Amir Ansari; Masoume Tahmasabi
Abstract
Species diversity is one of the levels of biodiversity that encompasses a variety of Fauna and Flora. Haftad-Gholleh National Park located in central of Iran is inhabited by species diversity. This study identifies the animal species of the safe valleys of Chekab and Sibak Haftad-Gholleh National Park ...
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Species diversity is one of the levels of biodiversity that encompasses a variety of Fauna and Flora. Haftad-Gholleh National Park located in central of Iran is inhabited by species diversity. This study identifies the animal species of the safe valleys of Chekab and Sibak Haftad-Gholleh National Park and this method calculates the species diversity indices for the area using ecological methodology software. Animals were recorded and censored using images from the local telephoto camera trap. Species diversity indices (richness, heterogeneity, homogeneity) and within habitat, between habitat and regional diversity (γ, β, α), and Morista similarity index were used to estimate and analyze the similarity of fauna with the Chekab and Sibak valleys. The results showed that 22 species were recorded in Haftad-Gholleh area, 11 of bird species, 10 mammals species and 1 amphibian species. In general, the highest species richness is related to the Sibak Valley and the least richness to the Chekab Valley. According to heterogeneity and homogeneity indices, the overall trend of species diversity in the Sibak and Chekab valleys was initially decreasing and then increasing. The similarity index between Sibak and Chekab valleys is 0.98, indicating high similarity between the two valleys. The highest α, β and γ diversity indices belong to the Sibak Valley and the least to the Chekab Valley.
Biochemistry
Mahdiyee Salehi; m moslehi shad; Seyede Marzieh Hosseini; Fatemeh Ghamari
Abstract
The plant's essential oils have attracted consumers' attention due to their naturalness and unique functional properties such as antioxidants and preservatives and in some disease treatments. Ferulago carduchorum is a native plant that grows in western Iran and was previously used as a natural preservative ...
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The plant's essential oils have attracted consumers' attention due to their naturalness and unique functional properties such as antioxidants and preservatives and in some disease treatments. Ferulago carduchorum is a native plant that grows in western Iran and was previously used as a natural preservative in delaying the destruction of meat and as an antiseptic plant. In this study, the essence of Ferulago carduchorum was examined. The composition of the essential oil, antioxidant properties, total phenolic content, DSC, and FTIR essential oil was investigated by Ferulago carduchorum. To extract the essential oil from the sample, the essential oil was distilled from distilled water in a Clevenger for 7 hours from the Ferulago carduchorum plant. Gas chromatography was used to identify the percentage of compounds in chamomile essential oil. The antioxidant activity of essential oils was determined using the ABTS free radical inhibition method. The folic acid reagent was also used to measure total phenol content. The highest composition of essential oils is α-Pinen, which is 30.18%. The results showed that essential oil with a concentration of 300 mg/ml (highest amount) had the highest antioxidant capacity and the highest percentage of free radical inhibition and essential oil with a concentration of 100 mg/ml (highest range) had the highest phenolic content. This plant can be introduced as a plant with antioxidant properties for the food industry and the treatment and prevention of diseases.
Mokhtar Fathi; Shahriyar Saeidian
Abstract
Regarding the role of arginine in vasodilatation and reduction of blood pressure and the possibility of replacing this amino acid with guanidinoacetic acid, a test was conducted with 400 chicks in 5 treatments (control, two levels of 0.5 and 1% arginine, and two levels of 0.15 And 0.3% Guanidininostech) ...
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Regarding the role of arginine in vasodilatation and reduction of blood pressure and the possibility of replacing this amino acid with guanidinoacetic acid, a test was conducted with 400 chicks in 5 treatments (control, two levels of 0.5 and 1% arginine, and two levels of 0.15 And 0.3% Guanidininostech) in four replications in a completely randomized design. Birds were subjected to a cold temperature program for induction of pulmonary hypertension syndrome. Blood parameters (RBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit and heterophile / lymphocyte), biochemical parameters (lactate, urea, uric acid and nitric oxide), enzymatic parameters (LDH, AST, ALT, CK) and antioxidant TAS, MDA, GPX, SOD) in plasma were measured at the end of the experiment (day 42). The results showed that supplementation of 1% arginine and 0.15% guanidinoacetic acid significantly decreased the heterophilic/ lymphocyte index, hematocrit, urea and uric acid, and increased nitric oxide (P <0.05). Treatment with 1% arginine and 0.15% guanidinoacetic acid reduced malondialdehyde and increased activity of superoxide dismutase and creatine kinase in plasma (P <0.05). The level of 1% of arginine also significantly increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase enzyme in the plasma. Other measured parameters were not significantly affected by experimental treatments (P> 0.05). In general, the results of this experiment showed that, given the lower price of guanidinoacetic acid compared to arginine, it is possible to effectively use 0.15% guanidinoacetic acid to replace arginine supplementation in preventing reduce stress.
Medical physiology
Sanaz Alaee; Mahmoud Sadeghi Ataabadi; Hamideh Homayon; Bahia Namavar Jahromi; Elham Hosseini
Abstract
Approximately half of infertility in couples can be attributed to male factors, which may occur in a wide range of causes. Examining seminal plasma parameters is the initial and simplest approach in male infertility evaluation and provides valuable information about fertility status. In this study, the ...
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Approximately half of infertility in couples can be attributed to male factors, which may occur in a wide range of causes. Examining seminal plasma parameters is the initial and simplest approach in male infertility evaluation and provides valuable information about fertility status. In this study, the presence and relationship between the concentration of interleukin 35 (IL-35) in seminal plasma and standard parameters of sperm in infertile men were investigated. Semen analysis was performed on semen samples of men referred to the Infertility Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Semen samples were analyzed in accordance with the laboratory guidelines of the World Health Organization and were divided into three groups including 21 normozoospermic, 21 asthenoteratozoospermic, and 15 azoospermic samples. The seminal concentration level of IL-35 was analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results showed that IL-35 was detectable with different levels in the seminal plasma of studied groups, however, its concentration did not show a statistically significant difference (p>0.05). The correlation analysis between IL-35 concentration and sperm standard parameters showed that there is a significant negative correlation between IL-35 concentration and the normal sperm morphology percentage (r=0.317, p=0.04), while no significant correlation was observed with sperm count (r=-0.27, p=0.08) and sperm motility (r=-0.27, p=0.08). Despite the presence of IL-35 in semen, even in normozoospermic male patients, its role and functional significance have not been determined. The existence of a negative relationship between the IL-35 concentration and the normal sperm morphology percentage can indicate its importance in male infertility status.
Zeynab Parvaresh; Mohsen Nokhbatolfoghahaei
Abstract
Bufotes surdus annulatus as a subspecies of B. sardus; endemic in the very limited area in Fars province with a specific reproductive strategy that has recently been reported to be threatened by extinction. Histological studies on gonads in adults as well as studies on gonadal differentiation aimed to ...
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Bufotes surdus annulatus as a subspecies of B. sardus; endemic in the very limited area in Fars province with a specific reproductive strategy that has recently been reported to be threatened by extinction. Histological studies on gonads in adults as well as studies on gonadal differentiation aimed to explore their reproductive strategy in more detail. In the reproductive season, fourteen males and females in adult stage were collected from Aliabad Niriz (Fars province). The gonads of the toads before and after mating (spawning and sperm releasing) were dissected and a histological study was carried out. To study gonadal differentiation, larvae at Gosner stage 40, 42, 43, 44 and 46 were selected and appropriate histological slides were prepared. Histology of the gonads in adults when they were in the amplexus situation and just before spawning and releasing sperm, showed a histologically similar image to Bufotes viridis that is a common toad that exist widely in the region. While the number of mature oocytes and spermatozoa were shown to be significantly reduced, some active oocytes as well as the bundles of spermatids were still observed in the ovary and testis respectively. The study on the gross anatomy of gonads at early stages of development showed there is no externally morphological difference between gonads in male and female. The semi differentiated pattern was recognized. The gonads in genetically male toads showed that they transformed into testes after degeneration of the oocytes.
Jalil Sarhangzadeh; Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari
Abstract
Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) as the most vulnerable species is one of the mountainous mammals whose population has declined due to the destruction of the habitat at the national and international levels. This study was aimed to determine the suitably potential habitat area for wild goat in Bafgh protected ...
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Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) as the most vulnerable species is one of the mountainous mammals whose population has declined due to the destruction of the habitat at the national and international levels. This study was aimed to determine the suitably potential habitat area for wild goat in Bafgh protected area using multi-layer perceptron neural network. A total of 196 points including presence (111 points) and absence (85 point) of the species were collected in fieldwork. 18 variables such as slope, geographical aspect, elevation above sea level, rocky regions, mean temperatures, vegetation types, water resources, inhabited and uninhabited villages, and roads (dirt and asphalt) were used to determine the suitability of habitats. Results showed that Juniperus excelsa -Amygdalus scoparia vegetation type (11.23%), slope steepness (10.42%), distance to south direction (10.15%), distance to Cousinia desertii-Artemisia sieberi-Zygophyllum eurypterum vegetation type (9.9 %), elevation above sea level (9.63%), and distance to water source (9.09%) are the most effective variables in habitat suitability evaluation in the Kouh-e-Bafgh protected area. The model output efficiency of 0.97 was achieved in this study. Based on the results, 36% of the protected area was evaluated as the suitable for wild goat habitat. Results also reveald that by reducing the distance to the roads the suitability of habitats is reduced. Therefore, this study suggests that human activities close to the potentially suitable area is suggested to be avoided.
Masoud Yousefi; Bagher Nezami; Amir Abdoos; Bahramali Zaheri; Ahmad Radman; Negar Najafi Siavashan
Abstract
Birds provide important ecosystem services, but they face several threats like climate change, land-use change, and illegal hunting. Protected areas are important tools for the conservation of avian diversity however their avian diversity and distribution poorly studied in Iran. In this study, we present ...
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Birds provide important ecosystem services, but they face several threats like climate change, land-use change, and illegal hunting. Protected areas are important tools for the conservation of avian diversity however their avian diversity and distribution poorly studied in Iran. In this study, we present the result of our field observations of avifauna and breeding birds of Touran National Park, Semnan province between 2019 and 2021. We recorded 92 bird species in the national park and confirmed the breeding status of 33 species, some of which, namely Eastern Imperial Eagle, Asian Houbara Bustard, and European roller are threatened. Eastern Imperial Eagle and Asian Houbara Bustard are listed on Annex I of CITES and Eurasian Kestrel and Merlin are listed on Annex I of CITES. Diversity of bird of prey, breeding of the Persian Ground Jay and Houbara Bustard in the desert and semi-arid steppe ecosystems are some of the remarkable values of the Touran National Park. According to the field surveys, the presence of large numbers of domestic animals around the Park and the trampling of bird nests, the high number of domestic camels, and successive droughts are the most important avian threats in the Touran National Park.
Fisheries
Zaniar Ghafouri; Soheil Eagderi; Hadi Poorbagher
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the sexual dimorphism of Cyprinion macrostomum in the Little Zab River using traditional and geometric morphometric methods. For this purpose, during 2021, 37 specimens (21 females and 16 males) were collected using an electrofishing device. After determining the ...
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This study was conducted to investigate the sexual dimorphism of Cyprinion macrostomum in the Little Zab River using traditional and geometric morphometric methods. For this purpose, during 2021, 37 specimens (21 females and 16 males) were collected using an electrofishing device. After determining the sex of the collected specimens, 18 morphometric characteristics were measured using a digital caliper. Also, to extract body shape data in geometric method, photographs were taken from the left sides of both males and females. Then, 16 landmark-points were digitized in tpsDig2 software. The extracted data were analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis including principal component analysis (PCA), T.tests and Mann-Whitney.The results of discriminant function analysis (DFA) and T-test of the body shape showed a significant difference between males and females (P<0.05). The males have more body depth, posterior snout, and shorter caudal peduncle length than the females. Males and females had significant differences in 8 morphometric traits (P<0.05). The results of the present study confirmed the performance of traditional and geometric morphometric methods in the differentiation of the C. macrostomum sexes.
Hanie Faghihi; Bagher Nezami; Bahman Shams-Esfandabad; Rahman Eshaghi; Mehdi Kia Heyrati; Said Ghomi
Abstract
Red Deer is the largest native deer in Iran. The species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important factors in the decline of the population of the species are the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat, overhunting, and poaching which ...
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Red Deer is the largest native deer in Iran. The species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important factors in the decline of the population of the species are the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat, overhunting, and poaching which are strongly influenced by human activities. Therefore, modeling and identifying breeding habitats in the remaining suitable areas can help conservation managers to protect the remaining populations of this species. The core zone of the Central Alborz Protected Area is the most important core area for breeding Red Deer. In this study, we investigated the species habitat selection by the ecological niche factor analysis method. The results in the ENFA method with values of 1.3 marginalities and specialty 5.5 indicate habitat areas with higher slopes and dem than the average which has low tolerability, are preferred by the species. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the protection of the region is an important factor to conserve the species.
Masoud Yousefi
Abstract
Ecological niche models have found many applications in paleoecology, archeology and paleoanthropology. These models are based on niche theory and are used to model the distribution of species through time and space. Species distribution models use species distribution data and environmental predictors ...
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Ecological niche models have found many applications in paleoecology, archeology and paleoanthropology. These models are based on niche theory and are used to model the distribution of species through time and space. Species distribution models use species distribution data and environmental predictors to model species distribution. In this study I used MaxEnt model, distribution records of the Homo neanderthalensis (Mousterian artefacts) and topographic and climatic data to reconstruct eco-cultural niche of the species on the Central Iranian Plateau. The performance of the model was assessed using the area (AUC) under the receiver operating curve (ROC). The predictive ability of the model was high (AUC = 0.827 for training and 0.813 for test data). The species past distribution model showed that there were numerous suitable patches for distribution of the species in the study area. The most continues patches were found in Yazd province, west of Semnan province and east of Isfahan province. With 48.3 percent contribution to the model, topographic heterogeneity was the most important predictor of this archaic human distribution. This is because topographic heterogeneity influences resource availability, meaning that areas with higher topographic heterogeneity provide more resources. The eco-cultural niche model predicts many suitable patches which can be target of future field excavations in the study area.
Somayeh Moradzadeh; Shahrokh Aashaei rad; Fatemeh Shahbazi
Abstract
Praying mantis are a small order of insects,that consisting of 2452 species of 446 genera and 15 families worldwide. They are active predator and feed on the different types of insects such as locusts and the other insects and even the vertebrates like snakes and lizard. The present study was carried ...
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Praying mantis are a small order of insects,that consisting of 2452 species of 446 genera and 15 families worldwide. They are active predator and feed on the different types of insects such as locusts and the other insects and even the vertebrates like snakes and lizard. The present study was carried out to investigate the faunistic of mantis in Lahijan and suburbs during the years of 2018-2019. In this regard, the city of Lahijan was divided into 10 stations based on different ecological factors. Sampling were done directly and manually at equal times during spring, summer and autumn seasons. The collected samples were transferred to biosystematic laboratory of Shahid Beheshti University and were identified up to the level of genus and species with the help of stereo microscope and valid identification key such as Medditerranean Eurozone (Battiston.etal., 2010), Four species among 120 species were identified. Which are: Mantis religiosa, Hierodula transcaucasica, Empusa fasciata, Bolivaria brachyptra were Identified.All the species were approved by professor Battiston and reported for the first time from Lahijan city, Guilan Province.
Leila Mirsadeghi; Reza Haji Hosseini; Ali Mohammad Banaei; Kaveh Kavousi
Abstract
The emergence of personalized medicine based on molecular techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, has increased our understanding of drivers of complex diseases, including cancers. In many cases due to the complexity of cancer, it is difficult for human physicians and biologists to make decisions ...
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The emergence of personalized medicine based on molecular techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, has increased our understanding of drivers of complex diseases, including cancers. In many cases due to the complexity of cancer, it is difficult for human physicians and biologists to make decisions on the basis solely of clinical practice or laboratory evidence. Thus, the personalized medicine approach comes into play and provides large volumes and valuable data for experts. Further, data analysis with bioinformatic tools has opened a new horizon in the process of prognosis and screening of in risk individuals. It has caused significant recent advances in diagnostic technology and improved targeted treatments. In the present study, archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue from an Iranian female patient with invasive breast carcinoma was investigated. In this way, after DNA extraction and purification, the whole exome was sequenced and the mutation data were analyzed. Obtained information could help to the enrichment of the Iranian genome databases. In the light of this research and by studying other Iranian samples, we can provide an optimized roadmap for precision oncologists to increase the life expectancy of breast cancer patients.
Masumeh Akbari; Mahdi Khodaei; Alireza Shayestehfar; Seyyed Mehdi Talebi
Abstract
Tick transmit infective agents to humans and animals, and carriers of parasitic and viral diseases such as the Crimean Congo bleeding fever. The purpose of this study was to identify valuable morphobiometric characters for differentiation of Ixodida order using morphobiometric methods. For this purpose, ...
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Tick transmit infective agents to humans and animals, and carriers of parasitic and viral diseases such as the Crimean Congo bleeding fever. The purpose of this study was to identify valuable morphobiometric characters for differentiation of Ixodida order using morphobiometric methods. For this purpose, a total of 186 ticks were identified from the Argasidae family belonging to the two genera of Argas and Ornithodoros, including the species Argas persicus, A. reflexus and Ornithodoros Lahorensis. 413 ticks are from the Ixodidae family, which belongs to 3 genera and 5 species including Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. turanicus, Hyalomma anatolicum, H. asiaticum, Haemaphysalis sulcata and were identified using several valid identification keys. The study of species diversity and frequency of cattle, sheep and goats in all age groups and both sexes were done in ruminant including cattle, sheep and goats. To this end, 20 stations were selected in the Mashhad Meyghan area and sampling was carried out monthly and during one year from April to March 2017. A total of 18 morphobiometric parameters were determined using calibrated stereomicroscope. The data were analyzed by PCA method and analyzed using SPSS software (version 16), and analyzed by UPGMA, PCO and PCA methods using MVSP software, then shrubs and the corresponding charts were drawn. In PCA analysis, a total of 4 components of morphobiometric traits were obtained, which explained 91% of the total variance. One-way ANOVA showed a significant difference between between most of the traits.
Azadeh Tabaei; Morteza Mamouei; Saleh Tabatabaei Vakili; Khalil Mirzadeh
Abstract
The aim of present study was to evaluation the effect of different levels of soybean lecithin in tris extender replaced with egg yolk on semen quality parameters of Arabic ram after freeze-thawing process. For this purpose, the experiment with numbers of 8 adult and healthy Arabic rams with an average ...
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The aim of present study was to evaluation the effect of different levels of soybean lecithin in tris extender replaced with egg yolk on semen quality parameters of Arabic ram after freeze-thawing process. For this purpose, the experiment with numbers of 8 adult and healthy Arabic rams with an average weight of 75 ± 5 kg were used in a completely randomized design. Semen samples were collected using electro ejaculator. Semen samples were mixed and after dilution, were divided in to 5 experimental groups. Treatments were increasing levels of soybean lecithin (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 percent) and egg yolk (15 percent) in tris base extender and 5 percent of glycerol. The 5 numbers of 0.5 ml straws from each treatment were filled. The straws were equivalence for 2 hours in 5˚C and then freezed. After 2 weeks, straws were thawed at 37˚C. Qualitative parameters of spermatozoa including the motility, viability, morphological abnormalities, membrane integrity and the pH of semen were evaluated. The resulted of this experiment showed that extender containing 1.5 percent of soybean lecithin significantly improved total motility and progressive motility, viability, morphological abnormalities and membrane integrity of Arabic ram spermatozoa compared to the other levels of lecithin as well as egg yolk (P<0.05). The most improvement have been observed at the 1.5 % soybean lecithin. Therefore, this level can be used in tris extender for maintaining of Arabic ram spermatozoa in freeze condition.
Mona Yavar; Ali Mirshekar; Abbas Khani; Sara Ramroudi
Abstract
Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari:Tetranychidae), is one of the most important pests in plants, especially crops that it has high reproduction and ability to develop resistance to chemical pesticides. Considering the increasing of environmental pollution due to chemical pesticides, ...
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Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari:Tetranychidae), is one of the most important pests in plants, especially crops that it has high reproduction and ability to develop resistance to chemical pesticides. Considering the increasing of environmental pollution due to chemical pesticides, the use of plant extracts has received much attention as an alternative method due to their acaricidal activity. Therefore, this experiment was performed to determine the chemical compounds of Momordica charantia fruit extract and toxicity of hexane and ethanolic extracts of this plant on adults of two-spotted spider mite in a completely randomized design with the control in four replications for fumigant and contact toxicities and repellent activity. After 24 hours, the mortality of mites was recorded. The results of bioassays showed that the mortality rate of mites and the repellent effect elevated with increasing the concentration of M. charantia extracts. The hexane extract of M. charantia at the concentration of 1000 μg/cm2 had the highest mortality (75.56%) in contact toxicity. Ethanolic extract at the concentration of 1000 μl/l air had the highest mortality (79.89%) of mite in fumigant toxicity. The repellent effect increased to 80%, 5 hours after application of ethanolic extract by increasing the concentration from 200 μl. In M. charantia fruit extract, sixteen different compounds were identified in which monoterpenoids, linalool oxide, limonene oxide, and 8-hydroxilinalool, had the highest amount. Therefore, the ethanolic extract of M. charantia in high concentrations can be recommended due to its monoterpenoids to protect plants, especially crops, against two-spotted spider mite.
Fredun Hassani; Tahere Abyavi; Ali Taheri mirghaed; Rahim Payghan; Mojtaba Alishahi
Abstract
Extensive and long-term use of chemical compounds causes microorganisms ability to adapt with the antimicrobial agents used against them, reduced the effect of drugs, and in return make microbes resistant. Plant essential oils have been studied as antimicrobial and antifungal compounds in the pharmacology, ...
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Extensive and long-term use of chemical compounds causes microorganisms ability to adapt with the antimicrobial agents used against them, reduced the effect of drugs, and in return make microbes resistant. Plant essential oils have been studied as antimicrobial and antifungal compounds in the pharmacology, microbiology and medicine fields. In this study, the essential oils of Ziziphora cliniopodiodes, Thymus vulgaris and Salvia rosmarinus to fungal pathogens including Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavusus, Saprolegnia spp., Fusarium spp., and bacteria pathogens including Streptococcus mitis, Lactococcus Garvieae, Yersinia ruckeri and Aeromonas hydrophila were examined. Evaluation of antifungal and antibacterial activity by Tube dilution method used for determine the minimum growth inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and fungicide (MFC). Based on the results of MIC and MFC, the highest antifungal properties were obtained for thyme essential oils to Aspergillus fumigatus (0.023 ± 0.015 and 0.046±0.03 μl/ml) and the lowest fungicidal property of rosemary essential oil against Aspergillus niger (1.66±0.72 and 3.33±1.44) were obtained and there was a significant difference with other treatments (P<0.05). According to the results of MIC and MBC, the lowest concentrations obtained against bacteria were related to the essential oil of Z. clinopodioides against Streptococcus mitis (0.016±0.005 and 0.033±0.011 μl/ml), which were obtained with essential oil of rosemary was significantly different (P<0.05). According to this study, essential oils of Z. clinopodioides, thyme and rosemary can be used to control and prevent fungal and bacterial diseases of Aquatic animals.
Biochemistry
Ali Ahmadi Shapourabadi; Mohammad Fazilati; Habib-Allah Nazem
Abstract
Lactoferrin is one of the milk proteins that has shown a wide range of physiological activities such as antibacterial, anti-protozoal, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. In this study, lactoferrin was extracted and purified from cow, sheep and goat ...
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Lactoferrin is one of the milk proteins that has shown a wide range of physiological activities such as antibacterial, anti-protozoal, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. In this study, lactoferrin was extracted and purified from cow, sheep and goat milk. HPLC analysis and determination of the concentration of these three extracted lactoferrins were performed. Antibacterial activity against Gram negative Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi and gram positive Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus and antioxidant activity were investigated. The activity of lactoferrin against DPPH free radical was investigated. Also, lactoferrin activity was evaluated in neutral acidic and alkaline environments. The combination test with iron was also performed with FeNTA reagent. The findings showed that lactoferrin has the ability to inhibit two bacteria, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Also, the evaluation of lactoferrin activity in neutral acidic and alkaline environments showed that lactoferrin is more stable in alkaline environment than other environments. In the combination test with iron, the results indicated the combination of lactoferrin with iron. The percentage of free radical inhibition was equal to %4.49. Also, the results showed that the concentration of lactoferrin in goat's milk is higher than that of sheep's and cow's milk and its amount was equal to 131.66 μg/ml.
Development
Fatemeh Ghiyasvand; Somayeh Arabzadeh; mahmood talkhabi
Abstract
Tissue engineering is an emerging field based on the three elements of cells, scaffolds, and bioactive molecules, and can be a useful method for treating muscle injuries. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on the viability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) ...
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Tissue engineering is an emerging field based on the three elements of cells, scaffolds, and bioactive molecules, and can be a useful method for treating muscle injuries. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on the viability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) cultured on skeletal muscle decellularization scaffold. First, BM-MSCs were extracted from rat leg bone marrow and cultured in vitro. The identity of the cells was assessed using flow cytometry. The extracted rat skeletal muscle was decellularized using a 1% SDS solution. The decellularization process was investigated by Masson Trichrome, and Alcian blue and DAPI staining.BM-MSCs were cultured on decellularized scaffolds and treated with 1 mM AA for 2 days. Then, the survival and viability of the cells were evaluated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and MTT methods, respectively.BM-MSCs had a spindle morphology, and the results of flow cytometry showed the expression of CD44 and CD90 and the lack of expression of CD45 and CD34 in more than 90% of the cells. The staining verified the preservation of collagen and glycosaminoglycans and the absence of DNA in the decellularized tissue. MTT results showed that AA significantly increases the viability of BM-MSCs (P<0.05). Also, the SEM results showed that the cells in the group treated with AA were more proliferated. In general, AA can improve the efficiency of muscle tissue engineering by increasing the viability of BM-MSCs.
Omid Tabiee; Hadi Poorbagher; Hamed Rafiee
Abstract
The economic value of the sport fishing valuable species such as Caspian brown trout (Salmo caspius, Kessler, 1877), is estimated based on the determination of the amount of money that fishermen tends to pay for fish catching. The aim of this research was to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of anglers ...
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The economic value of the sport fishing valuable species such as Caspian brown trout (Salmo caspius, Kessler, 1877), is estimated based on the determination of the amount of money that fishermen tends to pay for fish catching. The aim of this research was to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of anglers to the conservation of the endangered Caspian brown trout, in order to determine the conservation value of Caspian brown trout. In order to do this research, from 2018 to 2020, 444 anglers were selected by random sampling method. Data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire comprising items about the angling demographic characteristics as well as their WTP for the protection of the endangered species of Caspian trout. Eventually, analysis of gathering data was carried out with applying a Logit model under maximum likelihood procedure by using SPSS (version 21) and Eviews (10) Software. The result showed that 75 percent of the anglers had a positive WTP for the protection of the endangered species of Caspian trout. The average payment of WTP for the monthly and annual protection value of Caspian trout was estimated 1979.2 and 23750.4 million RLs respectively, which is much higher than that of the penalty for illegal fishing (120.5 million RLs). According to the results of this research, the variables of the literacy level, income, job, membership in the environmental organization, species recognition and bid have positive effects on the WTP for the protection of endangered species of Caspian trout.
Fisheries
Reza Dehghan; Mohammad Khalesi; Sohrab Kohestan Eskandari
Abstract
Beluga (Huso huso) is one of the most important commercial fish in the Caspian Sea, whose reproduction and breeding, as well as caviar extraction, are of special importance. This study was conducted to investigate the morphological analysis for non-invasive sex determination in this sturgeon species ...
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Beluga (Huso huso) is one of the most important commercial fish in the Caspian Sea, whose reproduction and breeding, as well as caviar extraction, are of special importance. This study was conducted to investigate the morphological analysis for non-invasive sex determination in this sturgeon species to replace the invasive methods in the event of appropriate outcomes. A total of 180 fish were biometried at the Sea Abzigostaran Center, Sari, within 2 weeks. The samples were then photographed and the photos were analyzed by the TPS (transection processing system) technique for sex determination. The ANOVA test showed homogeneity of morphormetric data. Leven's test showed that all the morphometric traits had uniform variances (P ≥ 0.05). The analysis of the distinctive function for morphometric traits indicated that 100% of both male and female beluga samples displayed their characteristics. Overall, the results of this test revealed that on average 100% of the males and females were grouped accurately, which indicates the separation of the sexes based on this test. The UPGMA dendrogram for morphological traits based on the mean correlation showed that the samples of beluga were partially distinguished from each other by gender. However, the TPS technique could distinguish the male and female beluga samples, thus, it could be considered a non-invasive method for the sex determination of sturgeon fish.
Bahman Cheperli; Rahman Patimar; Rasoul Ghorbani; Kiavash Golzarianpour
Abstract
To study reproductive characteristics of Caucasian dwarf goby (K. caucasica), a total of 149 samples were caught in the Gorgan bay and 192 inthe Gomishanwetlandusing beach seine during a period from February 2014 to May 2016.Thereproductive characteristics including sex ratio, gonadal development index, ...
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To study reproductive characteristics of Caucasian dwarf goby (K. caucasica), a total of 149 samples were caught in the Gorgan bay and 192 inthe Gomishanwetlandusing beach seine during a period from February 2014 to May 2016.Thereproductive characteristics including sex ratio, gonadal development index, and absolute fecundity, relative fecundity were calculated.Samples of Gorgan bay ranged from 8.07 to 39.41 mm TL and 0.01 to 0.84 g total weight, while the samples caught in Gomishan wetland had total lengthlength between 15.48 to 44.78 mm and in the total weight between 0.05 to 1.10g.The highest condition factor in the Gorgan bay for both sexes was observed in February and March, and in the Gomishan wetland for in January and April. In the both study areas, the highest average GSIof females was observed in March and of malesin April. Minimum, maximum and average ofabsolute fecundity were 79.80, 888 and 387,37in the Gorgan bay respectively, and the relative fecundity were 152.58, 2733.54 and 797.11 respectively. While absolute fecundities’ minimum, maximum and averagewere 136.96,1002.22 and 482.94 and those of relative fecundity 243.70,2326.53 and 870.32. Ova diameter ranged between 0.24 to 0.84 mm with a mean value of 0.52 mm, and in the Gomishan wetland mean of the diameter was 0.50 mm ranging from 0.26 to 0.85 mm. Analysis of GSI revealed that the species spawns once per year in a short period, and has different eggs during this period.
Mohamad Atania; Rahman Patimar; Mohammad Harsij; Zia Kordjazi
Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate life history characteristics of Hircan crested loach (P. hircanica). A total of 150 specimens collected using electro-shocker from December 2015 to May 2016. Results showed that the sex ratio of male to female is 1:0.65 indicating significant difference of ...
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This study was conducted to investigate life history characteristics of Hircan crested loach (P. hircanica). A total of 150 specimens collected using electro-shocker from December 2015 to May 2016. Results showed that the sex ratio of male to female is 1:0.65 indicating significant difference of males and females abundance in the studied population (χ2=6.83). The maximum observed total length and weight were 87 mm and 5.30 g for females, 104 mm 7.31 g for males. The weight - length relationship of female was W= 0.0085 TL2.89, of male W= 0.0109 TL2.74 and of the studied population was W= 0.0099 TL2.80. The growth model was isometric for females and negative allometric type for males and the population (t-test, tmale= 6.31, tfemale=1.61, tpopulation= 5.03, P<0.05). The average absolute fecundity was 328.86 per female and the relative fecundity was 110.56 eggs/g of females’ weight. Eggs diameters ranged from 0.45 to 1.79 mm with a mean value of 0.99 mm. The highest mean Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of the females was recorded in April, and of the males in May, indicating the highest reproductive activity of females and males occurs in June and May respectively.
Abbas Ashoori; Seyed Farshid Fallah; Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh
Abstract
This study aimed to describe the breeding biology of the Great Crested Grebe during the breeding season from April to September 2015 in the western part of Anzali wetland. A total of 56 nests were identified during this survey. Totals of 18 and 20 Great Crested Grebe nests were built simultaneously in ...
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This study aimed to describe the breeding biology of the Great Crested Grebe during the breeding season from April to September 2015 in the western part of Anzali wetland. A total of 56 nests were identified during this survey. Totals of 18 and 20 Great Crested Grebe nests were built simultaneously in two separate colonies from mid-April to early May, and in addition at least two months later, a further 18 nests with a minimum distance of 100 meters from each other within Whiskered Tern colonies. The mean clutch size was 3.91±0.85 (n= 56), the average weight of the eggs was 38.8±3.01 g (n= 68) and the average volume of eggs was 37.00±3.6 cm3 (n= 68). This study showed that Great Crested Grebes have a long breeding period in the western part of Anzali wetland (more than 170 days). Breeding success is affected by the large area of the water body which has large waves in spring, as well as the presence of predators such as Marsh Harrier. The first nests in the colony are constructed in the margins of the wetland and among small clumps of reeds. Subsequently, with the gradual increase in the growth and biomass of submerged water plants in the water body and the start of Whiskered Tern nesting on these water plants, the grebes build individual nests among the large colonies of Whiskered Terns. This may represent a specific breeding strategy of the Great Crested Grebe to increase the number of chicks reared during the breeding season.
Narges Toolabi; Mahmood Talkhabi; Fattane Sam Daliri; Farnoosh Attari; Leila Taghiyar
Abstract
Cancer is the result of the overgrowth of malignant cells that have the ability to spread to other parts of the body. Dichloroacetate (DCA) has been considered as a new drug to control various cancers. The effects of stem cells or their conditioned media (CM) on the treatment or control of some cancers ...
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Cancer is the result of the overgrowth of malignant cells that have the ability to spread to other parts of the body. Dichloroacetate (DCA) has been considered as a new drug to control various cancers. The effects of stem cells or their conditioned media (CM) on the treatment or control of some cancers have also been shown. In this study, human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (h-ADMSCs) and breast cancer cell line 4T1 were first treatedwith different concentrations of DCA and their viability was assessed by MTT assay and 1mM were selected for CM collection. h-ADMSCs with four groups including groups with no FBS media, ± DCA (-FBS /±1mM DCA) and groups with 5% FBS ± DCA (+5%FBS/±1mMDCA) were treated to prepare CM. Then the viability, colony forming potential, cell cycle profile and apoptosis of CM-treated 4T1 cells were investigated. The results showed that CM in the -FBS/+DCA group decreased the viability (P-Value <0.05) and increased the proliferation of 4T1 cells, compared to the -FBS/-DCA group, respectively. Compared to +5%FBS/-DCA group, CM of +5% FBS/+DCA were able to increase viability and proliferation of 4T1 cells. Also, CM of the four studied groups caused changes in the rate of apoptosis and cell cycle profile of 4T1 cells. It seems that, DCA can increase the viability and proliferation of 4T1 breast cancer cells by affecting on thecomposition of mesenchymal stem cells CM.
animal biosystematic
Faramarz Esfandiari; Vida Hojati
Abstract
The protected area of Talo and Shirband, which was one of the prohibited hunting areas of Semnan province until 2019, is located in the northeast of Damghan city. This region has rich and varied biodiversity, cold and dry weather in winter, and hot and dry in summer. Since there is a wide variety of ...
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The protected area of Talo and Shirband, which was one of the prohibited hunting areas of Semnan province until 2019, is located in the northeast of Damghan city. This region has rich and varied biodiversity, cold and dry weather in winter, and hot and dry in summer. Since there is a wide variety of reptiles in the mentioned area, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the fauna of lizards and turtles in the protected area of Talo and Shirband. The samples were collected from April to the end of September 2016 from early morning to late night in different stations of the region. The samples were identified based on valid identification keys and subjected to morphometric and meristic analysis. Pictures, identification key and species distribution map of the region were prepared. In total, 87 lizard samples and 6 turtle samples were collected and 15 species from 12 genera and belonging to 6 families were identified, which were: Paralaudakia caucasia, Phrynocephalus maculatus, Phrynocephalus scutellatus, Trapelus agilis, Bunopus tuberculatus, Cyrtopodion scabrum, Mediodactylus spinicaud, Tenuidactylus caspius, Eremias fasciata, Eremias persica, Eremias velox, Mesalina watsonana, Ablepharus pannonicus, Teratoscincus bedriagai and Testudo horsfieldii. The highest frequency of lizards belongs to Tenuidactylus caspius species and the lowest frequency belongs to Mesalina watsonana species
