Assessment of some specific and nonspecific immune responses of beluga (Huso huso) following exposure to organophsphte diazinon

Nowadays, the offspring of sturgeon species in the Caspian Sea is under danger because of biological and non-biological impacts such as pollution and illegal catching as well as dams obstacles of fish migration to the upstream of the rivers for the spawning. One of the most practical way to protect and maintain the natural stocking of these valuable species in the sea is artificial propagation and releasing of the produced larvae into the sea and the entering rivers as Iran Fishery Organization is currently producing about 22 million larvae per year according to the forth national plan of the country. However, protecting these natural resources of these species from the toxic chemicals is a critical issue because of high level pollution of their natural environment. In this research work an attempt was made to evaluate the toxicity of diazinon and its effect on some specific and nonspecific immune parameters of these sturgeon species in particular great sturgeon in order to give some recommendations for improving of their natural environment. A number of 300 fish weighing 12±2 g from great sturgeon obtained from sturgeon farms in Golestan states were used. Fish were transported to the Caspian Sea institute of ecology and were kept in 2000 L tanks with well aeration. Fish were fed commercial feed containing Kilka meal. The water quality parameters consisting of NO2, NH3, pH, DO and hardness were 0.05) in the values of MCH, MCV and MCHC between these groups. Compare to control group (group A) the values of white blood cells and lymphocyte were significantly lower in the exposed fish to diazinon (groups of C, D, E, F, G and H) while, the level of neutrophile and eosinophil was higher than control one (P0.05).Furthermore, fish treated with diazinon showed a higher levels of asparate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the early stage of post-exposure, compare to control fishes, while the level of these enzymes was lower in this group for the rest of experiment. Also, fish treated with Antigen-diazinon showed generally lower and higher levels of total protein and glucose concentrations in blood plasma, respectively compared to fish untreated(control) (P0.05) in groups of B,F,G and H than group A up to 2 weeks post-treatment and then was lower for the rest of the experiment. The level of spleen lysozyme in groups of B,G and H was also, higher than group A for the first 2 weeks post-treatment and, then it reduced to below levels measured during the rest of experiment (P>0.05). Lysozyme level of sera samples were significantly higher (P<0.05) in groups of B, D, E, F, G and H than group A in the one week post-treatment. There was significant difference in the lysozyme contents of tissues of liver, spleen and serum between groups of A and E,F,G,H(P<0.05). Mean spontaneous CL response in groups of diazinon bath were significantly lower than group A throughout the experiment (P<0.05). Maximum peak was found in group D one day post-exposure, while the minimum peak was found in group E throughout the experiment. The antibody titration in groups of treated with diazinon bath generally lower than control group (P<0.05).but the antibody titer in group B that treated with Antigen without diazinon bath was higher than the other groups. The histopathological effects of diazinon on the liver, kidney, spleen, gills, nostril and barbels of gain sturgeon examined under light and electron microscope, showed that diazinon caused severe damage to the cell structure such as congestion of blood vessels, hemorrhage, cellular infiltration, pyknosis of cells nuclei, vacuolar degeneration and general necrosis in the tissues of kidney, spleen and liver. There were also degenerative changes of interstitial tissue, detachment of tubular basement membrane in kidney. In the gills, hyperplasia and fusion of secondary lamellae, separation and sloughing of epithelium from the underlying basement membrane were also observed In conclusion, diazinon at toxic and sub lethal concentrations is able to seriously affect the sturgeon immunity resulting in suppression of fish immune system and making fish susceptible to both non-infectious and infectious diseases

Evaluation of quantitative and qualitative of microbial indicator the lake behind Shahid Rajaee dam of Mazandaran province (Sari)

One of the country's dams is dam Shahid Rajaee Sari. In this study it was evaluated some bacterial indices. Some bacterial parameters including total bacteria, total coliform, fecal coliform, fecal streptococci , Sulphitereducing Bacteria (SRB) in the water behind the dam Shahid Rjaee for one year at five stations (the entrance Shireenrood branches, input branch of the Sefidrood, cross the river and sweet Sefidrood in the tank, close to the Taj (zero, 15 and 30) and the output reservoir) and seven samples collected during six periods (June, July, August, September, November and February) were tested in 1391. Analysis of water samples for bacterial plate count agar medium (total bacteria count) ECC were inoculated (total coliforms and fecal), SPS (sulfite reducing bacteria) and KF (bacteria Inserts fecal streptococci) was performed using the culture surface culture method. ECC in both 37 and 44 ° C medium temperature Tc, KF and SPS at 37 ° C for 72-24 hours were incubated. The results showed that the mean log of bacteria in different months of CFU / 100ml12 / 0 ± 85/6 1n September months to CFU100ml15 / 0 ± 65/4 is variable in February, the mean total coliform Log in of the CFU / 100ml15 / 0 ± 63/4 in September to CFU / 100ml44 / 0 ± 27/3 in February are variable, the mean log Clostridium Clostridium CFU / 100ml89 / 0 ± 17 / 4 in September to CFU / 100ml13 / 0 ± 07/3 in February is variable, ranging from the mean log reduction in fecal streptococci in different months CFU / 100ml19 / 0 ± 59/3 in September CFU / 100ml17 / 0 ± 10 / 3 in February is variable. The results showed that bacterial indicator pollution load of the dam in more stations in August and September months. . Compare the results of the surface water standards indicate that indicator bacteria have been studied in the standard range. If the water behind the dam is intended to be used for drinking, it has need for more treatments during the final purification for drinking purposes

Modelling generalized firms' restructuring using inverse DEA

The key consideration for firms’ restructuring is improving their operational efficiencies. Market conditions often offer opportunities or generate threats that can be handled by restructuring scenarios through consolidation, to create synergy, or through split, to create reverse synergy. A generalized restructuring refers to a move in a business market where a homogeneous set of firms, a set of pre-restructuring decision making units (DMUs), proceed with a restructuring to produce a new set of post-restructuring entities in the same market to realize efficiency targets. This paper aims to develop a novel inverse Data Envelopment Analysis based methodology, called GInvDEA (Generalized Inverse DEA), for modeling the generalized restructuring. Moreover, the paper suggests a linear programming model that allows determining the lowest performance levels, measured by efficiency that can be achieved through a given generalized restructuring. An application in banking operations illustrates the theory developed in the paper

Parameters identification of industrial induction motor using manufacturer data sheet and power quality analyzer

© 2017 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved. This paper intends to identify circuit parameters of an installed induction motor in an innovative way which is different from standard tests. In this paper, easily available motor manufacturer data is used by which rated output power, rated terminal voltage, full load efficiency, full load power factor, nominal speed, number of poles, and locked rotor current are provided. In order to estimate the parameters, nonlinear mathematical equations of motor are derived and iterative Gauss-Seidel method is used to solve them in MATLAB. Identified parameters are then transferred to MATLAB/Simulink model of the motor to simulate its performance during Star-Delta start. Validation of parameters is evaluated by comparing the result of Simulink with real-time measurement of an industrial Power Quality Analyzer

Association of Brain-dead Donor's Urine Neutrophil Gelatinase-associated Lipocalin Levels With Kidney Allograft Function

Introduction. Development of delayed graft function is more prevalent in patients receiving a kidney allograft from brain-dead than living donors. This study aimed to evaluate the association between urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels in brain-dead donors and subsequent allograft function. Materials and Methods. Urine NGAL concentration was measured in urine samples obtained from 24 brain-dead kidney allograft donors before organ retrieval. The 24 kidney recipients were followed for 6 months. The immunosuppressive therapy was similar for all of the recipients. Following transplantation, plasma creatinine was recorded daily during the recipient's stay in the hospital and then at 1, 3, and 6 months after transplantation. Delayed graft function was defined as the need for dialysis in the first 7 days after transplantation. Results. The mean age of the donors was 28.7 +/- 11.2 years and 70.8 were men. Their median urine NGAL level was 7.4 ng/ml (range, 2 ng/mL to 45 ng/mL). Urine NGAL levels were only associated with the need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (P = .007). On the 1st day after transplantation, 16.7 of the recipients developed delayed graft function, which was declined to 12.5 on the 2nd day and to 8.3 during the 3rd day and the following days. No significant association was observed between the donor's urine NGAL levels and graft function (P = .86). Conclusions. Our results did not show any association between urine NGAL levels and outcome of allograft function obtained from brain-dead donors. Larger studies are required to confirm this finding

Foliar Applications of ZnO and Its Nanoparticles Increase Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.) Growth and Yield under Water Stress

Foliar application or minerals is a methodology to promote growth and/or yield and to protect plants against different kinds of stresses. Currently there is a great interest in evaluating the effect of nanoparticles for enhancing the effect of these treatments. This study was performed to evaluate and compare the effect of foliar application of zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the growth and yield of safflower under different irrigation regimes. Foliar applications of ZnO in all concentrations (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 g L−1) led to an increase in biomass yield, number of capitula per plant, number of seeds per capitulum, and grain yield of plants compared with control plants. The maximum increase in the studied traits was obtained with a ZnO concentration of 6, 8, and 10 g L−1. In a second round of experiments, we observed the effect of nanoparticles and found that spraying with ZnO and ZnO-NPs at a concentration of 10 g L−1 may ameliorate the deleterious effects of water deficit. The results of the present study support the idea that foliar application of ZnO improves safflower yield, especially under drought stress, and showed that using of nanoparticles increases the efficiency of the application

Rational development of guanidinate and amidinate based cerium and ytterbium complexes as atomic layer deposition precursors

Owing to the limited availability of suitable precursors for vapor phase deposition of rare-earth containing thin-film materials, new or improved precursors are sought after. In this study, we explored new precursors for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of cerium (Ce) and ytterbium (Yb) containing thin films. A series of homoleptic tris-guanidinate and tris-amidinate complexes of cerium (Ce) and ytterbium (Yb) were synthesized and thoroughly characterized. The C-substituents on the N-C-N backbone (Me, NMe$_2$, NEt$_2$, where Me=methyl, Et=ethyl) and the N-substituents from symmetrical iso-propyl ($\it i$Pr) to asymmetrical tertiary-butyl ($\it t$Bu) and Et were systematically varied to study the influence of the substituents on the physicochemical properties of the resulting compounds. Single crystal structures of [Ce(dpdmg)$_3$] $\bf 1$ and [Yb(dpdmg)$_3$] $\bf l$ (dpdmg=$\textit {N,N'}$-diisopropyl-2-dimethylamido-guanidinate) highlight a monomeric nature in the solid-state with a distorted trigonal prismatic geometry. The thermogravimetric analysis shows that the complexes are volatile and emphasize that increasing asymmetry in the complexes lowers their melting points while reducing their thermal stability. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to study the reactivity of amidinates and guanidinates of Ce and Yb complexes towards oxygen (O$_2$) and water (H$_2$O). Signified by the DFT calculations, the guanidinates show an increased reactivity toward water compared to the amidinate complexes. Furthermore, the Ce complexes are more reactive compared to the Yb complexes, indicating even a reactivity towards oxygen potentially exploitable for ALD purposes. As a representative precursor, the highly reactive [Ce(dpdmg)3] $\bf l$ was used for proof-of-principle ALD depositions of CeO$_2$ thin films using water as co-reactant. The self-limited ALD growth process could be confirmed at 160 °C with polycrystalline cubic CeO$_2$ films formed on Si(100) substrates. This study confirms that moving towards nitrogen-coordinated rare-earth complexes bearing the guanidinate and amidinate ligands can indeed be very appealing in terms of new precursors for ALD of rare earth based materials