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A general survey for natural enemies of scale insect (Hemiptera, Coccoidea) in Kermanshah province, Western Iran was conducted during years 2009–2010. Eleven predator species belonging to Anystidae (1), Phytoseiidae (1), Cecidomyiidae (1), Coccinellidae (6), Chrysopidae (1) and Nitidulidae (1), and 13 parasitoid species (12 primary, 1 primary/secondary parasitoid) belonging to Aphelinidae (4), Encyrtidae (7) and Pteromalidae (2) were associated with 10 species of Coccidae, Diaspididae and Eriococcidae. The aphelinid parasitoid Coccobius danzigae (Yasnosh, 1977), Encarsia gigas (Chumakova, 1957) and the Nitidulid predator Cybocephalus planiceps Endrody-Younga, 1968 are new records for Iran.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is considered one of the most important tomato pathogens in tropical and subtropical regions including Iran. During the years 2007 to 2009, a total number of 510 symptomatic and asymptomatic vegetable, ornamental and weed samples were collected from fields and greenhouses in ten provinces of Iran. Symptoms included stunting, yellowing, leaf curl and flower senescence. PCR with specific primers showed TYLCV infection in 184 samples (36%) such as cucumber, pepper, tomato and several weeds from seven provinces. Based on the geographical origin, host range and symptoms, twenty three representative isolates were selected for phylogenetic analysis. An amplicon with a size about 608 base pair (bp) comprising partial sequence of the coat (CP) and movement protein (MP) coding regions of the viral genome was sequenced and compared with the corresponding selected sequences available in GenBank for Iran and worldwide. Phylogenetic analyses on the basis of the nucleotide sequences indicated two geographically separated clades. Isolates collected from Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Kerman provinces were grouped together with other Iranian isolates including TYLCV-Ir2, TYLCV-Kahnooj, and an isolate from Oman. It was also revealed that isolates collected from Boushehr, Fars, Tehran, and Isfahan placed close to the Iranian isolate TYLCV-Abadeh and isolates from Israel and Egypt. No correlation was found between the genetic variation and the host species, but selected Iranian isolates were grouped on the basis of the geographical origins. Results of this study indicated a high genetic diversity among Iranian TYLCV isolates.

Males are known to have increased risk for septic complications after traumatic injury, which appears to be mediated by the inhibitory effects of testosterone on immune function. The role of testosterone in immunity after burn injury, however, remains unclear. Herein, we examined the effects of a testosterone receptor antagonist, flutamide, on delayed type hypersensitivity response (DTH), splenocyte proliferation, interleukin (IL)-2 secretion, and IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) expression in male BALB/c mice subjected to a 15% total body surface area burn or sham injury. Burn- or sham-injured mice were given flutamide s.c. at 30 min and 24 h after injury. At 48 h, burn injury caused a 48% (P

Formaldehyde (HCHO) concentrations of up to 479 mmol m–3 have been reported in urban fogwater, yet little is known about the phytotoxicity of HCHO at such concentrations. We report that formaldehyde at target concentrations of 300, 600, 900 and 1200mmol m–3 reduced germination of Douglas fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco.] pollen in vitro. Formaldehyde concentrations and pH in media containing pollen decreased over 25 h. These effects were not seen with heat-killed pollen nor with media lacking pollen, which may suggest uptake or detoxification by live pollen. Stress was indicated by ion leakage from pollen, which increased within 20 h in all HCHO treatments. Reduced pollen viability was indicated by TTC staining of pollen, which decreased after HCHO treatment.

Zinc is found in abundance in the human brain. Patients with depression may have decreased consumption of food sources rich in zinc, and zinc supplementation may have a potential influence on depressive symptoms. However, clinical trials on the effect of zinc supplementation in depression are limited. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of zinc supplementation on efficacy of antidepressant therapy. Furthermore, the effect of zinc on plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor-a (BDNF-a) were assessed.A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of zinc supplementation was conducted in patients with DSM-IV major depression. Forty-four patients of both sexes aged 18-55 years were recruited for this study from a university hospital. The zinc-supplemented group received zinc sulfate (25 mg elemental Zn/day) orally in addition to their selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants for 12 weeks. Symptoms were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) on arrival, weeks 6 and 12. Plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α and BDNF-a were measured at baseline and at the end of study.Twenty patients in zinc group and 17 patients in placebo groups completed the study. At baseline, there were no significant differences in any variable between the patients allocated to receive placebo and those taking zinc supplement. Zinc supplementation significantly reduced HDRS compared to placebo (P0.01 at 12th week). No significant differences were observed in plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and BDNF-a between zinc-supplemented and placebo-supplemented group.Zinc supplementation in conjunction with antidepressant drugs might be beneficial for reducing depressive symptoms. However, its effect does not appear to be mediated through impact of zinc on inflammatory processes.

Lichens were cultured by attaching a thallus fragment to a nylon monofilament loop with silicone sealer. Two effective methods for adjusting lichen mass to a standard moisture content were developed (the ‘reference-sample’ and ‘sacrificial’ methods). These corrections for moisture content allow detection of very small changes in dry mass without having to oven dry (and kill) all transplants. Average annual biomass growth rates for non-fragmenting species were typically between 5 and 30%. Annual biomass growth rates of healthy, vigorous individuals, as indicated by the 75th percentile, were mostly between 10 and 40%. Alectoria sarmentosa was prone to fragmentation despite the maintenance of healthy thalli. The other species can be ranked by biomass growth rates as follows: Evernia prunastri> Lobaria pulmonaria=Usnea longissima> Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis=Lobaria oregano.

We studied the effects of "near-lethal" (NL, 47 degrees C for 1 h) heat stress, applied to intact shoots of red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea L.) during early (October), deep (November) or late (December) dormancy, on bud dormancy release and development of stem tissue cold hardiness under natural conditions and at a constant temperature of 0 or 23 degrees C in the dark. The NL heat-stress treatment overcame bud dormancy when applied during the early and late stages of dormancy. During October and December, all plants in the 23 degrees C + dark post-stress environment broke bud within 35 and 12 days, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for days to bud break in the control plants were more than 150 and 110 days, respectively. Application of NL heat stress during deep dormancy caused only slightly earlier bud break compared to the control plants. In the 0 degrees C + dark post-stress environment, all NL heat-treated plants died within 9 weeks. Under natural post-stress conditions, bud break in plants receiving NL heat stress during early and deep dormancy occurred at the same time as in control plants, whereas bud break of plants receiving NL heat stress during late dormancy occurred 55 days earlier than in control plants. Under both natural and 23 degrees C + dark post-stress conditions, cold hardiness of plants receiving NL heat stress during early dormancy was similar to that of controls. Application of NL heat stress during deep dormancy hastened the rate of deacclimation under the 23 degrees C + dark post-stress conditions but had no effect on deacclimation under natural post-stress conditions. Application of NL heat stress during late dormancy enhanced deacclimation of plants in both the 23 degrees C + dark and natural post-stress environments.

This study reports on the dieback and recovery of red-osier dogwood, Cornus sericea L. plants from "near-lethal" (NL, sublethal) stress after varying lengths of post-stress environment (PSE). Intact dormant stems were subjected to 47° C for one hour during either October, November or December, and then placed into either constant 0° C or 23° C (dark condition) or kept under natural conditions at Corvallis, OR. Plants exposed to NL-heat stress in October died prior to 9 weeks of 0° C PSE, while none of the plants from other PSE treatments showed signs of injury. For plants exposed to NL-heat stress during November and December, stemdieback occurred at 0° C after 12 and 15 weeks, respectively. None of the plants from the other PSE treatments were injured. Post-stress temperatures of 0° or 5° C following NL-heat in October were lethal while temperatures above 10° C allowed recovery. Post-stress exposure to 0° C injured excised stems within 48 h, whereas irreversible damage to whole plants occurred by two weeks. Dormant plants exposed in October to other stresses, e.g., freezing temperature and hydrogen cyanamide, at NL dosages showed that these stresses also caused plant dieback at 0° C and little or no dieback at 23° C PSE.

We monitored growth (as change in biomass) of Lobaria pulmonaria for approximately 3 years in western Oregon, re-weighing thalli eleven times over the 3 years. Thalli were grown as pendant transplants in a Fraxinus latifolia forest. Most transplants survived for the full 3 years, with only 12 out of the 60 thalli missing by the end; another 9 were eliminated from the data set due to breakage. While growth rates were highly variable most thalli grew rapidly; mean biomass increases were 28%, 47%, and 69% over the first one, first two, and all 3 years, respectively. Growth rates were not correlated with starting sizes of transplants, which ranged from 0.18 to 0.56 g, but differences among individuals' growth rates were consistent over time. Growth rates were strongly seasonal. Thalli did not grow significantly during summer and early fall, which are dry seasons in the study area. Thalli grew throughout the wet seasons (November to June) and, in the year during which growth was measured most frequently, growth rates were maximal in spring, contrasting with our expectation that rapid growth would begin with the onset

Lobaria oregana (Tuck.) Miill. Arg. and L. pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. are parapatric in western North America. However, L. pulmonaria is more widely distributed than L. oregana; in western Oregon, L. pulmonaria occurs in the Willamette Valley and forests of the Cascades and Coast Ranges, while L. oregana is largely restricted to the mountain forests. To determine whether distribution patterns are related to differential environmental tolerances, we examined responses to heat and desiccation and growth responses of transplanted thalli. Heat tolerances were tested by exposing thalli (air-dry or moist) to temperatures ranging from 24-400C (30C intervals) and 25- 600C (5 0C intervals)for 1 hr. Sensitivity was assessed by measuring electrical conductivity ofdeionized water in which thalli were immersed, which reflects membrane damage. Heat tolerances of the two species did not differ. Lobaria pulmonariafrom the Willamette Valley was apparently less desiccation tolerant than L. oregana from upper canopies in the Cascade Mountains. Intraspecific differences in desiccation tolerance depended on the environment from which thalli were collected and were as great as interspeciic differences. Thus, differences in distribution between the two species do not appear to be due simply to differential heat or desiccation tolerances. Lobaria oregana from upper canopies in the Cascades grew more slowly than L. pulmonaria from lower tree trunks in the Willamette Valley when both were transplanted to the Willamette Valley for 18 weeks. However, survival of the two species did not differ 9 weeks after transplanting to the Willamette Valley.

In previous work, we have shown that near-lethal heat stress can overcome dormancy in Red-osier dogwood, Cornus sericea L. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of premature breaking of dormancy on the development of cold hardiness. Plants at three stages of dormancy (early, deep, and late) were exposed to 47C for one hour and then placed into 3 post-treatment environments (0C, 23C, and natural conditions). At periodic time intervals, the plants were evaluated for bud break, cold hardiness, and stem injury. These studies suggest that premature breaking of dormancy at the early stage had no effect on hardiness development, whereas at the deep and late stages of dormancy, premature breaking of dormancy caused a faster rate of deacclimation at the warmer post-treatment environments. In addition, we observed that the heat-treated plants died during storage at 0C, and survived at 23C storage and natural conditions.

Red-osier dogwood sterns, Cornus sericea L., at ten different growth stages were subjected to a series of temperatures ranging from 25C to 60C by immersing them in a water bath for one hour. After heat treatments, the viability of internode tissues were determined by electrical conductivity and ethylene production. Heat tolerance was expressed as LT50, the temperature at which 50% of the tissues were injured. The results suggest that the LT50 of dormant plants remained relatively constant, approximately 53C. During dormancy, heat stress did not stimulate ethylene production from internode tissues. In contrast, tissues from non-dormant plants exposed to heat stress produced increasing levels of ethylene reaching a peak at 40C followed by a steady decrease at higher temperatures. Application of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to stem segments from dormant plants, following heat treatment, enhanced production of ethylene.