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This paper reports the findings of a project (Cetacean Conservation Pakistan) launched in 2004 with a view to: (a) undertaking quantitative surveys to determine the variety and abundance of species present; (b) working with local fisher communities to collate local knowledge and promote public awareness; and (c) promoting a marine cetacean conservation strategy and measures. Boat-based surveys for live animals and shore surveys for beachcast specimens have confirmed the presence of twelve species of whale and dolphin. Among these bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) occur both inshore along the coasts of Sindh and Balochistan, and offshore in parts of Balochistan; these two populations possibly representing different sub-species. Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) are common inshore around the mouth of the Indus Delta and in large sheltered bays in Balochistan, where finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) also occur. Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) were observed in very large schools (up to 2,000) around the shelf edge in eastern Balochistan, as were Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) in smaller numbers. Common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) were recorded even further offshore. There were two sightings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), and one of a killer whale (Orcinus orca). Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) were recorded only during beach surveys, while skeletal remains in institutions also supported the occurrence of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Work with local fisher communities supported this picture of species distribution and provided information on threats to local cetaceans. These are principally occasional entanglement in fishing gear and opportunistic exploitation for use as food, as bait, as medicine or for other purposes. The project incorporated policy development and the preparation of a marine cetacean biodiversity action plan that included the listing of species in provincial conservation legislation, the designation of a marine protected area in Balochistan, the establishment of a national whale and dolphin conservation society, and trials of whale and dolphin watching as a means of raising public awareness and providing alternative economic value.

Until recently, little was known about the distribution and species occurrence of marine cetaceans in Pakistani waters, an area which needed to be addressed exigently given its inclusion in the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Boat-based surveys (2005–09) carried out along the coast of Pakistan identified 12 species of cetaceans. Although these surveys can be very useful for providing information on species presence and distribution, estimates of the age and sex of these groups can be more uncertain. Consequently, this present study undertook complementary beach-based surveys over the same period across all accessible regions of the Pakistani coast and created a community reporting scheme for stranded and beach-cast remains of cetaceans. Tissue samples and/or skeletal material were collected over three years from 37 individual specimens, with DNA successfully extracted from 24. Using molecular techniques, a total of seven species were identified and there was an indication that the majority of the samples were from males. An analysis of teeth collected from 12 beach-cast odontocetes showed an age range between neonatal and 17 years. The results of this study corroborate the presence of species observed during the boat-based surveys and identified a further three species. The data also provide additional information on age and sex. A comparison with similar studies suggests that the stranding rate is low in Pakistan. No mass strandings occurred during the seven year monitoring period. The results indicate that beach-based surveys are effective for gathering data on species presence in regions where resources are limited, the terrain is harsh and availability of data is low. Ultimately, the results of this work will help with assessing the conservation status and management requirements of the region’s cetaceans, both locally and internationally with respect to the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

This study proposed a novel and cost-effective approach to enhance and optimize the polygalacturonase from P. indica. In current investigation, the impact of ammonium sulfate, sugar beet pulp (SBP) and glucose as variables on induction of polygalacturonase from P. indica was optimized using the central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) under submerged fermentation (SmF). Additionally, partial polygalacturonase purification and in situ analysis were performed. The optimal reaction conditions, which resulted in the highest enzyme activity were observed as the following conditions: ammonium sulfate (4 g/L), SBP (20 g/L), glucose (60 g/L). Under the optimized condition, the maximum enzyme activity reached to 19.4 U/ml (127 U/mg) which increased by 5.84 times compared to non-optimized conditions. The partial purified polygalacturonase molecular weight was estimated 60 KDa. In line with the bioinformatic analysis, exo-polygalacturonase sequence of P. indica showed similarity with Rhizoctonia solani’s and Thanateporus cucumeris. These results indicated that SBP act as a cheap and suitable inducer of polygalacturonase production by P. indica in a submerged cultivation. The outcome of this study will be useful for industries to decrease environmental pollution with cost-effective approaches.

Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most frequent arrhythmias observed in the intensive care unit (ICU). The present study assessed AF as an independent risk factor for mortality among patients in the ICU setting. Methodology A prospective cohort study was conducted at the medical ICU in a tertiary academic medical center from September 2020 to January 2021. All critically ill patients, irrespective of gender, who were admitted for at least two days in the ICU were eligible to partake in the study. Individuals in the cardiovascular surgical ICU and the trauma ICU were not eligible. Demographics, clinical history, the occurrence of AF, fluid input and output, echocardiography, drug history, and hospital mortality were recorded during the first week of admission. Patients were divided into two groups. Results Patients with AF had significantly higher in-hospital mortality, 27 (73%), and longer hospital stays (11.61 ± 7.01) as compared to patients who did not suffer from AF (p

ObjectivesWe evaluated the effects of on-site rapid molecular testing at a drive-through sampling facility, deployment of mobile sampling teams and implementation of an online eHealth platform as supportive measures for general practitioners (GPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn eHealth platform was developed that allowed GPs to either refer patients to a drive-through sampling facility or to request a home visit by a sampling team. Nasopharyngeal swab samples from patients marked as urgent (n=333) were tested immediately on-site using a GeneXpert System. Non-urgent samples (n=1,460) were sent once a day to a university hospital laboratory for routine testing. Time stamps starting from referral to the moment of test report sent were recorded to calculate the turnaround time.ResultsThe eHealth platform was rapidly adopted and used by a total of 517 GPs to test 1,793 patients in a period of 13 weeks. On-site rapid molecular testing reduced the median turnaround time to 03h:41m compared to 29h:15m for routine testing. Positive SARS-CoV-2 test results were identified amongst 84/1,477 (5.7%) and 33/316 (10.4%) patients sampled at the drive-through or at home, respectively. In the age category of >80 years, 80.4% of patients were tested by a mobile sampling team.ConclusionsThe combination of rapid molecular testing and eHealth reduced the time between referral and results sent back to the GP to less than four hours. In addition, mobile sampling teams helped in reaching non-mobile, elderly patient populations with a higher prevalence of COVID-19.

Background & aim: Thyroid hormones play an important role in controlling and maintaining homeostasis. In this study, the effect of Tragopogon pratensis L.) was investigated on serum thyroid hormones levels in rats receiving acetate. Methods: In this experimental study, 36 male rats were divided into 6 groups including control, lead acetate and treatment groups 1, 2 and 3 (lead acetate + extract of Tragopogon pratensis L. at doses of 200, 400 and a high dose of 800 mg / kg) and the positive control group receiving Tragopogon pratensis L. extract (400 mg / kg dose). At the end of the experiments, after anesthesia, blood samples were taken from the heart of the animals and the serum levels of thyroid hormones TSH, T4, and T3 were measured. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey tests. Results: A Significant decreases were seen in serum levels of T3, T4 and TSH in the acetate receiving groups decreased significantly compared to the control group (p

Building on previous work, we have designed a Nd doped fiber for E-band amplification. Modeling results indicate a fiber design that is applicable to telecom amplifiers.

Synthetic arts are objective crystallization of culture and artistic symbols; they are popular and applied arts with their own patterns and originality and have always been presented as an important and critical factor in Iran's economy. Considering position of Synthetic arts as second factor in growth of GDP and in order to extend it; extensive support and guidance policies have been applied. Naturally its extension will have variant and considerable effects. Effects of such extension have many connected aspects due to the complexity and extension of activities in Synthetic Art's domain and we should pay attention to them while extending such jobs. Exact awareness of condition and created effects and also its weaknesses and strength about each of dimensions will enable planners to present better and efficient programs to decrease its weak points and empower its strength and improve success rate of such occupations. Research method of present study is descriptive- analytical aiming to study the condition of entrepreneurship of Synthetic arts graduates and analyze its weak and strength points to improve working condition of individuals active in domain of this art-industry. Data gathering tool in present research was questionnaire. Statistical Society of the research included 230 female graduates of handicrafts degree from Kashan University and 35 were accidentally selected as sample. Results of present study show that artists' income median is higher than society's income median while their working experience is only two and half years.

Analysis of graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs) reinforced cylindrical shell subjected to thermo-mechanical loads is studied in this paper based on shear deformation theory. Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model and rule of mixtures are used for calculation of effective material properties of composite materials with different distributions of reinforcements including uniform symmetric and asymmetric distributions for nanoplatelet material. The various distributions are included UD (uniform distribution of GPLs along the thickness direction), FG-O(linear variation of GPLs, where highest amount is locates at middle layer) and FG-X(linear variation of GPLs, where highest amount is locates at top and bottom layers). The shear strains especially at both ends of cylindrical shell are included in our formulation using the two-dimensional first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). Minimum total potential energy principle is used to derive the governing equations using Hooke’s law and application of Euler equations using the functional of the system. Eigenvalue and eigenvector method is used for solution of the governing equations. The radial and axial displacements and various components of stress are calculated in terms of number of layers, GPLs weight fraction, thermal loading, various distributions of reinforcement and coefficient of the elastic foundation. The numerical results indicate that maximum and minimum stresses are obtained for FG-O and FG-X distributions. Also, the biggest and lowest radial displacements are obtained for UD and FG-X distributions, respectively.

We present 10W single-mode fiber laser based on Ndp3 fiber operating at 1428nm. All-solid fused silica microstructured waveguide fiber design is employed to suppress amplification at 1μm. The Ndp3 fiber is pumped by commercial multi-mode 880nm diode.

A large mode area fiber coupler based on multi-core spectrally and modally filtered transfer is presented. Relative coupling to the cross-port above 80% was measured. Only fundamental mode transfer was observed given a multimode launch.

A Nd

The present study reports the performance of a new photosensitizer -AgI quantum dots (QDs)- and mesoporous titania (TiO 2 ) nanocrystals synthesized by sol–gel (SG) method for solar cells. Furthermore, the effects of n -heptane on the textural properties of TiO 2 nanocrystals were comprehensively investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N 2 adsorption–desorption measurements, and UV–vis spectroscopy. TiO 2 powders exhibited an anatase-type mesoporous structure with a high surface area of 89.7 m 2 /g. Afterwards, the QDs were grown on mesoporous TiO 2 surface to fabricate a TiO 2 /AgI electrode by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) deposition route. Current–voltage characteristics and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data demonstrated that the injection of photoexcited electrons from AgI QDs into the TiO 2 matrix produces photocurrents. The assembled AgI-QD solar cells yielded a power conversion efficiency of 0.64% and a short-circuit current of 2.13 mA/cm 2 under one sun illumination.

To analyze recent experiments with a neodymium-doped fiber amplifier operating in the E-band of wavelengths (1350-1450 nm) and embedded in fused silica, we develop a time-dependent model consisting of rate equations for the aggregate ion populations and the radiation intensities along the amplifier axis. Both copropagating and counterpropagating intensities, including amplified spontaneous emission, are incorporated. The wavelength-dependent cross section for excited state absorption is inferred from auxiliary measurements. Steady-state solutions are obtained over a range of seed wavelengths and powers. The resulting gain curves agree with experiment at low to intermediate powers (less than ∼1 mW). With a proposed addition to the system loss, the agreement extends to saturation (∼100 mW).

In this study, the performance of two aerobic sequencing batch reactors (SBR) in removing carbon and nutrient (N & P) from Faraman’s industrial estate wastewater (FIW) with flocculated and granulated sludge was compared. The comparison study was performed by varying two significant independent variables (aeration time and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS)). The experiments were conducted based on a central composite design (CCD) and analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). The region of exploration for the process was taken as the area enclosed by aeration time (6-24 h) and MLVSS (2000-7000 mg/L) boundaries. The results showed that the granulated sludge system was more efficient than the flocculated sludge system in removing the nonbiodegradable COD (nbCOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and other sludge studied characteristics. The performance of both systems was almost the same for COD removal in FIW with a maximum removal of about 70 %.

We demonstrate 80 nm of tuning in the 1400 nm range with 116 mW maximum output power in an Nd3+ doped fiber oscillator with distributed spectral filtering.

There are two allelic forms of A1 and A2 of β-casein gene in dairy cattle. Proteolytic digestion of bovine β-casein A1 type produces bioactive peptide of β-casomorphin-7 known as milk devil. β-casomorphin-7 causes many diseases, including type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular disease syndrome, sudden death and madness. The aim of the present study was to determine the different allelic forms of β-casein gene in Iranian Holstein, Simmental and native cattle in order to identify A1 and A2 variants. The blood samples were collected randomly and DNA was extracted using modified salting out method. An 854 bp fragment including part of exon 7 and part of intron 6 of β-casein gene was amplified by allele specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR). Also, the accuracy of AS-PCR genotyping has been confirmed by melting temperature curve analysis using Real-time PCR machinery. The comparison of observed allele and genotype frequency among the studied breeds was performed using the Fisher exact and Chi-squared test, respectively by SAS program. Obtained results showed the A1 allele frequencies of 50, 51.57, 54.5, 49.4 and 46.6% in Holstein, Simmental, Sistani, Taleshi and Mazandarani cattle populations, respectively. The chi-square test was shown that no any populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for studied marker locus. Comparison and analysis of the test results for allelic frequency showed no any significant differences between breeds (Pgt;0.05). The frequency of observed genotypes only differs significantly between Holstein and Taleshi breeds but no any statistically significant differences were found for other breeds (Pgt;0.05). A relatively high frequency of β-casein A1 allele was observed in Iranian native cattle. Therefore, determine the genotypes and preference alleles A2 in these native and commercial cattle is recommended.

The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), as defined by recent criteria, is a heterogeneous disorder with a common set of symptoms that often either follows a viral infection or a period of stress. Despite many years of intense investigation there is little consensus on the presence, nature and degree of immune dysfunction in this condition. However, slightly increased parameters of inflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL) 1, IL6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α are likely present. Additionally, impaired natural killer cell function appears evident. Alterations in T cell numbers have been described by some and not others. While the prevalence of positive serology for the common herpes viruses appears no different from healthy controls, there is some evidence of viral persistence and inadequate containment of viral replication. The ability of certain herpes viruses to impair the development of T cell memory may explain this viral persistence and the continuation of symptoms. New therapies based on this understanding are more likely to produce benefit than current methods.

We describe a family with the rare mutation R11X that leads to a truncated CD40 ligand (CD40L) missing the intracellular domain. The index case had detectable CD40L expression and presented at the age of 41 years with cerebral toxoplasmosis. A brother and two nephews were also identified as having the same mutation but exhibited milder and variable phenotypes. The older affected nephew had a moderately depressed immunoglobulin G level and a history of pneumonia at 4 months of age. The younger nephew suffered from sinusitis with normal immunoglobulin levels. Both nephews had absent antibody responses to a protein antigen with conserved responses to polysaccharide antigens. The two sisters of the index case are carriers who had elevated levels of IgM but remain well. This mutation may affect CD40 ligand function by reducing cell surface levels, diminishing CD40 interaction or disrupting CD40L intracellular signalling in T cells. The variable phenotype in members of this family offers an opportunity to further understand the CD40-CD40L signalling pathway in human immune responses.

Introduction Lanadelumab significantly reduced hereditary angioedema (HAE) attack rates versus placebo over 26 weeks in the phase 3 double-blind (DB) HELP Study (NCT02586805). Patients who completed the DB continued into the ongoing open-label extension study (OLE; NCT02741596). This interim analysis of data from 26May2016-01Sept2017 evaluated lanadelumab efficacy in the OLE among patients who received placebo in the DB. Methods Patients from the DB placebo group received a single 300 mg lanadelumab dose on Day 1 of the OLE. Following their first attack, they received lanadelumab 300 mg every 2 weeks. Results 33 patients from the DB placebo group entered the OLE. Their median time on study in the OLE was 8.6 months (range 6.6-12.6 months); all patients completed ≥6 months’ time on study, and 14 (42.4%) patients completed ≥9 months. During the DB run-in and treatment periods, patients had a median attack rate of 2.90 and 1.82 attacks/month, respectively (Figure). During the OLE, the median attack rate was 0.10 attacks/month. The median change in attack rate between the DB and OLE treatment periods was −1.38 attacks/month (−98.5%). Conclusions Consistent with the DB results, there was a significant reduction in attack rate with lanadelumab treatment among patients who previously received placebo. Attack rates in the DB and OLE studies

To help facilitate the modeling of new fiber laser systems, such as those with complex functional microstructures, we report on a simplified modeling methodology that can accommodate the parasitic kinetic effects often present in such systems. The essence of our approach is to integrate kinetics over the length of the gain medium at the outset, thereby forfeiting longitudinally resolved information about the system but simplifying its energetics analysis. To illustrate the benefits of our new approach over more conventional coupled-rate-equation analyses, we apply our model to an Nd3+-doped fiber laser operating on the F3/24−I413/2 transition at 1400 nm. The model produces closed-form solutions for the various output channels available to the pump power and enables projections of ultimate laser performance to be conveniently generated.

Membrane-based gas separation process is an effective method for separation of species from gas mixtures. Combination of membrane process with other separation methods such as absorption is an appropriate method for gas separation. One of applications of hybrid systems of membrane–absorption is sour gas sweetening. In this paper, the hollow fiber membrane contactor and amine solution are used for separation of CO 2 and H 2 S from CO 2 /H 2 S/CH 4 gas mixture. Sour gas and amine solution enter the shell and fiber respectively. CO 2 and H 2 S react with the amine solution. Reaction mechanism and equations for three phases of gas, liquid, and membrane are needed for modeling of this system. MATLAB software is used for simulation. The results show that concentrations of CO 2 and H 2 S decrease in the beginning of the fiber. Liquid phase is controlling phase. Furthermore, pressure increase has a positive effect on separation.

The release of the wastes containing polybrominated diphenyl ethers into the environment is a worldwide major concern. Investigation of spatial and temporal variations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers concentrations due to different factors, especially the transport of these species between air and water as well as between air and soil is the purpose of present research. A model was developed and solved using the methods of finite difference and lines. Simulations were implemented for three dimensions of width, length, and height and also time for the air compartment, whereas for the soil and water compartments, variations were considered only with respect to height and time. Transport between water and soil was disregarded for simplicity at this stage. Vancouver's landfill was considered as a case study. Lower concentrations in air and higher concentrations in water at the interface show that these pollutants tend to diffuse from air to water. Concentrations of all four pollutants decrease near the interface in soil as time passes, but they are predicted to be almost constant at other levels.

This article presents the measured thermal conductivity of tri-axial braided graphite/epoxy composites. An apparatus was designed for measuring the temperature at different locations with applied heat flux on a tri-axial braided composite sample. From the measured temperatures, the out-of-plane thermal conductivity, Kzz was calculated by using one-dimensional Fourier's law, while the in-plane thermal conductivities, Kxx and Kyy were obtained by using inverse FEM method through the ANSYS transient thermal analysis. Four different configurations of IM7/5250-4 graphite/epoxy composites of a single layer with tri-axial [0/±25°], [0/±35°], [0/±55°] and [0/±65°] braiding were used. Results indicate that Kzz has insignificant variations with respect to change of fiber orientation and temperature below 100°C. However, Kxx and Kyy strongly depend on the fiber orientation. The [0/±25°] composite sample has the highest value of K xx, while the [0/±65°] composite sample shows the highest value for Kyy.

19.2 dB of small signal gain and 1.2 W of average power at 1427 nm are demonstrated in an Nd3+ fiber amplifier. Waveguide design was employed to suppress amplification at 1µm.

The finding of neonatal whale sharks from Northern Indian Ocean waters off of Pakistan and Bangladesh and the description of several very small whale sharks from around Seychelles during the last few years are reported. These findings are discussed in relation to published reports of growth rates, the areas of occurrence and segregation by sex, and the behaviour of very young whale sharks, which are key factors in their conservation management.

RAPDs and SSRs were used to study the genetic diversity of Iranian almond cultivars and their relationship to important foreign cultivars and three related species. Eight unidentified almond Shahrodi cultivars and three wild almonds (Prunus communis, Prunus orientalis and Prunus scoparia) were also included. Of the primers tested, 42 (out of 80) RAPD and 18 (out of 26) SSR primers were selected for their reproducibility and high polymorphism. A total of 664 polymorphic RAPD bands were detected out of 729 bands. The number of presumed alleles revealed by the SSR analysis ranged from 3 to 10 alleles per locus with a mean value of 6.64 alleles per locus. Both techniques discriminated the genotypes very effectively, but only RAPDs were able to discriminate the cultivars Monagha and Sefied. Results demonstrated an extensive genetic variability within the tested cultivars as well as the value of SSR markers developed in peach for characterization of almond and related species of Prunus. Dice similarity coefficient was calculated for all pair wise comparisons and was used to construct a UPGMA dendrogram. For both markers a high similarity in dendrogram topologies was obtained although some differences were observed. All dendrograms, including that obtained by the combined use of both the marker data, depicted the phenetic relationships among the cultivars and species, depending upon their geographic region and/or pedigree information. Almond cultivars clustered with accession of P. communis showing their close relationship. P. orientalis and P. scoparia were clustered out of the rest of P. dulcis.

Evaluation of student learning through assessment of communication skills is a generally important component of undergraduate education and particularly so for promotion of interdisciplinary research conducted by future scientists. To better build these skills we aim to quantify the effectiveness of feedback on student writing of technical reports in an upper-division physics lab course. In one implementation, feedback utilization - in the form of observing commented technical reports, attending office hours or emailing rough drafts of their reports was monitored then correlated with improvement in student writing. The improvement in student writing is quantified as the single-student normalized gain. A slight positive relationship was found between the number of times a student utilized feedback and the improvement in student writing. A subsequent study involved correlation of two complimentary assessments of student work. In the first assessment students received consistent feedback throughout the semester on all sections of a technical report in the form of highlighted bullet points in a detailed rubric. In the second assessment method students received varying amounts of feedback for each section of the technical paper throughout the semester with a focus on one section each week and follow-up feedback on previously covered sections. This approach provides focused feedback that can be scalable to larger classes. The number of highlighted bullet points in the rubric clearly decreases as a function of the focused feedback implementation. From this we conclude that student writing improves with the focused feedback method.

The master sintering curve approach represents densification data in terms of a master variable that combines sintering time and temperature. Recently, a finite-element scheme to predict sintering deformation that requires only the master sintering curve instead of a full constitutive law as the input data has been developed. Here, a modification to the original master sintering curve approach, so that it is more suitable for finite-element analysis, is presented. Finite-element shape functions are used to represent the densification data as well as the master sintering curve. This approach confers extra flexibility to the master sintering curve approach, even when it is not used with finite-element analysis. For example, by using shape functions, a varying activation energy can be used to obtain a master sintering curve for a set of densification data that cannot be fitted using a constant activation energy.

We report a modified tip-plate configuration for the growth of carbon nanotubes using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. Tip-plate configuration allows operation at atmospheric pressures, which in turn simplifies the fabrication procedure. Using this method we have realized carbon nanotubes on SiO2-coated silicon substrates at temperatures ranging from 650 to 750 C. Tube diameter varies with the growth temperature and ranges from 20 to 200 nm in different samples. Near vertical growth has been observed at lower temperatures using a mixture of 90% H2 and 10% ethylene as the feed gas. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been exploited to study the morphology of the grown layers. Nickel has been used as the growth catalyst, deposited with various thicknesses to study the nano-island formation and its effects on the growth of nanotubes. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.