Comparison of the Efficiency of Traditional and Industrial Milk Production Units in Khuzestan Province

One of the most important measures, in order to increase animal products and reduce imports, is the industrialization of animal husbandry units, specially the dairy cattle. The condition of milk production would be improved by this industrialization, which is in the direction of increasing the efficiency of milk production units. The purpose of this study is calculate , the efficiency of the traditional and industrial milk production units of Khuzestan province in 2011. The method of research was causal comparative. Data envelope analysis, in both forms of constant and variable return to scale, was used to calculate the types of efficiency. The needed information of industrial and traditional cattle houses was gained using capitation and random sampling from 384 production units, respectively. According to the results, the rate of total efficiency among the milk producers of traditional and industrial milk production units of Khuzestan is significantly different. In addition, the size of cattle house, manger`s level of education and experience, having a secondary job, animal`s race, and the production method are factors affecting the efficiency of units

Urine macrophage migration inhibitory factor in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus

We reported a series of ten patients with lupus nephritis (five patients in the relapse phase and five in the remission phase) and measured the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), an important pro-inflammatory cytokine with probable role in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases, in their urine samples. MIF/creatinine (Cr) ratio directly correlated with disease activity and it does not have any significant difference between inactive disease and normal ones. We found that the urine MIF/Cr ratio not only differentiates active disease from inactive disease and normal ones but also correlates with the activity indices of renal pathology. © Clinical Rheumatology 2007

Iran Mortality and Measures of Risk: Rankings for Public policy

"nBackground: This paper offers mortality risk rankings for Iranian mortality data. It extends methods to include mixed co­horts, tests changes in mortality risks, compares measures of risk and discusses public policy implications."nMethods: The methodology used in risk measures takes current practice and extends it to include variations in population dy­nam­ics. The specification is presented and compared with existing literature."nResults: Our findings confirm literature results in the re-ordering that takes place when different risk measures are used. In ad­di­tion, we find there is consistency in risk rankings between 1999 and 2000 records of Iranian mortality data.  Thus, these risk measures are stable, robust across time and relay risk information consistently."nConclusions: There are considerable implications in adopting particular risk measures for public policy. However, given prop­er­ties of risk measures discussed here, it is clear that policy makers can select relevant risk measures depending on their pri­ori­ties

Investigation of the passive behaviour of AZ31B alloy in alkaline solutions

In this work, the passivity of AZ31B alloy in NaOH solutions was studied by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott–Schottky analysis. Potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that decreasing NaOH concentration leads to decrease the corrosion rate of this alloy. EIS results showed that the reciprocal capacitance (1/C) of the passive film is directly proportional to its thickness which increases with decreasing NaOH concentration. Therefore, it is clear that dilute NaOH solutions offer better conditions for forming the passive films with higher protection behaviour, due to the growth of a much thicker and less defective films. The Mott–Schottky analysis revealed that the passive films displayed n-type semiconductive characteristics, where the oxygen vacancies and interstitials (over the cation vacancies) preponderated. Also, Mott–Schottky results showed that the donor densities evaluated from Mott–Schottky plots are in the range of 1020 cm−3 and decreased with decreasing NaOH concentration

Semiconducting behavior of the anodically passive films formed on AZ31B alloy

This work includes determination of the semiconductor character and estimation of the dopant levels in the passive film formed on AZ31B alloy in 0.01 M NaOH, as well as the estimation of the passive film thickness as a function of the film formation potential. Mott–Schottky analysis revealed that the passive films displayed n-type semiconductive characteristics, where the oxygen vacancies and interstitials preponderated. Based on the Mott–Schottky analysis, it was shown that the calculated donor density increases linearly with increasing the formation potential. Also, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results indicated that the thickness of the passive film was decreased linearly with increasing the formation potential. The results showed that decreasing the formation potential offer better conditions for forming the passive films with higher protection behavior, due to the growth of a much thicker and less defective films

Examining the Relationship of Optimism and Emo-tion Regulation Strategies with General Health among Students of

Abstract Background and Objective: Individuals apply various emotion regulation strategies, some of which are adaptive and others are maladaptive affecting people's general health. Moreover, individual life-orientation including favorable expectancies about future (optimism) is associated with healthrelated behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of optimism and emotion regulation strategies with general health of university students. 866 and consistent with other findings, optimism is associated with higher levels of applying coping strategies and lower levels of avoidance

Investigating effectiveness of clandestine advertisement and organizational strategy in brand management

This investigation tries to examine correlation between clandestine advertisement and organizational strategy in brand management via available sources and by using a field study. In fact, it intends to raise the question “Are clandestine advertisement and organizational strategy effective in management of products brands?” This is an applied and descriptive-approaching study. The study chooses a sample of 171 regular customers who do their day-to-day banking business activities through an Iranian bank named Sepah bank in city of Tehran, Iran. Using structural equation modeling, the study confirms a positive and meaningful relationship between clandestine advertisement and organizational strategy in brand management

The Effect of Canal Contamination with Saliva on Apical Sealing

Introduction: Root canal obturation aims at sealing the root canal system to prevent re-contamination of canal and periapical space. Presence of moisture in canal before obturation may posit a negative effect on the quality of canal sealing. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of canal contamination with saliva on apical microleakage. Methods: In this laboratory study, 58 human uni-root teeth were cleaned and shaped for obturation with gutta percha and sealer AH26. In the case group, specimens were contaminated with human saliva immediately before obturation, whereas the teeth in the control group were kept dry. All canals were filled by lateral condensation technique. Moreover, the teeth were placed in methylene blue dye for 3 days. Dye penetration was measured using a stereomicrosope. As a matter of fact, the study data were analyzed via utilizing t-test. Results: A significant difference was found between the two groups in regard with the apical leakage(P<0.001). The microleakage mean of dye in the dry group was 3/48mm, whereas it was 6/36mm in the saliva contaminated group. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that complete drying of canal can improve apical sealing

The Effect of Canal Contamination with Saliva on Apical Sealing

Introduction: Root canal obturation aims at sealing the root canal system to prevent re-contamination of canal and periapical space. Presence of moisture in canal before obturation may posit a negative effect on the quality of canal sealing. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of canal contamination with saliva on apical microleakage. Methods: In this laboratory study, 58 human uni-root teeth were cleaned and shaped for obturation with gutta percha and sealer AH26. In the case group, specimens were contaminated with human saliva immediately before obturation, whereas the teeth in the control group were kept dry. All canals were filled by lateral condensation technique. Moreover, the teeth were placed in methylene blue dye for 3 days. Dye penetration was measured using a stereomicrosope. As a matter of fact, the study data were analyzed via utilizing t-test. Results: A significant difference was found between the two groups in regard with the apical leakage(P<0.001). The microleakage mean of dye in the dry group was 3/48mm, whereas it was 6/36mm in the saliva contaminated group. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that complete drying of canal can improve apical sealing