Anthropogenic and natural fragmentations shape the spatial distribution and genetic diversity of roe deer in the marginal area of its geographic range

Habitat destruction and fragmentation are major factors in the destruction of genetic diversity and affect the movement behavior of the Roe deer population in the remaining habitats. Here, we study the population and landscape genetics of Capreolus capreolus (roe deer) in northern and northwestern Iran using twelve polymorphism microsatellite markers. From 111 total specimens, 63 had successful extraction (6 feces, 35 tissues, 9 bones, and 13 antlers). We considered 30 microsatellite polymorphic loci, of which only 12 were amplified for our further analysis. For genetic diversity analysis, the Weir-Cockerham method was applied to measure the inbreeding coefficient (FIS) and fixation index (FST) for each locus as well as for each population. For landscape genetics, the susceptibility patterns of genetic variations were assessed using three hypotheses including isolation by distance (IBD), isolation by environment (IBE), isolation by resistance (IBR), and individual landscape genetic analysis. A habitat suitability map as an indicator of landscape resistance was constructed from several species distribution models (SDMs) algorithms including Generalized Boosting Models (GBM), Maximum Entropy (Maxent), Random Forest (RF), Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) and an ensemble model. Our estimated FIs index showed that the Golestan, Arasbaran, and Guilan populations had the highest and lowest genetic diversity among roe deer populations. According to the Fst criterion, our results showed that Golestan and East Azarbaijan (Arasbaran) had the highest and Mazandaran had the lowest genetic distance patterns. Our results do not suggest that there is high genetic differentiation for roe deer in the region, with high levels of gene flow between study areas. We found that geographic distance has no significant relationship with genetic distance and that there is no significant relationship between the ecological niche non-similarity matrix and the genetic distance matrix. The most influential factors affecting gene flow in roe deer were aspect and elevation variables. The analysis suggests that the landscape has no significant influence on the structuring of the studied population and shows little genetic differentiation

The Effect of the Hydroalcoholic Extract of Persian shallot(Allium Hirtifolium boiss) on Albumin Glycation

زمینه و هدف: هیپرگلیسمی دیابتی باعث قندی شدن پروتئین‌های بدن و به نوبه خود موجب تغییر در ساختمان و عملکرد آن ها می‌گردد. برخی از عوارض بیماری دیابت از جمله نفروپاتی و رتینوپاتی به دلیل واکنش قندی شدن غیر آنزیمی پروتئین‌ها است. یکی از راه‌های درمانی برای مهار این واکنش، شکستن پیوند قند-پروتئین با استفاده از ترکیبات موجود در گیاهان دارویی می باشد. بنابراین مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسی اثر عصاره هیدروالکلی موسیر ایرانی (Allium hirtifolium) بر مهار واکنش قند دار شدن آلبومین و توانایی شکستن پیوند آلبومین و گلوکز انجام شده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه آزمایشگاهی تأثیر غلظت‌های 1/0، 2/0، 5/0، 1 گرم بر دسی لیتر از عصاره موسیر ایرانی در دو حالت مختلف:الف) مهار واکنش قندی شدن آلبومین ب) تاثیر آن بر شکستن پیوند آلبومین و گلوکز در زمان‌های 72،48،24 و 144 ساعت بررسی گردید. میزان قندی شدن با روش تیوباربیتوریک اسید سنجیده شد. جهت تجزیه و تحلیل داده‌ها از آزمون آنالیز واریانس یک طرفه و سپس آزمون توکی استفاده گردید. 05/0P < نمایان گر اختلاف معنی دار بود. یافته‌ها: عصاره هیدروالکلی موسیر ایرانی در غلظت‌های 1/0 و 2/0 باعث مهار واکنش قندی شدن آلبومین شد. به عبارت دیگر تمامی غلظت‌های مورد استفاده، پیوند آلبومین و گلوکز را شکستند که بیش‌ترین تأثیر، در زمان‌های 72 و 144 ساعت پس ازتیمار با عصاره موسیر در غلظت 5/0 گرم بر دسی لیتر مشاهده شد .میزان شکستن پیوند، ارتباط مستقیم با زمان تیمار داشت. نتیجه‌گیری: نتایج نشان داد که موسیر ایرانی مانع از قندی شدن آلبومین شده و پیوند بین آلبومین و گلوکز را می‌شکند.بنابراین پیشنهاد می شود که تحقیقات بالینی بیشتر جهت ارزیابی اثر موسیر ایرانی بر کاهش قندی شدن آلبومین انجام شود

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Potential distribution of Biscogniauxia mediterranea and Obolarina persica causal agents of oak charcoal disease in Iran’s Zagros forests

Abstract In Iran, native oak species are under threat from episodes of Charcoal Disease, a decline syndrome driven by abiotic stressors (e.g. drought, elevated temperature) and biotic components, Biscogniauxia mediterranea (De Not.) Kuntze and Obolarina persica (M. Mirabolfathy). The outbreak is still ongoing and the country’s largest ever recorded. Still, the factors driving its’ epidemiology in time and space are poorly known and such knowledge is urgently needed to develop strategies to counteract the adverse effects. In this study, we developed a generic framework based on experimental, machine-learning algorithms and spatial analyses for landscape-level prediction of oak charcoal disease outbreaks. Extensive field surveys were conducted during 2013–2015 in eight provinces (more than 50 unique counties) in the Zagros ecoregion. Pathogenic fungi were isolated and characterized through morphological and molecular approaches, and their pathogenicity was assessed under controlled water stress regimes in the greenhouse. Further, we evaluated a set of 29 bioclimatic, environmental, and host layers in modeling for disease incidence data using four well-known machine learning algorithms including the Generalized Linear Model, Gradient Boosting Model, Random Forest model (RF), and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines implemented in MaxEnt software. Model validation statistics [Area Under the Curve (AUC), True Skill Statistics (TSS)], and Kappa index were used to evaluate the accuracy of each model. Models with a TSS above 0.65 were used to prepare an ensemble model. The results showed that among the different climate variables, precipitation and temperature (Bio18, Bio7, Bio8, and bio9) in the case of O. persica and similarly, gsl (growing season length TREELIM, highlighting the warming climate and the endophytic/pathogenic nature of the fungus) and precipitation in case of B. mediterranea are the most important influencing variables in disease modeling, while near-surface wind speed (sfcwind) is the least important variant. The RF algorithm generates the most robust predictions (ROC of 0.95; TSS of 0.77 and 0.79 for MP and OP, respectively). Theoretical analysis shows that the ensemble model (ROC of 0.95 and 0.96; TSS = 0.79 and 0.81 for MP and OP, respectively), can efficiently be used in the prediction of the charcoal disease spatiotemporal distribution. The oak mortality varied ranging from 2 to 14%. Wood-boring beetles association with diseased trees was determined at 20%. Results showed that water deficiency is a crucial component of the oak decline phenomenon in Iran. The Northern Zagros forests (Ilam, Lorestan, and Kermanshah provinces) along with the southern Zagros forests (Fars and Kohgilouyeh va-Boyer Ahmad provinces) among others are the most endangered areas of potential future pandemics of charcoal disease. Our findings will significantly improve our understanding of the current situation of the disease to pave the way against pathogenic agents in Iran

Climate-Change-Driven Shifts in <i>Aegilops tauschii</i> Species Distribution: Implications for Food Security and Ecological Conservation

Climate change has diverse effects on the planet’s environment, including changes and shifts in the distribution and abundance of species. In this paper, we present a robust prediction ensemble algorithm for the current and future species distribution of Aegilops tauschii. Four modeling approaches were trained using various environmental variables (bioclimatic and soil variables) to accurately predict the species distribution for future scenarios. The results showed that GBM and RF demonstrated the most accurate predictions with an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve (AUC) of 0.80 and 0.83, respectively. The results of variable importance depicted that the temperature seasonality (bio4) was the most important and effective factor in determining the habitat suitability of Ae. tauschii, followed closely by the precipitation seasonality (bioclimate 15) and the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10). Then, the distribution maps of Ae. tauschii were produced under climate change scenarios for 2050 and 2070. The results showed that Ae. tauschii will lose some of its suitable habitats under climate change and that this loss will be more severe in the east part of the study area. The results of the present study have important implications for ecological conservation as they can assist in identifying critical habitats and inform conservation planning efforts. Our model provides a valuable tool for understanding the potential future distribution of Ae. tauschii and highlights the need for continuous monitoring and protection of this species

Morpho- Physiological Changes of Hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.) Traits as Affected by Seed Priming with Folic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide

To evaluate the effects of seed priming of hempseed with folic acid and hydrogen peroxide on some morphological and physiological traits a factorial greenhouse experiment based on randomized complete design with four replications was conducted at Islamic Azad University, Mahabad Branch. Treatments consisted of hydrogen peroxide at five levels (0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, 30 mm/liter) as the first factor and the four leveld of folic acid (5, 10, 20, 27 mm/liter) as the second factor.Seeds, to be primed, were immersed into solution of folic acid for 24 hours and hydrogen peroxide for 6 hours. The characteristics like chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll content, relative water content, plant height, root length, allometric coefficient, plant fresh and dry weights, were measured. Result of analysis of variance showed that the effects of folic acid and hydrogen peroxide on all characters were significant, but the interaction between the two treatments were only significant on relative water content and allometric coefficient. In this study, seed priming with 15 mm/liter of hydrogen peroxide and 5mm folic acid resulted in highest chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll contents, plant height, root length, fresh and dry weights. Increasing hydrogen peroxide level above 15mm/liter affected traits negatively. Combinated treatments of 15 mm/liter of hydrogen peroxide and 5 and 10 mm of folic acid resulted in highest relative water content and allometric coefficient, respectively. Based on the results obtained it can be concluded that priming seeds with 15 mm/liter of hydrogen peroxide and 5mm folic acid is recommended to produce proper morphological and physiological traits

Quality of life among Iranian patients with beta-thalassemia major using the SF-36 questionnaire

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Patients with beta-thalassemia major (β-TM) experience physical, psychological and social problems that lead to decreased quality of life (QoL). The aim here was to measure health-related QoL and its determinants among patients with β-TM, using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study at the Hematology Research Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, in southern Iran. METHODS One hundred and one patients with β-TM were randomly selected. After the participants' demographics and disease characteristics had been recorded, they were asked to fill out the SF-36 questionnaire. The correlations of clinical and demographic factors with the QoL score were evaluated. RESULTS There were 44 men and 57 women of mean age 19.52 ± 4.3 years (range 12-38). On two scales, pain (P = 0.041) and emotional role (P = 0.009), the women showed significantly lower scores than the men. Lower income, poor compliance with iron-chelating therapy and presence of comorbidities were significantly correlated with lower SF-36 scores. These factors were also found to be determinants of worse SF-36 scores in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS We showed that the presence of disease complications, poor compliance with iron-chelating therapy and poor economic status were predictors of worse QoL among patients with β-TM. Prevention and proper management of disease-related complications, increased knowledge among patients regarding the importance of managing comorbidities and greater compliance with iron-chelating therapy, along with psychosocial and financial support, could help these patients to cope better with this chronic disease state

Anthropogenic and natural fragmentations shape the spatial distribution and genetic diversity of roe deer in the marginal area of its geographic range

Habitat destruction and fragmentation are major factors in the destruction of genetic diversity and affect the movement behavior of the Roe deer population in the remaining habitats. Here, we study the population and landscape genetics of Capreolus capreolus (roe deer) in northern and northwestern Iran using twelve polymorphism microsatellite markers. From 111 total specimens, 63 had successful extraction (6 feces, 35 tissues, 9 bones, and 13 antlers). We considered 30 microsatellite polymorphic loci, of which only 12 were amplified for our further analysis. For genetic diversity analysis, the Weir-Cockerham method was applied to measure the inbreeding coefficient (FIS) and fixation index (FST) for each locus as well as for each population. For landscape genetics, the susceptibility patterns of genetic variations were assessed using three hypotheses including isolation by distance (IBD), isolation by environment (IBE), isolation by resistance (IBR), and individual landscape genetic analysis. A habitat suitability map as an indicator of landscape resistance was constructed from several species distribution models (SDMs) algorithms including Generalized Boosting Models (GBM), Maximum Entropy (Maxent), Random Forest (RF), Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) and an ensemble model. Our estimated FIs index showed that the Golestan, Arasbaran, and Guilan populations had the highest and lowest genetic diversity among roe deer populations. According to the Fst criterion, our results showed that Golestan and East Azarbaijan (Arasbaran) had the highest and Mazandaran had the lowest genetic distance patterns. Our results do not suggest that there is high genetic differentiation for roe deer in the region, with high levels of gene flow between study areas. We found that geographic distance has no significant relationship with genetic distance and that there is no significant relationship between the ecological niche non-similarity matrix and the genetic distance matrix. The most influential factors affecting gene flow in roe deer were aspect and elevation variables. The analysis suggests that the landscape has no significant influence on the structuring of the studied population and shows little genetic differentiation