In the present study, the ballast waters from 24 ships arriving at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, Iran, were studied in two warm and cold seasons (summer 2017 and winter 2018). The zooplankton sampling was conducted under the MEPC 173(58) method, by bucket and using a 50-micron mesh to filter 300 liters of ballast water. In total, 57 zooplankton species, belonging to 8 phyla, 11 classes, 15 orders, and 35 families were identified in the sampled ballast water, among which the Arthropoda phylum with 16 families and 23 species recorded the highest number of species The highest and lowest density among the studied samples belonged to the Tintinnopsis gracilis species from the Codonellidae family (11. 4%) and Calanopia elliptic species from the Pontellida family (0. 04%), respectively. The results of the Pearson correlation test showed that there was a negative correlation between the measured pH parameter and the frequency of zooplankton (p<0. 01). There was also a positive correlation between EC and Shannon diversity index (p<0. 05). (PCA) test results showed that EC, temperature, salinity, and TDS factors had the most impact in stations with the highest number of species and abundance of zooplankton. The results of the cluster diagram showed the highest similarity between winter at the Western Indian Ocean (WW) and summer at the Western Indian Ocean (WS) at the level of 54%, and the lowest similarity between the winters at the Northwestern Indian Ocean (NW) at the level of 24% with other regions. All the studies species in the ballast waters of the Persian Gulf had been identified and reported by previous studies but certainly requires continuous monitoring management of the ballast water, and supervising their discharge into the marine environment.

Introduction: Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) is overexpressed in primary and metastatic prostate carcinoma ((PCA)) and could be targeted by a [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 scan for detection of metastases. Despite extensive studies, data on the most appropriate interval between radiopharmaceutical injection and image acquisition is scarce. We compared the metastasis detection rates of the [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 scan between 75-minute and 4-hour intervals of radiopharmaceutical injection.Methods: From May 2021 to May 2022, we studied 30 consenting men with pathologically confirmed (PCA) who were referred to our department requesting  a PSMA scan for primary staging, biochemical recurrence, pre-177Lu-PSMA therapy, or surveillance. 75-minute and 4-hour [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 SPECT/CT scan performed following injection of the radiopharmaceutical. The corresponding  metastasis detection rates were evaluated in 75-minute and 4-hour intervals.Results: The mean age of patients was 68.43±9.61 years, with a median PSA of 4.19 ng/ml and a median Gleason Score of 8. Nine cases had negative [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-PSMA-11 scans, while 21 had positive scans (8 cases with bone, 2 with lung, 4 with lymph node, and 7 with multiple organ metastases). All metastases were detected in both checkpoints, except for one patient, where 75-minute images detected three pelvic metastatic lymph nodes, while four were seen in the 4-hour scan. This small missed right external iliac lymph node did not change the patient’s management.Conclusion: We found no significant difference in the detection rate of metastatic lesions in 75-minute and 4-hour time intervals. These findings could help to decrease  waiting time and  by more efficient scheduling improves patient’s satisfaction at nuclear medicine departments.