Quantitative characteristics and chemical composition in Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) sperm

In this study, quantitative characteristics and chemical composition of in roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) sperm were investigated. Sperm traits included sperm movement duration, percentage of motile spermatozoa, sperm density, spermatocrit and sperm volume. Some seminal plasma characteristics (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride) were investigated. In addition, some metabolites of seminal plasma (glucose, cholesterol and protein) were measured. The Na+ and K+ ions correlated negatively with spermatozoa motility (r = -0.0518, p<.05 and r =-0.3597, p<.01) respectively. Also, there were significant positive correlations between Ca2+ and Cl- ions with spermatozoa motility (r = 0.2945, p<.05 and r= 0.1379, p<.01), respectively. Mg+2 was positively correlated with glucose and protein (r = 0.046, p<.05 and r = 0.694, p<.05), respectively. On the other hand, a significant positive relationship was found between Na+ and K+ (r = 0.548, p<.01). These parameters can be used to evaluation of sperm quality and collecting information about developing procedures for artificial fertilization of roach

An Epidemiological Study of Psychological Disorders in Chaharmohal & Bakhtiari Province, 2001

زمینه و هدف: برنامه‏ریزی برای ارایه خدمات اساسی بهداشت روان به افراد جامعه، نیازمند آگاهی از وضعیت موجود بیماری روانی در جامعه است. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی همه‏گیری‏شناسی اختلالات روانی در افراد 18 سال به بالاتر مناطق شهری و روستایی استان چهارمحال و بختیاری انجام گرفت. روش مطالعه: نمونه های مورد مطالعه با روش نمونه‏گیری تصادفی خوشه‏ای و سیستماتیک از بین خانوارهای موجود استان چهارمحال و بختیاری انتخاب گردیدند و از طریق تکمیل پرسشنامه اختلالات عاطفی و اسکیزوفرنیا (SADS=Schedale Affective Disorders Schizophrenia) توسط کارشناسان روانشناسی در استان، جمعاً 305 نفر مورد مطالعه قرار گرفتند. تشخیص‏گذاری اختلالات بر اساس معیارهای طبقه‏بندی DSM-IV است. نتایج: نتایج این بررسی نشان داد شیوع انواع اختلالات روانی در استان 42/16 می‏باشد که این شیوع در زنان 20 و در مردان 14/13 است. اختلالات اضطرابی و عصبی‌ شناختی به ترتیب با 52/9 و 28/3، شایع‏ترین اختلالات روانی در استان بودند. شیوع اختلالات پسیکوتیک در این مطالعه 33/0، اختلالات خلقی 63/2 و اختلالات تجزیه‏ای 66/0 بود. در گروه اختلالات خلقی، افسردگی اساسی با 30/2 و در گروه اختلالات اضطرابی، اختلال فوبی با 62/2 شیوع بیشتری داشتند. شیوع اختلالات روانی در استان در افراد گروه سنی 65-56 سال با 30، افراد همسر فوت شده با 25، افراد ساکن در مناطق شهری با 53/15، افراد بی‏سواد با 66/12 و افراد بیکار با 74/21 بیش از گروه‌های دیگر بود. نتیجه‌گیری: در این مطالعه 49/10 افراد مورد مطالعه دچار حداقل یک اختلال روانی بودند. لذا نتایج این تحقیق مسئولیت سیاستگذاران و برنامه‌ریزان بهداشتی استان چهارمحال و بختیاری و کشور در رابطه با تدوین برنامه‌های عملی و اجرایی بهداشت روان را بیش از پیش روشن می‌سازد

Combined use of platelet-rich plasma and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells shows a synergistic effect in experimental spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) as a crippling disability causes tissue degeneration via neuron loss and fiber disruption. Some researchers have tried to reverse or minimize these changes. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a biological product derived from peripheral blood containing a variety of growth factors. PRP has been extensively used in regenerative medicine. On the other hand, via secreting neuroprotective growth factors, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown a promising potential in repairing central nervous system deficits. This study investigated the therapeutic effect of the combined use of MSCs and PRP in a rat model of SCI. We used real time-PCR method for evaluation of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase 3 expressions, TUNEL test for apoptotic cell death assessment, and neurofilament NF200 immunohistochemistry for examination of axonal regeneration. The results showed that co-treatment with MSCs and PRP efficiently alleviated the evaluated categories. Significant differences were observed in expression of Bcl-2 and caspase3, but not Bax, apoptotic index and the number of NF200 positive axons (for all P </= 0.01) between co-treatment animals compared with those treated with only MSCs or PRP. In conclusion, this study showed that combination of MSCs and PRP synergistically promotes their therapeutic effects in the SCI

Distinguishing Rain-fed and Irrigated Crops in Hamadan Province Using Spectral Indices of Satellite Images

IntroductionRemote sensing methods for mapping farms and crops have been widely used in the last three decades. This method is applied to identify irrigated areas around the world (Alipour et al., 2014), although most of these studies are in areas with semi-arid climates and low rainfall or lack of rainfall which has a significant effect on the spectral characteristics of plants. In this study, Landsat 8 and MODIS satellite images were used to identify and separate two irrigated and rain-fed wheat farms in Hamadan province. Two algorithms of support vector machine (SVM) and minimum distance (MD) were used simultaneously to classify irrigated and rain-fed farms. In the next step, the area under cultivation of rain-fed and irrigated wheat was predicted in the whole cultivated area of Hamadan province. Finally, the cultivation area of rain-fed and irrigated crops was calculated in the province using Sentinel 3 satellite images based on the random forest algorithm in 2016.Materials and MethodsThe study area is Hamedan province, which is located between 59◦ 33′ and 49◦ 35′ north latitude and also from 34◦ 47′ to 34◦ 49′ east longitude of the Greenwich meridian. A 50-hectare rain-fed wheat farm in Amzajerd was used as a sample to extract the properties of rain-fed wheat. Also, irrigated indices were extracted from a 100-hectare irrigated wheat farm located in Kaboudrahang. Satellite images were applied to separate irrigated and rain-fed wheat in Hamadan province. NDVI, EVI and NDWI indices were extracted from 16-day images of Landsat, MODIS, and Sentinel 3 sensors in the five-year period (2015-2019). Google Earth Engine (GEE) system was the environment for performing image processing calculations and extracting indices and maps.Results and DiscussionThe NDVI and EVI of irrigated and rain-fed wheat farms were calculated in 2015-2019. A small peak was observed in the rain-fed and irrigated NDVI trend in November due to the early germination of wheat leaves in winter, and the larger peak in May and June showed the maximum greenness of irrigated and rain-fed wheat, respectively. The ascending or descending trend of NDVI / EVI had no constant slope. This can be due to changes in meteorological parameters, which sometimes cause a sudden increase or decrease in the values of these indices. Despite the non-linearity of the NDVI / EVI trend over time, the maximum greenness was recorded just a month before the wheat harvest, which was seen in the third decade of May to the first decade of June. One of the cases is the sharp drop of NDVI / EVI after its final peak, which was definitely due to yellowing wheat and harvesting. Since the distinction between rain-fed and irrigated crops was difficult only based on NDVI, NDWI was also used to determine the water content of wheat so that irrigated wheat could be identified. However, the difference between rain-fed and irrigated wheat in terms of NDWI spectral density was insignificant; the maximum and minimum occurrence times of NDWI and NDVI of rain-fed and irrigated wheat were chosen for their separation. In order to map the cultivation area, in addition to the MODIS sensor, Sentinel 3 was used due to its ability to detect chlorophyll accurately. Due to the fact that the imaging of the Sentinel 3 satellite started since 2016, the map of rain-fed and irrigated cultivation as well as the cultivation area and their separation was done based on the random forest algorithm in 2016.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the appropriate method for distinguishing between rain-fed and irrigated wheat is the simultaneous use of several indices. Also, the greatest difference is in the maximum greenness, which happened almost one month before harvest. MD and SVM classification algorithms could distinguish irrigated and rain-fed wheat from other crops with 90% and 80% accuracy, respectively. Distinguished maps of irrigated and rain-fed crops based on the random forest algorithm were obtained using Sentinel 3 satellite imagery which can show the fertility of agricultural lands in the province

Estimation of genetic parameters for body weight at different ages in Mehraban sheep

The objective of the present study is to estimate genetic parameters of birth weight (BW, n = 3005), weaning weight (WW, n = 2800), 6 months weight (6 MW, n = 2600), 9 months weight (9 MW, n = 1990) and yearling weight (YW, n = 1450) of Mehraban sheep, collected during 1995 - 2007 at Mehraban sheep Breeding Station in Hamedan province, Iran. (Co)variance components and genetic parameters were estimated with univariate and multivariate animal model using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure. Effect of herd, lamb's sex, and year of birth were significant on all traits (P &lt; 0.05). The estimates of direct heritability for BW, WW, 6MW, 9MW and YW were 0.30±0.05, 0.30±0.04, 0.35±0.05, 0.37±0.04 and 0.43±0.04 respectively. Maternal heritability estimates for mentioned traits were 0.17±0.03, 0.18±0.03, 0.14±0.03, 0.12±0.03 and 0.10±0.02, respectively. The estimates of the direct genetic correlation between BW-WW, BW-6MW, BW-9MW, BW-YW, WW-6MW, WW-9MW, WW-YW, 6MW-9MW, 6MW-YW and 9MW-YW were 0.287±0.09, 0.305±0.09, 0.249±0.03, 0.136±0.07, 0.825±0.34, 0.713±0.05, 0.845±0.52, 0.862±0.06, 0.596±0.09 and 0.712±0.02 respectively. The estimates of the phenotypic correlation between traits were positive and ranged from 0.152 for BW-9MW to 0.835 for 9MW-YW.Key words: Mehraban sheep, heritability, genetic correlation, body weight traits

Prioritizing factors affecting green human resources management, using fuzzy network analysis in the organization

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As of present, Green Human Resource Management holds a paramount standing as a crucial business strategy among noteworthy organizations and enterprises, in which Human Resource Department play a vital role. Taking an affirmative role in adopting sustainable practices within the workplace is paramount towards promoting an eco-friendly Environment. As the most prominent entities within societies, organizations possess the capacity to diminish environmental degradation through their undertakings, thereby constituting one of the avenues towards effecting environmentally conscious human resource management within organizational settings. To enact green human resources management within an enterprise, it is essential to identify and establish the key necessities for realizing such a program in the organization. Aligned with the social obligation that rests with organizational executives, they ought to proffer their aspirations, objectives and obligations towards cultivating an environmentally conscious entity. Such stewardship can ameliorate the potential constraints on future demands for ecological resources. In Iran, the field of green human resource management has received limited attention in the extant literature. Thus, the present investigation aimed to identify and rank the critical prerequisites for effectively implementing green human resources management within an organization. Green human resource management involves the utilization of human resource management principles and practices to facilitate more sustainable and eco-friendly use of organizational resources, as well as the promotion and encouragement of environmentally responsible initiatives. The aim of this study is to enhance the environmental quality through the enhancement of the ecological practices of organizations. This can be achieved by identifying and incorporating environmentally sustainable human resource management strategies in organizational operations. The study has successfully identified and prioritized determinants of effective green human resource management within organizational contexts, through utilization of the Fuzzy Network Analysis Process method.METHODS: The study method is mixed exploratory. The statistical population of this study included 30 experts in the Municipality of Tehran. In this study, the targeted sampling method was used. In this study, based on the research background and expert opinions from the two categories of organizational culture and skills, the influencing factors of green personnel management based on sustainable development were identified and a total of 11 sub-criteria for the main categories were defined. The data collection tool was a questionnaire designed based on the Delphi technique and finally analyzed using the fuzzy method.FINDINGS: The results showed that organizational culture is the main factor in creating green human resources management with an average of 4.58, followed by skills with an average of 4.49.CONCLUSION: Green human resource management refers to activities that involve the development, implementation and ongoing maintenance of a system that leads to the greening of the company's employees. In this context, regular employees should become green employees; So that they can reach the organization's environmental donation and ultimately make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. By promoting the organizational culture and identified skills, employee participation, aligning environmental programs with the organization's environmental goals, supporting senior management and providing sufficient budgets and resources, it is possible to improve green human resource management in Tehran municipal organization

Scotopic contrast sensitivity and glare after accelerated corneal cross-linking

Background: The aim was to assess one-year changes in uncorrected and corrected contrast sensitivity (CS) and glare under scotopic conditions after accelerated cross-linking (CXL) using the 18 mW/cm2 protocol for the treatment of progressive keratoconus and compare results with unoperated controls. Methods: In this non-randomised clinical trial, 30 eyes were enrolled in the CXL group and 30 were assigned to the control group. Scotopic CS at spatial frequencies (SFs) of 0.5, 1.1, 2.2, 3.4, 7.1 and 15 cycles per degree (cpd) were assessed using the MonCv3System (Metrovision, Pérenchies, France) under scotopic conditions (0.5 lux) at baseline and at six and 12 months. Results: The mean ages of the participants in the CXL and control groups were 24.32 ± 5.17 and 30.93 ± 7.43 years, respectively (p &lt; 0.001). After adjusting for age, changes in uncorrected and corrected CS and glare were similar in the two groups (all p &gt; 0.05) except for corrected CS at SF 7.1 cpd (1.45 ± 4.31 versus 3.21 ± 4.69 dB, p = 0.010) and 15 cpd (1.12 ± 4.63 versus 3.03 ± 5.48 dB, p = 0.007), which were reduced as an effect of CXL. Based on covariate analyses, among corrected CS indices, corrected CS7.1 and CS15 were related to CXL and their baseline values (all p &lt; 0.050). Uncorrected CS in all SFs and uncorrected and corrected glare were related to their pre-operative values (all p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Accelerated CXL can reduce scotopic corrected CS at SFs higher than 7.0 cpd in cases with better baseline values of these parameters. Changes in uncorrected CS and glare are only a factor of baseline values and the indices reduce in cases with better baseline values after one year. © 2017 Optometry Australi

Advanced analysis of PRVEP in anisometropic amblyopia

Introduction: to identify the pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PRVEP) waveform descriptor by evaluating discrete wavelet transform (DWT) in order to optimize stimulus in the diagnosis of anisometropia amblyopia. Materials and Methods: The PRVEP testing was performed for 31 normal individuals and 35 patients with amblyopia. The stimuli were consisted of spatial frequencies of 1, 2, and 4 cycles per degree (cpd) and contrast levels of 100, 50, 25, and 5. The results were analyzed in the dimensions of time and time-frequency. DWT descriptor were extracted at level 7 (7P descriptor) for Haar, Daubechies 2, Daubechies 4, Symlet 5, Biorthogonal 3.5, Biorthogonal 4.4, and Coiflet 5 wavelets for 12 stimuli and compared between the two groups. The correlation between different spatial frequencies at the same contrast level and the similarities between reconstructed signals and original waveforms were evaluated. Results: There were a significant reduction in P100 amplitude and a significant elevation in latency among the patient group. In the patients with amblyopia, 7P descriptor decreased in all analysis except for the frequency of 4 cpd and the contrast of 5 using bior4.4. No significant correlation was observed between different frequencies at a special contrast; however, there was a significant correlation between reconstructed signals and the original ones. Conclusion: The 7P descriptor could be used to distinguish between normal and abnormal signals in anisometropia amblyopia. Considering the results, DWT with coif5, db4, bior4.4, and bior3.5 wavelets can be utilized as a good indicator for selecting optimum stimulus. © 2018, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Detection QTLs for Grain Quality Traits and Yield in Two BILs Population of Rice

. Rice, the second most important crop after wheat, has been cultivated in Iran. Marketing conditions and quality traits after yield are the most important factors to adopt of new varieties. Therefore in recent years Iranian scientists decided to training on breeding improved high yield varieties with good grain quality.Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) yield and grain quality traits of rice (Oryza sativa L.) with additive, epistatic, and QTL × environment (QE) interaction effects were studied using a mixed-model-based composite interval mapping (MCIM) method and two populations of Back cross inbred lines (BILs) with a common maternal parent.In each of the populations two or three main effects of QTLs were detected for yield, amylose content, gel consistency and gelatinization temperature. Some identified QTL clusters suggested pleiotropic effects could control these traits. The phenotypic variation of AAE and AA QTLs effects were smaller than main QTLs. We conclude that the major genes and some minor and modifier genes controlled rice grain quality and yield components. The information obtained in this study have used to manipulating the QTLs for these traits by molecular marker-assisted selection and the best lines with excellent quality and high yield recognize