Modeling of splat particle splashing data during thermal spraying with the Burr distribution

Splashing of splat particles is one of the most important phenomena in industrial processes such as thermal spray coating. The data relative to the degree of splashing of splats sprayed with a normal angle are commonly characterized by the Weibull distribution function. In this present study, an effort has been made to show that the Burr distribution is better than the Weibull distribution for presenting the distribution of the degree of splashing. For this purpose, the Burr Type XII distribution and Weibull distribution are compared using different criteria. Furthermore, because of the great importance of statistical prediction of censored data in reducing costs and improving quality of the coating process, we consider different predictors of this data based on a progressively censored sample. For computing the prediction values we obtain the maximum likelihood estimates using the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. An important implication of the present study is that the Burr Type XII distribution more appropriately described the degree of splashing data. Therefore, the Burr Type XII can be used as an alternative distribution that adequately describes the splashing data and thereby predicts the censored data

Assessment the effect of saffron ethanolic extract (Crocus sativus L.) on oxidative damages in aged male rat liver

Using antioxidant nutrients may be a good diet strategy for the prevention of oxidative stress associated to agerelated disease. We assessed the changes in activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide Dismutase-SOD Glutathione-S-Transferase-GST, Catalase-CAT) and the levels of lipid Per-oxidation (Malondialdehyde -MDA) in liver and serum nitric oxide (NO) of rats 2, 10 and 20 months old, and to determine the effect of saffron on the status of selected oxidative stress. The aged rats were given intraperitoneal injection of saffron extract daily for 4-week. Data were analyzed using ANOVA-One way followed by Tukey-Kramer Post-Hoc test for multiple comparisons. The results demonstrated that aging caused significant increase in the levels of serum NO and MDA with a reduction in the activities of SOD, GST and CAT in liver. This study showed that saffron ameliorated increased serum NO and MDA levels and decreased GST activity in liver of 20 months old rats. Therefore, saffron can be effective to protect susceptible aged liver

A Systematic Review of Phytochemical and Phytotherapeutic Characteristics of Bitter Almond

Bitter almond is one of the medicinal plants that have been used to prevent and treat diseases since many centuries ago. Bitter almond essential oil can be effectively used to heal wounds, hemorrhoids and hair loss, relieve joint pain, facilitate delivery, and strengthen and condition hairs. Moreover, oral use of bitter almond seed has been demonstrated to cause antioxidant, antibacterial, and anticancer effects because of containing certain compounds such as amygdalin. However, there have been some challenges in investigations conducted to discover bitter almond-based oral, herbal drugs to treat different diseases such as cancer because of cyanide-induced poisoning, partly precluding use of this plant. This study was conducted to comprehensively review the traditional uses, phytochemical compounds, and therapeutic actions of bitter almond and its compound as well as the side effects due to use of them

Phytotherapy of nephrotoxicity-induced by cancer drugs: An updated review

Context: Kidney is one of the vital organs maintaining homeostasis of body and thus dysfunction of kidney affects quality of life and health severely. Anticancer drugs, particularly chemotherapeutic agents, cause high toxicity leading kidney dysfunction and irreparable kidney injury. Therefore, attention has recently been paid to seeking out alternatives such as nature-based drugs that are effective but less toxic. In this regard, this systematic review article is to report and introduce the most important medicinal plants and their derivatives that are used to reduce anticancer drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Evidence Acquisitions: The word nephrotoxicity alongside the words cancer or chemotherapy in combination with some herbal terms such as medicinal plant, plants, herbs, and extracts were administered to search for relevant publications indexed in PubMed. Results: According to this study, 16 medicinal plants, 12 plant-based derivatives, and three traditional plant-based formulations were found to help control and modulate anticancer drug-induced nephrotoxicity indices. Conclusions: Anticancer drugs cause nephrotoxicity through activating pathways of oxidative stress, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) production, inflammatory processes, and cell apoptosis, while medicinal plants and their derivatives can cause reduction in nephrotoxicity and anticancer drugs side effects via their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention

Effect of Spectral Bandwidths on Linear Feature Extraction: An Evaluation of Landsat ETM+ and OLI Sensors

Hitherto there have been many studies comparing the usefulness of OLI and ETM+ sensors for linear feature extraction. However, not too much attention has been paid to the differences in the bandwidth of the two sensors. In this study, the suitability of Landsat ETM+ and OLI sensors for automatic detection of linear features by LINE algorithm was compared. In this study, eight regions in northern, central and southern parts of Iran were selected based on the diversity of lithology, the pristine status, and lack of human activities for the comparison of the two datasets. Results revealed that LINE algorithm performed better on the images with higher standard deviation. The ETM+ datasets are more suitable for linear feature extraction because ETM+ panchromatic band and first principal component analysis image (PC1 image) of ETM+ datasets have higher standard deviation compared to OLI datasets

Evaluation of antidepressant-like effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Passiflora incarnata in animal models of depression in male mice

Introduction: Passiflora incarnata (PI) is one of the commonest herbal anti-anxiety and sedative agents. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antidepressant effect of hydroalcoholic extract of PI in forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in male mice. Methods: In this experimental study, 48 male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups of 8: Negative and positive control groups received normal saline (10 ml/kg), fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) and imipramine (30 mg/kg), respectively and treatment groups received extracts of PI (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg). Immobility, swimming and climbing behaviors were recorded during 6-min. Results: All doses of PI extract compared to control group significantly reduced the duration of immobility time in both of two tests (p&lt;0.001). Also, these extracts increased swimming time (p&lt;0.001) without significant change of climbing time. Conclusion: PI has considerable antidepressant-like effect in animal models of depression. However, further studies are needed to determine its exact mechanism of action.</p

Antibacterial effects of <em>Solanum tuberosum</em> peel ethanol extract in vitro

Introduction: Today, medicinal plants are being widely used due to being natural, available, and cheaper than synthetic drugs and having minimum side effects. Since there were reports about the antibacterial properties of Solanum tuberosum (SE), the aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial effects of SE ethanol extract in vitro condition on Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae Methods: Ethanol extract of SE peel was prepared by maceration method. Initially, antibacterial activity of ethanol extract of SE was qualitatively determined by disk diffusion test; then, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were qualitatively determined by micro-dilution method. Results: SE peel extract had antibacterial properties and its effect was more pronounced on gram-positive bacteria, especially S. aureus (0.62&plusmn;0.00 mg/ml). The extract had antibacterial activity on gram-negative bacteria, P. aeruginosa, too (8.33&plusmn;2.88 mg/ml). Conclusion: SE peel extract has antibacterial activity and its effect on gram-positive bacteria was more pronounced than the investigated gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, it is suggested that SE peel constituent compounds be determined and to determine the exact mechanism of its antibacterial properties, and more comprehensive research be done to apply it, clinically.</p

A review for discovering hepatoprotective herbal drugs with least side effects on kidney

The liver is a vital organ which plays a major role in the metabolism and excretion of xenobiotics from the body, and liver disease is a worldwide health problem. The currently available synthetic drugs to treat liver disorders cause further damage to the liver and kidney so it is imperative to find new drugs with least side effects. There are a number of treatment combinations which are derived from medicinal plants and commonly administered as tonic for the liver. In this review, we have introduced most important medicinal plants that are used in liver disorders and have least side effects on kidney. In this regards, we have focused on their active constituents, effects and trial studies, mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic characteristics, dosages, and toxicity. Amaranthus spinosus L., Glycyrrhiza glabra, Cichorium inthybus L., Phyllanthus species (amarus, niruri, emblica), Picrorhiza kurroa, and Silybum marianum have been extensively administered for the treatment of liver disorders. The introduced medicinal plants can be used for production of new drugs via antioxidant-related properties, hepatoprotective activities and least side effects on kidney for the prevention and treatment of liver disorders