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Tripleurospermum transcaucasicum (Manden.) Pobed (Asteraceae, Anthemideae) is newly recorded from East Azarbayejan Provice, NW Iran. It is morphologically similar to T. caucasicum (Willd.) Hayek and T. monticolum (Boiss. & A.Huet) Bornm. The morphological and anatomical diagnostic characters of new record are compared with closely related species. The geographical distribution of new records and related species in Iran are presented.

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Two species of mosses, namely, Grimmia dissimulata and Schistidium pruinosum, belonging to the family Grimmiaceae collected from Khorassan Razavi province (NE Iran) are found new for the Iranian bryoflora. Based on the recent literature, 16 species of Grimmia and 13 species of Schistidium have been reported from Iran so far. Diagnostic characters, geographical distribution and illustrations are provided herewith.

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Salvia leriifolia Benth. from Lamiaceae family is a plant native to Iran and Afghanistan with significant applications in medical, pharmaceutical and food industries. The aim of current investigation was to evaluate the composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils (EOs) of S. leriifolia growing naturally in Neyshabur and Bajestan (Northeast of Iran). The aerial parts of the plant were subjected to hydro-distillation and the EOs were analyzed with GC/MS. According to the results, 1,8-cineole (20.24%, 26.39 %), α-pinene (15.14%, 14.39 %) and β-pinene (24.33%, 26.01%) were the main constituents of the EOs of the plant populations in Bajestan and Neyshabur, respectively. Antioxidant activity of the EOs was measured by three different methods, 2,2´-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) and β-carotene bleaching (BCB). The total EO and three standards (α-pinene, β -pinene and 1,8-cineole) displayed a significant antioxidant effect in all assays. Antioxidant activities obtained by means of TBARS and BCB methods were higher than those measured by the DPPH assay. Moreover, BCB was proved to be the most appropriate method for measurement of antioxidant activity. The EOs of the plants grown in Neyshabur showed stronger antioxidant effects in comparison with those grown in Bajestan.

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In a revision of annual Silene species some interesting specimens were observed, which belonged to the sp-ecies that had not been previously reported in detail from Iran. In this paper S. nocturna from the section Scorpioideae was added to the checklist of the third important genus of the flora of Iran, i.e. Silene, and new localities for S. gallica from the section Lasiocalycinae were reported. The description, geographical distribution in Iran and photos of each sp-ecies were also presented

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The peduncle anatomy in 35 populations, which belonged to 18 taxa of Scrophularia L., were studied. Am-ong 37 quantitative and qualitative characters related to peduncle anatomy, several traits showed more taxonomic value for taxa delimitation, including presence of palisade parenchyma and the number of its layers, the presence of phloem fiber, the presence of bundle sheath, the presence of lamellar collenchyma at ridge location and the number of its layers, the dimensions of cross section, thickness of vascular bundle, the dimensions of pith parenchyma, thickness of xylem, thickness of parenchymatous part and thickness of lamellar collenchyma at ridge location. Finally, in comparison with the results obtained by Grau (1981), in which 12 groups have been introduced, the current study confirms the validity of 3 groups. However, for the remaining groups, no noticeable concordance was found.

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Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug inhibiting cell growth. In some studies, patients with normal liver function have experienced increase in bilirubin, ALT and AST by using paclitaxel. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ef-fect of intra-peritoneal injection of doses 5 and 10 mg/kg nZnO on the liver of rats treated with paclitaxel. 35 adult fe-male Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups including control, sham (saline injection), experimental groups1 and 2 (nZnO injection), experimental group 3 (paclitaxel injection), experimental groups 4 and 5 (nZnO and paclitaxel inje-ction). Liver function was examined 28 days after the end of injection. Experimental group3 had large and swollen liver morphology. Most hepatocytes had dense nuclei and changed cell shape indicating of cell death. Blood test showed si-gnificant increase in the levels of ALT, AST and bilirubin and decrease in the level of ALP in comparison with the co-ntrol group. In experimental groups 4 and 5, cell shape alterations, increase in cell death and increase in liver markers were remarkably reduced in comparison with the experimental group 3, in a way that there were no significant differ-ences with the control group. No significant differences were observed between the control group and experimental gr-oups 1 and 2. According to the findings, nZnO can reduce the side effects of paclitaxel on liver tissue.

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Lipase is one of the most important hydrolytic enzymes widely used in various commercial activities such as food, dairy, pharmaceutical and detergent inducteries. In this experiment, Taguchi method was attempted as a powerful method to optimize the factors affecting enzyme production and to investigate the interactions among these factors and their optimum combination in Salinivibrio sp. SA2. The optimum conditions for pH, temperature, shaker's rpm, olive oil concentration and salt type turned out to be 8, 35 °C, 100 rpm, 2% and sodium chloride 1 M, respectively. Significant factors influencing on the lipase production proved to be pH, agitation and Salt type. The maximum lipase activity in optimum condition and at the 5% significance level (p< 0.05) was 120.4 U/mg.

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In the research project performed, the effects of different levels of hydro-alcoholic extract Vitex agnus-castus were investigated as nutritional supplement on growth parameters of Danio rerio for 4 months. Since the beginning of the feeding phase up to the age of 4 months (average weight: 2.1±0.1g, length: 5.2±0.3 cm), larvae were fed with expe-rimental diets. Fish treated with diets containing plant extracts had higher growth and survival rate than the control gr-oup (p<0.05). Differences in the level of the extract had no significant effect on the survival rate (p<0.05). The results revealed that the diet containing 15 gr of the extract resulted in the best FCR significantly (p<0.05). By increasing the extract in the diet during the experiment, SGR increased. The highest and the lowest %BWG were observed in treatm-ents T3 and T0 respectively (p<0.05). The highest CF was observed in T3 and the lowest was obtained in T0. All in all, this study proposed that the addition of 15 gr of hydro-alcoholic extract of Vitex agnus-castus in the diet of zebrafish could improve the performance of the growth indices and increase the final biomass. In addition, this extract could be considered as a suitable supplement for Cyprinidae diet.

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The effects of some pretreatments including blue-green and green algae and minerals on the induction of me-tabolic and biochemical process of germination were studied in Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. seeds. The seeds were pretreated with green algae Spirulina platensis, Chlorella vulgaris and Dunaliella bardawil or D. IR-1 (Isolated from Gave-Khooni-salt marsh) and modified Johnson nutrient medium. Dunaliella species belong to salt marshs and waters, hence their medium was prepared by means of 0.6 % NaCl. Spirulina's nutrient medium (NM) included 0.1% NaCl. The activities of α-amylase, ß-amylase, dehydrogenase, content of total sugar, reducing sugars and total protein (all we-re measured after priming) increased in comarsion with control. Treatment without NaCl and the treatment with 0.1 % NaCl caused the highest amount of the parameters mentioned. In the presence of salt (often at 0.6 % NaCl), algae could not improve and increase the parameters. In contrast, in the absence of salt, the positive effects of algae increased. Ge-rmination indices and length of shoots and roots which were measured after sowing the seeds into Petri-dishes, showed some positive effects regarding the pretreatments. Spirulina cells filteration with or without NM (including 0.1% NaCl) caused the highest activities in α-amylase and ß-amylase and the highest amount of total sugar and FGP. Chlorella filt-eration led to the increment of dehydrogenase activity and also the root's lenght. Dunaliella cells filteration in NM (without salt) increased α-amylase and ß-amylase activities and the reducing sugars.

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Application of some chemical components including plant hormones such as methyl jasmonate causes resi-stance to increase in environmental stresses. In this study, the effect of metyl jasmonate in different concentrations (10, 20 and 30 uM) on the elevation of the plant resistance was investigated in drouht stress. Tobacco seedlings were studied under drought stress caused by polyethylene glycol (20%) during periods of 3, 6 and 9 days. The results revealed that the imposed stress significantly increased soluble sugar content, MDA and non-enzymatic defense factors such as ant-hocyanin and proline. In contrast, it is reduced the amount of photosynthetic pigments, carotenoids and flavonoids. On the other hand, the use of methyl jasmonate decreased malondialdehyde as a marker of lipid peroxidation and values of some detent factors such as proline, beta-carotene and MDA. Meanwhile, it increased the amount of soluble sugars and photosynthetic pigments, anthocyanins, flavonoids and flavonols. As a result of the simultaneous reduction of lipid pe-roxidation and some antioxidants, it seems that using exogenous methyl jasmonate can help the plant withstand against drought stress conditions.

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The evolutionary trend of the morphological characters of the genus Stachys in Iran, on the basis of nrITS se-quence data, was investigated. A total of 28 nrITS sequences, representing 26 species of Stachys as well as Betonica of-ficinalis and Melittis mellisophyllum, were obtained from GenBank. Patterns of character evolution were assessed for 10 vegetative and reproductive characters with emphasis on taxonomic treatments of Stachys performed earlier to infer its history and interpret processes of change. The most important characters included habitat, growth form, leaf morp-hology, inflorescence, calyx and corolla as well as trichome morphology. Phylogenetic tree, based on the nrITS dataset, were constructed by Bayesian analysis. Parsimony mapping was performed in Mesquite v. 1.12. The present analysis revealed that the state of symmetrical calyx, the presence of basal leaves as well as the presence of glandular trichomes were not in agreement with the results of molecular data, which indicated the artificial nature of these characters in pr-evious classification. The presence of simple trichomes as well as the growth forms were consistent with phylogeny ba-sed on nrITS sequences. Evolutionary trend of morphological characters demonstrated that the sect. Eriostomum and sect. Fragilicaulis were the most primitive and the most advanced sections in Iran, respectively.

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In this study the morphological and micromorphologcal characters of Ranunculus Sect. Batrachium species in Iran have been investigated. The characters describe leaf, petal and fruit, in addition to pollen grains in four species of the genus including, R. sphaerospermus Boiss. & Blanche, R. trichophyllum Chaix ex. Vill., R. rionii Lagger and R. peltatus Schrank. Pollen grains were tricolpate and had species-specific shapes. The sculpture of the exine was echinnate in all of the species studied. Seven morphological characters have been studied using statistical methods and SPSS software has been used in order to group the species. These analyses indicated that R. sphaerospermus was a valid species and very similar to R. peltatus. Also, intraspecific diversity in R. trichophyllum was confirmed by statistical methods

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In most parts of Iran, the presence of water and soil salinity in urban area results in problems for grass growth. One way to solve this problem is the use of plant growth retardant, such as trinexapac-ethyl (TE), which is common and routine in turf management. This study was performed to investigate the response of Agrostis stolonifera L., Agropyron desertorum L. and Festuca ovina L., grown in sandy loam soil, to TE and irrigation water salinity. Resu-lts showed that spraying turf grass with TE increased most of the vegetative growth characteristics and content of chlo-rophylls, carotenoids and proline in clipping leaves, whereas increasing the NaCl concentration in irrigation water resu-lted in steady reduction in the values of these parameters, except carotenoids and proline content, compared with the co-ntrol group. Both TE and salinity treatments decreased the plant heights, as well as the fresh and dry weight of clip-pings. In the species which were studied, Agrostis stolonifera turned out to be the most tolerant turfgrass. Results also indicated that the application of TE enhances salinity resistance by improving the percentage of green leaf, chlorophyll concentration and proline content and reduce clipping in the species studied

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Septohippocampal system plays an important role in regulating fear and anxiety behaviors. In this study, the effects of histamine injected into the dorsal hippocampus and opioidergic agents into medial septum on the anxiety-like behaviors in rats were analyzed, using the Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM) test. Injection of 1 and 5 μg/rat histamine into dorsal hippocampus had no effect on anxiety-like behavior, while injection of 10 μg/rat histamine increased the percentage of open arm time (%OAT) and open arm entry (%OAE), which indicated the anxiolytic effects of histamine. Microinjection of morphine, μ-opioid receptor agonist, into the medial septum (1μg/rat) increased the (%OAT) and (%OAE). Doses of 0.25, 0.5 μg/rat morphine had no effect on anxiety. Co-administration of histamine ineffective dose (1μg/rat) to the dorsal hippocampus and ineffective dose of morphine (0.25µg/rat) to the medial septum increased the (%OAT) and (%OAE). Subsequently, injection of different doses of naloxone (1, 2, 4 µg/rat), as an opioid receptor antagonist, into the medial septum in the presence and absence of an effective dose of histamine (10 µg/rat) in the dorsal hippocampus, was studied. Injection of naloxone (4 µg/rat) into medial septum decreased the (%OAT) and (%OAE), but did not alter the locomotor activity, which indicated the anxiogenic effects of naloxone. Simultaneous injection of histamine (10 µg/rat) into dorsal hippocampus with doses of naloxone (1, 2, 4 µg/rat) into the medial septum, indicate anxiolytic effects and increased %OAT and %OAE in Elevated Plus Maze, although when the dose of naloxone was 4μg/rat, this effect was less observed. The results indicate that hippocampus histaminergic system interact with medial septum opioidergic system and the interaction of these systems modulates anxiety behavior.

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The cosmopolitan genus salvia L. (Lamiaceae) consists of nearly 1000 species distributed throughout the Old and New Worlds. America and South- West of Asia are the two most important distribution centers. Of the 70 species reported in the flora Iranica area nearly 56 species belong to Iran. This investigation deals with the morphology of Salvia. The morphological studies were performed on 36 populations of 11 species which grow in Central Alborz Mo-untains. In this analysis 42 quality and quantity characters were used. The results of this analysis have been used for the preparation of the identification key. Clustering, cladistics and PCA ordination reveals the relationships of the species in this genus.

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A laboratory experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of salinity on some morphological and phys-iological parameters in four Canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars (Talaye, Sarigol, Zarfam and Opera) under salinity stress. Plants were grown in hydroponic solution (Hoagland 1/4 strength) under greenhouse conditions and on five-leaf stage, treated with different concentrations of NaCl: 0 (control), 50, 75 and 100 mM. After 14 days of treatment, plants were harvested and the length of shoots and roots, photosynthesis, chlorophylls and carotenoids contents of leaves were measured on four studied cultivars. In general the results showed that increasing salinity reduced leaf relative water co-ntent, shoot and root lengths and leaf area. Photosynthetic rate was declined in Talaye and Sarigol, but it was elevated in Opera and Zarfam. It should be noted that the changes induced by salinity on photosynthetic pigments was not regu-lar. The results of this study showed that among the investigated cultivars, in vegetative phase, Opera and Zarfam had higher capacity and function to salt stress tolerate than other cultivars. It also seems that Sarigol may be more vuln-erable than other cultivars under salinity stress.

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Secondary metabolites have great pharmaceutical value in medicine. This study evaluates the effect of alti-tude on the amount and variety of secondary metabolites in lavender plant from two sites located in Mazandaran prov-ince. Sampling was performed in a randomized design with three replications. After the plants were dried, essential oil was extracted by distillation. Isolation and identification of constituents of the oil were performed by gas chromato-graphy and gas chromatography connected to mass spectroscopy. The results of this research led to the identification of 22 (99.96% of the total constituents) and 24 (97.01% of the total constituents) constituents in Baladeh and Behshahr sa-mples, respectively. Characteristics constituents included Andoyorneol (22.36%), 1, 8 cineole (20.7%), camphor (8.69%), α-Cadinol (7.60%), Caryophyllene oxide (5.09%) and Propanol (18.4%) in Behshahr population samples and Borneol (26.78%), 1, 8 cineole (20.19%), camphor (9.59%), α-Cadinol (5.80%), caryophyllene oxide (4.99%) and pr-opanol (3.41%) in Baladeh population samples. The differences in the output and combination of the essential oils in-dicated that the environmental as well as genetic factors can affect the production and amounts of the chemical comp-ounds in medical plants. Therefore, medicinal plants should be cultured in proper areas based on the aim of cultivation and the desired type of active materials.

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In cholestasis syndrome, the change of bile acids, salts, endotoxins and opioidsis is accompanied with hepaticencephalopathy and brain trauma; therefore, in this study, the histopathological changes of hippocampus after bile duct ligation were investigated. This study was performed on male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into three groups, namely the control, sham and cholestatic groups. After two weeks, the rats were killed under anesth-esia and their brains were dissected with no delay. The specimens were processed routinely and were sectioned into slices of 6-micron thickness. The sections were stained by Hematoxiline-Eosin (H&E) method. Subsequently, they were studied using optical microscope. Necrotic cells, the diminution of cell density and wrinkled chromatic nuclei were observed in hippocampus section. In addition, the thickness of hippocampus was mostly decreased. However, in the sham and control groups no changes were observed. Since endotoxin causes tissue trauma, the increase of en-dotoxin may result in tissue changes in the brain.

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Water stress is one of the most important factors limiting the growth and yield of plants in many parts of the world. In order to evaluate the effects of water stress on some morphological, physiological and antioxidant enzyme activity traits of lentil, four lentil cultivars (i.e. Gachsaran, Kimia, Ziba and Robat) in four water deficit treatments including 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the field capacity (control) were studied in a factorial experiment, based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Water stress at 25 and 50% field capacity significantly decreased morpho-physiological traits and significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activity, proline and protein contents of all genotypes in comparison with the control group. Gachsaran and Robat cultivars were superior in most traits in comparison with the Kimia and Ziba cultivars. Under severe stress, the amounts of  proline and protein contents, CAT and SOD enzyme activity were significantly higher in Robat and Gachsaran cultivars than those of the Kimiya and Ziba cultivars. Results showed that Robat and Gachsaran cultivars were probably affected less by water stress due to more stress tolerance using various mechanisms such as more antioxidant enzyme activity, increased proline, proteins and photosynthetic pigments contents. Studied traits were introduced as suitable markers for identification of drought tolerant genotypes. Accordingly, Robat and Gachsaran cultivars were introduced as tolerant cultivars for cultivation under rainfed conditions.

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Alpha-amylases are the most important amylases used in industry. Among them, thermophilic alpha-amylases are of particular importance, which is due to their activity and stability in high temperatures. These enzymes produced by thermophile micro-organisms including bacteria. These thermophilic alpha-amylases are used in various industries such as processing of starch as well as production of detergents and biofuels. In this research, the bacteria which produce the thermophilic alpha-amylases were isolated and characterized in hot springs of Gorooh village in Kerman province. According to the results of screening on the specific liquid and solid media, AT59 was selected as the best strain. Morphological and biochemical characterization of the isolated strain indicated that it belonged to Bacillus sp. and was gram-positive, catalase positive, casein hydrolyzing and acid producing from lactose and sucrose. The results obtained from the optimization of the enzyme production medium showed that among the carbon, nitrogen and ion sources investigated, starch (1 gr/l), gelatin (2 g/l) and magnesium sulfate (1 g/l) had the most increasing effect on the production of AT59 alpha-amylase. Moreover, the highest enzyme production was obtained at pH 5. This enzyme also demonstrated the highest degree of activity and stability in 80 and 70 ℃, respectively. These findings suggested that this enzyme has a considerable potential for use in starch industry.