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Abstract Vascular tissue engineering is a promising approach for regenerating damaged blood vessels and developing new therapeutic approaches for heart disease treatment. To date, different sources of cells have been recognized that offer assistance within the recovery of heart supply routes and veins with distinctive capacities and are compelling for heart regeneration. However, some challenges still remain that need to be overcome to establish the full potential application of these cells. In this paper, we review the different cell sources used for vascular tissue engineering, focusing on extraembryonic tissue-derived cells (ESCs), and elucidate their roles in cardiovascular disease. In addition, we highlight the intricate interplay between mechanical and biochemical factors in regulating mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation, offering insights into optimizing their application in vascular tissues.

This study tests the hypothesis that corrosion properties under fatigue loading can be evaluated based on simple tensile tests without the need to perform costly and time-consuming corrosion fatigue tests. Two types of stainless steel 304L specimens, i.e., smooth and compact tension (CT), are exposed to static and fatigue loading in two aqueous solutions with different NaCl concentrations. Strain analysis, surface roughness measurements, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), and Tafel polarization techniques are employed to unveil the effects of mechanical stress and strain on the corrosion behavior at micro and macro scales, a phenomenon known as electro-chemo-mechanical interaction. Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to calculate the stress and strain field in the specimens. Digital image correlation (DIC) is used to validate the FEA results. The results indicate a strong correlation between the static stress, strain, and surface roughness with the corrosion rate. In particular, the study reveals a strong correlation between corrosion current (and corrosion current density) under fatigue loading with that under static tensile loading, thereby providing a means to evaluate the corrosion properties under fatigue loading solely from static tests. Fatigue loading leads to a progressive reduction in the corrosion potential as the number of cycles increases. The corrosion current density, icorr, is linked to the stress and accumulated plastic strain by an empirical equation, shedding lights on the complex electro-chemo-mechanical interaction. Additionally, opportunities for future research are discussed.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, the issue of substance abuse is one of the major problems facing most countries in the world. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on mental health, life expectancy, and happiness in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was performed from February 2021 to January 2022. The study was a clinical trial in which 60 people under MMT in psychology clinics in Kashan (Iran) were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups (30 in each group) using purposeful sampling. Data were collected using the General Health Questionnaire, Schneider Hope Questionnaire, and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire in three stages: baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up. The data were analyzed using a mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The results showed that CBT is effective in improving mental health (P < 0.001), increasing life expectancy (P < 0.001), and increasing happiness (P < 0.001) in patients receiving MMT. CONCLUSION: Mental health, life expectancy, and happiness are important and influential issues in the lives of patients under MMT, which are promoted with CBT plus MMT. Therefore, in general, it can be concluded that CBT plus MMT has a significant effect on mental health, life expectancy, and happiness.

Introduction: In 2008, Iran acceded to the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD), including the right to health and rehabilitation. However, the goals of this convention have not yet been achieved in Iran. This study provides solutions for implementing articles 25 (health) and 26 (rehabilitation) CRPD in Iran. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted through content analysis. A total of 21 individuals were selected via the purposive sampling method. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviews continued until we reached information saturation. Data analysis was performed manually using the MAXQDA software version 10. Results: After the interviews, 860 initial codes were obtained. After removing the unrelated codes and merging the codes by overlap, 725 codes remained. The concepts were classified into four main categories and 15 subcategories: Development of a comprehensive rehabilitation program, culture and education, capacity building, and compliance with legal requirements. Conclusion: According to the results, because of severe problems in the field of health and rehabilitation of disabled people in Iran, taking necessary measures to solve these problems is essential. Hence, a comprehensive plan should be developed. Meanwhile, proper education, culture building, talents, and opportunities should be considered more carefully. Also, by facilitating services for people with disabilities and paying attention to the importance of being demanding, we can build capacity in the country. The findings of this research will provide a bright way for policymakers, administrators, and planners of the country.

Summary: The integrated stress response (ISR) is critical for cell survival under stress. In response to diverse environmental cues, eIF2α becomes phosphorylated, engendering a dramatic change in mRNA translation. The activation of ISR plays a pivotal role in the early embryogenesis, but the eIF2-dependent translational landscape in pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is largely unexplored. We employ a multi-omics approach consisting of ribosome profiling, proteomics, and metabolomics in wild-type (eIF2α+/+) and phosphorylation-deficient mutant eIF2α (eIF2αA/A) mouse ESCs (mESCs) to investigate phosphorylated (p)-eIF2α-dependent translational control of naive pluripotency. We show a transient increase in p-eIF2α in the naive epiblast layer of E4.5 embryos. Absence of eIF2α phosphorylation engenders an exit from naive pluripotency following 2i (two chemical inhibitors of MEK1/2 and GSK3α/β) withdrawal. p-eIF2α controls translation of mRNAs encoding proteins that govern pluripotency, chromatin organization, and glutathione synthesis. Thus, p-eIF2α acts as a key regulator of the naive pluripotency gene regulatory network.

Abstract Introduction Since hospitals play an important role in dealing with disaster victims, this study was conducted to audit the functional preparedness of the selected military hospital in response to incidents and disasters. Materials and methods This applied action research was conducted in all wards of a military hospital from September 2020 to September 2021. The functional preparedness of the hospital was assessed using a functional preparedness checklist containing 17 domains and the weaknesses of the hospital were identified. Then, during the hospital audit cycle, a plan was developed to improve work processes and the functional preparedness of different wards of the hospital in response to incidents and disasters using the FOCUS-PDCA model. The functional preparedness of the hospital was compared before and after the intervention and analyzed using SPSS22. Results The relative mean score of hospital preparedness in response to disasters was 508 out of 900 (56.44%) before the intervention, which was moderate. The relative mean score of the hospital preparedness in response to disasters was 561 (63.63%) after the intervention, which was good. The highest preparedness was related to risk assessment (85%) and the lowest preparedness was related to victims’ dead bodies (44%). Conclusion Considering the effect of action research on improving the hospital’s functional preparedness in response to disasters, other healthcare facilities are encouraged to incorporate auditing into their work plans.

In this paper, random vectors following the multivariate generalized hyperbolic (GH) distribution are compared using the hessian stochastic order. This family includes the classes of symmetric and asymmetric distributions by which different behaviors of kurtosis in skewed and heavy tail data can be captured. By considering some closed convex cones and their duals, we derive some necessary and sufficient conditions for some important applied stochastic orderings. The linear convex orderings are shown to be equivalent with a certain kind of hessian orderings. Based on copulas generated by the GH distributions, it is revealed that the ordering of the GH distributions in terms of their dependence structures corresponds to some hessian stochastic orderings being satisfied. The results are shown to be relevant to some insurance and economic applications.

Although ubiquitin ligases are known to control clock protein degradation, their other roles in clock neurons are unclear. Here the authors report that UBR4 promotes export of neuropeptides from the Golgi for axonal trafficking, which is important for circadian clock synchrony in mice and flies.

Introduction: Studies on migraine psychiatric disease indicate that the disease is chronic and in this study the mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes on the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and clinical syndrome of migraineurs has been studied. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes in relation to early maladaptive schemas and clinical syndrome in people with migraine. Method: The research method is path analysis. Regarding this study, it should be noted that the study population was Migrants of Mashhad with 96 males and 161 females and sampling was available. From this sample, 257 questionnaires were submitted to the researcher. Yang Schema Questionnaire(short form)،DAS-26 and DASS-21 questionnaires were used in this study. Results: The findings showed that indirect pathways of the model are significant and this indicates a significant (P

Quenching affects the mechanical and corrosion properties of precipitation-hardenable alloys such as aluminum alloy 7075-T6 (AA7075-T6). In this paper, the properties of as-quenched AA7075-T6 are predicted within the framework of quench factor analysis (QFA), using cooling curves obtained from a quench test. Theoretical and computational approaches are used to predict spatial and temporal variations of temperature. The temperature variations are used to predict the quench factor and consequently the material properties. A test is carried out on a block of AA7075-T6 quenched partly in water and partly in air followed by hardness measurements and electrochemical characterizations. The results show that the hardness and the corrosion potential of the quenched block decrease as the cooling rate decreases. The results further suggest the existence of a corrosion product layer for the water-quenched part of the sample. This was not observed for the air-cooled part. A new corrosion prediction model is developed by using the QFA method, cyclic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test results. The present model may be used to potentially reduce the number of corrosion tests in evaluating corrosion properties of quenched AA7075-T6. Model predictions for corrosion and hardness are in good agreement with experimental results.

Abstract Background Over-expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 promotes breast cancer progression by multiple mechanisms, including induction of stem-like cells (SLC). Combined gene expression and microRNA microarray analyses of empty vector vs COX-2- transfected COX-2 low MCF7 breast cancer cell line identified two COX-2-upregulated microRNAs, miR-526b and miR-655, both found to be oncogenic and SLC-promoting. Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation Element-Binding Protein 2 (CPEB2) was the single common target of both microRNAs, the functions of which remain controversial. CPEB2 has multiple isoforms (A-F), and paradoxically, a high B/A ratio was reported to impart anoikis-resistance and metastatic phenotype in triple- negative breast cancer cells. We tested whether CPEB2 is a tumor suppressor in mammary epithelial cells. Methods We knocked-out CPEB2 in the non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cell line MCF10A by CRISPR/Cas9-double nickase approach, and knocked-down CPEB2 with siRNAs in the poorly malignant MCF7 cell line, both lines being high CPEB2-expressing. The resultant phenotypes for oncogenity were tested in vitro for both lines and in vivo for CPEB2KO cells. Finally, CPEB2 expression was compared between human breast cancer and non-tumor breast tissues. Results CPEB2 (isoform A) expression was inversely correlated with COX-2 or the above microRNAs in COX-2-divergent breast cancer cell lines. CPEB2KO MCF10A cells exhibited oncogenic properties including increased proliferation, migration, invasion, EMT (decreased E-Cadherin, increased Vimentin, N-Cadherin, SNAI1, and ZEB1) and SLC phenotype (increased tumorsphere formation and SLC marker-expression). Tumor-suppressor p53 protein was shown to be a novel translationally-regulated target of CPEB2, validated with polysome profiling. CPEB2KO, but not wild-type cells produced lung colonies upon intravenous injection and subcutaneous tumors and spontaneous lung metastases upon implantation at mammary sites in NOD/SCID/IL2Rϒ-null mice, identified with HLA immunostaining. Similarly, siRNA-mediated CPEB2 knockdown in MCF7 cells promoted oncogenic properties in vitro. Human breast cancer tissues (n = 105) revealed a lower mRNA expression for CPEB2 isoform A and also a lower A/B isoform ratio than in non-tumour breast tissues (n = 20), suggesting that CPEB2A accounts for the tumor-suppressor functions of CPEB2. Conclusions CPEB2, presumably the isoform A, plays a key role in suppressing tumorigenesis in mammary epithelial cells by repressing EMT, migration, invasion, proliferation and SLC phenotype, via multiple targets, including a newly-identified translational target p53.

Background: Epilepsy can severely affect cognitive-emotional and behavioral function. Using an appropriate treatment method to deal with it in order to treat emotional disorders can be an effective action due to the importance of this disorder. This study attempted to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the emotion regulation in patients with epilepsy. Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study (pretest-posttest design with equal control group) and the sample consisted of 30 patients with epilepsy selected purposefully and assigned into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups randomly. The instrument included the Garnefski et al. Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 conducting MANCOVA and ANCOVA analysis of covariance. Results: The results showed that the ACT decreased negative emotion regulation and also increased positive emotion regulation in patients with epilepsy in the experimental group compared to the control group. The results of one-way analysis of covariance with the pretest control showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in patients with epilepsy in terms of positive emotion regulation (F = 100.55, p

Electric train system is a very large load for the power network. This load consumes a large amount of reactive power. In addition, it causes a massive unbalance to the network, which results in many problems such as voltage drops, high transmission losses, reduction in the transformer output ability, negative sequence current, mal-operation of protective relays, etc. In this paper, a novel real-time optimization approach is presented to adjust the static VAR compensator (SVC) for the traction system to realize two objectives; current unbalance reduction and reactive power compensation. A multi-objective optimization technique entitled non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to fulfill the regarded objectives simultaneously. A comprehensive simulator has been designed for electric train network modeling that is able to adjust the parameters of SVC in an optimum manner at any time and under any circumstances. The results illustrate that the provided method can efficiently reduce the unbalancing in current as well as supply the demanded reactive power with acceptable precision.

Abstract Background Routine culture-based diagnosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients can be hampered by the phenotypic variability of the microorganism, including its transition to a Viable But Non-Culturable (VBNC) state. The aim of this study was to validate an ecfX-targeting qPCR protocol developed to detect all viable P. aeruginosa bacteria and to identify VBNC forms in CF sputum samples. Methods The study involved 115 P. aeruginosa strains of different origins and 10 non-P. aeruginosa strains and 88 CF sputum samples, 41 Culture-Positive (CP) and 47 Culture-Negative (CN). Spiking assays were performed using scalar dilutions of a mixture of live and dead P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and a pooled P. aeruginosa-free sputum batch. Total DNA from sputum samples was extracted by a commercial kit, whereas a crude extract was obtained from the broth cultures. Extracellular DNA (eDNA) interference was evaluated by comparing the qPCR counts obtained from DNase-treated and untreated aliquots of the same samples. The statistical significance of the results was assessed by the Wilcoxon test and Student’s t test. Results The newly-developed qPCR protocol identified 96.6% of the P. aeruginosa isolates; no amplification was obtained with strains belonging to different species. Spiking assays supported protocol reliability, since counts always matched the amount of live bacteria, thus excluding the interference of dead cells and eDNA. The protocol sensitivity threshold was 70 cells/ml of the original sample. Moreover, qPCR detected P. aeruginosa in 9/47 CN samples and showed higher bacterial counts compared with the culture method in 10/41 CP samples. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate the reliability of the newly-developed qPCR protocol and further highlight the need for harnessing a non-culture approach to achieve an accurate microbiological diagnosis of P. aeruginosa CF lung infection and a greater understanding of its evolution.

Translation of aberrant mRNAs causes ribosome stalling and translation arrest, followed by recycling of the stalled ribosome complex. Here the authors show that the Zinc Finger Protein 598 (ZNF598/Hel2) is implicated in sensing faulty translation of prematurely polyadenylated mRNAs through the recognition of AAA codons.

Objective According to a report published by the World Health Organization in 2011, 15% of the world's population is disabled, which sums up to more than a billion people. People with disabilities comprise the largest group of people in Asia. Communities can facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in society by creating an atmosphere that is appropriate for them, an activity which involves the urban modification of the environment. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the attitude of managers and staff with respect to urban modification for people afflicted with disabilities in the municipality of Tehran city. Methods & Materials A cross-sectional, descriptive - analytic study that was conducted by cross - sectional method, that was used with the help of a valid and reliable questionnaire “Assessment of attitude of managers and staffs in about urban modification for people with disabilities”. The study population comprised all managers and staffs who were working with urban modification in the municipality of Tehran City. Questionnaires were distributed among 16 managers and experts working in the modification staff of the municipality of Tehran. A total of 162 people working in one of the deputies, were selected by census to participate in the study. This study measured attitude of mangers and staffs were working in the municipality of Tehran, towards urban modification for people with disabilities in Tehran city. The Levene test was used to determine for the equality of variances. To calculate whether there is a statistically significant difference between the means of the two groups, the independent t-test was used carried out. For a comparison between two groups and ANOVA was also used to compare between the groups. Data analyzed by using The findings were evaluated using Software SPSS22. Results The findings showed that the attitude of 17 (6.9%) mangers and staffs regarding urban modification for people with disabilities was at the intermediate level. The attitude of 112 persons (9.62%) was at high levels and that of 49 persons (27.5%) was at a very good level. The average score of attitudes of manager and staffs who were familiar with disabilities was higher than those who were unfamiliar with disabilities. In addition, the average attitude score of women was better than that of men. The mean score of the attitude of people aged 55 years and older, having a Master's degree and above, and those having 12-17 years of work experience was higher than others. No significant difference was found between the groups with respect to gender (P=0.37) and responsibility (P=0.37). However, there was a significant difference between the two groups with respect to familiarity with disabilities (P=0.01) and education (P=0.001). Conclusion This study showed that there is a significant difference in the attitude of managers and staff of municipality regarding urban modification. Recruiting people with higher educational qualifications and awareness or familiarity with the phenomenon of disability could help in the process of urban modification in the community. It is recommended to utilize the findings of this study to formulate urban modification programs across communities for the benefit of the disabled.

BACKGROUND: There are several studies indicating that an anti-aging protein, namely Klotho protein, participates in the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism. In addition, we showed that Klotho protein was involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Hence, we hypothesized that Klotho protein changes in patients with multiple sclerosis might lead to alteration of calcium and phosphate metabolism. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the alteration of calcium and phosphate levels together with the concentration of Klotho protein in the serum of patients with multiple sclerosis. METHODS: In this case-control study, 14 patients with newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) along with 14 control individuals with noninflammatory neurological disorders were enrolled. The serum concentrations of Klotho protein, calcium, and phosphate were measured in serum of participants using commercial kits. The data were analyzed at the significant level of P < 0.050. RESULTS: There were no significant changes in serum concentrations of Klotho protein, and phosphate in patients with multiple sclerosis when compared to controls. However, the serum calcium concentration was significantly lower than the control group. Regarding patients with multiple sclerosis, there was a significant positive correlation between changes in serum concentrations of Klotho protein and calcium (r = 0.604, P = 0.022), whereas the other correlations were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a positive correlation between serum concentrations of secretory Klotho protein and calcium in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Simultaneous measurements of mRNA and protein abundance and turnover in mammalian cells, have revealed that a significant portion of the cellular proteome is controlled by mRNA translation. Recent studies have demonstrated that both embryonic and somatic stem cells are dependent on low translation rates to maintain an undifferentiated state. Conversely, differentiation requires increased protein synthesis and failure to do so prevents differentiation. Notably, the low translation in stem cell populations is independent of the cell cycle, indicating that stem cells use unique strategies to decouple these fundamental cellular processes. In this chapter, we discuss different mechanisms used by stem cells to control translation, as well as the developmental consequences of translational deregulation.

Background and Aims: Central odontogenic fibroma is a rare odontogenic neoplasm that originates from odontogenic ectomesenchyme. Most cases occur in the mandible and between the ages of 11 and 39 years. The neoplasm shows a definite female preponderance, with a ratio of 2.2:1 and has a very low recurrence rate. The aim of this article was to report a case of this rare lesion which was accidental found. Case Report: A 11-year-old female, during her orthodontic treatment and without any complain and any sign or symptoms, performed a panoramic image for assessing the permanent teeth buds. In the panoramic view a unilocular radiolucent lesion with well-defined and corticated borders in the right mandibular body region was evident. The lesion was treated with simple excision. Simple type of central odontogenic fibroma histopathologic features was observed in the microscopic view. Conclusion: Although the central odontogenic fibroma is a rare benign neoplasm, however, a careful evaluation of radiographic images is important for early detection of lesions because the patient may have no clinical symptoms such as swelling, pain and paresthesia.

To determine the aflatoxin effect on performance, and humoral and mucosal immunity, 240 one-day old chicks were divided into 4 equal groups. Treatment groups include Group 1: chickens that received a standard diet based on corn and soy as negative control, Group 2: chickens fed with a basal diet containing 3 ppm aflatoxin as positive control, Group 3: chickens fed with 0.25% Mycoad® in basal diet, and Group 4: chickens fed with diet containing 0.25% Mycoad® plus 3 ppm aflatoxin. All chickens continuously received diets from hatching until 28 days old. Growth indices, such as weight gain, feed consumption and food conversion rate, were determined weekly. At 28 days, all chickens were sacrificed. After blood sampling, serum was prepared to measure serum IgG titer against Newcastle disease vaccine using the HI method. Moreover, the heads were collected for nasaltracheal lavage for assaying IgA against infectious bronchitis vaccine in the mucosa of the respiratory tract. The measurement of mucosal IgA was carried out using the ELISA method with specific goat anti-chicken IgA. That results indicated that chickens that received aflatoxin demonstrated lower growth indices, and fewer serum IgG and mucosal IgA titers than others did, while performance and immune responses in chickens that received Mycoad® plus aflatoxin were significantly higher than chickens fed with aflatoxin alone. Overall, it seems that aflatoxin can affect mucosal immunity in the upper respiratory tract as well as performance and humoral immune responses. Supplementation of Mycoad® to diet contaminated with aflatoxin can reduce the adverse effects of aflatoxin on performance, as well as mucosal and systemic immune responses. Key words: aflatoxin; chicken; immunity; Mycoad® VPLIV DODATKA MYCOAD® NA PRIRAST IN IMUNSKO ODPORNOST PIŠČANCEV Z AFLATOKSIKOZO Da bi preučili vpliv aflatoksina na prirast in imunski odziv (sistemski in v sluznicah) piščancev, smo 240 enodnevnih piščancev razdelili na 4 enake skupine in jih od izvalitve do 28. dneva starosti hranili s 4 različnimi krmami. Skupina 1 je predstavljala negativno kontrolo (piščanci, krmljeni s standardno krmo na osnovi koruze in soje), skupina 2 je bila pozitivna kontrola (piščanci, krmljeni s standardno krmo, ki je vsebovala 3 ppm aflatoksina), v skupini 3 so bili piščanci, krmljeni s standardno krmo z dodatkom 0,25 % Mycoad®-a, v skupini 4 pa piščanci, krmljeni s krmo, ki je vsebovala 3 ppm aflatoksina in 0,25 % Mycoad®-a plus. Tedensko smo določali različne pokazatelje rasti, kot so povečanje telesne mase, poraba krme in njen izkoristek. Po 28 dneh smo vse živali žrtvovali. Z uporabo metode HI smo v serumu določili titer protiteles IgG proti virusu bolezni Newcastle ter v izpirku nosu in sapnika določili titer protiteles IgG proti cepivu kužnega bronhitisa. Izmerili smo tudi raven sluzničnih protiteles IgA z metodo ELISA s specifičnimi kozjimi protitelesi proti piščančjim protitelesom IgA. Rezultati so pokazali, da imajo piščanci, ki so prejeli aflatoksin, nižje indekse rasti in nižje titre tako serumskih protiteles IgG kot tudi sluzničnih protiteles IgA. Medtem pa sta bila prirast in imunski odziv pri piščancih, ki so prejeli poleg aflatoksina tudi Mycoad® plus, bistveno višja kot pri piščancih, krmljenih samo z aflatoksinom. Naši rezultati kažejo, da vsebnost aflatoksina v krmi piščancev vpliva na lokalni imunski odziv sluznic zgornjih dihalnih poti in na učinkovitost sistemskega imunskega odziva. Dodatek Mycoad® h krmi, onesnaženi z aflatoksini, lahko zmanjša neželene učinke aflatoksina na uspešnost cepljenj pri piščancih. Ključne besede: aflatoksin; piščanci; imunost; Mycoad®

This paper presents a scientific basis for the description of the causes of damage within an irreversible thermodynamic framework and the effects of damage as observable variables that signify degradation of structural integrity. The approach relies on the fundamentals of irreversible thermodynamics and specifically the notion of entropy generation as a measure of degradation and damage. We first review the state-of-the-art advances in entropic treatment of damage followed by a discussion on generalization of the entropic concept to damage characterization that may offers a better definition of damage metric commonly used for structural integrity assessment. In general, this approach provides the opportunity to described reliability and risk of structures in terms of fundamental science concepts. Over the years, many studies have focused on materials damage assessment by determining physics-based cause and affect relationships, the goal of this paper is to put this work in perspective and encourage future work of materials damage based on the entropy concept.

We have recently demonstrated that antibiotic pressure can induce the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. Since dormant bacterial cells can undermine anti-infective therapy, a greater understanding of the role of antibiotics of last resort, including daptomycin, is crucial. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus 10850 biofilms were maintained on non-nutrient (NN) agar in the presence or absence of the MIC of daptomycin until loss of culturability. Viable cells were monitored by epifluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry for 150 days. All biofilms reached non-culturability at 40 days and showed a similar amount of viable cells; however, in biofilms exposed to daptomycin, their number remained unchanged throughout the experiment, whereas in those maintained on NN agar alone, no viable cells were detected after 150 days. Gene expression assays showed that after achievement of non-culturability, 16S rDNA and mecA were expressed by all biofilms, whereas glt expression was found only in daptomycin-exposed biofilms. Our findings suggest that low daptomycin concentrations, such as those that are likely to obtain within biofilms, can influence the viability and gene expression of non-culturable S. aureus cells. Resuscitation experiments are needed to establish the VBNC state of daptomycin-exposed biofilms.

In this paper we describe the potential of employing the concept of thermodynamic entropy generation to assess degradation in processes involving metal fatigue. It is shown that empirical fatigue models such as Miner’s rule, Coffin-Manson equation, and Paris law can be deduced from thermodynamic consideration.

El propósito de este estudio instrumental fue evaluar las propiedades del Brief Symptom Inventory en una muestra de pacientes iraníes depresivos recuperados. Un total de 354 pacientes fueron evaluados con la Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID) con el fin de asegurar que se habían recuperado completamente de su episodio más reciente de depresión. La muestra completó una serie de medidas de autoinforme, entre las que se encontraba el Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Se realizaron análisis descriptivos del BSI y se empleó análisis factorial confirmatorio para evaluar el ajuste de la estructura factorial hipotetizada. Con el fin de examinar la fiabilidad de consistencia interna se calculó el coeficiente alfa de Cronbach del índice de severidad global y de cada una de las subescalas. El ajuste para el modelo de nueve factores fue superior al de un solo factor, lo que apoya la propuesta de nueve factores. El alfa de Cronbach de la escala total y de cada una de las nueve subescalas fue elevado. El Brief Symptom Inventory fue validado en esta muestra, pudiendo ser empleado en esta población como herramienta útil en la investigación y en la práctica.

introduction: Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders that comorbids with substance use disorders. depression is not only the factor that predisposes persons to abuse substanses but also the factor resulting in relapse. The aim of this study was to determine effectiveness of group behavioral activation treatment in reducing depressive symptoms and effects of this treatment in increasing mental health and quality of life in clients of therapeutic community. Method: 21 clients suffering depressive symptoms, randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group (n=10) and control group (n=11). The experimental group was treated by 8 sessions of group behavioral activation treatment. Depressive symptoms, mental health, and quality of life were assessed before and after treatment sessions in both groups. Results: decreasing of depressive symptoms and increasing of mental health in experimental group were significantly more than control group, but there was no significant difference between two groups in increasing quality of life. Conclusion: The effectiveness of a brief and pure behavioral group therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and increasing of mental health has important theoretical and practical implications. Applying pure behavioral methods to help treating and rehabilitating of patients with substance abuse is of great importance.

Background and Objective: Diabetes mellitus is the most frequent cause of chronic renal failure. Microalbuminuria is the first clinically important sign of renal impairment in diabetes mellitus. The main pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy is not understood. This study was done on 100 patients with type 2 diabetes for determination of the prevalence of diabetic nephropathy with urine albumin assay in Sina Hospital in Tabriz, North-West of Iran. Materials and Methods: In this discriptive study, 100 patients with type 2 diabetes whome consecutively referred to Endocrine and Diabetes Clinic of Sina Medical Center in Tabriz were enrolled. At the first visit clinical and biochemical parameters such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, age, sex, body weight, length, body mass index, FBS, HbA1C, plasma creatinine, urine microalbumin and urinary creatinine were measured. FBS, HbA1C, plasma creatinine, urine microalbumin and urinary creatinine measurements repeated every 2 months up to three times during the study. Patients with confounding factors such as uncontrolled hypertension, urinary tract infection, congestive heart failure and hyperlipidemia were excluded. Results: The prevalence of diabetic nephropathy was 36% in our patients. There were not statistically significant differences in age and sex and diastolic – systolic blood pressure and creatinine between nephropathy and, non-nephropathy groups. There was significant differences in body mass index between two sex groups, females were more obese than males. Mean duration of diabetes in diabetic nephropathy group and in diabetic patients without nephropathy were 12.4±8.1 and 9.1±5.5 respectively (P