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Microbial analysis of ground water, as the sole supplying water source in many areas, must be evaluated. Because the treatment of water cannot remove all pathogenic bacteria leaked from domestic wastewater, bacterial analysis of Bojnourd groundwater sources was performed. For this reason, membrane filter (MF) technique and Most Probable Number (MPN) method were used to evaluate the microbial quality of the water. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enteroccocus faecalis (E. faecalis) were traced as excremental indices. E. coli was detected from three out of six stations and E. faecalis was only isolated from one station. Although molecular techniques are very rapid and exact methods for detection of microbial community and can identify ‘Viable But Not Cultivable’ (VBNC) bacteria, they are unable to make a distinction between living and non-living microorganisms. By means of a standard technique, it is possible to study living and metabolically active microorganisms. Due to the detection of E.coli and E.feacalis in some stations the sanitization of groundwater must be revised to lessen the microbial population in this groundwater.

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In this research, plant morphology and pollen micromorphology of 14 populations of 3 species belonging to two sections Plethiosphace and Hemisphace of Salvia genus in Iran were studied. In the morphological study 25 quantitative and qualitative characters were investigated and the results clearly separated the species into two groups. The pollen grains from the herbarium specimens were prepared by acetolysis method and then 4 quantitative characters were examined by light microscopy. Data was processed by principal component analysis method. Results indicated that although the pollen grains in the section were comparatively homogenous and all of them were 6-colpate with reticulate ornamentation, a considerable variation in the quantitative characters studied turned out to exist. However among the characters studied, equatorial and polar diameters of pollen grains were the most significant and based on these characters the members of these sections can be divided into two groups.

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Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) is one of the most important environmental challenges. Phytoremediation of oil-polluted soil depends on microorganisms of the rhizosphere. This study attempts to evaluate the microbial impact of Zea mays rhizosphere during a 60 day period using three different treatments: control soil, oil-polluted soil and oil-polluted soil including fertilizer (NH₄No₃, K₂HPO₄). Then, the rhizosphere bacteria were identified. The results showed that CFU per gram of control soil was higher than other treated soils, an indication of oil stress on microbial population. In addition, more bacterial diversity was observed in soils and different bacteria were isolated from the soils. Finally, the most resistant bacteria to the oil pollution were assayed. The assay of isolates indicated that all of those separated from the oil-polluted soil have the ability to produce biosurfactant in different quantities. Further investigation must be carried out to optimize the degradation of oil by these isolates. 

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There is no report on the antimicrobial effects of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.) and borage (Echium amoenum Fisch. & C.A.Mey.). In this research, the seeds of these plants were milled and extracted by chloroform:methanol (2:1). Then, the solvents were evaporated under reduced pressure and temperature to extract the oils. Antimicrobial effects of various concentrations of the oils (10- 1000 mg/l) were assessed against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Minimum inhibition concentration of the oils for each strain was measured using Mueller Hinton Broth and Sabouraud Dextrose Broth. The results showed that evening primrose oil increased the growth of C. albicans and A. niger, while it suppressed the growth of S. aureus, S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa even at the minimum concentration level (1mg/l). Borage oil was found to promote the growth of A. niger and S. epidermidis, but at concentration levels equal to or higher than 1mg/l it inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa and C. albicans. However, at no concentration level, was it observed to leave any effect on S. aureus. It was also shown that some medical properties of evening primrose and borage could be attributed to antimicrobial effects of their oils. 

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in women after lung cancer. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are among endogenous factors which are involved in many types of cancers, including breast cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the miRNAs, might change their biological activities such as their effects on oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Therefore some of miRNA’s SNPs are associated with the risk of different types of cancer, including breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between SNP rs11614913 in mir196a2 and the risk of breast cancer. SNP rs11614913 in hsa-miR-196a2 analyzed in 100 breast cancer cases and 100 controls in women living in southern Iran. Polymorphism was identified by the PCR-RFLP method. The PCR product was digested with TaaI restriction enzyme which produced two bands with the length of 187bp and 196bp. The data from this case –control study were analyzed using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to reveal the associations of SNPs in miRNAs with breast cancer susceptibility. The C allele frequencies in patients and controls for miR-196a2 were 0.74 and 0.75, respectively. The genotype frequencies of TT, TC, and CC were 0.05, 0.42, and 0.53 for the patients and 0.06, 0.38, and 0.56 for the controls, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the genetic frequencies for this SNP were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p>0.05). The results of this study indicated no significant association between SNP rs11614913 in mir196a2 and the risk of breast cancer. 

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During the infection- while the xylem is colonized by the F. oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici (Fol)- several effector proteins have been secreted into the xylem that suppress the plant’s defense response and enable parasitic colonization. So far, 14 effector proteins have been reported in Fol. However, there are no identified domains in their sequences. LysM effector proteins were identified in some plant pathogenic fungi and involved in sequestering chitin oligosaccharides. Here, considering the role of LysM effector proteins in plant-pathogen interactions, we searched for candidate effector proteins possessed Lysin (LysM) domains in the genome of FOL. Hence, the LysM domain was searched in the WGS data bank of Fol using Pfam tool and 17 proteins were identified. Two proteins, Fol-LysM1 and Fol-LysM3, were selected based on low molecular weight and present of signal peptide in their sequences. Prediction of the gene structures preformed using FGENESH tools and domain structures and effector characters including signal peptide, number and position of cysteine residues, disulfide bond connectivity and molecular weight of proteins were predicted. The entire nucleotide sequences of the coding region of their genes were determined by PCR and phylogeny of lysM effector proteins was studied. Furthermore, the domain organization of these proteins was compared with that of other lysM effector proteins. This is a first report of detection of lysM effector genes in Fol.

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Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in blood plasma, which is responsible for 80% of blood pressure; it also acts as a carrier protein for many compounds in the blood such as drugs. In the present study, the interaction and side-effects of a newly-designed anti-cancer compound of isopentyl-glycine1, 10-phenanthroline Platinum nitrate on HSA have been investigated. In this investigation, the side effects, values of the number of binding sites and the association binding constants of new synthesized Pt(II) complex have been studied by different spectroscopic (fluorescence and circular diachronic (CD) techniques at different temperatures of 25 and 37 °C. The analysis of fluorescence spectra showed that the addition of the complex led to a significant reduction in the fluorescence spectra of HSA via quenching mechanism. Also, it can change the three-dimensional structure of tryptophan existing in the protein. The number of binding sites, the Stern-Volmer quenching constant and the association constant of the complex were calculated on the HSA protein. The analysis of circular dichroic spectra showed that the complex can change the regular secondary structure of the protein via reduction of α helical structure and increase of β sheet structure which indicates a decrease in the stability of the protein. According to the results obtained, it can be concluded that this new synthesized Pt(II) complex can bind to the main blood carrier protein (HSA) and change the secondary and tertiary structure of the protein which can be considered as the side-effects of this drug.

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Rhamnus L. is the genus of Rhamnaceae in Iran with nearly eight species. These species are used as valuable shrubs. This research was carried out in order to investigate the anatomical leaf. Samples from nine populations of Rhamnus pallasii and Rhamnus cathartica were taken. Treatment specimen cover various habitats from north of Iran, moreover herbarium samples were taken into account. The results presented two forms of epidermal cells such as Polygonal and irregular cells in addition, waved and straight anti-clinical walls were observed in R. pallasii subsp. pallasii and R. pallasii subsp. sintensii. Two types of stomata were demonstrated like anemositic and parasitic in two main species. Some characters e.g. thrichome, parenchyma, collenchyma layers were determined to finding some similarity among treatment specimen.

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Lung cancer is the most common cause of death worldwide and result in 1.4 million deaths per year. Lung cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Iran, with rates of 4.7 to 9.2 per 100 thousand populations. Despite the low incidence, survival is not promising. Identification of biological markers and their application in diagnosis of cancer could lead to early diagnosis and therefore longer survival rate in patients. In this study, we evaluated the association of SNP rs11614913 in mir-196a2 with risk of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in population of southern Iran. SNP rs11614913 in miR-196a2 was assayed in 95 lung cancer patients and 100 controls. Polymorphism was determined by RFLP-PCR. The PCR product was digested with TaaI (5’ ACN^GT) which generated two bands (187bp and 196bp) in TT, three bands (187bp, 196bp and 383bp) in TC and one bandn(383bp) in CC individuals. Analysis of electrophoretic pattern of digestion products revealed that the frequencies of C allele for SNP rs11614913 miR-196a2 were 0.695 in patients and 0.76 in controls. As a result, the genotype frequencies of TT, TC and CC were 0.074, 0.463 and 0.463 in patients and 0.06, 0.36 and 0.58 in controls. The statistical analysis indicates the presence of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium between the two alleles of the gene in the population studied (p>0.05). Based on the results in this study, no significant association between SNP rs11614913 and susceptibility to NSCLC was found. However, male participants who possess TC/TT genotypes showed high risk for NSCLC compared to those possessed CC genotypes (recessive genetic model).

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The pollen grains of 34 populations, representing 16 species of Consolida (DC.) Gray, have been examined by LM and SEM. The polar axis (P), equatorial diameter (E), P/E ratio and exine patterns were measured. The pollen grains were found out to be 3-zonocolpate, euprolate to subprolate. The shortest polar axis to belong to C. tehranica (Boiss.) Rech.f. and the longest to belong to C. trigonelloides (Boiss.) Munz (28.15-37.3 µm); the shortest equatorial axis to belong to C. stocksiana (Boiss.) Nevski. and the longest to C. orientalis Schrödinger (17.5-25.2 µm). Based on exine ornamentation observed under SEM, two types of pollen grains were recognized. Type I, exine distinctly thickened at poles with broad colpi and stronglymicro-echinate sculpturing, and type II, with exine obtuse at poles, narrow colpi and weekly micro-echinate sculpturing. Pictures of all species and characteristics of pollen grain structure were presented. Our results showed that pollen shape and sculpturing were diagnostic characters for distinguishing the species. Although they did not suffice enough to resolve taxonomic conflicts in the genus, our results confirmed embed of Aconitella in Consolida due to the occurrence of Aconitella species in two pollen groups.

                                                                                                                                                             

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Streptokinase is one of the best known thrombolytic agents with widespread clinical use. However, its use is not risk-free due to its immunogenicity, hemorrhagic complications and relatively short half-life in circulation. Specific PEGylation of cysteine residue is a useful technique for reducing most of these complications. The aim of this study was designing and producing a cysteine containing mutant of streptokinase, to be used for specific PEGylation. Glut-amic acid 263, which is a surface amino acid in the structure of streptokinase protein, was selected for replacement with cysteine amino acid by site directed mutagenesis. The Glu263 codon was changed to cysteine codon by SOEing PCR technique. Then, the intact and mutated streptokinase genes were inserted into expression vector pET-26b (+). The co-nstructs were transformed to Escherichia.coli Rosetta (DE3) strain and the proteins were expressed by IPTG induction. The proteins were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis, purified by Ni-NTA agarose affinity chroma-tography under denaturing condition with urea and Sephadex G-25 column was applied to remove urea to refold the pr-oteins. This study indicated that by using aforesaid vector and host, cysteine containing mutant gene is expressed well and it will be appropriate for specific PEGylation.

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Pollen grains of 7 species of the genus Rubus L. were investigated using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). 14 different pollen characters were described, illustrated and compared in the present st-udy. All pollen grains were monad, tricolporate, radially symmetrical, isopolar, and medium in size. As for pollen sh-ape, 3 forms were recognized in the same specimens: prolate, perprolate and prolate-spheroidal. Endopore was located in the middle of colpi. The sculpture of the grains was confirmed to have striate pattern. The size of perforation and the orientation of the muri were compared and appeared to indicate the differences between the species. R.caesius, R. disc-olor, R. dolichocarpus and R. hirtus appear to have steriate-scabrate sculpture; in contrast, R. hyrcanus Juz., R. persicus Boiss. and R. sanctus Schreber. appear to have meandrical and fingerprint-like sculpture. Perforations are of two types. They are either large or often extending to tectal ridges or minute holes. Characters of pollen grains were proved their usefulness for separating taxa at the specific level. It seems that there is a link between the diversity of pollens and the vegetation habitats.

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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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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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The species Astragalus podolobus is one of the endemic species of winter pastures that grows in arid and semi-arid areas in the north of Gonbad-e Kavous. To investigate effective methods of breaking seed dormancy of Astr-agalus podolobus, an experiment was carried out in the framework of a completely randomized design with 15 treatm-ents and 3 replications. Treatments included controls, 98% sulfuric acid, dry chilling for 10 and 15 days, wet chilling for 10 and 15 days, and boiling water 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 minute, respectively. Analysis of variance showed that the perc-entage and speed of germination were significant in different groups while the average time of germination in different treatments was not significant. The results of comparing mean values showed that the percentage and the speed of germination in boiling water treatments were best in comparison with other treatments with significant differences. The results of this experiment also showed that reducing the exposure time of seeds to boiling water increases the germination percentage and speed, consequently, the highest percentage and speed of germination was observed in boil-ing water 1 minute. Boiling water 1 minute treatment can increase the germination percentage up to 47% and the seed germination speed from 0.43 to 3.09 seeds per day

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Three types of chitin as α (exoskeleton of crustaceans), β (cuttlebone of cephalopods) and γ (some fungal cell wall) exist in nature. Chitosan is the most important derivative of chitin, which has various biological activities. In this study, α, β and γ-chitosans were extracted from Portunus segnis exoskeleton, Sepia pharonis cuttlebone and Aspergillus niger cell wall, respectively. Samples of crab and sepia from Bandar Abbas coastal waters were gathered in the summer of 2014 and samples of Aspergillus niger (PTCC 5223) were obtained from the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST). The amount of chitosan extracted from the Crab was significantly higher than other samples. Antimicrobial properties of these three types of chitosan were explored against 9 bacterial and 2 fungal strains using disc diffusion method. On average α chitosan and γ chitosan revealed to have highest and lowest antimicrobial activities, respectively. Antibacterial properties of chitosan extracts were more than their antifungal properties. Gram negative bacteria as well as gram positive bacteria were sensitive to three types of chitosan. According to observed results, all three types of chitosans have good antimicrobial activities, and further investigations are suggested.

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Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran have important tree and shrub elements of Euro-Siberian and rare forest communities, among them beech community widely covers the mountainous forests from Western to Eastern (Gorgan) Hyrcanian region. In order to identify the floristic characteristics and affecting factors on the species richness in pure beech stands in Eastern Guilan, using systematic-random method 54 plots were recorded. A total of 111 plant species belonging to 84 genera and 44 families were identified, with Orchidaceae having 9 species and genus Carex with 6 species being the largest family and genus, respectively. The highest frequency inter-species is Galium odoratum, an understory herb species forming communities in different areas of beech forests in Hyrcanian region. Since the studied region is forest and mountainous, hemicryptophytes and geophytes are the most life forms, respectively in these areas and Euro-Siberian elements (with 30.6 %) form the highest frequency from a chorological point of view. Also, the size of the microrelief and percentage of tree cover create different ecological conditions in plots such as moisture retention and change in the amount of incoming light into the plots, which are the most influential factors on species richness of these areas.

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This study aimed to recycle sawdust and blood powder using Eisenia foetida earthworm and investigate some biochemical changes of these waste materials during vermicomposting. Blood powder was mixed with sawdust in proportions of 0, 5 and 10% and the mixture was allowed to pass through earthworm guts for four months. At intervals of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 weeks, the biological activity (i.e. basal respiration), pH, EC, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and C:N ratio were determined. The results showed that the period of time, the concentration of blood powder and the interaction between these two significantly affected all parameters. As the incubation time increases, the cumulative amount of mineralized carbon, the total nitrogen and EC increase in all vermicompost treatments whereas organic carbon, C:N ratio and  pH decreased. Adding blood powder to sawdust bed resulted in an increase in carbon mineralization rate, EC and total nitrogen while pH, organic carbon and C: N ratio decreased. At the end of incubation time, the treatment of sawdust with 10 % blood powder resulted in the highest amount of released CO₂ (142.1 µg C g^-1), EC (3.7 dS m^-1) and total nitrogen (2.24 %) and the lowest amount of pH (6.6), organic carbon (22.5 %) and C: N ratio (12.4). According to the results, the process of vermicomposting can be used as a safe method for the disposal of sawdust and blood powder

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Ferula stenocarpa from Apiaceae family is a perennial plant with about 2 meters height, which grows in the high temperature of sudanian regions. This research was aimed to investigate the autecology of an endemic plant to Iran, Ferula stenocarpa, in Khuzestan province. Initially, the habitat map was prepared and characteristics of the species habitat including topography, climate, soil properties, companion species, palynology, anatomical studies were determined. In addition, the phenology stage and root system was investigated. The results show that this species is distributed in the altitudes ranging from 159 to 850 m.a.s.l., with the mean annual precipitation of 112.4 to 482.9 millimeters and mean annual temperature of 24.47 to 25.93 ºC. This plant species is found in habitats with different topographic aspects and no slope limitations with slopes 40-60% as preferred slopes. Soil texture was loam, clay loam and silty loam, weak alkaline, and poor in phosphorus and nitrogen. Electrical Conductivity is 1-0.72 ds/m and soil pH of 7.47-7.85. The vegetative growth of this species starts from mid-March. The flowers appear in April and seeds ripen in late on May. The plant propagates only by seeds. Pollen is prolate, elliptic and tricolporate. The destruction of natural habitats of this plant due to overgrazing causes that we find this plant as individual and scattered spots in their natural habitat.
 

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Nutlets of 20 taxa of Phlomoides, representing most of the currently recognized sections were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The basic shape of nutlets in most taxa studied is broadly ovate, but ovate, triangular and oblong ones can also be found in few species. Regarding the sculpturing pattern of nutlet surface, four basic types can be distinguished: reticulate, scalariform, ruminate and rugose. The reticulate type is the most common among the studied species, but the variation in alignment, size and shape of its composing cells provide further evidence that are useful as diagnostic characteristics. However, the type of sculpturing is more useful for separating species within the sections, rather than correlating them to each other. For example, sect. Filipendula show four different types of sculpturing. Therefore, nutlet microsculpturing is not useful in separating large natural groups like sections in this genus. It seems also that contrary to other genera of Lamiaceae, nutlet characters are of low phylogenetic value in this genus.