ershadi

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of corporate governance on delays in midterm financial reporting through conducting case study research in Tehran stock exchange. This paper examines the impact of corporate governance on timeliness of interim financial reporting through developing research hypotheses from the literature, and examining them using the statistical tests. The data gathering from listed companies in Tehran stock exchange is limited to the time-period between 2008 to 2012. The criteria considered in evaluating the corporate governance include ownership concentration, institutional shareholders ownership, size of board of directors, duality task of chief executive officer and the independency of the board of directors. The results of this research reveals that the effect of corporate governance mechanism on delays in midterm financial reporting is non-significant. The only variable that negatively affects the delays in interim financial reporting is the control variable 'the firm size. This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of corporate governance mechanism on delays in midterm financial reporting by hypothesis testing. It paves the way for other researchers in identifying the effective factors in midterm financial reporting. Regarding the lack of research, this paper reframes the debate on the effects of corporate governance from a new outlook.

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a neglected disease with public health importance that is common in many rural areas of Iran. In recent years, behavioral resistance and/or bait shyness against the common rodenticide among reservoir hosts of ZCL have been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Klerat® and zinc phosphide against natural reservoir of ZCL.
This survey was carried out in four villages located 45 to 95 km far from Esfahan City Esfahan province, central Iran from April to November 2011. The rodent burrows were counted destroyed and reopened holes baited around all villages. Effect of rodent control operation on the main vector density and incidence of ZCL were evaluated.
The reduction rate of rodent burrows after intervention calculated to be at 62.8% in Klerat® and 58.15% in zinc phosphide treated areas. Statistical analysis showed no difference between the densities of the vector in indoors and outdoors in intervention and control areas. The incidence of the disease between treated and control areas after intervention was statistically different (P Klerat® could be a suitable alternative for zinc phosphide in a specific condition such as behavior resistance or occurrence of bait shyness.

Leishmaniasis has long been known as a significant public health challenge in many parts of Iran. Phlebotomus pa­patasi and P. sergenti are the vectors of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Anthroponotic Cutaneous Leish­maniasis respectively, and 5 species of sand flies including P. kandelakii, P. neglectus, P. perfiliewi, P. keshishiani and P. alexandri are considered as probable vectors of Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis. A literature search was per­formed of the relevant multiple databases from 1966 to 2013 to include studies on sand flies, vector control, leish­maniasis, Phlebotomus. Sand fly control in Iran began in 1966 by Iranian researchers, and long-term evaluation of its effects was completed in the study areas of the country. Herein, a review of vector control strategies in Iran to com­bat leishmaniasis including indoor residual spraying, application of chemicals in rodent burrows, impregnation of bed nets and curtains with insecticides, the use of insect repellents, impregnation of dog collars and the susceptibility of sand fly vectors to various insecticides has been summarized thus far. The investigation of the behavioral patterns of the adults of different sand fly species, introduction of biological insecticide agents, the use of insecticidal plants and other novel strategies for the control of sand fly populations have received much attention in the areas of studies, hence should be recommended and improved since they provide optimistic results.

Phlebotomus sergenti s.l. is considered the most likely vector of Leishmania tropica in Iran. Although two morphotypes- P. sergenti sergenti (A) and P. sergenti similis (B)-have been formally described, further morphologi­cal and a molecular analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtDNA-COI) gene revealed inconsistencies and suggests that the variation between the morphotypes is intra-specific and the morphotypes might be identical species.
We examined the sequence of the ITS2-rDNA of Iranian specimens of P. sergenti s.l., comprising P. cf ser­genti, P. cf similis, and intermediate morphotypes, together with available data in Genbank.
Sequence analysis showed 5.2% variation among P. sergenti s.l. morphotypes. Almost half of the variation was due to the number of an AT microsatellite repeats in the center of the spacer. Nine haplotypes were found in the spe­cies constructing three main lineages corresponding to the origin of the colonies located in southwest (SW), northeast (NE), and northwest-center-southeast (NCS). Lineages NCS and NE included both typical P. cf sergenti and P. cf similis and intermediate morphotypes.
Phylogenetic sequence analysis revealed that, except for one Iranian sample, which was close to the European samples, other Iranian haplotypes were associated with the northeastern Mediterranean populations in­cluding Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, and Pakistan. Similar to the sequences of mtDNA COI gene, ITS2 sequences could not resolve P. sergenti from P. similis and did not support the possible existence of sibling species or subspecies within P. sergenti s.l..

Epidemics of mosquito-borne viral infections such as dengue, chikungunya, West Nile and Rift Valley fevers in neighbouring countries and risk of introduction of exotic vectors into Iran have placed this country at a significant risk for these mosquito-borne diseases.
After the first dengue case reported in Iran in 2008, active entomological surveillance of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus) were conducted in May/Jun, Sep, and Oct/Nov, 2008-2014. Based on occurrence of dengue cases and the presence of potential entry sides including ports and boarder gates, 121 sites in eight provinces were monitored for mosquito vectors. Larval collections were carried out using droppers or dippers and adult collections with CDC light traps, human landing catches, aspirator and Pyrethrum spray space catches.
A total of 8,186 larvae and 3,734 adult mosquitoes were collected belonging to 23 Culicinae species, including 13 of the genus Culex, 1 Culiseta, 1 Uranotaenia, and 8 of the genus Aedes. Five Aedes albopictus larvae were identified from the Sistan & Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan in 2009. In 2013, seven Ae. albopictus adult mosquitoes were also collected in a coastal locality near the city of Chabahar in the same province.
The detection of larvae and adults of this species in different parts of this province reveal its probable establishment in southeast Iran, which has implications for public health and requires active entomological surveillance as well as the implementation of vector control to prevent the further spread of this critical vector.

There are nearly 1000 species of Phlebotomine sand flies in 6 genera, of which only two, Phlebotomus in the old world and Lutzomyia in the new world are medically important. Globally, leishmaniasis prevalent in 98 countries and affects estimated 12 million people with almost two million new cases per year. Some rural areas of Azarshahr District in East Azarbaijan Province have been reported to be endemic for visceral leishmaniasis. This study is the first attempt to determine the species diversity and density in a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Azarshahr District, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran. Sand flies were collected form indoor and outdoor biweekly using sticky traps. Diversity index of the collected sand flies within different villages were estimated by the Shannon-Weaver. The activity of the sand flies extended from April to October with one peak in August. Diversity of sand flies within study area were estimated as 0.917, 1.867, 1.339, 1.673, and 1.562 in Almalodash, Jaragil, Segaiesh, Amirdizaj, and Germezgol Vvillages, respectively. Identifying the diversity and seasonal abundance of the collected species is of importance for prediction of the period of maximum risk for leishmaniasis transmission and for the successful implementation of a control program. Species diversity is one of the most important factors in ecological studies.

In conventional direct torque control (DTC), the stator flux is usually kept constant by ontrolling the x-axis component f the stator voltage in the stator flux reference frame. The torque is then controlled by he y-axis component of stator oltage. In this scenario, the stator current does not exceed its permissible value. owever, in the so-called optimal fficiency mode, the induction motor operates with reduced flux-level at light loads. The eference flux increases with he increase in the load torque. Consequently, stator current overshoots from its hreshold, and the inverter’s rated ower needs to be increased. When the load torque increases suddenly, speed will drop ignificantly as the flux level ad been initially reduced. In this paper, the origin of this phenomenon and the vershoot current are described using he equivalent circuit model of an induction motor. A current limiting strategy is then roposed for the DTC drive with torque controller. Also to improve dynamic response, an algorithm for optimum istribution of stator current is eveloped that includes flux and torque components. This algorithm produces the aximum feasible output torque and inimizes the speed drop. Numerical simulation verifies the efficiency and efficacy of both roposed methodologies.

Sand fly saliva helps parasite establishment and induce immune responses in vertebrate hosts. In the current study, we investigated the modulation of Phlebotomus papatasi salivary gland antigen expression by sea­sonal and biological factors. Sand flies were grouped according to physiological stages such as unfed, fed, semi-gravid, gravid, parous, nulliparous, infected or non-infected with Leishmania major and based on the season in which they were collected. Salivary gland antigens (SGAs) were analyzed using SDS-PAGE and the antibody response against SGAs in Rhombomys opimus was determined by ELISA and Western blot. The highest protein content was found in the salivary glands of unfed sand flies. The saliva content was higher in parous compared to nulliparous, in summer compared to spring, and in Leishmania-infected compared to non-infected flies. The salivary gland lysate (SGL) electrophoretic pattern variations were observed among sand flies with various physiological stages particularly from 4–9 protein bands of 14–70 kDa. The SGL of unfed and gravid flies had extra protein bands compared to fed and semi-gravid sand flies. There was missing protein bands in SGL of parous compared to nulliparous; and in summer compared to spring collected flies. Rhombomys opimus se­rum reacted strongly with an antigenic band of around 28 kDa in the SGL of all sand fly groups. Certain biological and environmental characteristics of wild populations of vector sand flies affect the protein content and antigenicity of saliva. This might have an important implication in the design of vector-based vaccines.

Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL), an important public health problem in Iran, is sensitive to climate conditions. This study aimed to examine dynamic relations between the climate factors and incidence of ZCL in Golestan Province, northern Iran during 2010–2012. Data of monthly climatic factors, including temperature variables, relative humidity variables, evapora­tion, total rainfall, and number of freezing and rainy days together with monthly ZCL incidence were used. Spear­man rank correlation was carried out to explain associations between the monthly ZCL incidence rate and climate factors at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 months lagged periods. Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to examine the type and strength of relationships between the spatially averaged climate factors and ZCL incidence rate in district level. Stepwise multiple regression was used to find the best combination of independent climatic variables, which predict the ZCL incidence. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the highest correlations between climate factors and monthly ZCL incidence were established when the climate time-series lagged the ZCL incidence series, especially two month prior to disease incidence. Based on the results of the both Spearman rank correlation and Pearson correlation analy­ses, ZCL incidences in Golestan Province tend to be more prevalent in areas with higher temperature, lower relative humidity, lower total rainfall, higher evaporation and lower number of rainy days. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that minimum temperature, mean humidity, and rainfall had considerable effect on ZCL incidence. Climate factors are major determinants of ZCL incidence rate in Golestan Province and such climate conditions provide favourable conditions for propagation and transmission of ZCL in this endemic area.

Ecological studies on mosquitoes are very important in vector control programs. There are a few studies about the ecology of mosquitoes in northern Iran. This study was carried out to detect fauna and larval habitat characteristics of mosquitoes. This study aimed to determine fauna and the ecology of mosquitoes in Neka County, Mazandaran Prov­ince, northern Iran from April to December, 2009. The larval collection was conducted using standard dipper, and the characteristics of larval habitat were investigated based on degree of transparency of water, type of water (stag­nant or running), plant vegetation, sunny or shady, temperature and altitude of the natural or artificial breeding places. The mosquito larvae were collected from 72 habitats and identified using systematic keys. Nine species of mosquitoes were identified: Anopheles claviger (0.31%), An. maculipennis (0.54%), An. plumbeus (10.28%), An. superpictus (0.01%), Culiseta annulata (1.07%), Cs. longiareolata (8.91%), Culex mimeticus (0.03%), Cx. pipiens (63.99%), and Ochlerotatus geniculatus (14.85%). The range of temperature in the larval habitats was 19.6–22.5 °C. Significant difference was observed in the rate of temperature among the species in the larval habitats (P< 0.05). A checklist of mosquitoes including seven genera and 32 species has been provided for Mazandaran Province. The most dominant species were Cx. pipiens. They were collected from the larval habitats like Border Rivers, ponds, rain water pools, discarded tires and tree holes. Culiseta annulata was included to the checklist of mosquitoes in Mazandaran Province.

Crop nutrition is a practical method against freezing injury which may improves grapevine cold tolerance potential by increasing bud nitrogenous and carbohydrates storages. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of late- season foliar application of urea 0, 1 and 2%) and potassium sulfate (0, 1.5 and 3%) on cold tolerance, soluble carbohydrates, proteins, proline and water content of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv ‘Bidaneh Sefid’) buds. In summer 2012, urea was sprayed two times at post harvest and potassium sulfate applied two times before and two times after harvest on 14 years old grapevines located in Malayer Grape Research Station using a randomized complete block design. Following exposure of buds to artificial freezing in Nov., Jan. and Apr., cold tolerance was evaluated using electrolyte leakage bioassay. The effect of nutrition treatments was significant on cold hardiness of grapevines. In Jan., the highest cold tolerance (LT50= -25.63 ºC) and the lowest tolerance (LT50= -19.50 ºC) was found in 3% potassium sulfate solely or in combination with different urea levels and 2% urea without potassium sulfate, respectively. Moreover, potassium sulfate solely or in combination with different urea levels resulted in higher increments in soluble carbohydrates, protein and proline. The lowest and highest bud water content was detected after using potassium sulfate (especially in 3% K2SO4) and urea solely, respectively. The combined effect of two nutrients increased membrane stability and decreased electrolyte leakage more strongly via accumulation of osmoregulants and lowering free water which finally resulted in high freezing tolerance of grapevine buds. These results showed that using potassium and nitrogen simultaneously can significantly reduce cold injury in vineyards and may improve bud development through increasing bud nitrogenous and carbohydrates storages.

Mosquitoes are considered as the vectors of dirofilariasis and some vector borne disease in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the susceptibility level of the vectors to various insecticides recommended by WHO for any control measures in an endemic area in northwestern Iran. Mosquito larval and adult collections were carried out using different methods provided by WHO includ­ing dipping and hand catch techniques. The susceptibility level was assessed to DDT 4%, malathion 5%, propoxur 0.1%, deltamethrin 0.05% and lambda-cyhalothrin 0.05%. Totally, 749 adults and 5060 larvae of Culicidae mosquitoes were collected comprising seven species of adult and larvae, including: Anopheles claviger, An. maculipennis, An. sacharovi, Culex hortensis, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri and Culiseta longiaerolata. Frequency of larvae and adults of An. maculipennis was very low, so susceptibil­ity tests on this species did not performed. Results showed that Cx. theileri, Cs. longiaerolata and Cx. pipiens were resistant to DDT 4%, lambda-cyhalothrin 0.05%, and propoxur 0.1% whereas found tolerant to deltamethrin 0.05% and malathion 5%. The LT50 and LT90 values for five insecticides were calculated. We suggest the same study in different parts of the world to obtain the data due to bionomic and sus­ceptibility status of dirofilariasis vectors. This information will help the health authorities for monitoring and evalua­tion of control measures.

Female sand flies of subgenus Adlerius are considered as probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the morphological and genotypic variations in the populations of this subgenus in the country. Sand flies collected using sticky traps from 17 provinces during 2008–2010. The morphometric measure­ments were conducted with a Ocular Micrometer. Data was analyzed by SPSS. The Cytb gene was used to estimate population genetic diversity and identify the female specimens. UPGMA phenetic tree was used for DNA haplotypes of Cytb gene. Six species of subgenus Adlerius identified from which one species, P. (Adlerius) kabulensis, is new record. The identification key is provided for males. Results revealed the molecular systematic in the species of subgenus Adlerius and determine the relationship of three females of P. comatus, P. balcanicus and P. halepensis. The positions of three females and the males in the UPGMA tree are correct and the similarities among them confirm our results. The branches of each species are not genetically distinct which justify the overlapping morphological characters among them. Molecular sequencing of Cytb-mtDNA haplotypes can be used for female identification for different species of subgenus Adlerius in Iran.

According to the national strategy plan on monitoring of insecticides resistance, this study was carried out to determine the base line susceptibility of the Culicidae mosquitoes to the WHO-recommended insecticides in an endemic focus of malaria in southeastern Iran. Larval collection was carried out by dipping method and adult collection occurred by suction tube from January to December 2010. The susceptibility test was assessed to DDT 4%, malathion 5%, propoxur 0.1%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambda-cyhalothrin 0.05%, and cyfluthrin 0.15% at different interval times (discriminative dose) followed by 24 h recovery period. The LT50 and LT90 values were calculated for plotting the regression line using Microsoft office Excel software ver. 2007. Anopheles stephensi was quite resistant to DDT and showed susceptible or tolerant to other insecticides. The LT50 andLT90 values to DDT in this species were 29.07, and 98.26 minutes, respectively. Anopheles culicifacies and An. dthali were found susceptible or tolerant to insecticides. Culex pipiens was found resistance to DDT, propoxur, lambda-cyhalothrin and cyfluthrin whereas observed susceptible to malathion and tolerant to deltamethrin. Ochlerotatus caspius sl. was resistant to DDT, whereas found susceptible to other insecticides. Culisita longiareolata was susceptible to deltamethrin, whereas tolerant to other insecticides. The LT50 andLT90 values of Cs.longiareolata to DDT were 17.82, and 51.26 minutes. We suggested the same study in different parts of the country for monitoring and evaluation of control measures.

In this study, morphological characteristics as well as ten of Simple Sequence Repeat (SSRs) loci were used to analyze the genetic diversity and relationships among 12 natural populations of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) in northern and western regions of Iran. The results showed that there was a high level of genetic diversity among the walnuts, both in terms of their SSRs loci as well as morphological traits. The nut weight ranged from 11.5 to 17.2 g, kernel weight from 3.2 to 6.3 g, and kernel percentage from 28 to 46.7%. In SSRs analysis, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to 11, with a total of 83 alleles and average of 8.3 alleles and 4.9 effective alleles per locus. The expected heterozygosity (He) varied between 0.70 and 0.87, with an average of 0.79 per locus. The proportion of genetic differences among the walnut populations accounted for 19% of the total variation. The overall gene flow among populations equaled 1.10. The 12 walnut populations were separated into four main groups via the unweighted pair group method (UWPGM) with arithmetic mean cluster analyses based on Nei’s unbiased genetic distances.

Anaplasmosis is an important issue for animal breeders in terms of economic losses as well as a health concern to human. Ticks are considered as the main vector of this disease. Lack of documented information about Anaplasma species in Iran was the scope of this study to determine the population of ticks and the presence of Anaplasma in ticks, domestic ruminants and also human beings in northern Iran. A total of 101 unengorged hard ticks, 78 domestic ruminants and 40 human blood samples collected from Ghaemshahr, Mazandaran Province, northern Iran were tested by nested PCR against 16s rRNA gene of Anaplasma species. Positive PCR was found in 50 ticks, 28 sheep, 2 cattle, one goat, and 10 human specimens. Sequence analy­sis of the PCR products confirmed presence of A. ovis in two Rhipicephalus sanguineus and two Ixodes ricinus ticks, one human and 4 sheep samples. Moreover one Boophilus annulatus tick and one sheep sample were infected with A. bovis. Furthermore one sample of sheep was infected with A. centrale. This study is the first report of tick infection to A. ovis, A. bovis and human infection to A. ovis in Iran. The result of this study is a survey of Anaplasma infections from ticks, domestic animals and human in Iran which help to have appropriate prevention measures for anaplasmosis.

Among micronutrients, iron plays an important role in plant nutrition. Iron deficiency which appears more in young leaves as iron-chlorosis, has been considered as one of the most important nutritional insufficiency in plants severely affecting yield and crop quality. In this study, two iron sources including iron sulfate and iron chlate (Fe-EDTA) were applied to apple ‘Red Delicious’, peach ‘Anjiri’ and nectarine ‘Moghan’ trees with iron deficiency through adding to the soil, foliar spray and bark injection. Experiments were carried out for any of fruits separately in randomized complete block design with 7 treatments and 3 replications. In the soil application method, 50 g of each iron source was separately added to the soil surrounded each tree in early June and well-mixed. In foliar spray and bark injection methods, 0.5% of each iron source was applied three times separately (early June and repeated twice every four weeks). The intensity of leaf chlorosis and the leaf color changes were visually monitored and recorded during the experiments and the amount of chlorophyll in leaves was measured by spectrophotometer after fruit harvest. The amount of active and total iron of the leaves was also determined using an atomic absorption instrument. Iron treatments had significant effects on the chlorophyll content as well as active and total iron of the leaves in all tree fruits. The lowest amounts of leaf chlorophyll and active iron was obtained from the control (no fertilizer) and the highest amounts belonged to the bark injection of iron sulfate, while the highest amount of leaf total iron in the apple and peach trees obtained from the control and in the nectarine trees belonged to the iron sulfate bark injection.

In order to evaluate the yield and some morpho-physiological traits of Iranian Leek (Allium ampeloprasum Leek group) in response to salinity, two different Iranian leek landraces (Shadegani and Hamedani) were subjected to 0, 7, 14, 25 or 40 mM NaCl in soilless culture system. The layout was a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design. Salinity treatments were imposed by adding NaCl to half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution. By increasing the level of salinity stress, yield, number of leaves, leaf area and the percentage of dry matter were decreased and Hamedani landrace was more affected than the Shadegani. The ratio of root to leaf fresh weight was increased in response to salinity stress. By increasing the concentration of NaCl, leaf relative water content and the contents of a, b and total chlorophylls decreased while stomatal density were increased. The highest stomatal density were observed in highest level of salinity stress. Based on the present results, Iranian leek was evaluated as salt sensitive crop and Shadegani landrace was found more tolerant to salinity than the Hamedani.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) represents the most frequent vector borne parasitoses in Iran. The ob­jective of this study was to determine the epidemiological features of CL including human infection and the reservoir host in the city of Bushehr, Bushehr Province, Iran during 2010–2011. Studies on human infection was carried out on 2962 school children aged 7–14 years old from 60 primary schools and among 400 households with a total population of 1568 in four infected districts of the city in December 2010. Serosity materials from patients on glass slides were collected for molecular identification of causative agent. Rodents were caught by Sherman traps and examined for identification of the parasite. Prevalence of scars and ulcers among the inhabitants were 5.86% and 0.12% respectively. Molecular study indicated the presence of two coexisting species: Leishmania major and L. tropica among patients. The scar rate was 1.24% but no ulcers were seen among the students. Nineteen rodents were caught and identified as Tatera indica (47.4%) and Rattus norvegicus (52.6%). Specimens from 7 T. indica and 9 R. norvegicus were examined by two techniques, microscopic examination and nested-PCR. Out of 7 T. indica, 14.3% were infected with L. major and 42.9% with L. turanica by nested-PCR. Out of 9 R. norvegicus 22.2% were infected with L. turanica and 11.1% with L. gerbilli. Based on this survey L. major and L. tropica are the causative agents of the disease among patients and T. indica plays a predominant role in the dissemination of L. major in the city.

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis is a growing health problem in many rural areas of Iran. Rhombo­mys opimus, the great gerbil, is the main animal reservoir of ZCL in the northeast and central part of Iran. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the rodenticidal effect of Coumavec® (a mixture of Coumatetralyl 0.5% and Etofenprox 0.5%) on R. opimus under laboratory condition. Great gerbils were collected from Sejzi rural district, Esfahan Province, Iran. Four groups of 19 great ger­bils were treated with the poisoned baits of different concentrations and one group was considered as control. The bating procedure was conducted in three stages: first, second (a week after first) and third (a month after first stage), in each stage baits were offered in 1 day, based on national protocol for rodent control operation in purpose of ZCL control. The mortality rate for 0.03, 0.0625, 0.125 and 0.25% concentrations in the first stage of baiting were ob­tained 36.8%, 31.5%, 52.6% and 36.8%, in the second stage 47.3%, 52.6%, 68.4% and 52.6%, and in the third stage 52.6%, 63.1%, 68.4% and 57.8% respectively. The maximum and minimum mortality has occurred in 5-6 days and 31-40 days intervals consequently. The results of this study showed that, Coumavec® has some rodenticidal effects on R. opimus in labo­ratory condition. For the appropriate rodenticide-insecticide contamination of the rodent body and also considering to the economic issues, we suggest the use of 0.125% concentration for rodent control operation in the field condition.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of zinc on cold hardiness of grapevine, cv. ‘Bidaneh Sefid’. Zinc sulfate at three concentrations of zero (control), 0.04 and 0.08 % were foliar sprayed on grapevines for five times during growing season. On Dec 25th and Feb 23rd, cane samples were prepared and analyzed for their content of carbohydrate, proline, protein and relative water. Samples also were treated at 0, -3, -6, 9, -12, -15, -18, -21, -24, -27 and -30 °C for three hours in a freezing chamber to be analyzed according to tetrazolium test and electrolyte leakage. Results showed that by increasing zinc sulfate, grapevine's relative water content reduced while amount of carbohydrate, proline, and protein increased. Treated grapevines by zinc sulfate (0.08%) revealed the lowest electrolyte leakage and the highest tissue survival. Positive significant correlations were found between results of LT50 calculated based on tetrazolium test and electrolyte leakage and carbohydrate, proline, and protein content of cane. It can be concluded that application of zinc sulfate could potentially increase cold hardiness of grapevine cv. ‘Bidaneh Sefid’.

Fruit softening, shrinkage, decay and fruit stem browning are the most important problems in sweet cherry post-harvest storage. This research was conducted to study the effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment on storage life and some quality attributes of sweet cherry cv. Siah Mashhad. Gibberellic acid was sprayed on fruits and leaves at four concentrations of 0, 10, 20 and 30 mg/l, at fruit coloring stage. The treated fruits were harvested at commercial maturity and stored at 0oC. The results showed that GA increased fruit but size and weight significantly delayed the ripening. GA reduced the rate of fruit softening and weight loss during storage in comparison to the control. Furthermore, its application at all three concentrations decreased ethylene production. However, the treated fruits had higher titratable acidity and lower pH values compared to controls. Fruits treated with GA3 at the concentration of 10 mg/l, showed significantly higher firmness and lower fungal decay compared to the others. In addition, GA maintained more fruit stems color and fruit freshness. Our results indicated that GA is an effective substance on maintaining sweet cherry quality during post-harvest storage period.

This Research aimed to study on effect of foliar spraying with zinc (as zinc sulphate), nitrogen (as urea) and iron (as sulphate and chelated Fe) on growth parameters, quality of fruit, flower characteristics, chemical constituents and nutrients content of leaves on grapevine. Applied nutrients were zinc sulphate (Zn) of 0.0 and 1.5gl-1 and urea (N) at 0.0 and 5 gl-1 and Fe (1) control (low Fe), (2) Fe (III)-chelate 3mgl-1, (3) 20 g/ per tree soil application and (4) Fe sulfate (FeSO4) 3mgl-1 which were applied both alone and in combinations with each other as foliar spraying. In a pot experiment, effects of N, Zn and Fe fertilizer were evaluated on concentrations of Fe, N and Zn in leaves, yield and the fruit quality of grape (Vitis viniferea). Results showed that application of urea and Zn and Fe increased vegetative growth and length of young branch.
Highest size of berry achieved in N2= 5 gl-1× Zn= 1.5 mg l-1 × Fe= chelates Fe 3 mg l-1. Nitrogen (N), iron (Fe) and zink (Zn) are essential element in grape vine causes increased contain N, Zn and Fe on leaves. Also results showed N Fe had significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) on quality and quantity(?) characters in grape vine, Zn and Fe have no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05).

Sand flies of subgenus Adlerius has a wide geographical distribution in Iran and are mostly found in wild form in mountainous areas. They are always considered as probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis. The ob­jective of this study was to determine the Adlerius species and its composition in an endemic focus of zoonotic vis­ceral leishmaniasis in northwest of the country. Sand flies were collected from 6 different areas of Azarbaijan-e-Sharqi Province using sticky paper traps from August to September which is active season for sand flies in this area, in 2009. The flies were mounted and identified. The length of third antennal segments, ascoid, labrum, coxite, surstyle, style, aedeagus, genital filament, genital pump, width of style, and the end of aedeagus were measured and the number of costal hairs group was also counted as the morphological characters. A total of 30 adult sand flies, (26 males and 4 females) including Phlebotomus halepensis (46.8%), P. longiductus (13.3%), P. balcanicus (23.3%), P. comatus (3.3%), and Adlerius spp. (13.3%) belong to subgenus Adlerius were identified respectively in 6 counties. One P. comatus male was captured in front of a cave located in the hillside of a mountain covered with the vegetation in Varzeqan area. The presence of at least 5 species of the subgenus Adlerius in Azarbaijan-e-Sharqi Province, an en­demic focus of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in Iran, shows that the risk of parasite transmission among man and reservoir animals is high during the active season of sand flies. P. comatus is a new record for Iran and needs to be added to the list of Iranian phlebotomines of subgenus Adlerius.

The use of compounds inhibiting ethylene production is very important in post-harvest technology of fruits. Sweet cherry is a non-climacteric fruit with capability of ethylene production during storage period. Factors that decrease ethylene production would increase fruits storage life. In this research sweet cherry fruits of Mashhad cv. were sprayed with different concentrations of Salicylic Acid (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 mmol/l) and Gibberelic Acid (0, 10, 20 and 30 mg/l). Fruits were sprayed about three weeks before harvest, when their color started to change from green to yellow. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The results showed that GA had less effect on decreasing ethylene production compared to SA, but did better on anthocyanin accumulation, fruit size, soluble solids content and fruit weight. GA treatment delayed fruit ripening and ethylene production but had little or no effect on the fruit color as an important ripening index. During storage period also the total amount of anthocyanin in fruits increased due to hormone treatments whereas the ethylene production decreased compared to control fruits.