Alteration of dentate gyrus astrocytes in diabetic rats: Protective role of Urtica dioica

Diabetes mellitus can cause astrocytes alterations in the central nervous system. Urtica dioica (Nettle) is among several species listed for their use against diabetes in folk medicine. Therefore, this study was done to evaluate the protective effect of Urtica dioica on astrocytes density of the dentate gyrus in STZ induced diabetic rats. In this experimental study, 21 male albino Wistar rats were randomly allocated equally into normal, diabetic and protective (nettle treated diabetic) groups. Hyperglycemia was induced by streptozotocin (80 mg/kg) in the animals of diabetic and treatment groups. Before induction of diabetes in animals, animals in protective group received hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica (100 mg/kg/BW /day) for five days intraperitoneally. Four weeks after induction of diabetes, animals were sacrificed and coronal sections were taken from the dorsal hippocampal formation of the right cerebral hemispheres and stained with PTAH stain. The area densities of the astrocytes were measured and compared in the three groups (p < 0.05). The number of astrocytes in DG area of controls was 17.72±6.7. The density of astrocytes increased in diabetic (24.26±9.5) in comparison with controls. The density in the nettle treated rats (23.17±5.8) was lower than diabetic rats. This study showed that the administration of U. dioica extract before induction of diabetes can not significantly help compensate for astrocytes in the dentate gyrus of treated rats

Emission and Cost Configurations in Earthmoving Operations

Brief introduction to the problem. The paper examines the influence of varying operation parameters such as equipment heterogeneity, payload, and travel times, on unit emissions and unit costs in earthmoving and like operations. The need to minimise cost and maximise production of earthmoving and like operations has led to such operations being heavily scrutinised. With environmental issues becoming more important, there is now a need to additionally scrutinise and minimise emissions. Cycle times and production were measured in a cut-and-fill case study operation; average fuel burn data are converted to idling and nonidling emission fractions; and queuing theory is used for the theoretical evaluation of production for varying operation parameters. It is demonstrated that the optimum fleet sizes in terms of minimum unit costs and minimum unit emissions coincide in earthmoving operations. The result is independent of any specific operational parameters. The paper concludes that the traditional way of undertaking earthmoving operations, namely configuring to give minimum unit costs, will also result in minimum unit emissions. And that configuring differently to that will lead to unnecessary emissions. The result carries over to quarrying and surface mining operations

Online Optimal Neuro-Fuzzy Flux Controller for DTC Based Induction Motor Drives

In this paper a fast flux search controller based on the Neuro-fuzzy systems is proposed to achieve the best efficiency of a direct torque controlled induction motor at light load. In this method the reference flux value is determined through a minimization algorithm with stator current as objective function. This paper discusses and demonstrates the application of Neurofuzzy filtering to stator current estimation. Simulation and experimental results are presented to show the fast response of proposed controller

Emission and Cost Configurations in Earthmoving Operations

Brief introduction to the problem. The paper examines the influence of varying operation parameters such as equipment heterogeneity, payload, and travel times, on unit emissions and unit costs in earthmoving and like operations. The need to minimise cost and maximise production of earthmoving and like operations has led to such operations being heavily scrutinised. With environmental issues becoming more important, there is now a need to additionally scrutinise and minimise emissions. Cycle times and production were measured in a cut-and-fill case study operation; average fuel burn data are converted to idling and nonidling emission fractions; and queuing theory is used for the theoretical evaluation of production for varying operation parameters. It is demonstrated that the optimum fleet sizes in terms of minimum unit costs and minimum unit emissions coincide in earthmoving operations. The result is independent of any specific operational parameters. The paper concludes that the traditional way of undertaking earthmoving operations, namely configuring to give minimum unit costs, will also result in minimum unit emissions. And that configuring differently to that will lead to unnecessary emissions. The result carries over to quarrying and surface mining operations

On the stability of J∗−^*-derivations

In this paper, we establish the stability and superstability of $J^*-$derivations in $J^*-$algebras for the generalized Jensen--type functional equation $$rf(\frac{x+y}{r})+rf(\frac{x-y}{r})= 2f(x).$$ Finally, we investigate the stability of $J^*-$derivations by using the fixed point alternative

Breeding ecology of the Iranian ground jay (Podoces pleskei)

Although Podoces pleskei is the only endemic bird of Iran, little information exists on its ecological features, population dynamics and threats that concern it. This species occurs in desert and semi desert areas, mostly on the Iranian plateau, though its range spreads southeast ward to the Iran- Pakistan border. In this research, a total of 52 nests were studied in three locations, the “Ghare Tappe”, “Marvast” and “Mehrano” region, from 2005 to 2008. Breeding habits, nest characteristics, hatching features, clutch size, length of incubation time, nesting period and features of the chicks were observed in the three locations and were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To compare breeding success among the three study areas, Z test was applied. This bird builds its nest at the top of and within the denser parts of plants, particularly Atraphaxis spinosa, Ephedra intermedia and Zygophyllum eurypterum. At times of danger, they hide beneath shrubs. Z-tests showed that the breeding success of this bird varied between Marvast and Mehrano. The greatest cause of nest failure and chick mortality was the transcaspian desert monitor (Varanus griseus caspius), which feeds on the eggs and chicks.Key words: Breeding ecology, Pleske’s ground jay, nest characteristics, clutch size, nest success, threat