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Objective Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal disease that affects immunocompromised patients. With the advent of SARS-CoV-2, this opportunistic disease has increased. Methods A case series of 47 patients with COVID-19 associated mucormycosis have been analyzed. Demographic information, signs, symptoms, laboratory investigations, imaging studies, and their association with ICU admission and 30-day mortality were assessed. Results Total number of 47 consecutive rhino-orbital cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM) cases were analyzed. Periorbital swelling was the most common sign among patients. Majority of cases had diabetes. All patients received liposomal Amphotericin B. Debridement was performed for all cases. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 increases the susceptibility to mucormycosis infection in various ways. Uncontrolled level of HbA1c in all patients, even non-diabetic individuals, indicates hyperglycemia over the past three months. Diabetes, orbital exenteration, ptosis, periorbital swelling, DKA, LOC, brain involvement, and mechanical ventilation all correlated with a higher rate of ICU admission and 30-day mortality. In addition, a higher white blood cell count is related to the higher probability of ICU admission. While considering all of the inflammatory laboratory data and HbA1c could help predict 30-day mortality.

Organic farming plays an important role in sustainable development. Advances in organic farming can be based on consumer preferences and, therefore, it is important to determine how consumers prefer organic products in moving towards sustainable agricultural development. Choice experiment (CE) is a stated-preference approach to evaluate consumer preferences. Some respondents may not take into account all attributes in the process of CE, thereby causing heterogeneity in collective respondent behavior. The present study uses the “Endogenous Attendance Attributes (EAA)” model which considers heterogeneity in consumer behavior towards selecting organic tea. The analysis was performed according to the preferences of several participants who were selected randomly among consumers of organic tea. The conditional logit and EAA models generated results, along with the calculated coefficients of the attributes of organic tea. Ultimately, these values appeared compatible with consumer preferences for organic tea. Consumers varied in their willingness to pay for organic tea, as revealed by the two models.

A new and efficient method of direct shoot proliferation was developed here in two muskmelon genotypes (Cucumis melo L.), including ‘Khatooni’ and ‘Sooski Sabz’ (100%) using 4-day-old cotyledonary explants in vitro. The regeneration of muskmelon was evaluated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented separately with 17 treatments as combinations of two auxins (1-Naphthaleneacetic acid [NAA] and Naphthoxyacetic acid [NOA]) and four cytokinins (Benzylaminopurine [BAP], Thidiazuron [TDZ], Kinetin [KIN], and N-(2-Chloro-4-pyridyl)-N′-phenylurea [CPPU]). The treatments were experimented on 4- and 8-day-old cotyledon explants. A significant degree of organogenesis occurred in 4-day-old cotyledons (P

Background. The aim of this study was to examine the breakfast habits, nutritional status and their relationship with academic performance in primary school students in Tehran, Iran.Method. In this cross-sectional study 829 primary school children were included. Child Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated based on the objective measures of height and weight as well as adjusted for age and gender. Data on Breakfast habits and academic performance were collected by a valid checklist. For data analysis we used Chi-squared and Fisher's exact test using SPSS software, version 11.5; statistical significance was assumed if p-value is below the 0.05Results. The average breakfast consumption per week was 5.5 times (days) with a standard deviation of 2.9. Based on the results, 30.9 % of participants did not consume full breakfast (six times or less) and 69.1 % had a complete one. In terms of academic grade level, 88.4 % of the participants were in a high level, 10.3 % in appropriate conditions and only 1.3 % of the respondents required more effort (inappropriate).There was no significant correlation between breakfast consumption and academic status (p=0.73), nutritional status of the participants according to the academic performance status Individuals showed no statistically significant relationship (P=0.9).Conclusion. Unlike previous studies, this study revealed no correlation between the academic grade level of elementary students with nutritional status and breakfast habits. It is suggested that according to the qualitative school scoring method, future studies are needed to assessing the students' academic performance. Other parameters will be considered in addition to the average in order to provide a better perspective of students' academic performance.

Wax accumulation on the sorghum surface plays an important role in drought tolerance by preventing non-stomatal water loss. Thereby, the effect of post-flowering drought stress (PFDS) on the epicuticular wax (EW) amount, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll, and grain yield in sorghum drought contrasting genotypes were investigated. The experiment was conducted as a split-plot based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two water treatments (normal watering and water holding after 50% flowering stage), and three genotypes (Kimia and KGS23 as drought-tolerant and Sepideh as drought-susceptible). Scanning electron microscopy and GC-MS analyses were used to determine the wax crystals density and its compositions, respectively. In addition, based on literature reviews and publicly available datasets, six wax biosynthesis drought stress-responsive genes were chosen for expression analysis. The results showed that the amounts of EW and wax crystals density were increased in Kimia and Sepideh genotypes and no changed in KGS23 genotype under drought stress. Chemical compositions of wax were classified into six major groups including alkanes, fatty acids, aldehydes, esters, alcohols, and cyclic compounds. Alkanes increment in drought-tolerant genotypes led to make an effective barrier against the drought stress to control water losses. In addition, the drought-tolerant genotypes had higher levels of RWC compared to the drought-susceptible ones, resulted in higher yield produced under drought condition. According to the results, SbWINL1, FATB, and CER1 genes play important roles in drought-induced wax biosynthesis. The results of the present study revealed a comprehensive view of the wax and its compositions and some involved genes in sorghum under drought stress.

Desert wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum L.), tall wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum L.), and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L.) are native cool-season grass species that exhibit potential as a low-input turfgrass. An increased understanding of the biochemical and physiological responses of wheatgrass species and genotypes to salt stress conditions is important for developing genotypes with enhanced tolerance to salinity. The objective of this study was to characterize the physiological and antioxidative properties in 20 Iranian wheatgrass genotypes and to observe their responses to salinity stress during seed germination and seedling growth stage. A completely randomized factorial design was used with two types of factors, four levels of salinity (0, 50, 100, and 150 mm of NaCl), wheatgrass genotypes, and three replicates. In this experiment, the results demonstrated that salinity limits the germination of Iranian wheatgrass genotype seeds. The result of this study showed that among the wheatgrass genotypes, ‘AD1’, ‘AD3,’ ‘AC6’, and ‘FA’ took the shortest average time to germinate. Higher levels of final germination percentage (FGP) were observed in ‘AD2’, ‘AD3’, and ‘AE5’ under salinity stress than other genotypes throughout the experiment. During a prolonged period of study, ‘AD1’ had greater rate of germination (GR) than other genotypes. Out of the 21 genotypes, five genotypes (‘AD1’, ‘AD2’, ‘AD3’, ‘AE5’, and ‘FA’ genotypes) were in the range of “salinity tolerant genotypes” cluster. The ‘AD1’, ‘AD2’, ‘AD3’, ‘AE5’, and ‘FA’ genotypes generally performed better than other genotypes under salinity conditions, mainly through maintaining higher enzymatic activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) (EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT) (EC 1.11.1.6), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) (EC 1.11.1.11) and peroxidase (POD) (EC 1.111.1.7), and nonenzymatic antioxidant activities by glutathione (GSH). The ‘AD1’, ‘AD2’, ‘AD3’, ‘AE5’, and ‘FA’ genotypes also had higher proline levels and more of total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) content, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and lower hydrogen peroxide content (H2O2).

Syrian bean caper (Zygophyllum fabago L.), a member of the Zygophyllaceae family, is a herbaceous plant found widely in the Mediterranean area. To date, few cytological studies have been performed on this plant. Little is known, in the genus Zygophyllum L., about the nature of genetic variability in the species. For the first time a cytogenetic study was undertaken for 15 natural populations of Z. fabago distributed in Iran. Chromosomal characterizations were performed by mitosis analysis. The aceto-iron-hematoxylin staining method was used to stain chromosomes. All populations examined were diploids (2n = 2x = 22). The mean value of chromosomes’ total length was varied from 11.758 to 17.831 μm in Z15 and Z7, respectively. The result of analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the populations based on all karyotypic characteristics except CVCI and AR (p

The effects of gamma irradiation (GR) on total phenol, anthocyanin and antioxidant activity were investigated in three different Persian pistachio nuts at doses of 0, 1, 2 and 4 kGy. The antioxidant activity, as determined by FRAP and DPPH methods, revealed a significant increase in the 1–2 kGy dose range. Total phenol content (TPC) revealed a similar pattern or increase in this range. However, when radiation was increased to 4 kGy, TPC in all genotypes decreased. A radiation dose of 1 kGy had no significant effect on anthocyanin content of Kale-Ghouchi (K) and Akbari (A) genotypes, while it significantly increased the anthocyanin content in the Ghazvini (G) genotype. In addition, increasing the radiation to 4 kGy significantly increased the anthocyanin content of K and G genotypes. To conclude, irradiation could increase the phenolic content, anthocyanin and antioxidant activity of pistachio nuts.

Chemical composition and essential oil yields from aerial parts of 31 Iranian Achillea millefolium accessions, each collected from their natural habitats of Iran and grown together in field conditions, were investigated. The concentrations of the hydro-distilled essential oils ranged from 0.03% to 0.39%. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis revealed 50 compounds in the accessions. The main components of the essential oils in Iranian A. millefolium accessions varied in the following ranges: 1,8-Cineole, 1.2–19.8%; β-thujone, 0.4–55.3%; camphor, 0.6–25.5%; germacrene-D, 2–20.6%; trans-nerolidol, 0.4–48.1%; isospathulenol, 0.5–36%; and cubenol, 0.1–42.9%. According to cluster analysis, five chemotypes were obtained as 1,8-Cineole/trans-nerolidol, high cubenol, high germacrene-D/isospathulenol, high camphor/cubenol, and high 1,8-Cineole/ β-thujone/cubenol. The result of principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that germacrene-D and isospathulenol components were under more genetic control than the other main components. Results revealed a high level of variation of composition and yield of essential oils among the Iranian A. millefolium accessions.

Salinity substantially affects plant growth and crop productivity worldwide. Plants adopt several biochemical mechanisms including regulation of antioxidant biosynthesis to protect themselves against the toxic effects induced by the stress. One-year-old Pistachio rootstock exhibiting different degrees of salinity tolerance were subjected to sodium chloride induced salt stress to identify genetic diversity among cultivated pistachio rootstock for their antioxidant responses, and to determine the correlation of these enzymes to salinity stress. Leaves and roots were harvested following NaCl-induced stress. Results show that a higher concentration of NaCl treatment induced oxidative stress in the leaf tissue and to a lesser extent in the roots. Both tissues showed an increase in ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, peroxidase and malondialdehyde. Responses of antioxidant enzymes were cultivar dependent, as well as temporal and dependent on the salinity level. Linear and quadratic regression model analysis revealed significant correlation of enzyme activities to salinity treatment in both tissues. The variation in salinity tolerance reflected their capabilities in orchestrating antioxidant enzymes at the roots and harmonized across the cell membranes of the leaves. The study provides a better understanding of root and leaf coordination in regulating the antioxidant enzymes to NaCl induced oxidative stress.

Embryo rescue is among the most important techniques used in seedless grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) breeding and is applied to the female parent. A variety of factors that affect embryo development and germination, as well as plantlet production, in the seedless grapevine cultivar ‘Flame Seedless’ were investigated. The results showed that using Nitsch and Nitsch (NN) medium rather than Emershad and Ramming (ER) medium for double-phase rather than solid phase media produced better developed embryos (DE; 47.49% compared to 24.85%, and 40.69% compared to 31.66%, respectively) and germinated embryos (GE; 28.46% compared to 19.16%, and 29.71% compared to 17.91%, respectively). Preceding embryo rescue, pre-treatment of grapevine clusters with 0.34 mM putrescine (Put) or 0.82 mM cycocel (CCC) increased the percentages of DE and GE. The results indicated that 1.0 mM spermine (Spm), 0.5 mM spermidine (Spd), or 1.0 mM Put in NN culture medium increased the percentages of DE and GE. Using Woody Plant Medium...

To investigate interrelationship of some morpho-physiological traits and oil yield of Dracocephalum moldavica L. an experiment was conducted in the form of split factorial based on randomized complete block design with four replications in a greenhouse and field conditions. Results indicated a significant and high correlation of flowering shoots yield and oil percentage with oil yield under given conditions. The most direct effect in these conditions was related flowering shoots yield and oil percentage which was also evident in stepwise regression. Traits including plant height, number of sub-branches, proline and soluble carbohydrates also directly or indirectly affected on flowering shoots yield and oil percentage. In factor analysis, two factors of morphological traits and yield in greenhouse conditions and three factors of morphological, yield, and oil yield in farm conditions confirmed 92.85 and 93.06 % of total variance, respectively. Generally, reinforcing the first factor which justified ...

The aim of this work was to evaluate the phytochemical components, minerals, the antioxidant activity and total phenol contents of the essential oil from aerial parts of six major medicinal plants in Rayen, Iran. The plants included Ranunculus arvensis, Teucrium polium, Dracocephalum polychaetum, Kelussia odoratissima, Artemisia sieberi and Thymus kotschyanus. Total phenol content ranged from 0.03 to 0.158 mg/mL. A. sieberi showed the highest radical scavenging ability (IC50 = 94 μg/mL). The amount of minerals ranged as follows: P (0.23–29%), K (1.08–4.76%), Ca (0.78–2.35%), Mg (0.24–0.94%), Cu (8.3–15 mg/kg), Cd (0.7–1.1 mg/kg), Pb (2–11.7 mg/kg) and Fe (250–1280 mg/kg). A total of 79 compounds were identified across all plants. The main components studied in the plants were l-perillaldehyde, biosol, carvacrol, 1,8-cineol, terpinyl acetate and 1,2,3,6,7,7 a-hexahydro-5 h-inden 5-one.

Pistachio nuts are rich sources of nutrients which are essential for human wellbeing. In the present study we investigate the variation of oil, protein, total phenol, mineral contents, and antioxidant activity of twenty rare Persian pistachio nuts and exocarp layer. Among the 20 pistachio genotypes, in seeds Mn concentration was varied from 5.73 to 17.33 mg/kg; Fe ranged from 17 to 62.4 mg/kg; Zn varied from 6.76 to 30.3 mg/kg; Na ranged from 0.06 to 0.126%; K varied from 0.68 to 1.35%; P varied from 0.42 to 0.73%; N ranged from 2.6 to 4.29%; Mg varied from 0.11 to 0.17%, Ca varied from 0.23 to 0.47%, oil ranged from 47.94 to 57.29% and protein ranged from 16.26 to 25.5%. The G3 genotype had the highest total phenol content (35.64 mg GAEs/g) and antioxidant activity (90.55%) in exocarp layer and oil content in seeds (57.29%). The highest phosphorus (0.73%) in exocarp layer and phenol (4.2 mg GAEs/g) contents in seeds were observed in G19. According to the correlation analysis, there were a correlation between total phenol (in exocarp layer) and oil contents gain with some values; these two values had a significant correlation with PC1. Cluster analysis separated the genotypes into three groups considering all measured Values.

The compositions of essential oils of 22 accessions belonging to nine Salvia species of Salvia nemorosa, Salvia sclarea, Salvia macrosiphon, Salvia verticillata, Salvia eremophilsamia, Salvia aethiopis, Salvia virgata, Salvia reuterana and Salvia limbata, from Iran were assessed. The concentration of essential oil yield obtained by hydrodistillation ranged from 0.07 to 0.71%. GC–MS analysis revealed 73 compounds in these plants. The main constituents were linalool (0.6–51.58%), linalool acetate (0–52.61%), e-caryophylene (3.08–60.58%), germacrene-d (0–25.16%) spathulenol (0–35.4%) and caryophyllen-oxide (0–37.89%). The accessions were separated into five chemotypes using cluster analysis in light of the six major compositions. Results showed a significant variation in compositions and yield of essential oils among and within Salvia species. The chemical variability could be attributed to genetic and environmental factors. The analyses indicated that some of accessions collected from south had more amounts of essential oils yield than other regions.

Karyotypic study of eight populations belonging to two Zygophyllum species indicated chromosome numbers of Zygophyllum eurypterum (six populations) and Zygophyllum eichwaldii (two populations) were diploid (2n = 2x = 22) and tetraploid (2n = 4x = 44), respectively. The chromosome number of these species is reported for the first time. There were significant variations among populations in most chromosomes and karyotype characteristics. Cluster analysis based on chromosomal characteristics separated populations into two major groups. The first group included two populations of Z. eichwaldii (diploid populations), while the second group included six populations of Z. eurypterum (tetraploid populations). The chromosomes were mostly metacentric (m) and sub-metacentric (sm) in all populations. The Stebbins classification system grouped all populations in class B, considered a primitive class in this system. These results may provide useful information for Zygophyllum evolutionary and breeding studies.

Oleo gum resin is extracted from the Ferula assa-foetida L. and is important for pharmacological and industrial applications. In the present study, the essential oil components of fourteen Iranian and Afghan F. assa-foetida accessions were analyzed. A total of 20 g of the oleo gum resins were hydro-distilled in a Clevenger type apparatus for 3 h in three replications. The amounts of essential oil yield ranged from 2.53 to 20.85%, indicating a high level of variation in this feature among the accessions. The results of GC–MS analysis discovered 42 compounds in the accessions. Six of these compounds were found most abundantly in the samples. These were (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (13.66–49.35%), β-pinene (1.06–21.18%), (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (2.02–15.29%), α-pinene (2.04–17.61%), thiophene (0.03–36.81%), and thiourea (0.08–9.63%). Based on cluster analysis, four chemotypes were introduced among the F. assa-foetida accessions. The results indicated that as the altitude increased, the amount of β-pinene increased too, whereas the amounts of (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide and thiourea decreased. In addition, the t-test and the correlation analysis revealed that altitude was the most effective environmental factor which explained the high levels of variation in the essential oil yield and components.

Ethnopharmacological relevance The aim of this study was to collect and document information concerning the medicinal plants used by indigenous people and traditional healers in the south of Kerman Province, Iran. Materials and methods Overall, 64 informants between the ages of 30 and 89 were interviewed about the modes of application and consumption of medicinal plants in the region. Quantitative analysis was conducted that included informant consensus factor (ICF), use value (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural importance index (CI). Results and discussion In the current study, a total of 115 medicinal plants in 41 families were reported in the south of the Kerman region. Apiaceae, Asteraceae and Lamiaceae (with 14 species each) were the families with the most medicinal plants. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves at 26.17% and aerial parts (23.49%). Decoction (53%), liniment (23%) and infusion (9%) were the most common preparation methods. The highest UVs were obtained from the following medicinal plants: Amygdalus eburnea Spach, Genista tinctoria L., Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand., Fortuynia garcinii (Burm.f.) Shuttlew. and Cerasus mahaleb (L.) Mill. The ICF results indicated that cold-flu and fever were the most common diseases (0.67) in the south of Kerman. Conclusion Based on the current study, the south of Kerman has many potential medicinal plants, and these plants should be the focus of future research.

Thirty-seven accessions of Achillea millefolium collected from provinces in Iran, were analyzed using inter-simple -sequence -repeat (ISSR) markers to evaluate their variability. A total of seven ISSR primers generated 72 amplified fragments, most of which were polymorphic. The Jaccard similarity indices, as based on the ISSR profiles, were subjected to a complete linkage analysis, and the dendrogram revealed six groups. The results of the clustering showed that A . millefolium subspecies elbursensis (endemic to Northern Iran) is separated from other genotypes in the dendrogram. The Principle Component Analysis (PCA) confirmed the results of the clustering. To study the morphological and phonological traits of these plants, we cultivated them in a randomized complete block design with three replications, and these traits were measured during the early stage of flowering. The analysis of variance showed that all of the measured traits have variation among these plants. The objective of the present study was the identification of the genetic diversity among A . millefolium genotypes using ISSR markers and selected morphological and phonological traits.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and quality of life in primary school students in Tehran. Method: In this cross-sectional study 829 primary school children and their parents participated. Healthrelated quality of life (HROOL) was evaluated with the Persian version of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™4.0) questionnaire. According to objective measures of height and weight, children BMI computed, and adapted for age and gender. For data analysis we used Pearson correlation test, Independentsample t-test and ANOVA using SPSS version 18. Results: Mean of children self-reported HRQOL total score was 82.05 ± 12.04 and mean of parent proxyreported HRQOL total score was 81.66 ± 12.81. Based on HRQOL subscale scores, social functioning was the highest subscale score of HRQOL (84.67 ± 15.07) and the emotional subscale score was the lowest (77.79 ± 17.26). Lower HRQOL scores were significantly correlated with Higher BMI and normal weight children had significantly higher HRQOL total score than obese children (P < 0.05). The difference between normal weight and overweight children in HRQOL total scores were not significant. Same results were obtained from parent proxy-reports and a good harmony between children self-report and parent proxy-report of HRQOL was perceived. Conclusion: This study showed that HRQOL of obese children were at the lower level in comparison to normal weight and overweight children. At further interventional studies these outcomes can be very important for improving quality of life in obese children.

Cultivation and preservation of yarrow has recently attracted wide attention due to its beneficial properties; however, genetic variation of Achillea species is still relatively unknown. We used RAPD and ISSR markers to assess genetic diversity in 16 accessions of yarrow belonging to two species native to Iran. Seven ISSR and nine RAPD primers generated 187 amplified fragments, of which 159 were polymorphic. The similarity coefficient among Achillea tenuifolia accessions ranged from 61 to 86%, and from 40 to 84% among A. santolina accessions. A low similarity was observed between these two species (mean similarity = 0.36%). This low similarity is consistent with their geographical distribution. According to the results of cluster and PCA analyses, the two species completely separated from each other. These markers will aid in the identification of elite genotypes for domestication and breeding programs.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is an important medicinal plant with used for various purposes in different industries. In this study 25 different ecotypes of fennel from all over Iran were collected and their genetic diversity studied by seven ISSR primers. Seven ISSR primers generated 52 amplified fragments, of which 49 were polymorphic. The highest similarity coefficient among the ecotypes was between Chahestan and Haji abad whereas the minimum similarity coefficient observed between Fozveh and Moqan. In most cases, classifications were consistent with their geographical distribution for some ecotypes (like Givi and Khalkhal in close distance) and although with similarity in climate (like Damavand and Alamot with same climate). This study revealed that ISSR marker could properly separate these ecotypes based on geographical distribution and similarity in climates and showed the wide genetic diversity among Iranian fennels. In term of conservation program, it is highly recommended at least one conservation program for several accessions with near genetical distance should be conducted.