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This dissertation is a qualitative study of women’s gendered negotiations of womanhood through the life course and in the context of precarious legal status and transnational migration. Placing three scholarly fields in dialogue, my project contributes to scholarship on gender and migration, postcolonial feminist theory, and work on precarious non/citizenship. I draw on and extend Denise Kandiyoti’s (1988; 2005) concept of “patriarchal bargains” to examine changes in gendered negotiations throughout women’s lives and in changing institutional and political contexts. I focus on the patriarchal bargains that women engage in with relation to marriage arrangements, their education and labour market participation as young adults and later in life, migration and return visits to Iran, and the work of securing livelihood and legal status upon migration to Toronto.My study is based on life history interviews with two cohorts of women. The first cohort (n=21) are older women (between 60-80 years old), who came of age in Iran during the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979). The second cohort (n=19) are younger women (between 30 to 59 years old), who came of age under the Islamic Republic (1979-current). I investigate: How do women navigate hegemonic gender ideologies over time throughout their lives with a focus on 1) coming of age in Iran 2) leaving home 3) engaging in transnational homemaking? I ask, how do class, family composition, and life stage shape these strategies? How do these strategies challenge or uphold gender ideologies?I examine patriarchal bargains in three moments in the women’s lives, each shaped by different cultural, political, and institutional agendas. Each moment is marked by distinct hegemonic gender ideologies: 1) The secular Pahlavi era 2) The Islamic Republic 3) Toronto, Canada. Women engage in patriarchal bargains throughout their lives from youth to senior years, learning to negotiate and draw on different “rules of the game” (Kandiyoti 1998). They engage in patriarchal bargains within a wide network of extended kin and fictive kin to secure an income, provide care work, and improve their legal status.

Background War-torn populations are often hard to screen for mental health disorders. Classical data collection approaches, such as paper-based, online, or SMS-operated, are either infeasible or lack accuracy due to a variety of challenges associated with dynamics and consequences of war. Methods In this paper, we introduce a novel approach for accurate and fast screening using free open-source software, Open Data Kit (ODK) mobile application. This approach was developed by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) to assess the mental health symptoms of 986 Palestinian children (age 6–18) in the aftermath of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in 2014. The organization developed assessment questionnaires and trained local field workers on the use of the mobile application, and on recruiting and interviewing war victims. Results War-affected children were found to suffer from several alarming symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and somatic symptoms. Children with highest number of psychological symptoms were referred for further evaluation and treatment. Conclusions The use of ODK mobile technologies facilitated efficient screening of affected children in war zones. The offline data collection capability was crucial for handling the difficult conditions associated with war-torn areas, enabling timely intervention for urgent cases. Further applications of the novel mobile technology are to be explored.

Current conventional assessment methodologies used to diagnose posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rely heavily on symptom counts obtained from clinical interviews or self-report questionnaires. Such measures may underestimate the impact of traumatic events, particularly in individuals who deny or repress emotional distress. This case report illustrates the use of two methods of narrative analysis to assess unconscious representations of PTSD. Linguistic analysis and a computerized analysis of referential activity were able to capture unconscious aspects of the traumatic experience.

Our study probed the differences in ion channel gene expression in the endometrium of women with Recurrent Implantation Failure (RIF) compared to fertile women. We analyzed the relative expression of genes coding for T-type Ca2+, ENaC, CFTR, and KCNQ1 channels in endometrial samples from 20 RIF-affected and 10 control women, aged 22–35, via microarray analysis and quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, we examined DNA methylation in the regulatory region of KCNQ1 using ChIP real-time PCR. The bioinformatics component of our research included Gene Ontology analysis, protein–protein interaction networks, and signaling pathway mapping to identify key biological processes and pathways implicated in RIF. This led to the discovery of significant alterations in the expression of ion channel genes in RIF women’s endometrium, most notably an overexpression of CFTR and reduced expression of SCNN1A, SCNN1B, SCNN1G, CACNA1H, and KCNQ1. A higher DNA methylation level of KCNQ1’s regulatory region was also observed in RIF patients. Gene-set enrichment analysis highlighted a significant presence of genes involved with ion transport and membrane potential regulation, particularly in sodium and calcium channel complexes, which are vital for cation movement across cell membranes. Genes were also enriched in broader ion channel and transmembrane transporter complexes, underscoring their potential extensive role in cellular ion homeostasis and signaling. These findings suggest a potential involvement of ion channels in the pathology of implantation failure, offering new insights into the mechanisms behind RIF and possible therapeutic targets.

•VAB mechanistically confirm the hypothesis that inter-hemispheric SC serves as a pivotal basis for homotopic FC.•Global neuromodulation increases with age and with SC deterioration, but it is negatively related to verbal memory and concept shifting.•Increased SC-FC tethering might suggest an amplification of loss of dynamical flexibility, especially in poor cognitive performers.•Global modulation increase seems not to happen for the high performing group, likely due to better brain maintenance.•SBI confirms the increase of SC neuromodulation with aging and retrieves working points with the same age-declining FC and FCD features. The mechanisms of cognitive decline and its variability during healthy aging are not fully understood, but have been associated with reorganization of white matter tracts and functional brain networks. Here, we built a brain network modeling framework to infer the causal link between structural connectivity and functional architecture and the consequent cognitive decline in aging. By applying in-silico interhemispheric degradation of structural connectivity, we reproduced the process of functional dedifferentiation during aging. Thereby, we found the global modulation of brain dynamics by structural connectivity to increase with age, which was steeper in older adults with poor cognitive performance. We validated our causal hypothesis via a deep-learning Bayesian approach. Our results might be the first mechanistic demonstration of dedifferentiation during aging leading to cognitive decline.

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by irregular immune responses that disrupt self-tolerance. This research explores the effects of the immunomodulatory drug celecoxib on the expression of immune checkpoint receptors in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). Key receptors, including CTLA-4, VISTA, BTLA, PDL-1, B7H7, and LAG3, play critical roles in initiating and regulating immune responses and maintaining self-tolerance. Previous studies have highlighted the significance of immune checkpoints in preventing autoimmune conditions, with animal research supporting their effectiveness in immunotherapy. Our findings demonstrate that the upregulation of immune checkpoint receptors can enhance the inhibitory functions of DCs, thereby promoting self-tolerance. As a result, tolerogenic DCs present a promising therapeutic avenue for treating autoimmune diseases. Although these results are promising, further trials are required to validate this approach before it can be applied clinically. This study underscores the potential of targeting immune checkpoint receptors as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune disorders.

This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of seven emergent meta‐heuristic algorithms, including flying fox optimization (FFO), Giza pyramids construction (GPC), Harris Hawks optimizer (HHO), red deer algorithm (RDA), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), mayfly optimization algorithm (MOA), and stochastic paint optimizer (SPO) applied to the vehicle routing problem (VRP). The algorithms were implemented in MATLAB and assessed based on solution quality, execution time, and convergence rate across small, medium, and large‐scale problems. The evaluation revealed significant performance variations among these algorithms. WOA consistently achieved top ranks in small and medium‐scale problems, demonstrating its robustness and efficiency. In contrast, GPC excelled in large‐scale problems, outperforming other algorithms in handling complex and extensive datasets. SPO, however, consistently ranked lowest across all scales, indicating its limited effectiveness for VRP under the tested conditions. The study employed the Shannon Entropy method for weighting the evaluation criteria and a multi‐criteria decision‐making method for the final ranking of the algorithms, providing a structured and comprehensive assessment approach. The findings suggest that WOA is the most effective algorithm, offering reliable and high‐quality solutions with efficient execution times and convergence rates, while SPO requires significant enhancements. These insights are valuable for practitioners and managers in logistics and supply chain management, guiding the selection of appropriate algorithms based on problem scale. The research also opens avenues for future work, including the refinement of lower‐performing algorithms, comprehensive testing with broader datasets, advanced parameter optimization, and exploration of algorithm applicability in other domains, such as scheduling and resource allocation. This study not only benchmarks the performance of emerging meta‐heuristic algorithms on VRP but also lays a foundation for future advancements in optimization techniques. This research offers a comprehensive approach to the sustainable design of supply chains, providing insights into cost‐effective, low‐emission fuel production pathways for the aviation sector.

Pectobacterium atrosepticum (Pba) is a quarantine and threatening phytopathogen known as the causal agent of blackleg and soft rot disease of potatoes in many areas. Its early detection is then important to have healthy potato tubers and reduce economic losses. Today, conventional methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent-assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are typically used for Pba detection, but they are expensive and time-consuming. Here we report on the optimization of an alternative approach based on an electrochemical impedance immunosensor combining a microfluidic module and a microelectrodes array, and having advantages in terms of low cost, ease of use and portability. For validation and for assessing its performance, the lab-on-chip platform has been compared with two standard methods (ELISA and PCR).

The surface of nanoparticles (NPs) get coated by a wide range of biomolecules, upon exposure to biological fluids. It is now being increasingly accepted that NPs with particular physiochemical properties have a capacity to induce conformational changes to proteins and therefore influence their biological fates, we hypothesized that the gold NP’s metal surface may also be involved in the observed Fg unfolding and inflammatory response. To mechanistically test this hypothesis, we probed the interaction of Fg with gold surfaces using molecular dynamic simulation (MD) and revealed that the gold surface has a capacity to induce Fg conformational changes in favor of inflammation response. As the integrity of coatings at the surface of ultra-small gold NPs are not thorough, we also hypothesized that the ultra-small gold NPs have a capacity to induce unfolding of Fg regardless of the composition and surface charge of their coatings. Using different surface coatings at the surface of ultra-small gold NPs, we validated this hypothesis. Our findings suggest that gold NPs may cause unforeseen inflammatory effects, as their surface coatings may be degraded by physiological activity.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of visually significant uncorrected refractive error (URE) in Rafsanjan and investigate the related factors. URE is the leading cause of visual impairment (VI) which causes the second-highest number of years lived with disability. The URE is a preventable health problem. Methods: In this cross-sectional study participants from Rafsanjan who were 35-70 years were enrolled between 2014 and 2020. Demographic and clinical characteristics data were gathered, and eye examination was performed. Visually significant URE was defined as present if habitual visual acuity was (HVA; visual acuity with present optical correction) >0.3 logMAR in the best eye and the visual acuity of that eye showed >0.2 logMAR improvement after the best correction. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between predicting variables (age, sex, wealth, education, employment, diabetes, cataract, and refractive error characteristics) and outcome (URE). Results: Among the 6991 participants of Rafsanjan subcohort of the Persian Eye Cohort, 311 (4.4%) had a visually significant URE. Diabetes was significantly more prevalent in the participants with visually significant URE, at 18.7% versus 13.1% in patients without significant URE (P = 0.004). In the final model, each year of increase in age was associated with 3% higher URE (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.05). In comparison to low hyperopia, participants with low myopia had 5.17 times more odds of visually significant URE (95% CI: 3.38-7.93). However, antimetropia decreased the risk of visually significant URE (95% CI: 0.02-0.37). Conclusion: Policymakers should pay special attention to elderly patients with myopia to effectively reduce the prevalence of visually significant URE.