Investigation of the presence of G354A (Cys87Tyr) mutation in osteoprotegerin gene in women with osteoporosis in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province

Background and aims: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a competitive inhibitor of the differentiation and activity of osteoclasts, which inhibits the final stages of osteoclast formation and induces its apoptosis. In addition, OPG is considered as one of the most important candidate genes in the pathogenesis of bone diseases such as osteoporosis and idiopathic hyperphosphatasia. The G354A (Cys87Tyr) mutation in the OPG gene leads to idiopathic hyperphosphatasia. This mutation is probably related to osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of G354A (Cys87Tyr) in women with osteoporosis in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck and lumbar spine of women referring to Shahrekord bone densitometry centers was measured by the X-ray absorptiometry technique in 2013-2014. Based on T-scores, people with osteoporosis were identified and 70 patients were enrolled in the study after receiving their consent. Finally, DNA was extracted from blood samples, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, and sequenced by DNA sequencing method. Results: After DNA extraction from the blood, the quality and quantity were determined by gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometry, respectively. Then, the gene was amplified by the PCR method and the product was detected by gel electrophoresis, followed by sequencing the samples to investigate the presence of the mutation. Eventually, genotypes associated with Cys87Tyr mutation were not observed in the studied population. Conclusion: In the present study, the G354A (Cys87Tyr) mutation associated with idiopathic hyperphosphatasia was not found in women with osteoporosis. Keywords: G354A mutation, OPG gene, Osteoporosi

Analysis of causes and outcomes of corneal transplantation in al-zahra eye hospital in southeast of Iran from 2011-2016

Background: Corneal transplantation is known as the most successful and common type of organ transplant, but it calls for more intensive and long-term care. Given the lack of adequate information on this important surgery in this province and the differences between indications and causes of corneal transplantation, the present research was carried out to examine the causes and outcomes of corneal transplant in patients visiting Al-Zahra eye hospital who had received donated cornea in the past five years.Methods: In a retrospective analytical-descriptive study 135 files of 149 eyes that had gone through corneal transplantation were examined. Information on the age, gender, residence, indications, and surgery consequences was extracted and was analyzed in SPSS 19 statistical software with descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation.Results: The highest transplant indication was keratoconus with a frequency of 39.9% followed by bullous keratopathy, corneal opacity, and transplant rejection with frequencies of 16.1, 12.7, and 10.1%, respectively. Other indications were corneal scar (9.4%), corneal perforation (2.7%), trauma (2.7%), and Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy (1.3%) in the order mentioned. Concerning postoperative complications in this research, 57.7% of the eyes (86 cases) showed no complication. Moreover, complications were mostly related to astigmatism with a frequency of 30.8% (46 cases).Conclusions: In general, the most common indication in this research was keratoconus. Most surgeries were also complication-free and most complications were associated with astigmatism

L-tryptophan production by Escherichia coli in the presence of Iranian cane molasses

The essential amino acid L-tryptophan (Trp) has importance as a pharmaceutical agent, especially in neuro-medicine. It is also added to feed products as a food fortifier. Furthermore, application of Trp is widespread in biotechnology. Trp is produced by a condensation reaction between indole and L-serine, which is catalyzed by bacterial tryptophanase activity. In this study, we have investigated Trp production using microbial system in the presence and absence of its precursors and Iranian cane molasses. The results showed that the optimum concentration of the molasses for maximum bacterial growth is 10 g/lit. Furthermore, in order to assay the amount of tryptophan produced, thin layer chromatography was used. The results showed that Iranian cane molasses contains considerable amounts of serine and indole, enough for Trp production (0.48 mM) in culture medium. But additional indole has inhibitory effects on Trp production. The data are compatible with previous reports on inhibitory effect of indole not only on cell growth but also on tryptophanase formation and function

Evaluation of Prescription Appropriateness of CT Scan for Low Back Pain in Shiraz’s Referral Trauma Hospital Using RAND Appropriateness Method

Introduction: This study aims to identify the appropriateness of CT Scan prescriptions for Lumbar Spine using the RAND Appropriateness Method in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS). Methods: A total of 281 patients referred to the hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were selected as sample of the study in 2016. The scenarios derived through the RAND Appropriateness Method were compared with medical records of these patients by educated physicians. Results: Out of 281 cases of lumbar spine MRI prescriptions, 57.7% were appropriate, 32.7 % were uncertain, and 9.6 % were considered to be appropriate. In addition, some related factors to appropriateness of prescriptions were identified. Conclusions: Clinical guidelines developed using RAND Appropriateness Method can be an appropriate instrument for policy makers, health care providers, and health insurance companies in order to reduce inappropriate cares and quality improvement, especially in developing countries. It is recommended that appropriateness of prescriptions will be considered as the criteria for payment and reimbursement to prescribers. In this way, inappropriate cares may be reduced

Foreign-Currency and Monetary Geopolitics of United States and Its Effects on the Future of the International System

The US dollar is still considered as the main strategic deposit among the currencies of different countries of the world and the policies of the World Bank and the International Financial Organizations have been and will always be influenced by the US economy. Despite the economic crises and commercial balance deficits in the United States, dollar has maintained its high position in and its domination over foreign exchanges and foreign-currency deposits of the countries. The novelty of the present research relies on its consideration of the political properties of the governments and the geopolitical effects of these countries on the position of their monetary and foreign-currency policies and consequently, on the international financial organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which can determine the future of international economy and the political relations among countries. Our research proves that the political development of the United States and its geopolitical situation have been of the effective factors on dollar growth; and unless the competitors acquire such a relative advantage, they will not be able to seriously challenge the currency of dollar and the monetary policies of the United States, at least in a short time. KEYWORDS: Foreign Currency; Monetary Geopolitics; Foreign Currency Competition; Universal Currency; Dollar Hegemony

A study of Newly-attributed Verses to Rudaki Samarghandi in Halimi’s Dictionary (Sharh Bahr al-Gharraib)

In the vast field of Persian literature, prominent figures such as Mirzayev, Braginsky and Saeed Nafisi, before the other scholars, outshone others in research on the poems of Rudaki, the father of Persian poetry. It was the invaluable efforts made by these magnanimous researchers in collecting Rudaki’s poetries that paved the way for further investigations. Considering some of Rudaki’s verses that are exemplified in dictionaries and the fact that some of these dictionaries have remained unnoticed by researchers and also taking into account the existence of new verses, various written forms, and attribution of some of his verses to other poets and vice versa, in this research we study one such dictionary under the title of Sharh Bahr al-Gharraib or Loqat Halimi. The writers have found a more complete text than the one applied by Nafisi through two manuscripts of this dictionary. In this research, the attribution of some verses to this poet has been studied with presentation of several findings

Qualitative evaluation of research activities using the same keywords

Background and aim: Various scientometric indicators have been developed for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of scientific output. Each of these indicators has its own weaknesses and strengths. The study aimed at using the keywords as a qualitative evaluation instrument in research of many scholars of Medical Sciences University.  Material and methods: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study within a 6-year period (2005-2010). The research population included all papers published by faculty members of Medical Science University of Babol who were as the first/corresponding authors with at least 2 papers and these indexed articles in periodicals published in WOS during this period. The data were collected by means of a tailor-made data collection sheet. The repeated or synonym keywords were collected from different papers of an author and were analyzed in terms of repetition for qualitative evaluation of the research of every scholar. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistical indexes and statistical software spss version16.  Findings: During this period, 127 articles have been indexed in WoS database from researchers of this University. in 11 articles of 300 words, 21 repeated words or synonyms were used by 25 researchers who had two or more than two papers. By considering these findings, the overall ratio of articles with repetitive keywords was 16 and the proportion of repeated keywords to whole words was 7. Statistical processing of the data using linear regression indicates an inverse relationship between the number of articles of each author and repeated keywords or synonyms in his/her articles. So, by increasing the number of articles for every author from 2 to 5, the repeated words in per article were decreased to 0/83, 0/77, 0/25 and finally zero, respectively.  Conclusion: low rate of the same keywords and synonyms in the articles of one researcher may be a sign of dispersion and lack of coordination in research activities. Therefore, regarding the coordination and concentration of the subject in scientific activities is very important in assessing the quality of research and researchers

Exploring society responsibilities in promoting Islamic ethics standards

ABSTRACT This research was aimed at exploring society responsibilities in promoting Islamic ethics standards and has been pathologically formulated to institutionalize what the existential nature and identity-orientedness is with regards to men and women' responsibilities and also those of the Islamic government separately. Attempts have been made to explain why the bases of moral virtues in the Koran which are worship, justice and righteousness have been observed. Later, the research refers to guidelines for reaching and fulfillment of moral standards in the society and specifically from a sociological point of view. The results found indicated that moral perfection could through man's psychological innate and bound and strong religious basis bring about some exhilarating moral standards within the existence, conscience and essence of humans. The man's perfection and superiority is instituted in regard to the knowledge of identity and understanding inner values and the goal of creation of humans

The Effect of Home Phototherapy in Jaundice and Bilirubin Levels of Neonates in Urmia City

Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common diseases in neonatal medicine. Phototherapy is a safe and secure method and is one of the most common treatments of indirect hyperbilirubinemia. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of home phototherapy in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Urmia. The present study is a cross-sectional study by the Cohort method. Two hundred three full-term infants older than 24 hours, who were referred to phototherapy for home phototherapy for two months, were selected as the study population. Neonatal serum bilirubin levels in both groups were measured at the beginning and 24 hours after phototherapy. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS-20. In this study, the mean neonatal bilirubin level before phototherapy was 14.33 ±2.41 mg/dl before and 8.11 ± 2.29 mg/dl after phototherapy. The reduction rate of bilirubin after home phototherapy was 6.6 mg/dl per day and these differences were statistically significant. During phototherapy at home, phototherapy was successful in 96.6% of the neonates recovered, and only seven neonates (3.4%) had complications. Due to the lower prevalence of complications and low duration of treatment, it can be concluded that home phototherapy can be a good alternative for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. Therefore, this method is recommended for the treatment of neonatal jaundice through proper phototherapy training at home