a product (Rezaeian, M., Asgar, 2021; Shams Lahroudi, 2018) According to Aker, brand loyalty is one of the foundations of brand equity, and many factors play a role in creating this loyalty, one of the main of which is the experience of using the brand (Song, 2012). Oliver defines brand loyalty as a consumer's strong commitment to purchase or reuse a brand regularly in the future. Fukuyama (1995) defines brand trust as: an expectation that arises from inside of an orderly, honest community with cooperative behaviors based on commonly shared norms, on the part of community members. He believes that the industrial revolution has played a significant role in the importance of trusting the brand to recognize and understand business behaviors such as marketing. Mirzaee Azandariani and Arya (2022) conducted a research titled investigating the impact of the characteristics of second-hand goods platforms on brand loyalty intentions with the mediating role of customer satisfaction (the study of Divar and Sheipour platform in Iran). Research findings showed that ease of use has a positive and indirect effect on brand loyalty intentions with a mediating role of customer satisfaction, perceived usefulness has a positive and indirect effect on brand loyalty intentions with a mediating role of customer satisfaction, and the entertainment aspect has a positive and indirect effect on Brand loyalty intentions with the mediating role of customer satisfaction, and the sense of belonging to a community has a positive and indirect effect on the intention of brand loyalty with the mediating role of customer satisfaction, and seller credibility has a positive and indirect effect on the intention of loyalty to the brand whit a mediating role of customer satisfaction, and the recognition of a third party has a positive and indirect effect on the intentions of brand loyalty with the mediating role of customer satisfaction. Farzin et al. (2020) conducted a study with the aim of investigating the effect of brand equity from the consumer's point of view on brand satisfaction and loyalty in the wood and paper industries of Mazandaran province. The results of the research showed that there is a positive and significant effect between the dimensions of brand equity and consumer satisfaction (except for employee behavior and brand awareness) and brand loyalty (except for ideal self-concept and brand identity) and also between consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty is a positive and significant effect. Research methodology The research method is descriptive-correlative in nature and applicable in terms of purpose. The statistical population of this research is the clients of Isfahan Bank Mellat branches and simple random sampling method was used and 384 acceptable samples were collected. In order to collect data related to the variables, four social media marketing questionnaires were used with 11 questions, brand trust with 10 questions, brand equity with 16 questions, and brand loyalty with 15 questions; and based on a 5-point Likert scale (completely agree to completely disagree).   Research findings Structural equations and PLS were used to investigate the research hypothesis and data analysis, and the results showed that social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and brand equity in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Social media marketing has an effect on brand trust in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Social media marketing has an effect on brand equity in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Brand trust has an effect on brand loyalty in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Brand equity has an effect on brand loyalty in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty with the mediating role of brand trust in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. Social media marketing has an effect on brand loyalty with the mediating role of brand value in Isfahan Bank Mellat branches. All factor loading coefficients are greater than 0.4, which shows that this model is suitable. Conclusion The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of social media marketing on brand loyalty with the mediating role of trust and brand value in Isfahan Mellat Bank branches. The results of this research corresponds with the results of research findings of Frzin et al. (2020); Shirkhodaei (2017); Imran Khan et al. (2017). If the bank tries to create content in cyber space through which can attract the attention of the audience on those platforms and encourage readers to share it among social media, the loyalty of the bank's customers as a result, will improve. The bank should spread its advertisements through the virtual space and attract the attention of the audience, as a result, trust in the brand will improve. According to the present research, it is suggested that the bank employees have sufficient knowledge and information about the services to provide to the customers. The employees solve the problems faced by the customers regarding the services in the best way; follow up and respond to the requests of the customers regarding the services quickly and in different ways such as phone, email, etc.; provide a platform so that customers can fully use the bank's services anywhere and at any time of the day or night; and by improving the level of value and the mental image of the brand of services and the quality level of relations with customers, provide the possibility of strengthening customer satisfaction, which ultimately leads to customer loyalty