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The application of simulation-optimization models is a valuable tool for selecting the appropriate cropping pattern. The main objective of this research is to develop a two-objective simulation-optimization model to determine the pattern of cultivation and water allocation. The model performs the optimization with the multi-objective metamorphic algorithm (MOALO) after simulating different states of the cultivation pattern. The decision variables including land and water allocated to ten-day periods of plant growth were designed in a way that the minimum utilization of water resources and economic maximization were identified as target functions. The developed model was used to simulate and optimize the cultivation pattern with an area of ​​5500 hectares and water allocation of Semnan plain with renewable water at the rate of 60.8 million cubic meters. Harvesting scenarios of 80 (GW80) and 100 (GW100) percent of renewable groundwater and scenarios of change in existing cropping pattern of 30 (AC30) and 60 (AC60) percent were considered and each scenario was simulated with the MOALO algorithm. Optimization using the proposed model in four scenarios improved the water and economic objective functions compared to the initial simulation performance. The results showed that the four proposed scenarios were obtained by minimizing the water objective function and maximizing the economic objective function relative to the current situation (simulation). In general, the proposed model had a good performance despite its simplicity, which is a specialized tool to optimize the crop pattern with water allocation.

Background In clinical practice, we often encounter the patients with sarcoidosis showing relatively high in the normal range of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) value. Purpose We aimed to examine the serum ACE value of the patients with sarcoidosis and determine the new cut-off value for detecting the patients with sarcoidosis. Methods and results We retrospectively examined all 3781 subjects (51.1% men, 60.1±17.0 y.o.) in whom ACE was measured for any reasons including suspected sarcoidosis between 2009 and 2020 in our hospital. Of 293 patients with sarcoidosis, 101, 212, 84, and 88 were diagnosed as sarcoidosis in heart, lung, skin, and eyes, respectively. After excluding 477 patients taking ACE inhibitor and/or immunosuppression agent or those with any diseases affecting serum ACE levels, we analyzed 3304 subjects including 215 with sarcoidosis. Serum ACEs were 19.6 IU/L [IQR, 15.1–31.5] in the subjects with sarcoidosis and 10.7 [8.4–16.5] in those without (P Conclusion(s) In the current cut-off value of serum ACE, sensitivity for detecting sarcoidosis was comparatively low, though positive predictive value was low when the new-cut-off value was used in our study. Further examinations may be needed for the patients suspected sarcoidosis with relatively high ACE in the normal range. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Upstream discharge planning of regulated rivers and its relationship with downstream water quality parameters can be a good indicator for quantitative and qualitative surface water resources management, especially in arid and semiarid regions. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of discharge released from Sefid Rud Dam on downstream water quality parameters using the Qual2kw 6 model and the YASAIw plugin. In this regard, samples were collected from the Sefid Rud River through 12 sampling stations at a distance of about 110 km and measured for 12 months over the period 2007–2020. Of these, eight samples (December 2007, October 2008, November 2008, February 2011, July 2008, April 2011, June 2011, and August 2011) were used for calibration, and four samples (November 2019, February 2020, August 2019, and May 2020) were used to validate the Qual2kw 6 model. Subsequently, the criteria of scatter index (SI), coefficient of determination (R2), and mean bias error (MBE) were applied to compare the modeling results and the measured data. The modeling results indicated the high accuracy of the Qual2kw model in the calibration and validation steps given scatter index (SI)

In the present study, the SWAT hydrological model was developed for the upstream of the Zayandehrood dam to evaluate the inflow to this dam. Accordingly, after entering the meteorological and hydrometric information of the region, the runoff simulation was performed. Due to the high volume of entrances to the Zayandehrood Dam, Shahrokh Castle hydrometric stations were selected as the base station for calibration and validation during the statistical period of 1990-2015. After hydrological simulation and accuracy of results, climate prediction was performed using the fifth model of the climate change for the RCP scenarios. According to the forecast, by using climate change models, the temperature could be assumed to increase in all models and the highest rate of increase would occur under the RCP 8.5 climate scenario. After evaluating climate change in different diffusion scenarios, the runoff of the basin was simulated in the SWAT model. The simulation results of runoff in the catchment area showed that although the amount of rainfall was increased in the region, increasing the temperature had a greater effect, reducing the amount of runoff in the basin. Based on the results of climate change, hydrological simulation was performed using the SWAT model. The results showed that the effect of diffusion scenarios in the region was different, causing an increase in temperature and precipitation. The highest increase was observed in the RCP8.5 scenario, which was consistent with the nature of this emission scenario, with the highest emission of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide. Then, the evaluation of the hydrological model was done; the results showed that although the amount of rainfall in the region had been increased, the increase in temperature of this basin had a greater effect and efficiency in reducing the amount of runoff.

Desalination is a method for producing water for human consumption, irrigation or industrial utilisation. In this study, a reverse osmosis (RO) system for brackish water desalination was theoretically investigated to produce both potable drinking and agricultural water with a lower overall and specific energy consumption. As a case study, the Main Outfall Drain in Iraq is used as the brackish water source. A numerical model based on solution-diffusion theory was developed in Matlab Simulink and used to analyse the design and performance of an RO system. The effect of feed water temperature, pressure, salinity and recovery ratio on the efficiency of the whole RO system was investigated for a wide range of design considerations. The design of an RO system for this application was optimised and economic assessment carried out. Results show that with boosting recovery ratio from 30% to 60%, the specific energy of desalinated water production below 400ppm was reduced from 2.8kWh/m3 to a more economically favourable value of 0.8kWh/m3, when utilizing a pressure exchanger as a recovery device. Salt rejection was reduced from 97% to 88% to obtain large quantities of water for irrigation with an acceptable salinity (

Introduction: Several mathematical models are being used for assessing the plant response to the salinity of the root zone. The salinity of the soil and water resources is a major challenge for agricultural sector in Iran. Several mathematical models have been developed for plant responses to the salinity stress. However, these models are often applicable in particular conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the threshold value of Basil yield reduction, modeling Basil response to salinity and to evaluate the effectiveness of available mathematical models for the yield estimation of the Basil . Materials and Methods: The extensive experiments were conducted with 13 natural saline water treatments including 1.2, 1.8, 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 dSm-1. Water salinity treatments were prepared by mixing Shoor River water with fresh water. In order to quantify the salinity effect on Basil yield, seven mathematical models including Maas and Hoffman (1977), van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984), Dirksen and Augustijn (1988), and Homaee et al., (2002) were used. One of the relatively recent methods for soil water content measurements is theta probes instrument. Theta probes instrument consists of four probes with 60 mm long and 3 mm diameter, a water proof container (probe structure), and a cable that links input and output signals to the data logger display. The advantages that have been attributed to this method are high precision and direct and rapid measurements in the field and greenhouse. The range of measurements is not limited like tensiometer and is from saturation to wilting point. In this study, Theta probes instrument was calibrated by weighing method for exact irrigation scheduling. Relative transpiration was calculated using daily soil water content changes. A coarse sand layer with 2 centimeters thick was used to decrease evaporation from the surface soil of the pots. Quantity comparison of the used models was done by calculating statistical indices such as maximum error (ME), normalized root mean square error (nRMSE), modeling efficiency (EF), and coefficient of residual mass (CRM). At the end of the experiment, dry matter yield at the different treatments was measured and relative yield was calculated by dividing dry matter yield of treatments on dry matter yield at no stress treatment (control treatment). Leaching requirement in experimental treatments was calculated by Ayarset al., (2012) equation. Results and Discussion: The results indicated that Basil threshold value based on soil salinity was 2.25 dSm-1 with the yield reduction of 7.2% per dSm-1. The mathematical model of van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984) had a higher precision than other models in simulating Basil yield reduction function based on saturated soil extract salinity. The overall observations revealed that van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984), Steppuhnet al., (2005) and Homaeeet al., (2002) models were accurate for simulating Basil root water uptake and yield response to saturated soil extract salinity. Considering the presented results, it seems that among math-empirical models for salinity stress conditions, model of van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984) is more accurate than Maas and Hoffman (1977), Dirksen and Augustijn (1988) and Homaeeet al., (2002a) models. The works of Green et al., (2006) and Skaggs et al., (2006) came to the same conclusion. Our work indicated that mostly statistical models have lower precision than math-empirical models. Steppuhn et al., (2005a) reported that statistical models had the higher accuracy than math-empirical model of Maas and Hoffman (1977) and among statistical models, the modified Weibull model had the best fit on measured data which is in good agreement with the results of this study. Conclusion: The goals of this research were to evaluate Basil response to saturated soil extract salinity, to estimate threshold value of Basil crop coefficients, to obtain yield reduction gradient, and also to investigate efficiency of available math-empirical models in estimating reduction functions. The results of this study indicated that the Basil threshold value obtained based on saturated soil extract salinity was 2.25 dSm-1 and the gradient of yield reduction was 7.2% per dSm-1 according to Maas and Hoffman (1977) linear fitting. The reached general conclusion was that among the math-empirical reduction functions, the model of van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984) had the highest accuracy when compared to the models of Maas and Hoffman (1977), Dirksen and Augustijn (1988) and Homaee et al., (2002a). Therefore, it is recommended to use the van Genuchten and Hoffman (1984), Steppuhn et al., (2005), and Homaee et al., (2002) models respectively, instead of the other models in this research.

A thermodynamic study is performed on the Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination process for brackish water. The detailed RO model of thermodynamics properties with and without an energy recovery device was built in Simulink/MATLAB and validated against reported measurement data. The efficiency of desalination plants can be estimated by both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. While the first law focuses on the quantity of energy, the second law analysis (i.e. exergy analysis) introduces quality. This paper used the Main Outfall Drain in Iraq as a case study to conduct energy and exergy analysis of RO process. The result shows that it is feasible to use energy recovery method for reverse osmosis with salinity less than 15000 ppm as the exergy efficiency increases twice. Moreover, this analysis shows that the highest exergy destruction occurs in the rejected water and lowest occurs in the permeate flow rate accounting 37% for 4.3% respectively.

Fatty acid oxidation is the most efficient mode of myocardial energy production which requires a large amount of oxygen. Thus, alteration of fatty acid oxidation is considered to be a sensitive marker of ischaemia and myocardial damage. (123)I-BMIPP ([123]I-beta-methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid) is a newly-investigated single-photon branching free fatty acid radiopharmaceutical with slow metabolism; thus, it is well-suited for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Assessment of fatty acid metabolism by radionuclide techniques has a potential role for the early detection of myocardial ischaemia and the assessment of the severity of ischaemic heart disease. Although stable patients with a healed myocardial infarction may have a relatively good prognosis, risk stratification in the predischarge period should be valuable for deciding upon appropriate management. In this respect, the presence of discordant BMIPP uptake relative to (201)Tl perfusion appears to be the best predictor of future cardiac events among all other cardiovascular imaging modalities. Since discordant BMIPP uptake correlates well with redistribution on stress (201)Tl imaging and perfusion-metabolism mismatch on positron emission tomography, it is considered that such BMIPP and (201)Tl discordance may identify a high-risk subgroup among patients with acute myocardial infarction. A BMIPP scan may reflect prior severe ischaemia after recovery of perfusion, the so-called "ischaemic memory". Gated BMIPP SPECT has been recently introduced for simultaneous assessment of myocardial metabolism and ventricular function. Such a new technique seems to be valuable for a better understanding of the pathophysiological state of heart failure and cardiomyopathy.

Ziele: Apoptose in atherosklerotischen Plaques tragt zur Plaquevulnerabilitat bei. Wir untersuchten den akuten Einfluss von Caspase-Inhibitoren (CI) auf das Ausmas der Apoptose in atherosklerotischen Plaques mit radioaktiv-markiertem Annexin A5. Methode: Von 31 atherosklerotischen NZW-Kaninchen erhielten 6 einen Breitspektrum-CI (ZVAD-fmk), 3 einen Caspase-1- (YVAD-cho), 3 einen Caspase-3- (DEVD-cho), 3 einen Caspase-8- (ZIETD-fmk;) und 4 einen Caspase-9- (ZLEHD-fmk) spezifischen Inhibitor. Die restlichen 12 Tiere wurden nicht mit CI behandelt. 6 Tiere wurden als Kontrolltiere verwendet. Tc-99m-Annexin A5 wurde fur das Imaging der atherosklerotischen Plaques eingesetzt. 6 der 12 nicht mit CI behandelten atherosklerotischen Tiere wurden mit Tc-99m-markiertem mutantem Annexin A5 untersucht. Der Uptake des radioaktiven Tracers in den atherosklerotischen Plaques wurde in den Szintigrammen sowie ex- vivo im Gewebe quantitativ ermittelt und mit histopathologischen Kriterien der atherosklerotischen Plaques verglichen. Ergebnis: Die atherosklerotischen Plaques waren visuell am besten in den nicht mit CI behandelten Tieren nachweisbar. Der Annexin A5 Uptake (%/g) in diesen Tieren (0,0515±0,0099) war signifikant hoher als in den Kontrolltieren (0,0065±0,0008; p

To determine the usefulness of vectorcardiography (VCG) in assessing myocardial infarct size.The correlation of spatial and scalar parameters of VCG with the percent defect volume (%DV) of thallium myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was investigated in 63 patients with first-onset myocardial infarction (MI). VCG parameters included: (1) spatial parameters: magnitude, azimuth and elevation of the maximal vector, vectors at 20 ms and 30 ms, and (2) scalar parameters: amplitudes of 20 ms and 30 ms vectors at X, Y, and Z scalar leads abbreviated as X20, Y20, Z20, X30, Y30 and Z30, respectively.For anteroseptal MI, the azimuth of 30 ms vector and Z20 showed a significant correlation with %DV (r = 0.572, P0.05 and r = 0.832, P0.001) while in anteroseptal MI with involvement of lateral wall, the azimuth of 30 ms vector and X30 were correlated with %DV significantly (r = 0.775, and r = 0.780, P0.01). For inferior and inferoposterior MI, the elevation of 30 ms vector and Y30 were correlated well with %DV (r = 0.871, P0.01, r = 0.928, P0.001 for inferior MI and r = 0.678, P0.01, r = 0.760, P0.001 for inferoposterior MI).VCG parameters, especially scalar parameters, can be used to evaluate myocardial infarct size easily and non-invasively with remarkable accuracy.

Results of previous studies and our own preliminary study suggest that the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) using 1 mg of dexamethasone might result in lower sensitivity in Japanese and Asian people with major depressive episodes, when compared to Caucasian people. We investigated the clinical utility of low-dose (0.5 mg) DST in Japanese patients with manic or major depressive episodes.Low-dose (0.5 mg) DST was performed 276 times in 122 patients with bipolar disorder (manic or depressed) or major depressive disorder who visited the Department of Psychiatry of Osaka Prefectural General Hospital. After strict exclusion criteria were applied, the remaining 225 test results in 98 patients were analyzed. The severity of symptoms was estimated in accordance with the DSM-IV, namely, severe, moderate, mild, or in remission. A 0.5 mg dose of dexamethasone was administered orally at 20:30, and blood samples were taken the following day at 8:00 (9:00 in outpatients) and 13:00. Serum cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Nonsuppression was considered to have occurred when at least one of the postdexamethasone cortisol values was 4.0 micrograms/dl or over.In manic episodes, the postdexamethasone cortisol levels were significantly correlated with the severity of the symptoms, and the postdexamethasone cortisol levels in patients with severe symptoms were significantly higher than in those in remission. The rates of nonsuppression in manic episodes with severe, moderate, mild symptoms, and in remission, were 7/8 (88%), 1/4 (25%), 1/3 (33%) and 2/7 (29%), respectively. In major depressive episodes, the postdexamethasone cortisol levels were significantly correlated with the severity of the symptoms. The rates of nonsuppression in major depressive episodes with each grading of severity were 47/58 (81%), 28/52 (54%), 14/40 (35%), 10/53 (19%), respectively. In major depressive episodes, patients aged 50 or over showed significantly higher postdexamethasone cortisol levels than patients aged under 50. In particular, patients aged between 30 and 49 showed significantly lower postdexamethasone cortisol levels than those in the other age groups. There was no significant difference between male and female patients (two-way ANOVA), but female patients with severe depressive symptoms showed significantly higher postdexamethasone cortisol levels than male patients with severe symptoms. There was no significant difference between bipolar and unipolar patients with major depressive episodes (two-way ANOVA), with the exception that the rate of nonsuppression in remission in bipolar patients was significantly different than that in unipolar patients (9/33 (27%), 1/20 (5%), respectively). Among major depressive disorders, the rate of nonsuppression was highest in those with psychotic features, followed by those with melancholia, and then by those without melancholia. Re-evaluating the cut-off point discriminating nonsuppression from suppression, it was suggested that the optimal cut-off point might differ according to age and gender, but a fixed cut-off point at 4.0 micrograms/dl was considered to be appropriate. The postdexamethasone cortisol levels of samples obtained at 13:00 were more sensitive than those obtained at 8:00 or 9:00. The exclusion criteria and the clinical meanings of DST were discussed.Along with the previous studies indicating a low rate of nonsuppression in Japanese and other Asians using a standard 1 mg DST, our results suggest that low-dose (0.5 mg) DST is better in Japanese, and probably in most Asian patients, than 1 mg DST.

The hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis was studied in 10 young manic-depressive or psychotic women whose symptoms obviously fluctuated in association with the menstrual cycle. The common clinical features of these cases were (1) young female aged between 15 and 25, (2) the symptoms fluctuated obviously in association with the menstrual cycle, and (3) severe manic-depressive, or psychotic symptoms. While, in two cases, the depressive or psychotic phases had repeated many times for several years, the rest eight cases did not have a long psychiatric past history. The common hormonal features among these 10 cases were elevated basal LH (7 of 10 cases), decreased basal FSH (6 of 10), greater response of LH and normal response of FSH to LHRH (8 of 8), lack of or insufficient increase of progesterone in the luteal phase (7 of 8), and elevated serum testosterone (5 of 10), androstenedione (4 of 10) and DHEA-S (3 of 9). These abnormalities resemble those of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Five of the 10 cases showed mild hirsute signs such as mustache, acne, and/or well-developed musculo-skeletal system. An ultrasonographical study revealed polycystic changes in 7 of 10 cases. Ordinary psychotropic pharmacotherapy was not effective sufficiently and hormonal therapy was tried in these 10 cases. Clomiphene citrate was administered on Day 5-9 of the menstrual cycle at a daily dose of 50mg orally in 9 cases, and it was effective to prevent recurrence of manic episode in one case, and to improve manic-depressive or psychotic symptoms in 6 cases. In these 6 cases, the effects were commonly observed within 1 or 2 weeks subsequent to the administration being completed. Daily dexamethasone administration was effective in one case with high serum DHEA-S level in whom clomiphene citrate worsened the psychotic symptoms, and thyroid hormone was effective in one case. In comparison with the pathophysiology of PCOS, a possible relationship was suggested between psychiatric problems and the PCOS-like hormonal abnormalities in these cases.