The efficacy of Iranian Pythium oligandrum isolates in biocontrol of soil-borne fungal pathogens of tomato

International audiencePythium oligandrum is known as an important biological control agent against fungal plant pathogens. The commercial formulations of this oomycete could reduce the application of the chemical fungicides and lessen the environmental impact of treatments. This study aimed to investigate the antagonistic ability of Iranian isolates of P. oligandrum to select proper and efficient candidates as native biocontrol agents using a previously characterized collection of forty-five isolates from fields of different regions of Iran. The antagonistic effects of native P. oligandrum isolates were evaluated against two soil-borne fungal pathogens, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and Phytophthora parasitica, causing diseases on tomato. Pythium oligandrum isolates K29, K48, and K87 were recognized as the most effective isolates based also on previously published in vitro antagonistic assays, oligandrin production, and the ability of root colonization. The oospores of the selected candidates were formulated as seed-coating, kaolin dust mixture, and perlite-coating and compared with common fungicides in greenhouse tests. The results of greenhouse studies revealed that all selected P. oligandrum isolates and chemical fungicides significantly reduced disease severity but the efficacy of P. oligandrum isolates varied according to the type of formulation. Seed-coating formulation with oospores exhibited better performance than other formulations. The results showed that the application of formulated P. oligandrum selected isolates had the same performance (40-50% reduction in disease severity) as compared to the chemical fungicide treatments for controlling soil-borne pathogens. These results make it possible to consider in the near future the use of isolates of P. oligandrum as biocontrol agents to protect vegetable crops, in particular tomato, from soil-borne pathogens

Genetic diversity of Pythium oligandrum in Iran

National audiencePythium oligandrumis an important potential biological control agent of plant pathogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of 45 isolates from various provinces in Iran. Genetic diversity was characterized based on inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Cluster analysis of ISSR data categorized the isolates into three main clusters. A high level of variability was revealed withinP. oligandrumisolates, however, no significant diversity among geographical regions was observed and isolates from different regions were grouped into the same cluster. Genetic diversity was moderate within populations (i.e. Bushehr, Fars and Kermanshah) with high average gene flow and low genetic distances between populations. The observed and effective numbers of alleles were higher in the Fars population than in other studied populations. This is the first report on the genetic diversity ofP. oligandrumusing ISSR markers. This study paves the way for the selection of isolates to be assessed for their antagonistic efficacy

Usability Evaluation of Emergency Department Information System: A Case of Discharge and Admission Sections of an Educational Hospital

Introduction: The emergency department is amongst the most important parts of the hospital, which has a great impact on the performance of other departments. In this regard, Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) plays a vital role in providing effective and appropriate healthcare services. Material and Methods: To evaluate the user-perceived usability of admission and discharge sections of the Emergency Department Information System of Shohada-e-Tajrish Educational Hospital, the study is carried out utilizing SUS and PSSUQ scales. Research participants include all users in the admission and discharge sections of the emergency department of the Hospital. Results: The mean score of the system usability based on the results of the SUS scale was 49.62±23.23, which is lower than the acceptable level (score above 68). The results generated by the PSSUQ tool revealed that the information quality (4.79), interface quality (4.91), and system usefulness (4.42) of admission and discharge sections of the EDIS do not have appropriate scores and need to be improved in this regard. .The worst usability score was related to system usefulness. There was no statistically significant correlation between the age of participants and usability scores. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between the user-perceived usability and the education level of participants (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed that users are not satisfied with system usability. In the event that the usability of the system is suboptimal, the user fails to effectively utilize the system, thereby impeding the attainment of the intended ultimate objective for which the system has been designed. Regarding the importance of admission and discharge sections in the EDIS, strides need to be made to improve the usability of the system which is used at the emergency department of Shohada-e-Tajrish educational hospital

Evaluation of Effectiveness of Ethanolic Extract of Artemisia aucheri Individually and in Combination with Chloroquine on Chloroquine Sensitive Strain of Plasmodium berghei in Sourian Mice

Background: Drug resistance in malaria parasites is extending in the world particularly in chemical synthesized drugs such as 4- aminoquinolines and aminoalcoholes. Employing herbal extracts is encouraged by WHO in the malarious areas. In this study, the effectiveness of ethanolic extract of Artemisia aucheri individually and in combination with chloro­quine, has been considered against chloroquine - sensitive strain of Plasmodium berghei.Methods: At the first stage, ED50 of A. aucheri and chloroquine on P. berghei was calculated using in vivo test. Then based on the ED50s combination of A. aucheri and chloroquine with ratios of 0/100,10/90,20/80,30/70,40/60,50 /50,60/40,70/30,80/20,90/10 and100/0 were tested against the parasite. For evaluat­ing the adverse effect of A. aucheri on the mice, for two weeks 1000mg/kg of the extract was daily employed and the mice were followed up for fifty daysResults: ED50s for chloroquine and A. aucheri were 1.6mg/kg and 1000mg/kg respectively. The outcome of two drugs combination on the mice showed antagonistic effects on the chloroquine – sensitive strain of parasite. Two weeks daily administration of A. aucheri had no toxic effect on the mice.Conclusion: A. aucheri individually can be effective in reducing the parasite while in combination with chloroquine loses its property

Improving thermal conductivity of cotton fabrics using composite coatings containing graphene, multiwall carbon nanotube or boron nitride fine particles

Graphene, multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and fine boron nitride (BN) particles were separately applied with a resin onto a cotton fabric, and the effect of the thin composite coatings on the thermal conductive property, air permeability, wettability and color appearance of the cotton fabric was examined. The existence of the fillers within the coating layer increased the thermal conductivity of the coated cotton fabric. At the same coating content, the increase in fabric thermal conductivity was in the order of graphene > BN > MWCNT, ranging from 132 % to 842 % (based on pure cotton fabric). The coating led to 73 %, 69 % and 64 % reduction in air permeability when it respectively contained 50.0 wt% graphene, BN and MWCNTs. The graphene and MWCNT treated fabrics had a black appearance, but the coating had almost no influence on the fabric hydrophilicity. The BN coating made cotton fabric surface hydrophobic, with little change in fabric color