Residues and dissipation kinetics of two imidacloprid nanoformulations on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under field conditions

The current study investigates the dissipation kinetics of two imidacloprid (IMI) nanoformulations (entitled: Nano-IMI and Nano-IMI/TiO2) on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds under field conditions and compares them with 35% Suspension Concentrate (SC) commercial formulation. To do so, it sprays P. vulgaris plants at 30 and 60 g/ha within green bean stage, sampling them during the 14-day period after the treatment. Following extraction and quantification of IMI residues, dissipation data have been fitted to simple-first order kinetic model (SFOK) and to first-order double-exponential decay (FODED) models, with 50% and 90% dissipation times (DT50 and DT90, respectively) assessed along the pre-harvest interval (PHI). With the exception of Nano-IMI at 60 g/ha, other decline curves are best fitted to the FODED model. In general, dissipation is faster for Nano-IMI (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.09 days, DT90 = 4.30 days, PHI = 1.23 days; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 1.29 days, DT90 = 4.29 days, PHI = 2.95 days) and Nano-IMI/TiO2 (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.15 days, DT90 = 4.40 days, PHI = 1.08 days; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 0.86 days, DT90 = 4.92 days, PHI = 3.02 days), compared to 35% SC (at 30 g/ha: DT50 = 1.58, DT90 = 6.45, PHI = 1.93; at 60 g/ha: DT50 = 1.58 days, DT90 = 14.50 days, PHI = 5.37 days). These results suggest the suitability of Nano-IMI and Nano-IMI/TiO2 application at both rates in terms of their residues on P. vulgaris seeds

In-vitro application of pentoxifylline preserved ultrastructure of spermatozoa after vitrification in asthenozoospermic patients

Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of in vitro application of pentoxifylline (PX) on sperm parameters and ultrastructure after vitrification in asthenozoospermic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 asthenozoospermic semen samples (aged 25-45 years) were divided into four groups before vitrification, after vitrification, control (without PX) and experimental (with PX). In experimental group, each sample was exposed for 30 min to 3.6mmol/l PX and the control group without any treatment apposing in 370C for 30 min. After incubation, the samples were washed and analyzed again. Vitrification was done according to straw method. Eosin-nigrosin and Papanicolaou staining were applied for assessment of sperm viability and morphology, respectively. The samples without PX and post treatment with PX were assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS: A significant decrease in sperm motility (P ≤ .001), morphology (11.47 ± 2.9 versus 6.73 ± 2.01) and viability (73.37 ± 6.26 versus 54.67 ± 6.73) was observed post vitrification, but sperm motility (19.85 ± 4.75 versus 32.07 ± 5.58, P ≤ .001) was increased significantly following application of PX. This drug had no significant (P >.05) detrimental neither negative effect on ultrastructure acrosome, plasma membrane and coiled tail statues of spermatozoa. CONCLUSION: Vitrification had detrimental effects on sperm parameters, but PX reversed detrimental effects on sperm motility. However, PX had no alteration on ultrastructure morphology of human spermatozoa after vitrification

Ultrastructure of cytoplasmic fragments in human cleavage stage embryos

Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate the ultrastructure of cytoplasmic fragments along with the effect of cytoplasmic fragment and perivitelline space coarse granulation removal (cosmetic microsurgery) from embryos before embryo transfer on ART outcomes. Methods: One hundred and fifty intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles with male factor infertility were included in this prospective study. Patients were divided into three groups of case (n = 50), sham (n = 50), and control (n = 50). Embryos with 10–50 % fragmentation were included in this study. Cosmetic microsurgery and zona assisted hatching were only performed in case and sham groups respectively. Extracted fragments were evaluated ultrastructurally by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Rates of clinical pregnancy, live birth, miscarriage, multiple pregnancies, and congenital anomaly in the three groups were also compared. Results: Micrographs from TEM showed that mitochondria were the most abundant structures found in the fragments along with mitochondria-vesicle complexes, Golgi apparatus, primary lysosomes, and vacuoles. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics, laboratory and clinical data, or embryo morphological features between the groups. The rate of clinical pregnancy in control, sham, and case groups had no significant differences (24, 18, and 18 %, respectively). The rates of live birth, miscarriage, multiple pregnancy, and congenital anomaly were also similar between the different groups. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that cosmetic microsurgery on preimplantation embryos had no beneficial effect on ART outcomes in unselected groups of patients. As mitochondria are the most abundant organelles found in cytoplasmic fragments, fragment removal should be performed with more caution in embryos with moderate fragmentation

A comparative study on the application of various artificial neural networks to simultaneous prediction of rock fragmentation and backbreak

AbstractIn blasting operation, the aim is to achieve proper fragmentation and to avoid undesirable events such as backbreak. Therefore, predicting rock fragmentation and backbreak is very important to arrive at a technically and economically successful outcome. Since many parameters affect the blasting results in a complicated mechanism, employment of robust methods such as artificial neural network may be very useful. In this regard, this paper attends to simultaneous prediction of rock fragmentation and backbreak in the blasting operation of Tehran Cement Company limestone mines in Iran. Back propagation neural network (BPNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) are adopted for the simulation. Also, regression analysis is performed between independent and dependent variables. For the BPNN modeling, a network with architecture 6-10-2 is found to be optimum whereas for the RBFNN, architecture 6-36-2 with spread factor of 0.79 provides maximum prediction aptitude. Performance comparison of the developed models is fulfilled using value account for (VAF), root mean square error (RMSE), determination coefficient (R2) and maximum relative error (MRE). As such, it is observed that the BPNN model is the most preferable model providing maximum accuracy and minimum error. Also, sensitivity analysis shows that inputs burden and stemming are the most effective parameters on the outputs fragmentation and backbreak, respectively. On the other hand, for both of the outputs, specific charge is the least effective parameter

Highly heterogeneous probiotic Lactobacillus species in healthy iranians with low functional activities

Background Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been considered as potentially probiotic organisms due to their potential human health properties. This study aimed to evaluate both in vitro and in vivo, the potential probiotic properties of Lactobacillus species isolated from fecal samples of healthy humans in Iran. Methods and Results A total of 470 LAB were initially isolated from 53 healthy individual and characterized to species level. Of these, 88 (86) were Lactobacillus species. Biochemical and genetic fingerprinting with Phene-Plate system (PhP-LB) and RAPD-PCR showed that the isolates were highly diverse consisted of 67(76.1) and 75 (85.2) single types (STs) and a diversity indices of 0.994 and 0.997, respectively. These strains were tested for production of adhesion to Caco-2 cells, antibacterial activity, production of B12, anti-proliferative effect and interleukin-8 induction on gut epithelial cell lines and antibiotic resistance against 9 commonly used antibiotics. Strains showing the characteristics consistent with probiotic strains, were further tested for their anti-inflammatory effect in mouse colitis model. Only one L. brevis; one L. rhamnosus and two L. plantarum were shown to have significant probiotic properties. These strains showed shortening the length of colon compared to dextran sulfate sodium and disease activity index (DAI) was also significantly reduced in mouse. Conclusion Low number of LAB with potential probiotic activity as well as high diversity of lactobacilli species was evident in Iranian population. It also suggest that specific strains of L. plantarum, L. brevis and L. rhamnosus with anti-inflammatory effect in mouse model of colitis could be used as a potential probiotic candidate in inflammatory bowel disease to decrease the disease activity index. © 2015 Rohani et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Classifying cubic s-regular graphs of orders 22p and 22p²

A graph is s-regular if its automorphism group acts regularly on the set of s-arcs. In this study, we classify the connected cubic s-regular graphs of orders 22p and 22p² for each s ≥ 1, and each prime p

Influence of core stability exercise on lumbar vertebral instability in patients presented with chronic low back pain: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Excessive lumbar vertebrae translation and rotation in sagittal plane has been attributed as an associated factor of lumbar segmental instability (LSI) and low back pain (LBP). Reduction of these abnormalities improves back pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of core stability exercise on the translation and rotation of lumbar vertebrae in sagittal plane in patients with nonspecific chronic LBP (NSCLBP). Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 30 patients with NSCLBP due to LSI were included. The participants were randomly divided into two groups of treatment and control. The treatment group received general exercises plus core stability exercise for 8 weeks whereas; the control group received only general exercises. The magnitude of translation (mm) and rotation (deg) of lumbar vertebrae in the sagittal plane was determined by radiography in flexion and extension at baseline and after intervention. The primary outcome measures were to determine the mean changes from baseline in translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebrae in the sagittal plane after 8 weeks of intervention in each group. The secondary outcome was to compare the two groups in regard to translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebrae at the end of the study period. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test. Results: Thirty patients aged 18-40 years old with clinical diagnosis of NSCLBP entered the study. Compared with baseline values, mean value of translation and rotation of the lumbar vertebra reduced significantly in both groups (P<0.05), except L3 translation in the control group. At the endpoint, mean translation value of L4 (P=0.04) and L5 (P=0.001) and rotation of the L5 (P=0.01) in the treatment group was significantly lower than the control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that in patients presented with NSCLBP due to lumbar segmental instability, core stability exercises plus general exercises are more efficient than general exercises alone in the improvement of excessive lumbar vertebrae translation and rotation

Evaluation of diagnostic value of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in sepsis

Background: Sepsis is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units (ICUs). It is difficult to accurately differentiate sepsis from similar diseases rapidly. Therefore, it becomes critical to identify any biomarker with the ability of differentiation between sepsis and nonsepsis conditions. The urokinase plasminogen activator receptor has been implicated as an important factor in regulation of leukocyte adhesion and migration. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the value of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels in terms of their value for sepsis diagnosis in ICU patients. Patients and Methods: We enrolled 107 ICU patients; 40 with sepsis, 43 with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and 24 as control group. Serum soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, ESR, white blood cell (WBC), and CRP levels were measured on the day of admission. Results: The group with sepsis had higher suPAR, ESR, and CRP levels compared with the group with noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (P = 0.01, 0.00 and 0.00, respectively). CRP concentrations and ESR were higher in the sepsis group than in the non-SIRS group (P = 0.00 and 0.00, respectively). In a receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, ESR, CRP and suPAR had an area under the curve larger than 0.65 (P = 0.00) in distinguishing between septic and noninfectious SIRS patients. CRP, ESR and suPAR had a sensitivity of 87, 71 and 66 and a specificity of 59, 76 and 74 respectively in diagnosing infection in SIRS. Conclusions: The diagnostic values of CRP and ESR were better than suPAR and WBC count in patients with sepsis. © 2015, Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center

Gene Diversity of Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is protozoan parasite responsible for trichomoniasis and is more common in high-risk behavior group such as prostitute individuals. Interest in trichomoni­asis is due to increase one's susceptibility to viruses such as herpes, human papillomavirus and HIV. The aim of this study was to find genotypic differences between the isolates.Methods: Forty isolates from prisoners' women in Tehran province were used in this study. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to determine genetic differ­ences among isolates and was correlated with patient's records. By each primer the banding pat­tern size of each isolates was scored (bp), genetic differences were studied, and the genealogical tree was constructed by using NTSYS software program and UPGMA method.Results: The least number of bands were seen by using primer OPD8 and the most by using OPD3. Results showed no significant difference in isolates from different geographical areas in Iran. By using primer OPD1 specific amplified fragment with length 1300 base pair were found in only 8 isolates. All these isolates were belonged to addicted women; however, six belonged to asymptomatic patients and two to symptomatic ones.Conclusion: There was not much genetic diversity in T vaginalis isolates from three different geo­graphical areas