Role of public sector in developing agricultural biotechnology in Iran

Agricultural experts in the field of biotechnology in Iran were surveyed in order to explore their perception  about factors influencing the participation of public sector in developing agricultural biotechnology in Iran.  Based on the results of the study, policy making, marketing, infrastructural, educational and research factors determined about 74% of variance of factors influencing the participation of public sector in developing agricultural biotechnology.Key words: Biotechnology, agriculture, Iran, public sector

Effect of water-deficit stress on secondary metabolites of Melissa officinalis L.: role of exogenous salicylic acid

Melissa officinalis is a perennial herbaceous plant from Lamiaceae family, widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries to add aroma. Drought stress in plants may happen due to the increase in water loss, insufficient water absorption or both. Salicylic acid (SA) is an important secondary metabolite in plants with hormone-like action in some biochemical pathways. Adding it during water-deficit stress, may alter a number of physiological processes, increasing the resistance of plant against possible damage by water loss. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of drought stress (DRU) on secondary metabolites of Melissa officinalis and also the efficacy of salicylic acid treatment to minimize the damages. According to the results, treatment of plant with 0.7 mM salicylic acid had considerable alteration in the quantity of important secondary metabolites. Protein concentration increased in all stages; Chlorophyll a reached to the highest amount; the amount of the MDA increased at the first and second stages in 1/3 fc drought treatment as well as at the third stage in 2/3 fc. Besides, total phenol content increased at stage I in 1/3 fc drought and the flavonoid content increased in 1/3 fc drought at all stages. Finally, content of anthocyanin was increased at first and third stages 1/3 fc drought, as well as at second stage in 1/3 fc drought. In conclusion, application of salicylic acid (0.7 mM) was useful for improving quality of lemon balm subjected to stress due to water deficit

The Perceptions of Graduate Students about Factors Influencing the Extension of Entrepreneurship Education in College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Iran The perceptions of graduate students in the college of agriculture and natural resources abo

Abstract: Graduate students at the college of agriculture and natural resources were surveyed in order to explore their perception about the factors influencing the extension of entrepreneurship education in the Science and Research Branch at Islamic Azad University. The methodology used in this study involved a combination of descriptive and quantitative research. The total population was 313 master and doctorate students majoring in agriculture. The results of regression analysis showed that 50% of the variance in the perception of respondents could be explained by tendency toward being successful, being innovative, entrepreneurship education in universities, role of instructor and educational contents

The Identification of Factors Affecting the Use of Pressurized Irrigation Systems by Farmers in Iran

Climate change and water scarcity are the most important challenges of the agricultural sector, and pressurized irrigation systems (PISs) are one of the most significant ways to improve agricultural water productivity. The main purpose of this research was to identify the factors affecting the use of PISs by farmers. The statistical research population was a total of 2396 Iranian model farmers. The Cochran formula was used to determine the number of statistical samples. Accordingly, this comprised 331 people. The methodology of the study was mixed method research. The structural equation modeling technique, Mann⁻Whitney U, and Kruskal⁻Wallis tests were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the personal characteristics, tendency, attitude, self-efficacy, subjective norms, governmental support, environmental tensions, and technological features were the most important factors which influenced the farmers. It was found that all of these variables had a positive and significant relationship with the using of PISs by farmers, and they were able to predict 52% of the behavioral changes (R2) of the farmers. Among these variables, the attitude, with a path coefficient (β) of 0.48, had the highest impact on the using of PISs by the farmers

Limb girdle muscular dystrophy due to mutations in POMT2

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the gene coding for protein O-mannosyl-transferase 2 (POMT2) are known to cause severe congenital muscular dystrophy, and recently, mutations in POMT2 have also been linked to a milder limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) phenotype, named LGMD type 2N (LGMD2N). Only four cases have been reported so far.ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02759302 METHODS: We report 12 new cases of LGMD2N, aged 18-63 years. Muscle involvement was assessed by MRI, muscle strength testing and muscle biopsy analysis. Other clinical features were also recorded. RESULTS: Presenting symptoms were difficulties in walking, pain during exercise, delayed motor milestones and learning disabilities at school. All had some degree of cognitive impairment. Brain MRIs were abnormal in 3 of 10 patients, showing ventricular enlargement in one, periventricular hyperintensities in another and frontal atrophy of the left hemisphere in a third patient. Most affected muscle groups were hip and knee flexors and extensors on strength testing. On MRI, most affected muscles were hamstrings followed by paraspinal and gluteal muscles. The 12 patients in our cohort carried 11 alleles with known mutations, whereas 11 novel mutations accounted for the remaining 13 alleles. CONCLUSION: We describe the first cohort of patients with LGMD2N and show that unlike other LGMD types, all patients had cognitive impairment. Primary muscle involvement was found in hamstring, paraspinal and gluteal muscles on MRI, which correlated well with reduced muscle strength in hip and knee flexors and extensors. The study expands the mutational spectrum for LGMD2N, with the description of 11 novel POMT2 mutations in the association with LGMD2N. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02759302.status: publishe

Mechanistic insight into cell growth, internalization, and cytotoxicity of PAMAM dendrimers

We report on the role of PAMAM dendrimer concentration and generation (G2, G4, G6) on cell growth and cytotoxicity in HEK293T and HeLa cell lines and make comparisons with dendrimer-induced leakage from liposomes to probe the mechanisms in action. Specifically, we observed a striking transition from cell growth enhancement to a reduction in cell viability at a critical PAMAM dendrimer concentration, that is, approximately 500 nM. Confocal microscopy studies show evidence of a transition from cell membrane adhesion to cell internalization and cell nucleus interaction at equivalent dendrimer concentrations. A dendrimer concentration window of 500-700 nM was identified for effective cell internalization without significant cytotoxicity. Though liposome leakage correlated with cytotoxicity, no quantitative agreement was observed, that is, cells are 100 times (based on surface coverage) more resistant to dendrimers than liposomes. These findings have significant implications in the design of effective drug/gene delivery vehicles based on dendrimers.Srinivas Parimi, Timothy J. Barnes, David F. Callen and Clive A. Prestidg