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Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used for assessment of water quality. Usually, these insects in rivers are present, easily collected, not moving much and it is easy to detect kinship. Benthic macroinvertebrates can also show changes in water quality and as sensitive indicators of environmental change are used. Jajrud River originated from the Elburz Mountains in northern Tehran. A sampling of Jajrud River benthic macroinvertebrate organisms from a Surber sampler device with an area of 900 cm2 and mesh size of 250-micron was repeated three times at each station. Physicochemical parameters including Elevation, Depth, Flow Velocity (WatFlow), Water Temperature (WatTem), Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Electrical conductivity (EC), Fecal Coliform, Phosphate, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonium, Dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) were measured. Habitat parameters such as Epifaunal Substrate (EFAC), Embeddedness (Embed), Velocity and Depth Regimes (Vel), sediment deposition (Sedimen), Channel Flow Status (Channelf), Channel Alteration (Channelt), Frequency of Riffles (Freq), Bank Stability (Bankstu), Vegetative Protection (Veg) and Riparian Vegetative Zone Width (RipaVeg) were reviewed. Then according to bioassessment protocols and ratings based on a zero to 20, for relationship between physicochemical and habitat parameters with an abundance of benthos grouping and assessment of water quality, from CANOCO software and principal component analysis (PCA) was used. The results showed that the water quality in the downstream Jajrud is unfavorable and appropriate management measures should be taken to improve the river's water quality.

Coccidiosis is a significant disease of poultry and is usually treated using various synthetic anticoccidial drugs. However, the effectiveness of this approach has been compromised due to drug resistance. Medicinal plants are being considered as potential alternatives to these drugs. As part of ongoing research, an investigation was conducted to assess the anticoccidial potential of Linum usitatissimum seed extract (LUE) and its impact on hematological parameters in broiler chickens with experimental coccidiosis. A total of 108 broiler chicks were divided into six groups. The chicks in Groups I, II, and III were given plant extract at three different concentrations: 4%, 5%, and 6%, respectively, at one week of age. Group IV was the positive control - these chickens were treated with toltrazuril. Group V served as the negative control, meaning they were infected but not given any medication. Group VI was the normal control group. All groups, except Group VI, were orally infected with 60,000 sporulated oocysts when they were 18 days old. After 7 days of giving orally infection, six birds from each group were euthanized so that we could examine their feed conversion ratio (FCR), oocyst score, lesion score, fecal score, serum chemistry and hematology. The results showed that the L. usitatissimum extract exhibited anticoccidial activity. It improved the FCR and reduced lesion, oocyst, fecal scores and blood and serum chemistry.

Abstract SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has undergone various genetic alterations due to evolutionary pressures exerted by host cells, including intracellular antiviral mechanisms such as targeting by human microRNAs (miRNAs). This study investigates the impact of miRNAs hsa-miR-3132 and hsa-miR-4650 on the viral genome. Sequence alignment revealed conserved mutations in the binding sites of these miRNAs in adapted strains compared to the original Wuhan-Hu-1 strain, leading to their deletion. Despite modest expression of these miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 target tissues, their efficacy against mutant strains is reduced due to the loss of binding sites. Structural analysis indicates that the mutant genome is more stable than the Wuhan-Hu-1 genome. Luciferase and virus titration assays demonstrate that hsa-miR-3132 and hsa-miR-4650 effectively target the Nsp3 gene in the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain but not in mutant strains lacking their binding sites. These findings suggest that the observed mutations help the virus evade selective pressure from human miRNAs, contributing to its adaptation

Introduction: Rational use and protection of natural grasslands within legal frameworks to regulate rangeland management and prevent land degradation, especially in countries with extensive grasslands, are crucial. Land-use change from grasslands to hand-planted forests can negatively affect soil properties and biodiversity. This change may lead to a decrease in soil organic carbon reserves, an increase in apparent density, and a change in soil pH. It also has significant impacts on soil macroinvertebrates, leading to changes in their communities' structure and subsequent ecosystem functioning. Given the substantial role of soil macroinvertebrates in ecosystem performance, preserving biodiversity and food webs through their diverse ecological services, including pollination, pest suppression, and energy cycling, is essential. The reduction of soil macroinvertebrates can have negative effects on soil structure, decomposition processes, infiltration, and gas exchange, potentially resulting in land degradation and a decline in the quality of ecological services. Therefore, the preservation and enhancement of soil macroinvertebrates are of paramount importance and play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance and stability. They are also sensitive to human disturbances and are used as biological indicators for such interference with soil components. The overall aim of this study is to investigate the effects of land-use change on soil macroinvertebrates. Therefore, in this research, soil macroinvertebrates and their community structures were examined between rangelands and artificially planted forests.Materials and Methods: Sampling was conducted from the Lavizan Forest Park and its surrounding rangelands in Tehran during the spring season using the quadrat sampling method. Two sites were selected for each reigon. Each site was examined using six quadrats (0.5 m × 0.5 m). In each quadrat, soil macroinvertebrates were collected from the soil surface and depth (0-10 cm). A total of 446 samples were collected and classified into 51 morphOTUs in the planted forest and 68 morphOTUs in the rangeland based on morphological characteristics. To compare the diversity between the planted and rangeland areas, richness and diversity indices (Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, and Evenness) were calculated. Soil physicochemical properties, including soil texture (sand, silt and clay), magnesium, calcium, organic carbon, total nitrogen, biomass, and pH, were evaluated to investigate their relationship with soil macroinvertebrates.Results: The results showed that abundance was higher in rangelands than in hand-planted forests. Also, Shannon-Wiener and Evenness indices for soil macroinvertebrates in the rangelands were higher than in the hand-planted forests, indicating a significant difference between diversity and richness indices. Additionally, the results of beta diversity methods showed that turnover between the two regions occurred. The findings of the canonical correlation analysis between the main taxonomic groups and physicochemical properties showed that different variables in rangelands and hand-planted forests had an impact on macroinvertebrate communities. Discussion: The results of this study showed that land-use change from rangeland to planted forests can significantly affect the biodiversity and community structure of invertebrates. Many studies have demonstrated that land-use change can lead to changes in the density and species richness of invertebrates over time. In many cases, species sensitive to disturbance are lost and replaced by other species, resulting in a substitution between invertebrate communities. This study also found significant changes in the composition of macroinvertebrate communities following land-use change. In general, the conversion of rangeland to planted forest can lead to the restoration of biodiversity in macroinvertebrate communities over time. Despite the observed changes in community composition, forests that have been planted for many years have had enough time to recover. Given the significant increase in land-use change, especially in recent decades, comprehensive information on the impact of human disturbances on soil organisms is essential for addressing conservation issues.

Introduction: Quantitative assessment of fish abundance is the basis of scientific research andmanagement of their population. Demographic studies of stream-dwelling salmonids haveshown that variation in their abundance on a spatio-temporal scale is common, and troutpopulations are no exception. Understanding this variation is crucial for several reasons,including designing and interpreting environmental impact assessment studies and monitoringfishery management strategies. The present study aimed to estimate the spatial and temporalvariations in the density of Caspian Sea trout in some of the Lar National Park streams andinvestigate the relationship between the density of fish in these streams and the density ofbenthic invertebrates as their primary food sources.Material and Methods: Fish densities were calculated using the Le Cren depletion method toachieve reliable population estimates. After two removal steps, the total number of fish caughtwas standardized and expressed as density per 100 m2 of the river channel. To investigate thetemporal changes of fish abundance, the study results in 2009 were qualitatively compared withthe results of another study in 2017.Results and Discussion: According to the 2009 results, the highest Caspian Sea trout densitywas recorded in the Delichay (44 per 100 m2), Lar (43.2 per 100 m2), and Siah Palas sites (33.4per 100 m2), respectively, and the lowest densities were recorded in the Lar (Kharsang, 10.5per 100 m2) and Lar (Sorkhak, 11.5 per 100 m2). In 2017, the highest density of trout wasdocumented in Siah Palas (175 per 100 m2), Delichay (Vararo, 118 per 100 m2), and Elam (112per 100 m2) streams, and the lowest density was recorded in the Delichay (downstream, 48 per100 m2) and Absefid (49 per 100 m2) streams.The distribution and abundance of stream-dwelling salmons are primarily regulated by food andspace. The abundance of Caspian Sea trout on a local scale indicates variety in quality and habitataccess for Caspian Sea trout in the Lar National Park. We speculated that habitat diversity hasinfluenced the density of Caspian Sea trout in various streams in the region by affecting theabundance of aquatic invertebrates, which are the main prey source. However, the results ofregression (R2= 0.02, p value = 0.72) and correlation (Spearman, r = 0.24) analyses showed nosignificant relationship between the density of fish and benthic invertebrates in the Lar National Parkstreams. Despite the enough abundance of prey in Lar streams, the fish were low in density. Thecause of this incongruence is probably related to the salmon fishing in Lar National Park in the past.Comparing fish densities in 2009 and 2017 showed that the trout density in 2017 was higherthan the trout density in 2009.Conclusion: Considering that in 2014, the Department of Environment stopped issuing fishinglicenses in this area, one of the reasons for the increase in fish density is probably a positiveeffect of the fishing prohibition on this species. Since Caspian Sea trout abundances in the LarNational Park streams are spatio-temporally variable, it is necessary to provide reasonablemanagement strategies and continuous monitoring to prevent them from global warming andconserve them in the streams of the Lar National Park. Furthermore, due to climate change andbeing at risk of other populations of Caspian Sea trout in different habitats in Iran, thispopulation should be protected as a support population.

Background and Aims: According to the increasing evidence, abnormal expression of microRNAs is associated with tumorigenesis, tumor spread, and relapse in leukemias, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The present study aimed to investigate the effect of miR-155 overexpression in K562 cells on cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction. Materials and Methods: The pLenti-III-pre miR-155-GFP vector was used to increase miR-155 expression in the K562 cell line through nucleofection compared to the pLenti-III-Backbone-GFP vector as a control group (Backbone). The flow cytometry method was employed to confirm the expression of the vector containing miR-155 in damaged cells. After transfection, the expression levels of miR-155, BAX, BCL2, CASP3, and TP53 were measured by the RT-qPCR method. The propidium iodide (PI) dye was used to study the cell cycle, and the stained cells were read by flow cytometry. The statistical significance was also defined as a P-value less than 0.05. Results: After confirming the increase in miR-155 expression when cells transfected with miR-155 were compared with cells transfected with Backbone, cell cycle arrest was observed in the miR-155 group. In the cells with increased expression of miR-155, the change in G0/S and G1/S ratios compared to Backbone was shown to be 7.5 and 4.5, respectively (P

Abstract Background Transfection is an important analytical method for studying gene expression in the cellular environment. There are some barriers to efficient DNA transfection in host cells, including circumventing the plasma membrane, escaping endosomal compartmentalization, autophagy, immune sensing pathways, and translocating the nuclear envelope. Therefore, it would be very useful to introduce an optimum transfection approach to achieve a high transfection efficiency in the Vero cell line. The aim of this study was to compare various transfection techniques and introduce a highly efficient method for gene delivery in Vero cells. Methods In the current study, three transfection methods were used, including chemical transfection, electroporation, and lentiviral vector transduction, to obtain the optimum transfection conditions in the Vero cell line. Vero cells were cultured and transfected with chemical transfection reagents, electroporation, or HIV-1-based lentivectors under different experimental conditions. Transfection efficiency was assessed using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy to detect GFP-positive cells. Results Among the tested methods, TurboFect™ chemical transfection exhibited the highest efficiency. Optimal transfection conditions were achieved using 1 µg DNA and 4 µL TurboFect™ in 6 × 104 Vero cells. Conclusion TurboFect™, a cationic polymer transfection reagent, demonstrated superior transfection efficiency in Vero cells compared with electroporation and lentivirus particles, and is the optimal choice for chemical transfection in the Vero cell line.

This study evaluates the impact of environmental flow regimes in the river habitats on the biodiversity index of macroinvertebrates. A multiple linear regression model was developed to simulate the biodiversity index of macroinvertebrates in which two combined indicators were considered as the inputs. A combined water quality index that can integrate the impacts of all key water quality parameters as well as a combined physical flow index were considered as the inputs of the biodiversity model. Based on the case study results, some hydrological indices of environmental flows such as 10% of mean annual flow would remarkably weaken the biodiversity of macroinvertebrates. By contrast, some environmental flow indices such as the physical habitat index can mitigate the impacts of changing flow regimes by minimizing the differences between the biodiversity index in the natural flow and environmental flow regimes. Furthermore, some hydrological indicators such as 60% of mean annual flow performed similarly to physical habitat methods. However, the results demonstrated that the degradation of water quality due to human activities has considerably weakened the biodiversity even in the natural flow regime, which means implementing an environmental flow regime without water quality improvement might worsen biodiversity. This study highlights that environmental flow studies should be incorporated within the biodiversity modeling of macroinvertebrates. HIGHLIGHTS A novel method for assessing the impact of environmental flows.; A focus on biodiversity of aquatics.; Integrating water quality and quantity.; Considering several environmental flow indices.; Highlighting the deficiencies of environmental flow methods.;

Abstract Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) is able to escape from naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity, which mandates updating the current COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we investigated and compared the neutralising antibody induction of the ancestral variant-based BIV1-CovIran vaccine, the Omicron variant-based BIV1-CovIran Plus vaccine, and the novel bivalent vaccine candidate, BBIV1-CovIran, against the Omicron and ancestral Wuhan variants on the rat model. After inactivating the viral particles, the viruses were purified and formulated. Bivalent vaccines were a composition of 2.5 µg (5 µg total) or 5 µg (10 µg total) doses of each ansectral-based and Omicron-based monovalent vaccine. Subsequently, the potency of the monovalent and bivalent vaccines was investigated using the virus neutralisation test (VNT). The group that received three doses of the Omicron-specific vaccine demonstrated neutralisation activity against the Omicron variant with a geometric mean titer of 337.8. However, three doses of the Wuhan variant-specific vaccine could neutralise the Omicron variant at a maximum of 1/32 serum dilution. The neutralisation activity of the Omicron-specific vaccine, when administered as the booster dose after two doses of the Wuhan variant-specific vaccine, was 100% against the Omicron variant and the Wuhan variant at 1/64 and 1/128 serum dilution, respectively. Three doses of 5 µg bivalent vaccine could effectively neutralise both variants at the minimum of 1/128 serum dilution. The 10 µg bivalent vaccine at three doses showed even higher neutralisation titers: the geometric mean of 388 (95% CI 242.2–621.7) against Omicron and 445.7 (95% CI 303.3–655.0) against Wuhan. It is shown that the candidate bivalent and Omicron-specific vaccines could elicit a potent immune response against both Wuhan-Hu-1 and Omicron BA.1 variants.

The introduction of non-native species causes a variety of negative ecological and economic-social impacts on aquatic ecosystems. One of the first studies conducted on these species was the study of their composition and abundance in recipient ecosystems. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution, composition, and abundance of non-native fishes in the lower Tigris basin in a fishing year from fall 2014 to summer 2015. To update and compare the information, the latest fishing situation in the fishing year 2022-2023 was also examined. In total, 31 species from 15 families, including eight non-native species were caught from the studied water bodies. According to the results, non-native species are widely spread to the most aquatic ecosystems of the studied area, among which tilapia, including the redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848) and the blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) were the most abundant species. The redbelly tilapia showed the most distribution in the studied area. According to the local fishermen, the amount of catch in many areas of inland waters of Khuzestan province has decreased compared to 2014-2015, and their statements indicate that they are not satisfied with the state of fishing.

Urbanization and climate change are two potent forces shaping the contemporary environment. Urban rivers, integral to city life, are profoundly affected by these dynamics. While restoration efforts have yielded promising results, a persistent challenge lies in the inadequate consideration of geomorphic processes and climate change impacts in restoration planning. This study addresses this critical gap by proposing a novel approach for designing stable urban river geometries in ungauged basins. Leveraging the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method in conjunction with General Circulation Model (GCM) data, our research focuses on determining design discharge and channel stability. Our principal finding, based on the incorporation of parameters related to precipitation, runoff, and effective discharge, indicates a projected 35% increase in the width of stable urban rivers in the future. These results underscore the urgency of integrating climate change considerations into urban river restoration initiatives. Neglecting this imperative aspect risks the failure of restoration projects, particularly in addressing geomorphic challenges intensified by climate change. This research offers a valuable framework for future restoration efforts, ultimately contributing to the resilience and sustainability of urban river ecosystems. HIGHLIGHTS The manuscript advocates for a resilience-centric approach to urban river management. It underscores the importance of recalibrating historical reference conditions to adapt to climate-induced alterations.; The findings have immediate and far-reaching implications for urban river restoration projects. By recognizing the profound imprint of climate change on river stability parameters, stakeholders can recalibrate their restoration strategies to align with evolving environmental conditions. This adaptability is pivotal for preserving and enhancing urban river ecosystems.; Determine the design discharge according to the effective and bankfull discharge in the future.; This paper proposed a method to use the initial abstraction ratio to determine the discharge with a return period in ungauged basins.;

Economic growth rate is one of the most important economic variables that are affected by various factors. According to empirical studies, many visible and invisible political, social, and economic factors have been effective on the growth rate in Iran; Factors that cannot all be included in an economic model. The conventional methods preclude us from commenting with certainty about the effectiveness of some of these factors on the growth rate. Based on this argument, in this research, the fuzzy approach has been used to investigate the effect of the economic sanctions imposed against Iran along with other variables affecting the economic growth rate in the period after the Islamic Revolution (1357-1400). The results show that severe economic sanctions with a high and strong fuzzy coefficient have had a significant negative effect on the growth rate in Iran. After severe sanctions, budget deficit, liquidity, exchange rate, and moderate sanctions have had the most negative effects on the economic growth rate in this period. The fuzzy coefficients obtained for the variables of oil revenues, labor force growth, physical capital, human capital, degree of openness of the economy, economic growth rate of the previous year, and net foreign direct investment in Iran, respectively, indicate the positive effect of these variables on the growth rate in this period of time. Also, the result of the re-estimation of the model, taking into account the first breaks of the variables of oil revenues and budget deficit in the economic growth rate, confirms the output of the first model. In this case, severe economic sanctions have had the most negative effect on Iran's economic growth rate.

The physical, chemical and biological characteristics of rivers are gradually changed from upstream to downstream of the river, and one of the obvious consequences of these changes is the creation of limited and specific reaches along the river for fish species. In the present survey, the Jajroud river was sampled and surveyed from the upstream tributaries to downstream using the Huet classification method. In this study, 783 specimens of fish belonging to 3 families, 8 genus and 10 species were caught. The cyprinidae with 54.4% and salmonidae with 4.3% were the highest and the lowest percentages of native species, respectively. The results showed three major zones from four zones of the Huet's classification including trout, barbel, and bream. In addition, four distinct local zones were recognized along the river based on the presence of fish species. The trout zone with a length of less than 10 km and is of important conservation and management measures. This research addresses the longitudinal reaches of the Jajroud river that helps to conduct future ecological research in this river and also could be an onset of using this method in other rivers in Iran to identify the longitudinal zones and the distribution pattern of fish fauna.

Background and Aim: This study, in order to maintain self-esteem and high rights of children and adolescents, while comparing the responsibility of police in dealing with juvenile delinquency in Iran and England, explains that the need for efficiency and productivity, changing organizational structure, creating a systematic education system, predicting mechanisms Behavior is an effective police communication and predicts the guarantee of effective performance by the police, and the UK is a good guide in this regard.Method: This article, using analytical-descriptive method and in terms of data collection, is a document that the collected material from books, laws and Internet resources have been collected and analyzed.Findings: The specialization and training of special police and legal requirements and determination of structured resources is an essential element in dealing with juvenile delinquency that does not have the necessary coherence in Iran.Conclusion: The prevailing pattern of juvenile police in the legal system of Iran and the United Kingdom has been identified and the Iranian police can implement social programs for perpetrators and parents of children and adolescents in addition to prevention, according to domestic laws such as the British police. Due to the early intervention, the special police on the one hand realizes the importance of the age of action of the child and adolescent, and on the other hand understands to the child or adolescent that at this age the responsibility for the illegal act has consequences.

Abstract Co-occurring biodiversity and global heating crises are systemic threats to life on Earth as we know it, especially in relatively rare freshwater ecosystems, such as in Iran. Future changes in the spatial distribution and richness of 131 riverine fish species were investigated at 1481 sites in Iran under optimistic and pessimistic climate heating scenarios for the 2050s and 2080s. We used maximum entropy modeling to predict species’ potential distributions by hydrologic unit (HU) occupancy under current and future climate conditions through the use of nine environmental predictor variables. The most important variable determining fish occupancy was HU location, followed by elevation, climate variables, and slope. Thirty-seven species were predicted to decrease their potential habitat occupancy in all future scenarios. The southern Caspian HU faces the highest future species reductions followed by the western Zagros and northwestern Iran. These results can be used by managers to plan conservational strategies to ease the dispersal of species, especially those that are at the greatest risk of extinction or invasion and that are in rivers fragmented by dams.

This study investigated the effects of herbal extracts on growth performance, organ development, immunity parameters and intestinal microbial population of broilers. A total of 840 (one day old, initial weight 45±2 g) broiler chicks were divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates having 28 chicks in each. The control group (G1) fed with basal diet, and the antibiotic group (G2) was added with 15 mg/kg virginiamycin, while herbal extracts were given coneflower 20 mL/L (G3), neem 20 mL/L (G4), and thyme 20 mL/L (G5), respectively, in drinking water. The results showed that G3 presented significant results (P

Diplozoidae are common monogenean ectoparasites of cyprinoid fish, with the genus Paradiplozoon being the most diversified. Despite recent studies on Diplozoidae from Europe, Africa and Asia, the diversity, distribution and phylogeny of this parasite group appears to be still underestimated in the Middle East. The objective of this study was to investigate the diversity, endemism and host specificity of diplozoids parasitizing cyprinoid fish from the Middle East, considering this region as an important historical interchange of fish fauna, and to elucidate the phylogenetic position of Middle Eastern Paradiplozoon species within Diplozoidae. Four Paradiplozoon species were collected from 48 out of 94 investigated cyprinoid species. Three known species, Paradiplozoon homoion, Paradiplozoon bliccae and Paradiplozoon bingolensis, were recorded on new cyprinoid host species, and a new species, Paradiplozoon koubkovae n. sp., was recorded on Luciobarbus capito and Capoeta capoeta from the Caspian Sea basin in Iran and Turkey. Paradiplozoon bliccae, exhibiting a wide host range in the Middle East, expressed both morphological and genetic intraspecific variabilities. The four Paradiplozoon species collected in the Middle East were placed in divergent clades, showing the rich evolutionary history of diplozoid parasites in the Middle East. Our study also revealed that two lineages of African diplozoids have a Middle Eastern origin. We stress the importance of applying an integrative approach combining morphological, ecological and molecular methods to reveal the real diversity of diplozoids.

In the urban environment, the quality refers to the capacity that provides and fulfills the material and spiritual needs of inhabitants. In order to improve the quality of urban life and standard of living for their citizens, planners and managers strive to raise Urban Environmental Quality. The objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of urban environment through the spatial analysis of a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method utilizing CRITIC. This research is conducted in district 4 and district 2 of the Tabriz Metropolis Municipality. In order to determine the quality of an urban environment, air pollution, vegetation coverage, land surface temperature, production of waste, population density, noise pollution, health care per capita, green spaces per capita, recreational spaces per capita, and distance from fault lines are used. After evaluating and producing environmental quality maps in two separate districts, 10 indicators were tested for significance and a comparative evaluation of two districts was conducted in order to determine which district was in better condition based on a statistical analysis of the T-test results. In accordance with the CRITIC method, there are significant differences between averages of waste production, population density, noise pollution, distance from fault lines, Land Surface Temperature, Normalized difference vegetation index, and distance from fault lines between the two districts. It appears that recreational space, air pollution, health care per capita, and green space per capita are not meaningfully different on averages. The preparation of environmental quality maps reveals the importance of meaningful indicators at the neighborhood level in two urban districts. In both districts by strengthening the continuity of the landscape through the development of ecological corridors and an increase in per capita can contribute to the improvement of the quality of the urban environment.

AbstractIn Lar National Park (Caspian Sea basin, Iran), the Caspian trout (Salmo caspius) population faces different threats, including introduced fish species. Due to the harsh environmental conditions and limited accessibility, monitoring of fish species via conventional approaches proves difficult. Hence, environmental DNA metabarcoding may prove an appropriate tool for monitoring fishes within the park. Environmental DNA samples from eight stream sites in the National Park were sequenced via metabarcoding of the 12S rRNA gene, and the species identified via eDNA metabarcoding were compared to the results of electrofishing performed at the same localities on the same day. No significant difference in the number of Caspian Sea trout DNA sequence reads was detected among the collection sites (p > 0.05). The highest number of reads was detected in Dalichay Stream, but the highest population density determined via electrofishing was in Siahpalas Stream. The discrepancy between the eDNA read count and trout population density, as well as the limited sampling scheme within this study, limit our ability to provide a robust conclusion about the application of environmental DNA metabarcoding for assessment of fish density in Lar National Park. Environmental DNA metabarcoding detected more species than electrofishing, but no significant differences in the composition of the local fish community were observed. Introduced fish species were all observed or detected in Siahpalas Stream, which is characterized by high water temperature, muddy substrate, and lower flow rate. A significant effect of flow rate and total dissolved solids on the presence of introduced fish species (p = 0.02) and of flow rate alone on relative abundance of introduced fish species (p = 0.03) was detected. To standardize the application of eDNA metabarcoding as a biodiversity assessment tool in Lar National Park, future studies should characterize the parameters that affect eDNA persistence and detectability in the system.

Introduction: Finding habitat requirements for fish in fluvial water ecosystems is a key factor in conservation and decision making for their management, which unfortunately does not have enough scientific information in this field. The purpose of this study is to identify the optimal range of habitat variables for Alburnus atropatenae in the Jajroud protected river and compare different composite approaches in the modeling of this species.Material and methods: In this study, the habitat of A. atropatenae sampled in the form of 71 points in the Jajroud river. Physical variables of habitat measured including depth, water velocity and substrate type. After sampling the fish by electrofishing, the total length of the fish measured. Habitat suitability curves developed by univariate method then combined habitat suitability calculated by multiplication, minimum, arithmetic mean and geometric mean methods. To validate the results, two statistical metrics of mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) used.Results and discussion: Overall, 235 individual of A. atropatenae caught including 221 adults and 14 juveniles whose total body length varied from 23 mm to 148 mm. Physical habitat variables included a depth of 6-56 cm, a flow velocity of 4-29 cm / s, and a riverbed with a particle size of "very fine gravel" to "small cobble". The preferred and optimal range habitat for this species included a depth of 16-25 cm, a flow velocity of 5-10 cm / s and a bed with small cobble structure. Among univariate models, the riverbed-based model had the lowest error. Among the models of combined habitat suitability, multiplication method had the lowest values ​​of MAE and RMSE measures, and was low-error model. The arithmetic mean method had the highest values ​​of these measures and had detected as the high-error model.Conclusion: This is the first study related to the ecology of A. atropatenae in Iran, which has identified the optimal habitat of this species. The variable of bed structure is determinative more than two variables of depth and flow velocity in habitat selection by this species. Also in combined habitat suitability modeling, the multiplication method has priority and importance.

Background and Objective: The presence of toxic compounds, including phenol, due to industrial development, poses a threat to the environment. Utilizing hairy roots has emerged as a potential method to remove these toxins. This review aims to explore the efficacy of hairy roots in absorbing phenol pollutants and the influencing parameters. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive-review method based on existing literature gathered from databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The focus of the study was on the purification of phenol using hairy roots. Keywords such as Phytoremediation, Hairy root, Phenol, and Transgenic roots were used for data collection. Results: Results show successful phenol removal by hairy roots, potentially attributed to abundant production of peroxidase enzymes. Various factors, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), incubation time, pH, plant species, and pollutant concentration, impact phenol removal efficiency. Notably, plants like Brassica napus, rich in peroxidase enzymes, exhibit high efficiency in removing phenol pollution up to 500 mg/L, with H2O2 and within a pH range of 4-9. Conclusion: In conclusion, hair roots possess significant adsorption capacity for phenol. However, phenol concentration, contact time, pH, and temperature influence their performance. Therefore, further research is required to explore optimal conditions for phenol removal.

Abstract Background Omicron (B.1.1.529) is the fifth variant of concern of SARS-CoV-2, which has several subvariants. Clinical features of BA.1 and BA.2 infections have been described in the literature, but we have limited information about the clinical profile of BA.5, which caused the seventh wave in Iran. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted on the BA.5 confirmed patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran, from 11th to 31st August 2022. The patients were divided into the two groups of outpatients and hospitalized patients, and their clinical, radiological, and laboratory data and outcomes were recorded and analyzed. Results We included 193 patients with confirmed BA.5 infection, of whom 48 patients (24·8%) were hospitalized. The mean age of the patients was 45·3 ± 16·5 years, and 113 patients (58·5%) were female. The mean number of days patients had symptoms was 6·8 ± 2·4 days. The most common symptoms were weakness (69·9%), sore throat (67·4%), myalgia (66·3%), hoarseness (63·7%), headache (55·4%), fatigue (54·9%), and dry cough (50·3%). Fever and dyspnea were significantly more observed in the hospitalized patients (p

With the increase of global environmental concerns, the importance of emerging pollutants is increasing daily. Endotoxin is one of the emerging pollutants whose presence in water sources causes serious risks to human health. This review article aims to investigate the amount of endotoxin in aquatic ecosystems and the potential dangers of endotoxin in these sources. In this study, the general characteristics of endotoxin have been investigated along with practical methods for removing this pollutant from water sources. At first, an overview of endotoxins and their importance in water pollution was given, and the importance of studying endotoxin contamination in water sources and the objectives of this study were determined. Then, the sources of endotoxin contamination in water, the effect of endotoxin on human health, its associated risks, and the relationship between endotoxin levels and its adverse consequences on human health were discussed. The following examined the methods used to measure and detect endotoxin in water samples and the advantages and limitations of each of these methods. Also, different strategies were proposed to control and reduce endotoxin contamination in water sources. Finally, existing regulations and guidelines for endotoxin levels in drinking water and other water sources are explained, and regulatory gaps and frameworks are discussed. The results of this study emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring and management of endotoxin contamination in water sources and the need to increase information about this emerging pollutant to provide practical strategies to maintain water quality and public health.

Introduction: The introduction of invasive fish species into aquatic ecosystems causes various adverse ecological and socio-economic impacts. The first step in analyzing the effects of these species is to identify the risk. Then, different tools have been developed to identify potential invasive species and evaluate the potential degree of their invasiveness to support decision-makers in analyzing the invasive risk of these species. This study aimed to assess the invasive potential of the non-native species redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, Gervais 1848) in the Shadegan Wetland basin (the Karun and Jarahi catchments) using some of these tools.Material and methods: The level of risk for C. zillii in the trinational risk assessment protocol was determined based on the results of the two components "Probability of Establishment" and "Consequences of Establishment". In the German-Austrian Blacklist Information System (GABLIS), the invasive potential of the species was evaluated according to the distribution in the study area. The non-native species were screened by the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) model according to the threshold of the assessment area; and the rank of species invasion was calculated based on the probability of species establishment, expansion, and environmental effects, using the Harmonia+ method. Also, the climate matching between the introduced and native range of the species was carried out with the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.Results and discussion: The results of trinational risk assessment indicated that the species posed a high potential rank of placing at each step of introduction, establishment, and expansion potential and the possibility of economic and environmental impacts in the study area. The results of the GABLIS protocol showed that the non-native species C. zillii has been widely distributed in the risk assessment area and was placed on the blacklist and the subset management list (b3). In the AS-ISK risk assessment, the risk score of the species was 44, which was higher than the tool threshold (22.5) for the study area. This score indicates that this species has a high invasive risk in the wetland. The overall risk score in the Harmonia+ method, which is a function of invasiveness and species impacts, was assessed as high for the redbelly tilapia. Based on the results, the risk of establishment and dispersal of this species in the study area is high, and its environmental impacts are significant. Also, there was a high climate match between the risk assessment area and the native range of the species in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Conclusions: The trinational risk assessment methods, GABLIS, AS-ISK, and Harmonia+ models were able to show the invasiveness of the non-native C. zillii in Shadegan Wetland basin as literature and field evidence demonstrate that the species has exerted strong and adverse impacts on native fishes and local people livelihood in the risk assessment area. Given the results of risk assessment methods and the risks posed by this species, it is highly recommended that large-scale control and management measures should be seriously implemented.

Introduction: Hypoxia context is highly specific for tumors and represents a unique niche which is not found elsewhere in the body. Clostridium novyi is an obligate anaerobic bacterium. It has a potential to treat tumors. The aim of this study was to produce the C. novyi nontoxic spores and to investigate its oncolytic effect on breast cancer in mice model. Methods: Primarily, the lethal toxin gene in C. novyi type B was removed. Colonies were isolated using PCR testing. To assure the removal of alpha-toxin, plasmid extraction and in vivo assay were conducted. Next, to treat breast cancer model in different sizes of tumors, a single dose of spores of C. novyi nontoxic was tested. Results: The results denoted that C. novyi nontoxic lost lethal toxin and a­­ppeared to be safe. For smaller than 1000 mm3 tumors, a single dose of C. novyi nontoxic was able to cure 100% of mice bearing breast tumors. Hence the mice remained free of tumor relapse. Tumors larger than 1000 mm3 were not cured by a single dose­ of C. novyi nontoxic treatment. Conclusion: The experiment concluded that the C. novyi nontoxic might be a suitable and safe candidate, a novel therapeutic approach to encounter such hypoxic regions in the center of tumors. Research also showed that bacteriolytic therapy by C. novyi nontoxic could lead to regression in small tumor.

To control coccidiosis, anticoccidials are generally used as feed additives. However, the frequent usage has given rise to the occurrence of resistant strains to available anticoccidial drugs. Botanicals may work as substitutes to anticoccidial drugs. Th e current research was designed to evaluate the efficacy of aqueous methanol extracts of Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) (roots) as anticoccidial in diff erent concentrations i.e. (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg of body weight). For in vivo trial, 105-day-old broiler birds were grouped into seven equal groups (A, B, C, D, E, F and G). At the age of one week, groups A, B and C were orally treated with three doses of the G. glabra extracts (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Group D was medicated with Vitamin E and Group E worked as the infected medicated control group. Group F served as the infected non-medicated control group (PBS treated, negative control) and Group G was designated as the normal control group (non-infected and nonmedicated group). At the age of the 14th day, all groups were infected orally with 60.000 sporulated oocysts of diff erent Eimeria species. Th ough, comparable with reference drug G. glabra showed comparable anticoccidial efficacy against following parameters. i.e., feed conversion ratio, lesion score, fecal score and oocyst score, serum profile and hematological values showed no adversative eff ects (P

According to the official statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women after breast, colorectal, and lung cancers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says all women have the chance to get the disease, and women over the age of 30 are more likely to get it. However, this cancer is a types of cancer that can be prevented through vaccination. This study aimed to investigate the role of vaccines in the prevention of cervical cancer. In this review study, articles published between 2016-2022 from PubMed, SID, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases were examined. Keywords Papilloma vaccine and cervical cancer in Persian sources and HPV vaccine and Cervical Cancer in English sources were used. The subject search was also performed using MeSH medical subject headings and through the Pubmed database. Vaccination against human papillomavirus is the most cost-effective public health measure against cervical cancer. In many developed and developing countries, serious programs are underway for HPV vaccination and screening for cervical cancer. In most countries, HPV vaccination has been added to their mandatory immunization programs, effectively reducing the incidence of cervical infections and cancers. In countries where vaccination is not complete, health education and screening programs such as PAP smears every 2 years for all women and every year for those with high cancer risk or abnormal smears, have been consolidated. HPV vaccination is highly effective and has been added to immunization programs in many countries. Nowadays, three types of vaccines have been presented, of which the 9-valent Gardasil vaccine is more effective than the other two types, but in terms of cost-effectiveness, the 4-valent Gardasil vaccine is more suggested. Due to the high prevalence of cervical cancer in Iran, it is suggested that the HPV vaccine be used, screening tests be optimized and performed on a regular basis, and ways to prevent cervical cancer be taught.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges of privatization of the banking industry and to identify the causes of its inefficiencies in the governance layer. To this end, in the theoretical framework of neo-institutionalist economics, Williamson's four-tier conceptual model became the basis of the analysis. Based on the selected model, the basic assumptions, ideas and goals of the government from the implementation of the privatization program, government policies to reform the institutional environment and government policies to achieve efficient governance structures on the way to market economy, and the results of these policies at the operational level. Both in terms of opinion and in terms of practice, based on content analysis, data related to the implementation of the privatization program were analyzed. The results showed that the roots of the inefficiency of the privatization program should be in the first priority in the fallacies in the basic assumptions and the expected goals of privatization in practice, in the second priority in the failure to fulfill the expected functions of the transfer of ownership in the privatization process. The basis of the expected functions of it, and in the third priority in the government's adherence to the style of economic governance with an acting approach instead of governing with a game-making and regulatory approach on the way from state economy to market economy. The results of these failures in the three layers of economic governance have led to the failure of the price mechanism in the market.

Abstract Background Novel strategies are required since the hypoxic tumor microenvironment is one of the important impediments for conventional cancer therapy. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein can block aerobic respiration in cancer cells. We hypothesized that HMGB1could also kill the colorectal cancer cells during hypoxia. Methods In this study, we developed oncolytic herpes simplex virus type 1 expressing HMGB1 protein (HSV-HMGB1) and investigated the cytotoxic effect of HSV-HMGB1 and its parental virus (HSV-ble) on three colorectal cancer cells (HCT116, SW480, and HT29) under normoxic (20% oxygen) and hypoxic (1% oxygen) conditions. We further identified potential autophagy- related genes in HT29 cells by retrieving mRNA expression microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. These genes were then detected in HT29 cells infected with HSV-HMGB1 and HSV-ble during normoxia and hypoxia by Real-Time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Results The cytotoxic effect of HSV-HMGB1 was significantly higher than that of HSV-ble during normoxia; however, during hypoxia, HSV-HMGB1 enhanced the viability of HT29 cells at MOI 0.1. Analyzing the cell death pathway revealed that HSV-HMGB1 induced autophagy in HT29 cells under hypoxic conditions. Conclusion In conclusion, it appears that oncolytic virotherapy is cell context-dependent. Therefore, understanding the cancer cells’ characteristics, microenvironment, and cell signaling are essential to improve the therapeutic strategies.

The present study proposes a novel framework to optimize the reservoir operation through linking mesohabitat hydraulic modeling and metaheuristic optimization to mitigate environmental impact downstream of the reservoir. Environmental impact function was developed by mesohabitat hydraulic simulation. Then, the developed function was utilized in the structure of the reservoir operation optimization. Different metaheuristic algorithms including practice swarm optimization, invasive weed optimization, differential evolution and biogeography-based algorithm were used to optimize reservoir operation. Root mean square error (RMSE) and reliability index were utilized to measure the performance of algorithms. Based on the results in the case study, the proposed method is robust for mitigating downstream environmental impacts and sustaining water supply by the reservoir. RMSE for mesohabitats is 8%, which indicates the robustness of proposed method to mitigate environmental impacts at downstream. It seems that providing environmental requirements might reduce the reliability of water supply considerably. Differential evolution algorithm is the best method to optimize reservoir operation in the case study. HIGHLIGHTS A novel method for reservoir operation optimization.; Linking river habitats field studies and two dimensional hydraulic modeling for developing environmental impact function.; The results showed the ability of the method to optimize water supply.; The proposed method mitigates environmental impacts at downstream properly;

Increased anthropogenic disturbances in river ecosystems has led to a reduction in the biodiversity of rivers. The purpose of this study was to develop a multimetric index based on benthic macroinvertebrate for water quality assessment of Jajrood River. Biological and physicochemical sampling from seven stations was performed in the upstream basin of the river, located in the northeast of Tehran. Therefore, for the development of the MMIJ (Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Jajrood upstream) index, as a complementary tool in analyzing the physicochemical parameters, the data and indices calculated in the first two years (2011 & 2012) were used and validated with the data of the third year (2013). So, 24 biological indices were selected. Range, stability, sensitivity, responsiveness (to the anthropogenic impact gradient), and redundancy were tested on indices. Finally, the five indices including FBI, MMIF, NJIS, Shannon-Wiener, and Margalef from four tests were performed for the development of the MMIJ multimetric index. Each index was given a values of 1, 3, and 5 about its score, and then this index was obtained with a sum of calculated scores. As a result, the calculated indices in the third year were valued according to the calibration of the five biological indices, and the water quality of the seven stations was determined. This study showed that MMIJ multimetric index had a high sensitivity to organic pollutants and was suitable for use in national monitoring and assessment programs in the Jajrood River basin.

Over time, the antigenic evolution of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 has demanded the development of potential protective vaccines. Administration of additional doses of current vaccines based on the WT spike protein may boost immunity, but their effectiveness has dwindled for patients with more recent variants. Here, we studied the neutralization activity of post-WT strain-based vaccination and a structural simulation in-silico based on the interactions of the RBD-hACE2 as the key to initiating infection among the VOCs of SARS-CoV-2. Our data display shows that WT sera showed a markedly greater reduction in Delta and Omicron, suggesting that the Wuhan-based vaccines may be more susceptible to breakthrough and new VOCs. According to the MD simulation, mutations of Omicron result in a significant change in the variant charge distribution throughout the binding interface that consequently alters the critical interface electrostatic potential in comparison to other variants. This observation provides new insights into immunization policy and next-generation vaccine development.

According to the importance of Locals impact on conservation, this research had tried to find the role of locals in the protection of natural resources and ecosystems, and also tried to clarify the external laws which are affecting on local's livelihood. This research had done in Ab-e Ask village which is located on the edge of the Lar National Park and along the Haraz River, which is one of the five protected rivers in Iran, and it used the public participatory methods. Using the “Problem Tree,” “Before and After Diagram,” “Social Resources Map,” and etc., helped us to find the answers of: 1. The main reasons of water pollution 2. The land ownership‘s effect on livelihood 3. Finding the traditional approaches of conservation. Finally, the results were about: 1. The sewage of Haraz Road Restaurants and also the pollution of fish ponds were the main water pollution reasons. 2. The effect of Land Ownership Law was clarified and 3. There were two Local Traditions that protect the natural resources, one was called “Barf-e-Chal” which was about saving the water sources for the summer, and the other was about protecting the plants of region until the end of pollination season that results in protecting the flora.

Avian influenza (AI) is a zoonotic viral endemic disease that affects poultry, swine, and mammals, including humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is caused by influenza type A virus subtypes H5, and H7 which are naturally carried by a wild bird and often affect domestic poultry. Avian influenza (AI) is a major problem worldwide that causes significant economic losses in the poultry sector. Since 2003, the widespread H5N1 HPAI in poultry has led to high mortalities resulting in huge economic losses in the poultry sector in Indonesia. Domestic poultry is a key source of income that contributes to economic growth, both directly and indirectly, by reducing poverty among the people living in rural communities. Furthermore, in many developing countries, including Indonesia, rural people meet a portion of their food needs through backyard poultry. Nevertheless, this sector is strongly affected by biosecurity hazards, particularly in Indonesia by HPAI infections. Avian influenza (AI), subtype H5N1 has zoonotic significance, posing major risks to public health and poultry. Due to close interaction between wild migratory birds and ducks, the domestic poultry sector in Indonesia is directly affected by this virus. This virus continues to be ubiquitous in Indonesia as a result of the unpredictable mutations produced by antigenic drift and shift, which can persist from a few days to several years. In this review, the epidemiology and impact, of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 subtype virus infection on backyard poultry in Indonesia were discussed.

This study aims to optimize the portfolio using the genetic operator and network centralization. The statistical population of the study is the top 50 companies of Tehran Stock Exchange, in the first quarter of 2021, and to calculate the size of centrality, we used the difference in the overall performance of each company compared to all the top companies, based on a standard hybridization indicator. Then based on the companies’ performance in the capital market, the geometric mean of risk and return of efficient companies are determined, and given the real limitations of the budget, the requirements and expectations of the investors compared to the market’s performance and the risk-free investment, the problem of decision-making for the composition of the investment in the form of a multi-purpose paradigm is formulated. By using the modified optimization algorithm and the genetic algorithm with dual operators, we optimized the investment’s composition. Finally, we use the compound linear regression with data analysis approach to evaluate the effect of individual and systemic operators on determining the investment strategy, and the results represented the positive effect of these two operators.

Objective: Financial crises can quickly affect the real sector of the economy and be detrimental to the economy. Therefore, dealing with these crises as well as preparing for them should be among the most important economic priorities. It is worth noting in such a situation, concepts such as financial fragility become important which is one of the most important factors affecting corruption.Methods: In this study, using the quantitative regression method, the effect of corruption on financial fragility in the period 2012-2021 has been studied. The statistical population of this research is includes companies active in the Tehran Stock Exchange market, among these companies, 86 companies were selected as the research sample. Results: The results of model estimation showed that high level of corruption (low level of corruption perception index) increases the financial fragility of companies and therefore confirms the inefficiency of corruption. Because corruption in various forms such as taking bribes to grant special privileges to a particular company, low-interest loans and financial and tax protections of some companies in the face of financial crises affect the financial fragility of companies. The size of companies also had a negative effect on financial fragility, but this effect was not statistically significant at the 5% level. The impact of tangible assets as well as fixed assets of companies on financial fragility is negative and significant. Because the increase in the level of fixed and tangible assets of companies indicates the high (increase) of total assets of the company and generally increases their ability to cope with financial crises as well as bankruptcy, thereby reducing the financial fragility of companies. The effect of financial leverage on the financial fragility of the company is positive and significant. Because the higher the financial leverage of the company and in other words, the higher the corporate debt compared to its assets, the higher the probability of financial crisis and the risk of bankruptcy in the companies under study in the face of economic cycles. Economic growth also has a negative impact on the financial fragility of the companies under study. Because the higher the economic growth rate, the higher the company's revenues due to this economic growth and the lower the probability of financial problems and shortages in the company, which in turn reduces the financial fragility of companies. Also, the effect of inflation on the financial fragility of the studied companies is positive and significant. Because rising inflation increases the total cost of companies, including the cost of purchasing raw materials and machinery, as well as other consumption and current costs, and thus increases the likelihood of financial crises and bankruptcy.Conclusion: High levels of corruption increase the financial fragility of companies. Because the high corruption perception index (low level of corruption) is associated with a higher level than the Z-Score index (low financial fragility) and as a result, the second view confirms the impact of corruption on the economy or the theory of corruption inefficiency. Therefore, in order to reduce financial fragility, the relevant institutions should pay serious attention to dealing with corruption.

Linking ecohydraulic modeling and reservoir operation optimization is a requirement for robust management of the environmental degradations at the downstream of the reservoirs. The present study proposes and evaluates an ecohydraulic-based expert system to optimize environmental flow at the downstream of the reservoirs. Three fuzzy inference systems including physical habitat assessment, water quality assessment and combined suitability assessment were developed based on the expert panel method. Moreover, water temperature and dissolved oxygen were simulated by the coupled particle swarm optimization (PSO)–adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. Three evolutionary algorithms including PSO, differential evolution algorithm (DE) and biogeography-based optimization were applied to optimize the environmental flow regime. A fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution was applied to select the best evolutionary algorithm to assess environmental flow. Based on the results in the case study, the proposed method provides a robust framework for simultaneous management of environmental flow and water supply. DE was selected as the best algorithm to optimize environmental flow. The optimization system was able to balance habitat losses, storage loss and water supply loss that might reduce negotiations between the stakeholders and environmental managers in the reservoir management. HIGHLIGHTS Environmental flow at downstream of dams is critical to protect river habitats.; The present study proposes an ecohydraulic expert system for the reservoir operation.; Optimal environmental flow and water supply are the outputs of the model.; The developed system can minimize physical and water quality habitat losses.; Differential evolution was the best optimization algorithm in the case study.;

This study aimed at investigating and comparing Marital Health among seminary & non-seminary female students in 2016 - 2017. In this descriptive comparative study, 533 female of seminary & non-seminary families (Including 233 seminary and 300 non-seminary) in Tehran with at least one child were selected through available sampling method and then assessed by Iranian Family Health Questionnaire (IFHQ) and Demographic Characteristic Questionnaires. The age range of the participants in the study was between 20 and 49 years for the seminary group with an average age of 36.3 years and for non-seminary individuals between 21 and 52 years with an average of 37.6 years. Data were analyzed using MANOVA and SPSS 19.The obtained results showed that there was a significant difference between seminary and non-seminary families (p < 0/001). The Marital Health were significantly greater in seminary compared to non-seminary families (P=0.001). Therefore, in dealing with families and marital relation, it is necessary to pay more attention to religious factors.

Present study was aimed to evaluate the anticoccidial activity of butyric acid by both in vitro and in vivo methods. In vitro trial was conducted by sporulation inhibition assay to examine the infl uence of butyric acid on sporulation and damage of coccidian oocysts. Administration of various concentrations of butyric acid induced sporulation inhibition and also damaged coccidian oocysts in dose dependent manner. For in vivo trials, 72 (day-old) broiler chicks were randomly divided into 6 groups i.e., A, B, C, D, E and F having equal chicks in each group (n=12). After one week of acclimatization, three doses of butyric acid 1.2%, 1% and 0.8% were given to group A, B and C, respectively while group D was named as positive control (infected medicated), group E was named as negative control (infected and non-medicated) and group F served as normal control (non-infected) group. On the same day, all treated groups were orally infected with 50.000 sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella. Results revealed that administration of butyric acid induced positive eff ect on chicken"s performance such as weight gain, FCR and anticoccidial parameters like lesion and oocysts score, oocyst per gram. Butyric acid also improved hematological values and serum chemistry of broiler chicken.

Abstract Background Freshwater fauna of the Middle East encompass elements shared with three continents—Africa, Asia, and Europe—and the Middle East is, therefore, considered a historical geographic crossroad between these three regions. Even though various dispersion scenarios have been proposed to explain the current distribution of cyprinids in the peri-Mediterranean, all of them congruently suggest an Asian origin for this group. Herein, we investigated the proposed scenarios using monogenean parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus, which is host-specific to cyprinoid fishes. Methods A total of 48 Dactylogyrus species parasitizing cyprinids belonging to seven genera were used for molecular phylogenetic reconstruction. Taxonomically important morphological features, i.e., sclerotized elements of the attachment organ, were further evaluated to resolve ambiguous relationships between individual phylogenetic lineages. For 37 species, sequences of partial genes coding 18S and 28S rRNA, and the ITS1 region were retrieved from GenBank. Ten Dactylogyrus species collected from Middle Eastern cyprinoids and D. falciformis were de novo sequenced for the aforementioned molecular markers. Results The phylogenetic reconstruction divided all investigated Dactylogyrus species into four phylogenetic clades. The first one encompassed species with the “varicorhini” type of haptoral ventral bar with a putative origin linked to the historical dispersion of cyprinids via the North African coastline. The second clade included the majority of the investigated species parasitizing various phylogenetically divergent cyprinid hosts. The morphological and molecular data suggest the ancestral diversification of the species of this clade into two groups: (1) the group possessing the haptoral ventral bar of the “cornu” type, and (2) the group possessing the “wunderi” type. Dactylogyrus diversification apparently occurred in the Middle East, which is indicated by the presence of species with all morphotypes in the region. The last two clades included species parasitizing cyprinids with an East Asian origin, and species possessing the “magnihamatus” type of ventral bar. Conclusions The molecular data suggest that some morphological characters of host-specific parasites may undergo convergent evolution in the divergent lineages, and therefore, to fully resolve the phylogenetic relationships among host-specific parasites, an integrative approach combining morphological and molecular data is still needed. In addition, our study indicates that parasite diversity in many regions is still under-explored, and thus we highlight the importance of studies of host-associated parasites, especially in the context of freshwater fish biogeography. Graphical Abstract

Globally, it is estimated that 43 million people are living with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), and there are more than 600,000 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related deaths in 2020. The only way to increase the life expectancy of these patients right now is to use combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for the lifetime. Due to the integration of the HIV-1 DNA in lymphocytes, the replication of the virus can only be reduced by using antiretroviral drugs. If the drug is stopped, the virus will replicate and reduce the number of lymphocytes. In recent years, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated endonuclease Cas9-mediated genome editing system has been considered, preventing HIV-1 replication by causing DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) or disrupting the integrated virus replication by targeting the provirus. In this study, we utilized the CRISPR/Cas9 without the nuclear localization signal sequence (w/o NLS) system to inhibit the VSV-G-pseudotyped HIV-1 replication by targeting the HIV-1 DNA as a prophylactic method. To this end, we designed a multiplex gRNA (guide RNA) cassette to target the pol, env, and nef/long terminal repeat (nef/LTR) regions of the HIV-1 genome and then cloned it in plasmid expressing no-NLS-Cas9 protein as an all-in-one CRISPR/Cas9 vector. Using HIV-1 pseudovirus transduction into HEK-293T cell lines, our results showed that the CRISPR/Cas9-no NLS system disrupts the pseudotyped HIV-1 DNA and significantly (P-value < 0.0001) decreases the p24 antigen shedding and viral RNA load in cell culture supernatants harvested 48h after virus transduction. Although these results revealed the potential of the CRISPR/Cas9-no NLS nuclease system as a prophylactic strategy against HIV-1 infections, due to inefficient impairments of HIV-1 DNA, further studies are required to enhance its effectiveness and application in clinical practice.

Landscape fragmentation and the elimination of urban green spaces are the results of human activities which put significant pressure on urban sustainability. The planning and developing of urban ecological networks and corridors as an effective approach is a response to rapid urbanization and fragmentation of natural areas. The Tabriz metropolitan as the fourth-largest city in Iran was selected as a case study that has grown rapidly over the past few decades. This study presents a practical approach and framework for assessing and enhancing ecological connectivity of landscape. The framework was developed based on the landscape metrics, graph theory, least-cost modeling, and geographic information system tools during three different periods (1984-2000-2020). The results using the values of landscape metrics such as CA, Edge Distance, Mean Patch Size, Mean Shape Index, large patch index, NP, Landscape shape index, and COHESION indicate that the urban landscape of Tabriz has been more fragmented over the past 3 decades and has lost its connectivity. To reduce the effects of fragmentation and enhance landscape connectivity in study area, we proposed a network of ecological corridors that passes through the core ecological patches. Our results also indicate that the core patches and the least-cost created corridors are mainly located in the suburbs of Tabriz and the central part of the city cannot be suitable for ecological development. Therefore, using the above-mentioned methods could be an effective approach to develop ecological networks and improve landscape connectivity that can encourage urban planners and managers to protect and develop green networks.

The present study links monitoring and simulation models to predict water quality distribution in lakes using an optimized neural network and remote sensing data processing. Two data driven models were developed. First, a monitoring model was established that is able to convert spectral images to TDS distribution. Moreover, a simulation model was developed to generate a TDS distribution map for unseen scenarios for which no spectral images are available. Outputs of the monitoring model were applied as the observations for training the simulation model. The Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (NSE) was utilized in the system performance measurement of the models. Based on the results in the case study, the monitoring model was sufficiently robust to convert the operational land imager spectral bands of Landsat 8 to the TDS distribution map. The NSE was more than 0.6 for the monitoring model, which confirms the predictive skills of the model. Furthermore, the simulation model was highly reliable in generating the TDS distribution map of the lakes. Three tests were carried out to demonstrate the reliability of the model. When comparing the results of the monitoring model and simulation model, an NSE of more than 0.6 was found for all the tests. It is recommendable to apply the proposed method instead of conventional hydrodynamic models that might be highly time consuming for simulating water quality parameters distribution in lakes. Low computational complexity is the main advantage of the proposed method.

Introduction: Lar National Park is the best habitat of Salmo caspius in Iran. In other habitats located in Iran, the species has been threatened by different factors including habitat destruction, pollution, sand removal from the river bed, dam construction, introduction of exotic species, over-fishing, and other human mediated changes. Dalicahy River, as one of the major habitats of S. caspius, is ecologically different from other rivers in the Lar National Park. In this study, we assessed genetic differences (applying next-generation sequencing) of S. caspius in Dalichay River and Lar Lake; considering an impassable barrier in the mouth of Dalichay River. Material and methods: in this study fin clips from fish electrofished in the river and fin clips collected via angling in the lake were used. DNA extraction was performed using salt extraction method with an additional treatment with RNAse to degrade RNA molecules. To compare fish from Dalichay River and the Lar Lake, next generation sequencing was used. Analyses including principal components analysis (PCA) and Admixture, plus calculation of genetic differentiation (Fst) were used to compare the studied populations. Results and discussion: According to the results of principal components analysis (PCA) fish from the Dalichay River and the Lake were separated clearly along the first PC (25.11% of variation). But they were overlapped along other PCs. The results of Admixture analysis showed that Dalichay and Lake fish were always represented with different admixture clusters with little contribution from one another. Additionally, the genetic differentiation between the Dalichay and the Lake was significant. The reason for this differentiation can be the existence of a physical barrier in the moth of Dalichay that blocks the path for migration from Dalichay to the Lake and vice versa. On the other hand, it is possible that the fish in Dalichay are resident and do not show any preference for migration to the Lake. The residency behavior forms in result of low density of fish and satisfaction of biological and habitat related needs of the fish and hence no need for migration. Conclusion: overall, the results of this study showed that the fish in Dalichay River and in the Lake differ in their genetic composition and were significantly differentiated from one another. In any case, high differentiation of the fish in the Dalichay River and their isolation in addition to inability of fish from the Lake and other rivers in the Lar National Park to Dalichay, necessitates revision and taking better management approaches.