mohammad moghadam

 One of the important bacterial diseases of stone-fruit trees is canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (Pss). This pathogen employs a vast range of pathogenic and virulence factors during its interaction with its host in order to induce disease symptoms. To control the bacterial canker disease, various methods such as sanitary measures, selection of resistant cultivars and certified seedlings and chemical component based on copper are used. Application pf plant derivatives such as essential oils and extracts, is one of the compatible management methods in line with environmental goals. Essential oils include a wide range of antimicrobial components and have high efficacy, multiple mechanisms of action, and low toxicity on non-target organisms. The current study aimed to assess the inhibitory and sub-inhibitory effects of six indigenous medicinal essential oils against the causative agent of canker disease in stone fruits. The research evaluated the efficacy of these essential oils in reducing the virulence factors of the disease while identifying the active compounds within the oils. 

The antimicrobial properties of six native plant EOs, namely Thymus transcaspicus, Satureja khuzistanica, Mentha longifolia, Ziziphora clinopodioides, Perorkia abrotanoides, and Artemisia persica were evaluated against Pss bacteria based on disc diffusion assay test and measurement of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Moreover, the effect of essential oils on some virulence factors of pathogen including motility, biofilm, and syringomycine production was investigated in sub-inhibitory concentrations. The effect of selected EOs on the reduction of bacterial pathogenicity on immature cherry fruitlets was also investigated. Finally, the chemical composition of EOs was determined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-Ms).

All studied essential oils have different antibacterial effects in interaction with Pss bacteria. EOs of T. transcaspicus and S. khuzistanica showed a significant inhibitory effect with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value of 1.16 and 2.32 g L-1, respectively against Pss compared with other essential oils and streptomycin antibiotic. Sub-inhibitory concentrations test of EOs showed no significant effect on the growth pathogen. The swarming motility of bacterial cells treated with essential oil decreased by 25-55% and the swimming motility decreased by 18.42 to 35.71% compared with the control. T. transcaspicus and S. khuzistanica within the range of 70-75% showed the strongest inhibitory effect on biofilm formation. Also, in the toxin production test, T. transcaspicus and S.khuzistanica EOs are effective in reducing syringomycin production and increasing the growth of Geotrichum candidum by 1.5 to 1.76 times compared with control (not treatment with EOs). The EOs treatment at MICs reduced the symptoms of the disease. In immature cherries inoculated with Pss bacterium and treated with EO of T. transcaspicus was not observed necrosis symptom. The four selected essential oils tested all had a role in reducing the virulence factors in Pss, and the degree of effectiveness is different depending on the components of the essential oil. The higher the phenolic content in the essential oil, the greater its antimicrobial properties against plant pathogenic bacteria. According to the EOs analysis, thymol in T. transcaspicus, carvacrol in S. khuzistanica, piperitone in M. longifolia, and pulegone in Ziziphora clinopodioides were the major constituent compound. It seems that the highest amounts of compounds in essential oils have a higher antibacterial power. The EOs of T. transcaspicus and S. khuzistanica effectively reduce the pathogenic activity of bacterial cankers agent in stone fruits. ConclusionThe studied plant compounds in sub-inhibition concentration showed acceptable potential in inhibiting pathogenic agents in in vitro tests. Taking into account the growing trend of the general acceptance of natural control compounds in the field of plant diseases, it seems that planning in line with how to use plant products to reduce the consumption of pesticides can be investigated and needs complementary experiments. In order to reduce the spread of bacterial canker symptoms and increase the life span of the tree, the main effective substances (oxygenated monoterpenes) of the essential oils of T. transcaspicus and S. khuzistanica can be used as a model chemical structure for the synthesis of antimicrobial substances using the experts in the field of chemistry and pharmaceuticals. It is suggested to investigate the stability and preservation of antimicrobial properties in laboratory and field conditions.

Swallowing is one of the most complex functions of the central nervous system (CNS), which is controlled by different parts of the brain. Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is one of the most common complications after stroke. Despite a variety of behavioral, compensatory, and rehabilitative methods, many stroke patients still suffer from swallowing disorders that adversely affect their quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pyridostigmine on patients with post-stroke dysphagia. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out on 40 patients suffering from post-stroke dysphagia. Patients were assigned randomly into two groups: intervention and control groups (20 in each group). The intervention group was treated with pyridostigmine (60 mg, three times a day, 30 minutes before each meal for three weeks), and the control group received placebo treatment in the same way. All patients (intervention and control) were evaluated according to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and Functional Communication Measures (FCM)/American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) criteria at baseline and after three weeks of intervention. Values of P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. In the intervention group, the mean values of NIHSS, mRS, and ASHA/FCM were significantly reduced following three weeks of treatment with pyridostigmine (P = 0.002, P = 0.003, and P < 0.001, respectively), but no significant differences were found in the mean NIHSS, mRS, and ASHA/FCM in the placebo group. Although pyridogestamine is somewhat effective in post-stroke dysphagia, it has not been shown to be more important in preventing aspiration pneumonia and length of hospital stay.

Estimating the spatial hazard, or in other words, the probability of exceeding a certain boundary is one of the important issues in environmental studies that are used to control the level of pollution and prevent damage from natural disasters. Risk zoning provides useful information to decision-makers; For example, in areas where spatial hazards are high, zoning is used to design preventive policies to avoid adverse effects on the environment or harm to humans. Generally, the common spatial risk estimating methods are for stationary random fields. In addition, a parametric form is usually considered for the distribution and variogram of the random field. Whereas in practice, sometimes these assumptions are not realistic. For an example of these methods, we can point to the Indicator kriging, Disjunctive kriging, Geostatistical Markov Chain, and simple kriging.  In practice utilize the parametric spatial models caused unreliable results. In this paper, we use a nonparametric spatial model to estimate the unconditional probability or spatial risk:rcs0=PZs0⩾c.  (1) Because the conditional distribution at points close to the observations has less variability than the unconditional probability, nonparametric spatial methods will be used to estimate the unconditional probability.  

Let Z=Zs1,…,ZsnT be an observation vector from the random field {Zs;s∈D⊆Rd} which is decomposed as follows Zs=μs+εs,  (2) where μ(s) is the trend and ε(s) is the error term, that is a second-order stationary random field with zero mean and covariogram Ch=Covεs,εs+h. The local linear model for the trend is given by μHs= e1TSsTWsSs-1 SsTWsZ≡  ϕTsZ, where e1 is a vector with 1 in the first entry and all other entries 0, Ss is a matrix with ith row equal to (1, (si-s)T), Ws = diag {KHs1 – s,…,KH(sn-s)}, KHu=H-1K(H-1u), K is a triple multiplicative multivariate kernel function and H is a nonsingular symmetric d×d bandwidth matrix. In this model, the bandwidth matrix obtained from a bias corrected and estimated generalized cross-validation (CGCV). From nonparametric residuals ε(s) = Z(s) -μ(s) a local linear estimate of the variogram 2 γ(⋅)is obtained as the solution of the following least-squares problem minα.βi<jnεi-εj2-α-βT si-sj-u2 KGsi-sj-u, where G is the corresponding bandwidth matrix, that obtained from minimizing cross-validation relative squared error of semi-variogram estimate. Algorithm1: Semiparametric Bootstrap Obtain estimates of the error covariance and nonparametric residuals covariance. Generate bootstrap samples with the estimated spatial trend μHs and adding bootstrap errors generated as a spatially correlated set of errors. Compute the kriging prediction Z*s0 at each unsampled location s0 from the bootstrap sample Z*s1,…,Z*sn. Repeat steps 2 and 3 a larger number times B. Therefore, for each un-sampled location s0, B bootstrap replications Z*(1)s0.…. Z*(B)(s0) are obtained. Calculate (1) at position s_0 by calculating the relative frequency of Bootstrap repetition as follows to estimate the unconditional probability of excess of boundary c. rcs0= 1B j=1BIZ*js0≥ c

To analysis the practical behavior of the proposed methods a simulation study is conducted under different scenarios. For N=150 samples and n=16×16 were generated on a regular grid in the unit square following model (2), with mean function μs=2.5 + sin( 2π x1) + 4x2 - 0.5 2, and random errors normally distributed with zero mean and isotropic exponential covariogram  Ch= 0.04 + 2.01 1- exp-3 ∥ h∥0.5,   h∈ R2. For comparing nonparametric spatial methods for estimate unconditional risk, conditional risk, and Indicator kriging, we considered 7 missing observations in certain situations. Empirical spatial risk and its estimates are presented in Table 1. The Indicator kriging is overestimating and estimate spatial risk larger than 1. Generally, an estimated risk with unconditional and conditional methods is near value to empirical value. Table 1. Empirical spatial risk and its estimates Locations (0.13, 0) (0.87, 0.87) (0.80, 0.20) (0.94, 0.27) (0, 0.47) (074, .60) (0.34, 0.60) Methods 0.999 0.300 0.069 0.317 0.504 0.011 0.989 Empirical 0.998 0.351 0.054 0.347 0.494 0.057 0.954 Conditional 1.002 0.230 0.091 0.091 0.652 0.006 0.996 Indicator 1.000 0.388 0.418 0.481 0.602 0.024 0.994 Unconditional The spatial risk mapping for the maximum temperature means of Iran in 364 stations in March 2018 is obtained. By applying Algorithm 1 final trend and semi-variogram estimates are smoother than the pilot version.  The conditional and unconditional spatial risk with 150 bootstrap replicates for two values of threshold 25 and 31 on a 75×75 grid are estimated. The unconditional risk estimate is smoother than the conditional risk estimate. Because of this in the unconditional version, biased residual unused directly in the spatial prediction but in the conditional risk estimating, original residuals and simple kriging used.

The spatial risk estimated with the nonparametric spatial method. For the trend and variability of the random field, modeling applied a local linear nonparametric model. In the simulation study, this method better results than Indicator kriging. Because the flexibility of the nonparametric spatial method could apply for the construction of confidence or prediction intervals and hypothesis testing.

In this paper, we investigate the trade-off between reliability and security in a device to device (D2D) network including a pair of D2D, a jammer, and an untrusted relay . The untrusted relay is used as aiding to D2D communications but due to untrusting the relay , data protection from eavesdropping by relay is very important. According to this, two protocols direct transmission (DT) and relay transmission (RT) are considered for transmission in network . In the DT protocol, D2D pair directly and without relay aid and in the RT protocol, D2D pair use from relay for communication. In this paper, first, secrecy outage probability (SOP) and intercept probability and then trade-off between reliability and security presenting the closed-form relations for two protocols are investigated. Simulation results show the reliability of analytic relationships and show that in a steady intercept probability, DT protocol into RT protocol has a higher reliability. Also, the simulation results show that in RT, intercept probability is lower into the DT protocol and consequently security increases in RT into the DT protocol. Also the results confirm that increasing security increases the likelihood of loss of communication, and increasing the likelihood of reliable communication reduces communications security.

In order to study the effect of salicylic acid on some growth and biochemical characteristics of lemon verbena (Lippia citrodora L.) under salt stress, a pot experiment was conducted as factorial, based on completely randomized design, with four levels of water salinity (control, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl) and four levels of salicylic acid (SA) (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg/L, equivalent to 0, 1.06, 2.12, and 3.2 mM, respectively). The results showed that interaction effects of salinity and salicylic acid on all of the studied traits were significant, except leaf dry weight, and fresh and dry weights of root. Based on the results, the highest amount of leaf fresh weight, fresh and dry weights of aerial parts, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents were found in the treatment without salinity and application of 3.2 mM SA. The highest amount of soluble carbohydrate was in the treatment without salinity and application of 2.12 mM SA, the highest proline was in 100 mM NaCl and application of 3.2 mM SA, and the highest total phenol was in 100 mM salinity and application of 2.12 mM SA. Therefore, application of SA (especially at 3.2 mM) under salinity stress (100 and 150 mM NaCl) mitigated the negative effects of this stress, increased morphological traits and photosynthetic pigments, and, conversely, decreased the amount of total phenol, soluble carbohydrates, and proline by reducing salinity stress.   Keywords: Photosynthetic pigments, Plant growth regulator, Proline, Soluble carbohydrates

The Prangos Lind L. is belongs to Umbelliferae family and represented 15 species in Iran. Prangos (Jashir in Persian) is a medicinal plant, native to southern Iran and has been used in traditional medicine for many digestive disorders. In order to evaluate the morphological diversity, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity between 18 populations of Prangos acaulis, Prangos platychloena and Prangos ferulacea, the aerial parts of these plants in flowering stages were collected in spring and summer 2018 from Fars and Kohklouye va Boyerahmad provinces.To investigate the morphological traits, 10 plants selected in each habitat and 15 quantitative, 39 qualitative morphological and 8 habitats properties traits for each populations were investigated. Total phenolic content measured by Folin-Ciocalto and antioxidant activity by using DPPH radical scavenging capacity methods. The experiment was performed in a randomized complete block design and the comparison of data average was done by Duncan test at 1% probability level. The results were showed that there was great diversity among populations. Cluster analysis divided populations into three groups. The population 14 from Prangos acaulis was superior in morphological characteristics compared to other populations of this species. The highest antioxidant activity (93.05%) and total phenolic content (8.84 mg GAE/g FW) was obtained from the populations 14 and 8, respectively.Also the highest antioxidant activity (92.72%) and total phenolic content (10.25mg GAE/g FW)) in Prangos platychloena were obtained from populations 7 and 15, respectively.Generally the most total phenolic content and antioxidant activity between three species were observed in population 18 which is belong to the Prangos ferulacea. So the populations of 5, 6, 7 and 8 from fars province, 11 and 13 Kohklouye va Boyerahmad provinceamong three species were desirable at evaluated morphological traits so that these populations can be considered in breeding and domestication programs.

Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.), belonging to the Juglandaceae family, has its natural origin in the mountainous regions of central Asia and especially northern forests of Iran. Most walnut genotypes are seedling and sexually reproduced. Conducting studies on the genetic structure of these genotypes to identify, select and maintain their genetic resources is important. Identifying and collecting local varieties of fruit trees is considered as the first step on the path of breeding programs and lack of information regarding plants genetic characteristics causes the breeding work to be done slowly. Various methods have been used for studying genetic diversity and determining the genetic relationship between European and Asian varieties of walnut and identifying commercial walnut varieties, among which we can mention: Morphologic indices, Alozyme, Isozym, RFLP, RAPD, AFLP and ISSR markers. ISSR molecular marker was used in order to investigate genetic diversity of some genotypes of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) in Mashhad orchards. .
To begin with, about 56 walnut trees from 4 orchards in Mashhad (Esteghlal (1), Golestan (2), Alandasht (3) and Emam Reza (4)) were selected and tagged from 2014 to 2016. In the spring of 2014 with the beginning of trees growth and opening of leaves, a number of leaves from each genotype were collected. After DNA extraction, the quality of samples by agarose gel (1 percentage) and electrophoresis method and quantity of them via spectrophotometer device at 260 and 280 nm wavelengths were determined. First, 24 primers of ISSR marker were prepared and after initial evaluation on 5 random genotypes, 9 primers with high polymorphism and repeatability were selected for further investigation. For PCR reaction, Amplicon kit (code 180 301, made in Denmark) was used. Gel electrophoresis images of primers that produced polymorphic bands with suitable resolution were analyzed manually. After scoring the bands, in which 0 used for showing the absence of a band and 1 showing the presence of a band in each sample, 1 and 0 numbers were changed to matrix by using NTedit software. Genetic similarities of samples were calculated by using NTSYSpc software, SIMQUAL method and DICE similarity coefficient. Dendrogram by cluster analysis was drawn by using UPGMA method. Principle coordinate analysis (PCO) was performed using the NTSYS software and grouping samples were evaluated in a two-dimensional plot.
Results showed that from 9 primers in total, 118 bands amplified were in 300 to 3000 base pairs, while 29 bands were polymorphic. The number of amplified fragment for each primer was different so that UBC 844 (14 bands) had the highest and UBC 890 (8 bands) had the lowest amplified bands. The average amplified fragments for each primer was 9.83. The percentage of polymorphic in various primers was different. Maximum polymorphism (80%) of the primers was observed in UBC830. In general, according to the percentage of polymorphic bands, low adjustment to any changes in the environment was indicated. This can be used as an indicator to determine the value of diversity and genetic erosion. In genotypes cluster analysis, clustering was performed based on Dice similarity coefficient and UPGMA method, and 10 clusters were formed. ISSR molecular marker somewhat revealed genetic diversity among walnuts genotypes, whereas the genetic diversity was lower than expected. In general, by reviewing the findings in other parts of the world about walnut genetic diversity and comparing them with the results of this study, despite existing high genetic diversity among walnuts in many areas, some reports of low genetic diversity among walnuts populations have been published and unfortunately in recent years these reports has made more attention. Based on the results of several studies reporting low genetic diversity among walnuts, the following factors can be effective in this problem: natural disasters, human impacts such as deforestation and selection and propagation of superior genotypes, and sometimes walnuts self - pollination. In this respect, there is concern that if this trend of decreasing genetic diversity in the walnut population continues, this invaluable crop will be in danger of extinction. So we should think about a remedy. Finally, this investigation can be used as a start for conducting more researches in the region to maintain and manage this valuable crop germplasm and maximize genetic diversity for performing breeding programs in the future.

Horse mint (Mentha longifolia syn. Mentha sylvestris) is one of the valuable medicinal and aromatic plants belongs to Lamiaceae family. To evaluate diversity of horse mint in southwest of Iran, 35 ecotypes from six provinces of Lorestan, Fars, Khuzestan, Isfahan, Kohgilouye va Boyerahmad and Charmahal va Bakhtiari were examined. To assess the morphological traits at flowering stage, ten plants were selected in each habitat and 17 qualitative and quantitative morphological traits for each ecotype were assessed. The results showed that there was a vast diversity among the ecotypes. Cluster analysis divided ecotypes into four groups. Factor analysis classified traits into four major components which justified 81.5 percent of the total of variance. Number of branches, number of flowering shoots, number of nodes and leaf number were the first component. Plant height had a significantly positive correlation with main shoot diameter and number of nodes. Generally, the results of this study showed that ecotypes no. 6 and 13 (Lorestan and Fars) due to good characteristics and high amount of essential oil have good potential for domestication of this species.

Triticum and Hordeum are two genera of Triticeae family with important cultivated species. Analysis of phylogenetic relationships of cultivated species and wild relatives of these genera is essential for their efficient use in breeding programs. In the present study, phylogenetic relationships of four Triticum and three Hordeum species were assessed using 150 barley microsatellite primer pairs. In total, 49 primer pairs amplified products in the both genera and 19 only in Hordeum species. Out of the 49 amplified markers, 21 were only polymorphic in Triticum species and in total, 59 alleles ranging from 2 to 5 with an average of 2.80 alleles per locus were amplified. In Hordeum genus using 43 polymorphic markers, 123 alleles with an average of 3.02 allele per locus and range of 2 to 14 were obtained. In two genera species, 18 polymorphic primer pairs amplified 91 alleles ranging from 2 to 19 with an average of 5.05 and gene diversity varied from 0.14 to 0.85 with a mean value of 0.59. Cluster analysis using Neighbor-Joining algorithm and Kimura-2-parameter distance coefficient and principal coordinate analysis separated the species of the two genera. In a cluster of Triticum genus, species were grouped based on their ploidy levels and bread wheat cultivars were separated from its wild relatives, and species with A genomes were grouped together. In Hordeum genus, cultivated barley was also separated from their wild relatives. Results of the present study show the efficiency of barley SSR markers in analysis of phylogenetic relationships of Triticum and Hordeum genera. In addition to reasonable transferability and polymorphism of the used markers in the species of both genera, they could also group the species based on their genomic constitution and evolutionary relationships.

This study was evaluated in phytochemical and antioxidant activity of Ferula assafoetida L. in Semnan and Khorasan-Razavi provinces. The plant samples were collected in May 2013, the total phenolic was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu, total flavonoid by Aluminium chloride , tannin contents by Folin- Denis and the antioxidant capacity were measured utilizing DPPH and FRAP methods. Results of variance analysis were showed that the highest total phenols content (1.014 and 2.8 mgGAE/1 g) was observed in leave extract of Khorasan and Semnan provinces, respectively. The maximum tannin contents (0.00194 mg/ml) was observed in stem and leave extracts of Khorasan and Semnan provinces .Also the highest antioxidant activity by DPPH method (1111.08 and 731.61 µg/ml) was observed in root extract of Khorasan province samples. The maximum antioxidant activity content were obtained in leave extract of Semnan by FRAP method (2.85 mg/ml). In general the highest content of total phenol and flavonoid was obtained in leave and root extracts of plants in Semnan province. But the root extract of Khorasan had the maximum antioxidant capacity (1111.08 µg/ml).Therefore it may be stated that Mojen region in Semnan province had higher antioxidant activity than Khorasan region. So the quality of antioxidant compounds of Ferula assafoetida L. was depending on variation of environmental factors and plant parts.

Spontaneous emulsification is one of the low energy methods in preparation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions. It relies on the formation of very fine oil droplets when an oil/hydrophilic surfactant mixture is added to water and is used as delivery system to encapsulate lipophilic nutricitical components such as fat soluble vitamins in functional food. In this study the influence of various types of surfactants (tween 20, 21, 40, 80, 85 and 1:1 ratio of tween 20:85), carrier oils (coconut, soyabean & corn oil, octyl octanoate, migliol 812) and different concentration of surfactant and oils in the system (SER & SOR) on the droplet size and stability of vitamin A palmitate-loaded nanoemulsions prepared by spontaneous emulsification was investigated. Tween 80 (surfactant) nanoemulsion containing migliol 812 (carrier oil containing 3% vitamin A palmitate) with surfactant-to-emulsion ratio (SER= %15) and surfactant to oil ratio (SOR=150%), was determined as optimum sample with monomodal droplet size of 76 nm which was stable at 25 ˚C for 3 months.

This research was conducted to assay the effect of different levels of irrigation on morphological and physicochemical characteristics of three cultivars of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 2012. The pot experiment was performedas a factorial based on randomized complete design with four replications. The factors included three commercial cultivars of basil (Comin Hoja Larga, Rubi, Genoes) and three levels of drought stress (100, 75, 50% FC). The results showed that cultivars had significant effect on plant height, dry and fresh weight and oil content. Also different levels of drought stress had significant effect on the number of branches, fresh weight and oil content. Studied cultivars showed different physiological response to drought stress. As cultivar Comin Hoja Larga could well tolerate 50% FC three weeks before harvesting time. High chlorophyll b content (0.51 mg/g fresh weight) was observed in severe stress (50% FC). In order to product maximum oil content (0.75), severe stress (50% FC) in same condition is recommended.

Background and Endothelial-derived nitric oxide (NO) is a major contributor in regulating myocardial function and has been implicated in development of coronary artery disease (CAD) as the most common type of cardiovascular disease. It is synthesized in the human body from L-arginine by constitutive endothelial NOS (eNOS) as one out of three known isoforms of NO synthase (NOS) involved in this process. Based on recent studies, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of some genes, such as eNOS, appear to be genetic risk factors for CAD; however, the results are inconsistent across different ethnic populations. Therefore, the current study was carried out to assess the association between -786T/C polymorphism (rs2070744) and susceptibility to CAD risk in Iranian population. The study included 50 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD (≥50% stenosis in at least one coronary vessel) and 100 aged-matched individuals without cardiovascular background, hypertension, diabetes, or any other specific illness. The genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood cells and genotyping was performed using amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR). The frequency of risk allele (C) was significantly higher in case group compared to control group (P= 0.04). According to the findings, the presence of the C allele was associated with 1.67-fold increased risk of CAD compared with individulas lacking the risk allele (95% CI= 1.01-2.73, P= 0.04). Several studies revealed association of -T786C polymorphism with coronary spasm, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and multivessel CAD in different populations. In current study, a possible association was found between -T786C polymorphism and risk of CAD, which is in line with previous findings. These results suggest this variation as a predictor marker for estimating the risk of CAD in Iranian population.

There are many genetic and non-hereditary risk factors that are known to causes venous thromboembolic (VTE) disorders, Cardiovascular diseases and types of cancer. One of these is the Prothrombin G20210A mutation. Prothrombin mutation (guanine to adenine; G→A) at nucleotide position 20210, which is present in the 3′ untranslated region of the prothrombin gene. Prothrombin G20210A mutation is present outside the coding region for prothrombin, and hence it does not affect the actual structure of the prothrombin molecule and it does not affect its function as a strong clotting factor when activated into thrombin. However, several studies have shown that, G20210A heterozygosity was associated with a threefold increased risk for VTE. Moreover, the association of PTH G20210A polymorphisms with cancer has been reported. The present study was designed to determine the frequency of PTH G20210A polymorphism in Southern Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, 140 healthy women were from Southern Iran recruited among participants in Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, from March 2013 to February 2014. A total of 5 ml of peripheral blood was taken from individuals then Genomic DNA was extracted using blood DNA kit (Ron’s Blood and Cell DNA Mini Kit, BioRon, Germany). The amplification refractory mutation system- polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) method was used for the detection of PTH G20210A single nucleotide polymorphism in each subject.

The frequencies of the GG and GA genotypes were as 97.9%, 2.1% respectively. The frequency of G allele was and the frequency of A allele was 1.1%.

Results of the present study might be important in understanding the distribution of PTH G20210A polymorphism in the Southern Iran. Minor allele frequency in this population is higher than in the Iranian and European population but similar to the prevalence in the Western Iran, Iranian Jews, American, Irish, Tunisian and Bahraini population.

Androgens play critical role in secondary sexual and male gonads differentiations such as spermatogenesis, via androgen receptor. The human androgen receptor (AR) encoding gene contains two regions with three nucleotide polymorphic repeats (CAG and GGN) in the first exon. Unlike the CAG repeats, the GGN has been less studied because of technical difficulties, so the functional role of these polymorphic repeats is still unclear.

The goal of this study was to investigate any relationship between GGN repeat length in the first exon of AR gene and idiopathic male infertility in southwest of Iran.

This is the first study on GGN repeat of AR gene in infertile male in Khuzestan, Iran. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to categorize GGN repeat lengths in 72 infertile and 72 fertile men. Afterwards we sequenced the PCR products to determine the exact length of GGN repeat in each category. Our samples included 36 azoospermic and 36 oligozoospermic men as cases and 72 fertile men as control group.

We found that the numbers of repeats in the cases range from 18 to 25, while in the controls this range is from 20 to 28. The results showed a significant relation between the length of GGN repeat and fertility (p=0.015). The most frequent alleles were alleles with 24 and 25 repeats respectively in case and control groups. On the other hand no significant differences were found between Arab and non-Arab cases by considering GGN repeat lengths (p=0.234).

Due to our results, there is a significant association between the presence of allele with 24 repeats and susceptibility to male infertility. Therefore this polymorphism should be considered in future studies to clarify etiology of disorders related to androgen receptor activity.

To investigate variation and detect of genomic regions controlling quality and quantity of malt extract in barely، a study was conducted using a set of 72 double haploid barley lines as well as their parents (Stepto & Morex) at experimental stations of University of Mahabad and Agricultural Research Center of Mian''doab in RCBD with two replications during cropping season (2011-12). Different characteristics including germination energy، total percentage of germination، seed dormancy، seed protein، seed malt extract، seed hull، hectoliter weight، seed plumpness، plant height، days to heading، spike length، seeds per spike، peduncle length، one thousand seeds weight، seed yield and harvest index were measured. QTL analysis was done using composite interval mapping (CIM) method for each trait by means of two environments; and Multiple Interval Mapping (MIM) method was exploited for assessment of significant interactions between loci، additive × additive epistasis and testing major effects of detected QTLs at a multiple regression model. For most of traits، transgressive segregation was observed in both positive and negative directions. For this study، a total of fifty-four QTLs with LOD ≥ 2. 5 (LR ≥11. 5) were identified. Explained genetic variance by these QTLs was varied by 37. 15 to 77. 24 and maximum LOD for the QTL controlling 1000 seed weight was obtained on chromosome 4H (QW4H) with a LOD =6. 36. The largest single QTLs belonging to the quantity and quality of barley grains malt were located on chromosomes 1H، 2H، 3H، 4H and 7H. Twelve additive × additive epistatic effects between identified QTLs were significant. The results revealed that water normal compared with the place had a significant role in the manifestation of malt quality traits. Meanwhile، in the studied haploids and their parents great variation was observed in terms of quantity and quality characteristics of barley malt. This variation can be exploited for different breeding purposes. In addition، identified stable and clustered QTLs could be used for qualitative and quantitative traits of barley malt in marker assisted selection (MAS). However، some detected markers can be identified as an informative marker for selection and increment of the concentration in the final malt extract and malt performance.

A 7×7 complete diallel cross experiment was performed to study the genetic relationship of grain yield and some agronomic traits in rice. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among genotypes for all traits. Results of correlation analysis showed that rice grain yield was positively and significantly correlated with BY (rp = 0.81, rg =0.55), HI (rp =0.35, rg =0.79), NP (rp = 0.80, rg =0.67), PW (rp = 0.78, rg =0.83) and GSH (rp = 0.32, rg =0.81). Correlation between PH and GY (rp =-0.09, rg =-0.53) was negative at both type of correlation, but only rg was significant. The results of path analysis indicated that number of panicles (NP), panicle weights (PW) and plant height (PH) were strongly (92% of total variation) influenced grain yield (GY) as the predictor variables. Among these characters, PW reflected the highest direct effect (0.73) with grain yield; while minimum direct effect was indicated by PH (0.15). NP and PW can be used as effective selection criteria for grain yield increase. Factor analysis indicated that five important factors accounted for about 81.05% of the total variation among traits. The first factor assigned 23.0% of total variation between traits and was significantly related with grain yield, its components and flag leaf area. Other factors accounted for 18.65, 16.20, 14.20 and 9 percent of variation between traits. Applying genotype × trait (GT) biplot to the multiple trait illustrated that GT biplots graphically displayed the interrelationships among GY, PH, PW, HI, NP, GSH and BY. The results of this research indicated that use of NP and PW could be applied as a breeding strategy to obtain high yield rice cultivars.

We studied the effects of using Reflective Action Approach (RAA) on critical thinking of students and teachers. The research method was a semi-experimental and factorial design (2×2). The subjects were 93 students from Tabriz Teachers Education Colleges of which 46 students and teachers (24 female and 22 male) formed the experimental group to receive RAA and 47 students and teachers (25 female and 22 male) formed the control group who received the traditional approach. Measures were the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). The results of MANCOVA analysis revealed that reflective action enhanced the experimental group's critical thinking skills (deduction) and disposition toward critical thinking (inquisitiveness, systematic activity, and maturity of judgment). There was no gender differences for the positive outcomes of the RAA.

This paper compared the efficacy of these two methods on retention, understanding and problem solving in the biology keeping in the mind the fact that student's learning style has a role as a moderator variable. The intervening effects on retention, understanding and problem solving were measured by two academic achievement tests that those have the confirmable validity and reliability indexes. The group embedded figures test were used to assess field dependence and field independence learning styles. This research based on a quasi-experiment design. The pre-organized classrooms were selected by purposive sampling as four experiment groups and two control groups. The prepared concept maps were presented in process of teaching on the two experiment group's members and the other two experiment group members constructed concept maps from the instructed subjects. Results show that the concept map presenting method has more positive effects than the concept map constructing method in conditions that the students have field dependence learning style. Vice verse the concept map constructing method has advantage on the concept map presenting method in conditions that the students have field independence learning style.