Ganoderma lucidum: A promising anti-inflammatory medicinal plant

Inflammation is a complex process and part of the host immune defense against invading micro-organism or trauma. Over production of some pro-inflammatory mediators can lead to chronic diseases of the inflammatory origin. Medicinal Plants which are used as anti-inflammatory agents, mainly act affecting various stages of the process of inflammation. In general they can inhibit formation of a wide of mediators such as cytokines by immune cells to prevent the inflammatory reaction cascade from starting. The use of most of the medicinal plants in treatment of chronic disease of the inflammatory origin is based on clinical and pharmacological trials. Meanwhile, the use of most of them is based on their longstanding traditional use in folk medicine. In this review, we report some of anti-inflammatory effects of G. lucidum as an ancient Chinese herbal medicine

Observations on the efficiency of using different cashmere combs

The effect of using small or large cashmere combs on cashmere harvest, cashmere quality and combing time was studied on Raeini cashmere goats in nomadic goat breeding systems of the Iranian province of Kerman. Two groups of 20 goats of different ages were combed with either a large or a small comb, three times with intervals of 2 weeks in early spring when natural fiber shedding has started. Combed cashmere weight, duration of combing, fiber diameter, and down yield were measured. A sample of combed cashmere was analyzed using a Laserscan instrument. A general linear model including type of comb, stage of combing and age of goat was fitted to analyze the data. Small combs collect more cashmere (31.0 vs. 21.7 g, P 0.05) but combing time is higher (3.75 vs. 2.79 min, P < 0.01). In the first two combing sessions much more cashmere was obtained than in the last (28.1, 32.0 and 19.0 g, respectively, P < 0.01), but the weight of total combed cashmere was much less than typical shorn fleece weights. Combing can be justified only if a considerable price premium can be obtained from selling combed cashmere instead of selling shorn cashmere, or if the combed cashmere is used to add value on-farm. If this is the case, small combs with short rods are preferable since more cashmere can be collected without affecting its qualityFil: Ansari-Renani, Hamid R. Animal Science Research Institute; IránFil: Mueller, Joaquin Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Rischkowsky, Barbara. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas; EtiopíaFil: Seyed Momend, S.M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; IránFil: Ehsani, M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; IránFil: Moradi, Sepehr. University of Zanjan. Agriculture College. Animal Science Department; Irá

Ligand-based transport resonances of single-molecule magnet spin filters: Suppression of the Coulomb blockade and determination of the orientation of the magnetic easy axis

We investigate single molecule magnet transistors (SMMTs) with ligands that support transport resonances. We find the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals of Mn12-benzoate SMMs (with and without thiol or methyl-sulfide termination) to be on ligands, the highest occupied molecular orbitals being on the Mn12 magnetic core. We predict gate controlled switching between Coulomb blockade and coherent resonant tunneling in SMMTs based on such SMMs, strong spin filtering by the SMM in both transport regimes, and that if such switching is observed then the magnetic easy axis of the SMM is parallel to the direction of the current through the SMM.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Cashmere quality of Raeini goats kept by nomads in Iran

The income of the nomads in Kerman Province depends mainly on Raeini goats that produce meat, milk and cashmere. This paper assesses the cashmere quality and its variation in Raeini herds to determine the scope for improvement. In April 2010 fleece weights (FW) and midside fleece samples were taken from a total of 686 male and female cashmere goats of 1, 2 and 3 years of age belonging to 29 herds. The herds were randomly chosen in the summer grazing area of nomads within 20 km of the city of Baft, province of Kerman, South of Iran, the main cashmere producing area in Iran. Cashmere yield (CY) was determined from the weight of dehaired cashmere to weight of shorn fiber. Cashmere fibers were analyzed using an OFDA instrument. A general mixed linear model including sex, age and sex by age interaction as fixed effects and herd as random effect was used to analyze the data and measure the relationships between different cashmere characteristics and fleece attributes. The overall means ± standard deviations were for fleece weights (FW) 507 ± 183 g, cashmere yield (CY) 56.5 ± 12.2%, mean fiber diameter (MFD) 19.7 ± 1.5 μm, fiber diameter standard deviation (FDSD) 4.5 ± 0.6 μm, fiber curvature (FC) 62.9 ± 8.5°/mm and staple length (SL) 54.2 ± 7.0 mm, respectively. Herd effect was significant for all traits except for SL and sex by age effect was only significant for MFD. One year old males and females had finer cashmere than older goats. FW and FDSD were higher in males and CY and FC was higher in young animals. Pearson correlation between MFD and FC, FDSD and MFD, MFD and FW was −0.647, 0.399 and 0.211 respectively. Raeini cashmere is white, has an excellent SL and FC but is relatively coarse. Given the differences between and within herds there seems to be substantial scope to improve the commercial value of Raeini cashmere.Fil: Ansari-Renani, Hamid R. Animal Science Research Institute; IránFil: Mueller, Joaquin Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Rischkowsky, Barbara. International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas; SiriaFil: Seyed Momend, S.M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; IránFil: Alipour, O. Livestock Office of Agriculture Department of Baft; IránFil: Ehsani, M. Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center; IránFil: Moradi, Sepehr. University of Zanjan. Agriculture College. Animal Science Department; Irán. Animal Science Research Institute; Irán

A Molecular Platinum Cluster Junction: A Single-Molecule Switch

We present a theoretical study of the electronic transport through single-molecule junctions incorporating a Pt6 metal cluster bound within an organic framework. We show that the insertion of this molecule between a pair of electrodes leads to a fully atomically engineered nano-metallic device with high conductance at the Fermi level and two sequential high on/off switching states. The origin of this property can be traced back to the existence of a HOMO which consists of two degenerate and asymmetric orbitals, lying close in energy to the Fermi level of the metallic leads. Their degeneracy is broken when the molecule is contacted to the leads, giving rise to two resonances which become pinned close to the Fermi level and display destructive interference.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Reprinted (adapted) with permission from J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (6), 2052. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Societ

Kilasan 2 tahun revitalisasi SMK September 2016 - 2018

Revitalisasi SMK memasuki tahun kedua sejak ditetapkan Inpres Nomor 9 tahun 2016. Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan telah melakukan perluasan bidang keahlian yang direvitalisasi dari empat bidang menjadi sembilan bidang. Bila semua revitalisasi hanya difokuskan pada kemaritiman, pertanian, industri kreatif dan pariwisata

Secondary Endoleak Management Following TEVAR and EVAR.

Endovascular abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and are widely used to treat increasingly complex aneurysms. Secondary endoleaks, defined as those detected more than 30 days after the procedure and after previous negative imaging, remain a challenge for aortic specialists, conferring a need for long-term surveillance and reintervention. Endoleaks are classified on the basis of their anatomic site and aetiology. Type 1 and type 2 endoleaks (EL1 and EL2) are the most common endoleaks necessitating intervention. The management of these requires an understanding of their mechanics, and the risk of sac enlargement and rupture due to increased sac pressure. Endovascular techniques are the main treatment approach to manage secondary endoleaks. However, surgery should be considered where endovascular treatments fail to arrest aneurysm growth. This chapter reviews the aetiology, significance, management strategy and techniques for different endoleak types