a. talebi

Watersheds, as diverse ecosystems, play a fundamental role in water provision, soil conservation, biodiversity, and ecological sustainability. In addition to delivering environmental services, these areas serve as vital resources for supporting the livelihoods and well-being of local communities. However, population growth, climate change, land-use changes, and overexploitation have imposed significant pressures on these ecosystems, jeopardizing their health and natural functionality. The degradation of these areas can lead to serious consequences for water resources, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability. Therefore, identifying and implementing effective strategies to preserve and enhance watershed health is essential. In this regard, the present study utilizes the strategic SWOT model to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the Ilam Dam watershed and aims to propose practical solutions for improving and strengthening the health of these valuable ecosystems.

To achieve optimal strategies for resource management and improving the health of the study area, the SWOT analysis method was employed. This method provides a comprehensive framework for developing operational strategies by identifying existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Data for this research were collected through field studies, specialized interviews with local experts, and a review of scientific resources and available information. To enhance accuracy and reliability in evaluating and weighting internal and external factors, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Expert Choice software were utilized. Subsequently, the collected data were analyzed using the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) and External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrices, leading to the formulation of appropriate strategies. These strategies were categorized into four main types: aggressive, conservative, competitive, and defensive. Finally, to ensure the selection of the best options, the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was applied. At this stage, each strategy was scored and prioritized based on its attractiveness and feasibility, ensuring the identification of the most effective and actionable strategies.

According to the results of this study, seven factors were identified as strengths and seven as weaknesses (internal factors), along with seven opportunities and seven threats (external factors). The total score for strengths was 3.33, and for weaknesses, it was 3.57. Additionally, the score for opportunities was calculated at 3.54, while threats scored 3.28. Based on these scores and the internal and external factors evaluation matrix analysis, the WO strategy position was recommended, with specific solutions determined for each strategy. In the SO strategy, the QSPM matrix analysis indicated that optimal management of surface and groundwater resources, along with the establishment of suitable infrastructure for water capture and storage (strategy SO2), was recognized as the top priority. Within the ST strategy, the strategy of leveraging high organizational and local capacity to address the negative impacts of climate change and sustainably engage stakeholders and local communities in decision-making and watershed resource protection (strategy ST4) was prioritized. For the WO strategy, enhancing water and soil conservation programs and developing research and management initiatives through encouragement, support, and both material and spiritual contributions for specialized studies (strategy WO2) was identified as the main priority. Likewise, under the WT strategy, expanding and diversifying educational programs, developing educational content on water crises and climate change, and addressing the consequences of natural resource degradation in the basin, along with planning and approving national and international projects on climate change and dust storm mitigation (strategy WT1), emerged as the top priority. These strategies can provide an effective framework for improving resource management in watersheds and addressing environmental challenges.

 The findings of this study clearly demonstrate that strengthening protective, managerial, and educational programs plays a crucial role in improving the health of this watershed. These strategies, by optimizing available opportunities and minimizing weaknesses, can significantly contribute to sustainable development and effective natural resource conservation. In particular, the implementation of these programs requires collaboration and synergy among the local community, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and related agencies. It is recommended that conservation and management planning be accompanied by education and awareness initiatives for the local community, so residents understand the importance of preserving natural resources and are encouraged to participate in conservation efforts. This active community involvement not only enhances the effectiveness of these strategies but also contributes to achieving desirable outcomes and ecosystem sustainability, setting the stage for more effective management and long-term conservation of water and soil resources.

In this research, the effect of the organic substance N-N-diethylhydroxylamine (DEHA) along with multi layered graphene oxide (MLGO) in zinc-rich coating as a corrosion inhibitor on reducing the cathodic disbonding and increasing the corrosion resistance of steel substrates was investigated. For this purpose, paints with different weight percentages of DEHA and MLGO were made and applied on metal substrates. In order to investigate the adsorption of DEHA inhibitor on MLGO nanosheets and create interaction with it, the combination of N-Ndiethylhydroxylamine in a ratio of 2:1 with MLGO was investigated using FT-IR, TGA and SEM-EDX analysis. The inhibitory effect of DEHA in the coating was investigated by salt fog test and pull-off adhesion and cathodic disbondment and electrochemical impedance analysis. The results showed that by increasing the weight percentage of DHEA inhibitor compared to MLGO from 0.5 to 2% in the coating structure, the amount of cathodic disbonding decreased and the corrosion resistance increased significantly.

Fowl Adenoviruses (FAdVs) are widely distributed pathogens across the globe. The FAdVs from serotypes FAdV 2, 3, 8a, 8b, 9, and 11 are responsible for inclusion body hepatitis (IBH). Recently, increased mortality and IBH-suspected lesions were observed in 8-10-day-old broiler chickens in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. In this regard, the present study aimed to compare penton and hexon genes of ADDV11 in the molecular detection of IBH in broiler chickens. In total, 100 liver specimens were collected from 10 suspected farms, and their DNAs were extracted. Two polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) were applied; one targeting the L1 region of the hexon gene and another aiming at the penton gene. Based on the findings, 60% of samples showed positive results in both PCRs and phylogenetic analysis clustered the studied viruses into serotype 11 (species D) FAdV. The detected FAdVs also shared a multitude of homologies with previously published serotype 11 viruses from Iran and those identified in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, China, and Canada. This research not only provides an update on circulating FAdVs in Iran, but also introduces the penton gene as an alternative target for IBH diagnosis. Considering that IBH is a primary disease in Iran with both horizontal and vertical routes of transmission, urgent preventive measures are needed.

In the beginning, unknown variables and the environment controlled the nature of human settlements. But, today, the uncontrolled expansion of human settlements is modifying the environment and seriously threatening the sustainability of the whole lands. In this regard, the present study examines the plans and objectives of Integrated Land Management (ILM) and Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) in order to select and introduce an appropriate planning model for planners and policy makers. ILM is a science that combines the knowledge of local communities, indigenous peoples and all people who benefit from the environment and also derived from the natural and social sciences. The advanced state of ILM is IWM, which has comprehensive view and focuses on analyzing the results in the long run. In fact, IWM is a new concept and a new approach to planning, development, water resources management and vegetation with special emphasis on economic, social and environmental issues that seek to create participatory solutions in these areas. The purpose of this approach and this solution is to create integration and coordination in the management of natural resources and social resources of the watersheds in the form of people-centered programs. The main difference between IWM and ILM is that IWM emphasizes watershed strategic planning, based on the knowledge of the watershed, action to definition the macro strategies of the watershed, and puts a variety of strategic plans and management responses to improve watershed health on the agenda of its strategic committee. Therefore, IWM eliminates the shortcomings and limitations of ILM and is introduced to programmers as a suitable planning model.

The watershed is composed of various ecosystems and is considered a unit for conducting integrated management studies. Integrated management works to ecosystem services improve by identifying destructive processes. Due to the double pressure on the ecosystem different and their destruction, experts and researchers are trying to provide an integrated management model for watershed health in order to preserve ecosystems. On the other hand, some of the pressures on the ecosystem are visible in the current situation. But there are a number of pressures that are emerging recently and their effects on the state of natural resources may take a long time to appear. Therefore, identifying these pressures and drivers and their effects is essential to provide optimal operational solutions. In this regard, in order to reduce the pressure and improve the conditions of Zayandeh- roud watershed, various plans and studies have been done. Zayandeh- roud watershed in the central region of Iran is one of the regions that has the problem of water instability. In fact, water stress and irreparable environmental damage to the Zayandeh- roud watershed and the country, endanger the health watershed and justifies the present study. Therefore, the present study seeks to health status improve of Zayandeh- roud watershed by explaining the general roadmap and reach an appropriate management decision. In fact, this model can be used as the core and basic model in the integrated management of watersheds. The proposed goals and solutions, determine the correct management way in Zayandeh- roud watershed. Also, the stakeholders can, according to preferences and existing conditions, actions and activities can be planned and implemented in a participatory manner.

Control strategy of respiratory complex infections should address precipitating and predisposing causative agents in general and immunosuppressive agents in particular. In both clinical and subclinical forms, infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is one of the most immunosuppressive diseases of young chickens. This study aimed to investigate the concurrent occurrence of subclinical infectious bursal disease (IBD) and multicausal respiratory complex infections caused by Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) in broilers. In this study, 800 tissue samples (e.g., trachea, cecal tonsil, bursa of Fabricius, and spleen) and 400 sera samples were collected from broilers with confirmed respiratory signs selected from 20 broiler farms in west Azerbaijan province, Iran, from October 2018 to February 2019. Pathogens in the tissue samples were detected using RT-PCR for the VP2 gene of IBDV, F gen of NDV, and N gene of aMPV. The amplified products were sequenced afterward. At the end of the husbandry period, sera samples were used to detect antibodies against IBDV, aMPV, and NDV using ELISA and HI tests. Molecular results showed that the 45% (9/20), 30% (6/20), and 15% (3/20) of tissue samples were positive for IBDV, NDV, and aMPV, respectively. Regarding co-infection, 5% (1/20) of farm isolates were positive for IBD and ND, while 10% (2/20) of farms isolates were positive for IBD and aMPV. Co-infection of IBD, ND, and aMPV was not detected in farm isolates. Serological results indicated that the IBD co-infected flocks had almost higher (P<0.05) antibody titers against IBD; however, IBDV-NDV co-infected flocks and IBDV-aMPV co-infected flocks had lower antibody titer against NDVand aMPV, respectively. It can be concluded that lower antibody titer against ND and aMPV in IBD-ND and IBD-aMPV co-infections indicated suppressive effects of IBD on these diseases. Therefore, vaccination against IBD even in regions without clinical form of IBD is inevitable for the reduction of immunosuppressive effects of subclinical IBD on immune responses against these diseases.

Investigating the problems of watershed residents is one of the strategic issues of governments, which is undoubtedly a necessary step in providing appropriate management strategies in this regard. The present study was conducted to investigate the economic and social problems of the Doeiraj River catchment area. In this study, the strengths and weaknesses within the catchment area and the opportunities and threats of the external environment were identified using the available statistics and reports, field visits and preparation of questionnaires, in order to achieve the goals. Then, IFE and EFE matrices were formed and strategy formulated in the SWOT analysis process. The findings of the SWOT analysis show that a total of 18 strengths and opportunities can be identified as advantages as well as 17 weaknesses and threats as limitations for the management of the watershed management of the Doeraj catchment area. After determining the final coefficient of factors in the matrices, the WO strategy (minimum-maximum) was determined. This strategy is the second type of strategy which combines opportunities and weaknesses. In fact, the appropriate strategy is designed using opportunities to eliminate weaknesses. Finally, three solutions were presented: 1- Paying attention to the catchment area in order to increase people's income through tourism and 2- Providing appropriate management programs to reduce erosion and use lowwater cultivation. 3- Proper implementation of the integrated watershed management plan and transfer of agricultural water to these areas, in order to increase production and agricultural resources as well as people's income.

Watershed management in Iran requires a new attitude toward its management patterns. The implementation of existing sectoral policies in the country has increased the pressure on the quality and quantity of valuable natural resources. However, in the current situation, the country's watersheds, with their current management patterns, are still in unstable situation.The existing management challenges suggest the fact that watershed management is still facing a major crisis in Iran and has not been able to improve the health status of watersheds. Structural weakness of organizations, weakness of rules, lack of evaluation, monitoring and accurate monitoring can be the main root of these problems. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to address the necessary to conceptualize integrated watershed management approaches by collecting available documentation and findings. Then, the structure and administrative framework with appropriate strategies have been formulated based on identifying effective factors in the success and failure of managerial patterns. Changing the attitude from an island approach to an integrated approach in watershed management, increasing the internal and external cohesion of organizational structures, utilizing stakeholder participation-oriented management models and formulating relevant supporting laws are effective factors in the effective implementation of integrated watershed management. Increasing the sustainability, resilience and health of watersheds depends on the implementation of the principles of integrated watershed management.The achievements of this study can be a clear policy for managers and politicians in the country's natural resources.

The prevalence of male infertility is increasing worldwide and vitamin D deficiency can be one of the causes for this problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and reproductive hormones in infertile men with abnormal spermograms.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 220 infertile men with abnormal spermograms. Based on serum levels of vitamin D, they were divided into two groups of vitamin D less than 20 ng/ml (108 patients) and vitamin D greater than or equal to 20 ng/ml (112 patients). Then serum levels of FSH, LH, FT and TT were extracted and compared by referring to the medical records of the subjects.

The mean age and body mass index of participants were 34.46±5.60 years and 25.54±2.40 kg/m2, respectively. Hormone levels of FT, TT, and FSH did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, LH levels in the group with vitamin D deficiency (3.63±2.53) was significantly lower than the group with normal vitamin D (4.67±4.08) (p= 0.025).

The findings of this study showed a significant relationship only between LH levels in infertile men and their serum vitamin D levels.

Newcastle disease (ND) and Avian influenza (AI) are the major problems and the most economically important viral diseases in the poultry industry; therefore, vaccination against these diseases is considered one of the most effective ways of prevention. Extensive studies have been conducted to improve the performance of vaccines, and one of the major achievements of these studies is the preparation of adjuvants as stimulants of the immune system and one of the most important compounds in killed vaccines. An immunogenicity comparison of three adjuvants including, ISA70VG, Nano-Aluminum Hydroxide (Nano-Alum), and MF59 alone or with Nano-Selenium (Nano-Se), was performed using bivalent Newcastle plus Avian Influenza (ND+AI) killed vaccine. In this study, 105 specific-pathogen-free chicks (Ross-308) were divided into 7 treatments, including T1 (control group), T2 (ISA70VG), T3 (ISA70VG plus Nano-Se), T4 (Nano-Alum Hydroxide), T5 (Nano-Alum+Nano-Se), T6 (MF59), and T7 (MF59+Nano-Se). The vaccine was injected subcutaneously on day 21 in the back of the neck area. The blood samples were taken on days 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 post-vaccination. Serums of the samples were titrated by the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test against Newcastle and Avian influenza. Based on the results, the highest HI test titers were observed for the T2 and T3 treatments, while the T6 and T7 treatments had the lowest titers. Moreover, regardless of the type of the adjuvants, adding Nano-Se increased the antibody titer in the vaccinated groups. In conclusion, a combination of the ISA70VG adjuvant and Nano-Se induced excellent antibody titers using bivalent ND+AI killed vaccine.

Water quality is crucial to the development and management of water resources. Therefore, maintaining water quality, especially freshwater, which constitutes the major human consumption for a variety of drinking, agricultural, and industrial uses is important. Water quality is reduced by various natural and anthropogenic factors. One of the most common and important processes that reduces the quality of water resources is the influence of saline sea water on surface water. Seawater infiltration is a natural process due to the difference in the density of seawater from fresh water. Seawater is denser than fresh water because of the presence of minerals such as salt. The higher density of seawater causes it to be submerged under freshwater and, on the contact surface, seawater penetrates into the freshwater wedge. Salt water intrusion of sea toward the river caused a decrease in the quality of fresh water which makes it useless for utilizing in agricultural, industrial, and drinking and led to obliterating this fertilized plain upon its infiltration into the surrounding land. In order to reduce these negative effects through hydraulical control of salt water intrusion, we need to know about the efficacious mechanism of this issue. Thus, this study using ANSYS Fluent for modeling salt water intrusion on the surface water examined influences of changing in the sea water density and the water level of river on the measure of salinity intrusion. Also, air bubble curtain system as an alternative to preventing salt water intrusion was investigated. Results showed that sea water density and the water level of river had direct relationship with salinity intrusion, which means that upon an increase in the sea water density or the water level of river, salt water intrusion will increase, vice versa. Therefore, penetrating salinity increased by 86% with an 0.2% increase in saltwater density and was decreased %45 by decreasing %19 at river water level. Air bubble curtain system by creating impeding bubble between salt and fresh water is an appropriate solution for preventing salt water intrusion.

Sheet piles are of general water retaining structures. The discharge flow rate beneath sheet plies is an important parameter in the design of these structures. In this study, the Gene Expression Programming (GEP) as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) method is used for developing a model to predict the discharge flow rate. The input parameters include the sheet pile height, upstream head and hydraulic conductivity anisotropy ratio. In order to achieve better performance, the flow rate is normalized and selected as an output of the model. A database including 1000 cases are created from the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method (SBFEM) for the seepage beneath sheet plies is employed to develop the model. The GEP-based model predictions demonstrate a reasonable agreement with the simulated data, which indicates the efficiency of the developed model. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that the upstream head is the most influential parameter in the discharge flow rate beneath the sheet piles. Furthermore, the outputs of the parametric analysis show the reasonable performance of the model in the prediction of normalized discharge flow rate.

Erosion by water leads to considerable impacts on natural ecosystems and is accelerated in regions with high land use changes. In this study, through applying the K-means clustering approach on the output of SWAT model, the critical areas with respect to water erosion for Farsan Basin was prioritized for Best Management Practices (BMPs). Based on the results of SWAT model, three pollutant indicators were developed: i) contaminat Load per Unit Area Impact Index (LUAII), ii) contaminates Concentrating Impact Index (CII) and iii) the contaminat Load Impact Index (LII). The basin was divided into 26 sub-basins and according to the clustering results; the southern sub-basins which are situated on sloped areas (more than 25 degrees) were classified as high priority areas for management practice based on all indices. Sub-basins that are located in west, south west and south east have medium priority. These sub-basins are very sensitive to land use change including decreasing rangeland and increasing farming area. Among all sub-basins, those which are placed around two major streams are in stable condition because of low slope and low land use change. Finally, using the results of pollution indicators, we showed it was possible to reduce sediment and nutrient waste through implementing best management methods.

Estimation of the amount of sediment material (carried by a specific stream) is one of the main topics of sediment research. Sediment research is important in many engineering projects such as planning and design of water storage resources, morphology and changes in river bed, annual sediment estimation for reservoirs, sustainable irrigation, coastal protection, channel dredging, and etc.The evaluation of the sediment occurrences, and estimation of the sediment carried by rivers has a special importance and it is necessary to develop new methods with easy application for estimating the sediment transport. This study seeks to develop a method to be able to predict the amount of bedload with classification and regression trees and compare with some well-known empirical formulas such as Meyer Petter Muller, Shields, Einstein Brown, and Shoklitch. Measured data from Yazdakan station, located in Qotour River in Azarbayjan Gharbi, northwest of Iran, has been used in this research. It is a mountainous river with gravel bed that carries a high volume of sedimentation. A set of 76 field measurements over 8 years was used in modeling after verification and refinement. The model was trained on 80 percent of data and tested on the remained 20 percent. The best input contained whole four variables; flow discharge, suspended sediment discharge, flow depth and velocity, and the output was bedload discharge. The quantitative results of the best Decision Tree include MAE = 2134, RMSE = 2668 and % R = 89. The results of Regression Trees demonstrate more accuracy in the prediction of bedload compared with empirical formulas.

The drainage networks as the most prominent landscapes on earth are basis of many hydrological and geomorphological models. Due to the geomorphological properties of the region, the drainage network shows its own fractal properties that are saved as code in it. In fact, drainage networks are fractal phenomena with fractal behavior. Fractal dimension is a parameter used to indicate the complexity of data. The analysis of fractal dimensions of drainage networks and their morphometric properties facilitate the perdition of their behavior in the future. This paper focuses on the relationship between fractal dimensions of drainage networks and their morphometric properties of drainage networks in Yazd- Ardakan basin. Therefore, through an analysis of fractal dimension of drainage networks and its comparison with morphometric properties, the fractal behavior of these drainage networks are investigated. Results showed Pck and Ktl formations indicate highest and lowest fractal dimension respectively. The results indicated a significant relationship between fractal dimensions of drainage networks and morphometric properties. In this research, a positive relationship was observed between morphometric parameters and fractal dimension, so that the greatest correlation coefficient was found between the fractal dimension and the drainage density (0.99).

In the past century, the climate has been changing on both regional and global scales over the earth. It is also expected that such changes will continue in the near future. Climate change is due to increased greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The concentration of these gases is directly related to the temperature increase. Climate change affects the hydrological cycle through changes in time, amount, the shape of precipitation, evaporation rates and transfer, soil moisture, runoff, etc. Today, the use of hydrological models have been developed to have the factors affecting the hydrological cycle in the watershed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is an example of these models. The common method of assessing the effects of climate change on flow is using hydrological models along with general circulation models (GCMS) or regional weather models (RCMS). The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of climate change on runoff and evapotranspiration (real and potential) of Mehrgerd Watershed using the SWAT hydrologic model and the CanESM2 climatic model.

For modeling the change rate of regional climate parameters in the future period (2017-2030) and the effect of these changes on hydrological parameters, the daily data of minimum and maximum temperature of the Borujen station and precipitation of the Tange Zardaloo station for the base period (1984-2005) were used as inputs of the CanESM2 model. Accordingly, using the model of SDSM5.2 under the scenario of RCP8.5 was performed the downscaling operation. To evaluate the efficiency of the SDSM model were used statistical criteria R2, RMSE, and NS. In the next step, the SWAT 2012 model was used to simulate the hydrologic conditions. After introducing the DEM map with a precision of 20 meters, the region was divided into 18 sub-basins. From the combination of land use maps, soil, and slope, 54 units of hydrological response (HRU) were obtained. Then, climatic data including precipitation, minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation were introduced to the model. Due to the presence of the dam and the two water transfer lines in the area, physical data and discharge were calculated and introduced into the model. The calibration and validation of the model were done by Sufi-2 algorithm. The calibration process was conducted for the period 2004 to 2012 while the validation process was from 2013 to 2016. In order to evaluate the performance of the model, coefficients NS, R2, P-Factor and R-Factor were used. For this purpose, the model was restarted to obtain the appropriate range for each parameter. After calibrating the hydrological model was introduced the simulated climate to the SWAT model. Finally, the effect of climate change was investigated on runoff and evapotranspiration (real and potential) of Mehrgerd Watershed.

The results of the downscaling of the climatic model in this region indicate a decrease of 53.48% of precipitation and increase minimum and maximum temperatures for a future period (2017-2030), 0.84 and 3.99%, respectively. Based on the results of the sensitivity analysis of the SWAT model, 10 parameters were identified as the most sensitive parameters. In the hydrological section, the statistical criteria of R2, NS, P-Factor and R-Factor were obtained for the calibration period 0.73, 0.69, 0.52 and 0.24, respectively and for the validation period, 0.71, 0.58, 0.45 and 0.29, respectively. Comparing runoff simulation in the future period under the influence of climate change and comparison of its values with the base period showed a decrease of 23.82% in an annual average of runoff. Climate change will also reduce actual evapotranspiration by 26.03% and increase potential evapotranspiration by 10.20%.

Based on the results of the SDSM model, it was determined that the precipitation is strongly reduced in comparison with the observation period, and the minimum and maximum temperatures increase with a slight difference compared to the observation period. According to statistical criteria, the SDMS model has succeeded in simulating the parameters for the future period. Accordingly, the values of R2, RMSE, and NS for precipitation, were equal to 0.92, 5.81 and 0.39, respectively, and for the minimum and maximum temperatures were obtained 0.99, 0.16, 0.99 and 0.99, 0.21, 0.99, respectively. In the hydrological section, the statistical criteria were acceptable values for the calibration period and the validation. Finally, it was found that under the influence of climate change, runoff decreases. Real evapotranspiration is also declining due to a lack of available water, but potential evapotranspiration is increasing due to the close relationship with temperature.

Veterans' families, especially their wives, are at high risk for mental and psychological injuries that should be noticed to them. The aim of present study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness based cognitive therapy on loneliness and rumination of veterans’ spouses.

In this experimental study with pretest-posttest design with control group, 22 veterans’ spouses of Shiraz city in 2018 were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly assigned into case and control groups (11 subjects in each group). Participants in both groups completed the DiTommaso’s loneliness questionnaire and the Nolen-Hoeksema’s rumination questionnaire. The case group was then subjected to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy intervention during 8 sessions of 120-150 minutes. After group therapy on the case group, the post-test was performed on both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software, using dependent and independent t-tests.

In case group, significant changes in the sense of loneliness and rumination scales were observed in the post-test compared to the pre-test (p=0.0001). However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. There was also a significant difference between the case group and the control group in the sense of loneliness (p=0.01) and rumination (p=0.001).

 Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is an effective strategy to reducing sense of loneliness, and rumination in veterans’ spouses.

Petroleum compounds are major contributors to aquatic environmental pollution. In recent years, biological treatments as environmental-friendly and cost-effective techniques have been used alongside the various physico-chemical methods. Microbial cell immobilization in hydrogel carriers has been the focus of researchers due to various advantages such as ease of microbial species control, non-direct exposure of pollutants to the cells, increasing cell resistance during different types of stresses and reusability. The main goals of this study were introduction to electrospraying technique in order to size reduction of alginate beads and comparison of heavy crude oil biodegradation using an isolated strain of Bacillus licheniformis in free and immobilized cells.

The oil-degrading strain was isolated from oil-polluted site on Kharg Island. Microbial cells were examined in both free and immobilized systems under different conditions (pH=5,7) and initial crude oil concentration (1500,3500 ppm). Electrospraying technique was used for alginate beads production. Residual crude oil content was analyzed by gas chromatograph and gravimetrically method.

The maximum oil removal (61%) was obtained for the immobilized cells at a concentration of 3500 ppm in neutral medium. Overall, according to the results, after the 14th day, the biodegradation through the immobilized cells was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the free cells. Moreover, the cell immobilization caused the microorganisms to be more resistant to the harsh environments.

This study showed that the immobilized microbial cell system has a great potential for oil wastewater treatment. The electrospraying technique can be used to overcome to the mass transfer limitations.

Background and Objectives:

 Life table parameters are important and key tools to reveal the reproductive and population growth potential of natural enemies regarding control of their prey/host. 

Materials and Methods:

 The initial population of Cephalonomia tarsalis was collected from wheat storage facilities in Tehran province. Life table parameters of C. tarsalis on the 3th instar larvae of Oyzaephilus surinamensis were investigated using100 newly laid eggs (as a cohort) at temperature of 25±1 °C, 60±5% R.H. and photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) hours. The daily counts of mortality and fecundity were arranged as a life table and used to calculate net reproductive rate (Ro), intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (λ), mean generation time (T) and doubling time (DT).

 Results:

 As a result of this study survival rate (lx) decreased with increasing age and life expectancy (ex) at birth 43/8 days. Egg hatch rate (hx) was determined to be 0.96. As a result of this study, the gross fecundity and fertility rates were determined to be 84.74±0.61 and 81.35±0.58 and net fecundity and fertility rates were 60.9±2.03 and 58.46±1.95, respectively. The average number of eggs produced per female per day was 2.56±0.01. The intrinsic rate and finite rate of C. tarsalis on the 3th instar O. surinamensis were 0.104±0.001 and 1.11±0.001 day-1 , respectively. Time required to increase the population to the size of the net reproduction rate and doubling times were 36.2±0.065 and 6.62±0.059 days, respectively. The gross and net reproduction rate were 61.37±0.159 egg and 44.1±1.47 females/females/generation, respectively. The results of this study on the stable age distribution showed that 91.14 % and 8.02 % of the population belonged to immature stage and adults, respectively.

 Discussion:

Based on the findings, it could be concluded that C. tarsalis has a good potential to control its host, C. tarsalis.

Un-methylated cytosine-phosphate-guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) has been considered as a powerful vaccine adjuvant and recognition of CpG-ODN by chicken leukocytes promotes their ability to fight against infections. In our study, efficacy of different routes of CpG-ODN application as an adjuvant on immune responses (antibody titer together with leukogram) following vaccination against Newcastle disease (ND) has been evaluated in broiler chickens (Ross-308). The results indicated that routes of CpG-ODN administration influence immune responses and comparison effectiveness of CpG-OND delivery routes showed that group vaccinated by eye-drop application had the highest antibody titer than that of the group injected intramuscularly (im) and the difference was significant (p = 0.04) on day 35 of age. Antibody titer of the group treated with Clone 30 plus CpG-ODN via eye-drop route was higher than that of the group vaccinated with clone 30 alone on days 28 and 35 of age and the difference was significant (p = 0.04). Co-administration of both vaccine and CpG improved outcome of leukogram of the chickens on days 21 to 42 of age and among the treated groups, WBC of the group received both vaccine and CpG by eye-drop route significantly (p < 0.05) differed from that of the group vaccinated with clone 30 alone on days 28 and 35 but not on day 42 of age. Average final body weight of the control group did not significantly differ from those of the treated groups at end of the experiment. In conclusion, co-administration of ND vaccine plus CpG-ODN via eye-drop route improves immune responses.

Flushing program can improve performance in sheep industry.
OBGECTIVES:The aim of this study was evaluation the effects of using supplemental fat in Lori-Bakhtiari ewes flushing diet on their lamb's weaned weight.
Three hundred healthy and non-pregnant Lori-Bakhtiari ewes were selected and randomly allotted to threenutritional groups (n=100) as: basal diet (control or C treatment), basal diet with 250 grams barley grain(B treatment) and basal diet with 144.5 grams barley grain 50 grams supplemental fat(BF treatment). Ewes received dietary supplement from day 14 before up to day 21 after ram introduction. Ewe's weight and body condition score before mating, ewe's weight at lambing,the number, sex, weight and type of lambs born, lambing date of ewes, lambs weaning weight and number of lambs weaned were recorded.
Mean of ewe's weight at lambing in the BF group was higher than other groups (P The use of supplemental fat with barley grain in Lori-Bakhtiari ewes flushing diet can be improvedweight of weaned lambs.

Tooth brushing is a common oral health habit worldwide. Therefore hygiene of toothbrushes can play an effective role in maintaining oral health. Several factors can affect microbial contamination of toothbrushes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine 0.2% solution on toothbrush decontamination.Method and materials: In this experimental study, a total of 84 sterile, similar toothbrushes were given to 42 individuals in two seperate sessions. In the first session, subjects washed their brushes in the usual way after brushing their teeth. In the second session, the brushes were put in a solution of chlorhexidine 0.2% following their application by the subjects. At the end of each session, toothbrush heads were detached under sterile conditions and were put in the phosphated buffer solution (PBS) before being sent to the laboratory for microbial culture. The collected data were analyzed using Wilcoxon test with a confidence rate 0.95.

There was a statistically significant difference in bacterial contamination on toothbrush heads between the two sessions (P value = 0.009). In the first session (simple rinsing) 21.4% of toothbrushes were contaminated while in the second session (using chlorhexidine 0.2%) only 2.4% of samples were contaminated.

The results of this study revealed that chlorhexidine 0.2% reduces bacterial contamination on toothbrushes. This solution is easily available and is also helpful for other oral purposes.

In this study, porous scaffolds from poly(D,L-lactic acid) have been prepared via liquid- liquid phase separation method in ternary system of polymer-1,4-dioxane-water. Polymer dissolved in dioxane in 1.5, 2.5 and 5 % wt/v and the solvent/non-solvent ratios were 13/87, 15/85 and 17/83. Cloud point curves prepared by visual turbidometry. In order to obtain porous scaffolds with inter-connected pores structure, each system cooled below its cloud point temperature to achieve phase separation then promptly freezed. Furthermore, sublimation in freeze-dryer took place. Scanning electron microscopy have been used to study the morphologies of the scaffold and average pore sizes from 10 to 37 μm were obtained with variation in systems concentrations. Porosity density and of the scaffolds were measured by volumetric method and 85.5% was achieved. The results show that variation in concentration of ternary system has great effect on morphology, pore size and porosity density of the scaffolds.

The host-stage preferences of alfalfa black aphid, Aphis craccivora, by parasitoid wasp, Lysiphlebus fabarum, were studied under two trials under growth chamber conditions (55±5 %, R. H., L:D 14:10 H. and Tem. 20 ±2° C ). In the first trial, all stages of aphid in equal ratios, and in the second trial, variable ratios of 5:15, 15:15 and 15:5 of 3rd and 4th instar nymphs were used for parasitisation. The objective was to identify the most preferred stage of aphid for parasitism by Lysiphlebus fabarum. The results showed that 3rd instar nymphs of alfalfa black aphid were the most preferred stage with 38.75% of parasitism. Whereas 4th instar nymphs and adults had 23.75% and 21.25% parasitism, respectively. The first instar nymphs were not parasitized at all. In the second trial with variable ratios of 3rd and 4th instars of alfalfa black aphid, parasitism of 3rd instar in ratios 25, 50 and 75 percent of total population were 35.9, 55.74 and 79.6%, respectively, while those for 4th instar nymphs were 20.36, 44.26 and 64.09%, respectively. So there was a positive preference for 3rd instar and a negative preference for 4th instar nymphs.

Hyperimmune antisera from rabbits, which immunized with sporozoite antigens of E.acervu/ina and chickens that infected with homologous sporulated oocysts were used for invasion experiments in MDBK cell. Both hyperimmune antisera \\..:re able to decrcase significantly (P=O.002 for rabbit sera and P=O.004 lar chickcn sera) MDBK cell invasion by sporozoites of E. aeer\'lrlina. Comparison of the effects in various conditions (with and without pre-lreatl11ent) demonstrated that the percentage inhibition I(lr the rabbit antisera with pre-trcatl11cnt was higher than that without pretrealmenl (1'=0.05). (herall. the dcgrec or inhibition of sporozoite invasion varied betwcen the antisera and the rabbit anti-sporozoite sera in both conditions had a grcater degree of inhibition than the chicken homologous antisera (1'=0.003). Thesc observations are another proof of the l'flccti\'eness or serum aillibodies on spornzoites of Eimeria species and may suggcsl thal rabbils reCllgni/.e 1110re I..ey cpitopes of sporozoites than the natmal hos!.