The comparison of heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb) in the muscle of Otolithes ruber in Abadan and Bandar Abbas Ports, the Persian Gulf

A comparative study was conducted on concentration of heavy metals including: Hg, Cd and Pb in the muscle of Otolithes ruber in Abadan and Bandar Abbas Ports in the Persian Gulf. In this study, a total of 42 specimens of Otolithes ruber were collected from coastal waters of Abadan and Bandar Abbas Ports in 2010. Heavy metals were extracted from the muscle tissues using wet digestion method and concentration of metals were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that mean (±SD) accumulation of Hg, Cd and Pb in the muscles of Otolithes ruber in Bandar Abbas were 0.058±0.001, 0.279±0.056 and 0.668±0.077mgKg-1 wet weight, and in Abadan were 0.056±0.007, 0.25±0.038 and 0.638±0.087mgKg-1 wet weight respectively. No significant differences were found in concentrations of Hg, Cd and Pb in the muscle of Otolithes ruber between Abadan and Bandar Abbas ports. Accumulation of these metals were higher in the muscle of Otolithes ruber than that Bandar Abbas Port. Concentration of Hg in the muscle of Otolithes ruber was lower than acceptable limit suggested by WHO, MAFF, NHMRC. However concentrations of Pb and Cd were higher

The biology of some Pentatomoidea and their egg-parasites

Imperial Users onl

The Effect of Different Organic Fertilizers in Various Compactness Levels on the Amount of Some Nutrients of Sport Lawn in Spring

Lawn has an incredible role in designing and construction of landscape areas and lawn bed provides aeration, moisture and nutrients, which is essential for having an acceptance lawn, so the role of organic matter and degree of soil compactness need to be studied. In the current study, the effect of some bed mixtures including Leaf Mold (LM), Rice Husk (RH), manure, Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC), a mixture of LM, RH and SMC (mixture 1), a mixture of LM, RH and manure (mixture 2), with the ratio of 1:1:1 and control (no fertilizer), also the effect of some different soil compactness (roller weights of 36, 56 and 76 kilograms) on the content of some nutrients of sport lawn in spring season were investigated. Hence, an experiment was conducted as the strip plot design in three replications, in research farm of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources during 2008-09. According to the results of this study, interaction of fertilizer and soil compactness was significant for most measured factors so that treatments containing manure showed the most nitrogen content in all three compactness levels. As well, in all three compactness levels, the high phosphorus content of plant was also found in manure treatment and the lowest in control and LM. Furthermore, manure, SMC, and treatments containing these two organic fertilizers showed increased potassium of plant toward control and LM

The Effect of Fertilizer Treatments at Three Compactness Levels on Qualitative Traits of Sport Lawn in Winter Season

Lawn quality, which introduces by good color, density, uniformity and texture varies depending on the species, maintenance operation, and time of the year. In the current study, the effect of organic fertilizers containing Leaf Mold (LM), Rice Husk (RH), manure, Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC), a mixture of LM, RH and SMC (mixture 1), a mixture of LM, RH and manure (mixture 2), with the ratio of 1:1:1 and control (no fertilizer) at three levels of soil compactness including roller weights of 36, 56, 76 kilograms on qualitative traits of sport lawn were investigated in winter season. Treatments were applied in a strip plot design with three replications, in research farm of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources during fall 2008-2009. According to achieved results, manure and RH treatments in first and second compaction and manure treatment in third compaction level showed the highest amount of chlorophyll content. In visual assessment, the highest and lowest of lawn quality was observed in the manure and the control treatment respectively. In first and second compaction, the maximum height was observed in manure treatment. Control and LM treatments showed the minimum height. In third compaction, maximum and minimum heights were associated with manure and control treatment respectively

Teachers' personality types and their attitude toward receiving and employing postobservation feedback

Classroom observation has been long considered a power-ful tool for evaluating and monitoring teachers' perform-ance and progress. Teachers can benefit from the feedbackduring the postobservation conference but giving feedbackis not a simple skill and needs knowledge and training.Research on tackling postobservation problems remainsemerging and the aim of this study is to explore the rolethat a teacher's personality type–based on DiSC personal-ity test‐might play in postobservation conferences andreaction to receiving feedback from the supervisor. Togather data, 20 nonnative EFL teachers were asked to takethe DiSC personality test to have their personality typesidentified, then they were observed three times, and eachtime they received feedback on their classroom manage-ment techniques. Results indicate that teachers withdifferent personality types act differently during thepostobservation conferences. While D and i styles areactive and tend to employ feedback moderately andstrongly in their classes, S and C styles are mostly passivewith the tendency of employing feedback moderately andweakly. The findings contribute to a better understandingof the role of personality types in teachers' tolerance ofcriticism and their tendency to apply the received feedbackin their future classes

Applying a User-centred Approach to Interactive Visualization Design

Analysing users in their context of work and finding out how and why they use different information resources is essential to provide interactive visualisation systems that match their goals and needs. Designers should actively involve the intended users throughout the whole process. This chapter presents a user-centered approach for the design of interactive visualisation systems. We describe three phases of the iterative visualisation design process: the early envisioning phase, the global specification hase, and the detailed specification phase. The whole design cycle is repeated until some criterion of success is reached. We discuss different techniques for the analysis of users, their tasks and domain. Subsequently, the design of prototypes and evaluation methods in visualisation practice are presented. Finally, we discuss the practical challenges in design and evaluation of collaborative visualisation environments. Our own case studies and those of others are used throughout the whole chapter to illustrate various approaches

P2P Mapper: From User Experiences to Pattern-Based Design

User experience is an umbrella term referring to a collection of information that covers the user’s behavior and interaction with a system. It is observed when the user is actively using a service or interacting with information, includes expectations and perceptions, and is influenced by user characteristics and application or service characteristics. User characteristics include knowledge, experience, personality and demographics. We propose a process and supporting software tool called Persona to Pattern (P2P) Mapper, which guides designers in modeling user experiences and identifying appropriate design patterns. The three-step process is: Persona Creation (a representative persona set is developed), Pattern Selection (behavioral patterns are identified resulting in an ordered list of design patterns for each persona), and Pattern Composition (patterns are used to create a conceptual design). The tool supports the first two steps of the process by providing various automation algorithms for user grouping and pattern selection combined with the benefit of rapid pattern and user information access. Persona and pattern formats are augmented with a set of discrete domain variables to facilitate automation and provide an alternative view on the information. Finally, the P2P Mapper is used in the redesign of two different Bioinformatics applications: a popular website and a visualization tool. The results of the studies demonstrate a significant improvement in the system usability of both applications

Pattern-oriented UI design based on user experiences : a method supported by empirical evidence

User-Centered Design (UCD) is a philosophy surrounding interactive system design, with the purpose of achieving product usability. One challenge with UCD and its related methods is the lack of a concrete process which supports designers in building user interface (UI) designs founded on user experiences. In current practice, design decisions are made based on loosely-defined guidelines, giving rise to a significant "gap" between user analysis and design outcomes. This is especially problematic for novice designers who lack the background and training required to make trade-offs, judgments and interpretations towards a usable design. In this thesis, we propose a Pattern-Oriented UI Design method which is driven by user experiences. It is founded on a set of core UCD principles which we have enriched with "engineering-like" concepts such as reuse and traceability. The method is based on two key artifacts--personas, used to model user experiences, and patterns, used to capture best design practices. Following this method, we define the UX-P Process, a systematic process which is semi-automated and characterized by rigorously-defined steps; designers iteratively create personas, select patterns, and compose patterns into a comprehensive design, based on user specifications and usability considerations. We have built a supporting tool, which allows designers to cluster users into personas and select candidate patterns based on persona specifications. We carried out two empirical studies with end-users. The goal of the first study was to assess the feasibility of the method; the second, to validate the process. Both studies were carried out with Bioinformatics applications and were comparative in nature testing the original design with our prototype. The outcome of these empirical studies indicated a positive increase in usability measures for our design prototypes, including a significant improvement in task times and user satisfaction