Evaluating Beech Tree Phenology in a Deciduous Broadleaf Forest in Northern Iran Using Ground Observation and MODIS Images

We selected 15 beech trees (Fagus orientalis) from the study area in a mountainous region from 520 to 1310 m above sea level. Ground observations of the beech tree growth process from January to December 2004 in 7- to 15-day intervals were performed both visually and by measuring leaf chlorophyll concentration (chlorophyll meter SPAD-502). Results for the regression analysis showed that the leaved period positively correlated with the air temperature (r?=?.894). Anthesis and SPAD measurements have a negative relationship with air temperature and as temperature increases they appear earlier in the year. Anthesis and SPAD measurements had correlation coefficients of r?=??.883 and r?=??.855, respectively. The anthesis and bud bursting and leaf tip appearance have a negative relationship with increasing altitude from sea level and as altitude increases they appear later in the year. To make phenological events in deciduous broadleaf forests recognizable, we used a seasonal 8-day composite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (MODIS/NDVI). Prior to leaf expansion, NDVI increased from the 109th day of the year or earlier. Existence of the evergreen plants (Ruscus hyrcanus) on the ground and snow-melting exert an influence on inconsistency of phenology monitoring of MODIS/NDVI images. Regression analysis showed that there is a positive relationship between NDVI and SPAD measurements (chlorophyll content) in beech trees.     

Spatial variability of soil microbial indices in common alder COMMON ALDER(Alnus glutinosa) stands using a geostatistical approach in northern Iran

Microbial indices and their spatial patterns are strongly affected by environmental factors. Spatial variability of soil properties is one of the most important causes of variability in soil microbial indices. This research was conducted in the Caspian forest to assess spatial variabilities and frequency distributions of microbial properties.Ninety soil samples were taken using a grid sampling design 40 9 40 m. Microbial indices, organic carbon,nitrogen and pH were determined. Soil variable distributions showed that microbial indices had abnormal distributions. Logarithmic transformation produced normal distribution. Spatial continuity using geostatistical(variogram) was studied and maps obtained by point kriging.The variograms revealed the presence of spatial autocorrelation. The results indicate that spatial dependence of soil microbial indices was affected by non-intrinsic factors and forest management procedures. The maps show that soil microbial indices and soil properties have spatial variability. The spatial pattern of microbial indices was correlated to organic carbon and nitrogen.     

Extraction of seed oil from Diospyros lotus optimized using response surface methodology

Oil from seeds of Diospyros lotus was extracted using a conventional method with two different solvents:hexane and petroleum ether. A central composite design with response surface methodology were used to optimize the process. A second-order polynomial equation was employed, and ANOVA was applied to evaluate the impact of various operating parameters including extraction temperature(x_1; 44.9–70.1 °C), extraction time(x_2;5.0–10.0 h) and solvent to solid ratio(x_3;11.6–28.4 mL g^-1), on oil yield. Experiments to validate the model showed decent conformity between predicted and actual values. Extraction conditions for optimal oil yield were 61 °C, 8.75 h extraction duration and 19.25 mL g^-1 solvent to solid ratio. Under these conditions, the oil yield was predicted to be 5.1340%. Oil samples obtained were then analyzed using gas chromatography. The fatty acid composition revealed the major fatty acids to be oleic acid(C18:1) and linoleic acid(C18:2). The analysis of oil also demonstrated a decent ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The structure of seeds was imaged using scanning electron microscopy. Oil quality was analyzed thermogravimetrically and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The assigned nutritional features of the D. lotus oil suggested that it can be used as an edible oil in pharmaceutical and food industry in the future.     

Radiographic measurement of vertebral heart size in healthy stray cats

The aims of this study were to determine vertebral heart size (VHS) in stray cats and to compare different radiographic views. This study was performed on 50 adult stray cats. All cats were short-haired and non-obese and were considered to be healthy based on physical examination and electrocardiography. Left and right lateral, dorsoventral and ventrodorsal radiographs were taken. The long and short axes of the heart were measured in millimetres. The thoracic vertebral length spanned by each dimension was measured caudally from the fourth thoracic vertebra. Mean+/-SD and the correlation coefficient between the measurements were calculated with standard statistical software. The sum of the long and short axes of the heart expressed as VHS was 7.3+/-0.49 vertebrae in right lateral, 7.3+/-0.55 vertebrae in left lateral, 7.5+/-0.68 vertebrae in dorsoventral and 7.5+/-0.53 vertebrae in ventrodorsal. The differences between right and left lateral as well as dorsoventral and ventrodorsal views were not significant (P>0.05). Absolute measurements and vertebral heart scale values were slightly smaller than those reported in the literature for mixed population of cats. It is, therefore, important to take the breed in to account.     

Quercetin attenuates H2O2‐induced toxicity of rooster semen during liquid storage at 4°C

Current study was carried out to examine the protective effects of quercetin against toxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide in rooster semen in vitro. Semen samples were collected from ten roosters (Ross 308 broiler breeder males, 32 weeks old) twice a week by abdominal massage method. Samples with ≥70% progressive motility were selected, pooled, diluted and used for the study. Experimental groups consisted of negative control, control that received solvent of quercetin, H₂O₂ (40 μM) and combination groups which incubated with constant dose of H₂O₂ (40 μM) plus various levels of quercetin (20, 40 and 80 μM). Measurement of total hydroperoxide (HPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase activity as well as routine sperm tests were done at 0, 24 and 48 hr of storage at 4°C. Results revealed that exposure to hydrogen peroxide significantly increased HPO (138.43 ± 7.32 vs. 66.08 ± 3.97 μmol/g protein), MDA (7.21 ± 0.08 vs. 5.71 ± 2.16 μmol/g protein) and NO (0.367 ± 0.013 vs. 0.215 ± 0.011 μmol/g protein) levels and decreased sperm progressive motility (27.28 ± 1.21 vs. 47.49 ± 1.29%), and amounts of TAC (11.49 ± 0.39 vs. 15.70 ± 0.79 mmol/g protein) compared to control at 24 hr (p < 0.05). Changes at mentioned variables were repeated at 48 hr of storage. Also, co‐administration of quercetin (especially at 40 and 80 μM) with hydrogen peroxide restored the toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide on rooster semen parameters such as primary and secondary lipid peroxidative indicators and other evaluated variables. The study concluded that rooster semen enrichment with quercetin would protect lipid peroxidative and nitrosative hydrogen peroxide‐mediated damage during cold liquid storage of rooster semen.     

Karyotype study on 15 populations of Eremostachys laciniata Bunge in Iran

A karyotype study was performed on 15 populations of Eremostachys laciniata Bunge from Iran in order to quantify the extent of cytological variation for use in breeding programmes. Ten mitotic root tip cells at the metaphase stage were prepared from each population by the squash method. The chromosomes of suitable mitotic cells were counted and various parameters, including long and short arm lengths, chromosome lengths, total length of the haploid chromosome complement, arm ratios, and the centromeric index, were measured. All 15 populations were diploid with 2n = 2x = 22 and were differentiated by their karyotypic parameters. All 15 E. laciniata populations occupied Class 1A of Stebbins’ karyotype classification, indicating the presence of a primitive symmetrical karyotype. The size of the mitotic chromosomes was medium, and mean chromosome lengths ranged from 3.84 to 4.77 μm. The shortest chromosome lengths were observed in the Ajabshir population and the longest in the Heydarabad population. The Heydarabad population also had the longest total chromosome length and the Ajabshir population had the shortest total chromosome length. The centromeric indices of the chromosome complements varied from 39.3% to 43.7%. Metacentric chromosomes were the most common in all populations, whereas submetacentric chromosomes were rare. The A₁ index varied from 0.215 (Areshtanab) to 0.337 (Til). The A₂ index ranged from 0.116 (Til) to 0.143 (Kaleybar), and the karyotype asymmetry index varied between 0.051 and 0.097. The results of a principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the main elements of the first three main principal components accounted for 97% of the total variance. Cluster analysis by Ward’s method indicated that all 15 populations could be classified into three clusters. Finally, the results of the karyotypic parameters showed that the Til, Heydarabad, and Marand populations had higher levels of karyotypic heterogeneity and may be useful when developing breeding programmes.     

Analysis of the Phenylpropanoid Enzyme Activities and Products in the Soft- and Hard-Seeded Pomegranate Genotypes During Fruit Development

To find out more about the biochemical aspects of seed-softness trait in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), some of the phenylpropanoid pathway enzymes as well as their products were evaluated in the various soft- and hard-seeded genotypes during fruit development. Results showed that peroxidase (POD) activity decreased in all studied genotypes during fruit growth, while increasing at the last stages only in the hard-seeded genotypes. Although laccase (LAC) activity did not show high differences during fruit ripening and in different genotypes, but its general trend was increasing. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity decreased during the fruit development and approximately diminished for the hard-seeded genotypes. All genotypes had lignin components in their seeds and amount of lignin increased during the growth season. Total phenolic decreased drastically and antioxidant capacity increased gradually showing an opposite trend and probable competitive effect for the same substrate during fruit development. Considerable differences that were observed in the POD activity at the last sampling stage, and higher activity that was observed in POD than LAC, may indicate that POD is more important for polymerization of lignin in the pomegranate seed and this enzyme might have some role in the development of seed softness trait in pomegranate. Also, this is the first report about lignin detection in the seeds of soft-seeded pomegranate genotypes, and represents a different mechanism (such as monolignol conformation in the final polymer) from lignin content for development of the soft-seeded pomegranate genotype.     

Induction of humoral and cellular immunity against latent HSV-1 infections by DNA immunization in BALB/c mice

Previously, we have reported that the injection of an expression vector containing Herpes simplex virus (HSV) Glycoprotein D-1 (gD-1) generated a significant antibody response in mice and protected them against HSV lethal challenge. We tested its potential to induce antibody and cell mediated immune responses in latently infected mice. Positive control group (KOS) and HSV gD-1 vaccinated mice demonstrated protection against a lethal ocularly challenge of 10(5.5) plaque-forming units (pfu)/eye of wild HSV-1 versus negative control groups. For neutralizing antibody titers, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), lymphocyte proliferation responses, clinical evaluation and survival following lethal challenge, no considerable difference was observed between mice vaccinated with DNA plasmid and those vaccinated with KOS. KOS-vaccinated mice demonstrated the ability to completely prevent latency whereas DNA vaccinated group showed some degree of protection and displayed less latency than negative control groups and had considerably high levels of IFN-gamma and strong CTL responses versus negative control groups. It can be concluded that although immunization with the DNA vaccine is more effective in both protecting mice and induction of immune response, however it could not completely block the latent infection in sensory nerves.     

Antibacterial activities of a new combination of essential oils against marine bacteria

The antibacterial activities of essential oils and herbal extracts have been demonstrated against a range of bacterial species. In this study, the antibacterial effects of a new combination of essential oils from the herbs Thymus vulgaris, Salvia officinalis, Eucalyptus globulus and Mentha piperita were assayed against common bacterial isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa) and fifteen novel marine bacteria isolates. The sensitivity of different isolates to antibacterial activity of the essential oils was determined using well diffusion assays. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were quantified by micro dilution assays. The data demonstrate that the combination of essential oils had potent antibacterial effects and marine bacteria were more sensitive to growth inhibition (P < 0.05). MIC rates were 0.77–6.18 mg/ml, and MBC rates were 1.67–12.30 mg/ml. This indicates that the combined essential oils (CEO) can be a new source of antibacterial agents for use in marine aquaculture.