Interactive effects of zinc and boron on growth,photosynthesis, and water relations in pistachio

The effects of zinc (Zn) and boron (B) on some physiological and biochemical characteristics of pistachio (Pistacia vera L. cv. Badami) seedlings were evaluated in a greenhouse study. It was found that both high levels (10 and 20 mg B kg^?1 soil) and also lack of B account for the reduction in growth and photosynthesis parameters, especially at low Zn levels. Moreover, Zn deficiency resulted in a reduction in the net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance. However, the adverse effects of B deficiency and toxicity were alleviated by increasing Zn levels up to 10 mg kg^?1 soil. In addition, provided that B and Zn are adequate, synergism can be observed between the two nutrients. This is because sufficient amounts B accelerated the effects of Zn by raising the plant dry weight, photosynthesis parameters, carbonic anhydrase activity, and chlorophyll contents. This increase was reported higher in comparison with Zn alone application. It was concluded that Zn may act as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for mitigating the injury on biomembranes under B stress. Adequate concentration of Zn also prevents uptake and accumulation of excess B in leaf by increasing membrane integrity of root cells. Similarly, B application in adequate concentration plays an important structural role in the cell wall and influences a great variety of physiological processes in pistachio seedlings.     

Effects of short-term oral administration of propranolol on tear secretion in clinically normal dogs

This study evaluated the effects of short-term oral administration of propranolol on tear secretion in 15 clinically normal crossbreed dogs. The treatment group (n = 8) received propranolol (2 mg/kg q8h) orally for 7 days. The control group (n = 7) received placebo during the study. Schirmer I tear tests were performed on both eyes 1 d prior to drug administration (T(0)), at 1 (T(1)), 3 (T(3)), and 7 (T(7)) days of treatment. Tear production in dogs, measured by STT, was not significantly reduced in both groups.     

An evaluation and comparison of drip and conventional furrow irrigation methods on maize

A field study was conducted over two years on maize at Islam Abad Research Station at 34°7′42′′N and 46°27′23′′E and elevation of 1348 m a.s.l in Kermanshah Province, western Iran in order to compare the effects of different irrigation methods and treatments on irrigation water use efficiency, crop yield, yield response factor, pan and seasonal crop coefficients, and other maize parameters. The experiment was a complete randomized block design with three replicates. During the study, irrigation water was applied at 40, 60, 80 and 100% of the maize seasonal water requirement for different surface drip tape (SDT) treatments, and 100% only for conventional furrow irrigation treatments with and without soil and water monitoring. The results showed that by using the above-mentioned different drip tape and surface treatments with soil and water monitoring, maize seasonal irrigation water use savings of 81, 71, 61, 52 and 36% were achieved compared with local conventional furrow irrigation without any soil, water and root monitoring, respectively. The yield response factor (K _y), seasonal crop (K _c) and pan coefficient (K _p) for maize were 0.80, 0.76 and 0.97, respectively.     

Comparison study of therapeutic results of closed tibial shaft fracture with intramedullary nails inserted with and without reaming

Tibia fractures are the most common type of long bone fractures in US. This study aimed at comparing the therapeutic results of closed tibial shaft fracture with intramedullary nails inserted with and without reaming. In this randomized clinical trial study, 60 patients with a fracture of the tibia were examined. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Thirty patients treated through inserting intramedullary nail with reaming technique (group A). The other 30 patients treated through inserting intramedullary nail without reaming technique (group B). After operation physical examination and control radiography were taken up to 6 month and results were compared. Sixty patients suffering from closed tibial diaphysis fractures were studied. Mean age of the group A and B were 40.24 +/- 12.32 and 38.42 +/- 14.28, respectively. Group A consisted of 24 (80%) males and 6 (20%) females while group B consisted of 24% females and 76% males. Considering fracture based on OTA criteria (p = 0.4) and severity of soft tissue damage based on Tscherne classification (p = 0.6), there was no statistically meaningful difference between groups A and B. The study demonstrated that degree of horizontal displacement, mean time of surgery, post-operation infection, organ shortness at the end of the follow-up period, organ deviation in patients of the group A was significantly more than that of the group B. Time required for callus formation (mean time of union), mean time of full weight bearing time and mean time of return to normal activities in group B was significantly more than that of the group A.     

A domain-specific language framework for farm management information systems in precision agriculture

Precision Agriculture - Farm management information system (FMIS) is an important element of precision agriculture to support the decision making process in the agricultural business. Developing...     

Role of nitric oxide on the generation of atretic follicles in the rat ovaries

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Nitric Oxide (NO) in the atresia of ovarian follicles in an animal model. Twenty adult, female rats (90 days old with body weights of210 +/- 10 g in the beginning of the experiments) were divided into 4 groups of 5 each. They were treated twice daily from the subcutaneous route for 21 successive days with either of the following chemicals: nitroglycerine, L-arginine, L-NAME, or saline. On day 22, all animals were sacrificed. Ovaries were dissected out free of connected tissue and were fixed in formaline 10%. Later, paraffine blocks were prepared and serial sections were made by means of H and E routine staining method. Intact and atretic follicles were counted separately. In addition, damages were analyzed qualitatively from the points of view of appearance and morphologic changes. In the evaluation of ovarian follicular structures, different types of healthy as well as atretic follicles were observed. In most of atretic follicles, the oocytes were abnormally elongated and increnation of their outlines were obvious. There were numerous macrophages around and inside of the atretic follicles. Our investigation regarding the distribution of atretic follicles in the ovaries of test groups revealed that atretic follicles in the L-NAME treated group were increased in comparison to the control group. Conversely, however, in the arginine-treated group, the atretic follicles were reduced compared to the control animals. Treatment with nitroglycerine of the rats decreased the number of atretic follicles significantly (p < 0.05) in comparison to the control group. In conclusion, enhanced NO, either from endogenous or exogenous origins, prevents atresia phenomenon, while inhibition of NO exerts an opposite effect.     

Cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) sperm: effects of cryoprotectants,antioxidant, membrane stabilizer,equilibration time and dilution ratio on sperm motility and fertility

Three experiments were performed to develop protocols for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus, sperm. In the first experiment, sperm from six males was individually split in three subsamples and cryopreserved using Modified Tsvetkova's extender (mT) supplemented with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), glycerol (Gly) and ethylene glycol (EG) at concentration of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. In the second set of experiments, the effects of six equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min) and dilution ratios (volume sperm: volume extender 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:10) and the additive advantage of bovine serum albumin (BSA; 0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg mL^?1) and ascorbic acid (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 U mL^?1), on the post‐thaw survival of sperm (triplicate set of six fish) were evaluated. Then, sperm was diluted in 1:1 mT extender with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA with selected cryoprotectants (15% MeOH and 10% DMSO) for 5 min. After a month of storage in liquid nitrogen, post‐thawed sperm motility; fertilization and hatching rate and viability of derived larvae were measured (Exp.3). Evaluation of cryoprotectants efficiency showed that MeOH 15% and DMSO 10% were suitable for cryopreservation of Persian sturgeon sperm. Gly and EG resulted in very low post‐thaw motility rates even at lowest concentration. No significant difference was observed among the four different equilibration times (0, 5, 10, 20 min) (P > 0.05) although higher equilibration times than 20 min resulted low post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05). The motility of frozen–thawed sperm did not significantly change when dilution ratio was increased from 1:0.5 to 1:3 (P > 0.05). However, higher dilution ratios (1:5 and 1:10) reduced the percentage of motile sperm. Supplementation of the cryoprotectant solution with 10 mg mL^?1 BSA significantly improved post‐thaw motility (P < 0.05), but ascorbic acid did not improve post‐thaw motility (P > 0.05). The results of experiment 3 showed that the highest fertilization (30.2 ± 5.75) and hatching rates (28.2 ± 5.25) were observed when samples were frozen with 15% MeOH (P > 0.05). Our study indicates that the use of mT extender consisting of 10 mg mL^?1 BSA in 15% MeOH diluted with sperm at 1:1 ratio for 5 min can be recommended cryopreservation method for Persian sturgeon sperm.     

Effects of different carbon sources and dietary protein levels in a biofloc system on growth performance,immune response against white spot syndrome virus infection and cathepsin L gene expression of Litopenaeus vannamei

A 5‐week study was performed to evaluate the effect of spoilage date extract (SDE) as the biofloc carbon source on Litopenaeus vannamei (5.4 ± 0.3 g) performance. The two levels of dietary protein (15% and 25% crude protein) and two carbohydrate sources (molasses‐M and SDE‐P) were tested including: M15, M25, P15 and P25. The minimum (0.2 ± 0.0 mg/L) and the maximum (0.5 ± 0.0 mg/L) of total ammonia nitrogen were observed in the P15 and M25 groups respectively. The highest protein efficiency ratio (6.1 ± 0.3) and protein productive value (112.3 ± 5.8%) were found in the P15 group (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found between biofloc treatments in the expression of cathepsin L gene in hepatopancreas (p > 0.05). The number of total haemocyte count (THC), semigranular cells (SGC) and granular cells (GC) of shrimp in SDE‐based biofloc treatments was relatively higher than those in molasses‐based biofloc treatments. Following the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenge, a significant decrease in THC, SGC, GC and hyaline cell values was observed in all treatments (p = 0.001). Plasma biochemical parameters were significantly influenced by dietary protein levels, biofloc carbon sources as well as WSSV challenge test. In conclusion, SDE successfully could be used as an alternative carbon source for establishing a biofloc system in L. vannamei production.     

Effects of grazing on natural regeneration of tree and herb species of Kheyroud forest in northern Iran

We investigated the effects of grazing on natural regeneration, quantity, and diversity of woody species and dominant herb species in Kheyroud forest in northern Iran. We sampled vegetation in 5m2 plots in custom units, which are demarcated resource areas traditionally used by local livestock producers. The authors quantified number of species, height of seedlings, and diameter of seedlings. Height classes were 0-30 cm, 30-130 cm, and >130 cm, and diameter classes were 0-2.5 cm, 2.5-5 cm and 5-7.5 cm. The density of seedlings declined with distance from corral until reaching the custom unit boundary. Most seedlings had diameters of 0-2.5 cm and heights of 0-30 cm. Predominant species, Carpinus betulus and Acer capadocicum, were in plots near the centers of custom units, Fagus orientalis, Acer velutinum, Quercus castanifolia species were dominant in plots near the custom unit boundary. Plant species such as Oplismenus undulatifolius, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Rubus fruticos and Pteridium aquilinum were dominant in plots nearer to forest corral. Healthy seedlings were more numerous in plots nearest the corral, while defective and deformed seedlings were more abundant away from the corral. We conclude that grazing had negative effects on the quantity and quality of vegetative regeneration. Continuation of overgrazing will not only endanger the sustainability of forest ecosystems, but also will increase the challenge of sustainable forest management.