Seed germination and seedling growth of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties as influenced by different levels of sodium chloride

This experiment was conducted in the laboratory of plantation crops/Faculty of Agriculture/University Putra Malaysia in 2015 to evaluate salinity effects on seed germination percentage and some seedling growth traits of eight bread wheat cultivars and genotypes (Triticum aestivum L.). Salinity treatments were measured (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mM sodium chloride). Distilled water was added to control treatment for each cultivar for comparison. Data regarding germination percentage, water uptake (%), plumule and radicle length (cm), strong seed index and salt tolerance index were counted. Based on salt tolerance index, only one genotype (G8) fell in the tolerant class; three accessions (G1, G6 and G10) were moderately salt tolerant; one genotype (G2) was moderately salt susceptible and three accessions (Abo-Graib, Forat and Dijla) were salt susceptible. Results showed that increasing concentration of NaCl solution resulted in the gradual reduction in all studied parameters in all wheat varieties and genotypes. The G8 genotype showed significant superiority on the other genotypes and varieties in all traits above which can be used as an improved genotype against salt stress in breeding programmes, while the Abo-Graib gave the lowest rate under the probability level of significance of 0.05. These were positively and significantly (P≤0.01) correlated between the traits studied under six concentrations (mM) of NaCl stress except the relationship between germination percentage and each of water uptake, plumule length, radicle length, while strong seed index was positively but not significantly correleted. Whereas the correlation was positive and significant (P≤0.05) between water uptake and plumule length, radicle length and strong seed index

Applications of molecular communications to medicine: A survey

In recent years, progresses in nanotechnology have established the foundations for implementing nanomachines capable of carrying out simple but significant tasks. Under this stimulus, researchers have been proposing various solutions for realizing nanoscale communications, considering both electromagnetic and biological communications. Their aim is to extend the capabilities of nanodevices, so as to enable the execution of more complex tasks by means of mutual coordination, achievable through communications. However, although most of these proposals show how devices can communicate at the nanoscales, they leave in the background specific applications of these new technologies. Thus, this paper shows an overview of the actual and potential applications that can rely on a specific class of such communications techniques, commonly referred to as molecular communications. In particular, we focus on health-related applications. This decision is due to the rapidly increasing interests of research communities and companies to minimally invasive, biocompatible, and targeted health-care solutions. Molecular communication techniques have actually the potentials of becoming the main technology for implementing advanced medical solution. Hence, in this paper we provide a taxonomy of potential applications, illustrate them in some detail, along with the existing open challenges for them to be actually deployed, and draw future perspectives

Robust Curb and Ramp Detection for Safe Parking Using the Canesta TOF Camera

Range sensors for assisted backup and parking have potential for saving human lives and for facilitating parking in challenging situations. However, important features such as curbs and ramps are difficult to detect using ultrasonic or microwave sensors. TOF imaging range sensors may be used successfully for this purpose. In this paper we present a study concerning the use of the Canesta TOF camera for recognition of curbs and ramps. Our approach is based on the detection of individual planar patches using CC-RANSAC, a modified version of the classic RANSAC robust regression algorithm. Whereas RANSAC uses the whole set of inliers to evaluate the fitness of a candidate plane, CC-RANSAC only considers the largest connected components of inliers. We provide experimental evidence that CC-RANSAC provides a more accurate estimation of the dominant plane than RANSAC with a smaller number of iterations. 1

Self-rated health and general procrastination in nurses: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: nurses are responsible for taking care of the health of the general public. Nurses´ own health is among the important factors affecting the quality of patient care. Self-rated Health (SRH) is one of the indicators used extensively in health research for the assessment of the health status of individuals. The present study was conducted to evaluate Self-rated Health and its relationship with general procrastination in nurses. Methods: the present cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 305 Iranian nurses selected by stratified random sampling. The relationship of Self-rated Health with procrastination was determined using an ordinal logistic regression analysis after adjustments for personal and occupational factors. Results: self-rated Health was poor/bad in 11.3% of the nurses, fair in 23.7%, good in 34.3% and excellent in 30.7%. After adjustments for personal and occupational factors, a significant relationship was observed between procrastination and Self-rated Health (OR=0.95; 95%CI 0.92, 0.98). Conclusion: the results showed an unfavorable health status in nurses. Given the significant relationship between procrastination and poor Self-rated Health in nurses, it is essential to consider this relationship for improving nurses´ health

Development and psychometric evaluation of nurses’ health-related procrastination scale

There is no valid scale to measure health related procrastination, especially in nurses. This study was conducted to design and assess the psychometric properties of the health-related procrastination scale in nurses. This exploratory mixed method study was conducted between April 2017 and May 2019. The design and psychometric assessment of the nurses' health-related procrastination scale (NHRPS) was carried out through quantitative and qualitative phases. In the qualitative phase, nurses were interviewed and a review of literature was carried out to generate the items. In the quantitative phase, the scale validity was evaluated using the face, content and construct validity and its reliability was evaluated through the Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, intra-class correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement, minimal detectable changes. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that, with 29 items and five factors, the NHRPS explains 54.81% of the variance in NHRPS. The results of confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the final fit of model with five factors (RAMSEA: 0.08, CMIN/DF: 2.42, NFI: 0.92, PNFI: 0.83, CFI: 0.95, IFI: 0.95, RFI: 0.91, SRMR: 0.074). The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.947, its intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.944, the Half-fold consistency coefficient was 0.970 and Omega internal consistency coefficient was 0.96. The NHRPS has good psychometric properties. This scale is suitable for research purposes, especially to plan for nurses' health promotion

Content Conceptual Model Abnormal Self-centerization on the Islamic Sources.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between popular concepts of abnormal attention to self and to develop a conceptual process model of those concepts in Islamic sources and to assess its validity. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used for this purpose. In the qualitative section, first, using semantic domains method collected from 262 related words, 3105 Islamic narratives were analyzed using purposeful sampling based on saturation principle. The final narratives were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method of Sieh and Shannon (2005) through conventional content analysis and three open, axial and selective coding steps. Subsequently, the causal components of the components were merged and the relationships between the components, the causal conditions, and the consequences were examined and the initial process model was designed. In the quantitative section, the degree of consistency of the coding findings with the documents and the degree of fit to the components were validated by 11 experts, and the degree of consistency between the findings was correlated with the documentation by 5 experts by calculating the content validity index. The findings of the research showed that combining the common causal conditions of not knowing one's self or its status, not knowing God or His status and self-giving independently leads to self-indulgence and on the other hand combining the causal specific conditions of selfishness, self-esteem, intrinsic interest in Visibility and infiniteness create three components of self-efficacy, self-efficacy, and self-enhancement. Also, each of these components are self-generating cognitive-behavioral consequences

Independent and Social Living Skills Training for People with Schizophrenia in Iran: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: Schizophrenia is responsible for a significant proportion of burden of mental diseases in Iran. Lack of a follow-up system has resulted in the repeated hospitalizations. In this study it is hypothesized that standardized living skills training delivered to participants with schizophrenia in outpatient and inpatient centers can be effective compared to a  control group (with occupational therapy) in reducing psychopathology severity and increasing quality of life. Methods: This is a multi-centered parallel group randomized controlled trial in Iran and it is single-blinded. Eligible participants are randomly allocated into two groups in a 1:1 ratio. Participants are assigned by stratified balanced block randomization method. The trial is conducted in the cities of Tehran and Mashhad. Its aim is to recruit 160 clients with schizophrenia. The intervention for the experimental group is social living skills training. The intervention for the control group is occupational therapy. The intervention for both groups is conducted in 90 to 120-minute group sessions. Results: The primary outcome of the study would be a decrease in  psychopathology severity, an improvement in participants' quality of life, and reduction in family burden will be followed for 6 months. Discussion: This paper presents a protocol for a randomized controlled trial of independent and social living skills training intervention delivered to participants with schizophrenia. If this intervention is effective, it could be scaled up to be developing for policymaking and improving outcomes for schizophrenic participants and their families in Iran