Identifying Indicators of Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Paddy Fields of Guilan Province

I n recent years, agriculture has become the prime polluter of natural resources. It is therefore essential to make assessments based on reliable indicators to ensure that an agricultural system remains not only productive, but also ecologically sound. A large area of arable land in Guilan province is devoted to rice cultivation so the transition to environmentally sound agricultural practice in paddy fields of the province is an important strategy. The main purpose of this study was to present a new and comprehensive framework for assessing environmentally sound agricultural practice applicable to the paddy fields in Guilan Province. A review of the relevant literature identified environmentally sound indicators that had been used by researchers in recent years. Then some parameters were introduced for examination and prioritization. The proposed structural model includes seven factors and 21 indicators. The target population included university faculty members and researchers who were familiar with the concepts of agricultural sustainability and that were familiar with the Guilan paddy fields. A structural on-line questionnaire was the main instrument used to gather information. Based on experts' points of view, the coefficient of significance for each of the selected indicators was measured using the Yager fuzzy screening method. The results obtained from structured questionnaires showed that 20 of the 21 indicators were appropriate for assessing environmentally sustainable agriculture. Abstract International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD

Identifying Indicators of Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Paddy Fields of Guilan Province

In recent years, agriculture has become the prime polluter of natural resources. It is therefore essential to make assessments based on reliable indicators to ensure that an agricultural system remains not only productive, but also ecologically sound. A large area of arable land in Guilan province is devoted to rice cultivation so the transition to environmentally sound agricultural practice in paddy fields of the province is an important strategy. The main purpose of this study was to present a new and comprehensive framework for assessing environmentally sound agricultural practice applicable to the paddy fields in Guilan Province. A review of the relevant literature identified environmentally sound indicators that had been used by researchers in recent years. Then some parameters were introduced for examination and prioritization. The proposed structural model includes seven factors and 21 indicators. The target population included university faculty members and researchers who were familiar with the concepts of agricultural sustainability and that were familiar with the Guilan paddy fields. A structural on-line questionnaire was the main instrument used to gather information. Based on experts’ points of view, the coefficient of significance for each of the selected indicators was measured using the Yager fuzzy screening method. The results obtained from structured questionnaires showed that 20 of the 21 indicators were appropriate for assessing environmentally sustainable agriculture

Bilateral Primary Breast Lymphoma in A Teenage Girl with Multi-Organ Involvement

We present 16 years old girl with primary breast lymphoma involving the both breasts simultaneously and co-incidence of central nervous system (CNS) involvement which originated from the breast, in addition to evidence of lymphoma in multi-organ such as skin, mediastinum and some abdominal viscera. Bilaterality has been observed in some series, but reports are few and series are often very small. Radiologic features may be indistinguishable from those of the other breast malignancies, but it can be concluded that primary involvement of the breast with lymphoma should be considered when breast mass or inflammatory changes occur in a patient without any previously diagnosed lymphoma. The clinical behavior, imaging and therapeutic procedures are discussed. The findings of this report may have clinical impact on oncologists or that may alter the disease concept of bilateral breast lymphoma

Autopsy Findings of Brainstem in Head Trauma in Comparison with CT Scan Findings in Brain Trauma Ward in Tabriz, Iran

Computed tomography (CT) is now the primary diagnostic method for head trauma because of its ability to demonstrate the nature, extent, sites, and multiplicity of brain injuries. Although there have been numerous reports on the CT findings of most types of intracranial injury, the findings in brainstem injury have not been well described. This study aimed at comparing the autopsy findings of brainstem in head trauma in comparison with CT scan results. Two hundred patients with head trauma, who expired after a period of time of hospitalization, were assessed in a diagnostic value study. Brain stem involvement was determined by autopsy as well as CT scanning of the brain during their hospitalization. The results of the two methods were compared with each other, emphasizing on the type and location of probable lesions in the brain stem. Considering the autopsy as the method of the choice, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of CT scan in brain stem lesions of patients with head trauma were calculated. The effect of primary cause of head trauma, survival time and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) were evaluated, as well. Brain stem lesions were detected in 39 (19.5%) patients in autopsy. However, CT scan revealed brain stem lesions in 23(11.5%) cases. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of CT scan was 59%, 100%, 100% and 91% respectively. The most common lesions of the brain stem region were as contusion of pons (8.5%), medulla (5%) and midbrain (4.5%). There were 6 (3%) cases of ponto-medullary junction tearing and 1 (0.5%) case of cervico-medullary junction tearing. CT scan is a specific method of evaluating patients with probable brain stem injuries after head trauma, but low sensitivity limits its efficacy. Our results are in conformity with the reports in the literature

Thrombolytic Therapy for Cerebral Vein Thrombosis in Antiphospholipid Syndrome Secondary to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

A 20-year-old woman was admitted to a Gynecology Hospital in her 6th month of pregnancy for high blood pressure and tonic-clonic seizure. Primary diagnosis was eclampsia, and for that reason she underwent cesarean section. She also had headache on frontal and parietal areas without nausea or vomiting. There was not a focal neurological sign. Rheumatology consultation was requested. Sys-temic lupus erythematosus and secondary antiphospholipid (APS) was confirmed. The patient had headache that continued several days after cesarean section, therefore, brain magnetic resonance im-aging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) were performed, and cerebral vein thrombosis was documented. Distal segment of right lateral sinus and sigmoid sinus were not ap-peared in brain MRV. Abnormal hypersignal intensity of right lateral sinus/coronal T2 was detected. Thrombolytic therapy with 20 mg tissue plasminogen activator on right sigmoid and transverse sinus was performed by an interventional neurologist. After this procedure, the patient's headache healed and she was discharged in a good condition

Assessment of Ultrasound / Radio-guided Occult Lesion Localization in Non-palpable Breast Lesions

Objective(s): Controversy exists about the localization of non-palpable breast lesions. In many countries, the gold standard for the diagnosis of these lesions is needle localization due to its accuracy. This study sought to compare the ultrasoundand radio-guided occult lesion localization (ROLL) as a simple method with the conventional procedures in terms of their diagnostic power. Methods: This study was conducted on 94 patients with non-palpable breast lesions detected by ultrasonography and localized by the combination of ultrasonography and using radiopharmaceuticals. One to ten hours prior to surgery, 0.1-0.2 ml (equivalent to 0.5-1 mCi) of Tc-99m-phytate was injected to the lesion under the guidance of ultrasonography. Then, the lesion was localized using a hand-held gamma probe, and excision of the lesion was performed according to its radioactivity signal. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, version 16. Results: Benign and malignant pathologic results were observed in 77 (81.9%) and 17(18.1%) of the patients, respectively, and the mean volume of the excised tissue was 26.29±27 mm³. 79 patients had a solitary lesion (84%), 55 in the left breast (58.5%) and 39 in superolateral quadrant (41.5%). The mean size of the lesions was 15.7 mm in diameter (ranging from 4 to 34 mm). Additionally, there was a need to secondary surgery in 3 (3.2%) patients and inappropriate localization in 6 (6.4%) patients (subcutaneous or intra-ductal spread of radiodrug). Conclusion: Combination of ultrasound- and radio-guided localization methods for localizing non-palpable breast lesions is a simple and acceptable method for localization with no significant complications. For radio-drug spread and subsequent excessive excised tissue volume, subcutaneous and intra-ductal lesions are not suitable indication for ROLL

カルカッタ港の発展

textabstractThe affinity of zeolite nanoparticles (diameter of 8-12 nm) possessing high surface area and high pore volume towards human plasma proteins has been investigated. The protein composition (corona) of zeolite nanoparticles has been shown to be more dependent on the plasma protein concentrations and the type of zeolites than zeolite nanoparticles concentration. The number of proteins present in the corona of zeolite nanoparticles at 100% plasma (in vivo state) is less than with 10% plasma exposure. This could be due to a competition between the proteins to occupy the corona of the zeolite nanoparticles. Moreover, a high selective adsorption for apolipoprotein C-III (APOC-III) and fibrinogen on the zeolite nanoparticles at high plasma concentration (100%) was observed. While the zeolite nanoparticles exposed to low plasma concentration (10%) exhibited a high selective adsorption for immunoglobulin gamma (i.e. IGHG1, IGHG2 and IGHG4) proteins. The zeolite nanoparticles can potentially be used for selectively capture of APOC-III in order to reduce the activation of lipoprotein lipase inhibition during hypertriglyceridemia treatment. The zeolite nanoparticles can be adapted to hemophilic patients (hemophilia A (F-VIII deficient) and hemophilia B (F-IX deficient)) with a risk of bleeding, and thus might be potentially used in combination with the existing therapy