By-catch of sturgeon juveniles in beach seine fishing method in Mazandaran Province, northeast Iran

In an attempt to recognize the harmful fishing times and locations for sturgeons, we used catch statistic to evaluate by-catch of sturgeon juveniles during beach seine fishing over the years 2001-2002 in Mazandaran Province. We found that over the fishing period, 23760 hauls were conducted during which 103000 sturgeons were caught. The highest by-catch occurred in October (37% of the catch) and the lowest occurred in January (5% of the catch). The maximum sturgeon catch per haul was 14.2 in autumn decreasing through the year with 1.26 sturgeon fish caught in each haul in spring. The species composition of the by-catch sturgeon juveniles was determined to be Persian sturgeon (54%), Stellatus sturgeon (37%), Beluga (6%), Russian sturgeon (2%) and Spiny sturgeon (1%)

Stock assessment of Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1754) in the south Caspian Sea

We evaluated the stocks of Huso huso in the south Caspian Sea along Iranian coasts using data on different population parameters such as length, age, weight, catch and catch per unit effort changes. The study covered data from 1971 to 2003. The stocks and catch rate of H. huso shows a decrease during the last three decades. The recorded catch for the years 1971-1972 was 74 tons with 5.55kg catch per unit effort which was decreased to 38 tons with 0.26 kg per unit effort in 2003 in gillnet fishery and the same trend was observed in beach seine fishing. The data shows that during 1990 to 2003, the average length of the fish has increased from 192.8 to 216.2 centimeters and the average weight has improved from 73 kg to 116.3 kg. Age frequency comparison between the catch of the years 1990 and 2003 showed that with time, older age classes replaced the younger ones, hence the increase in the length and weight of the fish. Due to the decrease in the younger fish and the increase in illegal fishing, it is anticipated that the fish stocks will suffer a decrease in future

The response of tinea capitis to treatment with a two-week oral terbinafine

زمینه و هدف: درماتوفیتوز سر عبارت‌ است‌ از عفونت‌ قارچی‌ پوست‌ سر که‌ در اثر تهاجم‌ درماتوفیت‌ها به‌ ساقه‌ مو ایجاد می شود. از میان‌ درماتوفیت‌های‌ پاتوژن‌ فقط انواع‌ میکروسپوروم‌ و ترایکوفایتون‌ باعث‌آلوده‌ شدن‌ موها می شوند. یکی‌ از داروهای‌ مصرفی‌ برای‌ درمان‌ عفونت های‌ قارچی‌، تربینافین‌ می‌باشد که‌ تداخلات واضح با سایر داروها و مصرف غذا ندارد و بسته‌ به‌ حساسیت‌ گونه‌ قارچ‌ و شدت‌ عفونت‌ طول‌ درمان‌ با آن‌ 2 تا 6 هفته‌ پیشنهاد شده‌ است‌. ولی ‌بهترین‌ دوره‌ درمانی‌ مشخص‌ نشده‌ است‌. لذا این مطالعه با هدف تعیین‌ پاسخ‌ عفونت های قارچی سر به درمان‌ 2 هفته‌ای‌ تربینافین‌خوراکی‌‌ انجام‌ گرفت‌. روش ‌بررسی: در‌ یک مطالعه کارآزمایی‌ بالینی‌ روی 29 بیمار با تشخیص‌ بالینی‌ ابتلا به‌ عفونت‌ قارچی‌ سر، آزمایش‌ مستقیم‌ با محلول پتاس‌ 10 و کشت‌ روی‌ محیط سابورو و دکستروز آگار به عمل‌ آمد. سپس‌ این‌ بیماران‌ تحت‌ درمان‌ دو هفته‌ای‌ با تربینافین‌ خوراکی قرار گرفتند و در سه نوبت (قبل از درمان، بعد از درمان و ده هفته بعد از شروع درمان) تحت معاینه و آزمایشات تشخیصی قرار گرفتند. داده‌ها با استفاده‌ از آزمون‌ دقیق‌ فیشرتجزیه و تحلیل‌ شدند. یافته ها‌: ارگانیسم‌های‌ مولد عفونت‌ در 9 مورد میکروسپوروم‌ و 20 مورد ترایکوفایتون‌ بودند. بعد از دو هفته درمان و گذشت ده هفته از شروع درمان، در آزمایش‌ مستقیم‌ از نمونه‌ بالینی‌ 29 بیمار مراجعه‌ کننده‌ 7 مورد اکتوتریکس‌ یافت ‌شد و بقیه‌ موارد منفی‌ بودند. نتایج به دست آمده از کشت نمونه ها همه 20 مورد بیمار مبتلا به گونه ترایکوفایتون درمان شدند در حالی که 100 میکروسپوروم ها (9 مورد) به درمان جواب نداده و درمان نشدند. نتیجه‌گیری‌: جهت‌ درمان‌ بیماران‌ مبتلا به‌ درماتوفیتوز‌ سر در گونه‌های‌ ترایکوفایتون‌ می‌توان از تربینافین ‌خوراکی‌ به مدت 2 هفته استفاده‌ کرد. ولی این رژیم درمانی برای میکروسپوروم ها مؤثر نیست

Happiness and health: Potential related factors

As a temporary emotional situation and a relatively stable state of being happy (subjective happiness level), happiness can be considered. In fact, people with high subjective happiness level think more positively than others. There are many factors with potential positive or negative effects on happiness such as: the (dark and milky) chocolate, Yoga, outdoor group walks in the natural environments, personality, social exclusion, negative emotional feelings, normative and subjective oral health status, socioeconomic factors, leisure time program, training like skills for coping with stress, increasing marriage satisfaction, improving economic status, and religion. Due to different related factors affecting on each person, it is not an easy task to clarify the methods of raising happiness in the communities . Each part of the world has its own culture and traditions, resulting in the fact that there is no identical way to make happier people. It is recommended to have several studies on happiness worldwide to investigate the specific policy for each region

Determination of sex and maturity in Acipenser stellatus by using ultrasonography

Knowledge of both sex and maturity stage without killing fish is important from many aspects. The establishment of accurate sex and maturity determination without external sexual dimorphism or when external characters are not developed has usually involved the use of either hormone radioimmunoassay or biopsy techniques. These methods are time and labor consuming as well as harmful to fish. Therefore, it would be economically important for caviar producing countries to develop accurate, effective and non-invasive method for determination of sex and maturity in sturgeons. Ultrasonography examination was performed to determine sex and differences between matured and immatured Acipenser stellatus. The 249 captured stellate sturgeons larger than 95 cm in length were examined with a linear transducer. Sex determination was carried out based on the differences in echogenicity and morphology of the ovaries and testes. Results of ultrasonography were confirmed at necropsy: 199 fish were female (63 matured and 136 immatured) and 50 were male (29 matured and 21 immatured). Ultrasonographic examination resulted in sex determination with 97.2% accuracy. Gonads of immature males may be difficult to discern. The speed of examination was around 30 seconds or less per fish depending on the stage of maturation of fish

Comparative study on the antifungal activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Iranian Propolis and <em>Royal jelly </em>against <em>Rhizopus oryzae </em>

Introduction: Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection. Rhizopus oryzae is major cause of mucormycosis in humans. This disease is the most common form of the acute fungal infection with rapid progress. Iranian Propolis extract and Royal jelly are honey bee products which have been used by human over the past centuries in traditional medicine. In this study the effects of Iranian Propolis and Royal jelly were investigated against Rhizopus oryzae and Candida albicans. Methods: The used method in this study was microdilution. To perform it, the prepared dilutions of Royal jelly and alcoholic extract of Iranian Propolis were added to tubes containing Sabouraud dextrose broth culture media except to control group and then Rhizopus oryzae suspension was added to all microtubes. In the next stage, microtubes were maintained in incubator at 25oC for 48 hours and then 10 ml of the content of each microtube was transferred to Sabouraud dextrose agar media. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the agents were calculated. Results: In this study, the MIC and MFC of Iranian Propolis alcoholic extract on Rhizopus oryzae were respectively 0.1 and 0.25 mg/ml and the MFC of Royal jelly on Rhizopus oryzae were respectively 100 &plusmn; 34 and 133 &plusmn; 46 mg/ml. Conclusion: The results indicate that Propolis might be used as an ideal combination for the treatment of fungal infections like Rhizopus oryzae. However, clinical studies are needed to confirm the effects of these drugs.</p

Digestive system anatomy of the Acipenser persicus: New features

Sturgeon is one of the most important species of the Caspian Sea aquatics. Unfortunately, this species faces the threat of extinction today. This makes specific studies on any type of sturgeons more important than before. Studies like histological studies, radiology, and sonography, all require a complete understanding of the anatomy of this fish. Since pilot studies showed some misconceptions in description of the sturgeon digestive system, this study was conducted to evaluate more precise anatomical structure of the digestive system of Acipenser persicus as the most important sturgeon species of Iran. A total of 40 adult Acipenser persicus were used in this experiment. They were autopsied primary to the study. All parts of the digestive system from buccal cavity toward rectum and anal orifice were evaluated. The anatomical structure and relations of the different parts of the digestive system including oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, glandular stomach, muscular stomach, pyloric process, small intestine, spiral intestine, rectum, liver and pancreas were described. The digestive tube is relatively short. The stomach has two parts. The first part, or the proventricle, is U-shaped. The second part or gizzard has thick muscles and is almost surrounded with liver lobes. Pyloric caecum is located on the left side bottom of the gizzard as a sponge like structure. The intestines are made of 3 parts: the small intestine, the spiral colon, and the rectum. The small intestine has two flexures that separate it to three parts named the descending, ascending, and the end part, respectively. The spiral colon is the longest part of the digestive tube. This part has mucosal spiral septum on the inner surface. The rectum is short and located in the middle of the abdominal cavity. However, in the present study the opening was shown to be located in the muscular stomach and the intestine junction, just close to the gall bladder duct opening

Prevalence of fungi in patients with allergic rhinitis in Shahrekord, Iran (2009)

Background and Objective: The identification of fungi agents causes allergic rhinitis is crucial for the appropriate diagnosis prophylaxis and treatment of patients suffering from the disease. This study was done to evaluate the prevalence of fungi in patients with allergic rhinitis in Shahrekord, Iran. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was done on 124 patients whom referred to Kashani hospital in Shahrekord, Iran during 2009. 62 patients with allergic rhinitis were selected as case group and 62 patients without allergic rhinitis were considered as controls. Direct smear and culture of nasal secretion were performed to identify the fungi. Also IgE level's were measured for all participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16, Chi-Square and independent t-tests. Results: The fungi from culture medium of nose exeretion were isolated from 15 (24%) cases and 5 persons (8%) in control group. The most common isolated fungi were Aspergillus (8%) and Penicillinum (6.5%). In direct smear the fungi agent were found in 23% and 8% in case and control groups respectively. The IgE titre in 31% of cases with allergic rhinitis was higher than 100 IU/mL, but this titre of IgE only was seen in 4.8% of control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the fungi can be considered as induce of allergic rhinitis

Antifungal effects of Allium ascalonicum, Marticaria chamomilla and Stachys lavandulifolia extracts on Candida albicans

Introduction: Due to increased risk for opportunistic fungal infections and increasing prevalence of hospital infections caused by pathogenic yeasts and fungus resistance to antifungal drugs, discovery of antifungal compounds with high efficiency is necessary. This study was aimed to evaluate and compare the antifungal activities of Allium ascalonicum, Marticaria chamomilla and Stachys lavandulifolia on Candida albians. Methods: In this study the plants extracts were prepared with macerated method using ethanol 70. Antifungal activities of the extracts were performed according to microbroth dilution method in 96 well microdilution plates. The amount of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) based on counting the number of fungal colonies (CFU) were evaluated for each of Allium ascalonicum, Chamomile and Stachys lavandulifolia extracts compared with the control group. Results: MIC of Allium ascalonicum, Marticaria chamomilla and Stachys lavandulifolia were respectively 0.31, 3.75 and 15.13 mg/ml and also MIC50 of Allium ascalonicum, Marticaria chamomilla and Stachys lavandulifolia were respectively 0.93, 10.59 and 41.32 mg/ml and MIC 90 of them were respectively 8.65, 16.88 and 60.55 mg/ml and their MFC were respectively 20, 20 and 65 mg/ml. Conclusion: The results indicate that all three extracts are effective, but Allium ascalonicum possesses the highest antifungal activity on Candida albicans. If clinical trials approve these findings, this plant may represent a new source of antifungal agent for control of Candida albicans.</p