Effect of light intensity and photoperiod on growth rate and biomass of Chlorella vulgaris

This study provides information on the effect of three light intensities (37.5, 62.5 and 100L/mol photons.m^- 2 s^-1) and photoperiods (light:dark) cycle 8:16, 12:12 and 16:8h on growth rate, duplication time and biomass production in microalga Chiarella vulgaris. Stock of C. vulgaris was separated from water samples taken at Anzali Wetland, purified and cultured in l000ml Erlenmeyer at constant temperature 25±0.5°C, using Zehnder medium. Cell count was conducted daily and biomass was measured at the exponential growth phase in different treatments. Analysis of variance indicated significant difference (P<0.05) among light regimes. The maximum growth rate 1.13d^-1 was observed at 100L/mol photons.m^- 2 s^-1 and 16:8h light duration and also the minimum duplication time 0.61d^- 1 occurred at this treatment. The maximum biomass 2.05gr^-1 was recorded at 62.5L/mol photons.m^ -2 s^-1 and 8:16h light period

A review on data stream classification

At this present time, the significance of data streams cannot be denied as many researchers have placed their focus on the research areas of databases, statistics, and computer science. In fact, data streams refer to some data points sequences that are found in order with the potential to be non-binding, which is generated from the process of generating information in a manner that is not stationary. As such the typical tasks of searching data have been linked to streams of data that are inclusive of clustering, classification, and repeated mining of pattern. This paper presents several data stream clustering approaches, which are based on density, besides attempting to comprehend the function of the related algorithms; both semi-supervised and active learning, along with reviews of a number of recent studies

Isolation of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic actinomycetes from park soils in Gorgan, North of Iran

Background: Keratinophilic fungi are a group of fungi that colonize in various keratinous substrates and degrade them to the components with low molecular weight. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic Actinomycetes in soil of city parks in Gorgan. Objectives: In this study, we surveyed the city park soils of Gorgan (a northern province of Iran) to determine the identities and diversity of soil aerobic Actinomycetes, keratinophilic and non-keratinophilic fungi. Materials and Methods: A total of 244 soil samples were collected from 22 diferent parks of Gorgan, North of Iran. The samples were collected from the superfcial layer with depth not exceeding than 0-10 cm in sterile polyethylene bags. We used hair bait technique for isolation keratinophilic fungi. The colonies identifed by macroscopic and microscopic characterization after slide culturing. Actinomycetes were isolated by antibiotic dilution methods and detected by using physiological tests such as Lysozyme, Casein, Xanthine, Hypoxanthine, Gelatin, Urea Broth, and modifed acid-fast stain. Results: Totally, 75 isolates of aerobic Actinomycetes were detected that Actinomadura madurae and Nocardia asteroides were the most prevalent strains, with 14.66 and 28% prevalence respectively. Microsporum gypseum was more frequent than other keratinophilic fungi (22.96%) and Aspergillus spp. was the most species of saprophyte fungi (15.92%). Conclusions: This study showed that the collected soil from studied areas was rich of keratinophilic fungi and Actinomycetes, therefore hygiene protocol should be taken to prevent the spread of pathogenic and saprophytes fungi in the environment of susceptible person. © 2013, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences

The Use of Mind Map Technique in Improving Students' Descriptive Paragraph Writing

The objective of this research is to know how mind map technique helps students in writing descriptive paragraph through teaching learning process to eighth grade students of SMP Koperasi Pontianak in academic year 2013/2014. The research form is classroom action research that conducted in two cycles consist of two meetings and one meeting. The subject of the research is eighth grade students numbering 36 students. The finding of the research shows there is increase in students' writing using mind map techniques. The increase was encouraged by teacher's effort in identifying the main problem in students' writing and then finding the solution. The process of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting helps the teacher to evaluate the activities and plan the next action for a better result. The teacher found that it was better to use topic that is familiar to students and to model the process before encouraging them to start to use the technique for themselves

Effect of foot reflexology on fatigue in patients undergoing hemodialysis: A sham-controlled randomized trial

Background and purpose: Fatigue is a common symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Reflexology is a nursing intervention that could reduce fatigue. This study aimed at determining the effects of foot reflexology on fatigue in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Materials and methods: A clinical trial with before and after design was conducted in hemodialysis patients attending Imam-Ali and Iran-mehr clinic in Bojnurd, 2013. Using randomized sampling 78 patients were allocated into three groups: intervention, placebo, and control group. The patients in intervention group received foot reflexology, and simple foot reflexology without pressing certain parts of the foot was done in placebo group. The patients in control group received only routine care. Piper Fatigue Scale was used to measure fatigue level before and after the intervention. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and Paired t-test. Results: The results showed a significant difference between fatigue scores in intervention and control groups before and after the intervention (P<0.001). After the foot reflexology, the fatigue score in intervention group reduced to 3.8±1.27 (vs. 4.34±1.35 before the intervention), while the fatigue score in control group increased to 5.19±0.87 (vs. 4.91±1.04 before the intervention) (P<0.05). The placebo group showed no significant difference before and after the intervention (P=0.9). Conclusion: Reflexology can be used as a nursing intervention in reducing fatigue among patients undergoing hemodialysis. © 2016, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Temporal Quantum Control with Graphene

We introduce a novel strategy for controlling the temporal evolution of a quantum system at the nanoscale. Our method relies on the use of graphene plasmons, which can be electrically tuned in frequency by external gates. Quantum emitters (e.g., quantum dots) placed in the vicinity of a graphene nanostructure are subject to the strong interaction with the plasmons of this material, thus undergoing time variations in their mutual interaction and quantum evolution that are dictated by the externally applied gating voltages. This scheme opens a new path towards the realization of quantum-optics devices in the robust solid-state environment of graphene.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

A focused ultrasound treatment system for moving targets (part I):generic system design and in-silico first-stage evaluation

Background Focused ultrasound (FUS) is entering clinical routine as a treatment option. Currently, no clinically available FUS treatment system features automated respiratory motion compensation. The required quality standards make developing such a system challenging. Methods A novel FUS treatment system with motion compensation is described, developed with the goal of clinical use. The system comprises a clinically available MR device and FUS transducer system. The controller is very generic and could use any suitable MR or FUS device. MR image sequences (echo planar imaging) are acquired for both motion observation and thermometry. Based on anatomical feature tracking, motion predictions are estimated to compensate for processing delays. FUS control parameters are computed repeatedly and sent to the hardware to steer the focus to the (estimated) target position. All involved calculations produce individually known errors, yet their impact on therapy outcome is unclear. This is solved by defining an intuitive quality measure that compares the achieved temperature to the static scenario, resulting in an overall efficiency with respect to temperature rise. To allow for extensive testing of the system over wide ranges of parameters and algorithmic choices, we replace the actual MR and FUS devices by a virtual system. It emulates the hardware and, using numerical simulations of FUS during motion, predicts the local temperature rise in the tissue resulting from the controls it receives. Results With a clinically available monitoring image rate of 6.67 Hz and 20 FUS control updates per second, normal respiratory motion is estimated to be compensable with an estimated efficiency of 80%. This reduces to about 70% for motion scaled by 1.5. Extensive testing (6347 simulated sonications) over wide ranges of parameters shows that the main source of error is the temporal motion prediction. A history-based motion prediction method performs better than a simple linear extrapolator. Conclusions The estimated efficiency of the new treatment system is already suited for clinical applications. The simulation-based in-silico testing as a first-stage validation reduces the efforts of real-world testing. Due to the extensible modular design, the described approach might lead to faster translations from research to clinical practice

Realisation of a programmable two-qubit quantum processor

The universal quantum computer is a device capable of simulating any physical system and represents a major goal for the field of quantum information science. Algorithms performed on such a device are predicted to offer significant gains for some important computational tasks. In the context of quantum information, "universal" refers to the ability to perform arbitrary unitary transformations in the system's computational space. The combination of arbitrary single-quantum-bit (qubit) gates with an entangling two-qubit gate is a gate set capable of achieving universal control of any number of qubits, provided that these gates can be performed repeatedly and between arbitrary pairs of qubits. Although gate sets have been demonstrated in several technologies, they have as yet been tailored toward specific tasks, forming a small subset of all unitary operators. Here we demonstrate a programmable quantum processor that realises arbitrary unitary transformations on two qubits, which are stored in trapped atomic ions. Using quantum state and process tomography, we characterise the fidelity of our implementation for 160 randomly chosen operations. This universal control is equivalent to simulating any pairwise interaction between spin-1/2 systems. A programmable multi-qubit register could form a core component of a large-scale quantum processor, and the methods used here are suitable for such a device.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Iranome: A catalogue of genomic variations in the Iranian population

Considering the application of human genome variation databases in precision medicine, population-specific genome projects are continuously being developed. However, the Middle Eastern population is underrepresented in current databases. Accordingly, we established Iranome database (www.iranome.com) by performing whole exome sequencing on 800 individuals from eight major Iranian ethnic groups representing the second largest population of Middle East. We identified 1,575,702 variants of which 308,311 were novel (19.6%). Also, by presenting higher frequency for 37,384 novel or known rare variants, Iranome database can improve the power of molecular diagnosis. Moreover, attainable clinical information makes this database a good resource for classifying pathogenicity of rare variants. Principal components analysis indicated that, apart from Iranian-Baluchs, Iranian-Turkmen, and Iranian-Persian Gulf Islanders, who form their own clusters, rest of the population were genetically linked, forming a super-population. Furthermore, only 0.6% of novel variants showed counterparts in "Greater Middle East Variome Project", emphasizing the value of Iranome at national level by releasing a comprehensive catalog of Iranian genomic variations and also filling another gap in the catalog of human genome variations at international level. We introduce Iranome as a resource which may also be applicable in other countries located in neighboring regions historically called Greater Iran (Persia)

Epidemiological Study of Poisoning in Patients Referring Educational and Clinical Center of Ayatollah Kashani Hospital, Shahrekord (West of Iran) throughout 2008-2014

Background: Appropriate and early diagnosis and treatment of poisoning could be vital. Awareness of general pattern of poisoning in any geographical regions could be helpful in this regard. According to the lack of information and not being specified the epidemiologic forms of poisoning in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province (west of Iran), this study was carried out to determine the epidemiologic status of poisoning.Methods: In this routine data base study, available data were used in medical records of 394 patients with poisoning diagnosis throughout 2008-2014 at Ayatollah Kashani Hospital (only recipient hospital of poisoning in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province), which affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. Association between the studies was variable and also reasons for poisoning was investigated by chi-square, analysis of variance, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation in stata software.Results: Of 395 patients with poisoning, 207 (52.5%) were female and the rest were male. For the years under study, the highest poisoning ratio (20.26%) was seen in 2010 and the lowest (3%) in 2014. Mean age of all, male and female patients was 27.6 , 29.8, and 25.6 years, respectively, with a significant difference between male and female patients (P&lt;0.05).The mean and standard deviation of duration of hospitalization in respiratory patients was 3.2±4.2, injection 3±3.8, oral 2.5±3, others 2±1.2, and bite was 2 days (P&gt;0.05).The highest poisoning ratio (62%) was obtained for oral poisonings and the lowest (0.5%) was due to beating. For marital status, the highest poisoning ratio was obtained in the single individuals and the lowest in the divorced (P&lt;0.05). Of 395 patients, 358 (90.6%) survived and the rest died. The highest mortality (17 deaths) was due to oral poisoning.Conclusion: Poisoning occurs often in young people and has a high load in this group. Trend of poisoning in this province is steadily diminishing. Epidemiological, regional data helps to use the sources appropriately to prevent and control poisoning. Further, analysis of the effective factors could contribute to decreasing poisoning incidence by planners and policymakers