Effects of environmental parameters and nutrients on phytoplankton communities around the shrimp farm complexes in Bushehr Province, in the Persian Gulf

The aim of this work was to be informed and aware of the red tide conditions before the entering of algal blooms in seawater supply canals of the shrimp farm and hatchery complexes in Bushehr Province. Field investigations and monthly samplings have been carried out to determine environmental parameters, nutrients, chlorophyll–a and phytoplankton in the southern part of the input water channels of Mond, Delvar and Heleh farmed shrimp complexes from April to December 2011. The identified phytoplankton belonged to three classes of Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae and Cyanophyceae. 12 genera belonging to Dinophyceae, 25 genera to Bacillariophyceae and two genera to Cyanophyceae were observed during the study. The highest average density of total phytoplankton was recorded at Heleh station at 18374 cells/lit. The maximum density of phytoplankton was at Delvar station in December. The highest density of Dinophyceae was observed in August. Alexandrium sp., Ornithocercus and Prorocentrum sp. were the predominant species of Dinophyceae class. Bacillariophyceae are thermo-tolerant and halo-tolerant while Dinophyceae and Cyanophyceae are thermo-intolerant and halo-intolerant. Bacillariophyceae are silica limited while Dinophyceae are phosphorus limited phytoplankton

A survey on effects of shrimp aquaculture on coastal waters of Bushehr

Shrimp aquaculture industry have started in coastal waters of Persian Gulf since 1994. This industry will race restrictions of aquaculture problems on environment, therefore studies on these probable problems are necessary for development or aquaculture in this region. This survey was carried out in Helle region to understand effects of aquaculture industry on coastal waters of Bushehr, in 1998. The variations of selected water quality parameters in influent water, effluent water and at sea were controlled monthly.The results show that the quality of water in effluent canal was more than other stations every month, variations of some important parameters of this station are as follows: Ammonia (0.06-0.30 mg/lit), Nitrate (0.29-1.96 mg/lit), Phosphate (0.009- 0.038 mg/lit), Nitrite (0.006-0.010mg/lit). Comparison of above data with permitable range of municipal and aquaculture waste and comparing the present data with data of normal condition or region, showed that aquaculture industry of Helle region have not had any obvious negative effect on coastal waters of Bushehr

Expression, Tissue Distribution and Function of miR-21 in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective:MiR-21 is an oncomir expressed by malignant cells and/or tumor microenvironment components. In this study we focused on understanding the effects of stromal miR-21 on esophageal malignant cells.Design:MiR-21 expression was evaluated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples from patients with esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) by quantitative RT-PCR. MiR-21 tissue distribution was visualized with in situ hybridization. A co-culture system of normal fibroblasts and esophageal cancer cells was used to determine the effects of fibroblasts on miR-21 expression levels, and on SCC cell migration and invasion.Results:MiR-21 was overexpressed in SCCs, when compared to the adjacent non-tumor tissues (P = 0.0007), and was mainly localized in the cytoplasm of stromal cells adjacent to malignant cells. Accordingly, miR-21 expression was increased in tumors with high versus low stromal content (P = 0.04). When co-cultured with normal fibroblasts, miR-21 expression was elevated in SCC cells (KYSE-30), while its expression was restricted to fibroblasts when co-cultured with adenocarcinoma cells (OE-33 and FLO-1). MiR-21 was detected in conditioned media of cancer cell lines, illustrating the release of this miRNA into the environment. Co-culturing with normal fibroblasts or addition of fibroblast conditioned media caused a significant increase in cell migration and invasion potency of KYSE-30 cells (P<0.0001). In addition, co-culturing cancer cells with fibroblasts and expression of miR-21 induced the expression of the cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) marker S100A4.Conclusions:MiR-21 expression is mostly confined to the SCC stroma and its release from fibroblasts influences the migration and invasion capacity of SCC cells. Moreover, miR-21 may be an important factor in "activating" fibroblasts to CAFs. These findings provide new insights into the role of CAFs and the extracellular matrix in tumor microenvironment formation and in tumor cell maintenance, and suggest miR-21 may contribute to cellular crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment. © 2013 Nouraee et al

Distinguishing Solar Flare Types by Differences in Reconnection Regions

Observations show that magnetic reconnection and its slow shocks occur in solar flares. The basic magnetic structures are similar for long duration event (LDE) flares and faster compact impulsive (CI) flares, but the former require less non-thermal electrons than the latter. Slow shocks can produce the required non-thermal electron spectrum for CI flares by Fermi acceleration if electrons are injected with large enough energies to resonate with scattering waves. The dissipation region may provide the injection electrons, so the overall number of non-thermal electrons reaching the footpoints would depend on the size of the dissipation region and its distance from the chromosphere. In this picture, the LDE flares have converging inflows toward a dissipation region that spans a smaller overall length fraction than for CI flares. Bright loop-top X-ray spots in some CI flares can be attributed to particle trapping at fast shocks in the downstream flow, the presence of which is determined by the angle of the inflow field and velocity to the slow shocks.Comment: 15 pages TeX and 2 .eps figures, accepted to Ap.J.Let

A narrative review of thallium toxicity; preventive measures

Thallium (Tl) toxicity is an important clinical disease and its effects on the human body are devastating. Tl poisoning is an important health issue in many countries in the world. Thallium is a toxic heavy metal that exists in nature. Tl toxicity may occur in food and drinking water, occupational exposure, environment (air, industrial combustion of coal, water, and plants), arable soils and vegetables, aquatic and terrestrial animals, prenatal thallium exposure, illicit drugs, cigarette smokers. Adding lead to the opium is a recently health hazard that has been observed among opioid poisoned patients. The clinical manifestation of Tl poisoning has a wide spectrum but painful ascending peripheral neuropathy, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic manifestations are major characteristics in Tl toxicity. The toxicity of thallium based compounds is mainly caused by the similarity between TL ions and potassium ions, which results in the disorder of potassium associated metabolic processes due to thallium interference. The aim of this review is to assess identify eliminate, sources or control sources, and environmental exposures and hazards to prevent thallium toxicity. © 2019, Advanced Scientific Research. All rights reserved

Quantitative Assessment of Intra- and Inter-Modality Deformable Image Registration of the Heart, Left Ventricle, and Thoracic Aorta on Longitudinal 4D-CT and MR Images

Purpose Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based investigations into radiotherapy (RT)-induced cardiotoxicity require reliable registrations of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to planning computed tomography (CT) for correlation to regional dose. In this study, the accuracy of intra- and inter-modality deformable image registration (DIR) of longitudinal four-dimensional CT (4D-CT) and MR images were evaluated for heart, left ventricle (LV), and thoracic aorta (TA). Methods and materials Non-cardiac-gated 4D-CT and T1 volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (T1-VIBE) MRI datasets from five lung cancer patients were obtained at two breathing phases (inspiration/expiration) and two time points (before treatment and 5 weeks after initiating RT). Heart, LV, and TA were manually contoured. Each organ underwent three intramodal DIRs ((A) CT modality over time, (B) MR modality over time, and (C) MR contrast effect at the same time) and two intermodal DIRs ((D) CT/MR multimodality at same time and (E) CT/MR multimodality over time). Hausdorff distance (HD), mean distance to agreement (MDA), and Dice were evaluated and assessed for compliance with American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG)-132 recommendations. Results Mean values of HD, MDA, and Dice under all registration scenarios for each region of interest ranged between 8.7 and 16.8 mm, 1.0 and 2.6 mm, and 0.85 and 0.95, respectively, and were within the TG-132 recommended range (MDA \u3c 3 mm, Dice \u3e 0.8). Intramodal DIR showed slightly better results compared to intermodal DIR. Heart and TA demonstrated higher registration accuracy compared to LV for all scenarios except for HD and Dice values in Group A. Significant differences for each metric and tissue of interest were noted between Groups B and D and between Groups B and E. MDA and Dice significantly differed between LV and heart in all registrations except for MDA in Group E. Conclusions DIR of the heart, LV, and TA between non-cardiac-gated longitudinal 4D-CT and MRI across two modalities, breathing phases, and pre/post-contrast is acceptably accurate per AAPM TG-132 guidelines. This study paves the way for future evaluation of RT-induced cardiotoxicity and its related factors using multimodality DIR

Quality of Life Among Veterans With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury and Related Variables

Background: In recent decades, the incidence of spinal cord injuries has increased. In a systemic review on epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in developing countries reported 25.5/million cases per year. Objectives: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of the veterans among Iran-Iraq war with chronic spinal cord injuries (SCI) and to evaluate long-term impressions of SCI on their quality of life. Patients and Methods: Fifty-two veterans, all male, with chronic spinal cord injury from Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) were interviewed and examined. The mean age of veterans at the time of interview was 49.3 years (38 to 80 years). Veterans were assessed by using a 36-item short-form (SF-36), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the Barthel index. The presence or absence of pressure sores and spasticity were documented as well. Results: The mean age of veterans at the time of study was 49.3 years. Pearson's correlation test showed that depression and anxiety have a reverse association with mental component summary (MCS) scale and physical component summary (PCS) scale scores, respectively. Regression analysis showed a negative effect of depression and pressure sore on PCS. Moreover, no association was found between the duration of injury and age with quality of life. Conclusions: Lower QOL was found among veterans with chronic SCI. More researches on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are needed to give us a better understanding of changes in life of patients with SCI and the ways to improve them

Dynamic Capabilities in Media Management Research: A Literature Review

Abstract Purpose – This study explores Dynamic Capabilities (DC) as one of the most prolific streams of research within the field of management and looks its applicability for media management research. Argumentation – It argues that reviewing the lineages of DC is a useful exercise for answering questions surrounding the fundamental change in the media industry, the challenges that media organizations and their managers are currently facing under the impact of digital change, and the theoretical grounding DC offers for media management scholars in understand the breadth and complexity of these challenges. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study uses a systematic reviewing methodology on DC in media management research. Findings – The study shows that DC help media research understand how media firms can best respond to changing environments. Research activity published from 2003 to 2019 in the field of media management has grown considerably. In the number of research papers related to the dynamic capabilities concept in the media management field between. Originality/Value – The study qualifies the validity of the DC framework in media management research and discusses conceptual bridges between the fields, its constituencies and perspectives

Evidence of Multiple Reconnection Lines at the Magnetopause from Cusp Observations

Recent global hybrid simulations investigated the formation of flux transfer events (FTEs) and their convection and interaction with the cusp. Based on these simulations, we have analyzed several Polar cusp crossings in the Northern Hemisphere to search for the signature of such FTEs in the energy distribution of downward precipitating ions: precipitating ion beams at different energies parallel to the ambient magnetic field and overlapping in time. Overlapping ion distributions in the cusp are usually attributed to a combination of variable ion acceleration during the magnetopause crossing together with the time-of-flight effect from the entry point to the observing satellite. Most "step up" ion cusp structures (steps in the ion energy dispersions) only overlap for the populations with large pitch angles and not for the parallel streaming populations. Such cusp structures are the signatures predicted by the pulsed reconnection model, where the reconnection rate at the magnetopause decreased to zero, physically separating convecting flux tubes and their parallel streaming ions. However, several Polar cusp events discussed in this study also show an energy overlap for parallel-streaming precipitating ions. This condition might be caused by reopening an already reconnected field line, forming a magnetic island (flux rope) at the magnetopause similar to that reported in global MHD and Hybrid simulation