mohammad esmaeilpour

Identification of genetic similarities and gene orthology between species can be used in understanding the evolution of genomes, conservation, and breeding. A lot of knowledge about the genome function of forest trees can be extracted through comparative genomics studies. So far, various economically important crop species have been well studied in this field, but forest trees have been less studied. It seems that comprehensive studies in the direction of genome comparison between industrial and fast-growing trees, poplar (Populus trichocarpa) and eucalypt (Eucalyptus grandis), which share a common ancestor from the Rosids clade, have been relatively limited, especially given that these two plant species serve as a model and have up-to-date biological data. This study aims to compare the complete genome sequence of eucalyptus and poplars in terms of genomic characteristics such as genome size, chromosome number, gene content, microsatellite markers, the number of genes of the terpene synthase gene family and identification of genes related to two important traits of interest to forest tree breeders, including wood formation and cell wall quality.

In this research, whole genome sequencing of eucalyptus (E. grandis) with NCBI accession number GCF-016545825.1 and poplar (P. trichocarpa) with NCBI accession number GCF- 000002775.5 is used. Both the tree species are model plants and their genomes were assembled at the chromosome level. In this study, we investigate various genomic characteristics, including genome size, chromosome number, total GC content, gene count, protein-coding genes, small non-coding RNAs (SncRNA), pseudogenes, and microsatellite sequences, in two rapidly growing poplar and eucalypt species. Additionally, we construct a corresponding Venn diagram to illustrate the findings. Also, the sequences of microsatellites with MISA software in Perl and the sequences related to tandem duplication on the genomes were extracted. Also, the number of terpene synthase gene family genes in two species was compared. Finally, genes related to two important traits of interest to breeders, including wood formation and cell wall quality traits, were studied.

The results reveal that the eucalypt genome is larger than that of poplar, containing 42,619 genes, including 33,352 protein-encoding genes. The poplar genome, on the other hand, consists of 34,621 genes, with 29,617 being protein-coding. Moreover, the number of pseudogenes in the eucalypt genome is 2.9 times higher than that in poplar. The number of eucalyptus chromosomes is 11 and the number of poplar chromosomes is 19. The number of small RNAs for eucalyptus and poplar genomes were 1507 and 1347, respectively. According to the genome annotation information available on NCBI site, some genes were found only in Eucalyptus and some genes were found only in poplar. According to the Venn diagram, 14,484 unique genes for Eucalyptus and 12,114 genes specific to poplar were identified. 9133 genes were shared between the two species. The total number of microsatellite markers identified on the eucalyptus genome was 136,147 and for the poplar genome was 77,024. The results showed that the genomes of eucalyptus and poplar are composed of 3.8 Mb and 10.2 Mb of microsatellite sequences, respectively. Interestingly, the eucalypt genome exhibits 1.8 times more microsatellite markers and a 1.2 times greater marker density (Total microsatellite sizes in kilobases divided by genome size in megabases or kb/Mb) compared to the poplar genome. It should be noted that 4067 types of motifs were identified in the eucalyptus genome and 2898 types of motifs were identified in the poplar genome. We observed an inverse relationship between the frequency of microsatellites and the number of nucleotides among the genomic sequences of the studied species. So, with the increase in the frequency of microsatellites, a significant decrease in the number of nucleotides has been observed. Based on this, single and two nucleotide microsatellites had the highest frequency, while eight and nine nucleotide microsatellites had the lowest frequency. The results of the evaluation regarding the difference in the presence of the terpene synthase gene family in the two studied species also indicated that 112 genes were identified in eucalyptus and 7 genes were identified in poplar. The number of clusters has been identified as 3185 in Eucalyptus species and 2575 in poplar species. The total number of retained tandem genes in the eucalypt genome was 16 % more than that of the poplar genome. Additionally, the number of functional and non-functional genes in eucalypt surpasses that of poplar. The valuable insights obtained from such comparative genomics studies have the potential to facilitate plant breeding and conservation genetic efforts. The alternative splicing event has occurred in a large number of genes related to wood formation trait in the two studied trees with different patterns. A total of 59 candidate genes for cell wall quality trait were identified for poplar and eucalyptus.

Comparative genomics can speed up the breeding program of tree species by providing diverse alleles related to important economic and ecological traits and also help to preserve endangered and genetically distinct species.

In this study artificial neural network (ANN) used to predict milk test day records at 4th, 5th, 10th months of lactation duration and 305-day milk yield in Holstein dairy cows. Primary data source was consisting of 274025 milk production records of 7201 primiparuse to fourth birth Holstein cows, from two herd. Final source of data obtained from milk production records was consist of 87980 monthly milk test day records in 8798 rows which each row contains number of animal, herd, age, lactation, month of production, first to tenth monthly milk production records and 305-day milk yield. From the total of data, 50% was considered for neural network training, 20% for validation and 30% for testing. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) network with back propagation of error learning mechanism (BP) was used through different artificial neural network (ANN) structures to predict milk production. In order to optimize artificial neural network (ANN) structure three activation functions (hyperbolic tangent axon, sigmoid axon or linear hyperbolic tangent axon) and three back propagation algorithms viz. momentum, conjugate gradient (CG) and Leven-berg–Marquardt (LM) Training algorithms used in the hidden layer as well as in the output layer. Coefficient of determination, root of mean square error and mean absolute error were used to compare algorithms. In prediction of milk production of 4th and 5th monthly test day records, LM algorithm with sigmoid axon activation functions and LM Training algorithm, with hyperbolic tangent Axon functions had the best performance between network structures respectively. In these net work structures R2 were highest (0.725 and 0.642 respectively), RMSEs were lowest (4.785 and 5.345 respectively) and MAEs were lowest (3.715and 4.057 respectively). In prediction of 10th monthly test day milk production through three or four monthly test day records, obtained from the same lactation period, none of the structures had ability to predict milk production successfully. In prediction of 305-day milk yield, LM algorithm and hyperbolic tangent activation function had the best prediction through 3 test day records and R2, RMSE and MAE as performance criteria were 0.799, 984.14 and 790.21 respectively. Also the same structure of the network had the best performance to predict 305-day milk yield through four or five initial test day records and performance criteria, Coefficient of determination, root of mean square error and mean absolute error were 0.856, 850.98 and 653.33 respectively, in ANN with four test day record as input variables and 0.904, 706.59 and 548.69 respectively, in ANN with five test day record as input variables, respectively. The artificial neural network designed in this study was able to predict the milk production of animals in the fourth month of lactation with a correlation coefficient of 0.84. On the other hand, the designed neural network was able to predict the total milk production of the animal in a lactation period of 305 days with appropriate accuracy. So that the correlation coefficients in using the first three, four and five monthly records of livestock for prediction were 0.89, 0.92 and 0.95 respectively.

Significant efforts are made during the early establishment and growth stages of seedlings to enhance their resistance to environmental stresses, thereby increasing the success of afforestation projects. One of the research goals is to extend irrigation periods and reduce associated costs. In recent years, afforestation projects have experienced considerable growth, driven by the importance of environmental, economic, and social factors, and cutting-edge technologies are utilized in this field. Various methods, such as the use of superabsorbent treatments and Herbam mineral fertilizer, have been tested to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress. This study aims to evaluate the impact of superabsorbent treatments and Herbam mineral fertilizer on the drought resistance of one-year-old bitter olive seedlings.

One-year-old bitter olive seedlings were obtained from the Qareq Nursery in Golestan Province. A total of 1,000 seedlings were collected, and 360 seedlings with equal collar diameter, height, and root length were selected. The seedlings were planted in size seven pots (exact diameter: 23 cm and height: 21.5 cm) in mid-March. After applying the fertilizer and superabsorbent (0, 25, 50, and 75 grams), irrigation was carried out every five, ten, and fifteen days for 140 days. Subsequently, measurements were taken for various growth parameters including diameter growth, height growth, leaf count, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, leaf water potential, relative water content, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry weight, length of the longest lateral root, fresh and dry biomass, and leaf nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Data were compared using Duncan’s test at one and five percent statistical levels.

Results showed that the maximum leaf area, using 50 grams of superabsorbent with a five-day irrigation interval, was 63.127 square centimeters, while the minimum was 68.958 square centimeters with the same amount of superabsorbent but a fifteen-day irrigation interval. The interaction effect of treatment levels and drought stress on chlorophylls, carotenoids, leaf dry weight, and relative water content was significant. The highest water potential was observed with 25 grams of superabsorbent under five-day irrigation conditions, while the lowest was with the same amount under fifteen-day irrigation conditions. Seedlings irrigated every five days with 75 grams of superabsorbent had the highest nitrogen and potassium content, while 25 grams of superabsorbent under fifteen-day irrigation conditions resulted in the highest phosphorus content. The interaction of treatment levels and drought stress significantly affected nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, chlorophylls, carotenoids, leaf dry weight, and relative water content, but had no effect on other measured traits. Drought stress significantly impacted all traits, while different levels of superabsorbent only had a significant effect on the three measured elements, leaf area, specific leaf area, and leaf dry weight. The highest leaf dry weight and relative water content were observed with 50 and 25 grams of superabsorbent and five-day irrigation. Additionally, 50 grams of superabsorbent with ten-day irrigation produced the highest levels of chlorophylls and carotenoids. The highest nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were found with five-day irrigation and 75 grams of superabsorbent. Drought stress and different levels of superabsorbent did not affect seedling diameter but did affect height and leaf count. The greatest stem height was achieved under five-day irrigation with 50 and 75 grams of superabsorbent, twice that of the control height.

It can be generally stated that the use of superabsorbent and Herbam mineral fertilizer enhances moisture availability and strengthens the area around the root, thus providing better conditions for growth, especially under drought and water stress. Although further research over another growing season could provide more reliable recommendations, the positive effects of superabsorbent and Herbam mineral fertilizer on the establishment and strengthening of bitter olive seedlings suggest that these materials could be recommended for use in afforestation projects with this valuable species.

Several studies have been conducted to estimate stand volume in Hyrcanian beech forests (pure and mixed beech satnd type), so that different results have been obtained from these studies. Meta-analysis is a quantitative statistical method for combining the results of a set of separate studies that are all about a specific topic. In meta-analysis, by collecting data from many studies, the number of samples increases and therefore the range of changes becomes smaller, as a result, the importance of statistical findings increases. In meta-analysis, if there is homogeneity between the articles used, the model with fixed effects is used, and if there is heterogeneity between different articles, the model with random effects is used to combine different articles. Therefore, in a meta-analysis, a series of researches in Hyrcanian beech forests were examined. In this research, some arguments have been made about the reason for the difference in the satnd volume in different areas of the Hyrcanian forests. This is the first meta-analysis research in the field of stand volume in Hyrcanian beech forests.

Researches related to the topic of stand volume were searched in national and international databases without time limit until the winter of 2022. In this research, after a detailed review of numerous articles, the data (mean, standard deviation and number of samples) of 18 original studies related to the stand volume variable in Hyrcanian beech forests were used. These researches were published in the International Journal of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, European Journal of Forest Research, and Natural Areas Journal, Iran's Forest and Poplar Research (seven researches), Wood and Forest Science and Technology Researches (three researches), Iranian Forest Ecology (three studies), Forest and Wood Products (one study) and Forest Research and Development (one study)) were published. In this research, only the estimation of stand volume (not growth of stand volume) was considered. In some cases, the required data, such as standard deviation, were not available in the published articles, so these articles were excluded from the meta-analysis process, or in few cases, they were calculated by accessing the raw data of the authors. These data had different names such as stand volume, forest stand volume, and growth stand volume in forests with different structural characteristics in these articles. Due to the significance of the Cochran Q test (P≤0.05) and values greater than 75% for the I2 statistic, the random effects model was used for meta-analysis. To find the source of heterogeneity between studies, subgroup analysis was performed based on geographical regions (province) and stand composition. The results of a meta-analysis can be shown in the form of an forest plot, which is the most general and common method of displaying effect sizes. In this research, the software Comprehensive meta-analysis ver. 3 was used.

According to the significance of the Cochran Q test and the I2 index, the average stand volume was estimated to be 386.805 sylve/h (95% confidence interval: 334.92-438.68) for Hyrcanian beech forests based on the random effect model. . The lowest and highest amounts were 252.3 and 685 sylve/h respectively in the forests of Mazandaran. Most of the research was done in different places of beech forests in Mazandaran province. The subgroup analysis based on the province (geographical regions) showed that the highest value is based on the random model in the forests of Guilan province with the amount of 424.45 sylve/h (95% confidence interval: 277.57-438.46). The lowest was estimated as 285.63 sylve/h (95% confidence interval: 167.26-404.01) based on the random model in the forests of Golestan province. The meta-analysis of standing volume in the Hyrcanian forests based on tree stand composition showed that the highest value was based on the random model for the pure type of beech at the amount of 394.272 sylve/h (95% confidence interval: 277.510-688-417). The lowest value of 147/38 sylve/h (95% confidence interval: 325.94-444.34) was obtained for mixed beech type. According to the results of this meta-analysis, the volume of stands in the Hyrcanian beech forests in the pure type of beech is 125.9 sylve/h more than in the mixed type of beech.

The average volume of stands in Hyrcanian beech forests was estimated at about 386 sylve/h. The highest amount in the forests of Guilan is about 424 sylve/h. The highest amount is 394 sylve/h for the pure type of beech. So, in management plans to maintain the stability and proper tolerance of the stand, it is recommended to keep the volume of the stand at the average level. Estimating the average value of structural characteristics on a large scale provides quantitative information on the structural condition of forests to adopt a suitable and realistic policy.

In the last 30 years, many forests have been destroyed in the Zagros region of Iran. Afforestation is necessary to reduce the pressure on the natural forests. Forest plantation and protection should be at the center of conservation efforts, significantly since plantations can offset the negative impact of climate change and be effective in absorbing atmospheric pollutants and helping to improve air quality. This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the success of afforestation with the mountain almond (Amygdalus scoparia Spach.) in Arjan (Amygdalus elaeagnifolia Spach.) habitats of Jamal Beyg, Fars province and its effect on the understory vegetation, especially herbal species and soil. Comparing Arjan with mountain almond can provide additional information, to know the conditions of the native species in the region and the planted species, and it is a kind of comparative mode. In fact, evaluating the success and quantifying the ecological effects of the afforestation carried out by the executive organizations, which has been done at great expense, can guide managers for better decision-making. As no study has been done in this area yet, this research is the first one that quantifies the results of almond plantations in the Jamal Beyg region.

In order to check the percentage of survival and according to the budget and facilities, since the plantation rows were very long, three rows of planted shrubs in the Jamal Beyg region of Euclid in Fars province were randomly selected and the number of empty planting holes was counted. There are naturally but rarely shrubs such as Arjan (Amygdalus elaeagnifolia Spach.). In order to evaluate the existing vegetation, after initial sampling and based on the adequacy of the sample, 30 circular sample plots of 1000 square meters were taken in the form of a random-regular grid with dimensions of 100×100 meters. In the sample plots, the density of shrubs, their crow width, and survival, as well as the frequency of regeneration were measured. In order to check the number of species present in the plantation and control areas, at the end of May and the beginning of June 2021, all the plant species in the sample plots were identified or after they were collected and transferred to the herbarium, with the help of photos taken in the field, were identified. The life form and biological form of plant species were determined using the Raunkiaer system. Some physical and chemical characteristics of the soil such as texture, percentage of organic matter, phosphorus, EC, and pH amount were also measured and compared with the control area in the vicinity of the range which has similar topographical characteristics without afforestation operation. Due to the non-normality of the data distribution and the failure of various transformations, the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare two species of Arjan and mountain almond in terms of density, regeneration frequency, and crown area.

The survival rate of the plantation was 95 %, and the plantation area had a density of 342 trees per hectare, which created a canopy cover of five percent. The regeneration density of mountain almond and Arjan species was estimated to be 90 individuals and 4.5 individuals per ha, respectively. Afforestation with the mountain almond species in this area has increased the number of herbaceous species in such a way that there were 18 plant species belonging to 13 families in the afforestation area while 12 plant species belonging to eight families in the control area (without plantation area). In terms of canopy area, there was no significant difference between the two species of mountain almond and Arjan. In terms of regeneration density, there was a significant difference between the mountain almond and Arjan, and the regeneration density of the mountain almond was significantly higher than Arjan. The amount of organic matter (1.62), nitrogen (3.89), and phosphorus (11.02) of the soil in the afforestation area was higher than control area, and the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C/N) in the afforestation area (0.46) was lower than control area.

The results of this research indicate the significant success of mountain almond afforestation in the Jamal Beyg region, Fars province. Afforestation in this area has increased organic matter and also the number of herbal species. The existence of a significant natural regeneration of the mountain almond indicates that the stand is on the true way of its succession. In order to control the grass cover and prevent fires, it is better to do light grazing in the spring season in the stands. Also, if there is a history of the presence of Pistacia atlantica in the area, planting its seeds or seedlings under the shelter of existing shrubs will help the stability of the stand. It is suggested that sufficient research be carried out to determine the appropriate method for determining the age of shrubs in such a way that natural regeneration can be separated from planted shrubs. The main goal of initializing a seed garden is to produce the modified seeds of the desired forest species in abundance, cheap, continuous, and easily accessible, far from the reach of unwanted pollen and with better genetic quality and quantity. To select suitable genotypes of a species in terms of traits such as resistance to drought stress, the genomic selection method can be used. Jamal Beyg aforestation is a valuable seed garden for future plantation. Considering the significant survival of mountain almonds and the possibility of natural reproduction, it is suggested to use this nurse species in the restoration of similar fields in the study area. Considering the effect of mountain almond afforestation in improving the soil properties of the region, it is suggested to give more importance to bioengineering operations and stabilization of slopes with this shrub in the Fars Province watersheds. As this afforestation has supported herbal species richness, it is suggested that the results of afforestation be explained to rural communities so that they are encouraged to preserve and protect forest plantations.

In forest management, it is essential to maintain soil performance. Forest soils control and support many forest ecosystem services and tree growth. So, maintaining soil health is critical to sustainable forest management. Forest management practices, such as converting degraded forests into man-made forests, lead to a wide range of adverse effects on soil performance and microbial communities, including negative impacts on organic carbon, nitrogen, bacterial biomass, fungal biomass, microbial biomass carbon, and fungi-to-bacteria ratio. It is possible to achieve the appropriate method of forest management by considering the biological stability of the soil. Therefore, in this stduy, it has tried to gain a better understanding of the relationship between soil biological conditions and forest management methods and their application in sustainable forest and soil management by evaluating the effect of different forestry methods on soil biological characteristics.

To influence forest management practices on soil biological properties, three study areas with different management histories in the Asalem forest, Guilan province were selected and soil sampling using a random systematic method was collected. The selected plots included 1) control, 2) a plot with a history of project implementation in the medium term of maximum 20 years under selective management and 3) a plot with a history of long-term plan implementation, which was under the management of shelterwood method for more than 50 years. There may be effects of the implementation of past plans in the forest for many years. The number of 15 samples in each plot was collected from the nearest tree to the center of the intersection of the sides of the sampling network, from a depth of 0-30 cm, and transported to the soil laboratory at a temperature of 4°C in the winter of 2016. Sampling from all plots in the forest area was done only in the pure type of beech, so in this study, the effect of the type is constant. In this study, micro-scale habitat conditions considered to investigate microbial activities were homogeneous. In this research, three parcels with an area of ​​about 132 ha were selected. In each sample, the biological characteristics of the soil, including basic respiration, stimulated respiration, microbial carbon dioxide, and the population of microorganisms were measured, and indicators of microbial benefit and metabolic benefit were calculated. Some soil characteristics including soil organic carbon, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were also measured. The normality of the data was checked using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the homogeneity of variances was checked using the Levene's test. Due to the fact that the data had a normal distribution, one-way analysis of variance test was used for totla mean comparisons, Tukey test was used to compare the average indicators in the studied parts, and the relationship between chemical indicators the Spearman correlation test was also used for soil biology. In some cases, due to the impossibility of normalization and other assumptions, the non-parametric test has been used. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22 software. Excel was used to draw graphs.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the three components in terms of organic carbon, microbial quotient, electrical conductivity, and acidity. But baseline respiration, exhaled breath, microorganism population, metabolic rate, and carbon microbial degradation showed a significant difference in the three parts. The highest basal respiration rate (46.8 mg of carbon dioxide in one day in one gram of dry soil), substrate-induced respiration (42.77 mg of carbon-dioxide in one gram of dry soil in six hours) and microorganism population (1.09 x 108 in one gram of dry soil) and carbon microbial degradation (16.5 mg of carbon in one gram of dry soil) were obtained with a patchy management method and the lowest in the selective portion. The highest metabolic quotient (1.2 mg of oxidized carbon in basic respiration per kg of dry soil per day) in selective fraction and the lowest in solitary incremental part were calculated. The soil texture is sandy-loamy in most of the three plots and loamy-sandy in some areas. EC was in the range of 0.629-3.83 dS m-1 and soil acidity was also in the range of 5-6.5 in all three plots. There was no significant difference in soil organic carbon in three plots. Correlation analysis results of forest soil biological indicators show that soil microorganisms have a significant positive correlation at the level of 1% probability with microbial biomass. In addition to soil micro-organisms, microbial biomass carbon showed a significant positive correlation with basal respiration at the 1% probability level. Basal respiration also has a significant positive correlation at the probability level of 1% with the amount of substrate-induced respiration, soil microorganisms, and microbial biomass carbon, and besides that, the organic carbon has a significant positive correlation at the probability level of 1% with soil microorganisms, microbial biomass carbon, basal respiration, and substrate-induced respiration.

The control plot has a higher quality soil compared to the plot under shelterwood management due to the least human interference (although illegal harvests have been observed in the forest, but compared to the other two plots, human interference was minimal). According to the results, it can be acknowledged that the plot under shelterwood's management has better conditions in terms of soil biological characteristics. Knowledge of the effectiveness of the biological characteristics of the soil from the application of different methods of forest silviculture and human interventions, provides the possibility of choosing suitable methods with the habitat conditions. At the same time, it will be very beneficial to determine the intensity of breeding interventions in forest stands based on the prediction of its effects. The stability of the forest does not depend only on increasing the biological quality of the soil. Hence, it is recommended to implement silviculture operations in sheltered plots and to increase the mixture of forest stand and support species with fast decomposition of litter such as horbean in selective plots.

Many RNA-seq studies have analyzed the effects of individual biotic and abiotic stresses on gene expression in Eucalyptus. Until now, RNA-seq data has not been used to investigate the effect of several environmental stresses on the expression of gene families in one study in Eucalyptus. We organized an analysis of 18 studies that investigated the effects of various biotic and abiotic stresses on gene expression in Eucalyptus. In this study, six environmental stresses including fungus, high temperature and elevated CO2, drought, potassium deficiency, nitrogen deficiency and phosphor deficiency were used. These stresses fall into four categories including drought, climate change, nutrient deficiency and fungus. We found that the expression of over 341 gene families (protein kinase gene superfamily, Glycoside hydrolase (GH) gene family, ABC transporter gene family, etc.) in a range of Eucalyptus species and hybrids changed after exposure to biotic and abiotic stresses. Among of these gene families, only glycoside hydrolase gene family was found to be differentially expressed in all six of the stresses. The proportion of differentially expressed genes (DEG) that were down relative to up-regulation, was significantly higher in the main biological processes. Many of the gene families that responded to biotic and abiotic stresses encoded products involved in response to stimulus and metabolic process, developmental process, localization and cellular component organization or biogenesis. The results from this work will be used to further characterize the gene regulatory networks underlying stress responsive genes in Eucalyptus.

In close to nature silviculture, dead trees have great importance because of their essential role in the conservation of biodiversity in forest ecosystems. In this regard, the amount (volume) of dead trees in pristine natural forests can be a guide for its maintenance in managed forests. One of the most important questions in recent years is how much dead trees can be recommended to retention in the managed natural forests. Related resources show different results for this variable. Therefore, in a meta-analysis, studies in Hyrcanian forests were collected and analyzed. This is the first meta-analysis for important structural factor in close to nature silviculture, dead tree volume, in the Hyrcanian forests.

This study includes design and search strategy, collecting articles and extracting data from them, include and exclude criteria and finally statistical analysis of extracted data. Dead tree related research was searched in national and international data base, including SID, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and IranDoc until May 2022. In this study, after review of several articles, data (mean, standard deviation and sample size) of 16 original studies related to the dead tree volume variable in Hyrcanian forests were collected that had 163 samples and the total area of the sample plots was 92.44 hectares. After extracting the data, Cochran's Q test and I2 index were used to evaluate the heterogeneity the studies and select the appropriate model for data analysis. To find the source of heterogeneity between studies, subgroup analysis was performed based on geographical areas (province) and tree composition. In this study, Beggs and Egger tests were used to investigate the publication bias. Data analysis was done with Comprehensive meta-analysis ver. 3.7.

The mean of dead tree volume was estimated to be 35.293 m3/h (Confidence interval 95%: 24.769 - 45.817) for Hyrcanian forests according to the significance of Cochrane Q test (p = 0.0001) and I2 index (99.735) based on the random effects model. Subgroup analysis showed that the highest dead tree volume was estimated based on a random model in the Golestan province forests as 50.520 m3/h (95% CI: 45.669 - 55.372). In this study, the publication bias test was not significant (p-value for Egger and Beggs tests was 0.28 and 0.24, respectively).

The average of dead tree volume in the Hyrcanian forests was estimated to be "average". Accordingly, the maintenance of at least 35 m3/h of dead tree in Hyrcanian-managed forests can be a guarantee for the preservation of the biological functions of these trees.

The Lathyrus genus is important due to forage consumption, nitrogen fixation, soil conservation, ornamentation, cultivation as green manure and its medicinal properties. Three species of Lathyrus were selected from northwestern regions of Iran and the properties of chromosomes were studied in L. cicera, L. incurvus and L. pratensis. Of these, karyotypes of L. incurvus and L. pratensis were analyzed for the first time. Five metaphysical plates were assessed in each species. The results showed that all the three species had diploid chromosome number of 2n = 2x = 14. Total lengths of haploid chromosome in L. cicera, L. incurvus and L. pratensis were respectively as 7.60, 6.16 and 6.30 micrometer. The karyotype formula of L. cicera was 5m+2sm while karyotype formula of L. incurvus and L. pratensis was 1m+6sm. All species showed relatively symmetrical karyotype and were included in 2A classification of Stebbins. Analysis of variance showed a significant difference in short arm length and total chromosome length at 1% significance level. Duncan test results showed that L. cicera had the longest total chromosome length at 5% significance level. Cluster analysis classified the species into two clusters; a) L. cicera (an annual species) and b) L. incurvus and L. pratensis (perennial species). The hybrids of these two species can be used in Lathyrus breeding programs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the woody and herbal frequency and species diversity in the mountain forests of northern Iran, Poudeh village of Roodsar, over time and as a result of traditional exclosure of these forests.

The study area is located in the forests of Poudeh village, Roodsar, Guilan province. According to the traditions of the region, people protected the spots of the destroyed forest areas near their hazelnut gardens for flood prevention and personal exploitation. They do this by using stones and placing shrubs on it, or using wooden stems and barbed wires. In this area, there are many of exclosure forest spots that have been protected and enclosed by the native people. Three exclosure forest spots were selected for this study. For this purpose, plots with different conservation history including low-term enclosed forest area (Less than 40 years), middle-term enclosed forest area (More than 40 years) and reference forest area were selected and the indicators of relative frequency, relative ecological importance value and species diversity were calculated.

The results showed that with increasing the duration of forest protection, the relative abundance of beech in both strata levels increased the relative abundance of hornbeam and the amount of species diversity also decreased. The highest and lowest differences in relative abundance of beech between the two strata were observed in reference forest area and low-term enclosed forest area respectively. The ratio between the abundance of beech in the upper story to the understory for low-term enclosed forest area and middle-term enclosed forest area was 1.18 and 1.24, respectively. In the control area where the highest relative abundance of beech species (80%) was recorded in the upper floor (tree), there is a moderate relationship between the two floors (r = 0.61, p <0.001) and in short-term protection, this relationship is significant (r = 0.72, p <0.001). In the middle-term enclosed forest area (more than 40 years) with increasing the relative abundance of beech in the upper story, its relative abundance in the understory also increased significantly (r = 0.88, p<0.001).

The process of species change is a complex and time-consuming process. The results show in the evolution of the stand structure in the affected areas, medium-term protection can facilitate the formation of understory. It is recommended that middle-term enclosed forest area along with silvicultural treatment be applied to formation of understory.

In order to achieve desirable yield based on optimized nutritional management and cost reduction, Nano fertilizer utilization has become abundantly popular. Nano fertilizers accommodate the essential nutrients for the plants incorporated with special carriers at Nano scales. Whereas they exhibit many intense physical and chemical alterations, controlled release in Nano fertilizers is due to a sustained combination of carrier and the nutrients (Sempeho et al., 2014). Foliar application of MnO Nano particles on plants resulted in increased vegetative growth, improved fruit quality, maximum yield and photosynthetic pigments content. By using FeO Nano fertilizers, organic material, protein and lipid content in fruits were also enhanced (Shebl et al., 2019). ZnO nanoparticles increased legume yield in peanut and showed a higher rate of absorption compared to ZnSo4 (Prasad et al., 2012). Strengthening antioxidant activity and increased total phenol after using Nano fertilizer supplements in rice was reported by Singh et al., 2013.

A pot factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with two factors and five replications was conducted. First factor included five levels of fertilizer concentrations (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 g L-1) as foliar application and the second factor was comprised of two levels of foliar spraying (7 and 14 days’ interval). The main growth and yield traits and some of the biochemical characteristics of Marigold flower extract were evaluated at this experiment.

Seven days’ interval of 1 g L-1 Nano fertilizer foliar application resulted in maximum plant height. The maximum plant height (48.10 cm), flower diameter (40.22 mm) and flower number (38.74) were noticed after 1 g L-1 Nano fertilizer at seven days’ interval of foliar application. After seven days interval, by increasing Nano fertilizer concentration, decrease in plant height, flower diameter and flower number was also obvious, whereas fourteen days interval of 3 g L-1 Nano fertilizer increased both traits. Nano fertilizer utilization at fourteen days’ interval resulted an increasing effect on flavone and flavonol content (9.08 mg Quercetin g DW-1). Seven days’ frequencies of 3 g L-1 Nano fertilizer foliar application, apparently increased total flavonoids (38.20 mg Quercetin g DW-1). Increasing the Nano fertilizer concentration up to 3 g L-1, increased total phenolic compounds and fourteen days’ foliar application of Nano fertilizer significantly raised the contents of these compounds compared to seven days’ intervals. By increasing Nano fertilizer concentration, antioxidant activity was reduced but fourteen days’ intervals showed a significant increase in comparison with seven days. 3 g L-1 Nano fertilizer application with seven days’ intervals improved most of the photosynthetic pigments.

Generally, these findings confirm the effectiveness of Nano fertilizer application in two intervals on yield factors and active substances contents in Marigold.

Salt stress is one of the most critical factors impacting plant growth and yield. The aims of this study were to assess the effect of salt stress on grain yield and some agronomic traits of canola (Brassica napus L.). Five spring canola cultivars including Sarigol, Delgan, Zaffar, Zarfam and RGS003 were selected and treated with 6% and 20% sodium chloride. A factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was performed. Main effects of cultivar, NaCl stress and interaction of NaCl stress × cultivar in all agronomic traits were significant at 0.01 probability level. The highest and the lowest seed yield was found in Delgan and Zarfam, respectively. The highest thousand-seed weight of Sarigol, Delgan, Zaffar and RGS003 was found in the control condition while in Zarfam cultivar was found under 6% NaCl treatment. In Sarigol and Zarfam cultivars the largest number of pods were found under 20% and %6 of NaCl treatments. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that grain weight per pod and number of pods per plant had the highest effect on grain yield and explained 95% of grain yield variations. Factor analysis based on principal component analysis showed that four factors explained 80.81% of total variations. The first factor explained 36.07% of total variance and was named as an effective factor on vegetation growth. The second factor explained 16.28% of the variation and was identified as the grain yield and its components factor. In this research, Sarigol cultivar was introduced as the most tolerant cultivar due to the highest grain yield under NaCl stress conditions.

Health literacy is the capacity of each individual to obtain, interpret and understand the basic information of health services that is necessary for appropriate decision making in this area. Based on this, the researchers decided to conduct a study to investigate the relationship between health literacy and the quality of life of the elderly living in nursing homes in Guilan province in 2020.

The present study is a cross-sectional-analytical study. The statistical population included all the elderly living in nursing homes in Guilan province in 2020. The statistical sample consisted of 89 people from the mentioned statistical population who were selected through Cochran's formula and stratified-random sampling method. Data collection tools included the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HELIA) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF-12). Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 and Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and t-test of two independent samples.

The average health literacy of the elderly is 78.97 with a standard deviation of 5.249%. The average quality of life of the elderly is 37.40 with a standard deviation of 6.645%. The result of the Pearson correlation coefficient test showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the overall score of health literacy level and the overall score of quality of life of the elderly living in nursing homes in Guilan province in 2020. Also, the relationship between health literacy and general comprehension score, physical performance score, physical health score, physical pain score, emotional problems score, social performance score, vitality and vitality score, and mental health score in the elderly living in nursing homes in Guilan province in 2020, There is a positive and meaningful. The results of the analysis of variance showed that there is no significant relationship between health literacy level and quality of life level with age and level of education. The results of the t-test of two independent samples showed that there is no significant difference between health literacy and quality of life of male and female elderly.

By planning and designing useful educational programs in the field of health literacy appropriate for the elderly, and effective step can be taken to develop health literacy skills in society and improve the quality of life of the elderly.

Aspergillus flavus mold causes many contaminants in foodstuffs with aflatoxin production. Today, many researches are carried out for the use of natural compounds especially herbal essential oils for inhibiting production of fungi toxins. In this study, the effect of Artemisia essential oil on strains (R5 and P7) of Aspergillus flavus was investigated. In the experiments 13 different concentrations (4.5, 9, 13.5, 18, 36, 72, 86, 100, 114, 128, 142, 166 and 180 µL/L) Artemisia essential oil was added to PDA culture medium and then with separately culture of strains of Aspergillus flavus, inhibition rate of essential oil investigated in growth of strains. In investigation of diameter size of the grown halos in compared to control, it was observed that diameter of halos had been decreased with increasing essential oil concentration. So that in strains R5 (halo diameter 18.97 mm) and P7 (halo diameter 18.39 mm) with essential oil concentration of 166 µL/L, the most inhibitory effect had in compared with control sample.

In order to strengthen and stabilize the soil masses in the range of soil till optimum, it should be used appropriate stabilization methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of excess ash as an additive to soil and improve soil properties. To do this, 15 soil samples from the forest road fill slope were randomly selected combined with 3, 6, 9 and 12 weight percent logging residual ash. In order to investigate the effect of addition of stabilizing agents on the chemical and mechanical parameters of soil in the studied area, the experiments Atterberg limits, California bearing ratio, moisture as well as acidity, electrical conductivity, phosphorus, nitrogen, organic matter and carbon were carried out on control and treated soil samples. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests were used to compare the averages. The results of the experiment show that the addition of logging residual ash increased plastic limit and California bearing ratio and reduced liquid limit and plasticity index. Also, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that the mean difference in moisture, acidity and nitrogen were not significant (P>5%) while electrical conductivity, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter and carbon showed significant differences.

This study was performed to determine the digital expression profile of different genes expressed in Holstein and Cholistani breeds as well as to evaluate the performance of predicted proteins derived from differentially expressed genes between these two breeds using RNA-Seq data. For this purpose, the whole mRNA sequence for a blood sample of American Holstein and Pakistani Cholistani cattle populations was obtained and by sequencing and locating RNA-Seq reads on the bovine reference genome and determining the digital expression profile, the differentially expressed genes were obtained. The results of this study showed that there were 24616 genes and 26716 isoforms on the transcriptome of these two breeds, out of which, 41 genes were identified with substantial and significant differential expression (P <0.000015). It was also found that approximately one-third of genes whose functions is altered accros two breeds, encode hydrolase enzymes, five of the predicted proteins, FOS Fos proto-oncogene proteins, AP-1 transcription factor subunit, the vhl-elonginc-elonginb structure, transcription factor FosB/ JunD bZIP domain, T yeast U2AF complex pseudomonas aeruginosa transcriptional regulator PA2196 and zif268 zinc finger-dna complex that are involved in transcriptional regulation and RNA editing. Investigation of network interactions between predicted proteins from differentially expressed genes showed that predicted proteins are involved in different pathways such as TNF signaling pathway, Salmonella infection, MAPK signaling pathway and rheumatoid arthritis. Overall, these two breeds were found to be well-adapted to environmental conditions due to different environmental conditions and evolutionary distance and this coordination at the molecular level of the expression of specific genes was found in this study. One of the reasons supporting this is the greater role of the immune system in the Cholistani breed due to its higher exposition to contamination than the Holstein breed that led the expression of bactericidal proteins (Cathelicidin 1) was up regulaged, as a result, the activity of the immune system might be improved. The study also found that the IL1B gene had the highest degree of gene-drug interaction with Canakinumab drug.The results of this study indicate that in breed comparisons, a close look at the activity of proteins produced by different genes could better explain breed differences at the molecular level.

This study was conducted to assess the effect of soil physical and chemical properties on diversity and structure of tree cover in oak forests with an area of 275 hectares in Qamyshlh city of Marivan Kordestan, Iran. For this purpose, a total of 90 samples, each 10 yards, randomly laid out on a regular gird network were selected and in the center of each plot, soil samples were taken at the depth of 0 - 30 cm. Results revealed that the average diameter of trees had a significant positive correlation with phosphorus, potassium, organic matter and carbon to nitrogen ratio in the soil. The results also showed that there is no significant relationship between the most measured soil characteristics and richness, evenness and diversity indicators. However, soil pH with Pirlo and Simpson indexes and phosphorus with Margalef index had a significant negative relationship. Correlation between the percentage of tree species and soil characteristics showed that among the studied species, Q. branti were more sensitive to changes in soil properties compared with other species. However, the analyses of ordination methods showed that there is no direct relationship between species distribution and soil properties. In addition to the soil effects, due to the proximity of the forest land to rural residential areas, it can be said that the most influential factor in shaping the composition, diversity, and structure of Qamyshlh tree species are human factors.

Vaginismus is a sexual dysfunction in which couples are not able to have a normal intercourse. This disorder is one of the causes of infertility in women. The aim of this study is to successfully treat vaginismus disorder using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This cross-sectional study was conducted at a psychiatry clinic. Two patients diagnosed with vaginismus and long term infertility, one with 6 years and the other with 7 years infertility, were chosen. The treatment, which was performed in 8 sessions lasting 45 minutes each, consisted of anatomical and functional teaching of genital organs, correction of misconceptions about sexual activity, and teachings about relaxation and mental imaging of sexual activity. After the successful completion of training, both patients were able to have satisfactory intercourse. One of the patients became pregnant after 5 months and pregnancy occurred in the other one after 3 months. CBT is still an appropriate method to treat Vaginismus and can be employed as a helpful, cost-effective, and non-invasive interventional therapy.

Educational counseling is the part of faculties’ essential duties. It has so many positive effects on educational process. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the attitude of medical bachelor students toward the faculty’s educational counseling duties.
In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, in 1391-92, 280 undergraduate students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences were randomly selected. Information collected through the self-report questionnaire that was designed according the last version of health ministry consultant-regulation. The overall reliability of questionnaire was calculated 0/7 in a pilot study. This questionnaire has 40 attitude statements regarding faculty’s educational counseling duties in five areas; Educational - Research – Facilities- Cultural – and other roles. The gathered data was analyzed by SPSS software 16, using t-test and one way ANOVA.
The mean age of subjects was 22.1 ±3.4, 220 were women (78/6%). Among all tasks of academic counseling, most of students (95%) had agreed and extremely agreed with educational and research duties of faculty members. There was a significant difference between the attitude of subjects regarding faculties’ consulting duties (PEducation of counseling content, best manner implementation and emphasis on importance of educational counseling in professional development are recommended.

Altmetrics is a new concept retrieved from citation indicators based on Web 2.0 that can evaluate all academic outputs. This descriptive survey aimed to compare the citation rate of academic articles affiliated by Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in two social scientific networks.
The recent study was descriptive applied research carried based on scietometric approach. All of the academic articles with affiliation of Guilan University of Medical Sciences indexed in Scopus from 1997 to 2015 (845 articles) were chosen. Then, the citation rates of articles with details of indicators in two scientific social networks, ResearchGate and Mendeley were followed. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, through analytical statistic tests such as Student-t and Pearson Correlation Coefficient testss. The significant level was less than 0.05 in this study (P All of 845 academic papers were cited 3199 times in Scopus database until 2015. The citation rate in ResearchGate (87%) was more than the citation rate in Mendeley (52%). There was a positive significant correlation between citation rate of articles, observation rate and download rate of articles in ResaerchGate. In addition, there was a positive significant correlation between citation rates with reading frequency of articles in Mendeley (P According to the results, the ResearchGate and Mendeley scientific networks have more impact on increasing the amount of download and as a result, the citation rate of articles. Therefore, researchers in medical sciences can use these networks as a "search for information" and "self-archive" for the purpose of greater use and citation of their scientific activities.