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Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl. (Umbelliferae family) is a dominant species in the some partial of habitats in Zagros Mountains. According to ethno-botanical studies, this plant is one of the best range plants of Iran. Local ranchers collect green Prangos while it is toxic. They then dry the plant and use it to feed their livestock, especially in winter season. This research done to analyse the changes in the chemical composition of Pr. ferulacea with the effects of time, location and type of secondary metabolisms. Therefore, the ingredients and amounts of the essential oils of Prangos were studied during the growing and flowering stages (in both green/fresh and dried forms) to track such changes. The results showed that the amounts of terpinolene, β-phellandrene and bornyl acetate were decreased in the dried form, and some of the harmful components, such as α-pinene, β-pinene, myrcen and delta-3-carene, were absent, rendering the plant non-toxic. These results confirm the opinion of the ranchers. In the growing stage, the amount of coumarin was significantly less than in the flowering stage, which also supports the conduct of the local ranchers who gather the plants at the most appropriate time.

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Plant extracts, like phytoecdysteroids, are currently studied because of the possibility of their use in plant protection. Phytoecdysteroids are insect steroid hormone analogues, and they are believed to deter invertebrates from plants, either by acting as antifeedants or by being toxic through hormonal disruption on ingestion. We describe here the effects of extract from Spinacia oleracea L. (Chenopodiaceae), a plant producing phytoecdysteroids, on the demographic parameters of Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Spinach is one of the very few crop plants which produce large amounts of phytoecdysteroids. Ecdysteroidal extracts of leaves from this plant were incorporated into food given to third instar larvae for two days. Then the larvae were reared on untreated leaves. The eggs from the emerging adults were picked up for demographic experiments. The rearing of the newly hatched larvae was continued individually on untreated leaves. All experiments were performed on 25 ± 1 ºC, 65 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) hours in a growth chamber. Data analysis demonstrated that the fecundity of the females was strongly affected by ecdysteroidal extract. Values of intrinsic rate of increase and net reproduction rate decreased significantly as concentration of the extract increased. However, doubling time increased significantly as concentration of the extract increased. The present study demonstrated that the ecdysteroidal components of the spinach are effective on the demographic parameters of P. xylostella. Therefore, this extract may be potential protectants as botanical alternative agent.  

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Background:Pneumonia and respiratory tract infections, is associated with high mortality and complications in humans. Current antibiotics are used to treat this infectious disease, but may lead to many problems such as unwanted side effects and resistance to antibiotics. This study investigated the antibacterial activity of the hydro alcoholic extracts of the native medicinal plants Peganum harmala, Mentha pulegium and Alcea rosea, in Baku, as a natural alternative to antibiotics, on antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella pneumoniae,the main bacteria that cause pneumonia. Materials and Methods: Antibacterial activity of the hydro alcoholic extracts of medicinal part of these plants was evaluated by the disk diffusion susceptibility test method and the broth dilution test method on bacteria. Results: The rate of MIC of P. harmala, M. pulegium and A. rosea extracts of  S. pneumoniae were 80, 110 and 375μgμL^-1  and for K. pneumoniae were 150, 230 and 680μgμL^-1 respectively,  and the rate of MBC were 120, 165 and 550μgμL^-1 for S. pneumoniae and 210, 315 and 800μgμL^-1 forK. pneumonia respectively; The maximum amount of inhibition zone diameter in500μgμL^-1 concentration  ofP. harmala, M. pulegium and A. rosea extracts  for S. pneumoniae were 21.2mm, 17.2mm, 6.9mmand  for  K. pneumonia were10.1mm, 8.1mm, 3.2mm, respectively. Conclusion: This work showed that substances in the hydro-alcoholic extracts of medicinal plants prevented the growth of bacteria. So these plants with having effective ingredients can be used as an affordable and available source for medicinal purposes.

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The importance of the sea and its role in world economics and politics are indisputable and it is necessary to pay attention to it. The political history of the world testifies that countries that have a maritime strategy have been powerful and developed. Due to its long beaches in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, the country has a privileged geographic location in the country, with its other neighbors. Unfortunately, the regions of eastern and southeast Iran due to geographic isolation have always been neglected in national politics. To this end, one of the best strategies for promoting development and security in the region is the connection of the eastern parts to the Chabahar port and the coast of Makran. This research tries to explore the role of the Makran coastlines and the strategic sea politics of Iran on the development of the eastern axis using a descriptive-analytical method based on library resources. Initial studies show that if the Islamic Republic of Iran adopts a maritime strategy, Iran will witness the processing of its geopolitical, geo-economical and geostrategic advantages for the country. With the realization of the maritime policy, the Makran region is considered as a transit axis for the development of the south-east. In the face of the ostracism of a sea-based strategy based on the southeastern oceanic capacity of Iran, other Indian Oceanarians will use this potential. Therefore, it is suggested that, with a realistic and operational view, more attention be paid to maritime policy

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The cypress family, Cupressaceae, has a global dispersion. Currently, endophytic microorganisms from plants are being investigated for their diversity and bioactivities. Here, we aimed at exploration and characterization of cultivable endophytic fungi from foliar tissues of Cupressaceae, i.e. Cupressus arizonica, C. sempervirens var. cereiformis, C. sempervirens var. fastigiata, Juniperus excelsa, Juniperus sp. and Thuja orientalis. Asymptomatic fresh foliar tissues, collected from mature healthy plants, were sterilized and the inner layers were plated on culture media at 26-28 °C for 2-12 weeks, until fungal colonies emerged and were purified. Endophytic Penicillia i.e. Penicillium aurantiogriseum, P. chrysogenum, P. commune, P. echinulatum, P. expansum and P. viridicatum were the dominant fungi recovered. Results indicated that both host plant and geographical location of sampling affected the biodiversity and bioactivity of endophytic Penicillia. Results also indicated that those endophytic Penicillia had significant bioactivities. According to our results, both intra-and extra-cellular secondary metabolites from all isolated Penicillia had significant cytotoxic and antifungal effects against the model fungus Pyricularia oryzae and cypress fungal phytopathogens Diplodia seriata, Phaeobotryon cupressi and Spencermartinsia viticola. Further studies indicated the significant antimicrobial bioactivities of superior Penicillia against model bacteria. Altogether, this study highlights, for the first time, the biodiversity of endophytic Penicillia from Cupressaceae plants and documents their significance for agrochemical/drug discovery and for plant disease biocontrol.  

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Spinach is one of the most important leafy vegetables of chenopodiaceae family. This plant is native to Iran and has valuable nutrients. In this research mineral element content (like potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, cupper, zinc), protein, total fiber, total fat, oxalic acid, phenolic compounds and fatty acids of seven Iranian spinach cultivars (Arak, Khorram Abad, Shirvan, Bojnourd, Karaj, Varamin and Lahijan) were analyzed and compared. Results showed that Arak cultivar had the highest amount of potassium, calcium and copper; Lahijan cultivar had the highest amount of magnesium and protein, Varamin cultivar had the highest amount of phosphorous, zinc, fiber and fat, Khorram Abad cultvar had the highest amount of iron. The lowest amount of oxalic acid was determined in Karaj and Lahijan cultivars (53.8 mg/ 100 g of fresh weight). Phenolic compounds had significant difference and cultivar Shirvan had the the highest amount of these compounds (110 mg Tanic Acid/gdw). The highest percentage of linolenic acid (ω3) and linoleic acid (ω6) were belonged to the Arak and Lahijan cultivars, respectively. Therefore Iranian spinach cultivars have considerable amount of minerals, fiber, protein, phenolic compounds, essential fatty acids (linolenic acid (ω3) and linoleic acid (ω6) and should be used in diet programs.

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During spring and summer of 2012, a disease characterized by panicle blight was observed on some pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) trees grown in Kerman province. Eighteen isolates of a Botryosphaeriaceae were obtained from affected panicles. Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, isolates were identified as Botrysphaeria dothidea. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea associated with pistachio panicles in Iran.

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Field experiments were conducted to determine the optimum application rate of sunn hemp Crotalaria juncea leaf residue in the management of Meloidogyne incognita on tomato. Sunn hemp applied at rates of 0 (control), 2, 4 and 6 kg/ha showed a varied effect on second stage juveniles of M. incognita. There were no differences in plant height and stem girth. The 6 kg/ha treatment reduced the M. incognita population by 94% compared with the control. The highest yield of tomato (168.7 kg/ha) was recorded in 6 kg/ha treatment of sunn hemp.

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We reared Ephedromyia debilopalpis Marikovskij (Dip.: Cecidomyiidae) for the fist time on Ephedra major (Ephedraceae) in the northwest of Iran in 2016. This is the new record of the genus and species for Iran. With including this new record, the known gall midge fauna of Iran reached 62 species and 34 genera.

 

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The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) is a serious and economically important pest of solanaceous crops worldwide. The nutritional indices of this pest on three host plants including pepper Capsicum frutescens, eggplant Solanum melongena and tomato Solanum lycopersicum were determined under laboratory conditions at 26 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and 16: 8 (L: D) h. The highest relative consumption rate (9.40 mg/mg/day) and approximate digestibility (95.20%) were recorded on eggplant. The relative growth rate (RGR) (0.08 mg/mg/day) was the highest on tomato. The efficiency of the conversion of ingested food (ECI) (1.66%) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) (2.22%) were significantly highest on pepper. Results showed that pepper was the most nutritionally suitable food and even small amount of this food could successfully support maximum RGR as evidenced by high value of ECI and ECD.

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During the study of aphid fauna of North-Khorasan province, Iran, an aphid species, Brachycaudus cerasicola (Mordvilko, 1929) (Hem.: Aphididae), was collected on Salvia aethiopis, Stachys turcomanica, Hymenocrater elegans, Perovskia abrotanoides and Phlomis cancellata (Lamiaceae) in 2016 and 2017 which is reported here for the first time from Iran. The first to third host plants reported as the new hosts for this aphid. Since the original descriptions of this species by Mordvilko (1929) and Shaposhnikov (1964) are rether brief, so we report here additional notes and more detailed biometric data on this species. The biometric data of the Iranian populations of B. cerasicola is given and compared to the original descriptions.

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Khatun-e-Chaharshanbesoori (Last Wednesday’s Khatun) is a Guilani legend which has a place beyond a typical legend in the culture of the people of Guilan because, in a ceremonial night, it has devoted many customs to itself. Hence, this myth is repeated by them every year.
In this paper, through expressing the legend of Khatun-e-Chaharshanbesoori, its semiotics and mythology has been addressed. Then, the theories are expressed and studied based on the theory of Mircea Eliade, which is among some ceremonial sample called images of gods and mythology, and the present human being repeats them, the following question is addressed: Is this legend rooted in ancient beliefs of Guilan inhibitants? In the initial response, it can be said that many ancient beliefs, in accordance with the conditions of time, place and its progress in various fields, are outdated or, it can see the traces of the mythological themes in fairy tales and ritual.
Using the methodology of data collection in libraries and data analysis, the present article aims to examine the symbolic and mythical implications of Khatun- Chaharshanbesoori, and the rituals and beliefs relating to it in Guilan province.
 

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Laccase (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductase), is a multicopper polyphenol oxidase enzyme which has glycoprotein structure. The Researches are indicated that laccase enzyme can play role in detoxification of aromatic pollutants (as petroleum derivatives) and conversion them to less toxic compounds. On the other hand, because of its extensive, fibrous root system; Festuca arundinacea, creates an appropriate environment that causes increased catalysis of petroleum contaminants. Considering the fact that increasing in catalysis of pollutants can be provided by presence and changes in activity of various plant enzymes, in this research; the changes in laccase activity of Festuca's vegetative organs under soil pollution with different concentration of diesel fuel has been investigated. For this purpose, at first, the seeds of Festuca were cultivated in pots containing diesel fuel polluted soils and also control pots in greenhouse conditions. Then in specified time treatments, plants were harvested and plant extract containing laccase were extracted from aerial parts and roots of the plant, separately. After doing centrifuge, changes in enzyme activity were calculated by spectrophotometer. The results show that creation of soil pollution treatments compared with control samples, leads to increase in laccase activity in many cases. In other words, by increasing in laccase activity, the plant will increase its potency of decomposition and assimilation of pollutant hydrocarbons.

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One of the best strategies to control bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) is generally based on breeding resistant cultivars. The information obtained from the expression of plant defense genes will provide new insight for improving plant resistance against pathogens. This study was to identify inducible genes under defense no death (DND) reaction of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)-R. solanacearum interaction using cDNA-AFLP technique. In this assay five different primer combinations were used. Out of 1320 Transcript derived fragments (TDF) that were detected, 101 fragments were identified as differentially expressed genes in 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours post inoculation. Most of the differentially expressed genes were obtained 48 hours post inoculation. Following sequencing, most of sequenced TDFs showed homology to known genes interfering in signaling, regulation and defense functions. DND phenotype in tobacco has some similarities specially in signaling process with mechanism associated with induction of the hypersensitive reaction and it is distinct from general defense mechanisms.
 

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In the present investigation, infection of Lernaeacruciata parasite is reported in Farsi toothcarp (Aphaniusfarsicus) collected from Maharlu Lake basin in 2014. The prevalence of infection appeared 88.9% (45 specimens). Lernaeacruciataparasites were isolated from origin of fins, gill opercels and body surface. Frequency of parasite on each fish appeared 1 or 2 which mostly attached to branch and under operculum (45%) and base of pectoral and anal fins (43%). The L. cruciata may have been translocated into the Maharloulake Basin by an exotic Poecilid; Gambusiaholbrooki. Sever infection of this endangered endemic fish species warns that urgent reactions should be taken for conservation of Farsi tooth carps in area.

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Tenothrips hispanicus (Bagnall) was collected from Fars province, south of Iran. This is the first report of the species from Iran. Characterization of the species, comparison with its close species, T. frici (Uzel) as well as their illustrations are provided.

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The nucleotide sequences of 28S nuclear rDNA were determined for 34 powdery mil-dew taxa mostly collected from Iran in order to infer the phylogenetic relationships of these fungi. Total DNA was isolated from cleistothecia or mycelia using the chelex method. About a 650 nucleotide length of the 5´end of the 28S rDNA was amplified twice by the PCR using a nested primer set, PM3, TW14 and NLP2. Direct sequencing of the PCR product was done in an Applied Biosystems 373A sequencer. The results showed that powdery mildew taxa are divided into five groups, which were distinguished by their morphology. Members of Erysiphe section Erysiphe, Microsphaera and Uncinula clustered together. E. sect. Galeopsidis and E. sect. Golovinomyces were seperated from E. sect. Ery-siphe and formed the Euoidium without fibrosin bodies group. Leveillula and Phyllactinia showed a close evolutionary relationship and clustered together. The genera Cystotheca, Podosphaera, Sawadaea, and Sphaerotheca formed a monophyletic group (fibrosin body lineage) with 98% bootstrap support. These fungi are well characterized by the presence of fibrosin bodies in their conidia. Blumeria graminis, which is characterized by some unique morphological characters, clustered with fibrosin body lineage with a low boot-strap value. This result shows that B. graminis is not closely related to the Erysiphe spe-cies. The nucleotide divergence between the genera analyzed in this study ranged from 0.50 to 14.10%. The lowest nucleotide divergence was found between Microsphaera and E. sect. Erysiphe (0.50–4.50%). Podosphaera and Sphaerotheca showed a low level of diver-gence, too (2.30-2.60%), which suggests a close relationship between these two genera.

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One of the main characteristics of the story in data direction is Speaker/writer method which is known as “viewpoint “. Data direction is the perspective to an object or person to become efficient by perusing a specific purpose. In semantics school of Paris based on Jacques fontanill theorem point views consists of four classes. The purpose of this research is to investigate a variety of viewpoints in the short story "peace" written by Majid Gheissari and its main issue is to answer the question “what is the application of each viewpoint for the recognition of characters, time and place in the enunciate which is done by taking notes and content analysis based on Jacques fontanill theorem. In this research we have presented how the enunciator has used all four viewpoints for identification and selecting view point according to the enunciator purpose is related to the Impact on enunciated.

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The efficiency of neem based insecticides have been assessed by many studies however, there is scanty information on the cost:benefit ratio of their use vis-a-viz synthetics, particularly, in watermelon production. In this study, thirty-six 5 m long x 8 m wide plots were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design in 4 replications of weekly spray of; 0.5% Cyper-diforce^® (CD); 1, 3 and 5% Neem Oil Emulsion (NOE); 0.25% CD + 1, 3 and 5% NOE; 1% soap solution and, Control (unsprayed plots). Arthropods were sampled on 5 m length of row using Suction Sampler and Yellow Sticky Board. Severity of leaf damage and aphid colony size was also assessed. At harvest, marketable fruits were weighed and used to compute cost-benefit ratio. The prevalent pests were five species of leaf-beetles, Aphis gossypii Glover, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) and Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner). The beneficials included; Apis mellifera L., Cardiochiles niger Szépligeti and Cheilomenes sulphurea (Olivier). The 0.5% CD was ineffective against Aphids but 3 and 5% NOE were. Overall, insecticide treatments reduced infestation by 2.9-95.3%. Though, combination of 0.25% CD with NOE treatments suppressed pest infestation relative to sole neem oil treatments, leaf injury and yields were statistically comparable. Sole NOE treatments were observed not to significantly suppress populations of beneficials when compared to 0.25% CD or their combinations. 0.25% CD + 5% NOE consistently gave the highest yield/season (39192-44642 kgha^-1). Monetary benefits exceeded US$3724 ha^-1. The insignificant differences in yield among the insecticide treatments showcased neem’s potential in managing watermelon pests. The ineffectiveness of Cyper-diforce^® against A. gossypii suggests resistance development.