Medicinal plants and phytotherapy in Iran: Glorious history, current status and future prospects

This study is an endeavour to analyse the status of medicinal plants research in Iran. Because of its exceptional phytogeography, Iran has a unique and diverse flora. It is estimated that, 8167 species of vascular plants are present in Iran of which about 2075 have medicinal importance. Situated at the heart of the Silk Road, Iran enjoys a mix of cultures providing a rich backbone for the development of traditional herbal medicine practices. Notwithstanding the brilliant history in traditional medicine and success of investigation to produce herbal medicines, attempts in recent decades, face many challenges. Many text and paper about these concerns were never translated in English. Strong need was felt to record such data of medicinal plants of Iran, their conservation status and related information. The scattered literature over medicinal plants of Iran were collected, analysed and presented in this review, highlighting not only their therapeutic potential but also concerns about product authenticity, quality, safety and efficacy. This will provide ways for future scientific research in this area. Awareness of critical issues in traditional medicinal herbs can play a pivotal role in the discovery and development of plant based drugs and to sustain consumer confidence

Human APOBEC3 Variations and Viral Infection

Human APOBEC3 (apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like 3) enzymes are capable of inhibiting a wide range of endogenous and exogenous viruses using deaminase and deaminase-independent mechanisms. These enzymes are essential components of our innate immune system, as evidenced by (a) their strong positive selection and expansion in primates, (b) the evolution of viral counter-defense mechanisms, such as proteasomal degradation mediated by HIV Vif, and (c) hypermutation and inactivation of a large number of integrated HIV-1 proviruses. Numerous APOBEC3 single nucleotide polymorphisms, haplotypes, and splice variants have been identified in humans. Several of these variants have been reported to be associated with differential antiviral immunity. This review focuses on the current knowledge in the field about these natural variations and their roles in infectious diseases

The Low Abundance of CpG in the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Is Not an Evolutionarily Signature of ZAP

The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is known to restrict viral replication by binding to the CpG rich regions of viral RNA, and subsequently inducing viral RNA degradation. This enzyme has recently been shown to be capable of restricting SARS-CoV-2. These data have led to the hypothesis that the low abundance of CpG in the SARS-CoV-2 genome is due to an evolutionary pressure exerted by the host ZAP. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed a detailed analysis of many coronavirus sequences and ZAP RNA binding preference data. Our analyses showed neither evidence for an evolutionary pressure acting specifically on CpG dinucleotides, nor a link between the activity of ZAP and the low CpG abundance of the SARS-CoV-2 genome

Telomere Roles in Fungal Genome Evolution and Adaptation

Telomeres form the ends of linear chromosomes and usually comprise protein complexes that bind to simple repeated sequence motifs that are added to the 3′ ends of DNA by the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). One of the primary functions attributed to telomeres is to solve the “end-replication problem” which, if left unaddressed, would cause gradual, inexorable attrition of sequences from the chromosome ends and, eventually, loss of viability. Telomere-binding proteins also protect the chromosome from 5′ to 3′ exonuclease action, and disguise the chromosome ends from the double-strand break repair machinery whose illegitimate action potentially generates catastrophic chromosome aberrations. Telomeres are of special interest in the blast fungus, Pyricularia, because the adjacent regions are enriched in genes controlling interactions with host plants, and the chromosome ends show enhanced polymorphism and genetic instability. Previously, we showed that telomere instability in some P. oryzae strains is caused by novel retrotransposons (MoTeRs) that insert in telomere repeats, generating interstitial telomere sequences that drive frequent, break-induced rearrangements. Here, we sought to gain further insight on telomeric involvement in shaping Pyricularia genome architecture by characterizing sequence polymorphisms at chromosome ends, and surrounding internalized MoTeR loci (relics) and interstitial telomere repeats. This provided evidence that telomere dynamics have played historical, and likely ongoing, roles in shaping the Pyricularia genome. We further demonstrate that even telomeres lacking MoTeR insertions are poorly preserved, such that the telomere-adjacent sequences exhibit frequent presence/absence polymorphism, as well as exchanges with the genome interior. Using TERT knockout experiments, we characterized chromosomal responses to failed telomere maintenance which suggested that much of the MoTeR relic-/interstitial telomere-associated polymorphism could be driven by compromised telomere function. Finally, we describe three possible examples of a phenomenon known as “Adaptive Telomere Failure,” where spontaneous losses of telomere maintenance drive rapid accumulation of sequence polymorphism with possible adaptive advantages. Together, our data suggest that telomere maintenance is frequently compromised in Pyricularia but the chromosome alterations resulting from telomere failure are not as catastrophic as prior research would predict, and may, in fact, be potent drivers of adaptive polymorphism

Effects of HarmoKnee Injury Prevention Training Program on Knee Isometric Strength of Young Professional Male Soccer Players

Introduction: Based on the crucial role of muscle strength in performance and injury prevention, insufficient muscle strength has been implicated in injuries to soccer players’ lower limbs. This study investigated the effects of an injury prevention training program on knee isometric strength of young professional male soccer players. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four young professional soccer players with at least five years of experience in playing soccer professionally on a regular schedule were divided into two groups: experimental group (12 players) and control group (12 players). Participants in experimental group underwent a knee preventive intervention program (called “HarmoKnee program”) three times per week for eight successive weeks. A Biodex Isokinetic Dynamometer used to study the hamstring and quadriceps strength at 30˚, 60˚ and 90˚ knee angles. Paired t-test, independent sample t-test and two way repeated measures were used for statistical analysis of data (P < 0.05). Results: The results of this study showed that in experimental group, quadriceps peak torque (PT) increased significantly at 60˚ and 90˚ (P < 0.05). Significant differences were found between hamstring's PT at 30˚ and 60˚ in the experimental group (P < 0.05). Quadriceps muscles PT of the experimental group were significantly different at different angles (P = 0.000). For all cases, quadriceps PT was highest at 90˚ (292.1 Nm). For the hamstring muscle's PT, significant differences were found among three angles in the experimental group (P = 0.000). The most hamstring PT was revealed in 30˚ of the knee joint (155.1 Nm). Conclusion: It is concluded that the HarmoKnee prevention program is a useful program for improving knee muscle strength in young male professional soccer players. Data from this research can help trainers to decide whether players need physical therapy to improve their balance and strength and also are helpful in designing injury prevention programs for young professional soccer players. Keywords: Professional soccer player, Hamstrings, Quadriceps, Isometri

VelA and LaeA are Key Regulators of Epichloë festucae Transcriptomic Response during Symbiosis with Perennial Ryegrass

VelA (or VeA) is a key global regulator in fungal secondary metabolism and development which we previously showed is required during the symbiotic interaction of Epichlo&euml; festucae with perennial ryegrass. In this study, comparative transcriptomic analyses of ∆velA mutant compared to wild-type E. festucae, under three different conditions (in culture, infected seedlings, and infected mature plants), were performed to investigate the impact of VelA on E. festucae transcriptome. These comparative transcriptomic studies showed that VelA regulates the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in membrane transport, fungal cell wall biosynthesis, host cell wall degradation, and secondary metabolism, along with a number of small secreted proteins and a large number of proteins with no predictable functions. In addition, these results were compared with previous transcriptomic experiments that studied the impact of LaeA, another key global regulator of secondary metabolism and development that we have shown is important for E. festucae&ndash;perennial ryegrass interaction. The results showed that although VelA and LaeA regulate a subset of E. festucae genes in a similar manner, they also regulated many other genes independently of each other suggesting specialised roles

Significant factors of implementing open building systems in Malaysia

Changes in the built environment are inevitable due to diversity in human needs over time and it is suggested by scientists to consider flexibility and adaptability under concept of Open Building Systems (OBS) to mitigate impacts on environment and to satisfy the end-user. However, conventional methods are still common due to the lack of knowledge in OBS, resistance to change, monopoly of conventional building material manufacturing, insufficient legislations and lack of awareness of end-users.This study initially aimed to identify the significant factors of OBS concept that positively influence the construction industry of Malaysia and to verify the factors based on expert's view and ultimately to develop a conceptual framework. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed to achieve these objectives including a comprehensive literature review on OBS to identify the main factors before verifying them by experts' perspective through Delphi method and developing the conceptual framework through ANP decision-making methods. This research was done specifically for construction industry in Malaysia but it has contributions in similar methods worldwide. Outcome of the literature review signifies 48 factors. These factors were later verified by selected experts of the area and the result revealed that 44 factors were confirmed and classified under 8 main clusters.The findings show that "design for change" is the main influential variant among the main clusters followed by "standardization", "manufacturing of OBS components", "level of decision-making", "theory of level", "end-user oriented design", "enhanced post construction maintenance", "level of independency of building systems and subsystems", and "OBS factors influencing sustainability development".The main category of "design for change" includes the most influential factors such as "design for adaptability", design for flexibility", "design for generality", "design for assembly", "design for disassembly", and "design based on service life span". Some other significant sub factors include "modular coordination", "identifying level of decision-making", "end-user involvement", "identifying ordering principles", and "replace-ability". This research will help practitioners in the construction industry to implement Open Building concept to achieve more adaptable Built Environment

Human APOBEC3 Variations and Viral Infection

Human APOBEC3 (apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like 3) enzymes are capable of inhibiting a wide range of endogenous and exogenous viruses using deaminase and deaminase-independent mechanisms. These enzymes are essential components of our innate immune system, as evidenced by (a) their strong positive selection and expansion in primates, (b) the evolution of viral counter-defense mechanisms, such as proteasomal degradation mediated by HIV Vif, and (c) hypermutation and inactivation of a large number of integrated HIV-1 proviruses. Numerous APOBEC3 single nucleotide polymorphisms, haplotypes, and splice variants have been identified in humans. Several of these variants have been reported to be associated with differential antiviral immunity. This review focuses on the current knowledge in the field about these natural variations and their roles in infectious diseases

Applied machine learning in greenhouse simulation; new application and analysis

Prediction the inside environment variables in greenhouses is very important because they play a vital role in greenhouse cultivation and energy lost especially in cold and hot regions. The greenhouse environment is an uncertain nonlinear system which classical modeling methods have some problems to solve it. So the main goal of this study is to select the best method between Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) to estimate three different variables include inside air, soil and plant temperatures (Ta, Ts, Tp) and also energy exchange in a polyethylene greenhouse in Shahreza city, Isfahan province, Iran. The environmental factors which influencing all the inside temperatures such as outside air temperature, wind speed and outside solar radiation were collected as data samples. In this research, 13 different training algorithms were used for ANN models (MLP-RBF). Based on K-fold cross validation and Randomized Complete Block (RCB) methodology, the best model was selected. The results showed that the type of training algorithm and kernel function are very important factors in ANN (RBF and MLP) and SVM models performance, respectively. Comparing RBF, MLP and SVM models showed that the performance of RBF to predict Ta, Tp and Ts variables is better according to small values of RMSE and MAPE and large value of R2 indices. The range of RMSE and MAPE factors for RBF model to predict Ta, Tp and Ts were between 0.07 and 0.12 °C and 0.28–0.50%, respectively. Generalizability and stability of the RBF model with 5-fold cross validation analysis showed that this method can use with small size of data groups. The performance of best model (RBF) to estimate the energy lost and exchange in the greenhouse with heat transfer models showed that this method can estimate the real data in greenhouse and then predict the energy lost and exchange with high accuracy. Keywords: Black box method, Energy lost, Environmental situation, Energy exchang