A planning support system for rangeland allocation in Iran : case of Chadegan sub-region

Rangelands, like other natural resources are subject to many changes. In Iran, one of the changes is the land tenure reform, that may have significant effects on both the land and the land user. Land tenure changes not only affect the life of the present, but also that of next generations, and involves very complex decision making. This decision should lead to a sustainable use of the land and contribute to the livelihood of the present and future generations. In this context a planning support system is being developed for rangeland allocation in Iran to support its rangeland tenure reform. The system is composed of three modules: land evaluation module, district planning module and local planning module.The land evaluation module works in a GIS environment and uses the FAO methodology for land evaluation . It is mainly based on biophysical characteristics of the land use system. However, socio-economic factors, in terms of the effect of human intervention on the current status of the land have also been taken into account.The district planning module comprises three sub-modules: the planning sub-module, the grazing sub-module and multicriteria evaluation (MCE) sub-module. The planning sub-module is an optimisation model that allows examination of the degree of realisation of the various objectives of stakeholders, and generates alternative solutions. For each alternative, the grazing capacity of the land is assessed through the grazing sub-module, that translates the forage production into grazing capacity. The MCE module ranks all alternatives, taking into account their advantages and disadvantages, and provides a platform for decision makers to judge the trade-offs between alternatives and supports rational decision-making. This leads to a land use pattern, which is in line with the existing government policies and satisfying the needs and desires of the people in the district.The local planning module also comprises of three sub-modules: Land allocation, economic enterprise and land improvement. The land allocation sub-module transforms the district land use pattern into a local land use plan. The economic enterprise sub-module determines the appropriate size of the land holding for each household on each land mapping unit. Finally, the land improvement sub-module provides information on the status and impact of the programme at each specified point in time and space

Quantitative Comparison of Abundance Structures of Generalized Communities: From B-Cell Receptor Repertoires to Microbiomes

The \emph{community}, the assemblage of organisms co-existing in a given space and time, has the potential to become one of the unifying concepts of biology, especially with the advent of high-throughput sequencing experiments that reveal genetic diversity exhaustively. In this spirit we show that a tool from community ecology, the Rank Abundance Distribution (RAD), can be turned by the new MaxRank normalization method into a generic, expressive descriptor for quantitative comparison of communities in many areas of biology. To illustrate the versatility of the method, we analyze RADs from various \emph{generalized communities}, i.e.\ assemblages of genetically diverse cells or organisms, including human B cells, gut microbiomes under antibiotic treatment and of different ages and countries of origin, and other human and environmental microbial communities. We show that normalized RADs enable novel quantitative approaches that help to understand structures and dynamics of complex generalize communities

Comparison of Lower Extremity Inter-Segmental Coordination Variability and Muscle ‎Functionality‏ ‏in Athletes with and without Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome During Running

Propose:Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is a common ailment among runners and those leading active lifestyles. This study aimed to explore the differences in the coordination variability and muscle functionality in the lower limbs of professional athletes afflicted with PFPS compared to their healthy counterparts during running.Methods:Eighteen male athletes with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) and 18 healthy male athletes participated in this study. Data recording was conducted using 6 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors placed on both thighs, shins, and feet, along with surface electrodes on the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and gluteus medius muscles. The coordination variability and electrical activity of the lower limbs of each participant were examined while running at a self-selected speed on a treadmill for 21 minutes, during both the stance and swing phases at the test's beginning, and only during the stance phase at the test's end. An independent t-test was utilized for statistical analysis (p≥0.05).Results:Coordination variability between sagittal thigh-sagittal shin, sagittal thigh-transverse shin, transverse thigh-transverse shin, frontal thigh-transverse shin, sagittal shin-transverse foot, and transverse shin-sagittal foot was lower in the PFPS group compared to the healthy group during the stance phase (p≥0.05), and sagittal shin-transverse foot coordination variability was lower during the swing phase (p=0.001). The activation timing of the vastus medialis and gluteus medius muscles in the PFPS group was delayed compared to the healthy group (p=0.005 and p=0.002, respectively) and remained active for a longer duration (p=0.007 and p=0.001, respectively), with less overall activity (p=0.001).Conclusion:The research indicates that the performance of the muscles studied may be a contributing factor to the reduced coordination variability observed in the lower limbs

Hydroethanolic Allium sativum extract accelerates excision wound healing: evidence for roles of mast-cell infiltration and intracytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio

ABSTRACT The present study was designed to evaluate the in vivo effect of Allium sativum (garlic) hydroalcoholic extract on wound healing in rats. For this purpose, 72 mature Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=18/each) to receive no treatment, placebo, Cicalfate(r), or 2% Allium sativum (AS) extract, administered topically to the wound area, for 21 days. Following the experimental period, tissue samples were dissected out and underwent to histopathological analyses. Fibroblasts, fibrocytes, mast cells, intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio, neovascularization, collagen deposition, and re-epithelialization were analyzed in all groups. Animals in the treated groups showed significant enhancement in fibroblast, fibrocyte, and mast-cell distribution. Significantly higher neovascularization was observed on day 3 after wound induction in AS-treated animals versus those in the placebo, Cicalfate, and untreated groups (P<0.05). A dose-dependent, significantly higher intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate storage was observed in treated animals. Our data show that AS promotes wound healing due to its preliminary impact on mast-cell distribution, which enhanced collagen synthesis and upregulated angiogenesis, and shortened the healing process by enhancing the intra-cytoplasmic carbohydrate ratio

Markov Properties of Electrical Discharge Current Fluctuations in Plasma

Using the Markovian method, we study the stochastic nature of electrical discharge current fluctuations in the Helium plasma. Sinusoidal trends are extracted from the data set by the Fourier-Detrended Fluctuation analysis and consequently cleaned data is retrieved. We determine the Markov time scale of the detrended data set by using likelihood analysis. We also estimate the Kramers-Moyal's coefficients of the discharge current fluctuations and derive the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation. In addition, the obtained Langevin equation enables us to reconstruct discharge time series with similar statistical properties compared with the observed in the experiment. We also provide an exact decomposition of temporal correlation function by using Kramers-Moyal's coefficients. We show that for the stationary time series, the two point temporal correlation function has an exponential decaying behavior with a characteristic correlation time scale. Our results confirm that, there is no definite relation between correlation and Markov time scales. However both of them behave as monotonic increasing function of discharge current intensity. Finally to complete our analysis, the multifractal behavior of reconstructed time series using its Keramers-Moyal's coefficients and original data set are investigated. Extended self similarity analysis demonstrates that fluctuations in our experimental setup deviates from Kolmogorov (K41) theory for fully developed turbulence regime.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures and 4 tables. V3: Added comments, references, figures and major correction

Vertebral rotation measurement: a summary and comparison of common radiographic and CT methods

Current research has provided a more comprehensive understanding of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) as a three-dimensional spinal deformity, encompassing both lateral and rotational components. Apart from quantifying curve severity using the Cobb angle, vertebral rotation has become increasingly prominent in the study of scoliosis. It demonstrates significance in both preoperative and postoperative assessment, providing better appreciation of the impact of bracing or surgical interventions. In the past, the need for computer resources, digitizers and custom software limited studies of rotation to research performed after a patient left the scoliosis clinic. With advanced technology, however, rotation measurements are now more feasible. While numerous vertebral rotation measurement methods have been developed and tested, thorough comparisons of these are still relatively unexplored. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of six common measurement techniques based on technology most pertinent in clinical settings: radiography (Cobb, Nash-Moe, Perdriolle and Stokes' method) and computer tomography (CT) imaging (Aaro-Dahlborn and Ho's method). Better insight into the clinical suitability of rotation measurement methods currently available is presented, along with a discussion of critical concerns that should be addressed in future studies and development of new methods