The first study of the phylogenetic relationships of three rare species of Blenniids (Fishes: Blenniidae) from Makoran Coast based on the gene sequencing of Cytochrome Oxidase 1

In order to assess the phylogenetic relationships of three rare species belonging to tribe Parablenniini was carried out, along the Coast of Oman Sea. Based on the type of habitats the specimens of Blenniid were collected from three sampling sites in the intertidal zones by Scoop and hand net in low tide and in sub-tidal zones by scuba diving and hand from 3, 6, 9, and 12m depths in September to March 2013. Totally 30 fish samples collected and deposited to the lab for further investigation. Based on the available identification keys and morphometric characters three species of Parablennius cornutus, Parabelennius pilicorn, Scartella emarginata were identified. DNA was extracted from the basal tissue of the first dorsal fin, subsequently by using a specific fish primer 700 bp of Cytochrome Oxidase C subunit 1 (CO1)was amplified in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. After comparison of Iranian Blenniid species CO1 sequence with sequence of 25 species from GenBank, was concluded that Iranian species are paraphyletically in the clade Parablenniini and sub-clads of Scartella and Parablennius. Since the relationship of Parablennius with other blenniids is the subject of many studies to resolve the conflicts and ambiguities among them we selected these genera to investigate the sister group relationship among them as well as other genera and clads. This is the first time that morphologic and molecular study of the two genera Parablennius and Scartella have been carried out in Iran

The cyst-motile stage relationship of three Protoperidinium species from south-east coast of Iran

Resting cyst and motile thecate cell stages of three heterotrophic Protoperidinium oblongum, Protoperidinium sp. and Protoperidinium claudicans were assessed. Cysts were isolated from sediment collected from southeast coast of Iran. Individual live cysts were incubated under optimal conditions for germination. Results showed that Protoperidinium oblongum cysts were pentagonal smooth walled and three cysts of this species were identified from Iranian sediment. The germinated cell of P. oblongum was colourless and elongated pentagonal in shape. P. claudican theca cell has a pointed antapical horn with a four sided apical plate. Protoperidinium sp. had dark brown pentagonal cyst. Its germinated cell differed from other Protoperidinium species. Two divergent distally antapical horns formed 90˚ between the horn and Posterio-lateral of main body edge, thus, comprising a unique species in the Protoperidinium genus. This kind of antapical horn has not been previously reported among Protoperidinium spp

Comparison of different nitrogen compounds in three different environments of the Gwatar shrimp farms complex in the Gwatar Gulf region (Baluchestan-Iran)

This study aimed to investigate the quality of effluent water of a large shrimp farming complex in Chabahar region in Sistan and Baluchestan province (Iran). Fifteen sampling stations were designated in three distinct areas of these farms; i.e. the water supply canal, the drainage canal and the receiving area of the farm effluents in Gwatar Gulf. Water samples were taken from June to December 2004 for measurement and monitoring of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia compounds. The results revealed that the shrimp farms effluents have a profound effect on the water quality and aquatic environment of the drainage canal and the Gwatar Gulf. The average concentration of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia remained considerably higher in the drainage canal and Gwatar Gulf compared to the supply canal throughout the study. The amount of these compounds increased considerably in the drainage canal during the final stages of culture period and in Gwatar Gulf at post monsoon. The results of one way analysis of variance (at P<0.01 level) showed that all physical and chemical factors except water temperature were significantly different between stations. Considering that more than 25% of the shrimp farms of this complex were active during this study the measured values of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia compounds in the effluents were at the optimum range recommended for the shrimp farms

Investigating the Role of Natural and Human Factors on Intensification of Floods and Flooding in Kalat City

IntroductionThe world population has grown rapidly over the last 150 years and continues to do so, resulting in impacts on hydrologic resources at both a local and global scale (Yang et al., 2012). The competition for water between humans and ecosystems leads to complex interactions between hydrologic and social systems (liu et al., 2015). From the beginning of human history, it is located in floodplains. Floods can have large societal impacts, such as severe damage to urban areas, which are expected to grow around the world (Alfieriet al., 2018). In traditional hydrology, humans are either conceptualized as an external force to the system under study or taken into account as boundary conditions (Peel and Blöschl, 2011). Sivapalan et al. (2012) proposed a new model for investigating the interactions of the hydrological system and the social system. It explores the procedure coupled human-water system evolves and possible trajectories of its co-evolution, including the possibility of generating emergent, even unexpected, behaviors. Socio-hydrology must strive to be a quantitative science. There are several methods to control and mitigate flood risk, one of these methods is flood zoning (Jha et al., 2012). In last two decates, The Kalat city is flooded almost every year and many houses and historical sites in the city are damaged. Therefore, the main purpose of thisWe paper is to show investigated how changing human behavior with nature can affect the behavior of the natural system.Method and MaterialsKalat city located in 59° 43' 23" to 59° 47' 41" northern latitude and 36° 59' 35" to 37° 00' 05" eastern longitude. The city is divided into 11 sub-basins. The city has experienced fast and inappropriate urbanization over the past few years. To collect our data, the annual reports of the Regional Water Organization and the Environment Organization of Khorasan Province were used.SCS method was used to estimate the runoff peak discharge. Precipitation has been estimated for seven return periods: 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 years. In this study, to analyze the sensitivity of runoff, we considered precipitation and curves number from 20% less to 20% more than the actual values in the study basin (at intervals of 5 %). We used the Cowan method to determine the roughness coefficient in this study. HEC-RAS model has been used for flood zoning. To determine the impact of various factors on the intensification of floods in Kalat city, we obtained questionnaires from relevant authorities. Likert scale was used to measure the results of the questionnaires. We prepared two questionnaires; first one is related to the inner city zone and includes the factors that intensify the occurrence of floods inside the city of Kalat, and it was classified into the following parts: 1) Local community 2) Managerial 3) Physical; and the second one includes the factors that intensify the flood in the upper part of Kalat city. We classified these factors into three parts: 1) Non-local community 2) Managerial 3) Environmental .Results and DiscussionResults of sensitivity analyzes demonstrated that land-use and land cover change had a further effect on peak discharge. In sub-basin 1, by 20% increase in the curve number, the level of peak dumping increased by more than 111%, with a return period of 2 year; while a 20% increase in precipitation, in the same return period, rises the peak discharge only 3%. The peak discharge time in some sub-basins was brief due to the presence of impermeable surfaces, so that in sub-basins 4, 6, 7, and 8, the peak discharge time was less than 30 minutes. These results highlight the dangers of these floods and the need for proper flood planning and management in these sub-basins. The results of the Manning coefficient demonstrated that we can reduce flood damage by applying management measures in the future, as well as paying attention to the feedback between urbanization and the flood zone. Roughness control by applying management programs can reduce the area of flood zones to 0.1 square kilometers. In this case, buildings should be removed from the river, and there should be no structure in the path of the river. According to the questionnaires in the inner city part, the most fundamental factor in intensifying the flood damage was related to “activities of local people” with the average of 3.59. In the upper part of the city, the most influential factors were ascribed to “managerial factors” with the average of 3.79.ConclusionIn a general conclusion, it can be concluded that the role of human factors in the occurrence and intensification of floods was much greater than rainfall. Therefore, in order to manage and control floods, it is necessary to prevent the change of land use and the reduction of permeability. And management programs should be aimed at increasing surface permeability. We suggest that more research be done on the role of economic and social factors in increasing flood risk in other climate zones

Antimalarial Drug Quality in the Most Severely Malarious Parts of Africa – A Six Country Study

A range of antimalarial drugs were procured from private pharmacies in urban and peri-urban areas in the major cities of six African countries, situated in the part of that continent and the world that is most highly endemic for malaria. Semi-quantitative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and dissolution testing were used to measure active pharmaceutical ingredient content against internationally acceptable standards. 35% of all samples tested failed either or both tests, and were substandard. Further, 33% of treatments collected were artemisinin monotherapies, most of which (78%) were manufactured in disobservance of an appeal by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to withdraw these clinically inappropriate medicines from the market. The high persistence of substandard drugs and clinically inappropriate artemisinin monotherapies in the private sector risks patient safety and, through drug resistance, places the future of malaria treatment at risk globally

The matricellular protein TSP1 promotes human and mouse endothelial cell senescence through CD47 and Nox1.

Senescent cells withdraw from the cell cycle and do not proliferate. The prevalence of senescent compared to normally functioning parenchymal cells increases with age, impairing tissue and organ homeostasis. A contentious principle governing this process has been the redox theory of aging. We linked matricellular protein thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) and its receptor CD47 to the activation of NADPH oxidase 1 (Nox1), but not of the other closely related Nox isoforms, and associated oxidative stress, and to senescence in human cells and aged tissue. In human endothelial cells, TSP1 promoted senescence and attenuated cell cycle progression and proliferation. At the molecular level, TSP1 increased Nox1-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to the increased abundance of the transcription factor p53. p53 mediated a DNA damage response that led to senescence through Rb and p21cip, both of which inhibit cell cycle progression. Nox1 inhibition blocked the ability of TSP1 to increase p53 nuclear localization and p21cip abundance and its ability to promote senescence. Mice lacking TSP1 showed decreases in ROS production, p21cip expression, p53 activity, and aging-induced senescence. Conversely, lung tissue from aging humans displayed increases in the abundance of vascular TSP1, Nox1, p53, and p21cip Finally, genetic ablation or pharmacological blockade of Nox1 in human endothelial cells attenuated TSP1-mediated ROS generation, restored cell cycle progression, and protected against senescence. Together, our results provide insights into the functional interplay between TSP1 and Nox1 in the regulation of endothelial senescence and suggest potential targets for controlling the aging process at the molecular level

Corrigendum to �Targeted gold nanoparticles enable molecular CT imaging of head and neck cancer: An in vivo study� (International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (2019) 114, (S1357272519301256), (10.1016/j.biocel.2019.06.002))

The authors would like to highlight that the first 3 figures in this article show data that is either identical or similar to that reported in our previous paper published in Materials Science and Engineering: C 89, 182�193. These figures have been reproduced with permission from Elsevier and were included in response to recommendations received from the both referees who reviewed our manuscript to include characterization data on the structure of the nanoparticles used. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

A Dynamic Knowledge Management Framework for the High Value Manufacturing Industry

Dynamic Knowledge Management (KM) is a combination of cultural and technological factors, including the cultural factors of people and their motivations, technological factors of content and infrastructure and, where these both come together, interface factors. In this paper a Dynamic KM framework is described in the context of employees being motivated to create profit for their company through product development in high value manufacturing. It is reported how the framework was discussed during a meeting of the collaborating company’s (BAE Systems) project stakeholders. Participants agreed the framework would have most benefit at the start of the product lifecycle before key decisions were made. The framework has been designed to support organisational learning and to reward employees that improve the position of the company in the market place