Moisture content determination of oilseeds based on dielectric measurement

Oilseeds have an important role in edible oil production.  Moisture content measurement of oilseed is an inevitable operation in harvesting and almost all postharvest processing such as handling, storage, milling and oil extraction.  In this paper, a cylindrical capacitive sensor was used to predict the moisture content of sesame, soybean and canola seed as a simple, low cost, rapid and reliable method.  Two varieties of each oilseed were selected and extracted equation from a variety was evaluated for another variety.  The hyperbolic regression and paired t-test were utilized to extract the calibration equations and perform a comparison between predicted moisture with actual values.  The R2 of calibration for Dashtestan and Ultan sesame were 0.998 and 0.999, respectively, for L17 and Sahar soybean were 0.972 and 0.965, respectively and for Okapi and Talaiyeh canola were 0.993 and 0.994, respectively.  The R2 of prediction for Dashtestan and Ultan sesame were 0.966 and 0.932, respectively, for L17 and Sahar soybean were 0.963 and 0.952, respectively and for Okapi and Talaiyeh canola were 0.993 and 0.994, respectively.  Results of paired t-test confirmed that the measured and predicted moisture content of all oilseeds were not statistically different at the 5% level (p > 0.05).  Based on obtained results the designed system using capacitive sensor is valid and reliable for moisture measurement of the studied oilseeds.   Keywords: oilseed, sesame, soybean, canola, moisture content, capacitive senso

Comparison of continuous and pulse administration of probiotic bacteria potency of Lactobacillus sp., Bacillus thuringiensis and B. cereus in the basal diet on biochemical parameters of Lates calcarifer

This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of different probiotics administration on alterations in biochemical parameters of juvenile sea bass (Lates calcarifer). Four hundred and twenty sea bass with an average weight of 34 ± 4.5 g were prepared and randomly divided into seven groups with three replications (40 fish in each replication) and fed with experimental diets for 90 days. The experimental treatments included: group 1 (T1): different Lactobacillus plantarum sp.; group 2 (T2): L. plantarum sp., L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus in a combined form (combination of lactobacilli); group 3 (T3): the combination of diets 1 and 2 as well as Bacillus cereus and B. thuringiensis which was administered to fish every two weeks; group 4 was the control group without probiotics (C4). In addition, groups 5, 6 and 7 (T5, T6 and T7) were similar to groups 1, 2 and 3 which were continuously fed to fish. The results showed that there was a significant increase in blood serum cholesterol at the end of the experiment in T7 compared to the control group. The calcium level in T3 showed the highest amount compared to other treatments. All treatments showed a decreased amount of total protein at the end of the experiment compared to the control (C4). Moreover, the highest value was related to T6. T7 exhibited the highest amount of triglycerides and glucose at the end of the experiment. In case of liver enzymes, the lowest serum ALP level was found in T1 and the lowest AST in T6, while serum ALT level did not display any significant difference in any group. In cases of Cpk and HDL, the lowest values belonged to T1. In general, it can be concluded that the use of a mixture of probiotics in a pulse administration can cause positive effects on the blood biochemical parameters of L. calcarifer

Histopathological evaluation of the effectiveness of glycyrrhizic acid as a radioprotector against the development of radiation-induced lung fibrosis

Background: Radiotherapy of the thorax often causes lung inflammation leading to fibrosis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of glycyrrhizic acid (GLA) could improve the development of lung fibrosis in irradiated animals. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Group A rats received thoracic irradiation. Rats in group B received GLA and irradiation. Group C received GLA and no irradiation. Group D received no GLA and irradiation. GLA was administered at a dose of 4 mg/kg body weight using an intraperitoneal injection one hour before thoracic irradiation. Radiation therapy was delivered on a Cobalt-60 unit using a single fraction of 16 Gy. The animals were sacrificed at 32 weeks following thoracic irradiation. The lungs were dissected and blind histopathological evaluation was performed. Results: Histopathologically, a decrease (statistically not significant) in the thickening of alveolar or bronchial wall, formation of fibrous bands, and superimposed collagen were noted in the animals in group B as compared to the animals in group A. Conclusion: In this experimental study, administration of GLA one hour before thoracic irradiation may be a protective agent against radiation-induced fibrosis in animals and this model could be used in future studies. © 2016, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Iranian Society of Radiology

The effect of vitamins E, C and selenium as stimulants of the immune system on blood factors, growth and immunity of Asian cates (Lates calcarifer)

ABSTRACT This study was performed to evaluate the effect of immune system stimulants (vitamins E, C and selenium) on biochemical and immunity indices of Late calcarifer. For this purpose, two treatments were selected. Treatment 1 or control group was fed with food without immune stimulant and treatment 2 with diet containing vitamins E, C and selenium at 2% of the biomass weight. Finally, growth efficiency indices were compared in two treatments. Results showed final weight of the control and treatment groups was 761.33 ± 35.8 g and 850.00 ± 5.77 g, respectively. The specific growth rate of the control and treatment groups was 1.3 ± 0.02 and 1.35 ± 0.01 but the feed conversion ratio did not show a significant difference. Hemoglobin and erythrocytes showed a significant increase compared to the control in treatments containing immune stimulants and supplementation (p < 0.05). White blood cells ranged from 41417 ± 2964.84 in the treatment to 42500 ± 683.13 in the control treatment. The number of red blood cells in the control treatment was 2810000 ± 19.1763 and the recipient treatment was 3951667 ± 14588.84. Immune system stimulants including vitamins E, C and selenium can play a role in improving the growth, blood, biochemical and safety indices of farmed Late calcarifer

Frequency and severity of myocardial perfusion abnormalities using Tc-99m MIBI SPECT in cardiac syndrome X

BACKGROUND: Cardiac syndrome X is defined by a typical angina pectoris with normal or near normal (stenosis <40%) coronary angiogram with or without electrocardiogram (ECG) change or atypical angina pectoris with normal or near normal coronary angiogram plus a positive none-invasive test (exercise tolerance test or myocardial perfusion scan) with or without ECG change. Studies with myocardial perfusion imaging on this syndrome have indicated some abnormal perfusion scan. We evaluated the role of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and also the severity and extent of perfusion abnormality using Tc-99m MIBI Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in these patients. METHODS: The study group consisted of 36 patients with cardiac syndrome X. The semiquantitative perfusion analysis was performed using exercise Tc-99m MIBI SPECT. The MPI results were analyzed by the number, location and severity of perfusion defects. RESULTS: Abnormal perfusion defects were detected in 13 (36.10%) cases, while the remaining 23 (63.90%) had normal cardiac imaging. Five of 13 (38.4%) abnormal studies showed multiple perfusion defects. The defects were localized in the apex in 3, apical segments in 4, midventricular segments in 12 and basal segments in 6 cases. Fourteen (56%) of all abnormal segments revealed mild, 7(28%) moderate and 4 (16%) severe reduction of tracer uptake. No fixed defects were identified. The vessel territories were approximately the same in all subjects. The Exercise treadmill test (ETT) was positive in 25(69%) and negative in 11(30%) patients. There was no consistent pattern as related to the extent of MPI defects or exercise test results. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that multiple perfusion abnormalities with different levels of severity are common in cardiac syndrome X, with more than 30 % of these patients having at least one abnormal perfusion segment. Our findings suggest that in these patients microvascular angina is probably more common than is generally believed

Parental acceptance of the e-waris student information system

Many schools are adopting Student Information System (SIS) as a tool to communicate between parents and school. However, the implementation of any SIS will only be fully realized if parents possess positive attitudes towards using SIS. The purpose of this study is to identify the main factors that influence on parental acceptance on the SIS, namely E-WARIS system as a case study. E-WARIS system is the Student Information System which is currently used in Sekolah Rendah Islam Al-Amin, Keramat, Kuala Lumpur. The survey methodology using questionnaire was employed in this study, involving a sample of 76 parents of Sekolah Rendah Islam Al-Amin which was invited via the Sekolah Rendah Islam Al- Amin yahoo groups. The research model based on UTAUT model is developed which consist of eight constructs: Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, Social Influence, Information Quality, System Flexibility, System Interactivity and Behavioural intention. Quantitative data was evaluated using SPSS mainly on Factor analysis; Pearson’s correlation analysis and Multiple Linear regressions analysis to identify the significant variables which are effect to parental acceptance of the E-WARIS system. In general, the finding indicates that majority of parents accepted the E-WARIS system. The model contributes 46% of the variance to describe parental acceptance on the E-WARIS system

Investigation of Vertical Axis Wind Tower Installation on Existing Offshore Platforms

Jacket structures are the most common offshore tools for extraction of oil and natural gas in relative low water depth. Lots of these structures exist in Adriatic Sea and most of them have been constructed in the last 50 years. When the offshore oil and gas supplies exhaust, these structures must be relocated to another zone containing underwater resources or take them away if reaching the design life. Alternatively, another solution can be taken into account: altering the future working life of these platforms by bringing renewable energy into use and transforming them into offshore wind towers. The present thesis plans to study the possibility of shifting existing jackets to vertical axis wind turbine

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Basic physical principles of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (N.M.R.I), a nonionizing medical imaging technique, are described. Principles of NMRI with other conventional imaging methods, ie, isotope scanning, ultrasonography and radiography have been compared. T1 and T2 and spin density (S.D.) factors and different image construction techniques based on their different combinations is discussed and at the end physical properties of some N.M.R images is mentioned

Radioiodine and thyroid gland

Administration of a precise amount of activity in thyroid gland radioiodine (&amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I) therapy is of prime importance. Several methods for this purpose have been suggested and used over many years. In this paper, a method for required &amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I activity calculation for each case has been proposed. Major factors affecting &amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I calculation such as gland volume, integral dose, and prescription index have been described. Using the method, &amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I activity or any other radioisotope activity required for a certain case can be determined with a good estimate

Study of ablation efficacy of 3660 MBq, ¹³¹I in treatment of thyroid carcinoma at the iodine therapy unit of nuclear medicine department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Although the basic question of ablative threshold dose for ablation of thyroid remnant after surgery yet remains unanswered. But radioiodine therapy is being used as a standard method of treatment. In present research, treatment responces for 100 patients with thyroid cancer treated with 3660 MBq of &amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I were studied. Significant response differences between female group (66%) and male group (34%) for T.S.H and Tg measurements and also for area of thyroid remnant were not observed. Effects of prescribed activities were studied and for radiation protection as well as the patients socioeconomic status, prescription of low levels of &amp;sup1;&amp;sup3;&amp;sup1;I activities (&amp;lt;1110 MBq) for ablation of thyroid remnant is recommended