Rapid Synthesis of 2-Substituted-2,3-dihydro-4(1H)-quinazolinones using Boric Acid or Sodium Dihydrogen Phosphate under Solvent-Free Conditions

Two efficient and convenient methods have been described for synthesis of 2-substituted-2,3-dihydro-4(1H)-quinazolinone derivatives by one-pot condensation of 2-anthranilamide with aldehydes or ketones in the presence of a catalytic amount of boric acid or sodium dihydrogen phosphate under solvent-free conditions. The attractive features of these processes are short reaction times, easy isolation of products, excellent yields and an environmental friendly procedure.Keywords: Dihydroquinazolinones, boric acid, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, 2-anthranilamide, solvent-free synthesi

Sequence variation in mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 genes of ascaridoid nematodes in cats and dogs from Iran

The study was conducted to determine the sequence variation in two mitochondrial genes, namely cytochrome c oxidase 1 (pcox1) and NADH dehydrogenase 1 (pnad1) within and among isolates of Toxocara cati, Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina. Genomic DNA was extracted from 32 isolates of T. cati, 9 isolates of T. canis and 19 isolates of T. leonina collected from cats and dogs in different geographical areas of Iran. Mitochondrial genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. Sequence data were aligned using the BioEdit software and compared with published sequences in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. Based on pairwise comparison, intra-species genetic diversity within Iranian isolates of T. cati, T. canis and T. leonina amounted to 0-2.3, 0-1.3 and 0-1.0 for pcox1 and 0-2.0, 0-1.7 and 0-2.6 for pnad1, respectively. Inter-species sequence variation among the three ascaridoid nematodes was significantly higher, being 9.5-16.6 for pcox1 and 11.9-26.7 for pnad1. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the pcox1 and pnad1 genes indicated that there is significant genetic diversity within and among isolates of T. cati, T. canis and T. leonina from different areas of Iran, and these genes can be used for studying genetic variation of ascaridoid nematodes. © Cambridge University Press 2014

Generation of circular polarization of the CMB

According to the standard cosmology, near the last scattering surface, the photons scattered via Compton scattering are just linearly polarized and then the primordial circular polarization of the CMB photons is zero. In this work we show that CMB polarization acquires a small degree of circular polarization when a background magnetic field is considered or the quantum electrodynamic sector of standard model is extended by Lorentz-noninvariant operators as well as noncommutativity. The existence of circular polarization for the CMB radiation may be verified during future observation programs and it represents a possible new channel for investigating new physics effects.Comment: 28 pages, v3, Phys. Rev. D 81, 084035 (2010

Wireless sensor networks for heritage object deformation detection and tracking algorithm

Deformation is the direct cause of heritage object collapse. It is significant to monitor and signal the early warnings of the deformation of heritage objects. However, traditional heritage object monitoring methods only roughly monitor a simple-shaped heritage object as a whole, but cannot monitor complicated heritage objects, which may have a large number of surfaces inside and outside. Wireless sensor networks, comprising many small-sized, low-cost, low-power intelligent sensor nodes, are more useful to detect the deformation of every small part of the heritage objects. Wireless sensor networks need an effective mechanism to reduce both the communication costs and energy consumption in order to monitor the heritage objects in real time. In this paper, we provide an effective heritage object deformation detection and tracking method using wireless sensor networks (EffeHDDT). In EffeHDDT, we discover a connected core set of sensor nodes to reduce the communication cost for transmitting and collecting the data of the sensor networks. Particularly, we propose a heritage object boundary detecting and tracking mechanism. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that our EffeHDDT method outperforms the existing methods in terms of network traffic and the precision of the deformation detection

Comparison of six simple methods for extracting ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA from Toxocara and Toxascaris nematodes

Six simple methods for extraction of ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA from Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina were compared by evaluating the presence, appearance and intensity of PCR products visualized on agarose gels and amplified from DNA extracted by each of the methods. For each species, two isolates were obtained from the intestines of their respective hosts: T. canis and T. leonina from dogs, and T. cati from cats. For all isolates, total DNA was extracted using six different methods, including grinding, boiling, crushing, beating, freeze-thawing and the use of a commercial kit. To evaluate the efficacy of each method, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene were chosen as representative markers for ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA, respectively. Among the six DNA extraction methods, the beating method was the most cost effective for all three species, followed by the commercial kit. Both methods produced high intensity bands on agarose gels and were characterized by no or minimal smear formation, depending on gene target; however, beating was less expensive. We therefore recommend the beating method for studies where costs need to be kept at low levels. © 2013 Elsevier Inc

Comparison of six simple methods for extracting ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA from Toxocara and Toxascaris nematodes

Six simple methods for extraction of ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA from Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina were compared by evaluating the presence, appearance and intensity of PCR products visualized on agarose gels and amplified from DNA extracted by each of the methods. For each species, two isolates were obtained from the intestines of their respective hosts: T. canis and T. leonina from dogs, and T. cati from cats. For all isolates, total DNA was extracted using six different methods, including grinding, boiling, crushing, beating, freeze-thawing and the use of a commercial kit. To evaluate the efficacy of each method, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene were chosen as representative markers for ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA, respectively. Among the six DNA extraction methods, the beating method was the most cost effective for all three species, followed by the commercial kit. Both methods produced high intensity bands on agarose gels and were characterized by no or minimal smear formation, depending on gene target; however, beating was less expensive. We therefore recommend the beating method for studies where costs need to be kept at low levels. © 2013 Elsevier Inc

An Optimal Backoff Time-Based Internetwork Interference Mitigation Method in Wireless Body Area Network

When multiple Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are aggregated, the overlapping region of their communications will result in internetwork interference, which could impose severe impacts on the reliability of WBAN performance. Therefore, how to mitigate the internetwork interference becomes the key problem to be solved urgently in practical applications of WBAN. However, most of the current researches on internetwork interference focus on traditional cellular networks and large-scale wireless sensor networks. In this paper, an Optimal Backoff Time Interference Mitigation Algorithm (OBTIM) is proposed. This method performs rescheduling or channel switching when the performance of the WBANs falls below tolerance, utilizing the cell neighbour list established by the beacon method. Simulation results show that the proposed method improves the channel utilization and the network throughput, and in the meantime, reduces the collision probability and energy consumption, when compared with the contention-based beacon schedule scheme

Seroepidemiological Study of Human Hydatidosis in Meshkinshahr District, Ardabil Province, Iran

Background: The aim of this study was to conduct a sero-epidemiological survey in Meshkinshahr, Arda­bil Province, northwestern Iran to detect the rate of hydatidosis in the city and nearby villages. Literature shows that no such study has been conducted so far.Methods: Overall, 670 serum samples were collected from 194 males and 476 females from patients re­ferred to different health centers of the region. All patients filled out a questionnaire and an informed con­sent. Sera were analyzed using indirect-ELISA test. Ten μg /ml antigens (Antigen B derived from hydatid cyst fluid), serum dilutions of 1:500 and conjugate anti-human coombs with 1:10000 dilutions were util­ized to perform the test. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software ver. 11.5. Results: The seroprevalence of human hydatidosis was 1.79% by ELISA test in the region. This rate for fe­males was 1.68% and males 2.6%, respectively. There was no significant difference as regards all fac­tors studied and the seropositivity. According to job, farmers and ranchmen had the highest rate of infec­tion as 3.17%. The sero-prevalence of infection was 2.6%% in illiterate people which showed the highest rate. As regards residency, urban life showed no significant difference with rural life (1.1% vs. 2.58%). Age group of 69-90 yr old, with 4.62% as prevalence had the highest rate of positivity.Conclusion: Obtained sero-prevalence of hydatidosis shows more or less a resemblance to other cities of Iran, although due to the specific condition of the city we expected more rate of sero-positivity

Antioxidant and antibacterial assay of two red marine macro-algae of Bandar Abbas coastal

Seaweed is favored seafood in some regions and is also used as feedstock for extracting fine chemicals. The total global seaweed production continues to grow This study investigated the biological activities of n-Hexane, Ethylacetate and Methanol extract of two red marine macro algae (Gracilariopsis persica and Hypnea flagelliformis), collected from the coast of Bandar Abbas, Persian Gulf, Iran. For identification the superior species with biological properties, the tested activities included Carotenoids content; total Phenolic content, total flavonoids content, antioxidant activity at the concentration (3 mg/ml) by ferric reducing power (FRP) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assay and at final, antibacterial activity was evaluated. This study revealed that the more effective macro algae extracts by maximum antioxidant capacity: FRP and TAC, were recorded for Ethylacetate extracts. The result showed the highest content of phenolic and flavonoid compounds were recorded for the Methanol extracts of Gp. persica, 45.12±0.01 (mg GA/gr DW.) and 2.28±0.007 (mg QE /gr DW.), respectively while H. flagelliformis showed the maximum Carotenoid content 17±0.06 (mg 100g^-1). In addition, the highest antibacterial activity was recorded for the n-hexane and followed by Ethylacetate extracts. In general comparison, though, according to the results, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of species in this study were calculated less than standard, but could be accounted these seaweeds as safe biological properties and with abundance of them in coastal of Bandar Abbas, could be considered for future applications in medicine and dietary supplements