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Background: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum - graecum L.) is an annual medicinal plant belongs to the legume family and has anti-diabetic, anti-fertility, anticancer, anti-microbial, anti-parasitic and hypocholesterolaemic effects. Objective: Evaluation of growth and trigonelline /mucilage content in fenugreek under application of plant growth regulators (PGR). Methods: The experiment was conducted on randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with 13 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were consist of control (distilled water application), Giberrellic Acid (GA3) 25 and 50 ppm and Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) 25 and 50 ppm (for each concentration by soaking the seeds before planting, spray after planting, and soaking seeds before planting with spray after planting). Results: Application of plant growth regulators significantly increased trigonelline and mucilage content of seed, shoots and pods dry weight per plant and 1000-seed weight. Application of plant growth regulators had no significant effect on the SPAD value. Mean comparisons showed that the highest shoot dry weight was related to NAA, GA3 50 ppm (soaking seeds before planting with spray after planting), and also the highest pods dry weight, 1000-seed weight, mucilage and trigonelline content of seeds were obtained from GA3 50 ppm (soaking the seeds before planting with spray after planting). Conclusion: Application of GA3 50 ppm as the soaking seeds before planting with spray after planting are effective to obtain maximum trigonelline and mucilage content in fenugreek.

Background and a ims: Subway system including infrastructure systems in the transportation industry can potentially exposed to fire, flood, earthquake and similar events and could create catastrophic losses to society. Therefore, this study aims to assess the risk of fire in Tehran subway stations (line 1). Methods: Inperforming this research, after the identifying the fire hazard resources in subway stations through observing, interviewing techniques and reviewing the documents, using fault tree analysis the causes of electrical fires in rectifier substations in line 1 of Tehran metro, was determined.Furthermore, with quantitative fault tree analysis, the probability of the fire risk was calculated per year. Results: Our findings indicate that, main causes of electrical fires in this post are including signs and devices, improper maintenance, improper implementation during equipment installation, inappropriate quality of equipment and their aging. The probability of accidents was calculated as one accident per every 11 years. Conclusion: Byholding training courses for personnel involved and careful monitoring during maintenance and installation of equipment, much lower probability risk would occur.

Introduction: Anxiety has an impressive effect on normal vaginal delivery. Since no study has been conducted in this regard, this research is designed to determine the effect of cognitive behavior therapy on the reduction of anxiety at first normal vaginal delivery. Methods: A semi-experimental study was carried out on 40 nulliparous women with six months age of pregnancy and without abortion and infertility background. After the completion of testimonial, the rate of anxiety was evaluated by Beck anxiety inventory. Then the participants were randomly divided into two groups (20 persons in each group). The experimental group received ten sessions of individual cognitive behavior therapy. The test was carried out again a week before delivery and twenty days after it. The data analysis was accomplished by SPSS16 and Co-variance analysis test. Results: At first the average of anxiety score in the experimental group was 34.16, in post test. 8.68 and in follow up test 7.79 and, thus the difference was meaningful(p

In this paper, Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (BSCF) thin films were deposited on single crystal SrTiO3 (STO) (100) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique at different pressures of oxygen. Crystal structure of bulk and thin film samples was studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD results indicate that both bulk and thin film samples have cubic structures. AFM micrographs showed an increase in RMS roughness by oxygen pressure. The electrical resistance was measured at room temperature up to 600 and 800 °C in air using four probe method for bulk and thin films, respectively. A sharp drop in resistance was observed by increasing temperature up to 400 °C, that was explained with the small polaron hopping model. Polaron activation energy was calculated by Arrhenius relation. It was decreased over increasing oxygen pressure. The surface exchange coefficient (Kchem) of the 300 mTorr sample was measured by electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) technique. The results suggested a linear relationship between Kchem and reciprocal of absolute temperature.

Chronic and recurrent bone infections occur frequently but have not been explained. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is often found among chronic and recurrent infections and may be responsible for such infections. One possible reason is that S. aureus can internalize and survive within host cells and by doing so, S. aureus can evade both host defense mechanisms and most conventional antibiotic treatments. In this study, we hypothesized that intra-cellular S. aureus could induce infections in vivo. Osteoblasts were infected with S. aureus and, after eliminating extra-cellular S. aureus, inoculated into an open fracture rat model. Bacterial cultures and radiographic observations at post-operative day 21 confirmed local bone infections in animals inoculated with intra-cellular S. aureus within osteoblasts alone. We present direct in vivo evidence that intra-cellular S. aureus could be sufficient to induce bone infection in animals; we found that intra-cellular S. aureus inoculation of as low as 102 colony forming units could induce severe bone infections. Our data may suggest that intra-cellular S. aureus can “hide” in host cells during symptom-free periods and, under certain conditions, they may escape and lead to infection recurrence. Intra-cellular S. aureus therefore could play an important role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus infections, especially those chronic and recurrent infections in which disease episodes may be separated by weeks, months, or even years.

G Ciofani1, L Ricotti1, S Danti2,3, S Moscato4, C Nesti2, D D’Alessandro2,4, D Dinucci5, F Chiellini5, A Pietrabissa3, M Petrini2,3, A Menciassi1,61Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy; 2CUCCS-RRMR, Center for the Clinical Use of Stem Cells – Regional Network of Regenerative Medicine, 3Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies, 4Department of Human Morphology and Applied Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 5Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical and Environmental Applications (BIOlab), UdR INSTM, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, San Piero a Grado, Italy; 6Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, ItalyAbstract: Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have generated considerable interest within the scientific community by virtue of their unique physical properties, which can be exploited in the biomedical field. In the present in vitro study, we investigated the interactions of poly-L-lysine-coated BNNTs with C2C12 cells, as a model of muscle cells, in terms of cytocompatibility and BNNT internalization. The latter was performed using both confocal and transmission electron microscopy. Finally, we investigated myoblast differentiation in the presence of BNNTs, evaluating the protein synthesis of differentiating cells, myotube formation, and expression of some constitutive myoblastic markers, such as MyoD and Cx43, by reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. We demonstrated that BNNTs are highly internalized by C2C12 cells, with neither adversely affecting C2C12 myoblast viability nor significantly interfering with myotube formation.Keywords: boron nitride nanotubes, C2C12 cells, cytocompatibility, up-take, differentiation, MyoD, connexin 43

"nBackground: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most frequent genetic enzymatic disorder in hu­man, which is inherited as an X-linked gene. It encodes a housekeeping enzyme, which is vital for cell survival. Accord­ing to previous investigations, Mediterranean mutation (C563T) of g6pd gene is the most prevalent mutation in some prov­inces of Iran and neighboring countries. We aimed to study the Mediterranean mutation of g6pd gene in Khuzestan province of Iran."nMethods: A total of 1064 randomly selected male blood samples were selected in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, in 2008 and screened for G6PD deficiency using fluorescent spot test method. In order to determine the frequency of G6PD Mediterra­nean variant, 144 G6PD deficient samples were analyzed by PCR-RFLP method."nResults: Eighty-one out of 1064 random selected screened samples were G6PD deficient, so a 7.6% frequency was obtained for G6PD deficiency. In addition, 105 out of 144 collected deficient samples had Mediterranean mutation that resulted in a 72.91% allel frequency."nConclusion: Corresponding to other investigations in Middle East countries and some provinces of Iran, we found that the Mediter­ranean mutation of g6pd gene was the most prevalent variant and G6PD deficiency occurred in a high frequency.

The DNA molecule can take various conformational forms. Investigations focus mainly on the so-called ‘B-form’, schematically drawn in the famous paper by Watson and Crick [1]. This is the usual form of DNA in a biological environment and is the only form that is stable in an aqueous environment. Other forms, however, can teach us much about DNA. They have the same nucleotide base pairs for ‘building blocks’ as B-DNA, but with different relative positions, and studying these forms gives insight into the interactions between elements under conditions far from equilibrium in the B-form. Studying the thermal denaturation is particularly interesting because it provides a direct probe of those interactions which control the growth of the fluctuations when the ‘melting’ temperature is approached. Here we report such a study on the ‘A-form’ using calorimetry and neutron scattering. We show that it can be carried further than a similar study on B-DNA, requiring the improvement of thermodynamic models for DNA.

A rare observation of systemic AL-amyloidosis with a debut in old age, accompanied by diffuse alveolar-septal lesion of the lungs and mediastinal lymphadenopathy in combination with amyloid cardiomyopathy in the absence of pathology of kidney and liver function.

Yoga practice, even in the short term, is supposed to enhance wellbeing and counteract psychopathology through modification of emotion reactivity. Yoga teaches that emotional responses may be less pronounced with longer and more frequent practice, and potentially when people perform yoga for mental rather than physical reasons. We tested 36 yoga practitioners of varying experience (between 6 months and 11 years of practice). We assessed participants’ self-reported emotional experience and peripheral physiological reactions (heart rate, skin conductance, respiration) when seeing positive and negative pictures. Results were analyzed as a function of the years of, frequency of, and reasons for yoga practice. We found a heart rate increase with the degree participants performed yoga for mental reasons. In addition, years of yoga practice were significantly associated with reduced abdominal respiratory rate when facing negative pictures, speaking in favor of reduced arousal with yoga experience. Finally, regarding frequency of practice, a higher frequency in the last month was linked to less negative and positive experiences as well as a reduced abdominal respiratory amplitude when viewing positive pictures. Altogether, these results demonstrate that intense short-term yoga practice might relate to a (i) decrease in the intensity of self-reported emotional experiences and (ii) deepened respiration. Short-term effects might be shaped by what participants expect as practice benefits. However, several years of practice might be needed to decrease respiratory arousal in the face of negative situations, which likely is a manifestation of an evolution in the emotion regulation process.

Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, (Linneaus, 1758) is an important aquaculture species in Nigeria and other parts of the world. We obtained specimens (3,5-13,00 cm total length; 1,7 to 49 g) from Jabi Reservoir, Nigeria, and exposed them to 18-38o C. The frequency of opercular beats (i.e.respiratory rate) was determined from videos. At room temperature (28o C), the average frequency of opercular beats per minute for the weight groups of 1, 7 – 3,3; 4,0 – 7,0; 11,0 – 20 and 40 – 49g were 218, 190, 167 and 119 respectively. It decreased to 153, 137, 94 and 77 beats respectively when the water temperature was lowered to 18o C. It subsequently increased to 283, 267, 209 and 136 beats respectively when water temperature was raised to 38o C (p

Imposition of export duty policy for CPO and its derivative products is an important policy Imposition of export duty policy for CPO and its derivative products is an important policy of promoting the growth of national industry. This policy will affect the upstream and downstream sides. This study examines the impact of the policy impositionof export duty CPO products and derivatives which can provide a more positive welfare impact, than has been achieved so far, furthermore determined the appropriate policies to be applied to compensate the aggrieved stakeholders, to determine the distribution of surplus between producers and consumers. The applied method is the analysis of the economic impact, wich is cost and benefit using a simulation. Based on simulation results, manufacturers have lost the opportunity to obtain a windfall gain, while the government gained revenue from export duties due to reduced smuggling. In order to award compensation to the manufacturer, the facility / amenity that is returned including the improvement of transport infrastructure (roads and ports), research and development (R & D), promotion and advocacy abroad, human resource development, especially farmers through training, meeting the needs of farmers (seeds, fertilizers and land titling) in order to revitalize oil palm plantations, and facilities / other relevant ease. Keywords : impact policy, export tax, CPO Kebijakan pengenaan bea keluar untuk produk CPO dan turunannya merupakan kebijakan yang penting dalam mendorong pengembangan industri nasional. Kebijakan ini akan mempengaruhi sisi hulu dan hilir. Kajian ini bertujuan melihat dampak kebijakan pengenaan bea keluar produk CPO dan turunannya dapat memberikan dampak kesejahteraan yang lebih positif dari yang telah dicapai saat ini. Selain itu, ingin melihat kebijakan apa yang perlu diterapkan untuk mengkompensasi pemangku kepentingan yang dirugikan oleh kebijakan ini, serta net welfare- untuk mengetahui distribusi surplus antara produsen dan konsumen. Metode yang digunakan adalah analisis dampak ekonomi yaitu cost and benefit dengan simulasi. Berdasarkan hasil simulasi, produsen mengalami kehilangan kesempatan memperoleh windfall gain secara maksimal, sedangkan pemerintah memperoleh pendapatan dari bea keluar akibat berkurangnya smuggling. Dalam rangka pemberian kompensasi bagi produsen, maka fasilitas/kemudahan yang dikembalikan diantaranya adalah perbaikan infrastruktur transportasi (jalan dan pelabuhan), penelitian dan pengembangan (R & D), promosi dan advokasi di luar negeri, pengembangan sumber daya manusia, khususnya petani melalui pelatihan, pemenuhan kebutuhan petani (bibit, pupuk dan sertifikasi lahan) dalam rangka revitalisasi kebun kelapa sawit, dan fasilitas/kemudahan lain yang relevan. Kata kunci : dampak kebijakan, bea keluar, CPO

A study on the gastro-intestinal helminth parasites of wild C. gariepinus was carried out in Gwagwalada Area Council of FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 110 samples were examined which includes 42 males and 68 females. Forty-eight (43,64%) fishes were infected with various species of helminth, which includes Wenyonia spp (28,18%), Procamallanus laevionchus (11,82%) and Euclinostomum heterostomum (3,64%). The female fish had the highest percentage prevalence (28,18%) while the males had 15,46% prevalence. Most of the parasites were recovered from the intestinal lumen. There was some degree of specificity in their distribution within the host but there was no significant difference (P>0,05) between the standard length, body weight, number of fish infected, prevalence and the intensity of infection. KEY WORDS Helminth parasites, Wild, C. gariepinus, Gastro-intestinal tract, Gwagwalada

Because DNA methylation changes reliably with age, machine learning models called epigenetic clocks can estimate an individual's age based on their DNA methylation profile. This epigenetic measure of age can deviate from one's true age, and the difference between the epigenetic age and true age, known as epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), has been found to directly correlate with morbidity and mortality in adults. Emerging evidence suggests that EAA is also associated with aberrant health outcomes in children, making epigenetic clocks useful tools for studying aging and development. We developed two highly accurate epigenetic clocks for the rhesus macaque, utilizing 1,008 blood samples from 690 macaques between 2 days and 23.4 years of age with diverse genetic backgrounds and exposure to environmental conditions. The first clock, which is trained on all samples, achieves a Pearson correlation between true age and predicted age of 0.983 and median absolute error of 0.210 years. To study phenotypes during development, the second clock is optimized for macaques younger than 6 years and achieves a Pearson correlation of 0.974 and a median absolute error of 0.148 years. Using the latter clock, we investigated whether epigenetic aging is affected by early life adversity in the form of infant maltreatment. Our data suggests that maltreatment and increased hair cortisol levels are associated with epigenetic age acceleration right after the period of maltreatment.