Data on groundwater quality, scaling potential and corrosiveness of water samples in Torbat-e-Heydariyeh rural drinking water resources, Khorasan-e-Razavi province, Iran

According to World Health Organization guidelines, corrosion control is an important aspect of safe drinking-water supplies. The data presented is physical and chemical parameters of drinking water in the rural areas of Torbat-e-Heydariyeh city, also to determine corrosion indices. This cross-sectional study has carried out with 188 taken samples during 2014 with 13 parameters, which has been analyzed based on standard method. Also with regard to standard conditions, result of this paper is compared with Environmental Protection Agency and Iran national standards. Five indices, Langlier Saturation Index (LSI), Ryznar Stability Index (RSI), Puckorius Scaling Index (PSI), Larson-Skold Index (LS) and Aggressive Index (AI), programmed by using Microsoft Excel software. Owing to its simplicity, the program can easily be used by researchers and operators. Parameters included Sulfate, Sodium, Chloride, and Electrical Conductivity respectively was 13.5%, 28%, 10.5%, and 15% more than standard level. The amounts of Nitrate, in 98% of cases were in permissible limits and about 2% were more than standard level. Result of presented research indicate that water is corrosive at 10.6%, 89.4%, 87.2%, 59.6% and 14.9% of drinking water supply reservoirs, according to LSI, RSI, PSI, LS and AI, respectively. © 2018 The Author

Molecular detection of anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma ovis (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) in ixodid tick species in Iran

The present study was conducted as the first molecular detection of Anaplasma species in tick samples based on the sequencing of major surface proteins 4 (msp4) gene fragments in different parts of Iran. A total of 130 tick specimens were collected from Hormozgan, Lorestan, and Guilan, Iran, within 2015 to 2017. Hyalomma asiaticum, Hyalomma dromedarii, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) species were identified in different geographical regions. An amplicon of 464-bp msp4 of Anaplasma was amplified using polymerase chain reaction in various tick species. Three sequences, including one Anaplasma marginale from R. (Boophilus) species and two Anaplasma ovis from Rhipicephalus sanguineus, were obtained after sequencing. It is concluded that bovine and ovine anaplasmosis agents are present in tick samples in Iran. The use of the gene families of six major surface proteins for the detection of various Anaplasma species is recommended. © 2020 by Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute

Intelligent Technique for Seamless Vertical Handover in Vehicular Networks

Seamless mobility is a challenging issue in the area of research of vehicular networks that are supportive of various applications dealing with the intelligent transportation system (ITS). The conventional mobility management plans for the Internet and the mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is unable to address the needs of the vehicular network and there is severe performance degradation because of the vehicular networks’ unique characters such as high mobility. Thus, vehicular networks require seamless mobility designs that especially developed for them. This research provides an intelligent algorithm in providing seamless mobility using the media independent handover, MIH (IEEE 802.21), over heterogeneous networks with different access technologies such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), as well as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) for improving the quality of service (QoS) of the mobile services in the vehicular networks. The proposed algorithm is a hybrid model which merges the biogeography-based optimization or BBO with the Markov chain. The findings of this research show that our method within the given scenario can meet the requirements of the application as well as the preferences of the users

A Proposed Framework for Regional Foresight as an Interdisciplinary Research Field Case Study: Yazd Spatial planning Document

In today’s world, foresight approach is in the center of attention, and countries, regions and companies have started to develop plans in an organized, systematical way about a favorable future in a world that is becoming increasingly complex. Foresight is a systematic, participatory process that gathers perceptions of future and establishes medium-term and long-term outlooks with the aim of making up-to-date decisions and mobilizing common actions. The most important functions of foresight are: determining directions, identifying new trends, adapting goals to known needs, protecting and promoting decisions and policies with the preferences of stakeholders, improving external communications with research and educational users, and ultimately, defining priorities. Due to the importance of foresight and its effects on national macro plans, the success and efficiency of foresight processes have always been among important concerns of authorities. The present article tries to develop an appropriate framework for the implementation of foresight plans in Yazd’s Spatial Planning Document using meta-synthesis. For this purpose, the existing foresight frameworks were studied by researchers and experts, a new framework for foresight study was developed, and its reliability was verified by a group of experts. The difference of this framework with other ones lies in developing more comprehensive measures

Evaluation of the Analgesic Effects of Teucrium Extract on Rats using the Formalin Test

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pain is the most frequent symptom in different diseases. In modern medicine, there are two main categories of analgesics: opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Given the importance of medicinal plants in the treatment of different diseases, this study aimed to compare the analgesic effects of the alcoholic extract of Teucrium with morphine and aspirin. METHODS: In this experimental study, 36 Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups of 6. The negative control group received normal saline (5 ml/kg), two positive control groups received morphine 2.5 mg/kg  and aspirin 300 mg/kg, and three treatment groups received hydro-alcoholic extract of Teucrium (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) intraperitoneally in single doses. Half an hour after the intraperitoneal injection of the extract, 50 microlitres of 2.5% formalin was injected subcutaneously into the right paw of the rats, and the analgesic effects were compared using the formalin test. FINDINGS: In this study, the hydro-alcoholic extract of Teucrium had a dose-dependent analgesic effect, and the most effective dose of the extract was 200 mg/kg. Acute pain scores in the normal saline, aspirin, morphine and 200 mg/kg extract groups were 2.58±0.09, 1.39±0.06, 4.15±0.09 and 1.61±0.1, respectively. In addition, chronic pain scores were 2.37±0.09, 0.99±0.1, 0.33±0.09 and 1.18±0.06, respectively. Analgesic effects of Teucrium extract on chronic pain were lower compared to morphine, and had no significant difference with aspirin. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, and regarding the presence of polyphenolic compounds in this herb, Teucrium is believed to have several analgesic propertie

Protective Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Lavandula Officinalis L. on Gentamicin Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. Given that the prevalence of kidney damage has been reported about 10% while taking the drugs. In this study, the protective effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Lavandula officinalis on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity was studied. METHODS: In this experimental study, thirty Wistar male rats were divided randomly into five groups of six in each group. The first group received normal saline (5 ml/kg) and the second group received gentamicin 80 mg/kg intraperitoneally for 10 days. Groups 3-5 received respectively 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of hydroalcoholic extract of Lavandula officinalis intraperitoneally 3 hours after gentamicin injection for 10 consecutive days. One day after the last injection, Serum creatinine, BUN, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were measured in left renal tissue. The right kidney was maintained in 10% formalin for Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining and histological examination. FINDINGS: The results showed that gentamicin changed significantly serum creatinine (3.4±0.27 mg/dl), BUN (62.79±4.46 mg/dl), Kidney tissue MDA (1232±188.1 nmol/mg protein) and GSH (2.82±0.33 nmol/mg protein) in rats compared to controls (0.57±0.16, 19.55±3.3, 369.40±58.57 and 6.22±0.74 respectively) (p<0.05). Extract at a dose of 200 mg/kg 400 significantly inhibited gentamicin-induced enhancement of serum creatinine, BUN and tissue MDA levels (p<0.05). Histological results showed that gentamicin could lead to kidney damage and tubular necrosis. CONCLUSION: The results showed that hydroalcoholic extract of Lavandula officinalis reduces biochemical indices and oxidative stress parameters against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity icity

Comparison of the Analgesic Effects of Royal Jelly with Morphine and Aspirin in Rats Using the Formalin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The side effects of synthetic analgesics in clinical use as well as patients’ growing interest in traditional medicine and natural products have drawn researchers’ attention to studying the effects of natural pain relievers and comparing them with chemical and synthetic drugs. Royal jelly, which is produced by bees to feed the queen bee, exerts anti-inflammatory effects through inhibiting the production of pre-inflammatory cytokines by activated macrophages. This study aimed to compare the analgesic effects of morphine, aspirin and Royal Jelly as common painkillers.METHODS: In this experimental study, 36 male Wistar rats were randomly classified into six groups of 6. The negative control group received the normal Saline of 5 kg/ml, one positive control group received morphine 2.5 mg/kg and the other received aspirin 300 mg/kg. The 3 treatment groups received Royal Jelly peritoneally with doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg in single doses. Half an hour after the intraperitoneal injection, 50 micro liters of formalin 2.5% was subcutaneously injected into the bottom of the animals’ right paw and the analgesic effects were studied using the Formalin test.FINDINGS: Our findings indicate that as a dose-dependent analgesic, Royal Jelly is most effective at a dose of 200 mg/kg. The grade of acute pain in the groups of Saline, aspirin, morphine and Royal Jelly (100, 200 and 400 kg) was 2.61±0.09, 1.56±0.06, 1.05±0.14, 2.40±0.08, 1.65±0.04 and 1.53±0.05, respectively. The grade of chronic pain in the same groups was 2.34±0.09, 1.28±0.12, 0.33±0.12, 2.15±0.07, 1.21±0.03 and 1.12±0.05, respectively. The analgesic effect of royal jelly with the dosage of 200 kg/mg on acute pain was approximately equal to that of aspirin and less than that of morphine. However, Royal Jelly was less effective on chronic pain than morphine and it did not differ significantly with aspirin.CONCLUSION: Given the prominent analgesic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities of royal jelly, this natural substance could be prescribed as a non-invasive method to reduce and relieve pain appropriately and applicabl