Physiological and Morphological Responses of Three Grapevine Rootstocks to Water Stress

Water deficit stress is one of the most frequent environmental stresses affecting the physiological and growth responses of plants, especially grapevines. However, grapevine varieties and species differ in their tolerance to water stress. To identify the most tolerant grapevine rootstock, a factorial randomised block design with two factors was used. The first factor included the susceptible cv. Sultana (V. vinifera L.) scion grafted onto three rootstocks (Yaghouti, Kolahdari and 140 Ru), and the second factor was water stress potential at three levels (control, -1 MPa and -2 MPa). The physiological parameters, such as malondialdehyde (MDA), electrical leakage (EL), proline, soluble sugar, protein, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant enzymes were investigated. Our  results revealed that increasing water stress enhanced H2O2, MDA, EL, proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein, while decreasing chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid contents, growth parameters, and plant dry weight. The glutathione peroxidase (GPX)  activity was enhanced in response to water deficiency, whereas catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzymes exhibited higher activity at -1 MPa, which was then reduced under the lowest water potential (-2 MPa). In addition, 140 Ru rootstocks exposed to water stress had lower levels of MDA, H2O2, EL, and higher Chl (a, b), carotenoid, APX, and GPX activity, as well as higher shoot dry weight. Overall, the physiological and morphological responses of the three rootstocks propose that grafting the commercial Sultana cultivar onto drought-tolerant rootstocks such as 140 Ru is an effective strategy for improving drought stress tolerance

Techno-economic Efficiency of Trunk and Mechanical Harvest Aid Shakers for Harvesting Olive Fruits in Guilan Province, Iran

The main concern of an olive grower is primarily to achieve more income and profits. A harvesting method having higher efficiency and better fruit and oil quality, but a higher operation cost leads to a lower benefit. A study was carried out to evaluate the techno-economic performances of Trunk Shaker (TS) and Mechanical Harvest Aid (MHA) shaker for harvesting the yellow and Manzanilla olive cultivars in Guilan province, Iran. A factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was used in four treatments at three replicates. The percentage of harvested fruit, fruit harvest rate (kg h-1), harvesting efficiency, leaf abscission, canned fruit acidity, and the percentage of bruised fruits, fruit tissue resistance were determined as the technical traits and benefit to cost ratio to evaluate the economic performance of experimental olive harvesting methods. The results showed that the TS with 60.6 had more harvesting percent of fruit than the MHA (24.1). Average harvesting time of a tree was recorded 10.7 minutes by TS that this was 8.2 minutes in MHA. The harvesting efficiency in TS method of Manzanilla variety was much more MHA method and yellow variety. The efficiency was 100.38 kg h-1 in TS that is more than in the method of MHA with 43.72 kg h-1. Fruits harvested with TS, with an average of 1.07 Newton, had a higher firmness of the fruits in compared to MHA method. TS method with 1270 dollar per day had more benefit compared to MHA method with a profit of $606

Comparing the effect of unfractionated heparin and low molecular weight heparin in preventing of deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis after craniotomy in patients with brain tumor

کرانیوتومی با توجه به مستعد کردن بیماران به بی حرکتی، پس از عمل عاملی خطرساز برای ایجاد ترومبوز وریدی محسوب می شود. هدف از مطالعه حاضر مقایسه اثر دو روش درمان رایج برای پیشگیری از ترومبوز وریدی شامل هپارین معمولی ((unfractionated و هپارین با وزن مولکولی کم (کلگزان) در پیشگیری از این عارضه است. روش بررسی: در این کارآزمایی بالینی تصادفی و دوسوکور که از سال 1387 تا 1389 در اصفهان انجام شد، تعداد 154 بیمار که به علت تومور مغزی مورد عمل جراحی کرانیوتومی قرار گرفته در دو گروه تقسیم و مورد مطالعه قرار گرفتند. در گروه اول از 48 ساعت بعد از عمل کلگزان به میزان mg/d 40 به صورت زیرجلدی تجویز شد. بیماران در گروه دوم از 48 ساعت بعد از عمل، هپارین unfractionated به میزان IU/12h 5000 به صورت زیرجلدی دریافت کردند و نتایج در نرم افزار با کمک آزمون های T-test و Chi-Square مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفتند. یافته ها:در این مطالعه تفاوت آماری معنی داری از نظر سن، جنس و بیماری های زمینه ای بین دو گروه مشاهده نشد (05/0P>). طی مطالعه 14 مورد (2/18) ترومبوز وریدهای عمقی تحت بالینی در گروه هپارین و 3 مورد (9/3) در گروه کلگزان مشاهده شد (011/0=P). هیچکدام از بیماران در پیگیری پس از کرانیوتومی دچار خونریزی داخل مغزی نشدند. نتیجه گیری: نتایج مطالعه حاضر نشان می دهد که کلگزان نسبت به هپارین unfractionated در پیشگیری از ترومبوز ورید عمقی پس از کرانیوتومی در بیماران مبتلا به تومور مغزی مؤثرتر و ایمن تر است

Prevalence of Nocturnal Enuresis in School-age Children in Rafsanjan

Introduction: Nocturnal enuresis is an important developmental problem for school age children and it can cause emotional and social problems for children and their families. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of enuresis in school children aged 6-8 years in Rafsanjan, Iran, during 2014.Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1080 school children aged 6-8 were selected using a random cluster sampling method. Questionnaires were distributed among the children to be answered by their parents.Results: The overall prevalence of nocturnal enuresis was10.6% (CI 95%: 8.76 – 12.44); 91.3 % of them had primary and 8.7% had secondary nocturnal enuresis. Prevalence in girls and boys were 8.44% and 12.3% respectively. Factors such as parental education, family income, and age were significantly associated with nocturnal enuresis.Conclusions: The results showed that the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis in our study is average. Since a minority of families seek medical advice and treatment for their children, family education and awareness is essential in this regard.Keywords: Nocturnal enuresis, Child, Prevalence, School

Subcutaneous administration of a fusion protein composed of pertussis toxin and filamentous hemagglutinin from Bordetella pertussis induces mucosal and systemic immune responses

Objective(s): After decades of containment, pertussis disease, caused by Bordetella pertussis seems to be re-emerging and still remains a major cause of reported vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide. The current licensed whole-cell vaccines display reactogenicity while acellular vaccines are expensive and do not induce Th1-type immune responses that are required for optimum protection against the disease. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines and the recombinant technology seems to be the method of choice for this purpose. The present study was an attempt to develop a new, simplified, cost-effective and well-defined vaccine against Bordetella pertussis, with capacity to induce a Th1 response. Materials and Methods: A fusion DNA fragment encoding the N-terminal region of pertussis toxin S1 subunit and filamentous hemagglutinin type 1 immunodominant domain was constructed and the corresponding fusion protein (F1S1) was produced in Escherichia coli. F1S1 in conjunction with imiquimod was administered by subcutaneous (SC) and intranasal (IN) routes to BALB/c mice. Results: This vaccine formulation could elicit high levels of IFN-γ, serum IgG (with higher IgG2a/IgG1 ratio) and lung IgA after the SC and, to a lesser extent, following the IN administration.  Conclusion: Our results indicate that the above-mentioned important proteins of B. pertussis could be successfully produced in E. coli as a single fusion protein. Furthermore, this protein could induce proper systemic and mucosal immune responses after administration via SC or IN routes

In vitro propagation, cold preservation and cryopreservation of Taxus baccata L., an endangered medicinal and ornamental shrub

In vitro propagation, cold preservation, and cryopreservation are three essential approaches to preserve the genetic resources of red-listed plants, including English yew (Taxus baccata L.). Different concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and different pre-treatments of cold preservation and cryopreservation are the prerequisites of these three approaches. Apical bud as explant and Murashige and Skoog (MS) as the culture medium for all three sections of the research, kinetin (Kin) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) as PGRs for the micropropagation section, and encapsulation-dehydration as pre-treatment for the sections of cold preservation and cryopreservation were used. The results of the micropropagation section indicated that the highest number of shoots (5.40 per explant) and roots (5.98 per explant) were obtained from the culture of the explants on the media containing 1 mg L–1 IBA together with 1 and 2 mg L–1 Kin, respectively. The results of the cold preservation section revealed that the highest percentage of survival of germplasms (100%) after storage in the refrigerator was observed in the apical buds pre-treated by dehydration of encapsulated explants with 0.75 M sucrose for two hours, followed by dehydration under a laminar airflow cabinet for two hours. The results of the cryopreservation section demonstrated that the highest percentage of survival of germplasms (100%) after storage in liquid nitrogen was obtained in the apical buds pre-treated by encapsulation-dehydration under a laminar airflow cabinet for two hours. At the acclimatization stage, 100% of the plantlets acclimatized suitably with ex vitro conditions

Effects of “FIRST2ACT” Model on Knowledge and Practical Skills of Difficult Airway Management in Nurse Anesthesia Students: An Interventional Study

Introduction: An important part of anesthesia management is opening and maintaining the patient’s airway. Failure to establish and maintain a safe airway for patients during anesthesia is a life-threatening condition. Despite advances in science and technology, difficult airway management is far from ideal. Providing a simulated environment for critical situations seems to be the best way to better educate and prevent medical errors. This study aimed to compare the effect of the FIRST2ACT (Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trend) model on knowledge and practical skills of difficult airway management and respiratory accidents between the intervention and control groups.Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental intervention with before and after design. Sampling was done by census method and the participants were third and fourth-year nurse anesthesia students (n=62). The students were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=31) educated and practicing based on the FIRST2ACT model and a control group (n=31). The intervention consisted of five stages: developing core knowledge, assessment, simulation, reflective review, and performance feedback, all based on the FIRST2ACT model. Theoretical and practical skills were examined in the participants. Data collection tools included a questionnaire and a checklist.Results: The results showed that after applying the FIRST2ACT model, the intervention group scored higher than the control group in both theoretical knowledge (17.87±1.43 vs. 12.67±1.35) and practical skills (134.28±3.21 vs. 81.58±8.55). This difference in results between the two groups was statistically significant (P˂0.001).Conclusion: It can be concluded that using this model was effective to improve the knowledge and practical skills of nurse anesthesia students in the field of difficult airway management and respiratory accidents during anesthesia

Identifying Indicators of Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Paddy Fields of Guilan Province

I n recent years, agriculture has become the prime polluter of natural resources. It is therefore essential to make assessments based on reliable indicators to ensure that an agricultural system remains not only productive, but also ecologically sound. A large area of arable land in Guilan province is devoted to rice cultivation so the transition to environmentally sound agricultural practice in paddy fields of the province is an important strategy. The main purpose of this study was to present a new and comprehensive framework for assessing environmentally sound agricultural practice applicable to the paddy fields in Guilan Province. A review of the relevant literature identified environmentally sound indicators that had been used by researchers in recent years. Then some parameters were introduced for examination and prioritization. The proposed structural model includes seven factors and 21 indicators. The target population included university faculty members and researchers who were familiar with the concepts of agricultural sustainability and that were familiar with the Guilan paddy fields. A structural on-line questionnaire was the main instrument used to gather information. Based on experts' points of view, the coefficient of significance for each of the selected indicators was measured using the Yager fuzzy screening method. The results obtained from structured questionnaires showed that 20 of the 21 indicators were appropriate for assessing environmentally sustainable agriculture. Abstract International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD

Digital Mapping of Surface and Subsurface Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Salinity Variation in a Part of Qazvin Plain (Case Study: Abyek and Nazarabad Regions)

IntroductionKnowledge of the spatial distribution of soil salinity and soil organic carbon (SOC) leads to obtaining valuable information that is effective in decision-making for agricultural activities. More than a third of the world's land is affected by salt, which threatens the growth and production of crops, and prevents the development of sustainable agriculture. The high electrical conductivity (EC) content in soils poses significant challenges in arid and semi-arid regions, greatly impacting agricultural production. Saline and sodic soils often exhibit high levels of sodium which is a key characteristic. The presence of sodium ions leads to the destabilization of soil aggregates and the dispersion of soil particles resulting in the closure of soil pores. Consequently, unfavorable changes occur in the soil physical, chemical, and biological properties increasing its susceptibility to water and wind erosion. Additionally, high sodium levels can lead to the decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC). SOC is crucial for water retention, cation exchange, and nutrient availability, making its reduction in agricultural soils a significant threat to sustainable soil management. Therefore, the investigation of soils in terms of EC and SOC contents and their spatial distribution is of great importance to support decision-makers in agricultural development planning to reduce challenges related to food security in arid and semi-arid regions.Materials and MethodsThis study was conducted with the aim of investigating the EC and SOC in topsoil (0-30 cm) and subsoil (30-60 cm) layers using four machine learning (ML) algorithms namely, random forest (RF), decision tree (DTr), support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural network (ANN) performed in Qazvin Plain. The study area includes a part of agricultural lands and natural areas of Alborz and Qazvin provinces, between the Nazarabad and Abyek cities in Iran. This region with an area of 60,000 hectares is located at latitude 35° 54´ to 36° 54´ to the north and 50° 15´ to 50° 39´ to the east. This research was carried out in four stages including (i) soil sampling and measuring the physical and chemical properties of the soil and preparation of environmental covariates from a digital elevation model (DEM) with spatial resolution 12.5 m and Landsat 8 satellite imagery with spatial resolution 30 m by SAGA GIS and ENVI software, (ii) spatial modeling of soil EC and SOC in the topsoil and subsoil layers by the RF, SVR, ANN, and DTr ML algorithms, (iii) evaluating the efficiency of the ML algorithms and determining the relative importance of environmental covariates, and (iv) preparation of spatial prediction maps of EC and SOC in the topsoil (0-30 cm) and subsoil (30-60 cm) layers in the study area.Results and Discussion         The result of the spatial prediction maps of EC showed that the studied area has non-saline to very saline soils up to a depth of 60 cm. It is also possible that the EC equivalent shows a decreasing trend in soil salinity with a depth from 6.05 to 5.55 ds/m from the topsoil to the subsoil layer. The highest amount of SOC was observed in the surface layer equal to 3.3%. Globally SOC content decreased from the surface (average of 0.84%) to depth (average of 0.4%). The high spatial variability of SOC showed that the soils of the study area are affected by management activity. Environmental covariates were extracted as a proxy of topography and remote sensing indices including elevation, diffuse Insolation (Diffuse), Multi-Resolution Index of Valley Bottom Flatness (MrVBF), Normalized Differences Vegetation Index (NDVI), SAGA wetness index (SWI) and wind Effect (WE) were used as representatives of soil formation factors. The topography parameters, including the elevation, diffuse insolation, and Multi-Resolution Index of Valley Bottom Flatness, were most closely related to EC and SOC variations in each topsoil and subsoil layer. Elevation can be justified around 50% and 35% of EC and 28.56% and 29.47% of SOC variations in the topsoil and subsoil layers, respectively, followed by the diffuse variable can succeed to justified 19.7% and 25.1% of EC and 27.28% and 27.67% of SOC spatial variations in the topsoil and subsoil layers, respectively.The results confirmed that the RF was recognized as outperforming the ML model for predicting EC in the topsoil (R2 =0.74, RMSE =0.36, and nRMSE= 0.07), as well as predicting SOC in topsoil and subsoil layers (R2= 90 and R2=0.80), followed by the DTr for predicting EC (R2 0.77, RMSE/0.9, and nRMSE 0.17) in the subsoil layer in comparison other models. Conclusion       The RF (Random Forest) and DTr (Decision Tree) models incorporating topographic parameters demonstrated satisfactory accuracy in predicting the variation of topsoil and subsoil electrical conductivity (EC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in the study area. Topography plays a crucial role in soil formation, and elevation-based topographic attributes are commonly used as key predictors in digital soil mapping projects. The variability in topography influences water flow and sedimentation processes which, in turn, affects soil development and the spatial distribution of soil properties. The resulting soil maps can be valuable tools for decision-making programs related to soil management in the region