Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a rare feature of rheumatic disorders in children and adolescence and its presentation as the first symptom of rheumatic disorders is very infrequent. A 9-year-old girl, in whom MAS developed, was admitted to our Hospital in Tehran, Iran. She suffered from high grade fever and rash followed by multiple joint swelling months afterwards. Bone marrow aspira...

Introduction Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a rare and life-threatening complication of Kawasaki Disease (KD) that is usually diagnosed at the same time or after KD. We report a case of MAS as the initial manifestation of KD. Case Report A previously healthy 3-year old girl was admitted to the pediatric infectious di...

Here, I describe the geographical distribution of the savanna types in Namibia and identify the factors controlling the occurrence of each savanna type in relation to the amount of annual precipitation and the various physiographical regions, including the mopane ( Colophospermum mopane) area. The different types of savanna can be distinguished on the basis of the leaf habits of the dominant ve...

Nitrogen and phosphorus are considered the most important limiting elements in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. however, very few studies have focused on which is from forested streams, a bridge between these two systems. To fill this gap, we examined the concentrations of dissolved N and P in storm waters from forested watersheds of five regions in Japan, to characterize nutrient limitation...

These are notes from introductory survey lectures given at the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics (IPM), Teheran, in 2008 and 2010. We present the definition and the fundamental properties of Fomin-Zelevinsky’s cluster algebras. Then we introduce quiver representations and show how they can be used to construct cluster variables, which are the canonical generators of c...

Four new myoinhibitory peptides were isolated and identified from the ventral nerve cord of adult Manduca sexta. The new peptides are related to two previously identified myoinhibitory peptides also isolated from adult M. sexta, Mas-MIP I and Mas-MIP II. The sequences of the new peptides are APEKWAAFHGSWamide (Mas-MIP III), GWNDMSSAWamide (Mas-MIP IV), GWQDMSSAWamide (Mas-MIP V), and AWSALHGAWa...

BACKGROUND Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is defined by respiratory distress requiring supplemental oxygen in a meconium-stained neonate. MAS is clinically subclassified as mild, moderate, and severe according to the oxygen requirement. The aims of this study were to compare the histological findings in the placentas of MAS neonates with those of meconium-stained but non-MAS neonates and to...

Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] is a biologically active heptapeptide that may counterbalance the physiological actions of angiotensin II (Ang II) within the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Here, we evaluated whether activation of the Mas receptor with the oral agonist, AVE 0991, would have renoprotective effects in a model of adriamycin (ADR)-induced nephropathy. We also evaluated whether the Ma...