A time series analysis of environmental and metrological factors impact on cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence in an endemic area of Dehloran,Iran

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the environmental and metrological variables and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) transmission and its prediction in a region susceptible to this disease prevalence using a time series model. The accurate locations of 4437 CL diagnosed from 2011 to 2015 were obtained to be used in the time series model. Temperature, number of days with temperature over 30 °C, and number of earthquake were related to CL incidence using the Seasonal Auto-correlated Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model according to the Box-Jenkins method. In addition, the relationship between land use and surface soil type in 500- and 1000-m radius around the CL patients were investigated. The SARIMA models showed significant associations between environmental and meteorological variables and CL incidence adjusted for seasonality and auto-correlation. The result indicated that there are need more robust preventive programs in earthquake-prone areas with high temperature and inceptisol soil type than other areas. In addition, the region with these characteristics should be considered as high-risk areas for CL prevalence.     

AFRA – Heuristic expert system to assess the atmospheric risk of sulphide waste dumps

In 2006, an unprecedented atmospheric confined space accident took place in a sampling shed at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, British Columbia. This accident suggests that a risk assessment should be carried out on a regular basis at mine reclamation sites for many years after closure. In this paper, an Atmospheric Fuzzy Risk Assessment (AFRA) tool is described that can assess atmospheric risk given heuristic and measured data at such sites. It can also serve to transfer knowledge about atmospheric hazards in an enclosed structure. The system uses fuzzy logic to input and output information and to perform weighted inferencing. The paper describes the developmental process as well as system verification and validation based on a number of known test and reference waste dumps. AFRA is a heuristic expert system based on fuzzy logic and the first tool that was developed to assess the atmospheric risk of mine waste dumps. The atmospheric risk is estimated by fuzzy Mamdani system given the values of four major elements of risk comprising of: gas generation, gas emission, gas confinement, and human exposure. The ability of AFRA to adapt its risk assessment to different climate conditions is explained. There are many physical, chemical, and environmental factors which fluctuate over time affecting oxygen-depletion in waste dumps. AFRA can help mining engineers and mine managers recognize this type of danger when conducting a confined space inventory at a reclamation site.     

An electron microscope study on the mineralization of the skeleton of the staghorn coral Acropora hebes

The skeleton formation in the reef-building coral Acropora hebes (Dana) was ultrastructurally investigated by observing the skeletogenic tissue and the skeleton in the apical portion of the branches. The skeletogenic tissue was made of a layer of tall calicoblastic cells which displayed high exocytotic activities. A number of hollow spherules and tiny vesicles were found in the sub-epithelial space between the calicoblastic cell layer and the skeletal plate. These organic materials appeared to occur in the perinuclear Golgi vesicles in the cells. The energy-dispersive X-ray analysis revealed a calcium element in the osmiophilic granules of the calicoblastic cells, but not in any other cell organelles. As the granules showed no diffraction pattern, it was suggested that they could be a Ca-reservoir in the cells. Crystalline particles were found to deposit on the periphery of the sub-epithelial spherules. The spherules developed to spherular crystals by depositing granulated crystalline particles. Two of the spherules appeared to fuse with each other to form a spindle-shaped crystal. The spherular and spindle-shaped crystals accumulated on the thecal ridge and the lateral side surface of the thecal plate, and seemed to contribute to the elongation and thickening of the thecal plate. The thecal plate exhibited a porous structure which probably originated from an aggregation of the central cores of these crystals. On the surface of the thecal plate more than about 5 m thick, scale-like structures composed of spherular crystal substructures were observed. These observations suggest that mineralization in A. hebes occurs in the extracellular space by elabolating the spherular and spindle-shaped precursor structures and that growth of the corallite is brought about by an aggregation and coalescence of these crystals.     

The relationship between daylight and happiness for women in residential districts of Isfahan,Iran

This study explores the relationship between daylight exposure in urban residential units and the mood/happiness of nonworking female residents (housewives) in Isfahan, Iran. A growing body of evidence points to the physiological and psychological benefits of daylight, yet few studies have focused on the relationship between residential daylight and women's mental health. A cross‐sectional study was conducted using two‐stage random cluster sampling of nonworking female occupants of buildings in four residential districts. Mood/happiness was determined using the Oxford Happiness Inventory and the Fordyce Happiness Inventory. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables. A significant relationship was found between residents’ happiness and the amount of daylight in their residential units (Oxford Inventory, r = 0.68, P < 0.05; Fordyce Inventory, r = 0.53, P < 0.05). The findings suggest that features of physical residential environments, such as daylight, may be linked to the happiness of housewives. Persons belonging to various demographic groups who spend the majority of their time indoors (e.g., housewives, children, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities) are most dependent on architecture and environmental design for their well‐being, and therefore, are most affected by design decisions.     

Recruitment and ontogenetic habitat shifts of the yellow snapper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lutjanus argentiventris</Emphasis>) in the Gulf of California

We examined recruitment and ontogenetic habitat shifts of the yellow snapper Lutjanus argentiventris in the Gulf of California, by conducting surveys and collections in multiple mangrove sites and major marine coastal habitats from 1998 to 2007. Over 1,167 juvenile individuals were collected and 516 otoliths were aged to describe the temporal pattern of the settlement. L. argentiventris recruits in mangroves, where juveniles remain until they are approximately 100 mm in length or 300-days-old. Back-calculated settlement dates and underwater surveys indicated a major recruitment peak during September and October, around 8 days before and after the full moon. The majority of mangrove sites in the Gulf of California had a similar L. argentiventris average size at the beginning of the settlement season for the cohort of 2003; although there were significant differences in individual sizes at the end of the nursery stage. When sub-adults leave mangroves, they live in shallow rocky reefs and later become abundant in deeper rocky reefs. The density of migratory individuals (10–20 cm SL) decreased exponentially as the distance between a reef and a nearby mangrove site increased. This finding has important implications for local fishery regulations and coastal management plans.     

Histopathological effects of copper oxide nanoparticles on the gill and intestine of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the presence of titanium dioxide nanoparticles

In current research, the combined effects of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) on the histopathological anomalies of gill and intestine tissues in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were studied. Common carp were exposed to TiO₂ NPs (10.0?mg L^?1), CuO NPs (2.5 and 5.0?mg L^?1), and mixture of TiO₂ NPs (10.0?mg L^?1)?+?CuO NPs (2.5 and 5.0 mg?L^?1) for two periods of exposure (10 and 20 days) and recovery (30 and 40 days). The most common histopathological anomalies in the gill of common carp such as hyperplasia, oedema, curvature, fusion, aneurism, and necrosis were observed. The synergistic effect of co-existing TiO₂ NPs and CuO NPs reduced the length of secondary lamella and increased the diameters of the gill filaments and secondary lamellae. Moreover, the presence of TiO₂ NPs increased the CuO NPs effects on the histopathological anomalies of intestine tissue and the synergistic effect of TiO₂ NPs and CuO mixture leads to an increase in the severity of histopathological lesions such as degeneration, swelling of goblet cells, and necrosis - erosion in the intestine tissue. In conclusion, the presence of TiO₂ NPs increased the toxicity of CuO NPs.     

Non-point source contribution and dynamics of soluble and particulate phosphorus from main tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed,Iran

The temporal variability of phosphorus (P) transport and the relationships between discharge, suspended sediment concentration and particulate (PP), and soluble (SP) phosphorus were examined. The study was conducted at the event scale in seven tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed in Kurdistan Province (Iran) from March 2011 to April 2012. Based on eight runoff events, 82% of the total P was the PP carried out by suspended sediment. Results showed a high variability of P transport during different runoff events. It was found that soil erosion was the source of the high P load. For all tributaries, PP was linearly related to both discharge and suspended sediment concentration. However, the relationships of SP and PP with discharge and suspended sediment concentration showed different hysteresis patterns. The relationship between PP and discharge was generally characterized by a clockwise pattern (i.e., lower part contribution of the sub-watersheds) but the patterns between SP and discharge were mainly anticlockwise (i.e., upper part contribution of the sub-watersheds or perhaps due to a subsurface flow contribution).