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Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpions) are one of the medically important oldest arthropods. They have been one of the humans' interests in terms of special morphology, painful stings, mortality, and behavioral attractions for many years. Diagnosis of scorpions is based on morphological characteristics and molecular methods. But, one of the most important and fundamental problems of identifying the Iranian scorpions is the lack of a comprehensive method. Due to the fact that a relatively long time has not passed since the classification of scorpions in Iran and there are no definitive divisions about the genera and species in the country, the current pictorial key was provided to identify the Iranian scorpions. In this study, various methods were used to catch the scorpions. For preparing the pictorial key, different genera of scorpions were collected from urban, rural, plain, and mountain areas in different parts of Iran as well as some archived specimens from the medical arachnid's Museum of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were used from 2010 to 2020 collection boxes. The key presented in this study was prepared only based on morphological features. It was necessary to remind a few points about this key and its use. Considering the above-mentioned points, this key was provided for 16 genera, 64 species, and 3 families of Iranian scorpions, and the results of other researchers are included in it. The study of various aspects of scorpion life, especially faunistic studies has been recently considered in Iran. Various methods such as molecular methods and composition of scorpion venom can be used for classification, the most common of which are morphological features that have a long history. Therefore, the need to provide a key to detect scorpions in the country has a special priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steer-by-wire (SBW) systems benefit from several advantages including lower weight, volume, and cost compared to counterpart electric power steering systems. However, system reliability is impacted since SBW performance is highly dependent on correct operation of several voltage, current, speed, yaw rate, and position sensors. This paper presents a new method in SBW system reliability improvement by introducing a novel fault detection, isolation, and reconstruction (FDIR) control technique. The proposed FDIR method detects if any fault is observed on voltage or current sensors and identifies the faulty sensor location. Additionally the identified faulty sensor's output is replaced with an estimated value to allow system continuous fault-ride through operation. The SBW system equipped with proposed FDIR technique provides fault-tolerance property against up to 3 faulty voltage or current sensors. Therefore, enhanced overall reliability is obtained at no further hardware costs associated with additional sensors redundancy solutions. The proposed technique is studied using system modelling and hardware prototyping, and its effectiveness is demonstrated using simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines the concept of ideal entropy for BCI-algebras in general, and it tries to describe some of its properties. Moreover, the present study will show that F2n (i.e., sets of every binary code word of length n) is a BCI-algebra, and that each ideal of F2n is a linear code. The present study defines the concept of cosets by using the quotient BCI-algebra F2nI and obtains their properties. This study defines the complement of a linear code, which is itself a linear code, which is denoted by the symbol Cc. Further, the present study defines the standard complement of a linear code, which is unique. This study proves that each equivalence class in F2n/Cc contains one and only one code word of the linear code C. This property can be used for decoding. Finally, the present study shows that two linear codes are equivalent if and only if they have the same ideal entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited disorder hallmarked by progressive deterioration of specific neurons, followed by movement and cognitive anomalies. Cell therapy approaches in neurodegenerative conditions have concentrated on the replenishment of lost/dying neurons with functional ones. Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been represented as a potential remedy for HD. In this study, we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of umbilical cord matrix stem cells (UCMSCs) and their paracrine effect against oxidative stress with a specific focus on HD. To this end, UCMSCs were isolated, immunophenotypically characterized by the positive expression of MSC markers, and exhibited multilineage potentiality. Besides, synthesis of neurotrophic factors of GDNF and VEGF by UCMSC was confirmed. Initially, PC12 cells were exposed to superoxide in the presence of conditioned media (CM) collected from UCMSC (UCMSC-CM) and cell viability plus neuritogenesis were measured. Next, bilateral striatal transplantation of UCMSC in 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) lesioned rat models was conducted, and 1 month later, post-graft analysis was performed. According to our in vitro results, CM of UCMSC protected PC12 cells against oxidative stress and considerably enhanced cell viability and neurite outgrowth. On the other hand, transplanted UCMSC survived, decreased gliosis, and ameliorated motor coordination and muscle activity, along with an increase in striatal volume as well as in dendritic length of the striatum in HD rats. Collectively, our findings imply that UCMSCs provide an enriched platform by largely their paracrine factors, which downgrades the unfavorable effects of oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate ocular complications and their relationship with sleep problems between IT students at Shahroud University of Technology as professional computer users and public health students at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences as non-professional computer users. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-2015 on 290 students, including 145 IT and 145 public health students. The students were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using five questionnaires, including a demographic questionnaire, the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), the Visual Fatigue Questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the STOP-BANG, and an examination for visual acuity. Data were analyzed in SPSS-22 using descriptive and inferential statistics and the level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. The comparisons showed a significant difference in the mean scores of the OSDI, VFQ and ESS between the male and female students, as all these scores were higher in the female students; however, no significant differences were observed in these scores between the professional and non-professional users. Given the significant direct relationships between the scores of the four questionnaires, it can be argued that sleep disorders and ocular disorders have reciprocal effects on each other. Sleepiness, dry eye and eye strain were not different between the groups of professional and non-professional computer users, but long hours of computer and cellphone use were observed so all students need to receive further education and correct ergonomics regardless of their field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, a variety of immunostimulatory molecules are used as adjuvants in combination with poor immunogenic recombinant infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) vaccine antigen. TIR domain of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) triggers the interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling cascade which plays a critical role in immune responses against infectious agents. For this study, the bacmid DNA pBac-VP2 of a field isolate was generated and transfected to Sf9 insect cells to produce recombinant VP2 (rVP2). In addition, based on in silico analysis, the cDNA encoding the conserved TIR domain of TLR7 (TIR-TLR7) contain the IL-1 receptor was synthesized and used as an adjuvant. We further evaluated the ability of rVP2/TIR-TLR7 vaccine candidate to induce specific immune responses in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens and compared the efficacy by challenging with the virulent IBDV. The results indicate that rVP2/TIR-TLR7-adjuvanted vaccine elicited humoral immune responses and protected chickens against IBDV infection. Higher levels of neutralizing IBDV antibody titers were observed in chickens intramuscularly immunized with rVP2/TIR-TLR7 than those injected with rVP2 alone. The antibody titers were higher in chickens which received booster injection. Furthermore, chickens immunized with rVP2/TIR-TLR7 in the prime and boost groups had significant protection against a virus challenge. The survival rate was 70 and 90% after the primary and booster rVP2/TIR-TLR7 vaccinations, respectively, and indicated that they were protected from virus challenge. Despite the unvaccinated control group, the immunized chickens with rVP2/TIR-TLR7 did not show any clinical signs and histopathological changes of the bursa. Our results demonstrate that TIR-TLR7 is a potential vaccine adjuvant and can induce antigen-specific immune responses induced by rVP2 for protection against IBDV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a reflected shock tube to investigate the acoustic signature of a hot jet at the far-field. Experiments were performed at Mach = 1.4 and a total temperature of T = 950 Kelvin. Far-field acoustic signatures of the hot jet at six polar angles θ = 15˚ to θ = 90˚ from the jet axis) were measured and imaged by the means of continuous wavelet transform in scalograms. The results were compared with experiments from a steady test facility at similar test conditions. Further, the primary characteristics of noise events in jet far-field were compared with analytical models considering wavepacket as the main source of jet noise. The results indicate that higher frequency events at θ = 90˚ occur with a small time shift relative to the low azimuthal mode base event. This phenomenon might be the main reason why the acoustic signal at the side angles behaves more noisily than at low polar angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser shock peening (LSP) is known as a post processing surface treatment which can improve the mechanical properties of some materials. Shock waves are generated by confining the laser-induced plasma to cause a large pressure shock wave over a significant surface area. In the present study, effects of LSP on the electrochemical corrosion and micro hardness properties of 316L stainless steel alloy were investigated by changing the laser parameters such as the laser spot size, the average number of impacts, and the laser intensity. Since laser parameters do not cover the desired region of LSP, we have to use the proper design of experiment method, in which the D-optimal design of MATLAB was selected. Results revealed that by increase in irradiance, number of impacts and spot size of laser beam, improvement in the surface micro hardness, and corrosion resistance is achieved. Also, due to unexpected drop into the outcome of our experiments, it was found that the contamination of the transparent overlay and reduction of the absorption coefficient of the absorbent layer play a key role to reduce the efficiency of the mechanical impacts. So, by changing the experimental conditions, even better results are expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the notion of a semi-independent dynamical system on a hyper MV-algebra is introduced. The concept of the entropy for a semi-independent hyper MV-algebra dynamical system is developed, and its characteristics are considered. The notion of equivalent semi-independent systems is defined, and it is proved the fact that two equivalent semi-independent hyper MV-algebra dynamical systems have the same entropy. Theorems to help calculate the entropy are given. Specifically, a new version of Kolmogorov-Sinai Theorem has been proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyaniline nanocomposite with controllable properties was used to design and fabricate a novel electrochemical immunosensor for the early detection of type 2 diabetes. Insulin receptor antibody is a powerful predictor of type 2 diabetes development in individuals. A systematic study was carried out to investigate the effects of different polyaniline layers and the Nafion layer on the morphological, chemical, and electrochemical properties of nanocomposite immunosensor, especially the stability. The bioengineered Nafion-Au nanoparticles-polyaniline/gold electrode demonstrated outstanding electrocatalytic performance in the detection of insulin receptor antibodies with a high sensitivity (136.21 µA.ng−1.ml.cm−2) in a linear range from 0.001 to 200 ng.ml−1 as well as a low detection limit of 1.827 pg.ml−1, response time within 10 min, remarkable selectivity, and significant stability of 80 days. Therefore, the developed immunosensor is a suitable nanocomposite platform for insulin receptor antibody level determination in human plasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground motion amplitude, frequency content, and duration are commonly identified as the main features of seismic waves affecting structural demand. Among these parameters, earthquake duration can have a substantial influence on assessment of structural seismic demand. The paper proposes a new empirical model for predicting the significant duration of ground-motion records in Turkey. Significant duration is an important parameter in determining the damage potential of earthquakes and is defined as the time interval between two specific values of Arias intensity. The proposed model is as function of moment magnitude ( M w ), Joyner-Boore distance ( R jb ), time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the top 30 m ( V S 30 ), and fault mechanism ( F m ). In the regression process, a database consisting of 850 records from 408 earthquakes in Turkey is used. According to the physics of the problem, mixed effect regression is employed. Next, besides residual analysis, comparison of the mean values with the other prediction models are performed. The results of this study indicate that the new model is satisfactory while reliable estimates of significant duration could be assessed for the Turkish region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure individual exposure to noise and its effect on the levels of lipid peroxidation and enzymatic antioxidant defense. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 94 male workers working in a food factory in Shahroud, Iran, were selected as the case group and 112 people were also included as the control group. The level of exposure to noise was measured using a dosimeter and the equivalent level was calculated. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (Cat), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) were measured in the serum samples of all participants. Independent t test, one-way ANOVA, and multivariate linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results: The levels of MDA, Cat, and TAC were significantly higher in staff exposed to noise than in the controls. The starch and warehouse units' staff were exposed to the highest (99.3 ± 3.23 dB) and lowest (77.1 ± 9.68 dB) mean levels of sound pressure. Based on the linear regression model, noise exposure level was the most important predictor variable for levels of MDA (β = 0.48, CI 95% = 0.04–0.93), Cat (β = 0.43, CI 95% = 0.05–0.83), and TAC (β = 0.11, CI 95% = 0.06–0.16). Conclusions: Noise exposure increases the production of free radicals. As exposure rate increases, the levels of MDA, Cat, and TAC enzymes increase as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its strategic location, the Astara fault system (AFS), which is located in Iran, has given rise to a number of earthquakes. In spite of its frequent seismic events, limited information is available for AFS. Slip rate is one of the important variables for future scrutiny of seismic risk of this fault system. The main objective of this research is to study slip rates at intermediate and short terms for this fault system using geological, geodetic observations and empirical method. Using the geological data, the intermediate-term horizontal and vertical slip rates for AFS have been determined to be 2.8±0.2 and 0.27±0.03 mm/year, respectively. In addition, the short-term slip rates of the fault, based on the geodetic method (using displacement values of two GPS stations: HASH and DAMO) and assuming attenuation of 60% (to fold the sediment of South Caspian Basin and shortening of Talesh Mountain range), determined to be 1.23±0.03 and 2.05±0.05 mm/year for the horizontal and vertical slips, respectively. Finally, evaluation of the slip rate using empirical relationship yields 10 mm/year for the entire fault system, which seems rather implausible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gradual degeneration of the striatum and loss of nigral dopamine cells are characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Nowadays, combination therapy for neurodegenerative disease is considered. This study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin and dopaminergic neurons derived from adipose tissue stem cells (ADSCs) in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease was induced in rats using neurotoxin 6-Hydroxydopamine. The treatment was performed using melatonin and dopaminergic neurons transplantation. Subsequently, behavioral tests, western blot analysis for Caspase-3 expression, GSH (Glutathione) content and stereology analysis for the volume and cell number of substantia nigra and striatum were performed. Treatment with melatonin and dopaminergic neuron transplantation increased the number of neurons in substantia nigra and striatum while the number of glial cell and the volume of substantia nigra and striatum did not show significant change between groups. Western blot analysis for caspase 3 indicated the significant differences between groups. The results also indicated the increased level of glutathione (GSH) content in treatment groups. this study showed that combination therapy with melatonin and dopaminergic neurons could greatly protect the neurons, reduce oxidative stress and improve the symptoms of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that significantly affects the quality of life of patients. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) transplantation in decreasing inflammation and cell death in brain cells, thus reducing seizure damage. We induced seizures in rats using intraperitoneal injections of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). In the PTZ + DPSC group, we conducted bilateral hippocampal transplantation of DPSCs in PTZ-lesioned rat models. After 1 month, we performed post-graft analysis and measured some behavioral factors, such as working memory and long-term memory, using a T-maze test and passive avoidance test, respectively. We investigated the immunohistopathology and distribution of astrocyte cells through light microscopy and Sholl analysis. Additionally, we employed the Voronoi tessellation method to estimate the spatial distribution of the cells in the hippocampus. Compared to the control group, we observed a reduction in astrogliosis, astrocyte process length, the number of branches, and intersections distal to the soma in the hippocampus of the PTZ + DPSC group. Further analysis indicated that the grafted DPSCs decreased the expression of caspase-3 in the hippocampus of rats with induced seizures. Moreover, the DPSCs transplant protected hippocampal pyramidal neurons against PTZ toxicity and improved the spatial distribution of the hippocampal neurons. Our findings suggest that DPSCs transplant can be an effective modifier of astrocyte reactivation and inflammatory responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PVC-based heterogeneous type cationic membranes were constructed by incorporation of copper oxide nanoparticles to enhance the antimicrobial and electrochemical behaviors of them in water treatment. The SOM and SEM/EDX indicated uniform structure for the fabricated membranes. Contact-angle results showed improvement of membrane surface hydrophilicity in presence of CuO NPs. Water uptake also changed by incorporation of CuO. According to 3D surface results, composite membranes showed rougher surface in comparison with pristine ones. The potential, t-number and permselectivity enhanced initially up to 1%wt CuO concentration and then declined by further CuO from 1 to 4%wt. All mentioned parameters increased again at 8%wt nanoparticles concentration. Ionic flux promoted for blended membranes up to 2%wt CuO and then declined by growing CuO. Blended membrane containing 0.5%wt CuO with lowest electrical resistance (< 9.6 Ω.cm2) and (> 94%) selectivity showed more appreciate act compared to reported ones. The CuO induced-ion exchange membranes exhibited superior antibacterial effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While steer-by-wire (SBW) systems benefit from improved performance and comfort, they require a large number of sensors impacting whole system reliability. In order to address this challenge fault tolerance property against sensor faults has to be improved. Application of redundancy for the sensors is the best solution proposed so far. This paper proposes a novel solution of analytical redundancy based on various position estimation methods for both electrical motor and steering wheel position sensors. Three different estimation techniques including extended programmable cascaded low-pass filter (EPCLPF), stator flux linkage estimator using stator currents, as well as stator flux linkage estimator using stator voltages are proposed for this purpose. The faulty sensors are recognized using a voting technique in which a comparison between the sensors' outputs with the estimated values is made. In this way, the SBW system reliability is highly improved with no additional cost and space. Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm the presented fault tolerant SBW system capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater level observations due to the lack of synoptic water-level measurements are often available with irregular time intervals. The results lead to an inaccurate understanding of the parameters affecting groundwater level changes and their time delays. This paper presents a simple and low-cost approach to interpolate the irregular, periodic intervals of recorded groundwater level data for the Najafabad aquifer located in central Iran. Forty-six monitoring wells with an average of 20 years of data were used for this study. Piecewise cubic Hermite interpolating polynomial (PCHIP), cubic spline, linear, and nearest neighbor are the selected interpolation methods. Cross-validation with leave-one-out technique was also applied to evaluate the accuracy of the methods under three conditions, including low, average, and high groundwater level decline. The analysis proved that (1) PCHIP interpolation showed a high performance in all of the groundwater level decline conditions (0.22 < RMSE < 0.59 and 0.72 < R2 < 0.98). (2) Under slight and without abrupt fluctuations of groundwater level conditions, cubic spline showed a better performance than the linear interpolation (R2 = 0.98, RMSE = 0.49 for cubic spline and R2 = 0.98, RMSE = 0.51 for linear). The selected approach reduces the uncertainty in the study of issues such as changes in groundwater recharge and storage, groundwater flow directions, surface–groundwater interaction, and groundwater modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, switchable solvent-based liquid phase microextraction was developed for preconcentration of cadmium ions and its detection by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (neocuproine) was used as a complexing agent in the developed sample preparation method. Conversion features of triethylamine and protonated triethylamine bicarbonate were used as a switchable solvent pair. Protonated triethylamine bicarbonate as polar form of switchable polarity solvent was successfully synthesized from triethylamine via proton transfer reaction and used for microextraction of hydrophobic cadmium complex with 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline at pH 7.0. The factors influencing the extraction procedure were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and enrichment factor for the proposed method were 0.02, 0.1 µg L, and 54.2, respectively. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.1-60 µg L with a correlation of determination ( r ) of 0.99. The relative standard deviation for determination of 40 µg L of Cd (II) was 3.1% ( n = 6). The intraday and inter-day precisions for real samples analysis were in the range of 4.4-5.6 and 4.9-5.7%, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the determination of cadmium in baby food samples with satisfactory analytical results. In comparison with other methods, the proposed method is very easy, rapid, simple, and sensitive for determination of cadmium at trace levels in complex matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key feature in more than twenty amyloid-related diseases is the aggregation of intra-and/or extracellular misfolded proteins as amyloid fibrils. Therefore, preventing or reversing amyloid aggregation by using of small molecules is considered as useful approaches to the treatment of these diseases. We have evaluated the ability of safranal and crocin, to inhibit amyloid self-assembly of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), as an in vitro model system. Structural properties of HEWL in the presence of these compounds were investigated individually using thioflavin T, anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid fluorescence assays, far-UV circular dichroism and scanning electron microscopy as well as docking method. Our results showed that incubation of HEWL with either crocin or safranal at various concentrations leads a significant inhibition in the rate of amyloid formation. Docking analysis revealed crocin and safranal interact with the central hydrophobic region of lysozyme through van der Waals interaction. Hydroxyl group in crocin through hydrogen bonds connected to the several hydrophilic amino acids of lysozyme, while in safranal there are just one aldehyde group that through hydrogen bonds connected to aspartic acid in lysozyme. It can be concluded that both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups contribute to lower lysozyme fibril accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) infection causes economic losses in the poultry industry. Outbreaks of the infection in commercial poultry are controlled by using attenuated live vaccines. The genomic and antigenic characteristics between virulent and vaccine strains of ILTV are very similar, thus the differential diagnosis of ILTV strains is targeted in controlling programs. Here, the chicken embryonic neural stem (cENS) cell serves as a host model to study virulence characteristics of ILTVs. The susceptibility of cENS cells to different ILTV strains infection was investigated by analyzing the impact of infection on cell death, virus latency, and determining the host cell responses. We found that cENS cells are highly susceptible to vaccine strain ILTV infection. Upon infection, the strain showed faster replication kinetics in cell culture and marked cytopathic effects with affecting the expression of cellular neuropeptide Y (NPY). Virulent strain was able to enter cENS cells, but no infectious virus was produced at third passage. The establishment of latency state was confirmed by molecular detection of viral ICP4 gene and virus reactivation assay. In contrast to vaccine strain, transcription level of cellular NPY was also upregulated significantly following virulent strain infection. The difference expression pattern of NPY in ILTV strains-infected cells is most closely with the presence of CPE in culture. The neural stem cell system may provide the most relevant tool for differential diagnosis of ILTV strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The full-length non-structural (NS) gene of seven H9N2 isolates (2008-2012) was amplified and genetically analyzed. The NS gene of these isolates belongs to the Y439 sublineage and with an average of 96.4 % identity clustered into two subgroups largely based on their time of isolation. The Ka/Ks ratio was calculated at 0.38 for subgroup 1 and 0.42 for subgroup 2 indicates that purifying selection dominates the evolution of the NS H9 in Iran. The third position of codons values, ranging from 0.371 to 0.392, confirms that synonymous codon usage in NS of the H9N2 viruses was less biased. To investigate the evolution of the NS gene of H9N2 viruses isolated from Asia, phylogenetic analysis was conducted. The results showed that Y439 sublineage with various clusters circulated in Korea, the Middle East, and Pakistan, whereas G1 sublineage existed in China. Homology analysis showed that the NS gene of Korea and Israel isolates grouped into distinct clusters, while most of Iranian isolates were closely related to the Pakistan viruses. Prediction of RNA pseudoknot within NS1 gene using RNA folding path showed eight patterns with different free energy levels. Estimation of free energies suggests destabilization of the pseudoknot and changes in RNA secondary structure may be subject to evolution of NS gene in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]