امیرحسین کریمی

The relationship between viral infections and acute or chronic urticaria is rarely reported in some articles. But its exact mechanisms are not known. There is evidence of urticaria in the patients with covid-19 infection. Therefore, there was no structured research to clarify the role of the corona virus in the pathogenesis of urticaria.

The articles that were published from January 2020 to October 2022 were reviewed by "PubMed" and "Google scholar" databases using the keywords acute urticarial urticaria, chronic urticaria along with COVID-19. Inclusion criteria were articles reporting acute or chronic urticaria in the patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection in English. Review articles and studies that reported suspected corona infection and in which urticaria were related to drug hypersensitivity and other allergic diseases were considered as exclusion criteria.

In this search, 43 articles were reviewed that were related to our goals. Among these articles, 27 studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected. 16 articles were case reports, case series, letters to the editor and 7 original articles. In this review, it was reported 17 patients in 16 case reports and case series with urticaria associated with COVID-19.

The severity of chronic urticaria may increase with corona infection. Acute urticaria may be a precursor symptom of COVID-19 infection. Finally, due to the small number of articles and some contradictory results, more studies are suggested in this field.

Debonding of skin from core in sandwich beams has been concerned in many studies. In the present paper, the influence of first mode of fracture for debonding of composite skins from elastomeric foam core in sandwich beams was investigated through sufficient experiments and FE simulations. According to the results of experiments on DCB specimens, made by PE-EVA foam and composite E-glass skins, the critical value for strain energy release rate related to the first mode of fracture was measured.The experimental specimens were simulated by FE models, considering hyperelastic response for elastomeric foam of the core, calibrated by compression, tension and shear tests on the foam and the load-displacement curves were compared for experiments and FE models using the FE models distribution of various components of stress along the foam core for the sandwich beams, with different responses of foam. The FE results related to assumption of shear response for foam were the most accurate numerical results compared to other models with tensile and compressive responses of the foam. Although the maximum value of the shear stress in the most accurate model was equal to 25% of the maximum normal stress to the beam longitudinal direction, simulation of debonding in sandwich beam based on shear response of foam core could achieve the most accurate results.

In this paper, the effect of secondary flow induced by the DBD plasma actuators on the flow and separation performance of solid particles in a cyclone is numerically investigated. The effect of the effective parameters such as the applied voltage of the DBD plasma actuator, the arrangement of plasma actuators, the velocity of the incoming flow of the cyclone, and the size of solid particles are evaluated. The results show that the separation performance of the cyclone in the presence of the DBD plasma actuators increases in all particles with different diameters between 1 and 2 mm, compared to the cyclone without the presence of plasma actuator, and the performance enhancement is higher in the particles with a larger diameter (2 mm). The arrangement of plasma actuators has a significant effect on the particle separation performance of the cyclone, and the uniform installation of plasma actuators in the entire height of the cylindrical part of the cyclone (type one arrangement) improves the particle separation performance compared to other arrangements. The results show that the use of the DBD plasma actuators inside the cyclone can increase the cyclone separation performance by 26.5% compared to the cyclone without the DBD plasma actuator.

Regarding the dependence of ductility response in structural components on their ability to keep stability after yielding of the material, in this paper, the influence of change in tangential modulus of work-hardening part of stress-strain response, was observed on the load carrying capacity and plastic buckling response of stainless-steel tubular columns. To keep cost-effectivity in the research, the objective of the study was followed by FE modeling, which was verified by simulation of plastic buckling in an experimental specimen with D/t=60, made of duplex stainless-steel. For all components of the models, S4R elements were used and both material and geometrical nonlinearity were included in the models. To conduct deformation of the columns according to the experimental observations, an initial imperfection equal to t/100 to combination of first three mode shapes of the columns was imported. The material stress-strain response after yield point was determined for the model by a multilinear curve according to the tensile stress-strain curve, obtained experimentally. The main parameters for comparison of the FE model and experimental observation were force-displacement curves. The FE study was extended by modeling of stainless-steel columns with various D/t ratios in range of D/t=30-120. Two main parameters comprised of energy absorption capacity and deformation of the column related to yield of the section and collapse threshold (e/g) were compared to the columns with various D/t ratios.According to force-deformation curves, by decrease of D/t ratio, the energy absorption capacity increased considerably for the columns, for example the energy absorption capacity and e/g ratio increased by 12% and 12%, respectively for comparison of the columns with D/t=60 and D/t=30, however, e/g ratio for the columns of D/t=120 and 100 were less than two, categorized as a force-controlled column. Two models with D/t=30, 60 were selected to follow the objective of the study. The work-hardening response of the material was approximated by two linear segments, the first by a tangential modulus equal to E=7.9 GPa and the second was by the tangential modulus equal to E=2.4 GPa. The influence of change in tangential modulus through a range between 0-200% was observed on the structural parameters related to ductility, comprised of energy absorption capacity up to collapse threshold and deformation of column at the collapse threshold. The results showed different reaction of the columns with different D/t ratios, increase of tangential modulus at the first work-hardening part was more significant than increase of the influence by the later part of the work-hardening response for the column of D/t=60, however an inverse effect was observed for the column of D/t=30, i.e. the influence of tangential modulus at the later part was more significant for this column. By doubling the tangential modulus of earlier part of the work-hardening response, the energy absorption capacity and e/g ratio for the column of D/t=60 increased by 26% and 46%, respectively. By doubling the tangential modulus of later part of work-hardening response, the energy absorption capacity and e/g ratio for the column of D/t=30 increased by 111% and 71%, respectively. The results showed significant parts of work-hardening response of duplex stainless-steel, to be exploited for development of ductility in the tubular columns.

Basing on the archaeological evidences, making stucco and glass latticework windows in Iran dates back to the tenth century AD in Nishapur. One of the methods for making this kind of windows is making two-layered perforated stucco with colorful glasses, which is the subject of current study based on analysis and observations on two historical stucco and glass windows preserved in the ICHTO office of Isfahan. Current study uses optical observation and laboratory tests on two cases of historical two-layered perforated stucco windows to characterize the method of work. Wet chemical tests, FTIR spectroscopy, FE-SEM and XRF analysis used on the samples. Results showed the requirement of use of a wooden frame for more stability during forming in big size windows and starting the work on a rigid backing probably covered with oil as release agent. Two layers of gypsum mortar used in this process, which one is more watery and mixed with an organic material to slow down the setting process. After pouring mortar and the first phase of setting, stucco master used a compass to draw the main geometric lines. Then the first layer removed and the master made finer motifs on the second layer inside the frames made by thicker arms of stucco. The last phase was adhering colorful glasses with a gypsum-adhesive paste on the back of perforated part after removing the rigid backing. Coating the window with oil to reduce the vulnerability of gypsum against humidity is a finishing process after setting of mortar. Evidence of oil showed in FTIR analysis on the extracted samples.

After the inscription of the historical city of Yazd on the world heritage list in 2017, more emphasis was put on the preservation of historical monuments within its urban structure. Simultaneously, more effort was made to carry out different types of monitoring to protect the authenticity of historical monuments. This study, using a qualitative and interpretative approach, researches the role of historical monitoring as a method to assess the authenticity of the architectural revetments of Seyyed Rokn ad-Din Madrasa (or Rukniyya), which is one of the most important monuments of this city. The history of interventions based on the principles of world heritage preservation as well as the history of deteriorating factors that altered the building is documented in this research. For this, after defining the concept of historical monitoring, this paper documents the damages, repairs, and interventions that occurred in the Rukniyya. Content analysis of these documents was carried out to identify the risk critical points and finally to draw the timeline of the restorations of the architectural revetments to assess their authenticity. According to these documents, significant damages in the Rukniyya include cracks, structural damages caused by the digging of wells in the periphery of the building and the subsequent moisture, and termite activity inside the building. Outside, the destruction of the main arch of the iwan, structural interventions, and the falling of dome tiles due to natural conditions specifically on its western side are among the major damages. The damaging factors should be considered in terms of activity levels in future conservation plans. For the purpose of authenticity assessment, the findings of the investigation differentiate authentic parts from later alterations in this building. The inner shell of the dome, the end wall of the iwan, and the tile inscription on the dome stem are materially authentic and date from the Muzaffarid period. The motifs and material components of the iwan and its facade as well as the tiles on the outer shell of the dome are interventions of the past fifty years. These parts were reconstructed based on the architectural style of the fourteenth century, imitating the tilework patterns in the Shahab ad-Din Qassem Madrasa, Shamsiyyeh Madrasa, and the Jame‘ Mosque of Yazd. The purpose of such interventions was to preserve the physical and functional features of the building and improve its legibility. Although the reconstructed and renovated parts are interesting in terms of restoration works, they do not have historical or archeological value and cannot be referenced as Muzaffarid-style artwork. The findings of the study show that two separate conservation plans are required for each of these two parts of the building providing clear and transparent decisions.

Inguinal hernia is a common and widespread disease in the world that millions of people suffer from. Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common general surgeries. Despite the high prevalence of this disease, no type of surgery has ideal results and postoperative complications still remain. The aim of the current study was to evaluate therapeutic consequences of laparoscopic hernia surgery with totally extraperitoneal (TEP) with and/or without Takers.

Out of 54 patients studied in this clinical trial study, 27 patients underwent TEP using Takers and 27 patients without Taker. The findings were recorded during the operation and compared in 6-month follow-up using a questionnaire.

The duration of operation, the duration of hospitalization, the duration of postoperative pain, and the duration of return to work and normal daily activities were the same in both groups. In terms of hernia recurrence rate, one recurrence was observed in each group. Other complications including infection, neuralgia, and postoperative hematoma were not observed in any of the groups.

The present study showed that in patients with inguinal hernia after repair by TEP method, it may not be necessary to use Takers for mesh fixation.

Dynamic behavior of biological membranes is involved in many processes within the cells and organelles like transport in the Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum and mechanisms of shaping used by cytoskeleton. Among different dynamic procedures and shape transformations of membranes, formation of tubular structures called tether is well-known. Tethers are involved in many cellular processes such as inter, intracellular transport and cell-cell adhesion. Tubular networks are also observed in the Golgi apparatus, the smooth part of the Endoplasmic reticulum and the inner membrane of the Mitochondrion. Membrane tubes can be formed by in vitro experiments. Tethers are also extracted from synthetic vesicles using different techniques such as optical tweezer and hydrodynamic flow. In this paper, the dynamic behavior of a bilayer membrane in tether extension process is studied using a mathematical model based on the mechanical properties of the bilayer membrane. A fluid bilayer membrane is utilized in this model consisting of two monolayers sliding on each other. The bending and stretching energies in addition to dissipations due to the fluidity of each monolayer and the inter-monolayer drag are defined for the bilayer membrane. The dynamic behavior of the bilayer membranes in the tether extension process is studied. The tether is extruded by a constant pulling rate and the dynamic pulling force is measured. The effect of the pulling rate and the surface tension on the dynamic pulling force is investigated. These two parameters have a great effect on the dynamic pulling force and the steady state of the process.

The Jami‘ Mosque of Bam has gone through a long process of transformations including restoration, reconstruction, and renovation.  Much of these works were hidden inside the physical form until the earthquake of 2003 uncovered important structures, among them, the original portal and the flanking twin minarets. These findings question the previously accepted timeline for the mosque and pose new questions that had not been discussed previously. The objective of this paper is to introduce the original form of the portal and locating its modifications on the timeline of the mosque according to a descriptive-analytical method. On the basis of remaining evidence such as architectural remnants, mudbrick sizes, the height of imposts, the thickness of the flanking pillars, and the diameter of the minarets’ shafts, the entrance portal is dated to the fourteenth century AD, very similar to other Muzaffarid and Timurid portals that are high and lofty.

Todays, radiotherapy with high-energy photons is used as a common modality for cancer treatment. Unfortunately, high-energy photons can produce unwanted neutrons, and subsequently lead to increase the risk of secondary cancer in unshielded healthy organs. Using Monte Carlo (MC) code (MCNPX®), the main parts of a typical Medical Linear Accelerator (LINAC) was modeled in 18 MV. Then, neutron source strength (Q) of the LINAC and neutron mean energy were evaluated for different treatment fields, and also different points at the treatment table. Additionally, to estimate the probability of secondary cancer risk, the neutron equivalent dose was calculated at some of the human’s critical organs. For this purpose, the female medical internal radiation dosimetry (MIRD) phantom was included in the MC simulations. The Q was found as 1.25-1.38 (all in 1012 n/Gy) for different treatment fields meaning significant portion of neutrons with a mean energy of 0.59-0.90 MeV around the LINAC. Additionally, the total secondary cancer risk in unshielded healthy organs was calculated as 0.0924% which maximum and minimum were related to stomach (0.0216%) and thyroid (0.0005%), respectively. Regarding the estimated values for the probability of secondary cancer risk, it is suggested that in conventional radiotherapy of deeply seated tumors, the 15-MV photons are preferred instead of using 18-MV photons due to their less biological side effects.

In this paper, the parametric investigation was carried out on the concrete damaged plasticity criterion which was used for modeling concrete and other brittle and crispy materials in ABAQUS software. This criterion was used to simulate masonry wall under in-plane cyclic loading. The equations of the criterion were first presented, and then the criterion was used to simulate masonry wall the laboratory results of which is available. The dimensions of the wall under investigation were 195×1500×1720 mm (thickness, height, and length, respectively) which were under in-plane cyclic loading. The effect of parameters such as cracking strain, dilation angle, damage, cracking stress, stiffness recovery, and the like was investigated, and the impact of each was presented in the hysteretic curve of the masonry wall. The results indicated the concrete damaged plasticity criterion was useful in simulating the masonry wall under in-plane cyclic loading, but not useful in simulating the effect of pinching on the hysteretic curve. The parametric investigation gave us a substantial understanding of the impact of each of them in the hysteretic curve derived from numerical simulation.

Seyedun or Seyedun Ali Naghia tomb is located in Nebadan district of Abarghu. This clay monument is a tall dome chamber on the exterior cover of whose dome there are bricks as well as blue and azure tiles. The interior dado is also covered by tiles and the underneath surfaces are decorated with clay Muqarnas, inscriptions and slight painting ornaments. A vast part of the dome cover crumpled probably in 1330sSH (1950s AD) and was renovated some decades later. This building is a mosque attributed to 9th century (AH) called masjid-hosseiniyeh or hosseiniyeh of Nebadan. A small part of it which is part of the attached installations has just remained. It has had an altar whose direction confirmed to the skew Qibla of the congregational mosque and masjidhosseiniyeh of Abarghu. No dated inscription or including the founder name one can be found there. Seyedun Ali Naghia has been briefly inspected in the previous references and is attributed to 8th century (AH) based on Donald Wilber and Godard’s dating while it has been attributed to 6th- 8th centuries (AH) in the national registration file. In this research we try to date the tomb through investigating related documents, its structure and also the comparative inspection conducted during the preparation period of the renovation plan. In addition, we look for the answer to the question whether it was constructed in one single era and when it was built. Its initial function is another issue to be investigated. The dado tiles order, the way of drawing and embellishing Kufic handwriting of the inscriptions and the way of creating squinches in this monument to a great extent resemble 8th century monuments of Yazd and Isfahan. Moreover, the content of the verses written on the inscriptions which alludes to the burial use of them, in addition to above-mentioned traits, arouse the strong possibility of this monument being built as a tomb and for burial purposes. Both the structure and the ornaments are very similar to the damaged tomb of Hasan Ebn-Keikhosro (with an inscription dated 707-718 AH). Since the construction date of that tomb is known, it is likely that Seyedun Ali Naghia was also built in the first quarter of 8th century; the era during which king Mobarez Al-Din could overcome Yazd and Meibod that led to the reign of Mozaffarian dynasty to start. In addition, based on its similarities to 8th century monuments like Seyedun Golsorkhi and Hasan Ebn-Keikhosro domes and through investigating Jame’ Al-kheirat endowment in which Nebadan desert of Abarghu has been mentioned, we conceive that the mentioned buildings were all made in one single era with the fund of a famous figure who might belong to Seyed Rokn Al-Din family. Through investigating the structure of Seyedun Ali Naghia no trace of two different eras was found which leads us to the strong possibility that all of them were constructed in one single era. The content of the inscriptions read in this research for the first time, are Quran-related. We can foresee that more evidences particularly of the original forms of dome covers ornaments would be obtained through future renovations which might in turn reveal other aspects of the monument history.

Artist’s paints were not exploited as ready materials from the natural sources and they were products of complex and time-consuming process of work. Training paint making techniques was a part of training program of apprentices and many Persian treatises on techniques of paint making remains from the end of 11th century onward. These references besides interviews with contemporary traditional artists and the published results of analytical studies on Persian historic artworks made a set of references for us to know about palette of Persian painters in different periods and to know about the losing the historic techniques of pigment production after importing the readymade western art materials. Current article is trying to draw a general scope of our knowledge about historic paint making in Iran basing on these above-mentioned triple references.

In this article, the main purpose is nonlinear analysis of the cyclic behavior of the masonry shear walls including brickwork setting using finite element method. Three different brickwork-settings including running bond style, herringbone style and Zarbi style (herreh style) were investigated. To this end, the walls (in dimension of 195×1500×1720 mm) were tested in the laboratory and then were simulated using macro modeling method by Abaqus software, and their hysteretic curves was drawn. The concrete damaged plasticity criteria in the Abaqus software is a model used in this research.In this method, the main failure mechanisms of fracture are cracking in tension and crushing in compression. The macro modeling method was used for numerical assessment of the masonry walls. After numerical modeling and drawing hysteretic curves and contrasting them with laboratory results, it was proven that the concrete damaged plasticity model, which is behavioral model for simulating concrete material, can be used for modeling masonry materials under seismic loading. However, this model cannot be used to simulate pinching effect in hysteretic curve drawn from seismic loading. The envelope curve resulted from the numerical analysis of all three brickwork layouts had a good agreement with the results of the laboratory tests, but in Hysteretic curve of Herringbone style and Zarbi style the pinching effect did not match experimental results

In this article, an unreinforced masonry wall under in-plane load was numerically modeled using the ABAQUS software. In order to model the material of masonry, concrete material in the material library of Abaqus software was used. The concrete damaged plasticity method in the Abaqus software is a model that was meticulously studied in this research. Initially the governing factors influencing the behavior of this model were introduced, and then the cases provided for this purpose were separately investigated. To this end, an unreinforced masonry wall (100 × 990 × 1000 mm) which has been placed under the in-plane load in the lab, and its laboratory results are available was modeled in the Abaqus software and after defining the required specifications, the effect of various parameters such as stress cracking, dilation angle, strain cracking, viscosity, and etc. was investigated. For modeling the wall, macro method, which is one of the modeling methods of masonry materials was used. After calibration of the numerical model with the laboratory results, the effect of all of the available parameters in the concrete damaged plasticity model was investigated, and their effect was shown in the load-displacement diagram as well as the contour stress. A meticulous parametric investigation would give a better understanding of the way of functioning of these parameters in the modeling. In addition, it offers a better understanding for the users to use appropriate parameters in the modeling.

Three-dimensional tools are widely used for various purposes, particularly Three- dimensional printers which play a great role in simplification and acceleration of phases in production process for various fields ranging from medicine to industry.
Due to the problems related to the reconstruction of missing parts in restoration of historic glass objects in the methods of molding, casting and formation of reconstructed parts, the present research, aiming to propose an efficient method within this process has suggested 3D printer as a tool with the least intervention and destruction and also high accuracy and as a substitute to the current methods. Research questions are as follows: How is the condition of 3D reconstruction facilities for missing parts of glass objects in Iran? What are the technical and practical advantages and disadvantages of 3D printer in this process? How is the strength and yellowing quality of suggested polymers for reconstruction?
The research finalized through verifying both current and 3D technology methods for reconstruction of missing parts. The compared methods include: filling with Epoxy and also Acrylic resin, Plexiglas and PETE methods as suggestions. Samples were tested for yellowing and Pin on disk. The results showed that Acrylic resin in 3D printer is a proper substitute for reconstruction of the missing parts of glass objects, and Plexiglas using 3D technology method (laser and CNC) is also ranked as the second.

Physical activity and medicinal plants have been used years for the treatment of different neuropsychological diseases such as anxiety. This study aimed to assess the effects of training, Althaea kurdica extract injection, and noise stress on the anxiety-related behaviors, plasma levels of nitric oxide and serotonin in Wistar male rats. Thirty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups of seven, noise, training + noise, extract + noise, training + noise + extract, and control groups. The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week, for a 60day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5 hours per day over a 60-day period (range: 95 ± 15 dB). The Althaea curdica extract (500 mg/kg of body weight) was injected intraperitoneally (IP) 30 minutes prior to the plus maze test. The control group was not exposed to any noise or exercise, and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and plasma nitric oxide (NO) and serotonin concentrations were determined with special kits for rat. For the statistical data analysis, ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests were used at the significant level of P ≤ 0.05. In the noise + training + extract group, the anxiety was less and nitric oxide and serotonin were more than that of the noise stress group compared with the control group (P < 0.01). It seems that aerobic training and extract injections had eliminated the effect of noise stress, and apparently the effect of aerobic training was more significant than that of the extracts.

There is a long history of using physical activities and herbal medications to cure psychological diseases such as stress and anxiety. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of training، extract of Althaea kurdica flower and noise stress on the anxiety of Wistar male rats. Thirty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups: the noise group (n=7)، training+noise group (n=7)، extract+noise group (n=7)، training+noise +extract group (n=7)، and the control group (n=7). The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week، for a 60-day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5hrs/per day over a 60-day period (range: 95±15 dB). The althaea kurdica extracts (IP) (500mg/per kg of body weight) were injected 30 min prior to the plus maze test. The control group (n=7) was not exposed to any noise or exercise، and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions. For the statistical data analysis، one-way ANOVA and LSD tests were used (p≤0. 05). The results showed that in the (noise+training+extract) and (training+extract) groups، the anxiety was less than and the noise group was higher than that of the control group (p<0. 01). It seems that aerobic training and extract injections had eliminated the effect of noise stress، and apparently the effect of aerobic training was more significant than that of the extracts.

Sukias house is located in Tabriziha neighborhood, Isfahan, Iran. Investigators have revealed that this historical house has been built during Shah Abbas II (r. 1632-1666). One of the most important decorations of this building is its historical wall paintings. The paint layer of wall painting is generally composed of pigments, organic binding media and other additives. Characterization of the binding media is a challenging problem in cultural heritage due to the presence of complex materials structure of wall paintings. The principal aim of this work is to overcome the spectral interferences for interpretation of FTIR spectra obtained from wall paintings samples. A set of calibration samples were prepared in a similar way to the strata of a real wall painting from lowest to highest complexity. Sampling from the Sukias house was accomplished as well. Each sample was analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy and spectral data set was processed by chemometrics approaches. Binding medium of Sukias house was identified as egg yolk. Results are promising in the sense that SIMCA could be useful to mine the complex FTIR spectra and characterize binding media in wall paintings which is very time-consuming and challenging by regular methods of analysis.

Micro-Raman spectroscopy is recently advocated to be used for the identification of organic mediums of paintings although it is mainly used for identifying artists’ pigments. The current paper presents an effort for estimating the feasibility of micro-Raman spectroscopy for identifying Persian binding mediums used in historical paintings. To do so, samples were prepared in two main groups based on previous studies and the most popular Persian binding mediums; i.e., pure binding mediums and binding mediums mixed with red lead. Pure samples were themselves divided in three groups of carbohydrates, proteins and drying oils and were studied in 800-1800 cm-1 and 2500-3300 cm-1 regions. Results showed that micro-Raman spectroscopy can be more efficient in 2500-3500 cm-1 zone as most of pigments exhibit no Raman signal in this region. Moreover, the Raman spectrum of sarcocolla gum is provided in this article for the first time. This paper strongly suggests micro-Raman spectroscopy for identifying binding mediums used in Persian paintings.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of training, and noise stress on serotonin plasma level of Wistar rats. for many years, physical activity have been used for the treatment of different neuropsychological dieases.Twenty -One male witar rats(9-10 weeks old and 170/82±20/57g weight) were randomly divided into three groups: the noise group (n=7), training+noise group(n=7), and the control group (n=7). The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week, for a 60-day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5hrs/per day over a 60-day period (range:85-110 dB).The control group was not exposed to any noise or exercise, and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions.At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and plasma serotonin concentrations were determined.For the statistical data analysis, one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests were used (α≤0.05). Plasma serotonin concentration significantly decreased in noise groups, in comparison with the controls (21.9±2.1, vs.40.8±7.3 μmol/ml) respectively; p<0.000). The plasma serotonin levels in the noise +training groups(36.2±3.1) were apparently near to the controls; however, resistance training could significantly increase plasma serotonin concentration in the noise+training group rats. Increased serotonin level following resistance exercises might reduced stress in subjects.

One of important aspects in the field of Art technology and conservation of Persian historical paintings is the characterization of binder (or binding medium) used in paints. The basic rule in this field is identification of historic materials without destruction of the works or the sample taken from them. ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflectance-FTIR) is one of the common non destructive methods for characterizing organic materials in paintings. In this paper samples prepared using common binders of Persian paintings, have been tested for the evaluation of ATR-FTIR method. In the second step real historic samples have been tested. Results showed that the method is efficient in classification of binders (to hydrocarbon, protein and drying oil groups), but is not perfectly successful in detailed identification. Detailed research needs other test methods. J. Color Sci. Tech. 8(2014), 27-36©. Institute for Color Science and Technology.

Various ideas can be found about the date of construction and the function of portal and twin minarets of Abarkouh so that some researchers consider it as the door way of Nizamieh mosque whereas others consider it as a part of a great complex. However, there are ambiguities about the history and function of this monument. The main questions of this paper are about these two points. Afshar has attributed this monument to Nizam-ol-Molk-e Abarqui, a famous writer of Abarkooh in 14th century. Considering inscriptions of other monuments in the region and comparing with historical documents, this paper aims to reveal some points about the history and function of the destroyed monument to which this portal belongs. Moreover, the structure and decorations of the portal have been compared with other historical twin minarets. Regarding the lack of dated inscription on the portal, main evidence is the inscription of Biroon mosque near Abarkouh which has implications about the constructions near the portal. Finally, it has been revealed that the monument can be part of a mosque related to Tavousieh shrine. Comparing decorations and structure of this monument with other similar twin minarets in Persian architecture (like Qiyasiyeh in Qom and Oshtorgan mosque), it can be attributed to 14th century and to the son of Nizam-ol-Molk-e Abarqui who was a courtier of Shah Shoja’ (Muzaffarid dynasty) as his patron