Effect of conservation tillage systems on growth, yield and yield components of soybean

Conservation tillage systems have been used during recent years in many areas of Iran. In this study, the effect of conservation tillage on soybean yield, yield components and phenological characteristics was evaluated in Golestan province located at the northern Iran. Four different treatments including conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), no- tillage with no-till planter (NT-Planter) and no-tillage with no-till grain drill (NT-Grain Drill) were considered. A randomized complete block design with four replications was designed for the experiment. Soybean yield and yield components and some phenological characteristics were measured. Data were analyzed using SAS software and Duncan’s multiple range tests was used to compare the means. The results of two year experiments showed that in year 2012, NT-Grain drill with mean yield of 3612 kg ha-1 had the highest yield while the treatment MT had the lowest yield of 2794 kg ha-1. In year 2013, NT-Planter had the highest yield of 3617 kg ha-1 whereas CT method had the lowest yield of 3054 kg ha-1. It was concluded that NT methods with respect to yield increase are appropriate alternative to replace conventional tillage method in soybean cultivation. Phenological characteristics gave promising response to conservation tillage especially to no tillage

Preventive methods of dental caries is a problem of most general practitioners yet: A survey of knowledge, attitude and practice

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It is clear that education of parents and physicians regarding the importance of caries prevention will improve children’s dental health. Most of the times pediatric and general dentists are dependent on the knowledge base and attitude of pediatricians and family practice physicians for referral of infants and young children in need of preventive and restorative care. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice of general dental practitioners and pediatricians in relation to techniques used to prevent dental caries, including use of fissure sealants and fluoride therapy, in the south-east of Iran. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 399 general practitioners and pediatricians in the south-east of Iran. Data collected through a self-administered questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics, questions that evaluating, knowledge, attitude and practice level regarding preventive methods of dental caries. Then, scores were given to each question and sum of the scores was categorized to weak, moderate and good. These scores were evaluated as follows: 75%: good. Data analyzed by SPSS using independent-sample t-test and linear regression models. RESULTS: In this study, 399 questionnaires were completed including 352 (88.2%) general practitioners and 47 (11.8%) pediatricians. The findings indicated that general practitioners and pediatricians had moderate knowledge (52.6%), good attitude (76.9%), and moderate practice (38.6%) regarding preventive methods of dental caries. CONCLUSION: Although general practitioners and pediatricians have more communication and closer relationship with target group of caries unfortunately, they had not desirable knowledge and practice regarding fluoride and fissure sealant therapy. KEYWORDS: Dental Caries; Prevention; General Practitioner; Pediatrician; Knowledg

A Prospective Cohort Study of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Risk and Opium Addiction in South Eastern Iran

Opium addiction and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are endemic in different parts of Iran, particularly in Bam, where a massive earthquake occurred. This study was designed to compare the incidence rate and severity of CL cases among opium addicted and non-addicted individuals in south-eastern Iran. This study was carried out as a prospective cohort by active house-to-house visits of 1,481 habitants in Bam. CL cases were confirmed by smear and identification of Leishmania species was performed using nested-PCR. The data was analyzed by x2 and t-tests, using SPSS software and also KaplanMeier survival curve and long-rank test in Stata 11.2 and P,0.05 was considered as significant. A total of 904 individuals consisting of 226 opium addicted and 678 non-addicted individuals were followed-up for a period of seven years. The two cohorts were similar in terms of age, sex and place of residency. A similar pattern of incidence was observed among the two cohort groups. In contrast, the severity of CL in terms of the number, duration and the size of the lesions in opium addicted individuals was significantly (P,0.001) higher than non-opium addicted individuals. In conclusion, the present findings indicate that there is no relationship between the incidence of CL and opium addiction

Effect of Topical Application of Dentol Drop on the Success of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block for Teeth with Irreversible Pulpitis: A Double-blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: The failure rate of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block is high for mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis. This double-blind, randomized, clinical trial aimed to assess the effect of topical application of Dentol drop on the rate of successful anaesthesia of mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis due to deep carious lesions. Methods and Materials: Seventy-two patients with mandibular first and second molars with irreversible pulpitis and deep cavitated carious lesions participated in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to the test and control groups (n=36). In the test group, a cotton pellet, dipped in Dentol drop, was placed in the cavity for 10 min. A placebo was used _in the same manner_ in the control group. Level of pain was measured before the intervention, 15 min after anaesthesia (when patients reported numbness at the corner of the mouth), during access cavity preparation, upon pulp exposure and after introduction of the initial file into the root canal; using a Heft-Parker “Visual Analog Scale” (VAS). Data were analysed using ANCOVA. Results: Levels of pain were recorded during access cavity preparation (P<0.001), pulp exposure (P<0.001) and file introduction into the canal (P=0.018). In the test (Dentol) group, the obtained levels of pain were significantly lower than those of the corresponding values in the control group. Conclusion: Topical application of Dentol drop increased the success rate of IAN block for root canal treatment of mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis.Keywords: Dentol Drop; Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block; Irreversible Pulpiti

A Flexible Responsive Load Economic Model for Industrial Demands

The best pricing method for any company in a perfectly competitive market is the pricing scheme with regards to the marginal cost. In contrast to this environment, there is a market with imperfect competition. In this market, the price can be affected by some players in the generation/demand side (i.e., suppliers and/or buyers). In the economic literature, “market power” refers to a company that has the power to affect prices. In fact, market power is often defined as the ability to divert prices from competitive levels. In the electricity market, especially because of the integration of intermittent renewable energy resources (RESs) along with the inflexibility of demand, there are levels of market power on the supply side. Hence, implementation of demand response (DR) programs is necessary to increase the flexibility of the demand side to deal with the intermittency of renewable generations and at the same time tackle the market power of the supply side. This paper uses economic theories and mathematical formulations to develop a flexible responsive load economic model (FRLEM) based on real-time pricing (RTP) to show modification of the load profile and mitigation of the energy costs for an industrial zone. This model was developed based on constant elasticity of the substitution utility function, known as one of the most popular utility functions in microeconomics

Cytokine Profiles and Cell Proliferation Responses to Truncated ORF2 Protein in Iranian Patients Recovered from Hepatitis E Infection

Background.The aim of this study was to evaluate hepatitis E virus (HEV) specific cellular immune responses to truncated ORF2 protein in Iranian patients recovered from HEV infection. Information about HEV-specific immune responses could be useful in finding an effective way for development of HEV vaccine. Methods. A truncated formof HEVORF2 protein containing amino acids 112-608 was used to stimulate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) separated from HEV-recovered and control groups. Finally, the levels of four cytokines, IFN

High Frequency of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in HIV-Infected Patients and Patients with Thalassemia in Kerman, Iran

This study was conducted on patients with thalassemia and HIV-infected patients to determine the frequency of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in Kerman, Iran. We analyzed 68 and 49 E coli isolates isolated from healthy fecal samples of patients with thalassemia and HIV-infected patients, respectively. The E coli isolates were studied using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction to identify the enterotoxigenic E coli (ETEC), enterohemorrhagic E coli (EHEC), and enteropathogenic E coli (EPEC) groups. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the correlation of diarrheagenic E coli between HIVinfected patients and patients with thalassemia using Stata 11.2 software. The frequency of having at least 1 diarrheagenic E coli was more common in patients with thalassemia (67.64%) than in HIV-infected patients (57.14%; P ¼ .25), including ETEC (67.64% versus 57.14%), EHEC (33.82% versus 26.53%), and EPEC (19.11% versus 16.32%). The results of this study indicate that ETEC, EHEC, and EPEC pathotypes are widespread among diarrheagenic E coli isolates in patients with thalassemia and HIV-infected patients