Altered levels of nodal excitability by rate-dependent inhibitory effects of essential oil of Citrus aurantium on the electrophysiological properties of isolated perfused rabbit AV-Node. Protective role in the prevention of ouabain toxicity [Alteración de los niveles de excitabilidad nodal por efectos inhibitorios velocidad-dependiente del aceite esencial de Citrus aurantium sobre las propiedades electrofisiológicas del nodo AV aislado y perfundido de conejo. Papel protector en la prevención de toxicidad por ouabaína]

Treatment of supraventricular arrhythmia includes a wide range of medical interventions. Herbal remedies are suitable alternatives to synthetic drugs due to their availability, minimal side effects and lower price. Pharmacological studies and traditional medical literature point to the cardiovascular effects of Citrus aurantium L. (Rutaceae) in many instances. In the present study we used isolated perfused AV-node of rabbit as an experimental model to determine the effect of various concentrations of essential oil of C. aurantium (0.1-0.3 v/v) on the nodal conduction time and refractoriness of an isolated rabbit AV-nodal preparations. Selective stimulation protocols were used to independently quantify AV nodal recovery, facilitation and fatigue in 18 rabbits. Our results showed concentration-dependent and rate-independent suppressive effects of essence of C. aurantium on the Wenchebach cycle length (WBCL), AV Conduction Time (AVCT) and effective and functional refractory periods (ERP & FRP). Functional properties such as facilitation and fatigue were significantly increased by this plant. Citrus aurantium plays a protective role against the toxic effects of ouabaine by increasing AV nodal conduction time and refractoriness. The above results indicated differential effects of C. aurantium on slow and fast pathways, with a dominant role on fast pathways. This research has explained the protective role of C. aurantium on ouabaine toxicity. All results indicated the potential anti-arrhythmic effects of C. aurantium in treating supraventricular tachyarrhythmia

The Participants' viewpoint of continuing medical education courses

Background: Continuing education is one of the most effective methods to empower the employees for challengesthey face on their jobs. Dramatic advances in medicine, rapid cultural and social changes, increasing cost of healthcare, development of diagnostic technology and a transition in the pattern of diseases, highlight the necessity ofcontinuing education in all medical groups. Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of continuing medical education (CME) programs in Shahr-Kord MedicalUniversityfrom 1996-2001

Experimental investigation of inlet distortion effect on performance of a micro gas turbine

An experimental study has been carried out to determine how inlet total-pressure distortion affects the performance of a micro gas turbine. An inlet simulator is designed and developed to produce and measure distortion patterns at the inlet to the gas turbine. An air jet distortion generator (AJDG) is used to produce nonuniform flow patterns and total pressure probes are installed to measure steady-state total-pressure distribution at the inlet. A set of wind tunnel tests have been performed to confirm the fidelity of distortion generator and measuring devices. Tests are carried out with the gas turbine exposed to inlet flow with 60¿deg, 120¿deg, and 180¿deg circumferential distortion patterns with different distortion intensities. The performance of the gas turbine has been measured and compared with that of clean inlet flow case. Results indicate that the gas turbine performance can be affected significantly facing with intense inlet distortions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

On viscoelastic cavitating flows: A numerical study

The effect of viscoelasticity on turbulent cavitating flow inside a nozzle is simulated for Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) fluids. Two different flow configurations are used to show the effect of viscoelasticity on different cavitation mechanisms, namely, cloud cavitation inside a step nozzle and string cavitation in an injector nozzle. In incipient cavitation condition in the step nozzle, small-scale flow features including cavitating microvortices in the shear layer are suppressed by viscoelasticity. Flow turbulence and mixing are weaker compared to the Newtonian fluid, resulting in suppression of microcavities shedding from the cavitation cloud. Moreover, mass flow rate fluctuations and cavity shedding frequency are reduced by the stabilizing effect of viscoelasticity. Time averaged values of the liquid volume fraction show that cavitation formation is strongly suppressed in the PTT viscoelastic fluid, and the cavity cloud is pushed away from the nozzle wall. In the injector nozzle, a developed cloud cavity covers the nozzle top surface, while a vortex-induced string cavity emerges from the turbulent flow inside the sac volume. Similar to the step nozzle case, viscoelasticity reduces the vapor volume fraction in the cloud region. However, formation of the streamwise string cavity is stimulated as turbulence is suppressed inside the sac volume and the nozzle orifice. Vortical perturbations in the vicinity of the vortex are damped, allowing more vapor to develop in the string cavity region. The results indicate that the effect of viscoelasticity on cavitation depends on the alignment of the cavitating vortices with respect to the main flow direction

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

Magnetic properties of the spin S=1/2S=1/2 Heisenberg chain with hexamer modulation of exchange

We consider the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with alternating spin exchange %on even and odd sites in the presence of additional modulation of exchange on odd bonds with period three. We study the ground state magnetic phase diagram of this hexamer spin chain in the limit of very strong antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange on odd bonds using the numerical Lanczos method and bosonization approach. In the limit of strong magnetic field commensurate with the dominating AF exchange, the model is mapped onto an effective $XXZ$ Heisenberg chain in the presence of uniform and spatially modulated fields, which is studied using the standard continuum-limit bosonization approach. In absence of additional hexamer modulation, the model undergoes a quantum phase transition from a gapped string order into the only one gapless L\"uttinger liquid (LL) phase by increasing the magnetic field. In the presence of hexamer modulation, two new gapped phases are identified in the ground state at magnetization equal to 1/3 and 2/3 of the saturation value. These phases reveal themselves also in magnetization curve as plateaus at corresponding values of magnetization. As the result, the magnetic phase diagram of the hexamer chain shows seven different quantum phases, four gapped and three gapless and the system is characterized by six critical fields which mark quantum phase transitions between the ordered gapped and the LL gapless phases.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 24, 116002, (2012

Casimir Effect In Krein Space Quantization

An explicit calculation of Casimir effect through an alternative approach of field quantization [1, 2], has been presented in this paper. In this method, the auxiliary negative norm states have been utilized, the modes of which do not interact with the physical states or real physical world. Naturally these modes cannot be affected by the physical boundary conditions. Presence of negative norm states play the rule of an automatic renormalization device for the theory.Comment: 7 pages, LaTe

Modeling and PSO Optimization of Humidifier-Dehumidifier Desalination

The aim of this study is modeling a solar-air heater humidification-dehumidification unit with applying particle swarm optimization to find out the maximum gained output ratio with respect to the mass flow rate of water and air entering humidifier, mass flow rate of cooling water entering dehumidifier, width and length of solar air heater and terminal temperature difference (TTD) of dehumidifier representing temperature difference of inlet cooling water and saturated air to dehumidifier as its decision variable. A sensitivity analysis, furthermore, is performed to distinguish the effect of operating parameters including mass flow rate and streams' temperature. The results showed that the optimum productivity decreases by decreasing the ratio of mass flow rate of water entering humidifier to air ones.Article History: Received: July 12th 2017; Revised: December 15th 2017; Accepted: 2nd February 2018; Available onlineHow to Cite This Article: Afshar, M.A., Naseri, A., Bidi, M., Ahmadi, M.H. and Hadiyanto, H. (2018) Modeling and PSO Optimization of Humidifier-Dehumidifier Desalination. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(1),59-64.https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.1.59-6

Curcumin: A new candidate for melanoma therapy?

Melanoma remains among the most lethal cancers and, in spite of great attempts that have been made to increase the life span of patients with metastatic disease, durable and complete remissions are rare. Plants and plant extracts have long been used to treat a variety of human conditions; however, in many cases, effective doses of herbal remedies are associated with serious adverse effects. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol that shows a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-cancer effects, and only minimal adverse effects have been reported for this phytochemical. The anti-cancer effects of curcumin are the result of its anti-angiogenic, pro-apoptotic and immunomodulatory properties. At the molecular and cellular level, curcumin can blunt epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and affect many targets that are involved in melanoma initiation and progression (e.g., BCl2, MAPKS, p21 and some microRNAs). However, curcumin has a low oral bioavailability that may limit its maximal benefits. The emergence of tailored formulations of curcumin and new delivery systems such as nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and phospholipid complexes has led to the enhancement of curcumin bioavailability. Although in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that curcumin and its analogues can be used as novel therapeutic agents in melanoma, curcumin has not yet been tested against melanoma in clinical practice. In this review, we summarized reported anti-melanoma effects of curcumin as well as studies on new curcumin formulations and delivery systems that show increased bioavailability. Such tailored delivery systems could pave the way for enhancement of the anti-melanoma effects of curcumin. © 2016 UIC