Sunflower’s seed separation in High-Intensity Electric Field

Seed separation and cleaning is one of the important processes in obtaining pure high quality seed. The separation can be carried out by the properties of physical, electrical, magnetic, optical, etc. In this study, a high tension roll‐type electrostatic separator was constructed to separation of sunflower’s seed in order to extraction of pure seed and remove impurities. An extended corona discharge field was generated by three wire type electrodes in the roll-type separator. The experiment was performed in the form of factorial analysis based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The effects of the roll rotational speed, the electrode distance from the roll and the amount of power supply as effective factors in separation were examined on sunflower and material other than grain. The pure sunflower’s seed was measured in the treatment combinations of the rotational speed (40, 50 and 60 rpm), electrode distance from roll (4, 5 and 6 cm) and the power supply voltage (20, 30 and 40 kV). Results of the compare means showed that the factors of rotational speed and electrode distance from roll had positive effect on the purity of sunflower’s seed, but the effect of power supply voltage was negative. Maximum separation occurred at in the treatment combination 60rpm, 6cm and 20kV

Regression model of sunflower seed separation and the investigation of it’s germination in corona field

Seed separation and cleaning is one of the important processes in obtaining pure high quality seed. The main characteristics that influence the ability to separation seeds are seed size (length, width, and thickness), shape, density, surface texture, terminal velocity, resilience, color, and electrical conductivity. Electrostatic separation is based on differences in the ability of particles to develop and maintain electric charges. In this study, a high tension roll‐type electrostatic separator was constructed to separation of sunflower’s seed in order to extraction of pure seed and remove impurities. An extended corona discharge field was generated by three wire type electrodes in the roll-type separator. The experiment was performed in the form of factorial analysis based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The pure sunflower’s seed was measured in the treatment combinations of the rotational speed (40, 50 and 60 rpm), electrode distance from roll (4, 5 and 6 cm) and the power supply voltage (20, 30 and 40 kV). The linear regression model carried out for investigation of the impact of effective factors on sunflower separation. The result showed that rotational speed had the greatest impact on ideal separation. The germination experiment showed that the electric field of this separator had no significant effects on improving the germination of sunflower see

A Study on the Structural Relationships of Personality Traits and Political Participation among Students with the Mediation of Religious Beliefs

Political participation as one of the major indicators of development is a very important function of people's unique personality-interactive traits, particularly among students. The present research was conducted with the aim of examining the mediatory role of religious beliefs in the relationship between students' personality traits and their political participation. This descriptive-correlational research applied the methodology of structural equation modeling. The population included all the students of Ardakan University in the academic year 2020-2021. 300 students were selected among them by the convenience sampling as the sample. The NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) (short form) (McCrae & Costa, 1992), the questionnaire of political participation (Farajzadeh, 2014), and the questionnaire of religious beliefs (Khodayarifard, 1995) were used for collecting the data. The data analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics and showed that the personality traits of neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness have a significant direct effect on political participation among students (P<0.05); while the personality trait of flexibility does not have a significant direct effect on political participation (P<0.05). In addition, religious beliefs have a significant direct effect on political participation (P<0.05). The personality traits of extroversion, agreeableness, flexibility, and conscientiousness also have a significant direct effect on religious beliefs among students (P<0.05); but the personality trait of neuroticism does not have a significant direct effect on religious beliefs (P<0.05). Moreover, religious beliefs significantly mediate the relationship between the personality traits of extroversion, agreeableness, flexibility, and conscientiousness and political participation among students (P<0.05)

A Review on Anti Dermatophytosis Potential of Medicinal Plants: In-Vitro, In-Vivo and Important Components

Background and Aim: Dermatophytosis refers to superficial fungal infection of keratinised tissues that increase remarkable costs several plants were used as traditional medicine to treat fungal diseases. The current review aimed to provide an update on several plants used as antidermatophytosis agents and investigate the action mechanism of each plant. Materials and Methods: This systematic review was conducted on the literatures available in databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct using the search engine Google Scholar, and the following search terms: Dermatophytosis and Herbal/Herbal Medicine and Dermatophytosis treatment. Results: Forty plants were identified and information on their scientific and common name, family, parts, preparation, extraction method, fractions, solvents, phytochemical categories, compounds, dermatophyte species and inhibitory concentrations was provided from multiple in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies Conclusion: Herbals are the most effective agents on dermatophytosis which have antidermatophytosis effects due to their essential compounds

Quality of life and the related factors in spouses of veterans with chronic spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of individuals with chronic spinal cord injuries may be affected by several factors. Moreover, this issue is yet to be documented fully in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health related quality of life of spouses who act as primary caregivers of veterans with chronic spinal cord injuries in Iran. METHODS: The study consisted of 72 wives of 72 veterans who were categorized as spinal cord injured patients based on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification. Health related quality of life was assessed by the Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey. Pearson's correlation was carried out to find any correlation between demographic variables with SF-36 dimensions. To find the effect of the factors like age, employment status, duration of care giving, education, presence or absence of knee osteoarthritis, and mechanical back pain on different domains of the SF-36 health survey, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 44.7 years. According to the ASIA classification 88.9% and 11.1% of the veterans were paraplegic and tetraplegic respectively. Fifty percent of them had a complete injury (ASIA A) and 85% of the spouses were exclusive care givers. All of the SF-36 scores of the spouses were significantly lower than the normal population. Pearson's correlation demonstrated a negative significant correlation between both age and duration of caring with the PF domain. The number of children had a negative correlation with RE and VT. CONCLUSION: The burden of caregiving can impact the QOL of caregivers and cause health problems. These problems can cause limitations for caregiver spouses and it can lead to a decrease in the quality of given care

Optimization of green and environmentally-benign synthesis of isoamyl acetate in the presence of ball-milled seashells by response surface methodology

Ball-milled seashells, as a nano-biocomposite catalyst and natural source of CaCO3 in its aragonite microcrystalline form with fixed CO2, was optimized for the synthesis of isoamyl acetate (3-methylbutyl ethanoate) by response surface methodology with a five-level three-factor rotatable circumscribed central composite design. The seashells nano-biocomposite has proved to be an excellent heterogeneous multifunctional catalyst for the green and environmentally-benign synthesis of isoamyl acetate from acetic acid and isoamyl alcohol under solvent-free conditions. A high yield of 91% was obtained under the following optimal conditions: molar ratio of alcohol: acetic acid (1:3.7), catalyst loading (15.7 mg), the reaction temperature (98 °C), and the reaction time (219 min). The outstanding advantages of this protocol are the use of an inexpensive, naturally occurring and easily prepared nano-biocomposite material having appropriate thermal stability and without any modifications using hazardous reagents, lower catalyst loading and reaction temperature, no use of corrosive Bronsted acids as well as toxic azeotropic solvents or water adsorbents, and simplicity of the procedure

Comprehensive Gene Expression Analysis of Human Embryonic Stem Cells during Differentiation into Neural Cells

Global gene expression analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that differentiate into neural cells would help to further define the molecular mechanisms involved in neurogenesis in humans. We performed a comprehensive transcripteome analysis of hESC differentiation at three different stages: early neural differentiation, neural ectoderm, and differentiated neurons. We identified and validated time-dependent gene expression patterns and showed that the gene expression patterns reflect early ESC differentiation. Sets of genes are induced in primary ectodermal lineages and then in differentiated neurons, constituting consecutive waves of known and novel genes. Pathway analysis revealed dynamic expression patterns of members of several signaling pathways, including NOTCH, mTOR and Toll like receptors (TLR), during neural differentiation. An interaction network analysis revealed that the TGFβ family of genes, including LEFTY1, ID1 and ID2, are possible key players in the proliferation and maintenance of neural ectoderm. Collectively, these results enhance our understanding of the molecular dynamics underlying neural commitment and differentiation

Analysis of unsteady mixed convection of Cu–water nanofluid in an oscillatory, lid-driven enclosure using lattice Boltzmann method

The unsteady physics of laminar mixed convection in a lid-driven enclosure filled with Cu–water nanofluid is numerically investigated. The top wall moves with constant velocity or with a temporally sinusoidal function, while the other walls are fixed. The horizontal top and bottom walls are, respectively, held at the low and high temperatures, and the vertical walls are assumed to be adiabatic. The governing equations along with the boundary conditions are solved through D2Q9 fluid flow and D2Q5 thermal lattice Boltzmann network. The effects of Richardson number and volume fractions of nanoparticles on the fluid flow and heat transfer are investigated. For the first time in the literature, the current study considers the mechanical power required for moving the top wall of the enclosure under various conditions. This reveals that the power demand increases if the enclosure is filled with a nanofluid in comparison with that with a pure fluid. Keeping a constant heat transfer rate, the required power diminishes by implementing a temporally sinusoidal velocity on the top wall rather than a constant velocity. Reducing frequency of the wall oscillation leads to heat transfer enhancement. Similarly, dropping Richardson number and raising the volume fraction of the nanoparticles enhance the heat transfer rate. Through these analyses, the present study provides a physical insight into the less investigated problem of unsteady mixed convection in enclosures with oscillatory walls

Genotyping of Echinococcus granulosus Isolates from Human in Khorasan Province, North-Eastern Iran

Background: Human hydatidosis is endemic in northeastern Iran. The present study aimed to investigate molecular diversity of Echinococcus granulosus isolates collected from human surgically. Methods: Sixty human hydatid cysts (58 lung cysts and 2 liver cysts) were collected through surgery from Ghaem and Emam Reza hospitals in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences during 2015-2016. Cysts were characterized using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) gene and sequencing fragments of the genes coding for mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit I (nad1). Results: Overall, 55 out of 60 Echinococcus granulosus cysts (91.6%) were determined as the G1 strain, 4 cases (6.6%) were determined as the G6 strain and 1 sample was not identified. Conclusion: Although sheep strain (G1) is dominated in human patients in Great Khorasan, the prevention of camel-dog cycle should pay attention in this region

Effects of systemic administration of HESA-A on the expression of cyclin D1 and EGFR and E-cadherin in the induced tongue dysplasia in rats

Background. HESA-A has herbal and marine bases, containing minerals and rare elements such as Zr, Cr, Ga, Mn, Mg, Ca, Sr, Cu, Ti, etc. Its mechanism of action includes antioxidant, antiinflammatory and adjustment of the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of HESA-A systemic drug on expression of cyclin D1, EGFR and E-cadherin in induced tongue dysplasia in rats. Methods. In this experimental study, the effects of the systemic drug HESA-A on the expression of cyclin D1, EGFR, and E-cadherin molecular markers were examined in induced tongue dysplasia in rats. Results. The incidence rate of cyclin D1 in groups receiving HESA-A was lower than the group that did not receive the drug (77.78% in the 0‒5% range versus 77.78% in the 5‒50% range). In the case of expression of E-cadherin in group D, which did not receive HESA-A, a decrease was observed in the expression of this cell adhesion marker as compared to the other two groups. The incidence of E-cadherin was dependent on HESA-A dose, while with 500 mg/kg it was higher than other groups (>75% in 55.55% versus >75% in 11.11%). Concerning the incidence of EGFR in all the three groups most cases were grade 0. Conclusion. The results of the present research indicated that considering changes in the expression of cyclin D1 and E-cadherin markers in groups treated with HESA-A, HESA-A® has preventive effects on development of cancer in dysplastic lesions through regulation of expression of these molecules