Selection of resistance and sensitive cultivars of lentil in Ardabil region of Iran under irrigation and nonirrigation conditions

In order to evaluate drought tolerance indices of lentil cultivars in the Ardabil region, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications was arranged at the Agricultural Research Station of Islamic Azad University, Ardabil branch, Ardabil, Iran, in 2010. The factors included two conditions of planting levels (irrigation and non-irrigation) and five lentil cultivars (ILL 1180, ILL 1324, ILL 1251, ILL1237, and native cultivars). Irrigation included complete irrigation from planting until maturity and non-irrigation from seed emergence until harvesting. The results showed that the length of vegetative and reproductive periods, total number of pod and seed per plant, 100-seed weight, seed yield and harvest index were of higher rates under irrigation than the stress (nonirrigation). Also, it was found that ILL 1180 and ILL 1324 cultivars possessed the highest and lowest values for all traits, respectively. Yield loss of the ILL 1180 under stress, was about 308.22 kg/ha (23.31%) than the normal conditions. This value for the ILL 1324 was approximately 448.53 kg/ha (35.51%). Also, ILL 1180 showed the lowest tolerance against stress (TOL) and stress susceptibility index (SSI) and the highest mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and stress tolerance index (STI) indices. ILL 1324 possessed the highest TOL, SSI and STI and ILL1237 showed the lowest MP and GMP indices. So, ILL1180 and ILL1251 were the superior cultivars under both conditions in terms of high yield and tolerance against drought stress. ILL1237 was distinguished as the most susceptible cultivar as well.Key words: Lentil, yield, normal and stress conditions, drought tolerance index

Setting individualised goals for people living with dementia and their family carers: A systematic review of goal-setting outcome measures and their psychometric properties.

BACKGROUND: Individualised goal-setting outcome measures can be a useful way of reflecting people living with dementia and family carers' differing priorities regarding quality-of-life domains in the highly heterogeneous symptomatology of the disease. Evaluating goal-setting measures is challenging, and there is limited evidence for their psychometric properties. AIM: (1) To describe what goal-setting outcomes have been used in this population; (2) To evaluate their validity, reliability, and feasibility in RCTs. METHOD: We systematically reviewed studies that utilised goal-setting outcome measures for people living dementia or their family carers. We adapted a risk of bias and quality rating system based on the COSMIN guidelines to evaluate the measurement properties of outcomes when used within RCTs. RESULTS: Thirty studies meeting inclusion criteria used four different goal-setting outcome measures: Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), Bangor Goal Setting Interview (BGSI), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Individually Prioritized Problems Assessment (IPPA); other papers have reported study-specific goal-setting attainment systems. Only GAS has been used as an outcome over periods greater than 9 months (up to a year). Within RCTs there was moderate quality evidence for sufficient content validity and construct validity for GAS, COPM and the BGSI. Reliability was only assessed in one RCT (using BGSI); in which two raters reviewed interview transcripts to rate goals with excellent inter-rater reliability. Feasibility was reported as good across the measures with a low level of missing data. CONCLUSION: We found moderate quality evidence for good content and construct validity and feasibility of GAS, BGSI and COPM. While more evidence of reliability of these measures is needed, we recommend that future trials consider using individualised goal setting measures, to report the effect of interventions on outcomes that are most meaningful to people living with dementia and their families

The Association Between Personality Disorder Traits and Suicidality Following Sudden Bereavement: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

Personality disorder is associated with increased risk of suicidal behavior. The authors aimed to investigate the association between number of personality disorder traits and suicidality risk following sudden bereavement. A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data on 3,167 young adults in the United Kingdom who had experienced sudden bereavement investigated the association between number of traits (measured using a standardized screening instrument) and postbereavement suicide attempt and suicidal ideation. Using multivariable logistic regression, the authors found a linear relationship between number of traits and suicide attempt (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.36, 95% CI [1.23, 1.49]) and suicidal ideation (AOR = 1.31, 95% CI [1.25, 1.38]) following bereavement. This represented an increase in odds by 36% and 31%, respectively, for each additional personality trait. The authors suggest that individuals with a greater number of traits suggestive of a personality disorder diagnosis are at increased risk of suicidality after a negative life event

Sacral neuromodulation as a treatment for neuropathic clitoral pain after abdominal hysterectomy

Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) may be beneficial in the treatment of patients with chronic pelvic pain, although it is not an FDA-approved indication. We present a case of a 51-year-old patient that presented with symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction and clitoral pain after an abdominal hysterectomy. Electrophysiological evaluation suggested a pudendal nerve lesion. After failure of conservative treatment, she was offered SNM as a treatment for her voiding symptoms. During test stimulation, she experienced only moderate improvement in voiding symptoms, but a striking improvement in pain symptoms. She underwent a two-stage implantation of a neurostimulator with a successful outcome after 6 months’ follow-up. The results of this report suggest that SNM may be effective in patients with neuropathic pelvic pain

Green synthesis of non-toxic silver nanoparticles using Salvia tebesana Bunge extract: Optimization, cytotoxicity, and antibacterial activities

The remarkable antibacterial activity and potential biomedical applications of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized through eco-friendly approaches have garnered significant attention in recent years. This research aimed to introduce a green synthesis method for AgNPs using Salvia tebesana (S. tebesana) Bunge extract and to investigate their properties, antibacterial activities, and cytotoxicity effects. The fabricated AgNPs were analyzed with various analyses, including UV–Vis, DLS, XRD, FT-IR, and TEM analysis. The broth microdilution assay was applied to measure the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of chemical AgNPs, biosynthesized AgNPs, and S. tebesana Bunge leaves extract alone against selected standard bacteria strains. The biosynthesized AgNPs displayed a surface plasmon resonance peak at approximately 415 nm, and the AgNPs synthesized using S. tebesana Bunge extract had a spherical configuration with an average size in the range of 10–15 nm. Biosynthesized nanoparticles showed a noteworthy antibacterial activity compared to chemical nanoparticles, particularly against P. aeruginosa, with the highest antibacterial activity reported at a MIC value of 39.06 μg/mL. AgNPs synthesized using S. tebesana Bunge extract demonstrated a significant decrease in fibroblast cell viability, but only when the concentration reached 2 mg/mL. The findings demonstrate that S. tebesana Bunge leaves extract enhances the antibacterial properties of AgNPs, and also represents an appropriate and biocompatible option for the synthesis of these nanoparticles. Our research highlights the potential of employing bio-safe and eco-friendly AgNPs synthesized in the presence of S. tebesana Bunge extract, which possess remarkable antibacterial properties, for various biomedical applications

Leveraging Ellipsoid Bounding Shapes and Fast R-CNN for Enlarged Perivascular Spaces Detection and Segmentation

Enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) are small fluid-filled spaces surrounding blood vessels in the brain. They have been found to be important in the development and progression of cerebrovascular disease, including stroke, dementia, and cerebral small vessel disease. Their accurate detection and quantification are crucial for early diagnosis and better management of these diseases. In recent years, object detection techniques such as Mask R-CNN approach have been widely used to automate the detection and segmentation of small objects. To account for the tubular shape of these markers we use ellipsoid shapes instead of bounding boxes to express the location of individual elements in the implementation of the Fast R-CNN. We investigate the performance of this model under different modality combinations and find that the T2 modality alone, as well as the combination of T1+T2, deliver better performance