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Droop control is the conventional way to share the demand power among the generators in a microgrid. Analyzing this control method shows that it has poor performance in reactive power sharing. Generated reactive power of each microsource depends on the active load demand. In this paper, a control method is proposed to improve the reactive power sharing performance. It is indicated that higher reactive power droop gains make the generated reactive power to be less influenced from the changes in active load. However, high droop gains can lead the system to instability. Hence considering eigenvalue analysis of the microgrid, a new auxiliary controller is proposed to damp the oscillations caused by high droop gains. In the new method, there is not the need for monitoring the grid impedance to tune the controllers. To verify the proposed method, load step is applied to a test microgrid and the results are shown. In the new method, total generated reactive power is reduced in comparison to the conventional droop controller and the system stability is maintained.

The current study compares the emulsifying properties of Persian gum (PG) and gum Arabic (GA) in emulsions. The effects of concentration (0.5–3% w/v PG, 2.5–15% w/v PG), pH (2–7), ionic strength [NaCl, CaCl2 (0–300 mM)], and temperature (40–90°C) were investigated. The surface–volume mean diameter (D32) of the emulsions showed that the minimum values were 9.89 ± 0.68 and 4.52 ± 0.03 µm for emulsions containing 1.5% w/v PG and 15% w/v GA, respectively. In addition, the zeta potential of PG and GA emulsion changed from −23.5 to −39.5 and −30.5 to −46.0 mV, respectively. The interfacial tensions of PG and GA emulsions were varied in the ranges of 34.0–15.0 and 29.0–9.0 mN/m, respectively. Changes in the D32 value of GA emulsions showed were not significantly different (p > 0.05) with respect to the effects of pH, NaCl, CaCl2, and temperature. The NaCl concentration had no significant effect on D32; but its value decreased from 13.11 to 5.70 µm as the CaCl2 concentration increased. The interfacial tension of PG significantly increased with decreasing pH 7–2 and increasing 0–300 mM salts. After heating (25–90°C), the D32 values of PG and GA emulsions changed to 11.04–14.54 and 4.21–4.21 μm, respectively. The results of this study can be useful for the application of PG as an emulsifier in beverage emulsions.

Background Reproductive toxicity is a major challenge associated with aluminum (Al) exposure. No studies have evaluated the possible effects of curcumin (CUR) on Al-induced reproductive dysfunction. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of CUR treatment on Al-induced reproductive damage. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, 40 male Wistar rats were allocated to the five groups (n=8) based on the treatment they received: no treatment (control), solvent [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or distilled water], CUR 10 mg/kg body weight (BW), Al chloride 10 mg/kg BW, and CUR+Al chloride (10 mg/kg BW/each alone). Treatments were performed by intraperitoneal (IP) injections for 28 days. The left testis was assessed for histopathological analysis as well as the incidence of germ cell apoptosis. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey’s test was used. P < 0.05 was considered significant. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results Significant reductions in body and testis weight; plasma testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels; sperm count, motility, morphology, and viability; germinal epithelium thickness; seminiferous tubules diameter; as well as, superoxide dismutase activity were observed in rats treated with Al. Moreover, Al exposure caused significant increments in the lumen diameter of tubules, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels compared to the control group. However, in rats receiving CUR+Al, CUR significantly reversed the adverse effects of Al on testis and sperm quality. No significant differences in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and nuclear diameter of spermatogonia were detected among all groups. Conclusion It can be concluded that Al causes reproductive dysfunction by creating oxidative damage. CUR, on the other hand, reduces the toxic effects of Al and improves the antioxidant status and sperm quality in male rats.

Abstract Learning from other individuals (e.g. social learning) is subjected to biases affecting whom to learn from. Consistent with research in animals, showing similarity-based learning biases and a general tendency to display pro-social responses to in-group individuals, we recently demonstrated that social learning of both fear and safety was enhanced when information was transmitted between same-race individuals. Here, we addressed how two different social group categories jointly affect the transmission of fears by investigating the interplay between racial and supporter group membership. We demonstrate that supporter group membership differentially influenced learning from a racial in-group vs. racial out-group individual. Thus, conditioned skin conductance responses in the same-race condition were significantly higher when fear was transmitted by an in-group (same team) vs. an out-group (rival team) individual, and were related to supporter team identification. However, supporter group membership did not influence learning from a racial out-group demonstrator, suggesting that the presence of an alternative alliance does not necessary reduce the influence of racial biases on social fear learning.

Flood and drought have caused several damages in natural and unnatural ecosystems in recent decade. Rainfall prediction can be useful in water resource management. The goal of this study is modeling the monthly precipitation of south east of Iran in South-Baluchistan basin, using artificial neural network (ANN) and stochastic models. This area has an unpredictable and complicated monthly rainfall pattern due to impact of several different precipitation systems of other surrounding regions. SARIMA time series models and Time Delay Neural Network (TDNN) are used in monthly precipitation forecasting. Monthly time series of rainfall during 1351-52 to 1387-88 in selected station were used in this study. Stations selection was based on Geographical distribution and data quality. Comparing the results of models of forecasting showed that TDNN model is superior to SARIMA time series model due to different rainfall systems and very sporadic precipitation in this area.

In this research, the effect of tragacanth gum (Astragalusgummifer) at five different concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 gram of gum per 1 kg of consumed milk on physicochemical (moisture, ash, pH, salt, fat and protein), colorimetric measurement and textural properties of Lighvan cheese during 90 days of ripening (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 days) was evaluated. The results showed that gum addition, decreased the fat content of Lighvan samples in comparison of control one. Gum increased the moisture and protein of samples in comparison with control. Fat, ash, salt and protein of Lighvan cheese increased during ripening. Textural properties (hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness and springiness) significantly (P

Introduction: Psyllium (Plantago ovata Forsk) is medicinally used mainly for its mucilage content. Objective: In the present study, an attempt was made to improve mucilage yield under in vitro callus culture using different genotypes, explants and culture media. Methods: The effects of a range of concentrations of plant growth regulators including 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and kinetin (Kin) were evaluated on mucilage synthesis under in vitro culture using cotyledon, hypocotyl and seed explants. Fourteen genotypes originating from different geographical regions of Iran were used to evaluate their response to in vitro mucilage synthesis. Results: The highest rate of callus induction (76%) and callus growth rate CGR (0.38 mm/day) were induced on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l 2,4-D and 1 mg/l Kin and the hypocotyl explant. The results of analysis of variance showed significant genotypic differences for callus induction, CGR and mucilage content of callus and seeds. The mucilage content ranged from 0.38 to 0.08 (g/g DW) and 0.13 to 0.042 (g/g DW) for callus and seed, respectively. The superior callus induction (73%), CGR (0.45 mm/day) and mucilage content of callus (0.38 g/g DW) was denoted to Po1 genotype. The callus produced nearly three times more mucilage than the seeds using superior genotype (Po1). Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that high efficiency of callus culture of P. ovata using hypocotyl explant accompanied by the exploration of genetic diversity are important to improve the yield of mucilage synthesis by in vitro callus culture.

Sleep restriction has been proposed to cause impaired emotional processing and emotional regulation by inhibiting top-down control from prefrontal cortex to amygdala. Intentional emotional regulation after sleep restriction has, however, never been studied using brain imaging. We aimed here to investigate the effect of partial sleep restriction on emotional regulation through cognitive reappraisal. Forty-seven young (age 20–30) and 33 older (age 65–75) participants (38/23 with complete data and successful sleep intervention) performed a cognitive reappraisal task during fMRI after a night of normal sleep and after restricted sleep (3 h). Emotional downregulation was associated with significantly increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (pFWE < 0.05) and lateral orbital cortex (pFWE < 0.05) in young, but not in older subjects. Sleep restriction was associated with a decrease in self-reported regulation success to negative stimuli (p < 0.01) and a trend towards perceiving all stimuli as less negative (p = 0.07) in young participants. No effects of sleep restriction on brain activity nor connectivity were found in either age group. In conclusion, our data do not support the idea of a prefrontal-amygdala disconnect after sleep restriction, and neural mechanisms underlying behavioural effects on emotional regulation after insufficient sleep require further investigation.

With recent advances in technologies, deep learning is being applied more and more to different tasks. In particular, point cloud processing and classification have been studied for a while now, with various methods developed. Some of the available classification approaches are based on specific data source, like LiDAR, while others are focused on specific scenarios, like indoor. A general major issue is the computational efficiency (in terms of power consumption, memory requirement, and training/inference time). In this study, we propose an efficient framework (named TONIC) that can work with any kind of aerial data source (LiDAR or photogrammetry) and does not require high computational power while achieving accuracy on par with the current state of the art methods. We also test our framework for its generalization ability, showing capabilities to learn from one dataset and predict on unseen aerial scenarios.

Presently, the Earth Observation community is demanding applications that provide low latency and high downlink capabilities. An increase in downlink contacts becomes essential to meet these new requirements. The Federated Satellite Systems concept addresses this demand by promoting satellite collaborations to share unused downlink opportunities. These collaborations are established opportunistically and temporarily, posing multiple technology challenges to be implemented in-orbit. This work contributes to the definition of the Federation Deployment Control Protocol which formalizes a mechanism to fairly establish and manage these collaborations by employing a negotiation process between the satellites. Moreover, this manuscript presents the results of a validation campaign of this protocol with three stratospheric balloons. In summary, more than 27 federations with 63.0% of throughput were established during the field campaign. Some of these federations were used to download data to the ground, and others were established to balance data storage between balloons. These federations allowed also the extension of the coverage of a ground station with a federation that relayed data through a balloon, and the achievement of a hybrid scenario with one balloon forwarding data from a ground device. The results demonstrate that the proposed protocol is functional and ready to be embedded in a CubeSat mission.

This paper presents a distributed control strategy based on fuzzy-sliding mode control (FSMC) for power control of an infrastructure integrated with a dc-microgrid, which includes photovoltaic, fuel cell, and energy storage systems with plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). In order to implement the proposed control strategy, first, a general nonlinear modeling of a dc-microgrid based on related dc-dc converters to each dc power sources is introduced. Second, a power management strategy based on fuzzy control for regulating the power flow between the hybrid dc sources, PEVs is proposed. Third, to retain the balance between the requested power and the output power, adaptive FSMC strategy, for controlling the battery energy storage and fuel cell, is suggested. Finally, experimental results are presented to validate the potential of the proposed power flow control strategy.

Current licensed and commercially available prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines (Cervarix and quadrivalent/nine valents Gardasil) are based on major capsid protein L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) production which are expensive and type specific. Minor capsid L2-RG1 linear epitope (17-36) is a known candidate for induction of cross-neutralizing antibodies to develop low-cost pan-HPV vaccines. Herein, we report construction and expression of a three tandem repeats of L2-RG1 derived from HPV16 and 18 fused with the same head to tail pattern (HPV16:17-36×3+ HPV18:17-36×3; hereafter termed dual-type fusion L2 peptide) in E. coli and provide the results of its immunogenicity in mice. SDS-PAGE and western blot analyses indicated proper expression of the peptide that could be further purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography via the located C-terminal 6xHis-tag. Mice immunized by formulation of the purified peptide and Freund adjuvant raised neutralizing antibodies which showed proper cross reactivity to HPV L2 (11-200) of types: 18, 16, 31 and 45 (which totally are responsible for 90% of cervical cancers) and efficiently neutralized HPV18/16 pseudoviruses in vitro. Our results imply the possibility of development of a simple, low-cost preventive HPV vaccine based on this dual-type fusion L2 peptide in bacterial expression system with broad spectrum.

Background and Aim: Bleaching can improve the color of restorative materials and resolve problems related to discoloration or color mismatch. This study evaluated the effect of in-office bleaching method in conjunction with two different laser wavelengths on color change of two types of glass-ionomer restorative materials (light-cure and self-cure). Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty samples were fabricated of Fuji IX, and FUJI II LC glass-ionomer restorative material and specimens of each glass- ionomer were divided into three subgroups (n=10) receiving the following treatments:1. Laser assisted in-office bleaching with Opalescence Boost® along with 980nm diode laser; 2. Laser assisted in-office bleaching with Opalescence Boost® along with 810nm diode laser; 3. Conventional in-office bleaching with Opalescence Boost ®. The color of all specimens was evaluated before and after bleaching with Spectro Shade. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD test. Results: Total color change (ΔE) was significantly different before and after bleaching in all groups (P

In this data article, carboxyfluorescein-loaded liposomes were prepared and purified from free carboxyfluorescein using gel filtration chromatography in the first part. In the next part, following preparation of anti-VEGF siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobically modified G2 PAMAM dendrimer (G2-Chol40%) (Golkar et al., 2016) [1], the cell growth inhibition induced by the formulations (siRNA/Metafectene complexes and siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobic G2) was evaluated at two exposure times through MTT assay in a breast cancer cell (SKBR-3) and compared by two-way ANOVA. Keywords: Anti-VEGF siRNA, Cell growth inhibition, Polyamidoaminedendrimer, Liposome

Current therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are associated with high relapse rates. Hence, development of new therapeutic strategies is crucial to circumvent this problem. Bivalent antibody technology has been used to engineer novel antibody fragments with increased avidity, by assembling two scFv in a single molecule. Here, we present accompanying data from construction and characterization experiments of a biscFv antibody targeting CD123, the most important biomarker of leukemic cancer stem cells which play a key role in relapsed AML after chemotherapy. Data in this article are related to the research paper “Development of a novel engineered antibody targeting human CD123” Moradi-Kalbolandi S. et al. (2016) [1].

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of salt stress on some agro-physiological traits in ten varieties of bread (Triticum aestivum L.) and durum (Triticum turgidum L.) wheats in seedling stage. A greenhouse experiment was carried out as a split plot experiment based on a completely randomized design with four replications in hydroponic condition. Different agronomic and physiological traits (such as Na+, K+, Ca+2 contents and relative water content (RWC)) were studied. Salinity showed significant effect on all of the studied traits, except for root dry weight and the ratio of Na+/Ca+2. Increase in NaCl level led to significant reductions in all studied traits. The studied genotypes showed significant difference for radicle length, leaf length, seedling dry weight, leaf dry weight, root dry weight, RWC and Na+, K+, Ca+2 concentrations and Na+/K+ and Na+/Ca+2 ratios. The genotype × salinity interaction was significant for RWC, Na+, Ca+2 and Na+/Ca+2. The salt stress increased the leaf Na+ while it decreased the K+ and Ca2+ concentrations. The greatest shoot dry weight (0.035 g), root dry weight (0.024 g) and Na+/Ca+2 ratio (1.71) were found in genotype Alamot (bread wheat) and the greatest plantlet length (12 cm) was observed in genotype Verinak. The greatest rootlet length (14.63 cm), dry weight of seedlings (0.057 g), RWC (82.20%), membrane stability (0.59), K+ (3.38 mg/g dry weight) and the smallest Na+/K+ ratio (0.17) were detected in genotype Toos (bread wheat). The genotype Toos was identified as the most tolerant genotype to salt stress.

Neglecting cities’ natural environment in urban development has led to intentional or inadvertent loss of several ecosystem services in Iran. Consequently, this has directly affected the overall urban quality of life, citizens’ cognitive experience, and their value systems. Approaches to solve this problem include Landscape Urbanism, Urban Ecological Restoration, and Eco-Revelatory Urban Design. The latter approach aims at highlighting the ecological qualities of urban natural environment and improving its ecosystem services. Employing an analysis-descriptive methodology, this paper attempts to elaborate a conceptual framework for measuring the eco-revelatory dimension of urban environment as an essential quality of urban design.

Background Crocin is an active ingredient of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its antioxidant properties have been previously investigated. This carotenoid scavenges free radicals and stimulates glutathione (GSH) synthesis; consequently, it may protect cells against oxidative stress. The aim of this research is to protect oocytes from oxidative stress by the addition of a natural source antioxidant. Materials and Methods In the present in vitro experimental study, we collected cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) from mouse ovaries of euthanized, 6-8 week-old female Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice. Oocytes were subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM) in the presence of either crocin (5 or 10 μg/ml), 5 mM buthionine-[S-R]- sulfoximine (BSO), or the combination of crocin plus BSO. Oocytes that matured in vitro in a medium without crocin or BSO supplements were considered as controls. Following 16-18 hours of IVM, matured oocytes (n=631) were fertilized by capacitated sperm from NMRI male mice, and cultured in vitro for up to 96 hours to assess preimplantation embryonic development. The levels of GSH in metaphase II (MII) oocytes after IVM (n=240) were also assessed by the 5, 5-dithio-bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB)-GSH reductase recycling assay. Results Supplementation of IVM media with 10 µg/ml crocin significantly (P < 0.05) increased nuclear maturation, preimplantation development and GSH concentrations compared with the control group. Maturation of oocytes in IVM medium supplemented with BSO alone or the combination of 5 µg/ml crocin and BSO drastically decreased GSH concentrations and subsequently resulted in low rates of maturation, fertilization and blastocyst development. However, the combination of 10 µg/ml crocin with 5 mM BSO increased the level of nuclear maturation which was comparable to the control group. Conclusion Supplementation of IVM media with crocin can improve nuclear maturation rates and subsequent developmental potential of mouse oocytes. This may occur by its beneficial effect in increasing GSH concentrations in MII oocytes.

This paper presents a hierarchical control strategy for heat and electric power control of a building integrating hybrid renewable power sources including photovoltaic, fuel cell and battery energy storage with Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) in smart distribution systems. Because of the controllability of fuel cell power, this power sources plays the main role for providing heat and electric power to zero emission buildings. First, the power flow structure between hybrid power resources is described. To do so, all necessary electrical and thermal equations are investigated. Next, due to the many complexities and uncertainties in this kind of hybrid system, a hybrid supervisory control with an adaptive fuzzy sliding power control strategy is proposed to regulate the amount of requested fuel from a fuel cell power source to produce the electrical power and heat. Then, simulation results are used to demonstrate the effectiveness and capability of the proposed control strategy during different operating conditions in the utility grid. Finally, the performance of the proposed controller is verified using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) real-time simulations carried out in OPAL-RT technologies for a real building in Tehran. The HIL results show that the proposed controller provides the proper power and heat control strategy.

In human research, studies of return of fear (ROF) phenomena, and reinstatement in particular, began only a decade ago and recently are more widely used, e.g., as outcome measures for fear/extinction memory manipulations (e.g., reconsolidation). As reinstatement research in humans is still in its infancy, providing an overview of its stability and boundary conditions and summarizing methodological challenges is timely to foster fruitful future research. As a translational endeavor, clarifying the circumstances under which (experimental) reinstatement occurs may offer a first step toward understanding relapse as a clinical phenomenon and pave the way for the development of new pharmacological or behavioral ways to prevent ROF. The current state of research does not yet allow pinpointing these circumstances in detail and we hope this review will aid the research field to advance in this direction. As an introduction, we begin with a synopsis of rodent work on reinstatement and theories that have been proposed to explain the findings. The review however mainly focuses on reinstatement in humans. We first describe details and variations of the experimental setup in reinstatement studies in humans and give a general overview of results. We continue with a compilation of possible experimental boundary conditions and end with the role of individual differences and behavioral and/or pharmacological manipulations. Furthermore, we compile important methodological and design details on the published studies in humans and end with open research questions and some important methodological and design recommendations as a guide for future research.

Since their discovery in the early 1950s, macrolide antibiotics have been used in both agriculture and medicine. Specifically, macrolides such as erythromycin and azithromycin have found use as substitutes for β-lactam antibiotics in patients with penicillin allergies. Given the extensive use of this class of antibiotics it is no surprise that resistance has spread among pathogenic bacteria. In these bacteria different mechanisms of resistance have been observed. Frequently observed are alterations in the target of macrolides, i.e., the ribosome, as well as upregulation of efflux pumps. However, drug modification is also increasingly observed. Two classes of enzymes have been implicated in macrolide detoxification: macrolide phosphotransferases and macrolide esterases. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview on what is known about macrolide resistance with an emphasis on the macrolide phosphotransferase and esterase enzymes. Furthermore, we explore how this information can assist in addressing resistance to macrolide antibiotics.

Having knowledge about the personality of social network members can improve the social network services. This knowledge also can be applied to improve the interactions of social network members. The personality characteristics of social network members can be estimated via personality questionnaires. However, usually people are not interested in filling these questionnaires because it may violate their privacy. So, their personality characteristics should be estimated implicitly. In previous researches some methods have been presented to estimate the personality of social network members implicitly. However, these methods require the users’ profile and contextual information that is not accessible in most of the cases. In this paper, a model is presented which can estimate the extraversion degree of social network members implicitly using information extracted from the graph structure around each member. To develop this model, first, a dataset of social network members are collected. Then, by applying genetic programming and M5 regression on this dataset, some relations are extracted to estimate the extraversion degree of each member. The results of our model show high accuracy. In addition, the model extracted by genetic programming has higher accuracy and lower computational complexity compared to M5 regression.

A multi objective Honey Bee Mating Optimization (HBMO) designed by online learning mechanism is proposed in this paper to optimize the double Fuzzy-Lead-Lag (FLL) stabilizer parameters in order to improve low-frequency oscillations in a multi machine power system. The proposed double FLL stabilizer consists of a low pass filter and two fuzzy logic controllers whose parameters can be set by the proposed multi objective optimization process. A multilayer adaptive network is employed to design the fuzzy logic controller with self-learning capability that does not require another controller to tune the fuzzy inference rules and membership functions. In the proposed online learning algorithm, two artificial neural networks are employed which this system makes the FLL stabilizer adaptive to changes in the operating conditions. Therefore, variation in the power system response, under a wide range of operating conditions, is less compared to the system response with a fixed-parameter conventional controller. The effectiveness of the proposed stabilizer has been employed by simulation studies. The effectiveness of the proposed stabilizer is demonstrated on Two-Area Four-Machine (TAFM) power system under different loading conditions.

Background and Objective: Alexithymia is a personality trait associated with difficulties in emotion recognition, regulation and emotional processing. However, in the field of health and care, emotions and affects play an important role in the relationship between specialists and patients, and in general, life satisfaction. This study aimed at determining the relationship between balanced emotional empathy and life satisfaction and Alexithymia in Nurses, midwives and operating room technicians. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken on 300 Nurses, midwives and operating room technicians selected via stratified random sampling in Kermanshah and Hamadan provinces, 2012.the instruments were Emotional Empathy Scale of Mehrabian & Epstein, Life Satisfaction Scale of Diener et al and Toronto alexithymia scale. Using SPSS-18, the data was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Results: The results indicated that the mean score of alexithymia in midwives (62.19±11.66), life satisfaction in nurses (50.4±85.13) and emotional empathy in nurses (40.12 ± 95.100) was higher. The results showed that both life satisfaction (r=-0.13, P

In this paper, a non-isothermal two-phase flow in the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) of PEM fuel cell is modeled. The governing equations including energy, mass and momentum conservation equations are solved by numerical methods. Also, the optimal values of the effective parameters such as the electrodes porosity, gas diffusion layer (GDL) thickness and inlet relative humidity are calculated using the optimization algorithms. Optimization is done by considering the fuel cell voltage as the objective function. The results show that by increasing the relative humidity of the air, the rate of evaporation in cathode GDL and temperature distribution across the fuel cell decreases. Among the different methods of optimization, the best method for two phase flow is Simulated Annealing algorithm. Optimum porosity of the electrodes, GDL thickness and relative humidity are obtained 0.44, 0.24 mm and 99%, respectively. The fuel cell power density at optimum condition increased 6% compared to the base condition.

E. coli-derived concatenated, multitype L2-conserved epitopes of human papillomavirus (HPV) L2 protein might represent a less expensive and pan-type vaccine alternative (compared to type-specific HPV L1 virus-like particles), if stable protein expression and strong immunogenicity features could be met. Herein, three dual-type- (DT-) HPV L2 fusion peptides comprising the three head-to-tail tandem repeats (multimers) of either HPV 16 epitope “17-36” or “69-81” or one copy (monomer) of 11-88 fused to the same residues of HPV 18 were constructed and expressed in E. coli. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analyses indicated the proper expression and stability of the E. coli-derived DT peptides. Mice immunized by formulation of the purified DT peptides and Freund’s adjuvant (CFA/IFA) raised neutralizing antibodies (NAbs; the highest for DT: 11-88 peptide) which showed proper cross-reactivity to HPV types: 18, 16, 31, and 45 and efficiently neutralized HPV 18/16 pseudoviruses in vitro. Immunization studies in mice by formulation of the DT: 11-88 × 1 peptide with various adjuvants (alum, MF59, and Montanides ISA 720 and 50) indicated that Montanide adjuvants elicited the highest cross-reactive titers of NAbs and similar levels of IgG1 and IgG2a (switching towards balanced Th1/Th2 responses). The results implied development of low-cost E. coli-derived DT: 11-88 peptide formulated in human compatible ISA 720 adjuvant as a HPV vaccine.

Diagnosis of fascioliasis with high sensitivity and specificity antigens play a vital role in the management of the disease. Majority of commercial serological tests use F. hepatica native antigens and indicate wide diversities in test accuracy. Nowadays, recombinant antigens have been introduced as diagnostic reagents offer better test standardization. A combination of highly pure recombinant antigens associated with correct folding will leads to improve specificity and sensitivity of ELISA for diagnosis of Fascioliasis. In this article, Fasciola hepatica saposin-like protein 2 (SAP-2), ferritin protein (Ftn-1) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) recombinant antigens were considered as tools for the detection of F. hepatica immunoglobulin G antibodies in persons with chronic human fasciolasis. The recombinant antigens were obtained as fusion proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). The refolding processes of denatured recombinant proteins were performed using dialysis method in the presence of chemical additives, and reduced/oxidized glutathione (in vitro). The immunoreactivity of the recombinant antigens was assessed individually and in a combination compared with excretory/secretory antigen (E/S) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The experiments were optimized using 213 serum samples from humans, including patients with chronic fascioliasis, patients with other parasitic diseases, and healthy subjects. The results indicated 95% sensitivity and 98% specificity for rtFhSAP-2, 96% sensitivity and 91% specificity for E/S, 80% and 83.3% for rtFhFtn-1, 84% and 88% for FhLAP, and also, 96% and 95% for combination of recombinant antigens, respectively. In conclusion, the results of this investigation showed that rtFhSAP-2 with the highest specificity and acceptable sensitivity has a considerable superiority compared to mentioned antigens and even in combination with these antigens in serodiagnosis of human fascioliasis.

Male flower expression is considered an important aim in greenhouse cucumber breeding for creating paternal lines as a base for hybrid progeny. The study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different treatments on sex expression and fruit yield of cucumber in two different season (autumn-winter and spring-summer), in particular this research focuses on the influence of 1) usage of two chemical agents: silver thiosulphate [Ag(S2O3)2-3] and silver nitrate (AgNO3) at different concentration, respectively 200 and 500 ppm and 100, 200 and 300 ppm 2) plant development stages at the moment of the treatment (5, 10, and 15-leaf growth stages) and 3) application of single or double sprayings. Analysis of variance showed that season, chemical applications and number of spaying had significant effect on the induction of a higher number of male flowers. A positive significant effect of season suggested that longer days and higher temperature promote the formation of male flowers in cucumber. This study showed that male flower production was induced by all concentrations of silver ions, especially high concentrations. Important traits related to change of sex expression such as the number of days to male flowering and the number of male flowers are more affected by different interactions of studied factors in contrast to vegetative and yield related traits. Also, the quadruple interaction effects indicated that silver ion could change sex expression at higher temperatures and longer days (second season in summer) with high concentration when applied in 15 leaf stage for AgNO3 and 5 and 15 leaf growth stage for Ag(S2O3)2-3 with double spraying. Consequently, female lines can be induced to male flowering with silver ions, thus increasing the feasibility of large scale seed production of gynoecious × gynoecious cucumber hybrid.

Combining ability × environment interaction is considerable to identify the effect of environment on the combining ability and gene action of the traits to select appropriate parents for safflower hybrid production. The 36 genotype (28 F2 progenies of eight-parent half-diallel crosses across 8 parental genotypes) of safflower were studied to investigate the mentioned parameters across different geographical regions of Iran. The results indicated significant differences among parents for general and specific combining ability, except for seeds per capitulum across three environments. The overall results indicated that K21 and Mex.22-191 were excellent parents with greater general combining ability for the improvement of seed yield in safflower. The K21 × Mex.22-191 hybrid could be, therefore, employed for the production of high seed yield in safflower breeding. The estimates of genetic variance components recommended the importance of additive- dominance genetic effects that contributed to variation in yield per plant. Such gene action expression for seed yield needs auxiliary methods based on hybridization and selection for seed yield advancement in safflower.

In this study, gene action, genetic variances (δ2A and δ2D ), and combining abilities were estimated for fruit related traits using North Carolina Design ІІ (NCD ІІ) for ten different parental genotypes of greenhouse cucumber. This experiment was performed over a two-year period from 2014 to 2015. The variance components of male, female, and male × female were found to be significant for all the studied traits in a combined analysis of variance. Genetic component analysis showed that fruit diameter, fruit length, total fruit weight, fruit number in early picking and fruit number per node were predominantly under the additive gene action, but internode length and plant height were under the dominance of gene action. Male × female × environment interaction was significant for total fruit weight. The highest general combining ability (GCA) effect for total fruit yield was observed in Zohal (male parent) and YaldaR2 (female parent) genotypes. GCA estimation revealed that male parent of Adrian 4510 provided good general combiners for total fruit number. Specific combining ability (SCA) estimation determined the suitability of Janeete × Adrian 4510. Salar hybrid exhibited higher positive SCA effects for total fruit yield and total fruit number in early picking.

Plantago ovata Forsk (psyllium) is an important source of mucilage which is an ingredient in certain drugs and foodstuffs. The calli of 14 genotypes of psyllium were cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium containing 0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl, for four weeks, and the effects of salt stress on the following callus traits were evaluated: growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), relative water content (RWC), Na+ concentration, K+ concentration, K+/Na+ ratio, proline content, total phenolic compounds (TPC), and mucilage content. A reducing trend was observed in GR, RGR, RWC and K+/ Na+ of the callus cultured in the medium with 100 mM NaCl, comparing to NaCl-free medium, while an increasing trend was observed in Na+ content, proline content, and TPC under the same conditions. Mucilage content of callus was found to increase in the medium containing 100 mM NaCl (0.13 g g-1 DW) but decreased afterwards at 200 mM NaCl (0.117 g g-1 DW), albeit with significant variations among genotypes. The results showed that among evaluated genotypes, Isfahan-1 was the most salt tolerant genotype at cellular level. In addition, the highest mucilage content was obtained in Khor-Biabanak genotype when the calli grown at 100 mM NaCl. It was postulated that mucilage content likely to be associated with salt tolerance and could be exploited to counteract the negative osmotic potential in callus affected by salt stress in P. ovata.

Dynamic joint stiffness is a dynamic, nonlinear relationship between the position of a joint and the torque acting about it, which can be used to describe the biomechanics of the joint and associated limb(s). This paper models and quantifies changes in ankle dynamic stiffness and its individual elements, intrinsic and reflex stiffness, in healthy human subjects during isometric, time-varying (TV) contractions of the ankle plantarflexor muscles. A subspace, linear parameter varying, parallel-cascade (LPV-PC) algorithm was used to identify the model from measured input position perturbations and output torque data using voluntary torque as the LPV scheduling variable (SV). Monte-Carlo simulations demonstrated that the algorithm is accurate, precise, and robust to colored measurement noise. The algorithm was then used to examine stiffness changes associated with TV isometric contractions. The SV was estimated from the Soleus EMG using a Hammerstein model of EMG-torque dynamics identified from unperturbed trials. The LPV-PC algorithm identified (i) a non-parametric LPV impulse response function (LPV IRF) for intrinsic stiffness and (ii) a LPV-Hammerstein model for reflex stiffness consisting of a LPV static nonlinearity followed by a time-invariant state-space model of reflex dynamics. The results demonstrated that: (a) intrinsic stiffness, in particular ankle elasticity, increased significantly and monotonically with activation level; (b) the gain of the reflex pathway increased from rest to around 10–20% of subject's MVC and then declined; and (c) the reflex dynamics were second order. These findings suggest that in healthy human ankle, reflex stiffness contributes most at low muscle contraction levels, whereas, intrinsic contributions monotonically increase with activation level.