Morphologic and meristic specification of some genus of Carangidae family in the Persian Gulf, Iran

Morphologic and meristic analyses were performed aided by regression charts on 96 specimens of the genus Parastromateus, 67 specimens of Caranx, 70 specimens of Alepes, 69 specimens of Scomberoides, 62 specimens of Atropus, 104 specimens of Carangoides, and 67 specimens of Trachionotus from March 2004 to February 2005. The samples were collected by using bottom trawling in the Persian Gulf. The analyses showed the complete separability of the genus while keeping their close connection with the Family. We found that Parastrometeus was specially unique in terms of keeping its relationship with the family Carangidae

Introducing genetic markers for identification and separation of 4 species of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea fishes using PCR- RFLP method

In order to introduce genetic markers of four species of fishes, 80 samples of each species, i.e. Parastromateus niger, Scomberomorus comersoniannus, Trachionotus mookalee and Caranx para were collected. DNA was extracted using phenol- chloroform method. The target gene (cytochrome b) was amplified by Thermal cycle (PCR) and the PCR product size estimated 1105 bp. In this research out of 27 DNAase enzymes which were used for PCR product enzyme digesting 8 enzymes (Bam HI, Alw 261, Rsa I, Mbo I, Alu I, Hinf I, Dpn I, Dde I) have cut side on target DNA and three enzymes of them Alu I, Hinf I and Mbo I showed polymorphism genetic differences while other enzymes displayed similar patterns. Variation of haplotypes from four species are as follows: BAA for P. niger, AAB for T. mookalee, ABA for C. para, and ACA for S. comersonianus. So it is possible to claim that each of the above Haplotypes may be used as genetic markers for each of the species

Affective Factors on Reliability of Laboratory Tests Based on ISO 17025:2005

تعد معولية الفحوصات المختبرية الركيزة الأساسية في الجانب التطبيقي لجودة المشاريع إلانشائية، إذ لا يمكن قبول أو رفض المواد إلانشائية المستخدمة في تلك المشاريع إلاٌ بعد مرورها بالفحص المختبري الذي يتم بموجبه القبول أو الرفض لتلك المواد. أن العديد من المنظمات أخذت بالسعي نحو تحقيق الميزة التنافسية، وذلك بتقديم خدماتها بجودة عالية من خلال تطبيقها معايير إدارة الجودة الشاملة، فكان من الضروري للمختبرات إلانشائية تبني أدارة الجودة اسلوبا في عملها، لاسيما تطبيق معايير المواصفة العالمية ISO 17025:2005 مما يحسن أداء هذه المختبرات من الناحية الإدارية والفنية. يتضمن هذا البحث دراسة إحصائية لعينة من المختبرات إلانشائية وشركات المقاولات إلانشائية ودوائر تنفيذ المشاريع في بعض المؤسسات الحكومية، لتحديد العوامل المؤثرة على معولية (موثوقية) الفحوصات المختبرية، واثبتت النتائج لكل محور هي (مؤثرة، مؤثرة جدا) بحسب ما تم وضع ارقام إليها إذ ستقدم المنهجية المتبعة في البحث توصيات ومقترحات تساعد الكوادر العاملة في المختبرات بالتركيز على العوامل المؤثرة على معولية الفحوصات والتعامل معها على وفق معايير المواصفة العالمية ISO 17025:2005.The reliability of the laboratory tests is the main pillar in the applied side of the quality of the construction projects. The construction materials used in these projects cannot be accepted or rejected until they have passed the laboratory examination according to which these materials are accepted or rejected.. Many organizations have sought to achieve the competitive advantage by providing high quality services through the implementation of the overall quality management standards. It was necessary for the construction laboratories to adopt the quality management method in their work, in particular the application of the standards of ISO 17025: 2005, Which improve the performance of these laboratories in terms of administrative and technical. This research includes a statistical study of a sample of construction laboratories, construction contracting companies and project implementation entities in some government departments to determine the factors affecting the reliability of the laboratory tests. The methodology used in the research will provide recommendations and suggestions to help the laboratory staff focus on the factors influencing the Reliability of tests and handling them according to the  ISO 17025: 2005

Spectrophotometric Determination of Salbutamol Sulphate and Isoxsuprine Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulations

امكن تطوير طريقة يسيرة وحساسة لتقدير كبريتات السالبيوتامول وايزوكسوبرين هيدروكلوريد بشكلهما النقي وفي مستحضراتهما الصيدلانية, استندت الطريقة على مبدأ اكسدة المركبين الدوائيين بزيادة محسوبة من العامل المؤكسد N- بروموسكسينميد في وسط حامض الهيدروكلوريك وادخال غير المتفاعل من العامل المؤكسد في تفاعل اكسدة صبغة ايفانز الزرقاء المضافة بكمية ثابتة مؤديا الى قصر لونها الازرق وقياس المتبقي من الصبغة عند الطول الموجي 600 نانوميتر, اذ وجد ان امتصاص الصبغه المتبقية يزداد خطيا مع زيادة تركيز المركبين الدوائيين ضمن مدى التراكيز 1-12 و 1-11 مايكروغرام/مللتر بامتصاصية مولارية 4.21×410 و 2.58×410 لتر .مول-1.سم-1 لكل من كبريتات السالبيوتامول وايزوكسوبرين هيدروكلوريد على التوالي. طبقت الطريقة بنجاح على المستحضرات الصيدلانية للمركبين الدوائيين وكانت نتائجها متوافقة مع نتائج طريقة الاضافة القياسية مما يدل على ان الطريقة ذات دقة وصلاحية تطبيق تحليلي جيدة.A simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of salbutamol sulphate (SAB) and isoxsuprine hydrochloride (ISX) in pure and pharmaceutical dosage. The method involved oxidation of (SAB) and (ISX) with a known excess of N-bromosuccinamid in acidic medium, and subsequent occupation of unreacted oxidant in decolorization of Evans blue dye (EB). This, in the presence of SAB or ISX was rectilinear over the ranges 1.0-12.0, 1.0-11.0 µg/mL, with molar absorptivity 4.21×104 and 2.58×104 l.mol-1.cm-1 respectively. The developed method had been successfully applied for the determination of the studied drugs in their pharmaceutical dosage resulting in a good agreement with certified value and standard addition procedure

Spatial planning, urban governance and the economic context: The case of 'Mehr' housing plan, Iran

With the increasing concentration of population and economic activities in metropolitan regions, dwelling shortages and housing quality have become critical issues in urban management. Town plans considering social, economic, political, and cultural features of local communities have been developed with the aim of supporting housing, especially in emerging economies. In Iran, the 'Mehr Housing' Plan has been considered as one of the most relevant strategies for social housing since the 2000s. However, the acceptance of 'Mehr Housing' plans at the community scale has been rather low, reflecting the fact that it is a top-down, non-participatory policy. The present study investigates the most important factors affecting social acceptance of 'Mehr Housing' plans by interviewing 45 experts through a structured questionnaire that evaluated multiple analyses' dimensions of housing and urban planning in Iran. Results showed that six dimensions (physical, institutional-managerial, economic, socio-cultural, legal, and locational) had contributed to social dissatisfaction with 'Mehr Housing' local initiatives. In particular, socio-cultural and legal dimensions were demonstrated to have a large impact on local communities' dissatisfaction

Reported Barriers to Hepatitis C Treatment among Pregnant and Early-Parenting Mothers Undergoing Substance Use Disorder Treatment in One U.S. State

Nationwide, the prevalence of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has risen in recent years. At least 90% of infected persons must be treated to achieve global elimination targets. The current study aimed to explore barriers to, and facilitators of, direct-acting antiviral (DAA) HCV treatment uptake amongst pregnant and early-parenting women undergoing comprehensive substance use treatment. Twenty participants with documented HCV antibody positivity were recruited from two substance use treatment centers in central Kentucky. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore knowledge about HCV, previous experiences, and intentions to seek care. Themes were extracted using an inductive analytical approach. Most participants were aware of the dangers posed by HCV infection. However, there was a high degree of misinformation about transmission mechanisms and treatment eligibility requirements. Low priority for HCV treatment also surfaced as a barrier to treatment uptake. Participants reported being unable to seek care due to time and resource limitations in the presence of a highly demanding treatment process. Findings from the current study suggest that more work is needed to eliminate residual barriers that limit access to HCV treatment among pregnant and early-parenting women in treatment for substance use disorder

Novel MMP-inhibiting peptides for stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques

Aim: Matrix-degrading metalloproteases (MMPs) play an essential role in the atherogenic process, from the initial lesion to plaque rupture. A growing body of evidence show that inhibition of MMP activity or rebalancing the MMP/TIMP (tissue inhibitor of MMP) equilibrium has a potential therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis. We studied the in vitro effects of newly designed peptides on MMP activity in endothelial cells and macrophages. Methods: Eight peptides were designed in silico and synthesized using the solid phase synthesis and characterized by circular dichroism and Dynamic Light Scattering. The mouse macrophage cell line J774A.1 and the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 were treated with the peptides (10 \ub5\uf06dM and 10 \ub5\uf06dM) for 24 hours. Then, conditioned medium was collected and MMP-2, and MMP-9 activity was determined by gelatin gel zymography. Results: Analysis of the zymograms showed that upon 10 \ub5M treatment in endothelial cells, three out of eight peptides reduced the activity of proMMP-9 and proMMP-2 by more than 60 and 40 percent, respectively. Whereas, upon treatment at 100 \ub5M the proMMP-9 levels were less or not reduced. These could be consequent to aggregation of the peptide at a concentration higher than 50 \ub5\uf06dM. In macrophages, two of these peptides reduced the activity of proMMP-2 by more than 40 percent, but had no effect on proMMP-9 activity. The peptides, did not show any effects on MMP mRNA levels. Conclusions: These data show that these peptides show a promising inhibitory effect on MMP-9 and MMP-2 activity in endothelial cells and macrophages