Multi-Cultural Curriculum Planning Approaches in Higher Education

Curriculum as a political document in every society must reflect its values and basic policies. In this research some approaches to multi-cultural curriculum planning in higher education have been presented, the results of which could be applicable in the Ministry of Higher Education (for all Universities), Farhangian University, and Shahid Rajaiee Teachers’ Training University. The research is a practical one using a descriptive-analytical methodology and library or documented study. It has also carried out a field survey obtaining the needed info through interviews and questionnaires. Using Cochran Model, the sampling consisted of 373 persons from the statistical population of 10000 professors, staff,  and university students studying within the period of 1391 to 1396, pursuing their continuous Bachelor Degree in Farhangian University. In this research SWOT method has been used for analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and presenting the most important policies of multi cultural curriculum. Moreover, the strategic model of SOAR has been applied to planning the strategy of strengths and explaining the opportunities, ideals, and results. Then with applying the quantitative strategic planning matrix, the various strategy choices have been identified and assessed. We can sum پ up the best strategy for multi-cultural curriculum planning as setting up the curriculum and syllabus on the basis of the whole country's cultural diversity to the extent that the policy of “unity in plurality” will be implemented properly

Effective Medicinal Plant in Cancer Treatment, Part 2.

Cancer is the second cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. With due attention to rapid progress in the phytochemical study of plants, they are becoming popular because of their anticancer effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective medicinal plants in the treatment of cancer and study their mechanism of action. In order to gather information the keywords "traditional medicine," "plant compounds," "medicinal plant," "medicinal herb," "toxicity," "anticancer effect," "cell line," and "treatment" were searched in international databases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus and national databases such as Magiran, Sid, and Iranmedex, and a total of 228 articles were collected. In this phase, 49 nonrelevant articles were excluded. Enhancement P53 protein expression, reducing the expression of proteins P27, P21, NFκB expression and induction of apoptosis, inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway, and reduction of the level of acid phosphatase and lipid peroxidation are the most effective mechanisms of herbal plants that can inhibit cell cycle and proliferation. Common treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy can cause some complications. According to results of this study, herbal extracts have antioxidant compounds that can induce apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation by the investigated mechanisms

Biosynthesis and recovery of rod-shaped tellurium nanoparticles and their bactericidal activities

In this study, a tellurium-transforming Bacillus sp. BZ was isolated from the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. The isolate was identified by various tests and 16S rDNA analysis, and then used to prepare elemental tellurium nanoparticles. The isolate was subsequently used for the intracellular biosynthesis of elemental tellurium nanoparticles. The biogenic nanoparticles were released by liquid nitrogen and purified by an n-octyl alcohol water extraction system. The shape, size, and composition of the extracted nanoparticles were characterized. The transmission electron micrograph showed rod-shaped nanoparticles with dimensions of about 20 nm � 180 nm. The energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction spectra respectively demonstrated that the extracted nanoparticles consisted of only tellurium and have a hexagonal crystal structure. This is the first study to demonstrate a biological method for synthesizing rod-shaped elemental tellurium by a Bacillus sp., its extraction and its antibacterial activity against different clinical isolates

RESEARCH AND REVIEWS: JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY Biosynthesis and Characterization of Selenium Nanoparticles Produced by Terrestrial Actinomycete Streptomyces microflavus Strain FSHJ31

ABSTRACT During last decades, study on the development of eco-friendly processes for the production of selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) have received much attention due to hazardous effects of chemical compounds used for nanoparticle preparation. The present study was designed to screen actinomycete strains able to produce Se NPs. Among isolated bacterial strains, a terrestrial actinomycete strain which was tolerant to Se 4+ ions (200 µg/ml of) was launched as Se NPs producer. Morphological and biochemical characteristics as well as 16S rDNA gene analysis of the selected strain introduced it as Streptomyces microflavus strain FSHJ31. The biologically synthesized Se NPs was then purified using n-Octyl alcohol/water extraction system and characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. Analysis of the particle size distribution pattern of biogenic Se NPs via laser light scattering method demonstrated the size range of 28-123 nm for Se NPs with the 48 nm NPs being the most frequent particles

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension based on ACC/AHA versus JNC7 guidelines in the PERSIAN cohort study

In this cross-sectional population-based study, we used the baseline data of the Prospective Epidemiologic Research Studies in IrAN cohort study collected in Iran from 2014 to 2020. The main outcomes were the prevalence of hypertension and proportion of awareness, treatment, and control based on the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline compared to the seventh report of the Joint National Committee (JNC7). Of the total of 163,770 participants, aged 35–70 years, 55.2% were female. The sex-age standardized prevalence of hypertension was 22.3% (95% CI 20.6, 24.1) based on the JNC7 guideline and 36.5% (31.1, 41.8) based on the ACC/AHA guideline. A total of 24,312 participants [14.1% (10.1, 18.1)] were newly diagnosed based on the ACC/AHA guideline. Compared to adults diagnosed with hypertension based on the JNC7 guideline, the newly diagnosed participants were mainly young literate males who had low levels of risk factors and were free from conventional comorbidities of hypertension. About 30.7% (25.9, 35.4) of them (4.3% of the entire population) were eligible for pharmacologic intervention based on the ACC/AHA guideline. Implementation of the new guideline may impose additional burden on health systems. However, early detection and management of elevated blood pressure may reduce the ultimate burden of hypertension in Iran

The Youth Life Style in Tehran and its Determining Factors

The goal of this research is on the one hand to identify various life styles of the youth living in Tehran and, on the other hand, to study several social, economic and cultural factors affecting the youth life styles. Based on Cookran formula, sample size amounts to 400, and cluster sampling was used as sampling method. Studying existing theories and reviewing empirical studies relevant to the research subject matter, various life styles such as aesthetical-hedonistic, functionalistic, sub-cultural, and passive ones were identified. According to the mean rates of various life styles, the hedonistic one enjoyed the highest rate, amounting to 53% of the sample population, the functionalistic one showed a moderate rate of 46.8 of the sample population, and the lowest rate belonged to the passive life style. Based on the person correlation coefficient, it could be said that there was a positive and meaningful relationship between social capital and various types of life styles. Also, a meaningful relationship of 0.01 existed between cultural capital and various types of life style. Moreover, person correlation coefficient confirms the meaningful and positive relationship between economic capital and functionalistic, hedonistic and passive life styles. Using step by step method in the multi-variable regression shows the economic variables contribution in explaining the life styles variable as to be as 0.31, the social ones as to 0.17, and cultural capital impact as to 0.16. In sum, taking into consideration R2 coefficient, the three mentioned variables explain 19% of the variance of the life style variable

Brain Abscess After Tonsillectomy

The authors report a case of brain abscess after a tonsillectomy. A 25-year-old man developed headache and dysphasia a few days after a tonsillectomy. A brain abscess was diagnosed and managed. This is a rare complication of a tonsillectomy, especially after the introduction of antibiotics, but it still occurs

Phenomenological Study of Youth Lifestyles in Tehran

This study has tried to investigate and reconstruct the meaning of life style in a phenomenological approach among young people in Tehran city. Most research done on this issue has been described by adopting deductive strategy and underlying prefabricated theories.While the phenomenological method focuses on how humans meant their experiences and transform them to collective and personal form of their consciousness. It also requires a methodologicalunderstandingthat how humans experience these phenomena. Researcher to collect such data is necessary to engage in-depth interviews with people who have directly experienced the phenomenon of interest that means they have Lived experience that is in contrast with second order experience and the operating variables that derived from metanarratives. Thus, we have distinguished four major lifestyles of young people’s lives in Tehran according to Husserl’s epoche manner and meet schutz’s typification criteria that contain; pleasure seeking - aesthetic lifestyle, functionalistic, subcultural and passive

Primary Extradural Hydatid Cyst of Spine Causing Acute Paraplegia

Hydatid cysts of the spine are rare, and primary extradural hydatids of the spine are extremely rare. A case of acute paraplegia caused by a primary extradural hydatid cyst of the dorsal spine is reported. In this case, a lipoma of the conus medullaris was found incidentally. A 35-year-old woman presented with sudden-onset paraplegia. In the neurologic examination, she had complete paraplegia and loss of sphincter function and the T12 sensory level. Complete removal of several hydatid cysts was accomplished through a bilateral laminectomy. The patient had not demonstrated recovery 6 months after surgery. Hydatid cysts, although rare, still exist in developing countries and should be considered in cystic lesions of the spine in endemic areas

Vertebral Hydatidosis

Hydatid disease is prevalent in the sheep-raising areas. Bone hydatidosis is rare and occurs in 1% to 4% of all cases of human hydatidosis. About 50% of cases of bone hydatidosis are spinal. In a retrospective study, 9 patients with hydatid disease of spine who had treated surgically were evaluated. There were 5 men and 4 women, with mean age of 31 years and a range of 19 to 50 years. Diagnosis was made by means of myelography, computerized tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The main surgical intervention was laminectomy in all cases. In a case of recurrent disease, vertebrectomy and anterolateral spinal fusion and instrumentation was performed through an anterior transabdominal approach. Surgical field was irrigated by 0.5% silver nitrate and 10% hypertonic saline. Albendazole was given as an adjuvant therapy in the cases of bony involvement. Location of the disease was thoracic in 6 cases, cervical in 2 cases, and lumbar in 1 case. Outcome was excellent in 3 cases, improvement in 1 case, no recovery in 1 case, and recurrence in 3 cases. Spinal hydatidosis is a locally malignant disease with high recurrence rate. Eradication of the disease cannot be achieved even after radical surgery and chemotherapy. Although role of the chemotherapy in the prevention of the disease is not specifically determined, it is recommended in almost all reports. The preferred management is the spinal decompression, vertebrectomy, and instrumentation in appropriate cases and postoperative Albendazole therapy as a chemotherapic drug of choice. The best and ideal treatment is the prevention of the disease by eradication of parasites from the hosts in the endemic areas