Insight in to the Epilobium L. genus systematics by using multiple data sets and bioinformatic and phylogenetic approaches

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The genus Epilobium of Family Onagraceae is taxonomically a difficult group due to frequent inter-specific hybridization and species morphological overlaps....     

A new look at the genus Crocus L. phylogeny and speciation: Insight from molecular data and chromosome geography

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae is a monophyletic genus with over 100 species. Due to the high degree of hybridization and the changes in the number...     

Genetic diversity and population structure in medicinal plant Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae)

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Melissa officinalis is an important medicinal plant and is extensively used by locals. This species is growing in different regions of Iran and forms several...     

Evaluation of surface irrigation system performance using System Dynamics (SD) approach

Various methods and criteria have been proposed and utilized for the evaluation of irrigation systems performance, which can be used for comparison of design conditions and irrigation systems performance. Surface irrigation systems should be paid more attention among all other irrigation systems due to their operation simplicity and high losses. In the present study, while describing main relationships of irrigation evaluation criteria of application efficiency, water requirement efficiency, Deep Percolation Ratio and Tail Water Ratio, a method based on SD will be introduced. Modeling of this approach has been done using VENSIM-DSS software. Model has been tested in a case study that included the modeling of a furrow in four irrigation status: current situation, full irrigation, deficit irrigation and finally deficit irrigation with optimized irrigation cutoff time and inflow into furrow. The results reveal the high capabilities of SD approach in modeling water resources and irrigation systems. Its user friendly and ability in transferring data to the data bank can introduce this approach and software as an applicable decision support system.     

Effect of age,sex, and season on the prevalence of Linguatula serrata infestation in mesenteric lymph nodes of goats slaughtered in Tabriz,Iran

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This research was conducted to determine the prevalence and intensity of infection with nymphs of Linguatula serrata in mesenteric lymph nodes of the goats...     

Developing a Fluorescent Hybrid Nanobiosensor Based on Quantum Dots and Azoreductase Enzyme for Methyl Red Monitoring

Background:Azo dyes are the most widely used synthetic colorants in the textile, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and other industries, accounting for nearly 70% of all dyestuffs consumed. Recently, much research attention has been paid to efficient monitoring of these hazardous chemicals and their related metabolites because of their potentially harmful effect on environmental issues. In contrast to the complex and expensive instrumental procedures, the detection system based on the QDs with the superior optochemical properties provides a new era in the pollution sensing and prevention. Methods:We have developed a QD-enzyme hybrid system to probe MR in aqueous solutions using a fluorescence quenching procedure. Results:The azoreductase enzyme catalyzed the reduction of azo group in MR, which can efficiently decrease the FRET between the QDs and MR molecules. The correlation between the QDs photoluminescence recovery and MR enzymatic decolorization at the neutral phosphate buffer permitted the creation of a fluorescence quenching-based sensor. The synthesized biosensor can be used for the accurate detection of MR in a linear calibration over MR concentrations of 5-84 μM, with the LOD of 0.5 μM in response time of three minutes. Conclusion:Our findings revealed that this fluorometric sensor has the potential to be successfully applied for monitoring a wide linear range of MR concentration with the relative standard deviation of 4% rather than the other method. Key Words: Azoreductase, Methyl red, Quantum dots     

The Associations Between Tea and Coffee Drinking and Risk of Calcium-Oxalate Renal Stones

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Findings regarding the association between tea and coffee consumption and oxalate-calcium stone are sparse and uncertain. The purpose of this study was to...     

Hypocholesterolemic effects of dietary soybean vs. casein proteins in a crossed over diets in rat

To investigate the effects of dietary proteins on the level of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided in control and 3 experimental groups (El, E2 and E3). The feeding regimes of rats were as follow: control, standard diet; E1, a cholesterol free diet containing 20% soybean protein; E2, a cholesterol free diet containing 20% casein and E3, a cholesterol free diet containing 10% soybean protein and 10% casein. The experimental period was 11 weeks but at the end of 7th week the diets of E1 and E2 groups were crossed over for the next 4 weeks. Blood samples were collected weekly, via the ophthalmic sinus and the serum levels TC, TG and HDL were measured. In comparison with control group, the results show that at the end of 7th week TC levels in E1 and E2 groups were significantly (p<0.05) increased while HDL level unchanged and the TC value of E2 was bigger (not significant) than E1. However by crossing over the diets, the TC level was significantly (p<0.05) diminished in E2 while TG value remarkably (p<0.05) increased. These results indicate that soybean protein may insert its hypocholesterolemic effect in hypercholestrolemic condition than in normolipidemic condition.     

Eco-friendly biopolymer/clay/conducting polymer nanocomposite: Characterization and its application in reactive dye removal

In this study starch-montmorillonite/polyaniline (St-MMT/PANI) nanocomposite was synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of starch-montmorillonite nanocomposite dispersion. The prepared ternary nanocomposite was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TGA and TEM techniques. XRD patterns combined with TEM results confirmed the intercalation of MMT in the starch matrix. SEM micrographs revealed the growth of polyaniline over the surface of the St-MMT nanocomposite. The St-MMT/PANI nanocomposite was used for the adsorption of a reactive dye. Batch removal experiment results showed complete removal of dye in a very short contact time. Further investigations indicated that the removal mechanism was based on both the adsorption and electrostatic attraction between nanocomposite and dye molecules. The experimental data were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption capacity of reactive dye on St-MMT/PANI nanocomposite was 91.74 mg g^?1. All these results demonstrated the effectiveness of the hybrid system as an efficient adsorbent for removal of reactive dyes from textile effluents.     

Evaluation of genetic variability of six Iranian landraces of onion (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Allium cepa</Emphasis> L.) for seed yield and yield components

In this research, the factors affecting seed production of six landraces (Sefid-e-Ghom, Germez-e-Azarshahr, Dorcheh-e-Isfahan, Tarom, Germez-e-Kazeroon, Sefid-e-Abarkooh) and a foreign cultivar (Yellow Sweet Spanish as a control) were evaluated in a randomized complete block design experiment with three replications. Results indicated significant differences between genotypes regarding some of the traits. Seed stalks were emerged in Tarom and Yellow Sweet Spanish earlier than other landraces. Flowering of Germez-e-Kazeroon and Tarom were the first and last, respectively. Also, ripening of seed in Germez-e-Kazeroon and Yellow Sweet Spanish was earlier and later than other landraces, respectively. The number of seed stalks/plant and seed yield/ha were increased while increasing in bulb size from 5 to 7 cm. Among the landraces, Sefid-e-Ghom and Germez-e-Azarshahr showed the highest and lowest number of seed stalks/plant, respectively. Sefid-e-Ghom, also, showed the highest seed yield/inflorescence, /plant and/ha. Although the differences were not significant statistically. Relationships between traits showed that seed yield/plant and /ha was a positively correlated with the number of seed stalks/plant. Genotypes were grouped in three clusters using Ward method.