A study of the lower gastrointestinal tract cancer with emphasis on gender and age of the patients in western Iran (Kermanshah) over 2006-2011

Given that the incidence of cancers in the coming years will have a growing trend due to the increased average age of the world's population, the partial control of communicable diseases, and the rapid growth of the environmental risk factors. The present work was a descriptive, comparative and analytical study. The statistical population consisted of all patients residing in Kermanshah who had been suffering from the lower gastrointestinal tract cancer for five years. The results of the present study revealed that 46.10% were male, and 53.90% were female. Further, the results indicated that the age of patients and the intensity of cancer differentiation were significantly correlated.It seemed that the lack of early diagnosis would ensue from a lack of periodic screening programs at early ages and lack of forums in which specialists could get together due to the unavailability of comparative statistics.Keywords: Cancer, Lower Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer, Western Iran, Kermanshah Cit

Short communication: Population genetic structure studies of Liza aurata based on mtDNA control region sequences analyses in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea

Nowadays many species are endangered as a result of habitat loss. Decreases in population lead to reduced genetic diversity, which can cause survival crisis in a population (Cecconi et al., 1995). Nowadays optimal management of fish stocks needs information on population structure of species that is provided to researchers through genetic science. Bereavement of science about stock composition will lead to the fracture of fisheries management and unsuitable harvest of stocks (Papasotiropoulos et al., 2007). One of the beneficial methods to demonstrate genetic diversity is haplotype analysis of the D-loop region, an index which is very important and determinant for the preservation of species. Significant genetic variation is found in the D-loop region, even among individuals within a given species. Grey mullets are not endemic species of the Caspian Sea. Juveniles of L. aurata, L. saliens and Mugil cephallus were introduced from the Black Sea into the Caspian Sea during the years 1930-1934. But only the introduction of L. aurata and L. saliens was successful and they adapted well to the ecological conditions of the Caspian Sea (Fazli et al., 2008)

Convergence of an implicit iteration for affine mappings in normed and Banach spaces

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to study the weak and strong convergence of an implicit iteration process to a fixed point of a(n) (asymptotically) quasi-nonexpansive affine mapping in normed and Banach spaces

Potential of oak acorn with and without polyethylene glycol as an alternative to corn in broiler diets

This study was conducted to investigate the potential for replacing corn with oak acorn (OA), a tannin-rich feedstuff, and the possible role of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in reducing detrimental effects of OA on broilers. A 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used with three levels of OA (0, 150, and 200 g/kg diet), with and without 10 g/kg PEG. A total of 528 one-day-old male and female Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of six experimental treatments, with four replicates of 22 birds each. OA was included in the starter (days 1–21) and finisher (days 22–42) diets as a replacement for corn, without changing the dietary levels of other ingredients. The results indicated that dietary inclusion of OA, without PEG, significantly reduced bodyweight gain (BWG) overall (days 1–42) and resulted in worse finisher and overall feed conversion ratios (FCR). PEG had no significant effect on the performance of birds fed diets without OA, but improved overall the BWG of birds receiving 150 and 200 g/kg OA as well as finisher and overall the FCR of birds given 150 g/kg OA. Liver and pancreas weights were not significantly influenced by OA level, PEG or their interaction. Feeding with 200 g/kg OA had deleterious effects on some tibia traits. In conclusion, a significant interaction between OA level and PEG indicates that PEG has the potential to reduce the adverse effects of OA, leading to improved performance. Thus, up to 150 g/kg OA could be included in PEG-supplemented diets, without adverse effects on performance or the tibia traits of broilers.Keywords: High-tannin feedstuff, performance, poultry nutrition, tibia characteristi

Population genetic studies of Liza aurata using D-Loop sequencing in the southeast and southwest coasts of the Caspian Sea

Genetic diversity as an important marker of the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems is considered a unique and powerful tool to evaluate biological communities. In order to evaluate the genetic diversity among golden mullet species (Liza aurata) in the southeast and southwest coasts of the Caspian Sea by D-Loop gene sequencing, a total of 23 fin specimens of golden mullet were collected from the Gilan (Anzali area) and Golestan (Gomishan area) provinces. Total DNA from the samples was extracted by ammonium acetate method and the quality and quantity of the extracted DNA were assessed by spectrophotometry and electrophoresis. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was conducted on the target DNA and then DNA sequencing was carried out. D-loop region in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of golden mullet contained 900 base pairs (bp). Phylogenetic relationships among golden mullet were calculated by MEGA software version 5.05 and divergence time was estimated using Tahjima's test. The results obtained from this study revealed that there were high genetic differences among two regions in the Gilan and Golestan provinces. Kimura 2-parameter was used for genetic distance analysis and the genetic distance recorded between Gilan and Golestan Provinces was calculated at 0.259. The high levels of FsT were observed between Gilan and Golestan Provinces which indicates that genetic differences exist among present populations (p≤.05). Based on the results obtained from the south Caspian Sea, probably two different populations of Liza aurata are living in the Gilan and Golestan Provinces

Теоретичні основи безпосереднього народовладдя

Розглядаються такі форми безпосереднього народовладдя, як мітинги, збори, демонстрації. Подано пропозиції щодо удосконалення чинного законодавства, яке регулює проведення зборів, мітингів, демонстрацій в Україні.Рассматриваются такие формы непосредственного народовластия, как митинги, собрания, демонстрации. Поданы предложения по совершенствованию действующего законодательства, регулирующего проведение собраний, митингов, демонстраций в Украине.Such forms of democracy as mass meeting, collections, demonstrations are examined in this article. Insufficiency of set problem was emphasized. Suggestions are given concerning current legislation improvement related to collections, mass meeting, demonstrations realization in Ukraine

Cold tolerance and supercooling capacity in overwintering adults of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Col.: Curculionidae)

Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica Gyllenhal, is a key pest of alfalfa and widely distributed in alfalfa fields of Iran. In early autumn, the first adults of H. postica arrive in the fields where they steadily increase their populations during autumn and following winter. To evaluate the impact environmental factors including temperature on the survival of the weevils, this study was conducted to measure the levels of variability in supercooling point and cold hardiness in the weevils. Overwintering adults were collected monthly from alfalfa fields on the outskirts of Karaj during the autumn 2011and winter 2012. The supercooling points and survivorship were studied at sub-zero temperatures from -5 to -13 ºC for 210 minutes. The average supercooling point ranged from -14.4 ± 0.68 in October to -8.8 ± 0.80 in March. Mean supercooling points for H. postica adults were significantly lower in autumn (-13.4 ºC) comparing winter (-8.6 ºC). Insects survived after being exposed to -5 ºC in all months. The mortality of the adults increased with cold intensity. The percent mortality for adults treated at -11 ºC was approximately 89% in November and December and reached 100% in January and February. The range of LT50 values varied from -5.7 ºC (highest) to -8.6 ºC (lowest). Results showed that adults could not withstand the temperatures below the supercooling point. It is found that the cold intensity around supercooling point could cause 80% mortality. It can be concluded that as the ambient temperature in the field approaches the supercooling point, it tends to be detrimental on H. postica population

From natural language processing to neural databases

In recent years, neural networks have shown impressive performance gains on long-standing AI problems, such as answering queries from text and machine translation. These advances raise the question of whether neural nets can be used at the core of query processing to derive answers from facts, even when the facts are expressed in natural language. If so, it is conceivable that we could relax the fundamental assumption of database management, namely, that our data is represented as fields of a pre-defined schema. Furthermore, such technology would enable combining information from text, images, and structured data seamlessly. This paper introduces neural databases, a class of systems that use NLP transformers as localized answer derivation engines. We ground the vision in NeuralDB, a system for querying facts represented as short natural language sentences. We demonstrate that recent natural language processing models, specifically transformers, can answer select-project-join queries if they are given a set of relevant facts. However, they cannot scale to non-trivial databases nor answer set-based and aggregation queries. Based on these insights, we identify specific research challenges that are needed to build neural databases. Some of the challenges require drawing upon the rich literature in data management, and others pose new research opportunities to the NLP community. Finally, we show that with preliminary solutions, NeuralDB can already answer queries over thousands of sentences with very high accuracy

Low-cost locally manufacturable unilateral imperial external fixator for low- and middle-income countries

Treating open fractures in long bones can be challenging and if not performed properly can lead to poor outcomes such as mal/non-union, deformity, and amputation. One of the most common methods of treating these fracture types is temporary external fixation followed by definitive fixation. The shortage of high-quality affordable external fixators is a long-recognised need, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This research aimed to develop a low-cost device that can be manufactured locally to international standards. This can provide surge capacity for conflict zones or in response to unpredictable incidents and situations. The fixator presented here and developed by us, the Imperial external fixator, was tested on femur and tibia specimens under 100 cycles of 100 N compression-tension and the results were compared with those of the Stryker Hoffmann 3 frame. The Imperial device was stiffer than the Stryker Hoffmann 3 with a lower median interfragmentary motion (of 0.94 vs. 1.48 mm). The low-cost, easy to use, relatively lightweight, and easy to manufacture (since minimum skillset and basic workshop equipment and materials are needed) device can address a critical shortage and need in LMICs particularly in conflict-affected regions with unpredictable demand and supply. The device is currently being piloted in three countries for road traffic accidents, gunshot wounds and other conflict trauma—including blast cohorts