Evaluation of yield, yield components and nutritive value in intercropping of Barley with Vetch

To evaluate some agronomic properties and forage characteristics in the intercropping of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and vetch (Vicia ervilia L.), an experiment was conducted during 2014-2016 cropping seasons. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. Intercropping patterns included 80% barley+ 20% vetch, 60% barley+ 40% vetch, 40% barley + 60% vetch and 20% barley + 80% vetch along with the sole culture of both crops (100% barley and100% vetch). The result showed that the highest value of plant height, grain number, thousand-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest in barley was observed from 80% barley + 20% vetch intercropping ratio, however, for vetch, it was detected from 100% vetch. Furthermore, the highest land equivalent ratio was obtained from 80% barley+ 20% vetch. Based on the results, the highest crude protein content and dry matter digestibility were observed in sole cropped vetch, whereas the highest neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were recorded in sole cropped barley. These results suggested that intercropped barley and vetch as 80% barley + 20% vetch ameliorated the grain yield and yield components, and forage quality compared to other intercropping ratios

The driver responses to the vibration of tractor

Whole body vibration is one of the main causes of musculoskeletal disorders of drivers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the allowable exposer time, the care limit and driver response to the vibrations of the seat of ITM 475 Tractor. A three-way accelerometer was used to carry out the tests in the present study based on the ISO 2631-1 international vibration standard. The studied factors were engine rotational speed at three levels of 1000, 1500 and 2000 rpms, gear ratio (1, 2 and 3) and road at two level, dirt and asphalt. The obtained data were analyzed through factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 18 treatments and three replications. The results showed that effects of the main factors and those of their interactions on the total vibration emitted from the tractor seat were significant at 1% probability level. The highest amount of whole body vibration on a dirt road was 1.49 m s-2 which took placed at 2000 rpm and the 3rd gear ratio. Consequently, the minimum exposure time and the driver care time limit were 1.16 and 0.14 h, respectively. This treatment was in very uncomfortable range. The maximum whole body vibration for 8 h ride on ITM 475 was 0.85 m s-2. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce whole body vibration of the studied tractor via designing a cabin and/or a new seat

Routine genetic screening with a multi-gene panel in patients with pheochromocytomas

PURPOSE: Several new gene mutations have been reported in recent years to be associated with a risk of familial pheochromocytoma. However, it is unclear as to whether extensive genetic testing is required in all patients. METHODS: The clinical data of consecutive patients operated for pheochromocytoma over a decade in a tertiary referral center were reviewed. Genetic screening was performed using a 10-gene panel: RET, VHL, SDHB, SDHD, SDHA, SDHC, SDHAF2, MAX, TMEM127 and FH. RESULTS: A total of 166 patients were analyzed: 87 of them had genetic screening performed (39 M: 44.8%, 48 F: 55.2%, age range 6-81 years, mean 45±16.8 years). In total, 22/87 (25.3%) patients had germline mutations, while 65/87 (74.7%) patients presented with apparently sporadic tumors. Germline VHL mutations were identified in 11.7% of patients, RET in 6.8% (five MEN2A/MEN2 and one MEN2B/MEN3), SDHD in 2.3%, MAX in 2.3%, SDHB in 1.1%, and TMEM127 in 1.1% of patients. At diagnosis, 15.1% of patients with unilateral non-syndromic pheochromocytoma showed germline mutations. We identified 19.7% of mutations in patients with unilateral-non-recurrent pheochromocytomas within 5 years vs. 50% in the recurrent-bilateral-metastatic group (p = 0.01). Germline mutations were more frequently seen with bilateral pheochromocytomas (p = 0.001): 80% of patients with bilateral disease had germline mutations (4 VHL, 3 RET, 1 MAX). CONCLUSIONS: The advent of rapid genetic screening using a gene-panel makes it feasible to screen large cohorts of patients and provides a valuable tool to contribute to the prediction of bilateral and malignant disease and to screen family members

A Simple, Inexpensive and Safe Method for DNA Extraction of Frigid and Clotted Blood Samples

Background: Extraction of blood genomicDNAis one of the main approaches for clinical and molecular biology studies. Although several methods have been developed for extraction of blood genomic DNA, most of these methods consume long time and use expensive chemicals such as proteinase K and toxic organic solvent such as phenol and chloroform. The objective of this study was to developed easy and safe method forDNAextraction from clotted and frozen whole blood. This method has many advantages: time reducing, using inexpensive materials, without phenol and chloroform, achieving of high molecular weight and good quality genomicDNA.Materials and Methods: DNA extraction was performed by two methods (new and phenol-chloroform method). Then quantity and quality parameters were evaluated by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis, Nano drop analysis and efficiency of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).Results: Extracted DNA from 500μL of blood samples were 457.7ng/μl and 212ng/μL and their purity (OD260/OD280) were 1.8 and 1.81 for new recommended and phenol–chloroform methods respectively. The PCR results indicated that D16S539 and CSF1PO loci were amplified.Conclusion: These results shown that this method is simple, fast, safe and most economical

Planning and Formulating Environmental Management Strategies of Anzali International Wetland for Sustainable Development

Strategic planning and management is one of the most important factors of management systems in an organization. The purpose of this study was to plan, develop and prioritize the environmental management strategies of Anzali International Wetland for sustainable development. For this purpose, at the first listing and determining internal and external factors were done using questionnaires and Likert scale. Then SWOT analysis and quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) were used. The current strategic position of the environmental management of Anzali Wetland was recognized as defensive. Defensive strategies were prioritized according to the results of the QSPM matrix. The most important defensive strategies were attention to participatory planning, communication and regional cooperation in order to protect the ecological and economic services of the wetland with a score of 5.368 followed by improving and upgrading the integrated system of comprehensive management of the wetland with a score of 5.198. Strategic planning and management in Anzali Wetland can lead to optimal resource management and adoption of appropriate environmental policies in order to protect this wetland

Design, construction and evaluation of a sprayer drift measurement system

Spray drift study for reducing environmental hazards and protecting crops is of high importance as the pesticides used today are more active and many are non-selective. Drift potential can be restricted by assessing and optimizing equipment design, application parameters, the liquid spray properties, type of formulation and environmental conditions. The aim of this research was to design, construct and assess an intelligent system to determine the level of the spraying drift. The main parts of the system were liquid supply mechanism, pipes and nozzles, a controlled pneumatic system to pressurize the liquid, a nozzle moving system with a controlling panel and a tunnel for wind providing and control. To assess the performance of sprayer and drift of droplets, water sensitive papers were placed in different distances from the nozzle considering different environmental conditions including: wind speed, spraying pressure and height. The evaluation results showed that the drift was increased with increasing of sparing pressure and nozzle height.

Overexpression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in gastric cancer and its correlation with overall survival of the patients

BACKGROUND: Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is an adhesion molecule which is expressed on the epithelial cells and primarily identified as a tumor marker for carcinoma. In this study, the expression of EpCAM in precancerous and cancerous gastric lesions was investigated and then, the association of EpCAM expression with the overall survival of patient suffering from gastric carcinoma was evaluated.METHODS: 12 gastric carcinoma, 3 dysplasia, and 8 intestinal metaplasia (IM) subjects were taken from the department of pathology of Tohid Hospital, Sanandaj, Iran. The diagnosis was made by the expert pathologist. Then, the subjects were stained for EpCAM by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and analyzed by the pathologist.RESULTS: The data showed that EpCAM was expressed in all of the precancerous and cancerous samples. However, 76.4% of carcinoma cells were positive for EpCAM while it was 62.5% and 51.3% for dysplasia and IM, respectively. Importantly, it was observed that the expression of EpCAM on gastric cancer was negatively correlated with the overall survival of the patients.CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it was demonstrated in this study that EpCAM is expressed in gastric carcinoma and its expression is negatively correlated with the overall survival of the patients with gastric cancer