Modification of the Coefficients of some Equations for Estimation of Evapotranspiration of the Reference Plant

Iran is located in the arid and semi-arid belt of the world, which is characterized by low rainfall, thunderstorms, flood flows, and high evapotranspiration. Therefore, quantitative evaluation of evapotranspiration on a regional scale is necessary for water resources management, crop production, and environmental assessments in irrigated lands. In this study, to estimate ETo in four synoptic stations with arid, semi-arid, humid, and semi-humid climates, meteorological data such as temperature, net radiation, relative humidity, and wind speed were used for 1990-2010. Potational evapotranspiration was calculated using 5 different methods, including Hargreaves-Samani, Blaney-Criddle, Priestly-Tailor, Turc, and Makkink, besides, the standard FAO-56 was used (because there was no Lysimetric regionally data) to evaluate the applied formulas. In order to evaluate these methods, were used the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE), correlation coefficient (r), Nash -Satclif index (N.S). Based on these indices, Blaney-Criddle method, after the FAO-56 method, which was used as the basis, was selected as the superior method for the four climates in Iran

The Role of Pomalidomide-Based Epigenetic Effect on DNMT Genes Expression in Myeloma Cell Line

Multiple myeloma (MM) is clonal B-cell malignancy characterized by the progressive proliferation of malignant plasma cells and accumulation of monoclonal immunoglobulin (M-spike) in blood and urine. Pomalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent which has potentially suppressed myeloma cell progression, especially in drug-resistant cases. As epigenetic modifications have an important role in gene regulation and because of the revealing role of DNA-Methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) overexpression in myeloma pathogenesis, in this study DNMT1, 3a and 3b genes expression of U266 myeloma cell line treated with pomalidomide have been evaluated. In this study after treatment of U266 cells with 1 μM pomalidomide for 48 hours, total RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis was performed. Gene expression of DNMT1, 3a and 3b has been evaluated using real time PCR technique. The result of this study show that pomalidomide can downregulate the expression of DNMT1, 3a, and 3b in 48 hours of treatment as 0.049, 0.058 and 0.055, respectively as comparing with untreated control (P<0.05). Based on these results we conclude that pomalidomide has desired effect on epigenetic modification by downregulation of DNMTs genes expression and has been considered as an effective drug for inhibition of myeloma proliferation

Estimation of agricultural water productivity in Qazvin plain using modis and AVHRR images

The world has finite water resources, which are under increasing stress as the human population and water demand per capita both increase. These problems are not new but are now becoming more widespread and their impacts more devastating. This has provided additional impetus for the search for solutions to problems arising from the mismatch between demand and supply in terms of water quantity, quality and timing. Increasing water productivity has been identified as one of the global challenges that require urgent attention.This study examines approaches to assessing water productivity in agriculture. Many studies have been carried out on agricultural water productivity [WP] in the world, where most of these studies, specifically in relation to water and food policies of WP, are considered in regional or watershed scale. There are many methods of calculating evapotranspiration (ETc) on regional scale but remote sensing technique since last decade of this century has become more popular one. SEBAL algorithm was used in this research to calculate ETc. Last versions of SEBAL algorithm can calculate aerial crop biomass and then can calculate crop water productivity. In this research, five cloudless MODIS and AVHRR images from Qazvin plain which is located in the center of Iran were selected, and then water productivity calculated with SEBAL algorithm, which runs with ENVI and ILWIS models on MODIS and AVHRR images. Amount of ETc, which was estimated from SEBAL, compared with lysimeter data with r-square [R2] value of 0.9 for MODIS images and 0.81 for AVHRR images. Estimated ETc was higher than lysimeter data in AVHRR and lower than it in MODIS images. Water productivity was estimated 0.76 and 1.03 kg/m3 in MODIS and AVHRR images respectively, but is 0.9 kg/m3 in lysimeter

Comparison of the Concepts of Potential and Reference Evapotranspiration using Lysimetric Data in Qazvin Province

In order to determine the amount of irrigation water, it is required to calculate the amount of the plant water requirement or evapotranspiration. The equations used to calculate evapotranspiration do not use the same climatic parameters and are not suitable for all climatic conditions due to their experimental nature. Potential evapotranspiration (ETp) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) are different in concepts, equations, and contexts; however, many researchers have considered the use of the two terms to be the same. This study provided a comprehensive review of the ETp and ETo equations. In this regard, using meteorological data of synoptic station and lysimetric information of the region, reference and potential evapotranspiration were compared and studied based on four experimental groups during 4 years. The equations were calibrated using statistical indicators to select the most ideal model. The results showed that the evapotranspiration potential and the reference are completely different from each other, so that in the same method of the temperature equations of ETo and ETp, the RMSE calculated was 1.17 and 1.1, mm/day, respectively. According to the studies from the ETo and ETo, the temperature group equations had the best performance, showing the superiority of this group of equations in areas with arid and semi-arid climate

Effects of Time and Location in Formation of Environmental Understanding of the Current Shiite and Sunni Movements of the Middle East

Various theories about political phenomena are discussed on the basis of the subjective and objective characters. Phenomenology is one way to analyze the mentality, quality and specificity of political phenomena. Shiite and Sunni Islamic movements, according to their nature, have different understanding of religion. This can be caused by the perception of the environment and the ratio that defines in connection with the perception of spatial and temporal existence. Based on environmental perception, when Objective understanding of place replaced by its subjective perception, location emerging patterns are involved because they are effective in creating the sense of place. The hypothesis of the paper indicates that the time-place oriented idea of Shiite and Sunni Islamic movements in the Middle East formed their strategies in practice

Analysis of Long-Term Changes in Temperature over Iran Using the CRU TS Dataset

Study of climate change helps in the management of water resources and agricultural production. Temperature increase is one of the most definite aspects of climate change. Limited number of weather stations and the quality and duration of records of weather variables are among the most important limiting factors in climate change studies. Application of gridded regional/global datasets is a promising option to overcome these limitations. In this study, temporal trends in annual, seasonal and monthly averages of daily minimum, mean and maximum temperatures were analysed using the data obtained from the CRU TS 4.01 gridded dataset and the Mann-Kendall (MK) test. The results show that over 1987-2016 (second period), long-term national annual average of daily mean temperature has increased by 0.4-1.2 °C across the country as compared to 1957-1986 (first period). Over the last here decades, temporal trend in annual average daily mean temperature was estimated at 0.39 °C.dec-1 (1.17 °C increase in 30 years). The observed increase in daily minimum temperature (1.23 °C in 30 years) over the second period was larger than the increase observed in daily mean temperature. Analysis of temporal trends in seasonal averages reveals that winter and spring, especially in the west and northwest, experienced the strongest positive trends over the last three decades. The results of this study confirm the occurrence of significant temperature change in winter, spring and summer, which are important to the country’s agriculture sector

Evaluation of Glucosamine sulfate and Ibuprofen effects in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis symptom

Objective: Ibuprofen - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)- and glucosamine sulfate - a natural compound and a food supplement- are two therapeutic agents which have been widely used for treatment of patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of these two medications in the treatment of patients suffering from TMJ disorders. Methods: After obtaining informed consent, 60 patients were randomly allocated to two groups. Patients with painful TMJ, TMJ crepitation or limitation of mouth opening entered the study. Exclusion criteria were history of depressive disorders, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, kidney or liver dysfunction or diabetes mellitus, dental diseases needing ongoing treatment; taking aspirin or warfarin, or concomitant treatment of TMJ disorder with other agents or methods. Thirty patients were treated with ibuprofen 400 mg twice a day, (mean age 27.12 ± 10.83 years) and 30 patients (mean age 26.60 ± 10) were treated with glucosamine sulfate 1500 mg daily. Patients were visited 30, 60 and 90 days after starting the treatment, pain and mandibular opening were checked and compared within and between two groups. Findings: Comparing with baseline measures, both groups had significantly improved post-treatment pain (P < 0.0001 for both groups) and mandibular opening (P value: 0.001 for glucosamine sulfate and 0.03 for ibuprofen). Post treatment pain and mandibular opening showed significantly more improvement in the glucosamine treated patients ( P < 0.0001 and 0.01 respectively). Rate of adverse events was significantly lower in the P value glucosamine sulfate group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: This investigation demonstrated that comparing with a commonly prescribed NSAID - ibuprofen-, glucosamine sulfate is a more effective and safer therapeutic agent for treatment of patients with TMJ degenerative join disorder

Spatiotemporal variations of evapotranspiration and reference crop water requirement over 1957–2016 in Iran based on CRU TS gridded dataset

Agriculture needs to produce more food to feed the growing population in the 21st century. It makes the reference crop water requirement (WREQ) a major challenge especially in regions with limited water and high water demand. Iran, with large climatic variability, is experiencing a serious water crisis due to limited water resources and inefficient agriculture. In order to overcome the issue of uneven distribution of weather stations, gridded Climatic Research Unit (CRU) data was applied to analyze the changes in potential evapotranspiration (PET), effective precipitation (EFFPRE) and WREQ. Validation of data using in situ observation showed an acceptable performance of CRU in Iran. Changes in PET, EFFPRE and WREQ were analyzed in two 30-a periods 1957–1986 and 1987–2016. Comparing two periods showed an increase in PET and WREQ in regions extended from the southwest to northeast and a decrease in the southeast, more significant in summer and spring. However, EFFPRE decreased in the southeast, northeast, and northwest, especially in winter and spring. Analysis of annual trends revealed an upward trend in PET (14.32 mm/decade) and WREQ (25.50 mm/decade), but a downward trend in EFFPRE (−11.8 mm/decade) over the second period. Changes in PET, EFFPRE and WREQ in winter have the impact on the annual trend. Among climate variables, WREQ showed a significant correlation (r=0.59) with minimum temperature. The increase in WREQ and decrease in EFFPRE would exacerbate the agricultural water crisis in Iran. With all changes in PET and WREQ, immediate actions are needed to address the challenges in agriculture and adapt to the changing climate

Evaluation of the effects of acupuncture on P6 and anti-gagging acupoints on the gag reflex

Introduction: Hyperactive gag reflex can make dental treatment procedures intolerable for some patients; so, it is highly important for the dentist to control it. Acupuncture is a technique used to control this phenomenon. In this study, the effects of two acupoints, anti-gagging and P6, on the gag r eflex control were analyzed. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, a total number of 100 healthy people were classified into four groups. Acupuncture and psuedo-acupuncture procedures were performed on anti-gagging and P6 points based on the group. Before and after acupuncture or pseudo-acupuncture, gag reflex severity was measured via stimulation of the soft palate, tonsils, and root of the tongue. Obtained data was analyzed using statistical package of social sciences (SPSS) 22 statistical software. Results: Acupuncture reduced gag reflex at both points, but psuedo-acupuncture did not reduce the gag reflex. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between acupuncture on P6 and anti-gagging points. Conclusion: Acupuncture on anti-gagging and P6 points can be effective in controlling the gag reflex during routine dental procedures