Effect of garlic extract on growth and survival rate in Litopenaeus vannami post larvae

The effect of garlic extract on growth and survival rates of one day larvae of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp was tested for 12 days .Six nutritional treatments each with three replicates were fed to shrimp larvae (average weight 0.0013g) including control treatment (unriched Artemia nauplii) and second to sixth Artemia nauplii enriched with 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000mg garlic extract per kg, respectively. The one way ANOVA results showed that all treatments were different in terms of average weight and total length of larvae compared to control group. Shrimps being fed by Artesia enriched with 200mg garlic extract per kg food have the best growth, survival rates and length (0.0062mg, 81.6% and 10.6mm). Group 3 with concentration of 400mg garlic extract per kg of feed followed by control group showed better growth and survival rates in shrimp larvae than other treatments but the lowest survival rate evaluated in shrimps fed by Artemia nauplii enriched with 600, 800 and 1000mg garlic extract per kg feed, orderly. Specific growth rates (SGR) for treatment groups 2 and 3 were higher compared to other groups

Transfer learning in hand movement intention detection based on surface electromyography signals

Over the past several years, electromyography (EMG) signals have been used as a natural interface to interact with computers and machines. Recently, deep learning algorithms such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have gained interest for decoding the hand movement intention from EMG signals. However, deep networks require a large dataset to train appropriately. Creating such a database for a single subject could be very time-consuming. In this study, we addressed this issue from two perspectives: (i) we proposed a subject-transfer framework to use the knowledge learned from other subjects to compensate for a target subject’s limited data; (ii) we proposed a task-transfer framework in which the knowledge learned from a set of basic hand movements is used to classify more complex movements, which include a combination of mentioned basic movements. We introduced two CNN-based architectures for hand movement intention detection and a subject-transfer learning approach. Classifiers are tested on the Nearlab dataset, a sEMG hand/wrist movement dataset including 8 movements and 11 subjects, along with their combination, and on open-source hand sEMG dataset “NinaPro DataBase 2 (DB2).” For the Nearlab database, the subject-transfer learning approach improved the average classification accuracy of the proposed deep classifier from 92.60 to 93.30% when classifier was utilizing 10 other subjects’ data via our proposed framework. For Ninapro DB2 exercise B (17 hand movement classes), this improvement was from 81.43 to 82.87%. Moreover, three stages of analysis in task-transfer approach proved that it is possible to classify combination hand movements using the knowledge learned from a set of basic hand movements with zero, few samples and few seconds of data from the target movement classes. First stage takes advantage of shared muscle synergies to classify combined movements, while second and third stages take advantage of novel algorithms using few-shot learning and fine-tuning to use samples from target domain to further train the classifier trained on the source database. The use of information learned from basic hand movements improved classification accuracy of combined hand movements by 10%

Sleep Patterns and Sleep Disorders in Primary School Children in Qazvin, Iran

ObjectiveSleep disorders are common in children; they also have a significant impact on the whole family, the parents in particular. Few studies in this field have been performed in Iran; hence the  present study was carried out in order to determine sleep patterns and the  prevalence of sleep disorders in school aged children in Qazvin.Material and MethodsThis cross sectional study was done on 300 students (150 males and 150 females) of elementary schools in Qazvin, selected from cluster random samples. The duration of the study was from November 2006 to February 2007, and data was acquired by means of a standard pediatric sleep questionnaire.ResultsThe prevalence of sleep disorder among subjects was 44.3% (47.3% in males, and 41.3% in females), and the disorder was severe in 21% of the studied children. Sleep patterns during the school days differed significantly from what was observed on Fridays (p=0.000). In addition, there was a significant difference between males and females in terms of duration of sleep on Fridays (p=0.014).ConclusionConsidering the high prevalence of sleep disorders in children, their harmful impact on the development of the  nervous system and the child's learning and psychological health as well as on parental competency, and again bearing in mind the low level of awareness among the general population about sleep hygiene, we strongly recommend educational programs via public media and via meetings with the parents in schools

VITAMIN B6 & TREATMENT OF INFANTILE SPASMS: A COMPARISON WITH STANDARD STEROID THERAPY

BackgroundConsidering the inadequacies of current therapeutic regimens for infantile spasms (IS), and the frequent and serious side effects of  Some regimens, the ongoing search for more enhanced protocols is understandable.Materials and Methods:We have compared the therapeutic and adverse effects of vitamin B6 given in high doses with those of prednisolone in a randomized controlled clinical trial. Vitamin B6 (40mg/kg/24hr) and prednisolone (1.5mg/kg/day) were given to in 22 and 15 patients respectively, and the patients were followed for at least 6 months.Results:Response to treatment was slightly better in the prednisolone group but the difference was not significant (p=0.4). On the other hand adverse effects were also seen more frequently with prednisolone.Conclusion:We conclude that high dose vitamin B6 should be considered as an alternative method of treatment; it seems that it can be safely used where there is contraindication to use other antiepileptic drugs or where they have failed; even in newly diagnosed cases of IS.Keywords:Vitamin B6, prednisolone, infantile spasm

Chemical control of the Lesser Date Moth, Batrachedra amydraula (Lepidoptera: Batrachedridae)

The Lesser Date Moth, Batrachedra amydraula (Lepidoptera: Batrachedridae), is a key pest of date palms in silos and storages. The efficacy of aluminium phosphide (Phostoxin® tablet 55%) @ 5 t/m3 and magnesium phosphide (Degesch® plates 56%) @ 2 p/30 m3 were assessed against this pest in Iran date silos based on a completely randomized block design. Based on Henderson-Tilton formula, on the third day after treatment, both treatments resulted in 100% mortality. Application of magnesium phosphide and aluminium phosphide can be a suitable substitution for methyl bromide, which has just been banned in many countries

Visual intracortical and transthalamic pathways carry distinct information to cortical areas.

Sensory processing involves information flow between neocortical areas, assumed to rely on direct intracortical projections. However, cortical areas may also communicate indirectly via higher-order nuclei in the thalamus, such as the pulvinar or lateral posterior nucleus (LP) in the visual system of rodents. The fine-scale organization and function of these cortico-thalamo-cortical pathways remains unclear. We find that responses of mouse LP neurons projecting to higher visual areas likely derive from feedforward input from primary visual cortex (V1) combined with information from many cortical and subcortical areas, including superior colliculus. Signals from LP projections to different higher visual areas are tuned to specific features of visual stimuli and their locomotor context, distinct from the signals carried by direct intracortical projections from V1. Thus, visual transthalamic pathways are functionally specific to their cortical target, different from feedforward cortical pathways, and combine information from multiple brain regions, linking sensory signals with behavioral context

Frosted branch angiitis caused by Varicella Zoster virus in an immunocompetent patient

Introduction: Frosted branch angiitis(FBA) is a panuveitis with sheating of all retinal vesssels. Case presentation: Herein we report an immunocompetent person who presented with fever, headache, atypical rash, and hazy vision. Ophthalmoscopy of both eyes revealed perivascular sheathing with frosted branch angiitis pattern in veins, patchy retinal hemorrhages. Aqueous PCR analysis turned positive for VZV. Discussion: This case illustrates that VZV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of retinal perivasculitis. Since a rapid and accurate diagnosis is crucial for prompt administration of antiviral therapy, PCR-based analysis of aqueous humor is a valuable tool for detecting viruses. © 2015, IRAN. J. MICROBIOL. All rights reserved

Studying the efficacy of fipronil (GR 0.2%) against European Mole Cricket, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae)

The European Mole Cricket, Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae), is a key pest of several crops in different regions of the world, damaging seedlings, roots and tubers. The efficacy of fipronil (Regent ® GR 0.2%) @ 2, 2.5 and 3 g/m2 along with toxic bait of carbaryl (EC 85%)@ 20 g/m2 were assessed against this pest in the field based on a completely randomized block design. Based on Henderson-Tilton formula, on the third day after treatment, the efficacy of fipronil @ 2, 2.5 and 3 g/m2 and carbaryl bait was 16%, 30%, 47% and 53%, respectively; while on the third day after treatment, the efficacy was 22%, 48%, 64% and 81%, respectively. At present, carbaryl application is banned in Iran; therefore, fipronil can be a suitable substitute for this insecticide

Susceptibility of different populations of Tribolium confusum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to malathion (EC 57%) in flour mills of Iran

The confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, is a key pest of stored products such as wheat and flour. For decades, organophosphorus compounds, such as malathion and pirimiphos-methyl, have been applied against stored-product pests. In this research, susceptibility of different populations of T. confusum, collected from silos at different locations of Iran, against malathion (EC 57%), was studied in the laboratory, based on a completely randomized design. Based on pre-tests, the Bioassay Index Dose was estimated as 2 g a.i./m2. Out of 23 populations, 2 populations from Bandar-Abbas region were resistant populations against malathion (9.72% and 67.2% mortality), while one population from Khomein region was moderately resistant (86.08% mortality), and the rest of the population were susceptible to malathion (95.71% to 100% mortality). Therefore, in warm locations of Iran, where this pest has evolved resistance against malathion, other control measures shall be considered