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In arid to sub-humid region, water has always been the main factor limiting crop production. The need for water is increasing and water availability is a major factor in the development and sustainability of ecosystems. The call to improve the efficiency and productivity of water use, development of new technologies for improving water use efficiency and availability to ensure future food security, has never been more urgent. Condensation irrigation is a new method that has the potential of increasing water efficiency and productivity. In this method, the steam transfers directly to the root zone and sustains the moisture content of the soil. The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of the CI1 system in increasing water productivity and evaluating potential of this technology to provide moisture in various soils improved with adding organic matters. After selecting the proper temperature and soil texture, lettuce was planted in selected soil and condensation irrigation applied during growing period. Then the water consumed was measured and compared with water use of lettuce planted in greenhouse and traditional practice. Selected medium texture soil (in combination with 35% organic matter) was designated for cultivating lettuce under controlled conditions, CI application, using coated conducting tube, GH2 and TP3. The results of this study showed that after harvesting and full growth of lettuce in all three conditions, production per 1 m3 water to grow lettuce in CI, GH and TP was 1250, 333 and 75.5 kg, respectively. Water use efficiency was investigated in all treatments and the results showed that with a probability of 99% there is a significant difference between different irrigation methods, and the highest water use efficiency resulted from CI. The consumed water during the growth period in the GH was about four times that of CI, and in TP it was 21 times that of CI, which indicates a significant reduction in water use and more productivity in CI. By examining the weight of dry lettuce in all three methods, the results showed that in all samples taken from all methods the biomass was 12.5%. Further research is needed to verify the feasibility and applicability of this method in large scale.

Dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSNs) are a new generation of porous materials that have gained great attention compared to other mesoporous silicas due to attractive properties, including straightforward synthesis methods, modular surface chemistry, high surface area, tunable pore size, chemical inertness, particle size distribution, excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high pore volume compared with conventional mesoporous materials. The last years have witnessed a blooming growth of the extensive utilization of DMSNs as an efficient platform in a broad spectrum of biomedical and industrial applications, such as catalysis, energy harvesting, biosensing, drug/gene delivery, imaging, theranostics, and tissue engineering. DMSNs are considered great candidates for nanomedicine applications due to their ease of surface functionalization for targeted and controlled therapeutic delivery, high therapeutic loading capacity, minimizing adverse effects, and enhancing biocompatibility. In this review, we will extensively detail state-of-the-art studies on recent advances in synthesis methods, structure, properties, and applications of DMSNs in the biomedical field with an emphasis on the different delivery routes, cargos, and targeting approaches and a wide range of therapeutic, diagnostic, tissue engineering, vaccination applications and challenges and future implications of DMSNs as cutting-edge technology in medicine.

One of the consequences of our study is that for an arbitrary measurable function u defined on an arbitrary measurable set E in a non-compact Riemannian manifold Ω, there is a sequence of functions harmonic on all of Ω, which converges in measure to u. Another consequence is that if E is a subset of infinite volume, u is a measurable function on E and ϵ is an arbitrary positive continuous function on Ω, then there is a function v harmonic on all of Ω, such that | v ( p ) − u ( p ) | ϵ ( p ) , for asymptotically almost all (with respect to the volume) of the points of E.

Background: Since malnutrition of geriatric hospitalized patients has an impact on treatment and care management, the aim was to define the accuracy of Malnutrition Universal Screening Test (MUST) for malnutrition screening in the Iranian hospitalized elderly. Methods: In this cross-sectional study elderly 60 ≥ years (N= 192) were selected from two hospitals, anthropometric measures (BMI, MAC, and CC), laboratory test (Albumin), and nutrition tool (Full-MNA) applied and analyzed at P10%) in the last six months and loss of appetite observed in (33.4%) participants. In MUST tool rating, high-risk elderly patients for malnutrition were 33.3%. The AUC for MUST, according to Full-MNA was obtained 90.41%, with sensitivity 90.0% and specificity 73.25%. The MUST showed the strongest correlation with Full-MNA (r = -0.7) and BMI (r = - 0.51); but, the lowest correlation observed with Alb (r= -0.274). Most AUC was belonging to weight loss (0.96) and BMI (0.94). NConclusion: The MUST tool like full-MNA could diagnose malnutrition in geriatric patients in the hospital setting.

One of the drinking water usages is flushing, e.g. toilet flush tank. Gray water is an option to prevent water loss and, on the other hand, the formation of sediment and mass inside the reserving tank has a significant impact on the performance of the flush tank and customers’ satisfaction. In this study, the condition of flush tank, in the respect of bacterial and scum formation, fed by simulated gray water was investigated. The gray water was pre-treated in a septic tank. Flush tanks made of PE, ceramic and galvanized steel sheet were used. The effect of disinfection process was studied for biomass accumulation control. The results from pH, XRF, AAS and bacterial colony count indicated that blue toilet tablet was not effective, while UV lamp effectively controlled bacterial growth. No bacterial growth was observed in the galvanized tank even without any disinfector agent. Applying UV lamp caused scum to form on the surface tank. Generally, no accumulation of suspended solids was observed in the all flush tanks (PE, ceramic and galvanized). Kitchen wastewater can be used in the toilet flush tank as an alternative for potable water.

Spherical tokamak assesses the potential of great performance in high beta and is capable of steadystate operation. Controlling plasma parameters and profile could lead to a high beta for spherical tokamaks. In this paper, we used the scaling laws of density, beta ratio, and energy confinement time with D-3He fuel. We investigated the dependency of Q on confinement enhancement factor and fuel density ratio of D-3He by plasma power balance equation in spherical tokamak (ST) which H y2 ≈ 1.9 and f D3 = 0.84 would lead to Q = 5.5 and high power production about 1.6 GW in the 65 keV. Hot ion mode as an imperative circumstance in ST has been investigated and we have illustrated that the convenient ion temperature is around 60–70 keV and γ ≈ 0.15–0.3 in order to enhance the operation of ST and restrict radiation loss.

Introduction: Improvement of students’ clinical decision making is one of the main challenges in medical education. There are numerous ways to improve these skills. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of algorithm-based learning on clinical decision making abilities of medical emergency students. Method: in this experimental study, twenty five medical emergency students were randomly assigned to algorithm based learning group (n=13) and control group (n=12). Student in algorithm-based learning group were educated the diagnosis and treatment of selected medical emergency situation with algorithmic approach. Education in the control group was conducted by a routine lecture, along with copies of educational content. Three-hour training period was held for both groups (two separate sessions with an interval day). After intervention, clinical decision making of the students in both group were measured by clinical scenarios and clinical decision making self-efficacy scale. Results: The mean of acquired scores from clinical scenarios among students in algorithm-based learning group was 17.50 (±1.67) and in the control group was 14.50 (±2.63). The differences was statistically significant (t=0.006, P=0.006). The students in algorithm-based learning group had better scores in the clinical decision making in terms of self-efficacy scale and it was 13.30 (1.57) and in the control group this mean was 10.32 (3.05). In this case, the differences was statistically significant (t=3.01, P=0.009). Conclusion: algorithm-based learning is effective in improvement of clinical decision making and applying of this method along with other educational methods could promote students’ clinical decision making especially in medical emergency situations.

The search constantly continues to identify potential alternatives to the use of antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP) in broiler production. This trial was conducted with broiler chicks to investigate the effect of different levels of Pulicaria gnaphalodes powder (PGP) in comparison with AGP, and probiotic (PRO) on growth performance, gut microflora, intestinal morphology, antioxidant enzyme activity, and fatty acid profile of meat. Ross 308 male broiler chicks (n = 576) were randomly assigned into 6 dietary treatments with 8 replicate pens per treatment and 12 birds per pen. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet as control (CON, with no additive), CON + 0.1% PGP, CON + 0.2% PGP, CON + 0.3% PGP, CON + 0.1% probiotic mixture (PRO), and CON + 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate (AGP). Higher body weight gain and lower feed conversion ratio were obtained in birds fed AGP and 0.3% PGP compared with those fed CON and 0.1% PGP during grower, finisher, and the entire study (P < 0.05). On day 42, birds on PRO, 0.2 and 0.3% PGP treatments had lower counts of Escherichia coli and higher lactobacillus spp. in ileum and cecal contents compared to the CON and 0.1% PGP (P < 0.05). Villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio of the duodenum were increased (P < 0.05) in response to dietary AGP, PRO, and 0.3% PGP. The diets containing PRO and different levels of PGP increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and decreased malondialdehyde level in serum, liver, and thigh muscle (P < 0.05). Total polyunsaturated fatty acid and n-3 fatty acid of birds fed PRO and PGP diets were higher than birds in CON and AGP groups (P < 0.05). In summary, supplementation of PGP could be a potential alternative to AGP in broiler diets due to its combined positive impacts on performance, serum cholesterol, intestinal health, antioxidant activity, and fatty acid profile in meat. Such effects, however, need to be further verified under compromised health or a disease challenge condition.

Flow mediated dilation (FMD) is a non-invasive method for endothelial function assessment providing an index extracted from ultrasonic B-mode images. Although utilized in the research community, the difficulty of its application and high cost of ultrasonic devices prevent it from being widely used in clinical settings. In this study we show that substituting the ultrasonic device with more easily handled and low cost photoplethysmography and electrocardiography is possible. We introduce new indices based on the photoplethysmogram (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) and show that they are correlated with the ultrasound-based FMD Index. To this end, a conventional ultrasound FMD test was carried out whereas PPG and ECG were simultaneously recorded from 20 healthy volunteers (13 M, 7 F) in the age range of 23–32 years. Our results show a significant correlation between our proposed index and ultrasound FMD when using the ECG in conjunction with the PPG (R = 0.77, p < 0.000 01). Using the PPG alone produces a lower correlation (R = 0.72, p < 0.0001). Compared to conventional FMD, the proposed method is low cost and does not require any special operator skills. Hence it may be easily utilized as a screening tool in locations deprived of high-end ultrasound imaging devices.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is applied extensively in industry for joining of nonferrous metals especially aluminum. A three-dimensional model based on finite element analysis was used to study the thermal characteristic of copper C11000 during the FSW process. The model incorporates the mechanical reaction of the tool and thermo-mechanical characteristics of the weld material, while the friction between the material and the probe and the shoulder serves as the heat source. It was observed that the predicted results about the temperature were in good compatibility with the experimental results. Additionally, it was concluded that the numerical method can be simply applied to measuring the temperature of workpiece just beneath the tool. The effects of preheating temperature and pin angle on temperature distribution were also studied numerically. The increase of pin angle enhances the temperature around the weld line, but preheating does not affect temperature distribution along the weld line considerably.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis constitutes a major public health problem in many parts of the world including Iran. The primary objective of this study was to identify Leishmania spe­cies in endemic districts of Kerman Province, south-eastern Iran. Methods: This study was conducted by random sampling as cross- sectional descriptive between 2008 and 2010. Overall, 203 skin scraping smears were taken from the patients. Nested -PCR was performed to amplify variable minicircle fragments of Leishmania kDNA. Results: Bam was the most infected district (71.1%), followed by Kerman (14.7%), Jiroft (5.4%), Baft (2.7%), Sirjan (1.6%), Shahr-e Babak (1.5%) and others (3.0%). L. tropica was the most common species identified (194 cases, 95.6%), while L. major was found in only 9 cases (4.4%). Of 203 identified patients, all species in Bam (l07 cases), Kerman (32 cases), Jiroft (l6 cases) and Shahr-e- Babak (l1 cases) were detected as L. tropica, whereas infected subjects in Baft and Sir­jan showed L. tropica or L. major. Characterization of Leishmania species resulted in generation of 750 bp and 560 bp fragments, corresponding to those of L. tropica and L. major, respectively. Conclusion: L. tropica is the main species (95.6%) caused ACL in endemic areas of Kerman Prov­ince; however L. major is present in low level (4.4%).

Introduction & Objective: The aim of the study was to identify larval habitats and new species and determine the exact distribution of Culicidae in Hamadan Province.Materials & Methods: This descriptive,cross -sectional study was conducted in six regions of Hamadan Province during 2010. Sampling method was carried out by standard Dipping method. Specimens were mounted by lactophenol solution and were sent to Medical Entomology Laboratory, Tehran University of Medical Sciences with related codes. The accurate diagnosis of Culex pipiens was made with male genitalia morphology. The data were analyzed using standard statistical software (SPSS version 11.5). Results: In total, 4751 larvae of the three genera including Anopheles, Culex, Culiseta ,and nine species including An.superpictus, An.maculipennis sl and An.claviger, Cx.pipiens,Cx.theileri, Cx.hortensis and Cx.prexiguuus ,Cu.longiareolata ,and Cu.subochrea in 36 larval habitat sites in the province were collected and identified. Among Culicidae larvae collected, Culex. Pipiens and Culiseta.subochrea with 58%, and 0.4% of samples were the most and the least species collected. Conclusion: Culex pipiens was reported as the dominant species . Based on morphology of male genitalia, only Culex pipiens was identified among the complex species .The species of Anopheles claviger and Culex prexiguus were found for the first time in this area. The molecular analysis and the egg ridge counts of anopheles maculipennis sl must be extensively studied in the future. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2011;18(3):50-58)

Background: Physical activity has shown to prevent type diabetes 2. However, the type, intensity and amount of effective physi­cal activity as well as individuals' needs according to level of their risk for type 2 diabetes have not been clarified comprehen­sively. This study investigated a relation between moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week with de­creased risk of type 2 diabetes among obese and non-obese residents of south of Tehran, Iran."nMethods: This study, which was a part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors Survey in Tehran population Lab region, was de­signed and conducted based on MONICA/WHO project. Totally, 1552 adult inhabitants of 17th district of Tehran were en­rolled in this cross-sectional study. Physical activity was assessed by MONICA Optional Study of Physical Activity question­naire. Diabetes was defined as a history of a prior diagnosis of diabetes or fasting serum glucose ≥126 mg/dl. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS 17 software for Windows."nResults: In a multivariate model, moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with de­creased risk of type 2 diabetes in all and non-obese subjects [OR= 0.56; 95%CI: 0.35-0.91 and OR= 0.50; 95%CI: 0.26-0.94, respectively]. There was no significant relation between the physical activity and type 2 diabetes risk in obese subjects [OR=0.64; 95%CI: 0.30-1.39]."nConclusion: Moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in non-obese people and could be an acceptable exercise goal for these individuals. However, obese people should be investigated more to produce a tailored exercise guideline to this population at high risk of type 2 diabetes. &nbsp

Serotonin-1B receptor (5-HT1BR) agonist treatment induces obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-like behaviors including locomotor stereotypy, prepulse inhibition deficits, and delayed alternation disruptions, which are selectively prevented by clinically effective OCD treatment. However, the role of 5-HT1BRs in modulating other repetitive behaviors or OCD-like patterns of brain activation remains unclear. We assessed the effects of 5-HT1BR agonism on digging, grooming, and open field behaviors in mice. We also quantified effects on neuronal activation in brain regions overactivated in OCD. Finally, we assessed whether effects of the 5-HT1BR challenge could be blocked by clinically effective, but not ineffective, drug treatments. Mice were tested in open field, dig, and splash tests after acute treatment with saline, 1, 3, 5, or 10 mg/kg RU24969 (5-HT1B/1A agonist). Behavioral effects of RU24969 were also tested following co-treatment with vehicle, 1 mg/kg WAY100635 (5-HT1A antagonist) and 5 or 10 mg/kg GR127935 (5HT1B/D antagonist). Separate mice were behaviorally assessed following chronic pretreatment with vehicle with 10 mg/kg fluoxetine or 20 mg/kg desipramine and acute treatment with saline or 10 mg/kg RU24969. Brains were analyzed for Fos expression in the orbitofrontal cortex, the dorsal striatum, and the cerebellum. RU24969 induced robust locomotor stereotypy and decreased rearing, digging, and grooming. Effects were blocked by GR127935 but not by WAY100635. RU24969 also increased Fos expression in the dorsal striatum. Chronic fluoxetine, but not desipramine, alleviated 5-HT1BR-induced effects. We report novel 5-HT1BR-induced behaviors and striatal activation that were alleviated only by clinically effective pharmacological OCD treatment. Studying the mechanisms underlying these effects could provide insight into OCD pathophysiology.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Preterm labor is associated with a high rate of mortality for mother and neonate that may be with or without premature rupture of membrane (PPROM). The goal of this study was to compare the pregnancy outcome in these two conditions, thus with prediction of condition of the mother and neonate to provide necessary care for them to decrease maternal and neonatal complications. METHODS: This descriptive, analytical and cross sectional study was performed on 100 patients with PPROM (group1) and 100 patients without PPROM (group 2) in Yahyanejad hospital in Babol. Apgar score at 1st and 5th minutes, need to neonatal resuscitation and referring neonates to NICU and also the rate of chorioamnionitis and maternal cesarean were compared in two groups.FINDINGS: The apgar score of ≤3 at the 1st and 5th minutes and need to neonatal resuscitation in two groups showed no statistically significant differences (8%, 4% and 29% in group 1 and 7%, 3% and 38% in group 2, respectively) but referring neonates to NICU was significantly different in two groups (45% in group 1 and 60% in group 2) (p

The purpose of this clinical trial is a short course study about effectiveness and side effects of Anethum in combined hyperlipidemic patients. Two hundred and ninety eight older than fifteen years old patients with combined hyperlipidemia (serum total cholesterol >240mg/dl and triglyceride >250mg/dl) were included in this controlled, double blind, randomized clinical trial. Two hundred and three patients (68.1%) completed the two months period of trial. After two weeks of therapeutic lifestyle changes (diet and sports), patients were randomized into five following groups 1. Nicotinic Acid 3g daily 2. Nicotinic Acid 3g daily plus Cholestyramine 12g daily 3. Clofibrate 2g daily 4. Anethum 6 tablets daily and 5. Placebo 3 capsules daily. After two months, there was no significant differences between the changes observed in lipid profile in Anethum and placebo groups. Considering the effect on total cholesterol level, the difference between Anethum group (-5%), the first (-22.1%) and the second group (-17.2%) (P

Background and Objective: Fungal infection of external ear canal is a common and chronic disease that causes some complications. The objective of this study was to survey the fungal infections of external ear canal in Babol during 1999-2000. Methods: This study was done on all patients in different ages with diagnosis of fungal infections of external ear canal. Biopsy was done by otoscope and then examined in mycology laboratory. Direct tests and culture were performed on samples for isolation of colony of fungi. Findings: This study was done on 305 patients (216 were female and 89 were male). The most common fungi were aspergillus (54.8%) and A.Niger (59.9%) especially in women. The percentage of other isolated fungi was low. Conclusion: With regard to high prevalence of otomycosis, it is recommended to consider fungal infection of external ear canal in cases that primary treatment was not useful.

Investigation of the low-temperature specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and resistivity of ${\mathrm{U}}_{2}{\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{Sn}$ for expected paramagnon behavior led instead to the discovery of a non-Fermi-liquid system obeying the Millis/Moriya theory prediction of an electronic specific heat that varies approximately as $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{-}A\sqrt{T}$ over an appreciable temperature range, in this case over the whole temperature range (0.3--10 K) of measurement. The temperature dependence of the low-temperature resistivity, however, follows $\ensuremath{\rho}={\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}{+AT}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}},$ with $\ensuremath{\alpha}(\ensuremath{\approx}1.8)$ lying below that predicted for a Fermi liquid (i.e., $\ensuremath{\alpha}=2)$ but above the $\ensuremath{\rho}={\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}{+AT}^{1.5}$ predicted by the quantum phase transition, weakly interacting spin fluctuation theory of Millis/Moriya. Scaling of the specific heat with field indicates that the electron interactions responsible for the non-Fermi-liquid behavior are not single ion in nature. Several non-Fermi-liquid theories and their possible applicability to these results are discussed, as well as the possible influence of the relatively small U-U spacing in ${\mathrm{U}}_{2}{\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{Sn}$ on the unusual non-Fermi-liquid behavior.

The magnetization of Cl2/Ar etched magnetic multilayer (NiFeCo/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/NiFeCo) structures used in magnetoresistive random access memory elements was measured over a period of ∼6 months. Very stable magnetic properties were achieved, with no evidence of corrosion, provided chlorinated etch residues were removed by postetch cleaning. Several different cleaning procedures, including deionized water rinsing or in situ exposure to H2, O2 or SF6 plasmas were investigated. Some slight degradation in magnetization was observed in O2 plasma treated structures, but the other cleaning procedures produced no change in magnetic properties and excellent long-term stability.

The convergence and complexity of a primal–dual column generation and cutting plane algorithm from approximate analytic centers for solving convex feasibility problems defined by a deep cut separation oracle is studied. The primal–dual–infeasible Newton method is used to generate a primal–dual updating direction. The number of recentering steps is O(1) for cuts as deep as half way to the deepest cut, where the deepest cut is tangent to the primal–dual variant of Dikin's ellipsoid.

Two novel plasma chemistries, BI3and BBr3, have been employed for dry etching of LaCaMnO3thin films. For both mixtures there is some chemical enhancement of etch rates at low halide compositions in the discharge, and the rates are a strong function of ion/neutral ratio. Maximum rates are obtained at ratios near 0.02. Etch yields are typically low (

A cutting plane algorithm for minimizing a convex function subject to constraints defined by a separation oracle is presented. The algorithm is based on approximate analytic centers. The nonlinearity of the objective function is taken into account, yet the feasible region is approximated by a containing polytope. This containing polytope is regularly updated by adding a new cut through a test point. Each test point is an approximate analytic center of the intersection of a containing polytope and a level set of the nonlinear objective function. We establish the complexity of the algorithm. Our complexity estimate is given in terms of the problem dimension, the desired accuracy of an approximate solution, and other parameters that depend on the geometry of a specific instance of the problem.

Etch rates ≥5000 A min 1 were obtained for Cu in electron cyclotron resonance Cl 2 /Ar discharges at a sample temperature of 200°C for ion-neutral ratios ≥ 0.02. The rates are a strong function of ion-neutral ratio, ion flux, and ion energy through the need to have CuCl x desorption rate faster than the CuCl x , generation rate in order to avoid formation of a chlorinated selvedge layer. Postetch, in situ H 2 plasma cleaning removes most of the chlorine residues and allows creation of clean, anistropic Cu features.

This paper describes two interior-point algorithms for solving a class of monotone variational inequalities defined over the intersection of an affine set and a closed convex set. The first algorithm is a long-step path-following method, and the second is an extension of the first, incorporating weights in the gradient of the barrier function. Global convergence of the algorithms is proven under the assumptions of monotonicity and differentiability of the operator.

Familial cardiac myxoma is a rare syndrome which constitutes approximately 10% or less of all myxomas. We describe a rare case of LA and LV mass simultaneously in a 35-year-old female presenting to our hospital for evaluation of recurrent cardiac myxoma. Echocardiography revealed both LA and LV mass. Surgery was done and histological findings confirmed the diagnosis of myxoma.

Bemisia tabaci is one of the most important key pests of many types of cultivated plants. Lacewings (Chrysopidae: Neuroptera) are predatory insects, widely used in biological control programs. Between them green lacewing is a promising biological control agent of pests in green houses and crop fields. In this study, gravid females of the green lacewing Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix) were captured from Sarepolzahab ( altitude 540m, latitude 34 degrees ,14' N 46 degrees, 9' E) in western part of Iran. Collected insects were reared in a growth chamber, under experimental conditions (25 +/- 1 degrees C, 70 +/- 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 L: D). Different diets were offered to larvae which consisted of a whitefly species B. tabaci, an aphid Myzus persica and also lyophilized powder of drone honeybee (Apis melifera). As different foods were used to nurish larvae, so for each diet, mean larval period were calculated, and finally means were compared to each other. Anova in MSTAT-C was used for analysis of variance, and Duncan multiple range test (DMRT) to compare between means. The results showed that larvae had maximum duration of 27 +/- 0.33 days when fed on honeybee lyophilized powder and the minimum value was 17.9 +/- 0.3 days for B. tabaci. 25 +/- 0.27 day recorded for M. persicae. Food preference of the 3rd instar larvae of green lacewing was surveyed, they showed a food preference to M. persicae, to compare with B. tabaci, as the former has a bigger body size, so more easily to be captured by the predator larvae. The 3rd instar larvae of lacewing were more voracious on preys, than the 1st or the 2nd instar larvae. Statistically speaking, there were a significantly difference when mean of different preys consumed by predator larvae were compared. We found, that when the predator larvae have fed on B. tabaci, their development time was shorter, and when arrived to adult stage, the adults showed, an improved fertility. The results indicated that the suitable prey not only can increase the rate of through accelerating developmental stages of the predator and by means of an increase in its pupal body weight consequently promoting the fecundity of resulting adults, but also can alter predators population density in relation to own production numbers.

Purpose: Several therapeutic methods are used in the management of lower pole caliceal calculi. This survey has been conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the management of lower pole calculi.Materials and Methods: Fifty-five patients, 43 males and 12 females with a mean age of 41.5 (range 11 to 75) years, who had suffered from lower pole caliceal calculi and treated by standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) between 1997 and 2001, were enrolled in this study. The stones were classified as follows: small (less than 25 mm), intermediate (25 to 34 mm) and large (more than 35 mm). Mean follow-up was 6.2 months (range 2 weeks to 34 months).Results: The stones were completely extracted by one session PCNL in 43 patients (79%). Repeat PCNL was needed in one patient and another method was used for stone extraction in another patient. Regarding the size of stone, 88%, 79%, and 74% of small, intermediate, and large stones were completely extracted, respectively. No major complication was noted.Conclusion: PCNL has high success rate in patients with stones larger than 2 cm and its morbidity would be low, provided that it is performed by skilled surgeons.

Objective To describe an effective and simple method for repairing complicated vesicovaginal fistula using a free bladder mucosal autograft. Patients and methods The study included 14 patients with an iatrogenic vesicovaginal fistula after hysterectomy or prolonged obstructed labour. An initial fistula repair had been attempted in 12 patients. All patients were then repaired using a free bladder mucosal graft technique 3–24 months (mean 8) after the fistula was diagnosed. Results Of the 14 patients 12 had an immediately successful result, with no evidence of leakage, but two required prolonged catheter drainage. Thirteen patients remained dry at the follow-up 3–15 months later. Two patients had stress urinary incontinence and three patients had urinary tract infection. Conclusions The free bladder mucosal autograft technique is a simple, effective and fast method for vesicovaginal fistula repair. The technique produces an excellent repair of complicated vesicovaginal fistula, and appears to be more physiological and easier to perform than other transabdominal techniques.

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis constitutes a major public health problem in many parts of the world including Iran. The primary objective of this study was to identify Leishmania species in endemic districts of Kerman Province, south-eastern Iran. Methods This study was conducted by random sampling as cross- sectional descriptive between 2008 and 2010. Overall, 203 skin scraping smears were taken from the patients. Nested –PCR was performed to amplify variable minicircle fragments of Leishmania kDNA. Results Bam was the most infected district (71.1%), followed by Kerman (14.7%), Jiroft (5.4%), Baft (2.7%), Sirjan (1.6%), Shahr-e Babak (1.5%) and others (3.0%). L. tropica was the most common species identified (194 cases, 95.6%), while L. major was found in only 9 cases (4.4%). Of 203 identified patients, all species in Bam (l07 cases), Kerman (32 cases), Jiroft (l6 cases) and Shahr-e- Babak (l1 cases) were detected as L. tropica, whereas infected subjects in Baft and Sirjan showed L. tropica or L. major. Characterization of Leishmania species resulted in generation of 750 bp and 560 bp fragments, corresponding to those of L. tropica and L. major, respectively. Conclusion L. tropica is the main species (95.6%) caused ACL in endemic areas of Kerman Province; however L. major is present in low level (4.4%).

We introduce and characterize a class of differentiable convex functions for which the Karush—Kuhn—Tucker condition is necessary for optimality. If some constraints do not belong to this class, then the characterization of optimality generally assumes an asymptotic form. We also show that for the functions that belong to this class in multi-objective optimization, Pareto solutions coincide with strong Pareto solutions,. This extends a result, well known for the linear case.

A technique for characterizing pulsed far-infrared radiation with a demonstrated resolution of approximately 100 fs is used to measure directly Cooper pair breaking in superconducting lead. A 100-fs pulse of visible light is used to excite a thin-film lead sample while the Cooper pair density is optically probed using a pulse of broadband far-infrared radiation. Subsequent to the absorption of the visible pulse, a rapid ( >

Background: Physical activity has shown to prevent type diabetes 2. However, the type, intensity and amount of effective physical activity as well as individuals’ needs according to level of their risk for type 2 diabetes have not been clarified comprehensively. This study investigated a relation between moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes among obese and non-obese residents of south of Tehran, Iran. Methods: This study, which was a part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors Survey in Tehran population Lab region, was designed and conducted based on MONICA/WHO project. Totally, 1552 adult inhabitants of 17th district of Tehran were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Physical activity was assessed by MONICA Optional Study of Physical Activity questionnaire. Diabetes was defined as a history of a prior diagnosis of diabetes or fasting serum glucose ≥126 mg/dl. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS 17 software for Windows Results: In a multivariate model, moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in all and non-obese subjects [OR= 0.56; 95%CI: 0.35–0.91 and OR= 0.50; 95%CI: 0.26–0.94, respectively]. There was no significant relation between the physical activity and type 2 diabetes risk in obese subjects [OR=0.64; 95%CI: 0.30–1.39]. Conclusion: Moderate aerobic physical activity ≥150 minuets/week was significantly associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in non-obese people and could be an acceptable exercise goal for these individuals. However, obese people should be investigated more to produce a tailored exercise guideline to this population at high risk of type 2 diabetes.

We report on a direct kinetic measurement of Cooper-pair breaking in superconducting lead. A 100-fs pulse of visible light was used to excite a thin-film lead sample, while the Cooper-pair density was optically probed using an ultrashort pulse of broadband far-infrared radiation. Subsequent to the absorption of the visible light, a rapid (1 ps) change in the far-infrared optical transmission was observed, corresponding to the breaking of Cooper pairs and the collapse of the superconducting gap.