To assess nickel-induced toxicity in plants, Zea mays seeds were germinated and cultured on nutrient solution with nickel concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 200 μM for a period of two weeks. Its effects on the growth, Hill reaction and photosynthetic pigments content were then investigated. The fresh and dry weight of leaves and roots increased in 50 μM nickel, but decreased in 100 and 200 μM. The decline in length of root and shoot were observed by increasing nickel concentration. According to the results, root and shoot showed differential growth response to various nickel concentrations. Nickel concentrations up to 100 μM caused increase in the content of chlorophyll a, but resulted in decrease at 200 μM nickel. No significant changes in chlorophyll b and carotenoids contents were observed. The rate of Hill reaction, as the ability of chlorophyll a in the reaction center of PSII₆₈₀ to split water, decreased by increase in nickel concentration.

Kasf forest, with an area of over 12 ha, running in the east-west direction and located at a distance of 20 kilometers in the north of the city of Bardaskan in a mountainous arid region. The minimum and maximum temperature of the area ranges between -10° C and +45° C. The average annual precipitation of the region is 155 mm.  The altitude of the forest is about 1600 m above sea level with a 15% slope. The vegetation of this forest was studied using floristic methods 2 years after a devastative fire and life forms and geographical distributions of plant species were determined. Sixty nine plant species belonged to 29 families (25 Dicots, 3 monocots and one gymnosperm). The largest families were the Lamiaceae with 11, Asteraceae with 9 and Caryophyllaceae with 5 species. The percentages of life forms were determined as follows: Therophytes with 36% (25 species), Hemicryptophytes with 29% (20 species), Chamaephytes with 16% (11 species), Phanerophytes with 13% (9 species) and Cryptophytes with 6% (4 species) of total investigated species. The high percentage of Hemicryptophytes indicated the dominance of cold mountainous climate and the presence of Asteraceae species such as harmala (Peganum harmala) showed that a severe disturbance had taken place in the region, which indicated a poor ecological administration in the studied region.

Acid rain, which is a wet form of gaseous air pollutants, is formed when air pollutants such as SO₂, NO₂, CO₂ in the atmosphere combine with water vapor of clouds. With the increase of concentration of these pollutants, the amount of acid rain increases. Acid rain, which is the mixture of sulphuric, nitric and carbonic acids, results in some changes in the soil such as decrease in pH, uncommon nutrient liberation, increase of release of toxic metals and the decline in the fertility of soil. These impacts have negative effects on plants. In the present work wheat plants were irrigated and leaf sprayed with four treatments of acid rain which contain sulphuric and nitrics acids with the pH of 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.6 for a period of 32 days, whereas, control plants were irrigated and leaf sprayed by normal water with a pH of 7.4. According to the results we have obtained, control plants in whole growth and physiological indexes were better than those plants treated by acid rains with the pH of 2.5 and 3.5. Moreover, the plants treated by acid rain with the pH of 4.5 and 5.6, were lower in other factors except photosynthetic rate, pigment content and carbohydrate content than control plants. Also acid rains with the pH of  2.5 and 3.5 caused white spots in both surfaces of  leaf and tip and border atrophy.

Recently, concern over environmental and health effects of massive use of antibiotics has led to the growth of bio-control agent application. Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a natural polymer that can be depolymerized into water-soluble short-chain fatty acid monomers and acts as a microbial control agent. In this study, the effects of the addition of PHB to the diet of Siberian sturgeon fingerlings by 2% and 5% were investigated. Community Level Physiological Profile (CLPP) was used to analyze anaerobic bacterial metabolic diversity in Siberian sturgeon fingerlings hindgut by using Biolog™ Ecoplate microplates. The results indicated that PHB increased metabolic activity in anaerobic bacteria in sturgeon hindgut. Also Lorenz curve and the Shannon index of Biolog™ Ecoplate data revealed that anaerobic metabolic potential of the bacterial community was different in the PHB-treated fishes compared with the control situation. 

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.

Saponins are secondary metabolites that are found in many plants and some animals. These compounds are high molecular weight glycosides, consisting of a sugar moiety linked to a triterpene or steroid aglycone. Many saponins have detergency properties and give stable foam in water. The genus Silene L. with more than 700 species is one of the largest genera of the family Caryophyllaceae mainly distributed in northern hemisphere. Saponins are one of the important secondary metabolites in the members of the genus. Quantitative and qualitative study of the saponins in the aerial parts and roots of three Silene species, namely S. ginodioica Ghaz. subsp. Penducularis (Fenzl ex Boiss.) Melzh., S. spergulifolia (Willd.) M. Bieb. and S. swertiifolia Boiss. were carried out by spectrophotometry and TLC methods. In this study, 5 fractions were obtained from each plant part and in both parts of the three species, fraction 1 contains the highest amounts of saponins. On the other hands, root extracts have high amounts of saponins. In addition, thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the extracts revealed some saponins spots with different R_f.

Effects of ozone depletion and increase of UV radiation have been studied by many researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of UV-B radiation on Melissa officinalis L. as well as the impact of salicylic acid and magnetic fields in the reduction of harmful effects of radiation on plants. The Melissa officinalis L. plants were treated with 28 ± 2 Cº for approximately 60 days. The light intensity was 150 µ E mˉ² Sˉ¹ and the light/dark regime was 16/8 h. UV-B treatment was applied after the six-leaf stage for a period of 15 days and 20 min every day. Salicylic acid (1mM) was daily sprayed on the plants after the six-leaf stage for one week. Magnetic field treatment was applied for an hour with intensities of 0, 40 and 85 mT. The results indicated that the UV-B radiation led to reduction of root and shoot dry and fresh weights, and root and shoot elongation. The radiations also reduced the content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid), sugar and soluble proteins. The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity and UV-absorbing content compounds increased under the effect of UV-B radiation. The results showed that treatment with salicylic acid and magnetic fields reduced damages to the plant due to UV-B radiation. 

Although there is extensive literature on different aspects of floral structure and embryology in Ranunculaceae, the distribution of developmental studies on the family is inharmonic. Studies on some genera are extensive, but others have been less extensively investigated or some may have remained unstudied. This research is an attempt to study the developmental stages of ovule in Consolida orientalis. The flowers and buds in different developmental stages were sectioned at 7-10 μm with a microtome. Staining was performed with hematoxylin and eusine. The sections were studied by means of a light microscope. Results indicated that ovules are anatropous, bitegumic and crassinucellate. The megaspore tetrads are linear or nonlinear. The development of embryo sac belongs to the Polygonum type, but the presence of Allium type was also abundant in other species of this family. On the contrary to the common Polygonum type, the antipodal cells are large, persistent, and highly polyploid and remain uninucleate. They penetrate the embryo sac under the pressure provided by postament degenerate in the cellular stage of endosperm

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. 

This investigation was conducted to compare the photosynthetic indices in ironwood trees infected by Viscum album L. and healthy trees located both in stand and out of stand in plain forest of Tamishan, Nour city. In each position, five healthy and five infected trees were selected and photosynthetic parameters, stomatal conductance, transpiration and internal CO₂ were examined. Results showed that the amount of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in healthy and infected branches were varied depending on the position of trees, individual trees and branch type. The amount of transpiration and internal CO₂ were significantly different in healthy and infected branches. The highest amount of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and internal CO₂ both within and out of stand, were measured in healthy trees (except for stomatal conductance in out of stand). Both within and out of stand, healthy branch of infected tree indicates higher level of photosynthetic activity compared with infected branch. Also, twofold comparison of the four parameters investigated showed that photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and internal CO₂ in healthy branches within stand were higher than those out of stand. It was also discovered that Viscum album caused disruption in photosynthetic activities of the host plant that, is why conducting supplementary studies in this regard is suggested to future researchers.

Gypsophila is the fourth biggest genus of Caryophyllaceae. Presence or absence of indumentum on different parts of the plant is one of the most important diagnostic characters between the species of this genus. The indumentum of 13 taxa of this genus were examined using scanning electron microscopy. All taxa had multicellular and glandular trichomes. Size of trichomes can represent as distinguishing trait between morphologically closed species. Although the most important characters in the delimitation of the sections were morphological, trichomes characters were also supportive. The indumentum was constant among different populations of each species except for two species whose glabrous specimens were described here as new varieties: Gypsophila pilosa var. glabra and Gypsophila polyclada var. leioclada

Dittrichia graveolens (Asteraceae) is an aromatic and annual plant. The aim of this study is the evaluation of total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol content, the antioxidant activities and other important medicinal secondary metabolites of this plant. According to the results, the total amount of phenols and flavonoid in different plant organs of D. graveolens were different in a way that the content of total phenols and flavonoid in the flowers and leaves were significantly more than the stems and roots. The content of flavonol in the flowers, leaves and stems were not significantly different, and the lowest content was observed in the roots. In addition, the linear and significant correlation coefficient was found between the antioxidant activity and the phenolic compounds in the extracts of different organs of the plant. The main components in different extracts were Bornyl acetate and α-Cadinol in flower extract, Borneol, Bornyl acetate, Thymol and Calarene in leaf extract and PMAMOMPE, Safrole, Carvacryl acetate, Vulgarone B and Bornyl acetate in root extract. On the whole, the current results compared with the results of other researchers indicates the remarkable impact of plant habitat on the quality and quantity of pharmaceutical compounds in different organs of the plant

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. 

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. 

In this survey, anatomical characteristics of leaves in 35 populations belonging to 18 taxa of Scrophularia have been studied. Among 39 quantitative and qualitative anatomical characters, some have more suitable taxonomic value for differentiation of taxa, such as blade thickness, thickness of upper and lower cuticle of midrib, length of upper and lower palisade parenchyma of blade, thickness of lower epidermis wall of midrib, thickness of upper and lower epidermis of blade, rows of spongy parenchyma of blade, upper collenchyma type of midrib and the presence of idioblast. Finally, comparison of the results of the current study together with Grau’s (1981) results confirm the validity of 4 groups out of the 12 groups which he had introduced. As for the remaining groups, no noticeable concordance was found.

Nowadays, nanoparticles (NPs) have the great potential application in different industries. Among all NPs, titanium dioxide NPs is the biggest ecotoxicological and ecophysiology concerns due to the increase of anthropogenic input into the aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the effects of titanium dioxide NPs enriched yeast on the growth, survival; digestive enzymes activity and lipid metabolism in Artemia urmiana (AU) and Artemia franciscana (AF) were investigated. The experiment was designed in two treatments (control and enriched yeast with titanium dioxide NPs) and each with four replicates for both Artemia species. At the end of experiment, the results indicated that titanium dioxide nanoparticles did not affect on the Artemia species growth but significantly increased AF survival. No significant difference was observed in AU survival. Also the results showed, NPs significantly decrease AU digestive enzymes activity and reverse pattern was observed for AF. The effect of NPs on the body lipid content was investigated in Artemia species and the results revealed that all the NPs decrease this parameter in AU but did not affect on AF lipid body content. The results obtained in this experiment, suggest that the eco-physiological effects of titanium dioxide NPs different in Artemia urmiana and Artemia franciscana.

Carnosic acid and Rosmarinic acid are family of polyphenols that are found in Rosmary plant. They have property biological behaviors such as anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-oxidants. This study compared the effects of these two compounds based on ceramide metabolism in cell line of Hep- G2. In this experimental study, Hep-G2 cells were cultured in DMEM supplemented containing bovine fetal serum and antibiotics. Cells with double dilution were then cultured from  tow substance Carnosic acid and Rosmarinic acid from concentrations  0 to 70 µM for 24 h and viability of cells was determined by MTT method.  Spectrophotometer was used to measure of caspase-3 activity.To measure the level of ceramide, a recombinant ceramidase acid enzyme and naphthalene-2,3-dialdehyde, which is fluorescent and is connected to sphingosine resulted from ceramidase acid, were added to the cell extract and was ultimately determined by HPLC. In this study also activity of ensymes as sphingomylinase, acid ceramidase, glucosyl ceramide synthase was measured. Carnosic acid increased cell viability dose-dependent in Hep-G2 cells by reducing ceramide levels and decreasing activity of ensymes as caspse-3, sphingomylinase, glucosyl ceramide synthase and  increasing activity of the enzyme acid ceramidase. Rosmarinic acid in concentrations of up to 50 µM decreased cell viability by increasing ceramide levels and activity of caspse-3, sphingomylinase and decreasing activity of  enzymes as acid ceramidese and glucosyl ceramide synthase. Also this substance in concentrations of up to 40 µM caused increasing activity of caspse-3 enzyme. Although in most cases, polyphenols have resulted in induction of apoptosis and decreased cell viability, but in some cases they have inversely affected and caused cell growth.

In order to study the interaction effects of salinity and ascorbic acid on the photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugar, proline, and protein in Satureja khuzestanica plant, factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (salinity in 4 levels 0, 40, 80 and 120g in 100kg soil and ascorbic acid in 2 levels 0 and 2 mM ) with 6 replicates. The results showed that salt stress reduced photosynthetic pigments amount by increasing the soil salinity from 0 to 40g NaCl in 100kg soil and then increased by 80g NaCl in 100kg soil and again decreased by concentration of 120g NaCl in 100kg soil. The amount of solouble sugar, proline and protein by the soil salinity increased from 0 to 40g in 100kg soil and then decreased in concentration of 80g NaCl in 100kg soil, in 120g NaCl in 100 kg soil increased amount of characters. In present of ascorbic acid photosynthetic pigments amount of pigments increased by increase the soil salinity from 0 to 40g NaCl in 100kg soil and then decreased by 80g NaCl in 100kg soil and again increased by concentration of 120g NaCl in 100kg soil. But, amount of solouble sugar, proline and protein by the soil salinity decreased from 0 to 40g in 100kg soil and then increased in concentration of 80g NaCl in 100kg soil. Finally, in 120g NaCl in 100kg soil decreased amount of characters.

Salvia leriifolia Benth. from Lamiaceae family is a plant native to Iran and Afghanistan with significant applications in medical, pharmaceutical and food industries. The aim of current investigation was to evaluate the composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils (EOs) of S. leriifolia growing naturally in Neyshabur and Bajestan (Northeast of Iran). The aerial parts of the plant were subjected to hydro-distillation and the EOs were analyzed with GC/MS. According to the results, 1,8-cineole (20.24%, 26.39 %), α-pinene (15.14%, 14.39 %) and β-pinene (24.33%, 26.01%) were the main constituents of the EOs of the plant populations in Bajestan and Neyshabur, respectively. Antioxidant activity of the EOs was measured by three different methods, 2,2´-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) and β-carotene bleaching (BCB). The total EO and three standards (α-pinene, β -pinene and 1,8-cineole) displayed a significant antioxidant effect in all assays. Antioxidant activities obtained by means of TBARS and BCB methods were higher than those measured by the DPPH assay. Moreover, BCB was proved to be the most appropriate method for measurement of antioxidant activity. The EOs of the plants grown in Neyshabur showed stronger antioxidant effects in comparison with those grown in Bajestan.

Phylogenetic relationships among the Eumeces schneiderii princeps and Eumeces schneiderii pavimentatus investigated using 509 bp partial sequences of 16S mitochondrial gene. Analyses were done by maximum-likelihood (RAxML) criteria on 52 specimens from over 20 geographically distinct localities. Our molecular results proposed two well-supported major clades by their phylogenetic positions, genetic differences and unique characterizations in their morphology and habitats including: (1) Eumeces schneiderii princeps+ Eumeces schneiderii pavimentatus (2) Eurylepis (3) Scincus and (4) Scincopus. However, the phylogenetic affinities of Eumeces sp. in the Scincus clade were not resolved. Phylogenetic analyses of the genus did not grouped Eurylepis with Eumeces and clustered it in a completely separate group . In addition, phylogenetic resultsrevealed a monophyletic status for Eumeces schneideri