Growth performance, hematology and immunological parameters of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, fed with diets containing different levels of vitamin E and folic acid

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary levels of vitamins E (25, 30 and 35 mg kg^-1), Folic Acid (1.5, 2 and 2.5 mg kg^-1) and their combination on the growth performance, hematological and immunological parameters of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Each diet was fed to rainbow trout in triplicate to apparent satiation four times daily for 8 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, the final body weight (FBW), total length (TL), feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR) and survival rate were significantly affected by treatments and the fish fed with the diet containing 35 mg kg^-1 vitamin E plus 2.5 mg kg^-1 of folic acid had higher values than those fish fed with the other diets. The results also indicated that hematocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly influenced by the treatments. Lysozyme and immunoglobulin (IgM) concentrations were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments, fish fed with the diet supplemented with 30 mg kg^-1 of vitamin E plus 2 mg kg^-1 of folic acid and unsupplemented diet had higher concentrations than those fish fed with the other diets. The findings of this study suggested that trout requires 35 mg kg^-1 vitamin E and 2.5 mg kg^-1 folic acid for it’s normal growth and physiology

Investigating the role of organizational happiness inteachers’ occupational burnout

The present paper studies the impact of organizational happiness on teachers’ occupational burnout. This research employs a descriptive-correlational method. The statistical population is consisted of all 530 elementary school teachers in the city of Kuhdasht. Using Krejcie and Morgan table, sample size is determined to be 226. In order to collect the required data, the Oxford Happiness questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire have been used. In order to analyze the data and examine the hypotheses, descriptive statistic indices including mean and standard deviation as well as inferential statistics such as Pearson’s correlation test have been used. The results indicate that the total scale of organizational happiness and the components of self-concept, life satisfaction, mental preparation, aesthetic emotion, self-efficacy, and hopefulness have a negative and significant relationship with occupational burnout. This implies that as teachers’ self-concept, life satisfaction, mental preparation, aesthetic emotion, self-efficacy, and hopefulness improve, their occupational burnout decreases.Keywords: happiness, occupational burnout, teacher

Tularemia and Plague Survey in Rodents in Earthquake Zones in Southeastern Iran

OBJECTIVES: Earthquakes are one the most common natural disasters that lead to increased mortality and morbidity from transmissible diseases, partially because the rodents displaced by an earthquake can lead to an increased rate of disease transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of plague and tularemia in rodents in the earthquake zones in southeastern Iran. METHODS: In April 2013, a research team was dispatched to explore the possible presence of diseases in rodents displaced by a recent earthquake magnitude 7.7 around the cities of Khash and Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Rodents were trapped near and in the earthquake zone, in a location where an outbreak of tularemia was reported in 2007. Rodent serums were tested for a serological survey using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In the 13 areas that were studied, nine rodents were caught over a total of 200 trap-days. Forty-eight fleas and 10 ticks were obtained from the rodents. The ticks were from the Hyalomma genus and the fleas were from the Xenopsylla genus. All the trapped rodents were Tatera indica. Serological results were negative for plague, but the serum agglutination test was positive for tularemia in one of the rodents. Tatera indica has never been previously documented to be involved in the transmission of tularemia. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence of the plague cycle was found in the rodents of the area, but evidence was found of tularemia infection in rodents, as demonstrated by a positive serological test for tularemia in one rodent

Magnetized cosmological model with variable deceleration parameter

In this paper, we have derived the field equations in an extended theory of gravity in an anisotropic space time background and in the presence of magnetic field. The physical and geometrical parameters of the models are determined with respect to the Hubble parameter using some algebraic approaches. A time varying scale factor has been introduced to analyze the behavior of the model. From some diagnostic approach, we found that the model behaves as $\Lambda_{CDM}$ model at late time of cosmic evolution.Comment: Accepted version, 9 pages, 15 figures

Plant glutathione S-transferase classification, structure and evolution

Glutathione S-transferases are multifunctional proteins involved in diverse intracellular events such as primary and secondary metabolisms, stress metabolism, herbicide detoxification and plant protection against ozone damages, heavy metals and xenobiotics. The plant glutathione S-transferase superfamily have been subdivided into eight classes. Phi, tau, zeta, theta, lambda, dehydroascorbate reductase and tetrachlorohydroquinone dehalogenase classes are soluble and one class is microsomal. Glutathione S-transferases are mostly soluble cytoplasmic enzymes. To date, the crystal structures of over 200 soluble glutathione S-transferases, present in plants, animals and bacteria have been resolved. The structures of glutathione S-transferase influence its function. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that all soluble glutathione S-transferases have arisen from an ancient progenitor gene, through both convergent and divergent pathways.Key words: Glutathione S-transferases (GST), classification, structure, evolution, phylogenetic analysis, xenobiotics

Coronary slow flow: Benign or ominous?

Objective: Coronary slow flow phenomenon has been arbitrarily defined as delayed coronary blood flow in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. The present study sought to investigate the clinical features, natural history, and outcomes of affected patients. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 217 consecutive patients who had undergone coronary angiography and showed features of coronary slow flow phenomenon were evaluated for demographic and coronary risk factor profile, as well as clinical outcomes, at baseline and following treatment. Results: The study population consisted of 165 (76) males and 52 (24) females. The mean age of patients was 52.6±10 years. Mean ejection fraction was 48.2±5.4, 39.3 had diabetes, 43.3 had hypertension, 49.8 was a cigarette smoker, 41.9 had dyslipidemia, and 15 had a familial history of cardiac disease. Forty-nine percent was detected to have abnormal hsCRP levels. The most prevalent presenting complaint was atypical chest pain. Fifty-four percent of patients had slow blood flow in all three vessels. Thirty-six people had undergone repeat coronary angiography in a follow-up period of 5-7 years due to persisting or worsening clinical symptoms, of whom 6 (16.6) showed significant coronary artery stenosis. Eight (22.2) had mild CAD, and the rest still showed coronary slow flow without significant stenosis. The most common complaint during follow-up and after initiation of medical therapy was nonanginal chest pain. Conclusion: Patients with coronary slow flow phenomenon are predisposed to atherosclerosis and obstructive coronary artery disease. Therefore, this pathology should not be considered as a totally benign condition. Primary and secondary cardiovasculature preventive measures should be constituted and seem worthwhile in this patient population. © Copyright 2015 by Turkish Society of Cardiology

A Case Study on Influence of Utilizing Hill-type Muscles on Mechanical Efficiency of Biped Running Gait

The presence of compliant elements in biped running mechanisms generates a smoother motion and decreases impact forces. Biological creatures that have a complicated actuation system with parallel and series elastic elements in their muscles demonstrate very efficient and robust bipedal gaits. The main difficulty of implementing these systems is duplicating their complicated dynamics and control. This paper studies the effects of an actuation system, including Hill-type muscles on the running efficiency of a kneed biped robot model with point feet. In this research, we implement arbitrary trajectories compatible with the initial condition of the robot, and we calculate the necessary muscle forces using an analytical inverse dynamics model. To verify the results, we execute the direct dynamics of the robot with the calculated control inputs to generate the robot’s trajectory. Finally, we calculate the contractile element force of the muscles and its cost of transport, and we investigate the effects of the muscles’ elements on reducing or increasing the cost of transport of the gait and maximum actuating forces.Наявність податливих елементів у механізмах виконання двоногої ходи породжує плавність руху і зменшує сили удару. Біологічні істоти, які мають складну систему спрацьовування з паралельними і серіями еластичних елементів в м'язах, демонструють дуже ефективну і надійну двоногу ходу. Основними труднощами реалізації цих систем є дублювання їх складної динаміки і контролю. Вивчаються наслідки спрацьовування системи, в тому числі м'язів типу Хілла на ефективність роботи коліна у моделі двоногої ходи. У цьому дослідженні введено довільні траєкторії, сумісні з початковим станом робота, і розраховано необхідні сили м'язів за допомогою аналітичної зворотної моделі динаміки. Для перевірки результатів виконано пряму динаміку робота з обчисленням імпульсів управління для генерації траєкторії робота. Розраховано скорочувальну силу елемента м'язів і вартість його передачі для робота, і досліджено вплив елементів м'язів на зменшення або збільшення витрат на ходу і максимальні виконавчі сили