The present study was conducted to determine if using α
-adrenergic agonists results in decreased stress levels (lower cortisol levels) in goats used for laparoscopic embryo somatic cell nuclear ...transfer (SCNT) transfer; and there is an effect on pregnancy rate when stress levels are lessened. Sixty healthy does aged 24 ± 4 months and weighing 30 ± 3 kg were used in experimental, prospective, randomized and blinded study. In this study, embryos were obtained by the Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) method. Animals were randomly assigned to five groups: control (normal saline); xylazine (100 μg kg
); detomidine (50 μg kg
); medetomidine (20 μg kg
); and dexmedetomidine (5 μg kg
). Embryo transfer (through laparoscopic technique) began at 15 min and continued till 45 min post-treatment. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), and ruminal motility were performed before (baseline) and after drug administration. Pregnancy detection was performed 38 days after embryo transfer.
Compared to control, HR, RR and ruminal motility were significantly lower in α
-adrenergic agonists groups at 5-90, 15-60, and 5-120 min, respectively. Serum cortisol values significantly increased from baseline in the control group 45 min after drug administration (p = 0.001). At time points 45 and 60 min, serum cortisol concentration was significantly lower in α
-adrenergic agonists groups compared with the control. The pregnancy rate in control group (n = 4/12, 33.3%) was significantly lower than xylazine (n = 9/12, 75%; p = 0.041), detomidine (n = 10/12, 83.3%; p = 0.013), medetomidine (n = 9/12, 75%; p = 0.041) and dexmedetomidine (n = 10/12, 83.3%; p = 0.013); but no significant differences were observed among different α
-adrenergic agonists groups.
Alph
-adrenergic agonists were effective on increasing the pregnancy rate of recipient goats receiving cloned embryos. No significant differences were detected among different α
-adrenergic agonists.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Urban and transportation planners have put a special focus on students' health and fitness in the past decade, however they struggle to find effective policies to promote walking and biking for ...school trips. Commuting to school is an opportunity to embed a regular physical activity in students' daily routines and prevent many health issues that are stimulated by physical inactivity during childhood. A three level nested logit model is introduced to explain the motives behind school trip modal selection. Four choice situations, namely walking, driving, school busing, and taking public transit are considered. This study, particularly, underscored the significance of model misspecification in terms of policy outcomes, since multinomial logit models are typically adopted in the literature and have strong and, in many cases, unrealistic assumptions. Elasticity analysis of the MNL model showed an indirect elasticity of vehicle ownership of −0.13 for non-automobile modes, while NL model provides different elasticities of −0.12, −0.20 and −0.08, respectively for public, school bus, and walk modes. This misspecification results in over estimating the reduction in the share of students who walk to school when vehicle ownership increases. Moreover, a wide range of policy-sensitive variables along with their effect magnitude was discussed and compared with the previous studies. The results showed that one percent increase in the probability of walking to school is expected for every 0.04 percent increase in auto travel time, 0.07 percent increase in the normalized-to-income cost of driving, 0.08 percent decrease in vehicle ownership, 0.03 percent increase in distance to public transit, or 2.37 percent decrease in commute distance. Safety was also found to be very influential on active commuting, such that addressing the safety concern of parents is expected to increase propensity of active commuting to school by around 60 percent.
•The significance of model misspecification is underscored in terms of policy outcomes.•Every 2.37% decrease in commute distance increases the probability of walking by 1%.•Distance to the bus station has a direct elasticity of 0.32 in public transit mode.•Addressing the safety concern of parents increases the probability of walking by 60%.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Driving behavior recognition is a notable topic in travel safety, as transportation and insurance companies could adopt effective tools to detect unsafe driving and internalize the associated costs. ...Different driving events and the related severity must be detected to distinguish abnormal behaviors. The global positioning system (GPS) provides useful information regarding the location of the vehicle at any time and is vastly used in various devices such as smartphones and GPS trackers. Other sensors, on the other hand, provide complementary valuable information but their implementation requires extra costs and more complex and intensive algorithms. We developed a threshold-based algorithm to detect the turning and braking of vehicles using the GPS sensor. The data contained 11 trips with a frequency of 1 Hz with a total duration of 2.7 h. The algorithm utilizes a supplementary map matching and a relabeling technique to boost the accuracy and yet preserve the reasonable computation load. The overall precision and recall rate of the turn-detecting model are respectively 77.5% and 92.5%. Also, this algorithm can detect braking events with a precision of 68.18% and a recall of 83.33%. To address the concerns about the overfitting, we tested our algorithm on a secondary dataset, and nearly similar values of accuracy were resulted, showing the flexible nature of our algorithm while dealing with a different set of driving behaviors and road characteristics. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis showed the sensitive nature of the brake detection algorithm, in contrast with the turn detection algorithm. Overall, our algorithm showed promising results and can be a pioneer one in the field of low-cost detection algorithms built for smartphones or GPS trackers possessed by various trucking and car insurance companies.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
To compare the sedative and clinical effects of intravenous (IV) administration of dexmedetomidine and xylazine in dromedary calves.
Experimental, crossover, randomized, blinded study.
A total of ...seven healthy male dromedary calves aged 14 ± 2 weeks and weighing 95 ± 5.5 kg.
Calves were assigned three IV treatments: treatment XYL, xylazine (0.2 mg kg
); treatment DEX, dexmedetomidine (5 μg kg
); and control treatment, normal saline (0.01 mL kg
). Sedation scores, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (f
), rectal temperature (RT) and ruminal motility were recorded before (baseline) and after drug administration. Sedation signs were scored using a 4-point scale. One-way anova and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for data analysis.
Calves in treatments XYL and DEX were sedated at 5-60 minutes. Sedation had waned in XYL calves, but not DEX calves, at 60 minutes (p = 0.037). Sedation was not present in calves of any treatment at 90 minutes. HR decreased from baseline in XYL and DEX at 5-90 minutes after drug administration and was lower in DEX than XYL at 5 minutes (p = 0.017). HR was lower in DEX (p = 0.001) and XYL (p = 0.013) than in control treatment at 90 minutes. f
decreased from baseline in XYL and DEX at 5-60 minutes after drug administration and was lower in DEX than XYL at 5 minutes (p = 0.013). RT was unchanged in any treatment over 120 minutes. Ruminal motility was decreased in XYL at 5, 90 and 120 minutes and absent at 10-60 minutes. Motility was decreased in DEX at 5, 10 and 120 minutes and was absent at 15-90 minutes.
The duration of sedation from dexmedetomidine (5 μg kg
) and xylazine (0.2 mg kg
) was similar in dromedary calves.
•The effect of rutin on memory was evaluated in rats injected with Aβ.•Rutin increased ERK1, CREB and BDNF gene expression in the hippocampus.•Rutin increased memory retrieval in passive avoidance ...task.•Rutin decreased oxidative stress of Aβ on memory.•Rutin potentially ameliorates the destructive effects of Aβ on memory.
Flavonoids are present in foods such as fruits and vegetables. A relationship between the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods and prevention of human disease including neurodegenerative disorders has been demonstrated. We assessed the effect of rutin (3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone-3-rhamnoglucoside) on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, memory retrieval and oxidative stress in rats injected with β-amyloid (Aβ), which is implicated to have an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ was injected bilaterally in the deep frontal cortex of rat brain. Next, rutin and saline were injected (i.p.) for 3 weeks. In comparison to the control group, rutin significantly increased extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1 (ERK1), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression in the hippocampus of rats. Rutin (100mg/kg) significantly increased memory retrieval compared to the control group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the hippocampus of the rutin group was significantly lower than those in the control group. The content of sulfhydryl groups in the rutin group was higher than that in the control group. The findings show a possibility that rutin may have beneficial effects against neurotoxicity of Aβ on memory in rats.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The aim of the current study was to establish reference values for most important clinicohematological, electrolytes, acute phase proteins, and some cardiovascular biomarkers in lambs and kids from ...birth to 2 days of age. A total of 40 animals (20 lambs and 20 kids) were enrolled into the study from birth to 2 days of age. The neonates were born to Kermani ewes and Cashmere (Raini) does of 3 years of age weighing 42 ± 1 and 30 ± 2 kg, respectively, during the breeding season. Mothers of the neonates were reared under the same husbandry and management conditions in the same group pen. The first feeding (via bottle) occurred at 40 ± 15 min after birth, and the colostrum was offered again every 30 min to obtain an intake volume equivalent to 10% of the neonate’s body weight (BW). The transitional milk milked at 12, 24, and 36 h after birth was artificially ad libitum offered via bottle. Blood sampling was initiated immediately after birth (before the ingestion of colostrum) and then were performed within the first and second day after birth. In both species, heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) were significantly decreased within the first 48 and 24 h after birth, respectively (
P
< 0.01). Values of calcium, chloride, and magnesium were significantly increased within 24 h after birth. There were no significant changes in serum concentrations of potassium during the first day of life, while it was significantly higher after 48 h. Phosphorous levels determined during the entire study period showed age-related changes in kids and lambs. Significant decreases in PCV value were seen during the first day of life in lambs and kids (
P
< 0.05). Except for hemocysteine (Hcy) and serum amyloid A (SAA), values of haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen, cardiac troponin I, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB were unchanged within the first 24 h after birth. In both species, during the first 48 h of life Hcy and SAA, serum values were significantly decreased and increased, respectively (
P
< 0.001). It is suggested that the changes in clinicohematological, electrolytes, acute phase proteins, and some cardiovascular biomarkers are normal and could be attributed to both colostrum absorption and physiological development of a newborn.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Crash forecasting enables safety planners to take appropriate actions before casualty or loss occurs. Identifying and analyzing the attributes influencing forecasting accuracy is of great importance ...in road crash forecasting. This study aims to model the forecasting accuracy of 31 provinces using their macroeconomic variables and road traffic indicators. Iran's road crashes throughout 2011–2018 are calibrated and cross-validated using the Holt-Winters (HW) forecasting method. The sensitivity of crash forecast reliability is studied by a regression model. The results suggested that the root mean square error (RMSE) of crash prediction increased among the provinces with higher and more variant average monthly crashes. On the contrary, the accuracy of crash prediction improved in provinces with higher per capita GDP, and higher traffic exposure. A 1% increase in crash variability, average historical crash count, GDP per capita, and traffic exposure, respectively, resulted in a 0.65%, 0.52%, −0.38%, and −0.13% change in the RMSE of forecasting. The addition of traffic exposure and macroeconomic factors significantly enhanced the model fit and improved the adjusted R-squared by 14% compared to the reduced model that only used the historical average and variability of crash count as the independent variables. The findings of this research suggest planners and policymakers should consider the notable influence of macroeconomic factors and traffic indicators on the crash forecasting accuracy.
•This research models the accuracy of monthly road crash counts in Iran.•Holt-Winters' method is used to acquire the monthly provincial crash count forecast and accuracy.•Macroeconomic and traffic indicators are used in an OLS regression to model the accuracy of forecast among the provinces.•Provinces with a higher average annual hourly traffic and per capita GDP had more accurate forecasts.•Provinces with a higher historical average crash count and crash count variability had less accurate forecasts.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Summary
Background
The use of combinations of α2‐adrenergic agonists and opioids has been published as providing superior sedation than either drug alone.
Objectives
The present study aimed to ...compare the sedative and physiological effects of intravenous (IV) administration of dexmedetomidine alone and in combination with methadone, morphine, tramadol or pethidine in miniature donkeys.
Study design
Experimental, crossover Latin square, randomised, blinded study.
Methods
Twelve clinically healthy miniature donkeys with a mean age of 6 ± 2 (mean ± SD) years, weight of 94 ± 5 kg and height at withers of 0.80 ± 0.06 m were assigned to six IV treatments. They received either 0.9% saline, 5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine, 5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 0.2 mg/kg methadone, 5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 0.1 mg/kg morphine, 5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 2 mg/kg tramadol or 5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 1 mg/kg pethidine, with a washout period of 8 days. The degree of sedation was investigated using a numerical ranking scale of 0–3. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT) and intestinal motility were performed before and 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 120 min after drug administration.
Results
Animals in dexmedetomidine or dexmedetomidine/opioid treatments were sedated for 5–60 min. Sedation was significantly higher in dexmedetomidine/opioid treatments than in dexmedetomidine at 15–30 min (p < 0.05). In all treatments, HR and RR significantly decreased from baseline at 5–75 and 30–60 min, respectively (p < 0.05). Intestinal motility was decreased in dexmedetomidine and dexmedetomidine/opioid treatments at 5–60 and 5–90 min, respectively. Compared to dexmedetomidine, intestinal motility was significantly lower in dexmedetomidine/opioid treatments at 75–90 min.
Main limitations
Assessment of only HR and RR are inadequate to describe the cardiorespiratory effects of dexmedetomidine/opioids.
Conclusions
The use of combinations of dexmedetomidine/opioids would be considered for superior sedation for 15–30 min after administration in miniature donkeys. No significant differences were detected between opioids in combination with dexmedetomidine in miniature donkeys.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
•The reaction networks of the ODS of DBT which were enhanced by Fenton process proceeded a pseud-first order model with over 79% of removal efficiency.•As it was expected stronger agitation speeds ...correspond to rooted vortexes and so paramount interfacial area, while finer droplets were generated between 70–95 °C and Fenton reagents molar ratio of 0.03.•The aforementioned approach led to reduction of sulfur content of understudy fuel from more than 650 ppm and less than 800, 185.7 ppm during 62 min of oxidative reaction.
In this study desulfurization has been surveyed with particular attention to the effect of temperature, Fe+2/H2O2 molar ratio, residence time, fluid viscosity and agitation speed. Demonstration of factors' effects approved via ANVOVA by Taguchi experimental design and printed a vital effect of temperature and oil volume fraction as the most two considerable parameters with contribution percent of 92.5% and 87.5%, respectively. The aforementioned approach led to reduction of sulfur content of understudy fuel from 650 to 800 ppm to 185.7 ppm during 45 min of oxidative reaction. The sulfur removal efficiency predicted by the software was 86.47% and the value from the experiment was 89.39% while it was arranged based on the severity index for more accuracy of results. As a result removal efficiency with Fenton reactions as a strong economic process under a pseudo-first order kinetics model was approved.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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