Chemical and microbiological changes of salted Caspian kutum (Rutilus frisii kutum) roe

Salted kutum roe was prepared by soaking in brine to a traditional procedure. Proximate composition (moisture, protein, lipid, pH, ash and salt content), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), fatty acid profiles and microbiological characteristics of raw and salted roe of Caspian white fish (Rutilus frisii kutum) were determined. The results indicated that protein and moisture contents were significantly higher in raw roe compared to salted one (28.81 and 61.07% to 23.99 and 51.57%, respectively). Significant differences in ash and salt contents were obtained among different treatments. TVB-N in all samples was less than 25mg/100g. The gas chromatography (GC) analysis showed that the major saturated fatty, monounsaturated fatty acids and poly unsaturated fatty acids were 16:0, 18:1n-9, and 22:6n-3, respectively. Aerobic plate count (APC) and Total Coliform Count (TC) in all samples were significantly higher (p<0.05) in raw roe (5.33 logCFU/g and 210 MPN/g) compared to salted roe (1.23 log CFU/g and 1.2 MPN/g). None of the samples contained Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens or yeast

The improvement of Mo/4H-SiC Schottky diodes via a P2O5 surface passivation treatment

Molybdenum (Mo)/4H-silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky barrier diodes have been fabricated with a phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) surface passivation treatment performed on the SiC surface prior to metallization. Compared to the untreated diodes, the P2O5-treated diodes were found to have a lower Schottky barrier height by 0.11 eV and a lower leakage current by two to three orders of magnitude. Physical characterization of the P2O5-treated Mo/SiC interfaces revealed that there are two primary causes for the improvement in electrical performance. First, transmission electron microscopy imaging showed that nanopits filled with silicon dioxide had formed at the surface after the P2O5 treatment that terminates potential leakage paths. Second, secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a high concentration of phosphorus atoms near the interface. While only a fraction of these are active, a small increase in doping at the interface is responsible for the reduction in barrier height. Comparisons were made between the P2O5 pretreatment and oxygen (O2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) pretreatments that do not form the same nanopits and do not reduce leakage current. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that SiC beneath the deposited P2O5 oxide retains a Si-rich interface unlike the N2O and O2 treatments that consume SiC and trap carbon at the interface. Finally, after annealing, the Mo/SiC interface forms almost no silicide, leaving the enhancement to the subsurface in place, explaining why the P2O5 treatment has had no effect on nickel- or titanium-SiC contacts

Effects of light regimes on growth and survival of Penaeus semisuleatus

We investigated the possible effects of light regimes on growth and survival rate of juvenile shrimp Penaeus semisuicants cultured in Bushehr Province, southern Iran. Five light regimes each with three replications were applied for 30 days. The treatments were 24 1 0, 18 / 6, 12 1 12, 6 1 18 and 0 124 hours of light and darkness. We found that the treatment 12 7 12 hours of light and darkness was better than 18 1 6 and significantly superior to other treatments (P<0.05). The lowest growth rate was seen in the treatment 24 / 0 (P<0.001 ). We did not find a significant difference in the survival rate of the shrimps cultured in the light and darkness treatments (P<0.05)

Effect of hot-water extract of brown seaweed Sargassum glaucescens via immersion route on immune responses of Fenneropenaeus indicus

The development of shrimp aquaculture, in spite of its global necessity, is largely at stake as significant ecological and pathological problems are increasing in the vast majority of the shrimp producing countries. Shrimp immunology is a key element in establishing strategies for controlling diseases in shrimp aquaculture. The total haemocyte count (THC), differential haemocyte count (DHC), total plasma protein (TPP), Phagocytic activity (PA), bacterial clearance efficiency (BCE) and bactericidal activity (BE) were examined when the F. indicus shrimps (11.32±1.20 g) were immersed in seawater (39 ppt and 25 ± 1 ºC) containing hot-water extracts of brown alga Sargassum glaucescens at 100, 300 and 500 mg/l. These parameters increased significantly (p < 0.05) when the shrimp were immersed in seawater containing hot-water extracts at 100 mg/l after 3h and 300 and 500 mg/l after 2 h. F. indicus shrimps that were immersed in hot-water extracts at 300 and 500 mg/l had increased phagocytic activity and clearance efficiency to Vibrio spp. after 2 hours. But bactericidal activity increased significantly after 1 hour in the same concentrations

Effects of Shear Wave Velocity Profile of Soil on Seismic Response of High Rise Buildings

There is, nowadays, a conspicuous demand for the high rise buildings in the high-density dwellings of the urban areas; in consequence, harnessing the whiz-bang numerical simulations plus conducting the rigorous experimental studies so as to design and construct such prodigious structures would be essential. Thus, the appropriate parameters for modeling the structure and the soil medium in the Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) system should be selected. The soil-structure interaction is referred to the process in which the soil response is told on by the structure motion whilst the latter is affected by the soil motion. The current research zeroed in on the soil shear wave velocity and its influence on the superstructure performance. Invoking the weighted average shear wave velocity with the aim of calculating the soil shear modulus, which is closely related to the strength and deformation characteristics of the soil, has been a hotly debated issue since the aforesaid parameter was posited by a plethora of codes and regulations to obtain the soil site classification required for the earthquake design. To that end, the numerical model, having two assorted profiles associated with the shear wave velocity, namely, the in situ non-uniform profile (Case A) and the equivalent uniform profile (Case B), was built by means of FLAC3D, capable of analyzing the complex interaction issues via the direct method whereby the entire system of the structure-foundation-soil is modeled and analyzed in one single step. To put it in a nutshell, employing the weighted average shear wave velocity for the entire soil mass in parsing of the 3D seismic soil-structure interaction problems would be accused for ending up with somewhat unreliable results, e.g., underestimated drift ratio and building deformation, which might be the culprit of the damage to the building and possibly the death of the residents residing in the earthquake-prone zones

Electrical manipulation of spin states in a single electrostatically gated transition-metal complex

We demonstrate an electrically controlled high-spin (S=5/2) to low-spin (S=1/2) transition in a three-terminal device incorporating a single Mn2+ ion coordinated by two terpyridine ligands. By adjusting the gate-voltage we reduce the terpyridine moiety and thereby strengthen the ligand-field on the Mn-atom. Adding a single electron thus stabilizes the low-spin configuration and the corresponding sequential tunnelling current is suppressed by spin-blockade. From low-temperature inelastic cotunneling spectroscopy, we infer the magnetic excitation spectrum of the molecule and uncover also a strongly gate-dependent singlet-triplet splitting on the low-spin side. The measured bias-spectroscopy is shown to be consistent with an exact diagonalization of the Mn-complex, and an interpretation of the data is given in terms of a simplified effective model.Comment: Will appear soon in Nanoletter

Strong polarization-induced reduction of addition energies in single-molecule nanojunctions

We address polarization-induced renormalization of molecular levels in solid-state based single-molecule transistors and focus on an organic conjugate molecule where a surprisingly large reduction of the addition energy has been observed. We have developed a scheme that combines a self-consistent solution of a quantum chemical calculation with a realistic description of the screening environment. Our results indeed show a large reduction, and we explain this to be a consequence of both (a) a reduction of the electrostatic molecular charging energy and (b) polarization induced level shifts of the HOMO and LUMO levels. Finally, we calculate the charge stability diagram and explain at a qualitative level general features observed experimentally.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Prevalence of Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus infections among patients candidate for orthopedic trauma surgeries

Background: Infectious diseases are major public health problems, among which blood-borne ones are the most important infections. Patients who undergo orthopedic surgery are at higher risk of transmitting infectious diseases from and to others, due to repeated blood examinations and injection, drains secretion and receiving blood products. Accordingly, in this study we determined prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections in patients who underwent surgery in a general training hospital. Methods: In this cross-sectional study the prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV infections was determined among 320 patients under orthopedic trauma surgeries in a general training hospital in Tehran, Iran from 2009 to 2011. Associations of these rates with age, gender, marital status, residence location, substance abuse history, hospital admission history, previous surgery, blood transfusion, dentistry procedures, and previous medical history were also assessed. Results: A total of 320 patients (290 male, 30 female) were studied. Ten patients (3.2) had at least one of these three infections. Totally 10 patients (3.2), 2 subjects (0.6), and 8 patients (2.5) had HCV, HIV, and HBV infections, respectively. None of the evaluated variables had significant relationship with HCV, HBV, and HIV infections (p > 0.05). Conclusion: According to the obtained results, routine use of diagnostic tests for infectious disease such as HIV and viral hepatitis is recommended and should be considered before orthopedic operations

Risk of superior gluteal nerve injury after using ante-grade femoral nailing

Antegrade intramedullary femoral nailing (AIFN) is used as the preferred treatment for diaphyseal and subtrochanteric femur fractures. Nevertheless, clinically important complications associated with obtaining nail entry including loss of hip abductor strength, chronic hip pain, heterotopic ossification and femoral head osteonecrosis have been previously shown.This study was aimed to evaluate the risk of injury to the superior gluteal nerve when Ante-grade femoral nailing is used for insertion. In current study, 25 patients with femoral shaft fractures were included in this study that 21 were male with an average age of 25.40 years, Also 4 cases were female with an average age of 28.20 years. The patients were between the ages of 93 to 05 years. EMG-MCV was taken from all patients and were reported by neurologist. Plain radiographs were taken from all patients. Pain intensity of patients in the last month were identified from 4 to 944 according to the patients statements. The frequency of patients with subjective lameness separately with or no signs was determined. In terms of the pain score, its average among all patients was calculated to be 4.92, while the average of 4.75 among men was calculated. Among women, the average was 5.60. All patients had a mean duration of 3.64 months for using crutches, that the average duration of 3.80 months for men and 3 months for women were calculated.In terms of subjective limping, 15 patients (60) complained from limping, while 10 people were not affected (40 ), of which, 12 patients (80) was belonged to men group and 3 patients (20) were assigned in women group. 5 patients were diagnosed with atrophy of gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles that, 3 patients were male (60) and 2 cases (40) were women respectively. EMG-NCV indicated that the Superior gluteal nerve injury had occurred in 2 patients (8) and myogenic damage of gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles in 5 patients (20). Our study indicated that the superior gluteal nerve injury had occurred in 2 8 of patients and myogenic damage of gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles in 20