The Impact of Different Types of Tasks (Structured and Unstructured) on the Production of Relative Clauses and Lexical Diversity of Iranian EFL University Students

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of different types of tasks (structured and unstructured) on the production of relative clauses and lexical diversity of Iranian EFL university students. The participants of this study were thirty upper intermediate students of English language in Iranian context. To be certain about the homogeneity of the participants, the Nelson proficiency test was administered. After this stage, they were divided into two groups. Then a cartoon about fifty minutes was played for both groups.  The experimental group (unstructured) received the film from the middle, while the control group (structured) saw the film from the beginning. Then, the participants were asked to produce whatever they heard. After analyzing the participants' sentences, the results showed that the control (structured) group outperformed the experimental (unstructured) one in producing the relative clauses while there was no significant difference between the two groups in the case of lexical diversity. Based on the obtained results some recommendations are given

Effect of CO2 elevation and UV-A radiation on growth responses of Zinnia, Petunia, Coxcomb, and Marigold

In order to evaluate the effect of CO2 elevation and UV radiation on growth responses of zinnia, petunia, coxcomb, and marigold, a study was conducted in 2015 at Arsanjan Islamic Azad University, Iran. The experimental design was factorial arranged in completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments were included four ornamental species (zinnia, petunia, coxcomb, and marigold), CO2 concentration at two levels (350 and 700 ppm), and UV radiation at two levels (with and without UV radiation). Results showed that elevating of CO2 concentration from 350 ppm to 700 ppm increased morphological and physiological characters of C3 plants, especially marigold. Meanwhile, increasing CO2 concentration from 350 ppm to 700 ppm, decreased effects of UV damage on plants’ morphological and physiological characters. The highest leaf number, shoot dry mass, plant height and water use efficiency of C4 plant (coxcomb flower) were observed at 350 ppm of CO2 concentration without UV radiation while, the highest leaf number, shoot dry mass and leaf pigments of C3 plants (zinnia, petunia, and marigold flower) were obtained at 700 ppm of CO2 concentration without UV radiation. The results showed that the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes under UV radiation was increased in all of plants. Overall, it is concluded that, the recognition of plants resistant to UV radiation and high levels of CO2 concentration in the future may be better for environmental production and distribution as ornamental plants in town landscapes, where ecophysiological traits should be considered.</p

The effects of relationship enrichment program on compatibility and marital satisfaction of infertile couples

Background and objective: Infertility as a crisis in couples' life, not only creates psychological problems, but also, it can act as a powerful impact on the relationships between couples. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of relationship enrichment on compatibility and marital satisfaction of infertile couples. Methods: This is a semi experimental study with pre-test and post-test on control group. Statistical population of this study was an infertile couple in Birjand. The couples were randomly divided to control groups (17 couples) and experimental groups (15 couples). The research instrument was marital adjustment questionnaire. That completed before, immediately and 3 months after intervention. The intervention consisted of 6 training session. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16). Results: Before the intervention, mean scores were matched the two groups. After the intervention, the experimental group increased average compatibility from 101.5±22/4 to 129.33±10.6 , marital satisfaction from 33/8±8 to 44±4.8 , marital solidarity from12±3.8 to 16.1±2.2 , couples agreement from 44.6±10.5 to 54.8±6.1 , expression of love from 11±3.7 to 14.2± 1.(

Use of Complementary Medicine in SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV: a Narrative Review

Severe acute respiration syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by severe cytokine storm syndrome following inflammation. SARS-CoV-2 is the 7th coronavirus that causes infection in human bodies; SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 can purpose severe diseases. SARS-CoV-2 at once interacts with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors inside the body and causes respiratory problems. Interestingly, complementary medicines and herbal drugs affect the expression of IgE and IgG antibodies and improve the immune system; for that reason, complementary medicine could be beneficial for infectious diseases like SARS-COV-2. In this review, we assessed some related articles to evaluate the effect of complementary medicine on SARS-COV2 and MERS-COV

Behavioural and molecular study of the effects of rosuvastatin on acquisition and retention of spatial memory impaired by H-89 in rats

There is controversy on the effect of statins on cognitive functions such as spatial memory. In the present study, effect of ten- day oral gavage of rosuvastatin (Ros, 20 mg/kg) on spatial learning and spatial memory retention impaired by H-89, was investigated in male rats. This study was comprised of two sets of experiments each including the following 3 groups (n = 8): Control group treated with DMSO; H-89 group received bilateral intra-hippocampal H-89 (10 μM/side, in DMSO) and Ros- H-89 group orally treated with Ros (20 mg/kg) and H-89 (similar to the H-89 group). For spatial learning (acquisition phase) assessment, from day 7 of Ros gavage, rats were trained in the Morris water maze (MWM) for four days (one block of 4 stages each day) and received daily H-89, 30 min after Ros gavage. On day 11, the probe test was performed. Also, to assess spatial memory retention, from day 7 to 10 of Ros gavage, rats were trained in MWM but received H-89 on day 10 only. On day 12, the probe test was performed. Besides, CREB and p-CREB protein expression was assessed in hippocampal samples and oxidative stress status was assessed in serum samples. We observed that H-89 led to a clear impairment of the spatial learning and spatial memory recall, increased levels of lipid peroxidation and downregulated CREB and p-CREB proteins, compared to the control group. However, Ros prevented H-89-induced deleterious consequences which might be probably in part due to its ameliorative effects on lipid peroxidation index and CREB and p-CREB expression

Optimization of in vitro Propagation of Qare-Qat (Vaccinium arctostaphylus)

In order to optimize the micropropagation of Qare-Qat (Vaccinium arctostaphylus J.J.Sm), samples were collected from two regions of Iran (Asalem and Kelardasht). Anderson (AN) media containing different concentrations of zeatin (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mg L-1) and different levels of pH (4.5, 5 and 5.5) were compared. The in vitro shoots were transferred on AN media supplemented with zeatin (1 and 2 mg L-1) alone or in combination with Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.2 and 0.4 mg L-1). To optimize the rooting stage, elongated shoots (1.5- 2cm) were cultured on half strength semi- solid media containing activated charcoal (0 and 7g L-1), or half strength liquid AN medium supplemented with different concentrations of IBA (0, 0.5, 2 and 3 mg L-1) and NAA (0 and 0.5 mg L-1). The results indicated that at the establishment stage, AN media supplemented with 4 mg L-1 zeatin (pH= 5.5) and 1 mg L-1 zeatin (pH= 5) were the best treatment for Asalem and Kelardasht explants, respectively. For the Asalem explants, the highest number of proliferated shoots (4) was observed on AN media consisting of 2 mg L-1 zeatin and 0.4 mg L-1 IBA. Whereas for the Kelardash explants  the highest number of proliferated shoots (3) was observed on AN media consisting of 2 mg L-1 zeatin and 0.2 mg L-1 IBA. The highest percent of root formation (86 and 66%) were observed in half strength AN medium containing 7 g L-1 activated charcoal and 3 mg L-1 IBA and 0.5 mg L-1 NAA in Asalem and Kelardasht explants, respectively. The plantlets were successfully transferred to soil and the survival rate was 85%

Association of ANGPTL3 polymorphisms with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol uptake capacity in patients with cardiovascular disease

Introduction Previous studies have shown the importance of angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) as a modulator of lipid profiles. Cholesterol uptake capacity (CUC) is one means for assessing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) functionality. This study for the first time has investigated the relationship between genetic ANGPTL3 polymorphism and CUC in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods Five hundred three subjects comprising 350 healthy subjects and 153 individuals who developed a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event during follow-up were recruited as part of the Mashhad Stroke and Heart Atherosclerotic Disorder (MASHAD) cohort study. A modified CUC method was used to determine the CUC of serum samples. Applied amplification refractory mutation system PCR was performed for ANGPTL3 variants genotyping including: rs10789117, rs1748195, and rs11207997. Sanger sequencing was applied to confirm the genotypes. Results The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the rs1748195 genotypes and HDL concentration in the CVD group (p = 0.02). Moreover, individuals with a GG genotype of the rs1748195 were associated with a lower risk of CVD (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.24–0.98, p = 0.04) compared with CC genotype in the CUC ≤ 1.7 a.u subgroup. Moreover, the CT genotype of rs11207997 was associated with a lower risk of CVD (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.41–1.3, p = 0.01) compared with CC genotype in CUC > 1.7 a.u subgroup. Conclusion The results showed that the CT genotype of the rs11207997 variant was associated with a lower risk of incident CVD in patients with higher HDL functionality. As well, the rs1748195 gene variant may contribute to a reduced risk of CVD