Antibiotic prophylaxis during extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in the prevention of urinary tract infections in patients with sterile urine before the procedure

Introduction: There are controversies in the literature regarding the need and the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), who had a negative urine culture before the operation. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with proven sterile urine before they underwent ESWL. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 150 patients with renal or urethral stones and sterile urine were examined for bacteriuria (positive urine culture) following ESWL. These patients were classified into 3 groups which received either a single dose of oral co-trimoxazole (Tab, 400/80 mg)- group A, a single dose of nitrofurantoin (Tab:100mg) -group B and no treatment- group C. Patients were followed with urine analysis and urine culture after two weeks. Results: The occurrence of post-ESWL urinary infections (positive urine culture) was 14% in group A, 10% in group B and 14% in group C. The complications among the groups were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The incidence of urinary tract infections after ESWL is extremely low, provided that in patients who had sterile urine before ESWL, prophylaxis antibiotics do not seem to be necessary

Simulation study of past climate change effect on chickpea phenology at different sowing dates in Gorgan, Iran

The evaluation of past climate change is needed for selecting appropriate adapting strategy for future. This simulation study was mainly aimed to find the probable difference between sowing dates for response of four chickpea cultivars to past climate change. Firstly, the model CYRUS was recoded in QBASIC programming. Then phenology of cultivars Jam, Hashem, Arman and Beauvanij, seeded at day of year 50, 70 and 90, was evaluated during years 1961 to 2003 in Gorgan, Iran. The changes in some climatic variables were also studied. Results revealed that the solar radiation has been decreased for month December. Although the value of maximum temperature appeared to be the same across years 1961 to 2003 for all months, that of minimum temperature tended to show increasing trend for May and August. The increase in number of days with temperature higher than 35 oC was considerable for April and October, but negligible for other months. The warming of night temperature was significant only for May and August. It found about 34 mm per 43 years decrease in monthly rainfall for March. The rate of increase in number of days with rainfall was 0.0737 day year-1 for December. Nearly similar situation was found for number of days with rainfall lower than and/or equal to 10 mm. The change in number of days with rainfall higher than 10 mm and lower and/or equal to 30 mm was in decreasing manner (March, October and December). The length of time from sowing to emergence appeared to be constant across past years. The advance in flowering (R1) was true only for cultivar Jam seeded at day of year 70. The length of period from R1 to pod initiation (R3) has been diminished for sowing at day of year 70 (Jam and Arman). Only cultivar Hashem seeded at day of year 90 tended to have decreasing trend for length of period between R3 and pod filling. It found one day (per 43 years) decreases from pod yellowing to maturity for cultivar Beauvanij seeded at day of year 70. Based on these findings, and on the fact that future climate change is predicted using past changes, it seems that the adaptation strategies for future, including agronomy and/or breeding programs, may be not the same for different sowing dates of chickpea

Effects of fish meal replacement by silkworm pupae on growth, survival and body chemical composition of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Silkworm pupae meal is a non-conventional animal protein feedstuff. It is the by-product after the silk thread has been wound off from the cocoon. To investigate the effects of animal protein on growth and survival of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a sixty-day feeding experiment was conducted. Four replacement levels (0, 5, 10 and 15 percent) of silkworm pupae meal were compared using a completely random design. We used 360 juvenile rainbow trout (average weight 55±3.42g) divided into 4 groups and 3 replications, each containing 30 trout for 60 days. Sampling for nutritional effects was carried out every 10 days and at the end of the experiment, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, specific growth rate, protein and efficiency ratio were compared which showed no significant differences (P>0.05) among the treatments. Total length and survival rate were not significantly affected in the treatment groups. The highest percentage of carcass protein and the lowest percentage of carcass fat belonged to the control treatment. Our findings showed that silkworm pupae meal could replace 15% of fish meal diet in rainbow trout culture

Transpiration and leaf growth of potato clones in response to soil water deficit

Potato (Solanum tuberosum ssp. Tuberosum) crop is particularly susceptible to water deficit because of its small and shallow root system. The fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) approach has been widely used in the evaluation of plant responses to water deficit in different crops. The FTSW 34 threshold (when stomatal closure starts) is a trait of particular interest because it is an indicator of tolerance to water deficit. The FTSW threshold for decline in transpiration and leaf growth was evaluated in a drying soil to identify potato clones tolerant to water deficit. Two greenhouse experiments were carried out in pots, with three advanced clones and the cultivar Asterix. The FTSW, transpiration and leaf growth were measured on a daily basis, during the period of soil drying. FTSW was an efficient method to separate potato clones with regard to their response to water deficit. The advancedclones SMINIA 02106-11 and SMINIA 00017-6 are more tolerant to soil water deficit than the cultivar Asterix, and the clone SMINIA 793101-3 is more tolerant only under high solar radiation

Quantifying the threshold frost hardiness for over-wintering survival of wheat in Iran, using simulation.

Abstract The value of frost tolerance in wheat is increased with decreasing the temperature in late autumn and/or early winter (phase I, acclimation), then shows plateau state for a period with the coldest temperature (II), finally appears to decrease with warming the temperature (III, de-acclimation). This study was aimed to determine the threshold frost hardiness in wheat for avoiding the winter-kill events, and estimating the probability of occurrence of winter-killing across the each phase in five locations of Iran. The model of wheat acclimation/de-acclimation to temperature was recoded in QBASIC programming and run for long-term (39-44 years) weather data, the nonlinear functions were used for describing the changes in frost tolerance across the late autumn to early spring (say, for distinguishing the three phases). Results indicated that the threshold frost hardiness for acceptable [probability (P) = 95%] over-wintering survival is -10 o C for Isfahan, -8.5 o C for Shiraz, -16 o C for Kermanshah, -18.5 o C for Tabriz, and -14.5 o C for Mashhad, for fully (P=100%) avoiding the winterkill events, the wheat should be contained frost hardiness -12, -8.5, -16.5, -21, and -16.5 o C for named locations, respectively. The probability of occurrence of named events over phase III for wheat contained frost hardiness lower than the threshold value (P=10% for experiencing the death) was 3% in Tabriz, but zero in other locations, the order of locations for magnitude of this probability over phase II tended to be as Kermanshah (79%)> Isfahan (73%)> Tabriz (56%)> Mashhad (50%)> Shiraz (40%), the rest probabilities appeared to devote to the phase I

Retracted: Determining the relationship between serum procalcitonin level and death of patients with burns referring to Sina Hospital in Tabriz during 2015-2017

This article was withdrawn and retracted by the Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences and has been removed from AJOL at the request of the journal Editor in Chief and the organisers of the conference at which the articles were presented (www.iccmit.net). Please address any queries to [email protected]

Investigating the Effect of Ultrasonic Waves and Seed Priming on Emergence and Growth of Cowpea under Soil-Applied Trifluralin

Introduction: Improving the rate of germination and crop growth at the early growing stagescan reduce weed damage via increasing crop competitiveness. Trifluralin is a pre emergence herbicide that is incorporated with soil to prevent weed emergence and seedling growth. It inhibit microtubule assembly in cells . Seed priming cause to initiate the repairing system for membrane and the metabolic preparation for germination through controlling water absorption rate of seed. As a result, the germination capability and resistance to unfavorable conditions of seed can be promoted obviously using seed priming. Ultrasound is defined as acoustic waves at frequencies greater than 20 kHz that can be an effective method to improve germination and growth characteristics of plants . There is no knowledge about the effect of ultrasonic waves and seed priming on the emergence and growth of cowpea (Vigna sinensis) under soil application of trifluralin. So the objective of this research was to study the effect of ultrasonic waves and seed priming on the emergence and growth of cowpea under soil application of trifluralin. Materials and methods: Field experiment was conducted at the research field of Shahrood University (latitude of 36° 25 'N and longitude of 54° 57' E with an elevation of 1345 m) as randomized complete block design with four replications in during the growing season of 2014-2015. The field soil was silty clay loam in texture, having pH 7.8, EC 3.9 ds m-1, 0.75% of organic carbon, 0.04% N 6.4 and 320 ppm of available P and K. Nine treatments were 1- control, 2- recommended herbicide dose (trifluralin 2 L ha-1), 3- reduced herbicide dose (trifluralin 1 L ha-1), 4- ultrasonic waves (ultrasound), 5- ultrasonic waves + reduced herbicide dose, 6- ultrasonic waves + recommended herbicide dose, 7- hydro-priming, 8- hydro-priming + reduced herbicide dose and 9- hydro-priming + recommended herbicide dose. For hydro-priming treatment, the seeds were treated with water before sowing for 7 h. About ultrasonic treatment, the seeds before sonication (for 6 minutes) treated with water for 7 h. Trifluralin (Treflan, EC48%) applied in recommended dose (2 L ha-1) and reduced herbicide dose (1 L ha-1) as immediate mixed with soil before planting. The plots were 24 m2 with 4 sowing rows and 6 m long. Seeds were placed at 3 to 5 cm depth in each row at during the second week of June in 2014. Number of emerged seedlings in two middle rows of were daily counted until seedling establishment became stable. Emergence percentage and rate of cowpea were calculated. Sampling was done at 55 days after planting. All samples were transferred to the laboratory, leaves and stem were separated,dried into oven at 70 ºC for 72 h and weighted. Chlorophyll content, relative water content, leaf and shoot dry weight and plant height of cowpea were measured for all treatment The second experiment was conducted at the greenhouse as randomized complete block design with four replications in 2014. The treatments were exactly similar to the field experiment. Germinated seeds were recorded every 24 h for 16 days. Then, the plants were removed from each pot and transferred to the laboratory. Root, leaves and stem were separated and afterwards all samples were dried into oven at 70 ºC for 48 h and weighted. Seedling vigor index, chlorophyll content, shoot and root length, weight of root, leaf and shoot, number of leaf and leaf area index were measured for all treatment. Chlorophyll content was estimated using chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502, Konika-Minolta Co). Statistical analyses of data were performed with statistical software MSTATC. Significant differences between means refer to the probability level of 0.05 by LSD test. Results and discussion: The results showed that the ultrasonic treatment increased the dry weight of stem and leaves by 25.27 and 29.58 % as compared with the control treatment respectively. Mirshekari et al. (34) reported that when seeds were primed with ultrasonic irradiation for 5 min, seedling dry weight and leaf chlorophyll content of yarrow increased by 70% and 33.6% than control respectively. Marghaeizadeh et al. (33) reported that application ultrasonic waves increased the chlorophyll content of Carum copticum (L.) C. B. Clarke in comparison to control. Our results suggested that at both experiments the combined use of ultrasonic waves + reduced herbicide dose decreased the percentage and rate of emergence significantly in comparison to herbicide application alone. The application of ultrasonic waves + reduced herbicide dose led to a reduction in the percentage and rate of emergence by 64.83 and 68.13% in comparison to reduced herbicide application alone, respectively. Also the combined use of priming + reduced herbicide dose decreased the percentage and rate of emergence by 50.4 and 53.8 % in comparison to reduced herbicide application alone respectively. The major effects of dinitroanaline herbicides are on plant root growth, which they stop by interfering with mitosis and preventing normal cell division and cell wall formation (38, 35). It seems that hydro priming technique and ultrasonic irradiation with improving seed germination and seedling early growth under soil-incorporated trifluralin herbicide can led to more and faster absorption of herbicide by seedling and more damage to them than control. Conclusion: Our results showed the ultrasonic waves and priming accelerates the seed germination and root length and ultimately resulted in improving biomass and growth of cowpea seedling. Also data presented in this research suggested that pre-treated of cowpea seeds with ultrasonic waves and hydro priming can reduce some plant parameters like percentage and emergence rate of seeds, shoots dry weight, leaf area index and etc. in soil treated with trifluralin herbicide