Determination of median lethal concentration lead (II) nitrate and behavioral responses of hermit crab, Diogenes avarus

The LC50-96h test paradigm is used to measure the susceptibility and survival potential of organisms exposed to particular toxic substances, such as heavy metals. In this study, the statically acute toxicity of Pb on hermit crab D. avarus was determined according to standard methods O.E.C.D in 96h. 84 individual hermit crab with 0.19±.0.01 g weight average were used in five different treatments (75, 100, 150, 175, 200 microgram per liter of lead) with three replicates and a control treatment (15 hermit crab per in each treatment). The effective physical and chemical parameters of water including pH, total hardness, dissolved oxygen and temperature were controlled throughout the experiment. Finelly, the rate of the acute toxicity (LC50 96h) was determined to be 184.045 µg/l by using the statistic method Probity analysis. Furthermore, the rates of LC10, LC50, LC90 (24, 48, 72 and 96h) were calculated. Results indicate that when the experiment time is extended, lower concentration of Pb is leading to mortality in hermit crab D. avarus. The percentage of mortality increased with increasing duration of exposure of crab to different amounts of lead concentration. The behavioral changes observed in hermit crabs D. avarus in the experiment period included an imbalance in walking, reduced activity and movement, slow motion, no irritability and also color change of the abdomen

A morphometric study of sea urchin Echinometra mathaei (de Blainville, 1825) on beaches of Lengeh Port, Persian Gulf

Some of valuable species of Persian Gulf, such as sea urchins, are accounted less scientific studies due to the lack of any position in the local food baskets. Therefore, this survey is investigated the biometrical parameters of sea urchin Echinometra mathaei for a period of seven months (March– September, 2014) in the intertidal zone of Lengeh Port (26˚32ʹ28̋ N, 54˚52ʹ29̋ E). Random samples were collected monthly during spring tides and transferred alive to the laboratory and then the dissection and the separation of different parts of the body were started. Each part of the body length and weight was measured. By a mathematical method the volume of samples was calculated as an elliptical object. This study illustrated the largest and smallest sample were 0.07 and 103.77 grams, respectively. Results showed that the relationships between Total wet weight and Test Diameter (Total Wet Weight = 0.0053 Test Diameter2.3933), Total Wet Weight and Height (Total Wet Weight = 0.0122 Height2.5872) and Total Wet Weight and Volume (Total Wet Weight= 0.0071 Volume0.8706). The correlation coefficient between volume and total wet weight of samples was r=0.94 which shows the accuracy of Disk method. On the other hand, the HDR index was more in compared with the HWR index and it illustrates larger values of Test Diameter in compare with Height. Statical analyses prove that higher values of DWR in compared with HWR are reasonable and accurate in both sexes

Lack of association of the CIITA -168A→G promoter SNP with myasthenia gravis and its role in autoimmunity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The major histocompatibility complex class II transactivator (CIITA) regulates MHC class II gene expression. A promoter SNP -168A→G (rs3087456) has previously been shown to be associated with susceptibility to several immune mediated disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS) and myocardial infarction (MI). Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder which has previously been shown to be associated with polymorphisms of several autoimmune predisposing genes, including <it>IL-1</it>, <it>PTPN22</it>, <it>TNF-α </it>and the <it>MHC</it>. In order to determine if allelic variants of rs3087456 increase predisposition to MG, we analyzed this SNP in our Swedish cohort of 446 MG patients and 1866 controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No significant association of the SNP with MG was detected, neither in the patient group as a whole, nor in any clinical subgroup. The vast majority of previous replication studies have also not found an association of the SNP with autoimmune disorders.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We thus conclude that previous findings with regard to the role of the <it>CIITA </it>-168A→G SNP in autoimmunity may have to be reconsidered.</p

Connecting Critical Hermeneutics with the Management and Organizational Studies: An Analysis of the Philosophy and Methods of its Implementation in Organizations

Critical hermeneutics is rooted in philosophy of knowledge, in general, and in the methodology of human sciences, in particular. This approach is methodologically considered as a qualitative study with the aim of achieving internal understanding in various fields such as linguistic, longitudinal and experimental sciences. Jürgen Habermas, one of the precursors of Frankfurt School, is the pioneer of this method. In 1981, he published one of his best works entitled “Communicative Interaction Theory”, and added the symbolic aspects of social interaction to Frankfurt critical theory. Thus, critical hermeneutics does not pursue a “unifying answer”; rather it seeks to portray the social phenomena that are derived through discourse. Discourse, as a means of obtaining data, is used in critical hermeneutics and as Habermas posited, the essential prerequisite for discourse is to provide space devoid of any trace of power. In this qualitative study, the researchers conducted in-depth interviews with individuals, and by transcribing the interviews, converted the phenomenon into text. These texts constitute the research data of the study. Then, the researchers interpreted the textual form of the phenomena and represented the obtained results in several limited themes, each of which is further split into certain limited categories. Since the main advantage of critical hermeneutics is developing and reorienting the existing interpretative approaches to the study of management, this paper attempts to examine this approach as a qualitative research method in organization and management studies, and represent its process and key features

A new ecotoxicity tolerance index of macrobenthos associated with Zoanthus sansibaricus in the littoral zone of Hormuz Island, Persian Gulf, Iran

A general study with the objective to classify ecotoxicity status of macrobenthose associated with dominant toxic zoanthids in Hormuz Island is presented. Hence, a novel model based on hard bottom macrobenthos and the related substrate composition was suggested to be used for testing the accumulated palytoxin (PTX) in macrobenthose exposed to Zoanthus sansibaricus. Direct and rapid assessment index (Dara Index) of accumulated PTX in macrobenthos were re-evaluated for use in this classification. The new proposed ecotoxicity tolerance index (ETI) was tested and calculated based on the data of Dara Index. ETI was compared and evaluated against Dara Index for use in this classification. The macrobenthos groups of species included three categories, namely, sessile, sluggish and mobile species. The distribution of these three macrobenthose groups were grouped according to their presence or absence to associate with zoanthids and were weighted proportionately to obtain a formula rendering a six step numerical scale of ecotoxicity status classification. Its advantage against the former Dara Index lies in the fact that it reduces the clustering number of the sampling sites involved which makes it simpler and easier in its use. The usage of ETI as a classification tool of ecotoxicity status indicates that tolerance of marine animals to the PTX may enable it to enter food chains and to be followed by potential exposure to humans. Hence, the advantages of ETI include high discriminative power and simplicity in its use which make it a robust, simple and effective tool for application in the Persian Gulf.Publishe

Coumaroyl flavone glycosides and cinammic acid derivatives from the aerial parts of Phlomis bruguieri Desf.

Background and objectives: Phlomis bruguieri Desf. (Lamiaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant distributed in Iran, Turkey and Iraq. Despite medicinal potentials of this species, the current knowledge on its phytochemical constituents is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate the phytochemical constituents of the essential oil and various extracts of this species. Methods: Essential oils of the plant aerial parts were extracted by hydrodistillation and steam distillation methods and analysed using GC and GC/MS.Column chromatography with silica gel (normal and reversed phases) and Sephadex LH-20 were also used for the isolation of compounds from various extracts obtained from P. bruguieri aerial parts. The structures of isolated compounds were established by 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Results: By GC and GC/MS analysis, germacrene D (29.8%), apiole (20.7%) and myristicin (16.63%) were identified as the main compounds of hydrodistilled oil. Apiole (53.20%) and myristicin (34.87%) were also detected as the main compounds of the oil extracted by steam distillation method. Phytochemical analysis of the plant extracts resulted in the isolation and structural elucidation of  β-sitosterol (1), p-coumaric acid methyl ester (2), chrysoeriol 7-O-(3''-(E)-p-coumaroyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), chrysoeriol 7-O-(3'',6''-di-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl)-β-D glucopyranoside (4), chrysoeriol 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), chlorogenic acid (6) and verbascoside (7). Conclusion: the results of the present study introduce steam distilled oil of P. bruguieri as a new source of apiole and myristicin. Moreover, identification of coumaroyl flavone glycosides and cinammic acid derivatives from the aerial parts of this species highlighted the species as a good candidate for further biological and pharmacological studies