The growth, survival rate and reproductive characteristics of Artemia urmiana fed by Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica, Nannochloropsis oculata, Chaetoceros sp., Chlorella sp. and Spirolina sp. as feeding microalgae

This study was performed to compare the efficiency of six microalgae namely Dunaliella tertiolecta, Tetraselmis suecica, Nannochloropsis oculata, Chaetoceros sp., Chlorella sp. and Spirolina sp. on the growth, survival rate and reproduction efficacy in Artemia urmiana in laboratory conditions. Artemia cysts were harvested from Urmia Lake and hatched according to the standard method. Live microalgae were cultured using the f/2 culture medium. Artemia survival was determined in treatments on days 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20. A highly significant difference (p<0.01) were found among three microalgae in terms of length growth, survival rates and reproduction characteristics in A. urmiana. In spite of higher length growth of A.urmiana fed on N. oculata than A. urmiana fed by T. suecica but survival and reproduction in the latter was better than the first treatment. In general, D. tertiolecta was more efficient than other microalgae examined in the present study on A. urmiana concerning not only to growth and survival but also to reproduction mode. So, it is preferred to feed A. urmiana

A Survey of Air-to-Ground Propagation Channel Modeling for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly for small UAVs, due to their affordable prices, ease of availability, and ease of operability. Existing and future applications of UAVs include remote surveillance and monitoring, relief operations, package delivery, and communication backhaul infrastructure. Additionally, UAVs are envisioned as an important component of 5G wireless technology and beyond. The unique application scenarios for UAVs necessitate accurate air-to-ground (AG) propagation channel models for designing and evaluating UAV communication links for control/non-payload as well as payload data transmissions. These AG propagation models have not been investigated in detail when compared to terrestrial propagation models. In this paper, a comprehensive survey is provided on available AG channel measurement campaigns, large and small scale fading channel models, their limitations, and future research directions for UAV communication scenarios

Organizational culture and the organizational commitment; Correlational study in hospital staffs

Organizations need the committed manpower to provide effectiveness and progress which is an important factor in order to achieve organizational goals. According to this, organizational culture increases employees commitment in the organization by their accepted norms and values. Actually, the organization environment & its prevailing culture, affects on the organizational commitment of staff. This study was conducted to assess relationship between the organizational culture and the organizational commitment among staff of elected hospirals in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This descriptive study accomplished at 2013. The study population was hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences included the two hospitals �Vali Asr� & �farabi�. Also in hospitals, study populations were all hospital staffs (Administrative and Clinical). Data collection was done using a three parts questionnaire including: the first one contains background information, the second part consists of questions related to organizational culture based on Denison model and the third part includes questions related to organizational Commitment based on Porter model. Validity and reliability were confirmed through getting the opinions of experts and using Cronbach�s alpha. Data analysis was done by SPSS software using Pearson correlation test and the test �t� to determine the relation between the areas of culture and commitment to the type of hospitals. In organizational culture, maximum average & standard deviation has been seen in professional identity (4.74±1.38). Except for the two dimentions of conflict & communication patterns, a significant relation between the organizational culture dimentions and two hospitalas was seen. Also, in the organizational commitment, the maximum average & standard deviation was seen in continuous commitment scope. Overally, average & standard deviation (3.18±0.76) has been obtained for organizational commitment component; also there was significant relation between the emotional commitment dimention & the type of the hospital. This relationship wasn�t meaningful in another dimentions. Except for the conflict dimension, there was significant correlations between the organizational culture dimension& the organizational commitment (p<0.05). Also, this correlation was between the organizational culture and the organizational commitment (r=0.552) Designing an appropriate and justified "reward mechanism" and development of "teamwork" skills between employees can increase their organizational commitment positively and improve hospital performances. © 2015, Canadian Center of Science and Education. All right reserved

Rapid and efficient ultrasonic assisted adsorption of diethyl phthalate onto FeIIFe2 IIIO4@GO: ANN-GA and RSM-DF modeling, isotherm, kinetic and mechanism study

Herein, an ultrasonic assisted dispersive magnetic solid-phase adsorption method along with a high-performance liquid chromatography system for the diethyl phthalate (DEP) removal was developed. In this regard, magnetic iron oxide/graphene oxide (MGO) nanocomposites were prepared by a simple and effective chemical co-precipitation method, followed by nucleation and growth of nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of MGO was identified by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy X-ray diffraction (XRD), Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The interactive and main effect of parameters such as pH, adsorbent dosage, sonication time and concentration of DEP involved in the adsorption process were set within the ranges 3.0�11.0, 0.10�0.50 g L�1, 1�5 min, 5�10 mg/L, respectively. Root means square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), absolute average deviation (AAD), and coefficient of determination (R2) was employed to examine the applicability of the response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models for the description of experimental data. Compared to RSM, the ANN showed a more accurate performance for modeling the process of DEP adsorption. Using genetic algorithm-ANN, optimum conditions were set to 5.38, 334.7 mg/L, 3.723 min and 4.21 mg/L for pH, adsorbent dose, sonication time and concentration of DEP, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the maximum adsorption capacity and adsorption factors were 116.933 mg/g and 100, respectively, while the relative standard deviations (RSDs) was &lt;1.6 (N = 5). The isotherm models display that the Langmuir has the best fit with the equilibrium data, and adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic results confirmed that the sorption was endothermic and occurred spontaneously. The results exhibited that MGO has excellent potential as an adsorbent for the removal of phthalates from the contaminated water. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Performance, kinetic, and biodegradation pathway evaluation of anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor in removing phthalic acid esters from wastewater

Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) model was selected as the best model for describing phthalates removal

Populist communication in the new media environment: a cross-regional comparative perspective

The changing terms of mediation place new demands, opportunities and risks on the performance of the political persona. Visibility has become a double-edged sword, leaving representatives vulnerable to exposure while new tools provide opportunities for emerging entrepreneurial actors. This double risk to elites’ mediated personas—exposure and challenge from entrepreneurs—renders their armour of authenticity dangerously fragile, which nourishes a public sense of being inefficaciously represented. It is this climate in which populism currently flourishes around the globe. Three primary criteria of mediated self-representation by politicians—visibility, authenticity and efficacy—form the focus of this paper: how do populists negotiate such demands in different democratic contexts, and wherein lies the symbiosis between populism and the new media environment suggested by the literature? To answer this, the paper compares two populist cases responding to different democratic contexts: UKIP, a right-wing party from an established democracy (UK), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party from a transitional democracy (South Africa). The objects of study are disruptive performances by these parties, which are considered emblematic manifestations of populist ideology as they establish a Manichaean relationship between the elite and populist actors who embody the people. The paper introduces disruption as a multi-faceted and significant analytical concept to explain the populist behaviour and strategies that underlie populist parties’ responses to the demands for visibility, authenticity and efficacy that the new media environment places upon political representatives. Using mixed methods with an interpretive focus, the paper paints a rich picture of the contexts, meanings and means of construction of populist performances

Transcription and translation of human F11R gene are required for an initial step of atherogenesis induced by inflammatory cytokines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background -</p> <p>The F11 Receptor (F11R; aka JAM-A, JAM-1) is a cell adhesion protein present constitutively on the membrane surface of circulating platelets and within tight junctions of endothelial cells (ECs). Previous reports demonstrated that exposure of ECs to pro-inflammatory cytokines causes insertion of F11R molecules into the luminal surface of ECs, ensuing with homologous interactions between F11R molecules of platelets and ECs, and a resultant adhesion of platelets to the inflamed ECs. The main new finding of the present report is that the first step in this chain of events is the <it>de-novo </it>transcription and translation of F11R molecules, induced in ECs by exposure to inflammatory cytokines.</p> <p>Methods -</p> <p>The experimental approach utilized isolated, washed human platelet suspensions and cultured human venous endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human arterial endothelial cells (HAEC) exposed to the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and/or IFN-gamma, for examination of the ability of human platelets to adhere to the inflamed ECs thru the F11R. Our strategy was based on testing the effects of the following inhibitors on this activity: general mRNA synthesis inhibitors, inhibitors of the NF-kappaB and JAK/STAT pathways, and small interfering F11R-mRNA (siRNAs) to specifically silence the F11R gene.</p> <p>Results -</p> <p>Treatment of inflamed ECs with the inhibitors actinomycin, parthenolide or with AG-480 resulted in complete blockade of F11R- mRNA expression, indicating the involvement of NF-kappaB and JAK/STAT pathways in this induction. Transfection of ECs with F11R siRNAs caused complete inhibition of the cytokine-induced upregulation of F11R mRNA and inhibition of detection of the newly- translated F11R molecules in cytokine-inflamed ECs. The functional consequence of the inhibition of F11R transcription and translation was the significant blockade of the adhesion of human platelets to inflamed ECs.</p> <p>Conclusion -</p> <p>These results prove that <it>de novo </it>synthesis of F11R in ECs is required for the adhesion of platelets to inflamed ECs. Because platelet adhesion to an inflamed endothelium is crucial for plaque formation in non-denuded blood vessels, we conclude that the <it>de-novo </it>translation of F11R is a crucial early step in the initiation of atherogenesis, leading to atherosclerosis, heart attacks and stroke.</p

Performance evaluation of nanocomposit magnetic graphene sheet- iron oxide in removal of nitrate from water using Taguchi experimental design

Background and purpose: Nitrate is one of the chemical water contaminants which can be eliminated through physical, chemical and biological techniques. In this study we aimed for optimization of nitrate adsorption from water onto Magnetic Graphene sheet Nano Particles (G-Fe3O4 MNPs) via Taguchi experimental design. Materials and methods: Batch reactor was used for optimizing of the five parameters (pH, contact time, temperature, adsorbent dosage, and nitrate concentration) at four levels by Minitab software, based on Taguchi experimental design. Signal to noise ratio was used with �the highest is better� approach for optimization of experimental conditions and the highest nitrate removal efficiency. Results: The results revealed that in optimized status (pH=3, contact time= 60 min, initial concentration= 50 mg/L, adsorbent dose= 2g/L, temperature= 50°C) nitrate removal efficiency and adsorption capacity reached 86.4 and 39.37 mg/g, respectively. Contribution percentage of each variable implied that pH and initial concentration of nitrate with 40.20 and 7.49 had the highest and lowest influences on nitrate removal, respectively. Isotherm and kinetic studies illustrated that, nitrate adsorption complied with Langmuir isotherm model (R2>0.993) and pseudo second-order kinetics models (R2> 0.94). Conclusion: G-Fe3O4 MNPs can be used as an effective sorbent for nitrate removal from water or wastewater due to several advantages including easy and rapid separation from solution and high removal efficiency. © 2015, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and mortality of HIV, 1980–2017, and forecasts to 2030, for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017

Background Understanding the patterns of HIV/AIDS epidemics is crucial to tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts in countries. We provide a comprehensive assessment of the levels and trends of HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, and coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 1980–2017 and forecast these estimates to 2030 for 195 countries and territories. Methods We determined a modelling strategy for each country on the basis of the availability and quality of data. For countries and territories with data from population-based seroprevalence surveys or antenatal care clinics, we estimated prevalence and incidence using an open-source version of the Estimation and Projection Package—a natural history model originally developed by the UNAIDS Reference Group on Estimates, Modelling, and Projections. For countries with cause-specific vital registration data, we corrected data for garbage coding (ie, deaths coded to an intermediate, immediate, or poorly defined cause) and HIV misclassification. We developed a process of cohort incidence bias adjustment to use information on survival and deaths recorded in vital registration to back-calculate HIV incidence. For countries without any representative data on HIV, we produced incidence estimates by pulling information from observed bias in the geographical region. We used a re-coded version of the Spectrum model (a cohort component model that uses rates of disease progression and HIV mortality on and off ART) to produce age-sex-specific incidence, prevalence, and mortality, and treatment coverage results for all countries, and forecast these measures to 2030 using Spectrum with inputs that were extended on the basis of past trends in treatment scale-up and new infections. Findings Global HIV mortality peaked in 2006 with 1·95 million deaths (95% uncertainty interval 1·87–2·04) and has since decreased to 0·95 million deaths (0·91–1·01) in 2017. New cases of HIV globally peaked in 1999 (3·16 million, 2·79–3·67) and since then have gradually decreased to 1·94 million (1·63–2·29) in 2017. These trends, along with ART scale-up, have globally resulted in increased prevalence, with 36·8 million (34·8–39·2) people living with HIV in 2017. Prevalence of HIV was highest in southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, and countries in the region had ART coverage ranging from 65·7% in Lesotho to 85·7% in eSwatini. Our forecasts showed that 54 countries will meet the UNAIDS target of 81% ART coverage by 2020 and 12 countries are on track to meet 90% ART coverage by 2030. Forecasted results estimate that few countries will meet the UNAIDS 2020 and 2030 mortality and incidence targets. Interpretation Despite progress in reducing HIV-related mortality over the past decade, slow decreases in incidence, combined with the current context of stagnated funding for related interventions, mean that many countries are not on track to reach the 2020 and 2030 global targets for reduction in incidence and mortality. With a growing population of people living with HIV, it will continue to be a major threat to public health for years to come. The pace of progress needs to be hastened by continuing to expand access to ART and increasing investments in proven HIV prevention initiatives that can be scaled up to have population-level impact