Occurrence and description of Dactylogyrus sphyrna Linstow, 1878 (Monogenea: Dactylogyride) on the gills of an Iranian endemic fish Leucisucs persidis Coad, 1981 as a new host

Leuciscus persidis as Iranian endemic fish in Kaftar lake and its headwaters (Mesopotamian subregion, Kor-Neiriz basin and Shadkam river) has been infected with a species of Dactylogyrus sphyrna. Comparison of collected parasites with Euro-Asian subregion showed that the similarity of them is more than their differences, although a little difference between them was observed. In this paper also introduce of Dactylogyrus sphyrna parasite to the new host is discussed

Virtual Net Propagator: A cloud-based computational tool for systemic decision propagation analysis

Today's organizations are witnessing a growing complexity in making interconnected decisions. Where individuals have a wider range of decisions to influence, the consequence of decisions far more propagate across the system, and the business environment continually influences the status of the system. Predicting the cascading effects of decisions in such situations would be very problematic yet can have several implications for managers and executives to think beyond organizational silos and make local decision with a bigger picture of emergent consequences in mind. A prominent challenge within this realm is the ever-increasing complexity of decision propagations, especially when incorporating the role and influence of people involved in decision-making. This paper tackles this challenge from an engineering change perspective, with the focus on computing the compound risk of decisions when their consequences concurrently propagate across the system. We introduce an interactive tool called Virtual Net Propagator, which incorporates organizational dynamics into decision analysis, with the aim to identify change opportunities and effective set of interventions. Illustrated by a field engineering case study, it is demonstrated that the proposed tool can provide detailed knowledge on how decisions are interconnected and how systemic (cascading) effects of a decision propagate through causal pathways, so highlighting key influencers along with role and influence of interfacing (hidden) players

An investigation on fish parasites in Hanna Wetland, Semirom, Isfahan Province

As a part of a major ecological study of Hanna Wetland, Semirum Region, Isfahan Province, parasitic infestation of 3 native and one introduced fish species were investigated. A total of 120 fish specimens were collected by both cast net and a series of gillnets between fall and winter 2007, and spring and summer 2008. Some of the observed parasites are reported for the first time as new host records of: Trichodina perforata on gill and skin of Carassius auratus auratus and three species of leeches namely: Glossiphonia heteroclite, Thromyzon tessulatum and Hemiclepsis marginata on the skin and fin bases of Capoeta damascina. Moreover, 14 internal and external parasites including: one protozoan; Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and two myxosporeans; Myxobolus varicorhini, Myxobolus sp., three monogeneans; Dactylogyrus lenkoran, Dactylogyrus intermedius and Gyrodactylus sp., two immature digeneans; Diplostomum spathaceum, Tylodephys sp., two mature digeneans; Allocreadium isoporum and A. layman, one unknown cyst, one Acanthocephalan; Acanthocephalorhynchoides sp., one cestoda; Khawia armeniaca. The highest prevalence of Diplostomum spathaceum (100%) was observed in Aphanius isfahanensis and Alburnus sp. However, the lowest prevalence was related to A. layman in Capoeta damascina in winter (0%), and autumn and spring (11%). Leeches infections were only observed in Capoeta damascina and Alburnus sp. in winter and summer, respectively. The maximum average (±SD) infection intensity belonged to K. armeniaca in intestine of C. damascina in spring (12.50±3.40, range: 8-16). Among the parasites identified in the region, D. spathaceum showed the highest mean (±SD) abundance (41.67±11.79) in C. auratus auratus in spring. In general, a relatively high diversity of fish parasitic fauna exists in this water body which could jeopardize fish populations and the whole ecosystem if the ecological status of the Hanna Wetland is neglected

Intracellular ROS Protection Efficiency and Free Radical-Scavenging Activity of Curcumin

Curcumin has many pharmaceutical applications, many of which arise from its potent antioxidant properties. The present research examined the antioxidant activities of curcumin in polar solvents by a comparative study using ESR, reduction of ferric iron in aqueous medium and intracellular ROS/toxicity assays. ESR data indicated that the steric hindrance among adjacent big size groups within a galvinoxyl molecule limited the curcumin to scavenge galvinoxyl radicals effectively, while curcumin showed a powerful capacity for scavenging intracellular smaller oxidative molecules such as H2O2, HO•, ROO•. Cell viability and ROS assays demonstrated that curcumin was able to penetrate into the polar medium inside the cells and to protect them against the highly toxic and lethal effects of cumene hydroperoxide. Curcumin also showed good electron-transfer capability, with greater activity than trolox in aqueous solution. Curcumin can readily transfer electron or easily donate H-atom from two phenolic sites to scavenge free radicals. The excellent electron transfer capability of curcumin is because of its unique structure and different functional groups, including a β-diketone and several π electrons that have the capacity to conjugate between two phenyl rings. Therfore, since curcumin is inherently a lipophilic compound, because of its superb intracellular ROS scavenging activity, it can be used as an effective antioxidant for ROS protection within the polar cytoplasm

Stable three-dimensional (un)charged AdS gravastars in gravity's rainbow

In this work, we study the three-dimensional AdS gravitational vacuum stars (gravastars) in the context of gravity's rainbow theory. Then we extend it by adding the Maxwell electromagnetic field. We compute the physical features of gravastars, such as proper length, energy, entropy, and junction conditions. Our results show that the physical parameters for charged and uncharged states depend significantly on rainbow functions. Besides from charged state, they also depend on the electric field. Finally, we explore the stability of thin shell of three-dimensional (un)charged AdS gravastars in gravity's rainbow. We show that the structure of thin shell of these gravastars may be stable and is independent of the type of matter.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figure

Myxobolus spp. (Myxosporea: Myxobolidea) from fishes of the Zayandeh-rud River (Esfahan, Iran); new hosts and locality record

In a parasitic survey of the native and introduced fishes in the Zayandeh-rud River, 5 Myxobolus spp. were found in the gills, fins and skin of examined fish specimens. They include M. varicorhini from fin and M. samgoricus from skin of Capoeta damascina, M. musajevi from gills of Capoeta capoeta gracilis, Myxobolus cristatus from Capoeta aculeata, and M. saidovi from Alburnus sp. Data on the location in the hosts comparing with previous records are provided. The epidemiological importance of Myxobolus spp. in Zayandeh-rud River is also presented. In the present paper the occurrence of five Myxobolus spp. all from endemic fishes from Zayandeh-rud River (a new locality) are recorded from two new hosts; Capoeta damascina, Capoeta aculeata. M. varicorhini and M. saidovi are recorded for the first time from Iranian freshwater fishes

Fish parasites in Valasht Lake and Chalus River

Fish parasites from Valasht Lake and Chalus River were studied in spring 2005 and summer 2006. Fish specimens were caught by hand net and transported to local laboratory alive. We found three protozoa species, Trichodina trutta and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis on Oncorhynchus mykiss; and Chilodonella hexastica on the skin of 0. mykiss and Leuciscus cephalus. We also separated metazoan parasites from the fish in the two sampling sites that included Gyrodactylus derjavini infecting skin and gill of O. mykiss, G. spl infecting Alburnoides bipunctatus, G. sp2 from Barbus capito and G. sp3 from Capoeta capoeta gracilis and Tetraonchus menonteron that infested the gills of Esox lucius. Other parasites which we found were Myxobolus saidovi from the gills of C. c. gracilis, Bothriocephalus gowkongensis from intestine of Barbus capito, Raphidascaris acus from intestine of E. lucius and finally Argulus foliaceus from skin of Chalcalburnus chalcoides. This is a first time report of a new host, B. capito for Bothriocephalus gowkongensis and a new locality Chalus River for Myxobolus saidovi parasites. Furthermore, with the exception of Tetraonchus menonteron which have been reported before, the rest of the parasites of the fishes from Valasht Lake are reported for the first time

Acquired Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis Due to Multiple and Unusual HPV Infection Among Vertically-Infected, HIV-Positive Adolescents in Zimbabwe

We have characterized the EV-like dermatosis of acquired HIV in 4 adolescents. Multiple HPV types were isolated in skin tissue samples, including β-HPV, but also high levels of HPV 1 and 2. ARV did not improve the EV eruption

The Hospitalization Rate of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis before and during COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study

Objectives: There are several reports of the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). In this study, we aimed to compare the hospitalization rate of CVST before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (before vaccination program). Materials and methods: In this retrospective cohort study, the hospitalization rate of adult CVST patients in Namazi hospital, a tertiary referral center in the south of Iran, was compared in two periods of time. We defined March 2018 to March 2019 as the pre-COVID-19 period and March 2020 to March 2021 as the COVID-19 period. Results: 50 and 77 adult CVST patients were hospitalized in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, respectively. The crude CVST hospitalization rate increased from 14.33 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 21.7 per million in the COVID-19 era (P = 0.021). However, after age and sex adjustment, the incremental trend in hospitalization rate was not significant (95% CrI: -2.2, 5.14). Patients \u3e 50-year-old were more often hospitalized in the COVID-19 period (P = 0.042). SARS-CoV-2 PCR test was done in 49.3% out of all COVID-19 period patients, which were positive in 6.5%. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≥3 at three-month follow-up was associated with age (P = 0.015) and malignancy (P = 0.014) in pre-COVID period; and was associated with age (P = 0.025), altered mental status on admission time (P\u3c0.001), malignancy (P = 0.041) and COVID-19 infection (P = 0.008) in COVID-19 period. Conclusion: Since there was a more dismal outcome in COVID-19 associated CVST, a high index of suspicion for CVST among COVID-19 positive is recommended