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Reflective functioning is the process of reflecting on the thoughts and feelings of oneself and others and is foundational to healthy human relationships. The 54-item Reflective Function Questionnaire (RFQ) is a self-report measure that assesses reflective functioning, initially developed while studying individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The purpose of the present study was to translate the RFQ from English to Persian and evaluate its reliability and validity among Iranian prisoners. The sample of this study included 509 (455 men and 54 women) Iranian prisoners. Findings confirm the translated measure had acceptable face and content validity. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed two dimensions of certainty (RFQ-c) and uncertainty (RFQ-u) of reflective functioning. The correlation analysis showed positive relationships between the dimensions of the RFQ and the borderline personality symptoms questionnaire and the emotional dissatisfaction questionnaire. Correlation analysis also showed negative associations between the dimensions of the RFQ and the Toronto Basic Empathy Scale (BES) and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) questionnaire, confirming the concurrent validity of the RFQ. The Cronbach's alphas of the RFQ-c and RFQ-u subscales were.69 and.7 respectively, which demonstrated relatively acceptable internal consistency. The results of the analysis demonstrated that the translated RFQ had desirable psychometric properties for evaluating reflective function among Iranian prisoners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease with a myriad of alterations at the cellular and molecular levels. Kristen rat sarcoma (KRAS) mutations occur in up to 40% of CRCs and serve as both a prognostic and predictive biomarker. Oncogenic mutations in the KRAS protein affect cellular proliferation and survival, leading to tumorigenesis through RAS/MAPK pathways. Until recently, only indirect targeting of the pathway had been investigated. There are now several KRAS allele-specific inhibitors in late-phase clinical trials, and many newer agents and targeting strategies undergoing preclinical and early-phase clinical testing. The adequate treatment of KRAS-mutated CRC will inevitably involve combination therapies due to the existence of robust adaptive resistance mechanisms in these tumors. In this article, we review the most recent understanding and findings related to targeting KRAS mutations in CRC, mechanisms of resistance to KRAS inhibitors, as well as evolving treatment strategies for KRAS-mutated CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium looping process is a promising approach for CO2 capture from the flue gas of fossil fuel power plants and the cement industry. Even though the advantages of calcium‐based sorbents are low cost and high uptake capacity, they suffer from low durability during cycles. Modified sorbents were fabricated by adding alumina and zirconia and the mixture of alumina and zirconia to calcium oxide via the co‐precipitation method. The performance of synthesized sorbents in terms of stability and CO2 capture capacity were evaluated using a fixed bed reactor in various CO2 sorption/desorption cycles. The sorbents were fabricated by a co‐precipitation methodology using 10% binders (alumina and/or silica). X‐ray diffraction (XRD), BET/BJH, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted for characterization of synthesized sorbents. CaO‐10% ZrO2 showed the best performance among the fabricated sorbents in terms of stability during 5 cycles and CO2 capacity (14 mmol CO2/g sorbent). The formation of CaZrO3 with a perovskite structure and high‐temperature resistance could be attributed to well performance of zirconia‐supported sorbent. On the other hand, no sign of aluminum zirconate formation was approved in XRD analysis for the fabricated sorbent using mixed binders of zirconia and alumina to enhance its stability during cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Adding noise to the speech audiometry tests increases the sensitivity and specificity of them. This study aimed to investigate the normative data for the Speech-in-Noise (SIN) perception test in normal-hearing adults aged 18–25, and evaluate the effect of gender and ear laterality on the test score. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 126 adults aged 18–25 years with mean(SD) of age: 22.28(1.61) years old participated. The SIN perception test using Persian monosyllabic words was performed in quiet and using 5 signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs; 0,± 5 and ± 10). Results: The mean of SIN perception score was 96.48, 91 and 82.79% at the SNRs of +10, +5, and 0 for the right ear, and 97.09, 91.42, and 84.11% at the SNRs of +10, +5, and 0 for the left ear, respectively. The interaction effect of gender and ear laterality had no statistically significant effect on the test results in quiet and at any SNRs (p>0.05). Moreover, the main effect of gender on the test score was not significant (p>0.05), and there was no significant difference in the test score between the right and left ears (p>0.05). Conclusion: Given the importance of including the SIN perception test in the routine audiology tests, considering normative data for this test is important. The normative data found in this study for this test can be routinely used in audiology clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichens produce a large variety of secondary metabolites with diverse bioactivities, chemical structures, and physicochemical properties. For this reason, there is a growing interest in the use of lichen-derived bioactive molecules for drug discovery and development. Here, we report on the isolation, identification, and cytotoxic evaluation of gyrophoric acid (GA) from the lichen Umbilicaria muhlenbergii, a largely unexplored and scantly described lichen species. A simple purification protocol was developed for the fractionation of lichen crude extracts with silica gel column chromatography using solvents with changing polarity. GA was identified in one of the fractions with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ion trap mass spectrometry (MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR and 13C-NMR). The FTIR spectra demonstrated the presence of aromatic and ester functional groups C=C, C-H, and C=O bonds, with the most remarkable signals recorded at 1400 cm−1 for the aromatic region, at 1400 cm−1 for the CH3 groups, and at 1650 cm−1 for the carbonyl groups in GA. The MS spectra showed a molecular ion [M-1]− at (m/z) 467 with a molecular weight of 468.4 and the molecular formula C24H20O10. that correspond to GA. The 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra verified the chemical shifts that are typical for GA. GA reduced the cell viability of breast cancer cells from the MCF-7 cell line by 98%, which is indicative of the strong cytotoxic properties of GA and its significant potential to serve as a potent anticancer drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although simultaneous reduction of fat and sucrose in cake manufacturing is highly demanded it is also a challenge and requires reformulation and process redesign which are often time-consuming and expensive. The main aim of this research was to investigate the effects of simultaneous changes in sucrose, oil, inulin as a fat replacer, and Rebaudioside A (Reb A) as a sucrose replacer and water content on batter physical and rheological properties and to find empirical models to predict the effects of various cake ingredients on batter properties using Response Surface Methodology. It was found that Reb A had no significant effect on batter viscosity, consistency, and density. Cake batter viscosity and consistency were highly affected by water followed by sucrose and inulin. Oil affected the batter consistency but not the viscosity. Density was inversely affected by water and oil and inulin, but it increased with sucrose addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cake is a popular food around the world, however, it is considered as unhealthy due to its high fat and sucrose content. To satisfy customers' demand for a low fat and sucrose cake, in this research both sucrose and fat content of the cake were reduced by using rebaudioside A (Reb A; as a natural sucrose replacer) and inulin (as a natural fat replacer) at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The water content of different formulation was adjusted to obtain a constant batter viscosity similar to the control (3,757 cP). By reducing sucrose and fat content up to 50%, water activity increased and the cakes became more asymmetrical. However, other physical properties including baking weight loss, height, volume, crust color, and texture were similar to those of the control. Higher levels of replacement (75% and 100%) resulted in remarkable loss of different quality attributes. These samples showed higher water activity and baking loss, lower volume, harder texture, darker color, and highly asymmetrical shape. Thus, successful reduction of both fat and sucrose in cakes is possible by using inulin and Reb A at replacement levels no more than 50%. Practical applications: Customers' demand for healthy and yet tasty and high‐quality foods is increasing around the world. Therefore, finding applicable and safe methods to produce such products is of great interest in the food manufacturing to satisfy customers. Health conscious customers avoid consumption of cakes because it contains high sucrose and fat content. Many studies have been performed to reduce either fat or sucrose content, while a few studies are available to show the reduction of both fat and sucrose in the same product. This study indicates the results of an applicable method to reduce fat and sucrose content of cakes simultaneously. Using rebaudioside A (as a natural sucrose replacer) and inulin (as a natural fat replacer) up to 50% of sucrose and fat content of cakes were reduced and the resulting cake had very similar physical properties to the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstruction of fluid flow by stationary bubbles in a microchannel hemodialyzer decreases filtration performance and increases damage to blood cells through flow maldistribution. A polyethylene oxide (PEO)-polybutadiene (PB)-polyethylene oxide surface modification, previously shown to reduce protein fouling and water/air contact angle in polycarbonate microchannel hemodialyzers, can improve microchannel wettability and may reduce bubble stagnation by lessening the resistive forces that compete with fluid flow. In this study, the effect of the PEO-PB-PEO coating on bubble retention in a microchannel array was investigated. Polycarbonate microchannel surfaces were coated with PEO-PB-PEO triblock polymer via radiolytic grafting. Channel obstruction was measured for coated and uncoated microchannels after injecting a short stream of air bubbles into the device under average nominal water velocities of 0.9 to 7.2 cm/s in the channels. The presence of the PEO coating reduced obstruction of microchannels by stationary bubbles within the range of 1.8 to 3.6 cm/s, average nominal velocity. Numerical simulations based on the lattice Boltzmann method indicate that beneficial effects may be due to the maintenance of a lubricating, thin liquid film around the bubble. The determined effective range of the PEO coating for bubble management serves as an important design constraint. These findings serve to validate the multiutility of the PEO-PB-PEO coating (bubble lubrication, biocompatibility, and therapeutic loading). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 941-948, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]