Sustained Release of Risedronate from PLGA Microparticles Embedded in Alginate Hydrogel for Treatment of Bony Lesions

Background:Inflammatory bone resorption in periodontitis can lead to tooth loss. Systemic administration of bisphosphonates such as risedronate for preventing bone resorption can cause adverse effects. ALG and PLGA microparticles have been studied as drug delivery systems for sustained release of drugs. Therefore, the release pattern of risedronate from PLGA microparticles embedded with ALG was studied as a drug delivery system for sustained release of the drug, which can be used in local administrations. Methods:Risedronate-containing PLGA microparticles were fabricated using double emulsion solvent evaporation technique. Ionic cross-linking method was used to fabricate risedronate-loaded ALG. Risedronate-containing PLGA microparticles were then coated with ALG. The calibration curve of risedronate was traced to measure EE and study the release pattern. SEM imaging was carried out, and cell toxicity was examined using MTT assay. Statistical analysis of data was carried out using SPSS ver. 20 software, via one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s tests. Results:SEM imaging showed open porosities on ALGs. The mean EE of PLGA microparticles for risedronate was 57.14 ± 3.70%. Risedronate released completely after 72 h from ALG, and the cumulative release was significantly higher (p = 0.000) compared to PLGA microspheres coated with ALG, which demonstrated sustained released of risedronate until day 28. Risedronate-loaded ALG showed a significant decrease in gingival fibroblasts cell viability (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Alginate-coated PLGA microspheres could release risedronate in a sustained and controlled way and also did not show cell toxicity. Therefore, they seem to be an appropriate system for risedronate delivery in local applications. Key Words: Alginates, Hydrogels, Polylactic acid-polyglycolic acid copolymer, Risedronic acid     

Distribution and tensile strength of Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) roots growing on slopes of Caspian Forests, Iran

Biomechanical characteristics of the root system of hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) were assessed by measuring Root Area Ratio (RAR) values and tensile strength of root specimens of eight hornbeam trees growing on hilly terrain of Northern Iran. RAR values of the roots were obtained using profile trenching method at soil depth of the top 0.1 m. In total 123 root specimens were analyzed for tensile strength. Results indicate that in general, RAR decreases with depth, following a power function. The RAR values in up and down slopes have no significant statistical differences. In most cases, the maximum RAR values were located in soil depth of the top 0.1 m, with maximum rooting depth at about 0.75 m. The minimum and maximum RAR values along the profiles were 0.004% and 6.431% for down slope and 0.004% and 3.995% for up slope, respectively. The number of roots in the up and down slope trenches was not significantly different. In the same manner as for RAR, number of roots distributing with depth was satisfactorily approximated a power function. The penetration depths of above 90 percent of the roots were at soil depths of 50 cm and 60 cm for up and down slopes, respectively. Results of Spearman’s bivariate correlation showed no significant correlation between the RAR value with tree diameter and gradient of slope and number of roots. The mean value of root tensile strength was 31.51 ± 1.05 MPa and root tensile strength decreased with the increase in root diameter, following a power law equation. Using ANCOVA, we found intraspecies variation of tensile strength. Biography: Ehsan Abdi (1978– ), Male, Ph.D candidate, in the Department of Forestry, University of Tehran, Karaj 31585-3314, Iran.     

白蚁的食物选择

毒饵技术是防治白蚁最常使用的方法之一,对白蚁取食选择的认识是毒饵技术发展的基础。评述了白蚁嗜食的真菌腐朽物、植物性材料以及糖和氨基酸等取食促进物质研究情况,分析了白蚁对上述物质取食选择的营养消化机制,并对白蚁食物选择研究面临的问题提出了展望。     

南京地区黑翅土白蚁饵料筛选与取食记忆研究

通过不同林分黑翅土白蚁采食工蚁的饵料筛选结果,分析白蚁取食经历对食物选择的影响。结果表明:来自不同林分的黑翅土白蚁喜食树种最佳为鹅掌楸树皮粉,其工蚁数量、泥被覆盖率和饵料被食率均较高,泥被出现时间在所有饵料中也相对较早。筛选出的辅食饵料最佳比例为15%小米粉和5%蔗糖,高糖分对黑翅土白蚁仅有短暂的诱食作用,一段时间后,高糖分诱食作用减退。白蚁采食工蚁存在取食记忆现象,取食记忆的持续时间与原取食材料在食物资源中的嗜食序列有关。若原取食材料属于食物选择试验中最嗜食物质,取食记忆可持续存在;否则,一定时间后发生食物选择的改变。试验筛选出最佳饵料配方为80%鹅掌楸树皮粉+15%小米粉+5%蔗糖,采食工蚁对不同树种树皮粉的取食选择可能与化学成分有关。     

Chemical,mechanical and integrated weed management under two phosphorous fertilizer application methods in rapeseed

A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2011 and 2012 at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Shiraz University, Iran to determine the effect of the herbicide trifluralin, mechanical and integrated weed control under different application methods of P fertilizer (midrow banded and surface broadcast) on weed biomass and yield of rapeseed, cultivar Talayeh. Plants grown in unweeded plots at midrow banded and surface broadcast P fertilization methods produced the greatest rapeseed yield (3217 and 1034 kg ha^?1, respectively). The increasing effect of P fertilizer on rapeseed yield was less consistent when rapeseed was competing with weeds. It showed that weeds were able to prevent rapeseed from capturing the full benefit of P fertilizer. Trifluralin at 1400 g ha^?1 + rotary cultivator + sweep cultivator consistently provided the highest rapeseed grain (2953.5 and 2912 kg ha^?1, respectively) and oil yield (1363 and 1320 kg ha^?1, respectively). Additionally, trifluralin alone did not provide acceptable full season weed control in rapeseed. Since mechanical weed control implements such as rotary and sweep cultivators are available and inexpensive to Iranian farmers, trifluralin at 1400 g ha^?1 + rotary cultivator + sweep cultivator is recommended to improve weed control in rapeseed.     

Red List assessment of nine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops</Emphasis> species in Armenia

The aims of this study are to determine the geographical and ecological distribution of nine Aegilops species in Republic of Armenia and to make an assessment of their IUCN Red List status, using the IUCN Red list categories and criteria, in order to develop an in situ conservation strategy for wild relatives of wheat in Armenia. Ecogeographic surveys of nine Aegilops species were undertaken over 2 years in Armenia. They included a herbarium survey followed by extensive ground-truthing field surveys where targeted Aegilops species occur. The study showed that of the nine Aegilops species studied, four are threatened and of these, Ae. mutica and Ae. crassa are critically endangered. The latter species may even be extinct in Armenia. Ae. neglecta and A. biuncialis are endangered. Additional studies are required to assess the threat status of Ae. umbellulata. Ae. columnaris was assessed as near threatened, while the remaining species (Ae. triuncialis, Ae. cylindrica and Ae. tauschii) are of least concern. There has been a dramatic decline in the genetic resources of Aegilops species during recent years in Armenia as a result of adverse human impacts such as expansion of agriculture, urbanization and uncontrolled grazing. Several species, especially Ae. mutica and Ae. crassa, should be prioritized in conservation activities in Armenia. Efforts should be made to conserve genetic diversity of crop wild relative species both in situ and ex situ, bearing in mind that their germplasm carries potentially valuable information (traits) that can improve adaptability and productivity of cultivated wheat varieties.     

Mesenteric and mediastinal lymph node infection with <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Linguatula serrata</Emphasis> nymphs in sheep slaughtered in Kerman slaughterhouse,southeast Iran

This research was carried out in order to detect the prevalence of nymphal stages of Linguatula serrata in mediastinal and mesenteric lymph nodes of sheep slaughtered in Kerman slaughterhouse, southeast of Iran. For this purpose, mesenteric and mediastinal lymph nodes of 806 sheep of different sex and age were examined. One hundred and thirty out of 806 (16.1%) of the sheep were found positive for L. serrata infection. The infection rate increased with age (P < 0.001). Prevalence of L. serrata nymphs in males and females and different seasons was not significantly different (P > 0.05). Considering the results, it could be concluded that the prevalence of L. serrata in sheep of Kerman is high and plays an important role in epidemiology of linguatulosis. The zoonotic potential of this parasite to human health is discussed.     

Land suitability evaluation using image processing based on determination of soil texture–structure and soil features

Land evaluation is the process of land performance predictions over time based on land uses and soil features. Traditional methods in determining soil features are proved to be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, a simpler automated method using the image segmentation was developed in this study. The method was designed by integrating dynamic region merging and genetic algorithm. An area index was calculated for each soil profile using the automated method. It was used to present the amount of soil coarse particles and thereupon to determine the rating value of text-structure. Using the method, the mean intersection over union of above 0.7 was obtained for detecting the coarse particles which confirms its suitability. Data analysis showed that (a) compared to the Storie-land index (R² = 0.71), the Square root-land index was more correlated to the harvest index (R² = 0.73), and (b) comparing to manual methods, not only the automated text-structure had a higher correlation with the harvest index (R² = 0.64) but also it decreased the determination time (>3.75 times). Furthermore, among the models developed by response surface methodology for estimation of soil features, the developed model for estimation of soil lime showed the highest accuracy (R² = 0.89). In conclusion, since the developed method is more accurate, more economic and faster than the usual manual methods, it can be widely used in land suitability evaluation.     

Parasitoids of European species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yponomeuta</Emphasis> Latreille 1796 (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae): new findings with an updated checklist

The species of the genus Yponomeuta Latreille (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) are known as ermine moths and can be found on various host plant species, sometimes appearing as pests. They are attacked by a wide range of parasitoids. We studied parasitoid complexes of several communities in Austria, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Sweden during 2014–2018. From four species, Yponomeuta cagnagella (Hübner), Yponomeuta evonymella (Linnaeus), Yponomeuta malinellus Zeller and Yponomeuta padella (Linnaeus), we reared 15 parasitoid species of seven hymenopteran and one dipteran family. In this study, the family Ichneumonidae is the most numerous, while Ageniaspis fuscicollis (Dalman) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was found in all four Yponomeuta species. Within reared parasitoids, A. fuscicollis is new record for Slovenia and Austria, Baryscapus evonymellae (Bouché) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Diadegma armillatum (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are new records for Slovenia and Agrypon canaliculatum (Ratzeburg) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Dolichogenidea dilecta (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Elasmus steffani Viggiani (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Herpestomus brunnicornis (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Trieces tricarinatus (Holmgren) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and Mesochorus nuncupator (Panzer) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are new records for Serbia. Also, Yponomeuta cagnagella is a new host record for Pteromalus semotus (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and Y. padella for E. steffani. Finally, we reviewed parasitoids of European Yponomeuta species and their associated host plants. In total 154 species are recorded from nine hymenopteran and one dipteran family.     

The impact of road disturbance on vegetation and soil properties in a beech stand,Hyrcanian forest

The ‘road-effect zone’ is a concept developed to describe the impact of road construction on the surrounding area. Although many aspects of the road-effect zone have been investigated, the road-effect zone on soil properties (pH, bulk density, soil moisture, electrical conductivity, organic matter (%), C (%), total N (%), available Na, Ca, Mg, P, and K), light regimes (leaf area index and canopy cover), and a Raunkiaer’s life-form classification of plants remains poorly understood, especially in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forests. Hence, the main aims of this research were to estimate the extent of the road-effect zone and to identify the main environmental changes due to forest roads. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate road-effects on: (1) the composition of herbaceous species and tree regeneration (up to 100 m distance from the forest road); (2) the light regime; and (3) soil properties, potentially related to changes in ecosystem functions and composition. We observed that forest roads can have significant impacts on soil, stand characteristics, and vegetation composition. The estimated road-effect zone extended up to 30 m from the road edge. Landscape planners should be aware that road-effect zones can potentially influence the ecology and environmental conditions of an area up to 30 m from the road edge.