Phenological characteristics of the invasive weed Cucumis melo

Phenology is the study of periodic biological events. The time of weed appearance, growth and reproduction are very important for decisions on invasive weed management. Cucumis melo is an annual invasive weed of soybean fields in the north of Iran that reproduces and spreads predominately through seed production. In order to study the phenology of wild melon was conducted an experiment in CRD at Research Farm of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran, during 2012. Seeds first germinated after 10 days of planting, as soon as optimal soil temperatures were achieved. The weed exhibited monoecious tendencies, with production of male flowers rapidly followed by production of both male and female flowers on the same vine. Cucumis melo exhibited prolific fruit production, until senescence occurred at 75 and 92 days after establishment. First fruit formation was observed between 40 and 49 days after emergence, depending on temperature. To complete growth cycle, of Cucumis melo required about 448 and 733 degree days, respectively for late of May and 8 of June. The weed produced a maximum of 100 fruits/plant, but an average plant typically produced 48 fruits/plant. The seed number and seed weight was on average about 190 seeds/fruit and 0.55 g per 100 seeds, respectively. The results indicated that wild melon could produce a lot of fruits and seeds within a growth period of about 75 and 92 days.Keywords: Growth, monoecious plants, reproduction, wild melonPhänologische Eigenschaften der invasiven Unkrautart Cucumis meloZusammenfassungDie Phänologie befasst sich mit wiederkehrenden biologischen Abläufen. Auflauf, Wachstum und Samenproduktion invasiver Arten sind wichtig für Bekämpfungsentscheidungen. Cucumis melo ist eine einjährige, invasive Unkrautart, die im Norden Irans im Sojabohnenanbau vorkommt und sich vorwiegend durch Samenproduktion vermehrt und ausbreitet. Untersuchungen zur Phänologie dieser Unkrautart wurden 2012 auf der Versuchsstation der Gorgan Universität im Iran durchgeführt. Das Auflaufen erfolgte von Anfang bis Mitte Mai nach Erreichen optimaler Bodentemperaturen. Die Unkrautart zeigte monözische Tendenzen indem sowohl männliche als auch weibliche Blüten an einer Pflanze ausgebildet wurden. Cucumis melo zeigt eine starke Fruchtentwicklung bis zum Beginn der Seneszens nach etwa 75 Tagen nach der Keimung. In Abhängigkeit von der Temperatur wurde die erste Fruchtbildung 40 bis 49 Tage nach der Keimung beobachtet. Wachstumszyklus für Ende Mai und 8. Juni abzuschließen, Cucumis melo der erforderlichen etwa 448 und 733 Grad-Tagen. Die Unkrautart produzierte maximal 100 Früchte pro Pflanze und im Mittel produzierte eine Pflanze 48 Früchte. Die Samenanzahl und das Samengewicht lagen bei 190 Samen pro Frucht und 0,55 g pro 100 Samen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass wilde Melonenarten innerhalb von 75 Tagen eine hohe Anzahl von Früchten und Samen produzieren können.Stichwörter: Monoecious Pflanzen, Reproduktion, Wachstum, wilde Melon

Hypocalcemia in hospitalized patients with COVID‑19: roles of hypovitaminosis D and functional hypoparathyroidism

Introduction Despite the high prevalence of hypocalcemia in patients with COVID-19, very limited studies have been designed to evaluate etiologies of this disorder. This study was designed to evaluate the status of serum parameters involved in calcium metabolism in patients with COVID-19 and hypocalcemia. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 123 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Serum concentrations of PTH, 25 (OH) D, magnesium, phosphate, and albumin were assessed and compared across three groups of moderate/severe hypocalcemia (serum total calcium<8 mg/dl), mild hypocalcemia (8 mg/dl≤serum total calcium<8.5 mg/ dl) and normocalcemia (serum total calcium≥8.5 mg/dl). Multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the independent roles of serum parameters in hypocalcemia. Results In total, 65.9% of the patients had hypocalcemia. Vitamin D defciency was found in 44.4% and 37.7% of moderate/ severe and mild hypocalcemia cases, respectively, compared to 7.1% in the normal serum total calcium group (P=0.003). In multivariate analysis, vitamin D defciency was independently associated with 6.2 times higher risk of hypocalcemia (P=0.001). Only a minority of patients with hypocalcemia had appropriately high PTH (15.1% and 14.3% in mild and moderate/severe hypocalcemia, respectively). Serum PTH was low/low-normal in 40.0% of patients with moderate/severe low-corrected calcium group. Magnesium defciency was not associated with hypocalcemia in univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion Vitamin D defciency plays a major role in hypocalcemia among hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Inappropriately low/low-normal serum PTH may be a contributing factor in this disorder

Effect of Neurofeedback Interactions and Mental Imagery on the Elderly’s Balance

Objectives Balance maintenance is one of the indices of determining independence in older people. Identifying other factors that have considerable impact on the independence of older peoples is an interesting research topic. The present study aims at determining the effect of Neurofeedback and Mental Motor Imagery practices on balance in the elderly. Methods & Materials The population of this study consisted of elderly people of Mashhad, a city in northeast Iran. A total of 24 elderly people&nbsp; with age ranging from 60-82 years old volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to three groups (with eight participants in each group). The participants of experimental groups were involved in the special training (neurofeedback training and mental imagery practice) for eight weeks (with three sessions each week)while the control group were not involved in any practice. Stork Balance Stand Test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests were used to assess the static and dynamic balance of participants respectively, before and after the training sessions. The Shapiro&ndash;Wilk test of normality was used to check normality of data. Additionally,&nbsp; Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine the effect of training with pre-test scores used as covariate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 21 at a=0.05. Results The results of Analysis of Covariance revealed that there was a significant effect of neurofeedback and mental imagery on the static and dynamic balance of elderly people (P<0.05). Furthermore, neurofeedback had superior effect in both of the balance conditions (P<0.05). Conclusion The study recommends neurofeedback and mental motor imagery practices&nbsp; to prevent balance loosing and improving balance ability in elderly people

Evaluation of Association Between HLA Class II DR4–DQ8 Haplotype and Type I Diabetes Mellitus in Children of East Azerbaijan State of Iran

Purpose: Association between HLA-DR4–DQ8 haplotype and type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM-1A) was investigated in children of East Azerbaijan state of Iran because such an association has not been previously studied in this population. Methods: HLA-typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific priming. For haplotype analysis, the logistic regression model was performed. Results: Of the three investigated alleles, the frequency of DRB1*0401 was significantly higher among patients compared with that in healthy subjects (76.74% vs. 23.26%). Conclusion: The findings of the current study are consistent with those of previous studies and show that DRB1*0401 is associated with DM-1A; the frequencies of the two other alleles were also higher among patients, although the differences were not statistically significant. Two haplotypes associated with these alleles were also surveyed, and DRB1*0401−-DQA1*0301−, and DRB1*0401−-DQA1*0301−-DQB1*0302− were the most frequent haplotypes among the patient group

Relationship between Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and Selenium Intake and Disease Severity and Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Retrospective Study

Background and purpose: COVID-19 is a viral respiratory disease that results in high mortality. Evidence suggests that micronutrients affect viral and bacterial infections. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of micronutrients (vitamin D, vitamin C, and selenium) on the disease severity in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Materials and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in patients with diagnosis of COVID-19 in Qaemshahr Razi Hospital, 2020. Medical records were reviewed and 42 were selected. Data of patients that received micronutrients including vitamin D, vitamin C, and selenium and those that did not receive these supplements were compared. Duration of hospitalization, respiratory support, oxygen therapy, requiring invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation, and incident of death were investigated. Statistical analysis was done in SPSS V25. Results: Survival rates in the groups receiving vitamin C, D, and selenium were not significantly different from the groups that did not receive these supplements (P= 0.42, 0.63, 0.084, respectively). The study showed no significant relationship between vitamin D, C, and selenium intake and the need for ventilation due to respiratory distress (P= 0.139, 0.2, and 0.8, respectively). Conclusion: No remarkable difference was seen between the recipients of vitamin C, D, and selenium and those who did not receive supplements in terms of survival and the need for mechanical ventilation. So, these supplements did not affect the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19

Comparison of the effect of topical versus systemic L-arginine on wound healing in acute incisional diabetic rat model

Background: Diabetes is associated with endothelial dysfunction and impaired wound healing. The amino acid L-arginine is the only substrate for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. The purpose of this study was to compare the topical versus systemic L-arginine treatment on total nitrite (NO x ) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations in wound fluid and rate of wound healing in an acute incisional diabetic wound model. Materials and Methods: A total of 56 Sprague-Dawley rats were used of which 32 were rendered diabetic. Animals underwent a dorsal skin incision. Dm-sys-arg group (N = 8, diabetic) and Norm-sys-arg group (N = 8, normoglycemic) were gavaged with L-arginine. Dm-sys-control group (N = 8, diabetic) and Norm-sys-control group (N = 8, normoglycemic) were gavaged with water. Dm-top-arg group (N = 8, diabetic) and norm-top-arg group (N = 8, normoglycemic) received topical L-arginine gel. Dm-top-control group (N = 8, diabetic) received gel vehicle. On the day 5 the amount of NO x in wound fluid was measured by Griess reaction. VEGF/total protein in wound fluids was also measured on day 5 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All wound tissue specimens were fixed and stained to be evaluated for rate of healing. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 18.0, Chicago, IL, USA) through One-way analysis of variance test and Tukey′s post-hoc. Results: In dm-sys-arg group, the level of NO x on day 5 was significantly more than dm-top-arg group (P < 0.05). VEGF content in L-arginine treated groups were significantly more than controls (P < 0.05). Rate of diabetic wound healing in dm-sys-arg group was significantly more than dm-top-arg group. Conclusion: Systemic L-arginine is more efficient than topical L-arginine in wound healing. This process is mediated at least in part, by increasing VEGF and NO in the wound fluid

The Efficacy and Safety of Adding Chlorpromazine to Atazanavir/Ritonavir Regimen in the Treatment of Moderate COVID-19 Patients, a Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial

Background: According to COVID-19 mutation and no defined treatment, it is necessary to find effective treatment. Chlorpromazine, a phenothiazine antipsychotic drug, has been shown in animal studies to have antiviral effects by inhibiting clathrin-mediated endocytosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of adding chlorpromazine to the atazanavir/ritonavir regimen in the treatment of moderate COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, sixty hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 confirmed by CT findings or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were enrolled. All patients received atazanavir/ritonavir 300mg/100mg once daily. In two parallel groups, chlorpromazine 25 mg three times a day or a placebo was administered for up to 14 days. Complete blood count with differential, C-reactive protein (CRP), liver enzymes, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was measured on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10. The primary outcome was the improvement of oxygen saturation and the secondary outcome was the duration of hospitalization and conversion of PCR test results.  Results: Oxygen saturation during the hospitalization was not different among the two groups. The mean duration of hospitalization in the chlorpromazine group was 7.4±2.7 days and in the placebo was 8.2±3 days (P=0.2). Compared to baseline, both groups showed an increase in white blood cell count (P=0.04) and polymorphonuclear cells (P=0.04) but lymphocyte count decreased. At the end of the study, the PCR test was negative in 100% of patients in the chlorpromazine group and 95% of patients in the placebo group. Conclusion: In adult hospitalized patients with moderate symptomatic COVID-19, adding chlorpromazine to the atazanavir/ritonavir regimen did not improve outcomes