Some Physical Properties of 'Sonnati Salmas' Apricot Pit

In this study, some physical properties of apricot pit of cv. ‘Sonnati Salmas' were determined at 5.11, 11.23 and 16.48 % wet base moisture contents. Physical properties such as dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, bulk density, true density, porosity, volume, weight and coefficient of static friction on various surfaces were determined as a function of pit moisture content. Length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter and surface area of pits increased with increasing moisture content. Sphericity decreased from 72.16 to 72.10 %, 1000 grain mass and grain volume increased from 1402.43 to 1437.32 g and 1.49 to 1.51 cm3, respectively. Porosity decreased from 49.457 to 48.404 %, true density and bulk density increased from 1043.97 to 1045.51 kg/m3 and 527.65 to 539.44 kg/m3, respectively. The coefficient of static friction increased as the moisture content increased. These results are necessary for designing of equipments for processing, conveying, separating and packing apricot pit

The antioxidant activity of wild medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) fruit, stem bark and leaf

The medlar is an edible fruit. Modern medicine has recognized its healing properties in the treatment of some diseases. There is no scientific data in the literature about the antioxidant activity of methanol or aqueous extract of medlar fruit, leaf or stem bark. Antioxidant activities of these parts were evaluated by employing six test systems. Stem bark extract (aqueous and methanol) showed best activity in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity with IC50 = 10.7 ± 0.6 and 11.4 ± 0.8 μgml-1, respectively. All extracts showed weak Fe2+ chelating ability. Methanol extract of fruit had better activity in nitric oxide scavenging model than others (IC50 = 247 ± 12.2 μgml-1). The leaves and bark extracts showed good reducing power than fruit extract. In reducing powers, there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the stem bark and leaves extracts that were comparable with vitamin C (p< 0.05). Extracts exhibited good antioxidant activity in the ferric thiocyanate (FTC) method. They manifested almost the same pattern of activity as vitamin C and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) at different incubation times (until 72nd hour) but stem bark extract showed higher peroxidation inhibition than vitamin C and BHA at the 96th hour (p < 0.05). The extracts were capable of scavenging H2O2 in a concentration-dependent manner. Leaves methanol extract showed good activity that was comparable with quercetin (p > 0.05). Bark and leaf extracts had higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents than fruit.Keywords: Antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging, Mespilus germanica, medlar, phenolic contents, flavonoids content

Developing Intellectual Capital Model for Energy Industry

Abstract. Intellectual capital is an important topic that has been viewed as one of the most value increase of company resources and key capitals in entrepreneurial development. This study aims to design a model for measuring intellectual capital. The previous models are reviewed and indicators for measuring are extracted. The population is 1104 managers and experts of 13 firms of Iran Transfo Company and 285 samples were selected randomly classified from companies. Data were collected by questionnaire, and we use structural equation modelling for the analysis. Our proposed intellectual capital model includes 5 aspects of human, structural, customer, the relational and systemic capital. All aspects have significant positive relationship with each other. Structural, relational and customer capital had the most intense relationships in the model and systemic and human capital were in fourth and fifth respectively. Keywords:  Customer capital, human capital, intellectual capital, relational capital, structural capita

Synthesis and formulation of diethyltoluamide as an insect repellent

During World War II more than 10,000 chemical substances were tested as insect repellents. Perhaps the best and all-purpose repellent developed since then is diethyltoluamide, which in various tests has been shown to be the most effective agent against a wide variety of insects. In this study diethyltoluamide was synthesized and formulated as a gel. Reaction of primary acid with thionylchloride produced acyl halide, which in reaction with diethylamine produced diethyltoluamide, with 96% yield. Reaction of diethylamine with ethyl ester of primary acid did not yield diethyltoluamide even in different experimental conditions. For production of diethyltoluamid gel, various gelling agents such as carbapol and hydroxy propyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were tested. The results showed that a suitable gel could be formulated by HPMC. Physical stability, spread and viscosity of gels were evaluated. The gels that contained 14 and 18% of diethyltoluamide were stable. Rheograms of the gels that were plotted by brockfild viscometer showed that the gels have a psudoplastic characteristic

Quality of life and the related factors in spouses of veterans with chronic spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND: The quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of individuals with chronic spinal cord injuries may be affected by several factors. Moreover, this issue is yet to be documented fully in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health related quality of life of spouses who act as primary caregivers of veterans with chronic spinal cord injuries in Iran. METHODS: The study consisted of 72 wives of 72 veterans who were categorized as spinal cord injured patients based on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification. Health related quality of life was assessed by the Short Form (SF-36) Health Survey. Pearson's correlation was carried out to find any correlation between demographic variables with SF-36 dimensions. To find the effect of the factors like age, employment status, duration of care giving, education, presence or absence of knee osteoarthritis, and mechanical back pain on different domains of the SF-36 health survey, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 44.7 years. According to the ASIA classification 88.9% and 11.1% of the veterans were paraplegic and tetraplegic respectively. Fifty percent of them had a complete injury (ASIA A) and 85% of the spouses were exclusive care givers. All of the SF-36 scores of the spouses were significantly lower than the normal population. Pearson's correlation demonstrated a negative significant correlation between both age and duration of caring with the PF domain. The number of children had a negative correlation with RE and VT. CONCLUSION: The burden of caregiving can impact the QOL of caregivers and cause health problems. These problems can cause limitations for caregiver spouses and it can lead to a decrease in the quality of given care

EXTENDED-SPECTRUM BETA-LACTAMASE PRODUCING GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA IN IRAN

Background: The emergence and spread of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Gram- negative bacteria (GNB), particularly in Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have increased all over the world. ESBLs are characterized by their ability to hydrolyze β-lactams, early cephalosporins, oxyimino-thiazolyl cephalosporins, and monobactams, but not cephamycins or carbapenems. The rate of nosocomial infections caused by ESBL-producing GNB in Asia Pacific has increased and several studies have identified their prevalence in the region. The aim of this study is to review the prevalence of ESBL-producing GNB in the West Asia and the Middle East with a particular focus on Iran. Materials and Methods: The available evidence from various studies (Microbia and clinical studies, retrieved from the PubMed, and Scopus databases) regarding the ESBL producing Gram negative bacteria in Iran were evaluated. Results: In almost all parts of the country, high resistance has been observed, especially in the central part of Iran. Up to 89.8% Escherichia coli, 72.1% Klebsiella pneumonia, 84.2% Acinetobacter baumannii, and 83.8% Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates are ESBL positive. Conclusion: The present study showed the increasing prevalence of ESBLs in different regions of Iran, which could be useful to strategic policy towards reducing reduce their prevalence

Additively manufactured porous scaffolds by design for treatment of bone defects

There has been increasing attention to produce porous scaffolds that mimic human bone properties for enhancement of tissue ingrowth, regeneration, and integration. Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, i.e., three dimensional (3D) printing, have played a substantial role in engineering porous scaffolds for clinical applications owing to their high level of design and fabrication flexibility. To this end, this review article attempts to provide a detailed overview on the main design considerations of porous scaffolds such as permeability, adhesion, vascularisation, and interfacial features and their interplay to affect bone regeneration and osseointegration. Physiology of bone regeneration was initially explained that was followed by analysing the impacts of porosity, pore size, permeability and surface chemistry of porous scaffolds on bone regeneration in defects. Importantly, major 3D printing methods employed for fabrication of porous bone substitutes were also discussed. Advancements of MA technologies have allowed for the production of bone scaffolds with complex geometries in polymers, composites and metals with well-tailored architectural, mechanical, and mass transport features. In this way, a particular attention was devoted to reviewing 3D printed scaffolds with triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) geometries that mimic the hierarchical structure of human bones. In overall, this review enlighten a design pathway to produce patient-specific 3D-printed bone substitutions with high regeneration and osseointegration capacity for repairing large bone defects

The effect of Amirkabiria odoratissima M extract on gastric acid and pepsin secretion level in rat

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: گیاه کرفس کوهی از دسته گیاهانی است که به طور وسیعی در استانهای جنوب غرب ایران استفاده می شود. شمار زیادی از مردم بر این باورند که این گیاه برای ناراحتی های گوارشی مفید است. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی این گیاه استفاده می شود رو به افزایش است لذا این مطالعه با هدف بررسی اثر عصاره این گیاه بر میزان ترشح اسید و پپسین معده در موش صحرایی انجام شد. روش بررسی: این مطالعه بصورت تجربی بر روی سه گروه 8 تایی موش صحرایی صورت گرفت ]گروه کنترل، کرفس کوهی با دوز mg/kg 2/16 (گروه اول) و mg/kg 100 (گروه دوم). حیوانات پس از بیهوشی توسط تزریق داخل صفاقی mg/kg 50 تیوپنتال سدیم، تراکئوستومی، لاپاراتومی و گاسترودئودنوستومی شدند. عصاره گیاه کرفس کوهی با دوزهای mg/kg 2/16 و mg/kg 100 از طریق مجرای گاسترودئودنوستوم به درون معده حیوانات گروه های کرفس وارد شد. ترشحات معده به روش Wash Out شامل پایه اول و پایه دوم بدست آمد و اسید آن به روش تیتریمتری و پپسین به روش آنسون اندازه گیری شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمونهای آماری t مستقل، t وابسته وANOVA مورد تجزیه و تحلیل آماری قرار گرفت. یافته ها: عصاره متانولی گیاه کرفس کوهی سبب کاهش معنی داری در میزان ترشح اسید معده در پایه اول و دوم در موشهای هر دو گروه کرفس کوهی نسبت به گروه کنترل گردید (01/0

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic