Factors Affecting Forage Quality of Native Species in Iranian Rangelands

Animal performance is closely correlated with the nutrient value of the forage available and this is affected by different factors (Arzani et al., 2001). Crude protein content (CP), digestible dry matter (DDM) and metabolisable energy (ME) were considered particularly appropriate for evaluation of range forage quality. This paper reports on factors affecting the forage quality of range species grown in Iran

A hysteretic multiscale formulation for nonlinear dynamic analysis of composite materials

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.A new multiscale finite element formulation is presented for nonlinear dynamic analysis of heterogeneous structures. The proposed multiscale approach utilizes the hysteretic finite element method to model the microstructure. Using the proposed computational scheme, the micro-basis functions, that are used to map the microdisplacement components to the coarse mesh, are only evaluated once and remain constant throughout the analysis procedure. This is accomplished by treating inelasticity at the micro-elemental level through properly defined hysteretic evolution equations. Two types of imposed boundary conditions are considered for the derivation of the multiscale basis functions, namely the linear and periodic boundary conditions. The validity of the proposed formulation as well as its computational efficiency are verified through illustrative numerical experiments

Betanodavirus: dissection of the viral life cycle

Progressive research has been recently made in dissecting the molecular biology of Betanodavirus life cycle, the causative pathogen of viral encephalopathy and retinopathy in economic important marine fish species. Establishment of betanodavirus infectious clone allows the manipulation of virus genome for functional genomic study, which elucidates the biological event of the viral life cycle at molecular level. The betanodavirus strategizes its replication by expressing anti-apoptosis/antinecrotic proteins to maintain the cell viability during early infection. Subsequently utilizes and controls the biological machinery of the infected cells for viral genome replication. Towards the late phase of infection, mass production of capsid protein for virion assembly induces the activation of host apoptosis pathway. It eventually leads to the cell lysis and death, which the lysis of cell contributes to the accomplishment of viral shedding that completes a viral life cycle. The recent efforts to dissect the entire betanodavirus life cycle are currently reviewed

Removable partial dentures: The clinical need for innovation

Statement of problem: The number of partially dentate adults is increasing, and many patients will require replacement of missing teeth. Although current treatment options also include fixed partial dentures and implants, removable partial dentures (RPDs) can have advantages and are widely used in clinical practice. However, a significant need exists to advance materials and fabrication technologies because of the unwanted health consequences associated with current RPDs. Purpose: The purpose of this review was to assess the current state of and future need for prosthetics such as RPDs for patients with partial edentulism, highlight areas of weakness, and outline possible solutions to issues that affect patient satisfaction and the use of RPDs. Material and methods: The data on treatment for partial edentulism were reviewed and summarized with a focus on currently available and future RPD designs, materials, means of production, and impact on oral health. Data on patient satisfaction and compliance with RPD treatment were also reviewed to assess patient-centered care. Results: Design, materials, ease of repair, patient education, and follow-up for RPD treatment all had a significant impact on treatment success. Almost 40% of patients no longer use their RPD within 5 years because of factors such as sociodemographics, pain, and esthetics. Research on RPD-based treatment for partial edentulism for both disease-oriented and patient-centered outcomes is lacking. Conclusions: Future trials should evaluate new RPD materials and design technologies and include both long-term follow-up and health-related and patient-reported outcomes. Advances in materials and digital design/production along with patient education promise to further the application of RPDs and improve the quality of life for patients requiring RPDs

The resting-state pulse-respiration quotient of humans: lognormally distributed and centred around a value of four

The pulse-respiration quotient (heart rate divided by the respiration rate, PRQ=HR/RR) is a parameter capturing the complex state of cardiorespiratory interactions. We analysed 482 single PRQ values obtained from measurement on 134 healthy adult subjects (85 men, 49 women, age: 24.7 ± 3.4, range: 20-46 years) during rest. We found that the distribution of PRQ values (i) has a global maximum at around a value of 4 (median: 4.19) and (ii) follows a lognormal distribution function. A multimodality of the distribution, associated with several PRQ attractor states was not detected by our group-level based analysis. In summary, our analysis shows that in healthy humans the resting-state PRQ is around 4 and lognormally distributed. This finding supports claims about the special role of the 4 to 1 cardiorespiratory coupling in particular and the PRQ in general for physiological and medical views and applications. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the largest conducted so far in healthy adult humans about reference values of the PRQ during a resting-state at day

Influence of Different Diets on Two-sex Life Table Parameters of Oenopia conglobata contaminata (Menteries)

Introduction: The common pistachio psylla (CPP), Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer, 1989 (Hem.: Psylloidea: Rhinocolinae) is an important pest of pistachio trees. The presence of a large population of psyllid causes severe problems such as falling buds and leaves and therefore this pest causes heavy economic damage to farmers. Predators are the largest and the most diverse natural enemies of the CPP. They are offered as biological control agents against pistachio pests, especially CPP, although they are mostly general predators. Oenopia conglobata contaminata (Menteries) is one of the common psylla predators of pistachio orchard that have a significant role in biological control of Agonoscena pistaciae population. Despite the importance of this efficient predator, the limited study has been done on the effect of different hosts on the biological parameters of this lady beetle. In this study, the demographic parameters of this lady beetle by feeding on 4 different prey species, A. pistaciae , Aphis fabae Scopoli (Hem.:Aphididae), Aphis gossypii Glover (Hem.:Aphididae) and eggs of Ephestia kuehniella (Zell.)(Lep.:Pyralidae) were studied in the laboratory conditions (25 ± 2°C, relative humidity of %65 ±5 and photoperiod of 16 hours light and 8 hours of darkness). Materials and Methods: Nymphs of CPP (A.pistaciae) and adults of O. conglobata contaminata beetles were collected on the pistachio leaves from a pistachio orchard. Aphids (A. fabae and A. gossypii) were reared on the bean and the cotton plants planted in a greenhouse. Eggs of E. kuehniella were prepared from insectarium of Kerman Plant protection management and rearing of E. kuehniella was done in the laboratory conditions in Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resoarce Research Center. Before starting the experiment, one generation of O. conglobata contaminata was reared in the laboratory on the different host separately. One hundred eggs of O. conglobata contaminata were used to determine the demographic parameters. After hatching of eggs, larvae was individually transferred to a plastic container (5*10 cm) and kept in a growth chamber. Every day the larvae were fed with the above mentioned host. Their growth and development were monitored daily and also mortality rate was recorded. In the experiments, fourth-instar nymph of the aphids and A. pistaciae were used. The raw data of the developmental time and female daily fecundity of O. conglobata contaminata individuals were analyzed based on the age-stage, two-sex life table using the computer program TWO SEX MS Chart. Results and Discussion: Results showed that the maximum net reproduction rate (R0) and intrinsic rate of increase (rm) in psylla diet was 290.87 , 0.1559, respectively and the minimum of R0 and rm belong to eggs of E. kuehniella diet (61.68 and 0.1103). This result proves that psylla diet is the best food for O. conglobata contaminata and aphids diets were in the next ranks (R0 and rm in A.fabae and A.gossypii diets were 200.48, 0.140; 72.44,0.128, respectively). Results of mean generation time of O. conglobata contaminata that was rearing on different diets showed that there were significant differences among the different diets. Mean generation time of O. conglobata in Psylla, A.fabae, A.gossypii and egg of E. kuehniella diets were 36.31, 37.72, 33.34 and 37.30 days, respectively. Finite rate of increase (λ) of O. conglobata contaminata by feeding A.pistasciae, A.fabae, A.gossypii and E. kuehniella was determined 1.198, 1.150, 1.136 and 1.116, respectively.The results of this study can be compared with the result of Mokhtari and Samih (2014), Rounagh and Samih (2014) and Hassani et al. (2009). Life expectancy of female and male O. conglobata contaminata by feeding A.pistasciae, A.fabae, A.gossypii and E. kuehniella were 80.82,64.16; 81.02,68.76; 80.54,68.88 and 59.75, 62.11 days, respectively. Results also indicated that the psylla and A.fabae diets improved the demographics parameters and the life expectancy of O. conglobata contaminata. Conclusions: The results illustrated that this predator by feeding on nymphs of A. pistaciae has the highest intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and with respect to the demographic parameters, it was the most suitable prey .The compare of O. conglobata contaminata -rm that rearing by CPP with A. pistaciae -rm proves that this predator can control of A. pistaciae in the field and this ladybeetle can be used in IPM of pistachio orchards. According to the difficulty of rearing CPP in laboratory conditions, aphids are suitable preys for mass rearing of O. conglobata contaminata in insectariums