Effect of pot size, planting date and genotype on minituber production of Marfona potato cultivar

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of pot size, planting date and type of genotype on mini-tuber production of Marfona potato cultivar (Solanum tuberosum L.) in greenhouse conditions.Four genotypes (M-129, M-128P, M-127P and M-124P) originated from virus free sprouts and a genotype of the same cultivar (Marfona) originated from apical meristem, in 3 sizes of pot and 3 planting datewere investigated. The results showed that using larger pots of 3-liter has no advantage and pots smaller than 2-liter is not suitable for mini-tuber production. Also, time of Nov 18 was the best of datefor planting of potato in studied conditions and delay in date of planting reduced the mini-tuber production. The reduction in number of mini-tubers and growing period was greater for the genotype M-129 compared with the other potato genotypes. Furthermore, higher numbers of mini-tubers were produced by the M-127P and M-124P genotypes and M-127P had the highest total weight of mini-tubers.However the number of mini-tubers per plant was higher for genotypes originated from meristem culture than genotypes obtained from sprouts. It seems that genotypes originated from potato sprouts are not as efficient as the apical meristem ones. On the other hand, later genotype showed more homogenous in growth rate and phenotype

Amplify-and-Forward Relaying With Maximal Ratio Combining Over Fluctuating Two-Ray Channel:Non-Asymptotic and Asymptotic Performance Analysis

Fluctuating two-ray (FTR) channel model was shown to effectively characterize millimeter wave (mmWave) communication channels. In this article, we adopt FTR to investigate amplify-and-Forward (AF) mmWave relaying system. Two communications scenarios are considered corresponding to the presence and absence of a direct link between the transmitter and receiver. Outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) are then analytically obtained as performance metrics. The results are further compared with the corresponding metrics obtained based on conventional channel models including Nakagami- m and two-wave with diffuse power (TWDP). Especially, for the high-SNR regime, our analyses indicate that performance evaluations based on the conventional models significantly deviate from that of based on the FTR model. Our results provide quantitative insights on the importance of model selection in design and performance evaluations of relay-based mmWave systems. Moreover, for the high-SNR regime, we carry out asymptotic analysis and obtain a low-complexity expression for the achieved AF relaying gain. Such an expression provides a quantitative measure on whether or not AF relaying outperforms no-relaying in a given setting. Extensive numerical and simulation results are provided to confirm the accuracy of the analysis and investigate system performance in different settings

Sleep Pattern, Duration and Quality in Relation with Glycemic Control in People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Sleep disturbances have been shown to be associated with diabetes control, but the relation between planned wakings or napping with glycemic indices has not been evaluated yet. This study evaluated the relation between sleep quality, duration, and pattern, including daytime napping of people with diabetes and their glycemic control. A cross-sectional correlation research design was used for this study. We enrolled 118 people with type 2 diabetes receiving oral agents without major complications at the Shahid Bahonar Center, Kerman. The age, weight, height, serum HbA1c, as well as other glycemic indices and lipid profile were measured. BMI was also calculated. All participants were requested to fill in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire to evaluate their sleep quality. In addition, they were inquired about their sleep schedule during day and night. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the correlation between HbA1c and sleep pattern variables. The variables were also compared between participants with or without napping using t-test. All analyses were performed with the SPSS version 19 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). The mean age was 58±11 years and mean HbA1c (%) was 7.8±11 (62±13 mmol/mol). Sleep duration and the number of sleep segments significantly predicted HbA1c (F (2,114)=5.232, P=0.007, R2=0.084). A one-hour increment in sleep duration was associated with a 0.174% (1.4 mmol/mol) decrement in HbA1c. PSQI score did not contribute to the regression model. Moreover, participants who napped (66%) had a lower HbA1c (7.6±1) compared to others (8.1±1.3) (P=0.04). We concluded that napping and segmented sleep are associated with a better glycemic control in type 2 diabetes and there is a linear correlation between sleep duration and better glycemic control

Health risk assessment of heavy metal intake due to fish consumption in the Sistan region, Iran

The heavy metal (Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni) content of a fish species consumed by the Sistan population and its associated health risk factors were investigated. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr were slightly higher than the standard levels. The Ni content of fish was below the maximum guideline proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The average estimated weekly intake was significantly below the provisional tolerable intake based on the FAO and WHO standards for all studied metals. The target hazard quotients (THQ) of all metals were below 1, showing an absence of health hazard for the population of Sistan. The combined target hazard quotient for the considered metals was 26.94 × 10â��3. The cancer risk factor for Pb (1.57 × 10â��7) was below the acceptable lifetime carcinogenic risk (10â��5). The results of this study reveal an almost safe level of Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni contents in the fish consumed by the Sistan population

The Effect of Sand and Dust Storms (SDSs) and Rain on the Performance of Cellular Networks in the Millimeter Wave Band

Future cellular systems are expected to use millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) frequency bands in addition to the existing microwave bands under 6 GHz. Severe weather conditions, including sand and dust storms (SDSs) and heavy rainfalls, challenge reliable communications over wireless links at those higher frequencies. In such conditions, besides frequency-dependent path-loss, radio signals experience additional attenuation. The SDS attenuation is related to visibility, receiver distance to the storm origin point, soil type, frequency, temperature and humidity. On the other hand, the rainfall attenuation is affected by rainfall rate, polarization, carrier frequency, temperature and raindrop size distribution. Leveraging on experimental measurements carried out in previous works, a novel unified mathematical framework is introduced in this paper to include SDS/rainfall-dependent attenuation in the performance evaluation of terrestrial wireless cellular networks in terms of coverage probability, bit error rate (BER) and achievable rate in the mm-Wave band. Extensive numerical results are presented to show the effects of the different SDS/rainfall parameters on performance, showing that the degradation due to SDS is generally higher than that due to rain and may cause a reduction of even six orders of magnitude in the average achievable bit rate when the frequency increases from 28 to 38 GHz

Overall Survival and Functional Results of Prostate-Sparing Cystectomy

Purpose: To compare two matched groups of men with bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) who underwent prostate-sparing cystectomy (PSC) or conventional radical cystoprostatectomy (CRC). Materials and Methods: Twenty-three men who have undergone PSC with the diagnosis of EODGGHU�7&&��7D±7���IURP������WR������LQ�7HKUDQ��,UDQ�ZHUH�LQFOXGHG�LQ�WKH�VWXG\�DV�WKH�H[- perimental group. The control group composed of 27 men with comparable tumor characteristics and age range, who had non-nerve-sparing radical cystoprostatectomy and orthotopic ileal W pouch reconstruction in the same center. All the procedures were performed by the same surgical group under the supervision of different attending staff. Results: Mean follow-up period was 39 months in PSC and 35 months in CRC group. The 5-year overall survival was 47% and 30% in PSC and CRC groups, respectively. Median survival was 48 months in PSC and 36 months in CRC group, using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P > .05). Impotence was observed in 16.6% in PSC and in 83.3% in CRC group (P� ��������0HDQ�,QWHUQDWLRQDO�,QGH[�RI�(UHFWLOH�)XQFWLRQ���VFRUH�RI�WKH�36&�JURXS�ZDV� 19.8 compared with 5.7 in the CRC group (P = .003). Only one patient in each group was completely incontinent. Urethral anastomosis stricture occurred in 2 patients in CRC group. Conclusion: Patients who underwent PSC did not show decreased overall survival compared to CRC, which provided better functional results. Keywords: urinary bladder neoplasms, transitional cell carcinoma, cystectomy, male, prognosis, adverse effect

Prevalence and Correlates of Psychiatric Disorders in a National Survey of Iranian Children and Adolescents

Objective: Considering the impact of rapid sociocultural, political, and economical changes on societies and families, population-based surveys of mental disorders in different communities are needed to describe the magnitude of mental health problems and their disabling effects at the individual, familial, and societal levels. Method: A population-based cross sectional survey (IRCAP project) of 30 532 children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years was conducted in all provinces of Iran using a multistage cluster sampling method. Data were collected by 250 clinical psychologists trained to use the validated Persian version of the semi-structured diagnostic interview Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-PL (K-SADS-PL). Results: In this national epidemiological survey, 6209 out of 30 532 (22.31%) were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder. The anxiety disorders (14.13%) and behavioral disorders (8.3%) had the highest prevalence, while eating disorders (0.13%) and psychotic symptoms (0.26%) had the lowest. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was significantly lower in girls (OR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.80-0.90), in those living in the rural area (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.73-0.87), in those aged 15-18 years (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99), as well as that was significantly higher in those who had a parent suffering from mental disorders (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.63-2.36 for mother and OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.07-1.66 for father) or physical illness (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.17-1.35 for mother and OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.10-1.28 for father). Conclusion: About one fifth of Iranian children and adolescents suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder. Therefore, we should give a greater priority to promoting mental health and public health, provide more accessible services and trainings, and reduce barriers to accessing existing services

Determination of a Statistical Model to Predict COD and TKN from the BOD5 and NH4+ Results

Introduction: The development of an appropriate model for the quality control of an industrial wastewater treatment system can save the time as well as the cost. This study was performed to determine an appropriate model in order to predict the COD and TKN parameters by BOD5 and NH4+ in the Meybod industrial estate wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).  Materials and Methods: This descriptive – analytical study was performed on 120 samples of the influent and effluent of the industrial estate wastewater treatment plant in Jahan Abad, Meybod, Yazd in 2015. The studied parameters were BOD5, TKN, COD, and NH4+. After measuring, they were imported to SPSS and Excel software to determine the relationship between them and then the linear regression model of the statistical method was used. Results: The predictive results of COD values on the basis of BOD5 in the regression model showed that the coefficient of determination was 0.88 and the correlation coefficient was 0.93 (p = 0.00) for this relationship. The prediction of TKN values on the basis of NH4+ in the regression model showed that for this relationship the determination coefficient of TKN and NH4+ influent parameters was 0.87 and the correlation coefficient was 0.93 (p = 0.00). Conclusion: This study represented that using the linear regression model for predicting COD and TKN values through BOD5 and NH4+ was in close accordance with the laboratory data and can thus be applied when the Meybod industrial estate WWTP faces time limitations or sampling problems