وحید کریمی

The H9N2 avian influenza is one of the most important viral diseases of poultry in Asian countries. Continuous mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein as the main viral antigen make interpreting the HA-based serology test results difficult.

In this experimental study, the ability of polyclonal antibodies against the conserved motif of HA protein in detecting heterologous H9N2 isolates was evaluated.

Based on the bioinformatics data, a conserved motif of HA protein was selected and expressed in the pET-28a(+) vector. The recombinant peptide was mixed with an oil adjuvant and injected into specified pathogen free (SPF) chickens to produce the polyclonal antiserum. Similarly, antiserum from the inactivated virus was prepared. The efficiency of the prepared antisera was evaluated in the cross hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test using the homologous and heterologous H9N2 viruses.

The average titer of HI antibody against homologous and heterologous viruses using the polyclonal antiserum was equal to five. This titer was estimated to be seven for the homologous virus and much lower for heterologous viruses with inactivated virus antiserum. The difference was statistically significant.

According to the evaluations, this antiserum has a suitable efficiency in identifying different isolates of the H9N2 virus, and compared to the usual antiserum, it detects different antigens of a subtype more accurately. The resulting polyclonal antiserum does not contain non-specific inhibitors, which may cause problems interpreting serological findings. The results showed that polyclonal antiserum could identify H9N2 viruses isolated in different years by HI test; however, its validation requires testing with more viruses.

The end consumer of goods/services has rights that are based on access to quality goods / services and reasonable prices. One of the ways to protect consumer rights can be to standardize the articles of association of companies providing goods/services and mention the obligations in this legal document. This research for the first time in an analytical-descriptive method seeks to investigate the possibility of protecting consumer rights with the solution of standardizing the articles of association of companies from the perspective of administrative law. It was concluded that the administrative bodies in charge of companies providing goods / services may be public or public, and the private sector usually has no place in the oversight of businesses. With this action, consumer rights can be mentioned as an obligation in the company's articles of association. Therefore, the responsibility of partners and managers of companies towards the consumer is limited, and the registration of this statute in the management of companies will mean the transfer of responsibility to society. In this case, the administrative challenges of companies regarding consumer rights are minimized and during the judicial action, the main culprits can be dealt with appropriately. Government or public trustees have sometimes acted independently, which in order to counter parallelism, it is necessary to designate administrative regulations, appoint a single institution as the main trustee of supervision, and determine the vertical or horizontal status of administrative relations.

The consumer and the supplier as the parties of a transaction have rights and rights that due to the general consumption of some goods/services in the country, consumer rights are part of the recognized citizen rights that governments are required to protect. This research has been done by analytical-descriptive method. The research question is what are the strengths and weaknesses of the current practice of protecting consumer rights in the country and what are the ways to improve it? Not much time has passed since the approval of the Consumer Rights Protection Law and many examples of consumer rights have not been mentioned in it. The executive documents of this law are not very clear about the responsibilities. Civil and criminal responsibilities are not clearly specified in the law, and in the implementation section, the responsibilities of different institutions are either not determined correctly or conflict with each other. On the other hand, the economic capacity of our country is such that the position of supporting domestic production should also be prominent in the mentioned model, which is sometimes in conflict with consumer rights. The result of the discussion is that for the proper protection of consumer rights, the first step of economic growth is needed, and accordingly, the increase in the quality of products can be justified. Finally, by amending the law approved in 2009 and its executive regulations, the responsibility of various institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Standards Organization, the Ministry of Privacy and

Manpower indicators of the command and control network of Khatam al-Anbia air defense joint base of the country   AbstractSummary In today's uncertain and competitive world, the only main factor that can guarantee stability and excellence in the survival of organizations is the existence of knowledgeable, creative and capable human resources, which is important considering the sensitivity of military organizations and Especially the air defense sector, which relies on correct, quick, intelligent decisions and their non-stop implementation, is extremely important. The command and control network is designed with the aim of using all the facilities and capabilities of the organization in the shortest possible time and integrating activities. Over time, it has been known as a superior factor in military operations, especially air defense. Among the main components of the command and control network, human power, as the most basic component of this set, has the ability to influence the promotion, degradation, or elimination of the effectiveness of the entire set. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to calculate the indicators of the dimension of manpower. The command and control network of the Khatam-al-Anbiya (peace be upon him) air defense joint base of the country was designed in accordance with the research question. The type of research is applied-developmental and the research method is descriptive-analytical with a mixed approach. To answer the research question, based on the characteristics of the statistical population, the number of 140 experts in this field was purposefully determined and the questionnaire was distributed among them. Data analysis shows that the dimension of human resources with 4 components and 20 indicators, which is the codified and common training index, the most important indicator of the organizational culture component, the competence and knowledge and skill capability index, the most important indicator of the command and management component , the education index based on the mission, the promotion of air defense culture and the integrated education system, were recognized as the most important indicators of the education component and the expert and expert index in the field of command and control knowledge were recognized as the most important indicators of the individual characteristic component of the human resources dimension.

Improving electronic warfare techniques in military operations, especially in the field of air defense, improving the resilience of radar systems against electronic warfare attacks on the battlefield as the main command and control tool in the field of air defense, will play an important role in determining the winner of the battlefield. Had. The present study aims to design and develop strategies to improve the resilience of radar systems in the electronic warfare environment and is of an applied type. The statistical sample of the research is 31 experts and professors in the field of radar and electronic warfare. Data collection is through library resources and questionnaires. The questionnaire is organized in three stages and includes confirmation of components and characteristics, ranking of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to improve the resilience of radar systems in the electronic warfare environment. 0.82) has been obtained. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and each of the internal and external factors were counted. Status of WT Radar Resilience Determined Finally, four main strategies for developing a strategic plan to improve the resilience of radar systems in an electronic warfare environment have been identified and prioritized.

The aim of the present study was the pheno- and genotypic investigation of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) isolates of commercial poultry in different areas of Iran based on conventional bacterial method and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. For this purpose, 25 bacterial samples were selected from the microbial bank of the Avian Diseases Research and Diagnosis Department of Razi Institute. The cultural and biochemical investigations were identified all of the samples as ORT isolates. The isolates were also confirmed by PCR based on a 784-bp amplified fragment related to the estimated length. According to the results of determination of the haemagglutination pattern of the isolates by rapid haemagglutination test (RHAT), four (25.00%), one (6.25%), one (6.25%) and one (6.25%) of 16 studied isolates showed hemagglutination activity with rat, hamster, guinea pig and human red blood cells (RBCs), respectively, but none of them could react with mice, rabbits, sheep, goats and chickens RBCs. Based on the fingerprinting of the isolates by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR, all isolates (100%), without being affected by the type and breed of bird as well as the year and geographical area of separation, showed approximately 19 bands between 120 and 2500 bp and were typed into one genetic pattern (A). Our findings show that all of ORT isolates from commercial poultry in different areas of Iran are very similar in molecular profile, depend on a specific genotype, and are highly similar to genotype A mentioned in research by other scientists.

The Traffic assignment problem in the transport networks is formulated as a convex optimization problem using simplifier assumptions. Link based, path based and bush based algorithms have been presented to solve this problem, among which the link based algorithm have found more applications thanks to their low memory requirements. The link based algorithm of Frank-Wolf (FW) is yet amongst the most popular assignment algorithms, because of its simplicity as well as high convergence speed during the initial iterations. However, the low convergence rate of this algorithm near the optimal solution has driven many studies that focus on modifying the FW search direction, resulted in newer link based algorithms. Among them are conjugate direction algorithms which are more effective and simply implementable. These algorithms include PARTAN, conjugate FW (CFW) and bi-conjugate FW (BFW). This paper uses the Chicago Regional and Sioux-Falls test networks to make direct comparisons among these algorithms with respect to the CPU time and iteration number needed to reach various accurate solutions. The results for Chicago show that, compared with the FW algorithm, the three algorithms CFW, PARTAN increase the convergence speed to the relative error of 10-5 (i.e. a stable solution) by about 89, 72 and 63%, respectively, while only the BFW can reach to a 10-6 relative error. Comparing the results from Sioux-Fall with those of Chicago demonstrate that the performance of the conjugate directions Algorithms improves as network size decreases.

Gallibacterium anatis is a recently defined genus, which is a member of the Pasteurellaceae family. This advantageous pathogen is frequently found as part of the normal microflora of the upper respiratory tract and lower genital tract of the healthy poultry. Provided with appropriate conditions, it leads to various diseases, such as salpingitis, peritonitis, and loss of egg production with mortality in layer flocks. According to previous studies, multiple antibiotic resistance has been observed among G. anatis isolates, which can impose high costs on layer flocks. Due to the lack of the pathognomonic symptoms in the conflicts caused by this bacterium,  not enough comprehensive research has been conducted to date on the condition of this disease in Iran.

This study aimed to investigate the infection rates of this bacterium via PCR.

295 tracheal swabs were collected from 10-layer flocks. Subsequently, the suspected colonies were isolated and identified with morphological features, differential cultivation, and PCR.

43.72 % of the samples were positive.

The results of this study indicated that laying farms in Iran were infected with Gallibacterium anatis; thus, certain measures should be taken to control the factors reducing the production of layer flocks.

Today, information technology is recognized as the main resources and assets of organizations, thuse the basis for the effective transfer, transfer and use of information in countries, so it is of particular importance and affects the security of countries. In this research, using the data method of the foundation and the process of network analysis, dimensions, components and indicators of information and communication technology in the field of I.R.I security identified and explained. The data were collected from both library and field methods (interviews with experts, distribution of questionnaires and expert meetings). Then, the information was screened and categorized and analyzed using super-decision maker software and SPSS. The results of research were distributed among the elites in the form of a questionnaire for reconfirmation and the results confirmed. This research is an applied-developmental and descriptive-analytical method with a combined approach. It has been a tool for data collection, filing, interviewing and distribution of questionnaires. The statistical population was purposefully determined and a questionnaire was distributed among them. Quantitative data analysis was performed using descriptive statistical methods and seven dimensions (intelligence measures, socio-political measures, capacity building, national and international coordination, executive structures and implementation, technical measures and laws and regulations) were counted. Each component includes (5-component intelligence measures, 5-component socio-political measures, 5-component capacity building, 4-component national and international coordination, 4-component executive and implementation structures, 6-component technical measures and 3-component laws and regulations) Each component was selected two indicators (7 dimensions, 32 components and 68 indicators).

Optimizing the parameters of hydrological routing methods has a special place in increasing the accuracy of estimating outflow hydrograph and also calculating the peak area of flood hydrograph in engineering works. In the present study, since the range of changes in the inflow of the third flood (computational flood) is between the range of changes of the inflow of the first and second floods (base floods), For this reason, in order to increase the flood routing accuracy by using hydrological routing methods (linear Musking method, Working values, convex and modified Att-Kin), instead of using the parameters (X, K, ∆t) of a baseline flood, the arithmetic mean and the geometric of the two baseline flood parameters is discussed in 8 different modes using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. In other words, the use of all 8 modes presented in the present study has increased the accuracy of hydrological routing methods in estimating the peak area of flood hydrographs between Mollasani (upstream) and Ahwaz (downstream) hydrometric stations of the Karun River. Thus, in the best case presented in the present study (mode 8), the mean relative error of the computational flood peak area relative to the conditions in which the first baseline flood is used alone, for the mentioned methods are 66, 66, 25 and 18%, respectively, and in conditions When the second baseline flood is used alone, it has improved by 43, 43, 4 and 9%, respectively.

Although groundwater resources have long been selected as a safe choice for resolving human water requirements, overexploitation of them, especially at Ardabil plain, has promoted a decrease in the quality and quantity of these resources. One of the significant solutions is to identification of the groundwater potential zones and exploitation of them according to their potentials. The aim of this study was to compared the efficiency of two objective models: Index of Entropy (IE) and Naïve Bayes (NB) in groundwater potential mapping of Ardabil plain, located in northwest of Iran. For this purpose, ten groundwater occurrence factors including elevation, slope, soil, rainfall, distance from river, land cover, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), lithology, groundwater depth, and transmissivity were used based on the availability of data. In order to reduce subjectivity in groundwater potential modeling, all spectral groundwater data layers were classified into objective classes by using Jenks optimization technique. After computing groundwater potential index for the models, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curves (AUC) were implemented for validation of the models. The AUC values for the IE and NB models are 0.728, and 0.821, respectively. The overall results approved that both of the models have good capability for demarcating groundwater potential zones but the NB model performed better than the IE model for groundwater potential mapping in Ardabil Plain. The results of accurate groundwater potential mapping at Ardabil plain can be useful for groundwater resources management and avoiding overexploitation in the plain.

Some of the interests of the United States are largely associated with Southwest Asia and the issues arising from it. The doctrines and strategies of this country are being compiled obviously based on the context of this region and, above all, the Holy System of I.R. of Iran. Recent developments in the world and the neighboring region of I.R. of Iran confirms explanation of U.S. military guidelines and strategies against I.R. of Iran by organizing the nature of its threats in terms of establishing or strengthening fixed bases. It is obvious that the presence of American forces near the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran is always considered as a serious threat to this holy system and the consequences of establishing permanent bases in the region will be directly against the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to identify "the impact of US guidelines and strategies regarding the establishment of permanent US bases in the peripheral region of the Islamic Republic of Iran" which answered the corresponding research question. This research is an applied-developmental one and it employed a descriptive-analytical mixed method approach. Both field and library methods were used to collect data. Qualitative data analysis, descriptive analysis and data Quantitative inferential analysis were performed. To answer the research question with regard the characteristics of the statistical population, 42 experts in this field were purposefully selected and a research questionnaire was distributed among them. The highest effect of "the role of US guidelines and strategies in establishing fixed bases in the neighborhood of the Islamic Republic of Iran" is related to the "Energy Security Strategy" with a value of 4.667 and a very high weight and the lowest one is related to "Kennedy Flexible Response" with a value of 2.429 and an average weight.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) is a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium with the ability to infect a wide range of hosts.

This study aimed to provide a snapshot of the immune responses against ST challenge in primary chicken monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) by evaluating the transcriptional changes in inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β.

After preparing blood MDMs, cell monolayers were challenged with ST at a multiplicity of infection of 50. Transcriptional analyses of inflammatory cytokine IL-1β were performed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction using SYBR Green dye.

The results indicated that wildtype ST challenge in avian MDMs favors the differentiation of macrophages toward the alternatively activated M2-like cells through downregulating inflammatory IL-1β.

The findings demonstrated the preferential differentiation of chicken macrophages toward the alterna-tively activated M2-like cells upon ST infection. Further improvement of the existing control measures, such as vaccination and molecular-based immunotherapeutic strategies against poultry salmonellosis requires a better understand-ing of mechanisms involved in the immunomodulatory actions of Salmonella in immune cells in future studie

Unsteady flow analysis is performed using hydraulic and hydrological routing methods. Hydrological routing methods, while accurate, are much simpler and less expensive than hydraulic routing methods, and for flood routing calculations, only data related to hydrographs (flow changes over time) recorded at upstream and downstream hydrometric stations of the study area are needed. In the present study, the effect of the basic flood on the accuracy of flood routing in the Karun River was investigated using hydrological routing methods including linear Muskingum method, Working Values, Convex, and modified Att-Kin method. In other words, using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Algorithm and the 4 observational floods data recorded at the Mollasani (upstream) and Ahwaz (downstream) hydrometric stations of the Karun River, for each flood, separately, the linear Muskingum method parameters (X, K, ∆t) Optimized and used to calculate the outflow hydrograph of all floods. The results show that due to the effect of rivers flooding extent on the mentioned parameters if the range of inflow of basic flood changes is closer to the inflow of calculated flood, the accuracy of hydrological routing methods in outflow hydrograph estimation increases.

Energy flow is one of the most important issues in agroecology. The amount of energy that is consumed in different agroecosystems not only depends on the type of crop but also on the material and methods that is used in its production. Potato plants are one of the most important crops that is produced in Torbat Heidarieh region, Khorasan Razavi Province of Iran. Different irrigation methods influence the energy consumption and production. Thus, the aim of this study is to compare energy efficiency of potato with different irrigation methods.

In order to evaluate and compare the efficiency of energy consumption in potato production based furrow,  sprinkle and drip irrigation methods, a study was carried out at 11 fields in the Jolgeh Rokh Torbat Heidarieh region in 2013- 2014 . The comparison was performed using a completel randomized, unbalanced design. In which the type of irrigation system was considered as the treatment and fields that were matched to each irrigation system as a replication. The studied traits included the amount of input and output energy, the equivalent energy of all inputs, and energy use efficiency, net energy, energy production and specific energy.                                                                                                                                         

The largest amount of energy consumed by the human labor was due to furrow irrigation. The highest average of fossil fuel consumption was due to furrow irrigation method followed by sprinkle and drip irrigation. The amount of electricity consumed in the drip irrigation method had the highest amount compared to the other two methods. The most energy consumed by nitrogen fertilizers was related to furrow irrigation method, and the methods of irrigation of droplets and sprinklers in this regard were ranked in the following order, respectively. The amount of energy consumed by phosphorus fertilizers in irrigation was the least amount of droplets. This amount was in sprinkler irrigation and furrow irrigation respectively, although there was no significant difference between the two methods. The energy of using potassium fertilizers in the highest irrigation system was similar to the other irrigation systems. The energy consumption of herbicides was highest in drip methods and furrow irrigation was in the next category. Energy consumption of machinery was highest in sprinkler irrigation method. In the recent method, energy consumption of machinery was about half of the energy consumption of the total inputs. Indirect energy consumption for drip irrigation system was 6868 MJ.ha-1 and in sprinkle irrigation 2756 MJ.ha-1. Energy produced by seed was highest in drip irrigation method and the lowest in sprinkle irrigation. The total amount of input and output energy in sprinkler irrigation method was the highest (106674.24 and 162000 MJ.ha-1), followed by drip irrigation (97807.82 and 151000 MJ.ha-1) and furrow irrigation (92539.61 and 139000 MJ.ha-1) were placed in the following categories. The energy use efficiency of the drip irrigation method 1.6 was more than other irrigation methods. Production energy in terms of amount of drip and furrow irrigation was the highest 0.44 and in sprinkle irrigation 0.41. Net energy was the highest in sprinkler irrigation (53392.18 MJ.ha-1) and the lowest in furrow irrigation (46660.38 MJ.ha-1). Production energy was highest in drip and furrow irrigation (0.44 and 0.43) and lowest in sprinkle irrigation (0.41). The specific energy in furrow irrigation (2.36) was higher than the other methods and in the drip irrigation with the lowest (2.32).                                                                               

According to the results of the present research, in spite of higher yield of potatoes under sprinkle and drip irrigation systems, there were not significant differences among the energy indices; energy efficiency, energy productivity, and special energy; of three systems. This was due to more total input energy in the sprinkle and drip systems. Because the machinery and installations energy input in furrow irrigation system were lower than two other systems.

Most novice drivers do not have adequate skill to handle complex driving tasks. Moreover, most of these drivers are young with risky driving behaviors. Although, these behaviors such as speeding and tailgating are sometimes intentional, the investigations show errors in attention and fails to recognize hazards amongst young drivers. Therefore, this group involves in severe crashes and is known as a hazard for road users. This study aims to introduce the possible safety measures in order to reduce crashes involving young drivers. The paper reviews the related studies and classifies the safety measures into four categories. They include 1) implementing and improving graduated driver licensing, 2) enforcing and adjudicating laws related to young drivers, 3) management of parents / adults in their teens’ driving, and 4) Improving young driver training. The study can provide a comprehensive tool to help road engineers and professions while designing or dealing with safety issues.

Avian rotaviruses are one of the important agents of enteritis in birds and have a worldwide distribution. These viruses have an important role in runting and stunting syndrome in chickens. The aim of this study was detection and molecular characterization of avian rotaviruses in broiler farms in Guilan province. In this study, 100 samples were collected on different farms from the intestines of healthy and diseased broiler chickens and tested by RT-PCR targeting of the NSP4 gene. Sequencing of NSP4 gene has been used for characterization of detected viruses. Avian rotaviruses were detected in 46% of samples by RT-PCR. Partial sequencing of seven NSP4 genes and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the viruses belonged to group A avian rotaviruses and were 97.52% to 100% homologous. Sequence identity between viruses with previous chicken rotavirus sequences was 31.68% to 99.5%. In comparison with turkey rotavirus Ty-1 and pigeon rotavirus, the homology was 76.98% to 78.22% and 74.75% to 76.98%, respectively. Evident differences were detected between the rotaviruses studied and human and pig rotaviruses with homologies of 31.19% to 38.86% for pig and 47.77% to 48.02% for human viruses. This study was the first molecular characterization of avian rotaviruses in Iran. Results of this study showed that the group A avian rotaviruses are one of the considerable enteric pathogens in broiler chickens of Guilan province. Further study on the whole genome structure could elucidate the evolutionary process of avian rotaviruses circulating in Iran.

Joint ventures as a legal institution have contributed significantly to the expansion and development of international trade. Both kind of Joint ventures, contractual and entity types have been accepted and executed throughout the world. Although Turkish legal has no specific law on the issue and has not addressed JV directly, but it has been addressed indirectly in various laws, and its various dimensions have been investigated. The new Turkish law on Legal Commitments in twenty articles has reviewed the partnership agreement, which includes the contract of Joint ventures as well. Meantime, the law of Foreign Direct Investment plays critical role on Joint ventures. It is worth mentioning that in this regulation the principle of contractual freedom is emphasized. It has some substantive part regarding the amount of shareholding, the distribution of profits and losses between the parties, the decision-making process, the board of directors and management, the prohibition of competition between partners, Inspection, Changes in the structure of the JV, new partner process and termination of JV. On the shade of such regulations Turkish traders have got this opportunity to conclude JV agreements with foreign investors complying global standards and has had a positive impact on the development of foreign investment.

Avian infectious bronchitis is considered as an important viral disease worldwide. Genotyping based on the S1 subunit of spike protein gene of the causative agent, avian infectious bronchitis virus, can be used to classify IBV isolates.
This survey was carried out to characterize the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) genotypes circulating in Iran and determine their prevalence rate.
In this survey, 100 samples of trachea were collected from broiler chickens suspected to IBV during 2015 to 2016. Nested polymerase chain reaction (Nested PCR) followed by S1 gene sequencing was applied to genotype the detected isolates.
In this survey, forty five isolates were detected and classified in four distinct genotypes, variant 2 [IS/1494/06], 4/91, QX and Massachusetts, based on phylogenetic analysis. The prevalence rates of the variant 2 [IS/1494/06], 4/91, QX and Massachusetts were 66.67%, 24.45%, 4.44% and 4.44%, respectively.
This survey demonstrates the epidemiology of IBV genotypes in Iran and provides an insight into the evolution of these strains. Moreover, it is clarified that IBV genotypes prevalence are constantly changing in a region.

Coronaviruses have a wide range of host tropism causing respiratory, enteric and central nervous system diseases in pigs, cats, dogs, rodents, cattle, avian species and human. Coronaviruses undergo genetic mutations and recombination at high rates which make them able to infect a wide range of host species from different geographical locations. According to the possible existence of gammacoronavirus in Iranian bird population including pigeons and lack of information about virus prevalence, isolation and molecular characterization of pigeon coronaviruses are needed. The present study was conducted to detect avian coronavirus in flocks of Tehran province. samples were randomly collected from 25 pigeon flocks of Tehran province (250 tracheal swabs and 250 cloacal swabs, 20 specimens from each flock) between 2014-2015. The viral RNA was extracted from swab samples and RT-PCR reaction was run using the QIAGEN one-step RT-PCR Kit with primers targeting nucleocapsid (N) gene and 3’ untranslated region (3’-UTR) of gammacoronavirus. Gammacoronavirus was detected in one out of 25 (4%) flocks. The results of this study approve the presence of gammacoronaviruses in pigeon population and help to complete the map of epidemiology of the virus in Iran. According to the low prevalence rate of coronavirus in pigeons, samples should be collected from pigeons showing respiratory or enteric signs of disease or from pigeons having contact with other birds or those which are housed near poultry farms.

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB) is an economically important poultry disease. The emergence of new infectious bronchitis virus genotypes has complicated IB control programs.
This is the first comprehensive molecular analysis of the Nucleocapsid (N) gene of Iranian IBVs.
The nucleocapsid gene of ten IBV isolates (which belonges to four different genotypes) was amplified using specific primers. The phylogenetic trees were constructed based on nucleotide and amino acid sequences of “N” gene.
IBV genotyping based on “N” gene showed similar IBV classification which was obtained from spike gene analysis and ten isolates belonged to Massachusetts, QX, 793/B and Variant-2 genotypes. Different strains had 89.97- 99.75% homology in their amino acid sequences. The highest nucleotide sequence similarity was observed between IBKG-1 and IBKG-8 (793/B type IBVs), while the lowest was seen between IBKG-5 and IBKG-9 (QX- type and Variant-2 type) IBV isolates. This low similarity is of an interest because the N protein is highly conserved among different IBV strains. “N” Protein structural analysis revealed that the isolates has 8to 10 alpha helices and 6 to 8 beta sheets.
The present study provided basic information to develop recombinant nucleocapsid proteins that are applicable in rapid diagnostic tests and ELISA and recombinant vaccines.

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB), with avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) as the causing agent, is a ubiquitous endemic disease of the chicken with devastating effects on its industry. A viral membrane surface protein called S not only induces neutralizing antibodies but also plays an important role in virus binding and entry to host cells. Technically, S1 protein gene sequencing also helps greatly in IBV genotyping.
The aim of this study was to characterize Iranian IBV based on S2 gene.
After RT-PCR amplification, the S2 gene of nine Iranian IBV isolates were sequenced and then compared with reference strains.
The isolates were classified into genotype I as Massachusetts like IB Vs, genotype VII which clustered into two branches, VIIa (IS-1494 like IB viruses), and VIIb, and was related to QX- like viruses and Genotype VIII as 793/B like IBVs.
As far as we know, this is the first S2-based classification study on Iranian IBV isolates providing a firm experimental basis to correlate with genotypic characterization

Lily (Lilium longiflorum L.) is one of the most important potted flowers, which is used largely as cut flower. An experiment, arranged as a factorial besed on completely randomized dasign with three replications, was carried out to evaluate the effects of pre-harvest foliar application of humic acid, salicylic acid and calcium chloride on quality and longevity of lilium cut flowers. Treatments included humic acid as factor a (0, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/L) and three salicylic acid concentrations (0, 150 and 200 mg/L) and two calcium chloride concentrations (300 and 600 mg/L) as factor b, which were sprayed at two stages before harvesting the flowers. Results showed that treating the plants with 500 mg/L humic acid increased water uptake and chlorophyll a content and decreased number of fallen florets. Application of 1000 mg/L humic acid increased total chlorophyll content. Pre-harvest treatment of flowers with 600 mg/L calcium chloride increased florets’ diameter, relative water content, chlorophyll b content and shelf life, as compared to other concentrations and different salicylic concentrations. In this research, the highest shelf life was observed for flowers sprayed with 1000 mg/L humic acid and 300 mg/L calcium chloride. Therefore, pre-harvest foliar application of humic acid, salicylic acid and calcium chloride could have positive effects on quantitative and qualitative traits of lilium cut flowers.