Linguistic and computational analysis of word order and scrambling in Persian

Institute for Communicating and Collaborative SystemsThis thesis discusses linguistic constraints on scrambling and flexibility in word order in spoken Persian (Farsi) and presents a computational model for efficient implementation of these constraints for a subset of Persian. Linguistic phenomena which we have studies include local scrambling, long distance scrambling, extrapolation of clauses, topicalisation, case tendancy and the discourse marker ra. The work extends previous work on Persian based on Government and Binding (GB) theory by considering the pragmatic aspects of Persian Grammar and long distance scrambling

Interrelationship of βeta-2 microglobulin, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in streptozotocin -induced diabetes mellitus in rabbits

Measurement of serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) are used as indicators of glomerular filtration rate. The increased levels of these biomarkers are usually detectable at advanced stages of kidney complications. The aim of this study was to find the interrelationship of beta-2 microglobulin (β2M), BUN and Cr in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus in rabbits. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 65 mg kg-1 of STZ in rabbits. The levels of serum insulin, glucose and three above mentioned biomarkers were measured one day before (day -1) and on days 1-3 after injection of STZ and continued weekly to the end of the experiment (12 weeks). A statistically significant increase of serum β2M, BUN, Cr and glucose levels, and a significant decrease of insulin levels were observed in diabetic animals. However, β2M levels increased as early as one day after STZ injection compared to Cr and BUN that elevated at day two, suggesting a probable diagnostic advantage of β2M over currently used biomarkers in diabetic related kidney complications

Integrating wireless EEGs into medical sensor networks

Wireless Electroencephalograms (EEG) are currently being used to wirelessly transmit the data from brain sensors to a computer and they carry huge potential for many future medical applications. This paper presents the design of a hy-brid medical sensor network with Tmote Sky motes as wire-less EEG sensor nodes at the lowest level collecting EEG signals and sending them to Stargate PDAs at the next level. Stargates perform artifact removal, Fourier transfor-mation and feature extraction and the final machine intelli-gence algorithms are run at a PC server. Several features of the CodeBlue medical sensor network like query processing, routing layer are used in our design. The advantages of the hybrid medical sensor network integrating wireless EEGs include the capability to have the brain monitoring func-tionality incorporated into the medical sensor networks. ACM Classificatio

Effect of oligosaccharides extract from palm kernel expeller on growth performance, gut microbiota and immune response in broiler chickens

ABSTRACT This study examined the prebiotic effects of oligosaccharides extract from palm kernel expeller (OligoPKE) on growth performance, cecal microbiota and immune response of broiler chickens. A total of ninety 1-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb-500) were randomly allocated to three treatment groups of six pens (replicates) with five birds per pen. Dietary treatments were: (i) basal diet as control, (ii) basal diet plus 0.5% OligoPKE, and (iii) basal diet plus 1% OligoPKE. Birds growth traits (ADG, ADFI and G:F) were measured during the starter (1–21 day), finisher (22–35 day) and the entire experimental periods. Blood and cecal digesta samples were collected from chickens at 21 and 35 days of age (DOA). Microbial quantification of the digesta samples, white blood cells including heterophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, basophil counts and immunoglobulin (IgA and IgM) were also determined. OligoPKE had no effect on ADG and ADFI throughout the study period, but chickens fed OligoPKE supplemented diet had better (

بررسی تغییرات فیزیولوژیکی فشار خون، ضربان قلب و استرس شغلی کارگران کارگاه چوب بری در مواجهه با صدا

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of noise exposure and its relationship with job stress, changes in blood pressure and heart rate among woodworking workshop workers. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional-analytical-descriptive study, 140 employees of a lumber workshop in Mazandaran province were selected and divided into case and control groups. Demographic information of employees was collected by questionnaire. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured using mercury sphygmomanometer. Heart rate of the case and control groups was measured by Beurer pulse meter. The results were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The results of noise measurements showed that the mean noise exposure in workers from 8-hour shifts was 92.11 dB and among non-exposed group was 74.48 dB. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the control and exposure groups were 124, 126, 80 and 82, respectively. Also, the mean heart rate of the studied groups was 74.9 and 75.83 beats per minute, respectively. There was no significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups, (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings, the rate of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as the heart rate and stress levels were higher in the exposed group as compared with the control group; however, the difference between systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups was not statistically significant. There was a significant difference in stress. It was found to be consistent with the results of some previous studies.زمینه و اهداف: هدف از انجام مطالعه حاضر بررسی میزان مواجهه با صدا و ارتباط آن با استرس شغلی، تغییرات فشارخون و ضربان قلب در کارگران کارگاه چوب‌بری بود. مواد و روش‌ها: در این مطالعه مقطعی- تحلیلی- توصیفی تعداد140 نفر از شاغلین یک کارگاه چوب بری در استان مازندران انتخاب و در دو گروه مورد و کنترل تقسیم شدند. اطلاعات جمعیت‌شناختی شاغلین با پرسشنامه گردآوری شد. میزان فشارخون سیستولیک و دیاستولیک با استفاده از فشارسنج جیوه‌ای و ضربان قلب گروه مورد و شاهد به‌ وسیله دستگاه نبض سنج Beurer مورد سنجش قرار گرفت. نتایج بدست آمده با استفاده از نرم افزار  SPSS تجزیه و تحلیل شد. در تمام مراحل، ملاحظات اخلاقی مد نظر قرار گرفت. یافته‌ها: نتایج اندازه‌گیری صدا نشان داد، میانگین مواجهه با صوت در شاغلین مواجهه یافته در شیفت 8 ساعته 92/11 دسی‌بل و گروه بدون مواجهه 74/48 دسی‌بل است. میانگین فشار خون سیستولیک، دیاستولیک به ترتیب در دو گروه کنترل و مواجهه 124،126، 80 و 82 بود.  همچنین میانگین ضربان قلب دو گروه  به ترتیب 74/9 و 75/83 ضربه در دقیقه بود. همچنین تفاوت معنی‌داری در فشار خون سیستولیک و دیاستولیک و ضربان قلب بین دو گروه وجود نداشت (P>0/05). نتیجه‌گیری: نتایج مطالعه نشان داد، میزان فشار خون سیستولیک، دیاستولیک، ضربان قلب و استرس در گروه مواجهه بیشتر از گروه کنترل بود و اختلاف فشار خون سیستولیک، دیاستولیک و ضربان قلب بین دو گروه  از نظر آماری معنی‌دار نبوده و فقط در میزان استرس اختلاف معنی‌داری مشاهده شد

Evaluation of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score efficiency in predicting the mortality of intensive care unit admitted COVID-19 patients

Assessing the severity of the disease at the time of hospitalization can reduce the mortality of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For this stance, various scoring systems have been described to predict mortality rates. Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) is one of the scoring systems which have been used in this study. In order to calculate the SOFA score, demographic and characteristics information, clinical status, and laboratory findings were recorded from 154 patients with COVID-19, who have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for a period of 6 months. SOFA score was calculated in three time periods at the time of hospitalization, 72 hours after hospitalization, and the last day of hospitalization. Based on the outcome of the disease (death or recovery), patients were divided into two groups, and the results were analyzed in both groups. Statistical analysis has represented that the SOFA score was significantly higher in patients who died to compare with recovered ones in all time periods. Our findings suggest that SOFA scoring system can be used to predict mortality rate in ICU admitted COVID-19 patients

Healing of excisional wound in alloxan induced diabetic sheep: A planimetric and histopathologic study

Healing of skin wound is a multi-factorial and complex process. Proper treatment of diabetic wounds is still a major clinical challenge. Although diabetes mellitus can occur in ruminants, healing of wounds in diabetic ruminants has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate healing of ovine excisional diabetic wound model. Eight 4-month-old Iranian Makoui wethers were equally divided to diabetic and nondiabetic groups. Alloxan monohydrate (60 mg kg-1, IV) was used for diabetes induction. In each wether, an excisional wound was created on the dorsum of the animal. Photographs were taken in distinct times for planimetric evaluation. Wound samples were taken on day 21 post-wounding for histopathologic evaluations of epidermal thickness, number of fibroblasts and number of new blood vessels. The planimetric study showed slightly delay in wound closure of diabetic animals, however, it was not significantly different from nondiabetic wounds (p ≥ 0.05). Furthermore, epidermal thickness, number of fibroblasts and number of blood vessels were significantly lower in diabetic group (p < 0.05). We concluded that healing of excisional diabetic wounds in sheep may be compromised, as seen in other species. However, contraction rate of these wounds may not be delayed due to metabolic features of ruminants and these animals might go under surgeries without any serious concern. However, healing quality of these wounds may be lower than normal wounds

Selenium supplementation in the form of selenium nanoparticles and selenite sodium improves mature male mice reproductive performances

Objective(s): The current study was conducted to examine the possible protective and retentive effects of one-week intra-peritoneal (IP) administration of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), compared to its bulk counterpart, selenite sodium (Ss), after one complete cycle of spermatogenesis in mature male mice. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male mice were divided into 3 groups. Control group was administrated phosphate-buffered saline (IP) and the other groups received Ss (0.50 mg kg-1) and Se-NPs (0.50 mg kg-1) for seven successive days. Then, the animals were monitored for 28 days and finally sacrificed and tissue and blood samples were taken. Histopathological features, sperm quality, in vitro fertilization (IVF) capability and selenium (Se) content in testicular tissue were analyzed. Antioxidant enzyme activities including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase as well as total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde levels were assessed in blood and the tissue samples. Results: Remarkable differences were found in sperm characteristics, histopathological features and oxidative stress biomarkers between control and treatment groups. Moreover, IVF evaluation and tissue Se concentration examination weren’t similar for Se-NPs and Ss. Conclusion: Conclusively, Se-treated groups had more antioxidant capacity than the control group, but sperm quality and histopathological features revealed that Se-NPs might possess more antioxidative and retentive potential compared to Ss in one spermatogenesis cycle

Oil supplementation improved growth and diet digestibility in goats and sheep fed fattening diet

Objective This study evaluated the growth, digestibility and rumen fermentation between goats and sheep fed a fattening diet fortified with linseed oil. Methods Twelve 3 to 4 months old male goats and sheep were randomly allocated into two dietary treatment groups in a 2 (species)×2 (oil levels) factorial experiment. The treatments were: i) goats fed basal diet, ii) goats fed oil-supplemented diet, iii) sheep fed basal diet, and iv) sheep fed oil-supplemented diet. Each treatment group consisted of six animals. Animals in the basal diet group were fed with 30% alfalfa hay and 70% concentrates at a rate equivalent to 4% of their body weight. For the oil treatment group, linseed oil was added at 4% level (w:w) to the concentrate portion of the basal diet. Growth performance of the animals was determined fortnightly. Digestibility study was conducted during the final week of the feeding trial before the animals were slaughtered to obtain rumen fluid for rumen fermentation characteristics study. Results Sheep had higher (p<0.01) average daily weight gain (ADG) and better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than goats. Oil supplementation did not affect rumen fermentation in both species and improved ADG by about 29% and FCR by about 18% in both goats and sheep. The above enhancement is consistent with the higher dry matter and energy digestibility (p<0.05), as well as organic matter and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (p<0.01) in animals fed oil- supplemented diet. Sheep had higher total volatile fatty acid production and acetic acid proportion compared to goat. Conclusion The findings of this study suggested that sheep performed better than goats when fed a fattening diet and oil supplementation at the inclusion rate of 4% provides a viable option to significantly enhance growth performance and FCR in fattening sheep and goats