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The rapid decline of Lake Urmia in northwest Iran, caused by both human and natural factors, motivated our utilization of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The objective was to identify the most effective reservoir outflow simulation scheme and assess the influence of land use changes in the Zarrineh River basin on Lake Urmia. The target release approach for controlled reservoirs and the measured outflow schemes were evaluated. Despite improved calibration results in the latter method, the former demonstrated superior performance during the validation phase. Three land use scenarios – a model with the 2001 land use map, a model with the 2008 land use map, and a model with a gradually updating land use map – were considered. The gradually updating land use scenario exhibited a significant enhancement in validation results; it showed a 250% increase in water yield, while evapotranspiration declined by 3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, drinking and irrigation water quality in Shirin Darreh dam basin (1750 km2), NE Iran, was assessed. Thirty-three surface water, groundwater, and the reservoir water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters, including pH, EC, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, CO32−, HCO3−, SO42−, and Cl−, in laboratory of Water Company of North Khorasan. Hydrogeochemical approaches showed that water-rock interaction was the main mechanism controlling the water chemistry in the study area. The major type of the water samples were determined by Mg2+, Na+, Ca2+, SO42−, Cl−, and HCO3− ions mainly originating from the developed marl, shale, and limestone rocky units in the study area. The water flow direction was addressed as one of the effective parameters on the ion content in the surface waters. Based on saturation index, gypsum, and anhydrite were under-saturated in all the water samples, and calcite and aragonite were super-saturated in major part of the water samples. Drinking quality of the water samples was in suitable, intermediate, good and inappropriate categories, and thoroughly unpleasant and non-potable classes were not dominant based on Schoeller classification. According to water quality index, 36 and 64% of the water samples were in unsuitable and suitable drinking water quality ranges, respectively. Among the irrigation water quality indices, EC, MH, SO42−, and Cl− hazards were damaging for agricultural purposes. The lithological frame of the study basin with erosion sensitive rocks is an important natural factor controlling the water resources quality for different purposes, especially drinking and irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, reflecting on the village and archaeological site of Jamalo located on the top of the Zayanderud dam, aims to explore the circumstances human settlements would have encounter with the construction of the dam and when its reservoirs were flooded. About 30 years ago, as the images from Google Map showed, the water strip emerging from the Zayanderud dam, wherein the left riverbank hosted the village and archaeological site of Jamalo. This site had been occupied for much of the sixth and fifth millennium BC until the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. In the Middle Bronze Age, it had been dominated by the Proto-literate, historic, and Islamic periods. Archaeological evidence from surface surveys also indicated that pottery shreds were similar to those of Sialk III and Bakun A. Now, Jamalo is exposed to the waters of the dam reservoir. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of what would have happened to archaeological sites with the construction of the dam, its reservoirs were flooded, and when landscapes were radically altered. Another question was: "What would have happened to archeological sites as floods made it inaccessible?" Based on the excavation at Jamalo and the comparison of images taken from the region before and after the construction of the dam, it was observed that the reservoir had destroyed the village, and the slopes of the site, especially on the eastern and northeastern parts, had been covered with a layer of deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Widely regarded as one of the chief causes of diseases in cattle population, bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) has the potential to infect sheep and goat, making them potential reservoirs or hosts for this virus. Thus, preventive measures against BoHV-1 in cattle should not overlook the ability of this virus to infect other animals., Aims: Therefore, the focal point of this study was to ascertain the seroprevalence of BoHV-1 in 300 healthy goats, the relationship between host and the environmental determinants of infection, and the contributing role of goats in the epidemiology of the BoHV-1., Materials & Methods: In order to pinpoint the existing antibodies to BoHV-1, the obtained sera were analyzed by Virus Neutralization test., Results: According to this test, the seroprevalence of BoHV-1 appeared to be 64.33% in southwestern Iran. What logistic regression disclosed was that the odds ratio between age and infection with BoHV-1 was 0.83 (p = 0.01), representing a decrease of 17% as goats grew one year older. In addition, females manifested a higher relative frequency of infection compared to males, with the odds of infection in female goats being registered at 1.88, compared to those in males (p = 0.2). Moreover, contrasted with goats lacking any history of abortion, those with a history of abortion featured 1.1 as the odds ratio (p = 0.87). The seroprevalence in Hendijan, Ahvaz, Shushtar and Dasht e Azadegan was detected to stand at 73.24, 71.30, 55.56 and 47.06 percent, respectively, with 6% of fluctuation in the infection rates being attributed to various geographical locations under the scrutiny of this study (p = 0.003)., Discussion and Conclusion: Having attested the marked seroprevalence of BoHV-1, the definitive role of goats in the epidemiology of this virus as a secondary host or reservoir was confirmed by the present study, necessitating the strict monitoring of BoHV-1 in goats by animal health authorities in areas where BoHV-1 abounds in cattle., (© 2024 The Author(s). Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

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Rock physics aims to link geological and reservoir properties to the elastic and seismic parameters. By analysing well logs and seismic data in a rock physics framework, reservoir conditions and key reservoir properties such as lithology and fluid saturations could be understood and/or predicted more precisely. In this study, we have conducted a detailed rock physics study on a heterogeneous sandstone reservoir located in south-west of Iran. First, we carried out Rock Physics Diagnostic (RPD) analysis on the data obtained from the wells based on the contact or granular-medium models and Gassmann's fluid substitution relations. Then, by using constant-cement model that was identified as the most acceptable model in the RPD analysis, P- and S-wave velocities were predicted in several wells of the studied reservoir. Due to heterogeneous nature of the reservoir, we used various cement percentages (2–9%) for estimating seismic velocities at different subzones of the studied interval. The generated error logs show that the constant-cement model (with its optimised parameters) provides suitable approximation of velocities along the reservoir interval. In addition, by generating a Rock Physics Template (RPT) using well logs, we have evaluated the lithological and fluid saturation changes. In order to integrate the available 3D seismic data of the studied field in our rock physics study, we first performed pre-stack stochastic seismic inversion. The inversion results was then superimposed on the constructed RPT to have a first look identification of the hydrocarbon content in the whole 3D area of the reservoir framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease in Iran. There are several reservoirs for this disease in nature. There is little information in this regard in Iran. Aims: The present study investigated the prevalence and diversity of Brucella species in ovine reticuloendothelial organs including liver, spleen, intestine (mesenteric lymph nodes), and lung. This help to address the ability of the reservoir species in disease transmission to other animals through these organs. Methods: A total of 200 ovine visceral organs including 44 intestines, 51 lungs, 52 spleens, and 52 livers were collected. The presence of different Brucella species was studied using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The results demonstrated the prevalence of Brucella species in 56 (28.4%) samples. In addition, liver and intestine were the most and the least infected organs, respectively. In general, 48 out of 56 positive samples were infected with Brucella abortus, while 10 samples were infected with Brucella melitensis. Conclusion: Eventually, the results approved the possible presence of B. abortus among domestic animals, especially sheep and cattle, and highlighted the role of sheep as reservoir hosts for its potential transfer to cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by different species of Leishmania is transmitted by Phlebotominae sandflies. This disease remains a public health concern in Iran. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine Leishmania infection in sandflies and reservoir rodents in six rural regions of Nahavand, located in western Iran. From May to October 2022, sandflies and rodents were collected and identified at the species level. Additionally, rodents' skin lesions and earlobe specimens were collected separately for microscopic and molecular examination. All specimens were tested for Leishmania DNA by PCRs targeting the parasite's ITS-2 and 18S rRNA gene and positive were Sanger sequenced. A total of 3396 sandflies belonging to seven subgenera and 11 species, i.e., Phlebotomus papatasi (42.7%), P. major (20.6%), P. mascitti (0.3%), P. neglectus (0.2%), P. alexandri (0.2%), P. turanicus (0.3%), Sergentomyia murgabiensis (18.1%), S. dentata (10.5%), S. theodori (5.8%), S. antennata (1.1%), and S. pawlowski (0.1%) were identified. Based on the species population, 29 pools of sandflies were examined for the presence of Leishmania DNA using conventional PCR (cPCR), and individual DNAs were tested when positive. Leishmania major DNA was detected in two P. papatasi and Leishmania sp. in one P. major individual sandfly. This is the first report of Leishmania infection in sandflies from Hamadan province. The captured rodents (n = 61) belonged to four families and seven species, i.e., Arvicola amphibius (37.7%), Mus musculus (29.5%), Microtus socialis (13.1%), Apodemus sylvaticus (11.5%), Talpa davidiana (4.9%), Apodemus witherbyi (1.6%), and Rattus norvegicus (1.6%). Microscopic and molecular examinations of the rodent lesions and earlobes scored negative results. The presence of Leishmania in the Phlebotominae sandflies in Nahavand indicates a potential threat to humans and animals in the region. Regular monitoring and examination of the sandflies' population and timely diagnosis and treatment of new patients are strongly recommended., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Reservoirs provide rural and municipal water supply for various purposes such as drinking water, irrigation, hydropower, industrial purposes and recreational activities. Supplying these demands depends strongly on the dam reservoir capacity. Hence, reservoir storage capacity prediction is a determining factor in water resources planning and management, drought risk management, flood risk assessment and management. In the present study, imperialist competitive algorithm as a relatively new socio-political-based global search technique introduced for solving different optimization problems employed to predict reservoir storage capacity of Shaharchay dam located in the Urmia lake basin in northwest of Iran. The high convergence rate of imperialist competitive algorithm along with its capability in finding global optimal is striking aspect of the algorithm. The results obtained from this algorithm were compared with those of Artificial Neural Network. The comparison of the results with the measured ones by means of error measures indicates the superiority of imperialist competitive algorithm over Artificial Neural Network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the potential impacts of climate changes on hydrological drought of the Zayandehrud basin in Iran. The meteorological data was simulated using the LARS-WG model by output downscaling of HADCM3, INCM3 and NCCCSM from 2011 to 2040 under A1B, A2 and B1 scenarios. In order to estimate the runoff of the basin, the IHACRES model was calibrated and validated by data obtained from the Koohrang station during 1987-2007. The runoff was calculated for 2011-2040 period based on the mean of downscaling values in the IHACRES model. Then, the impact of climate changes on hydrological drought was studied by a probabilistic approach and MSUI index. The results revealed a drastic reduction in normal levels and also a significant increase in moderate, severe, and very severe drought levels in the future compared to the base period. The MSUI index represents a 42.32% reduction in the normal level based on the HADCM3 model under A1B scenario as well as an 86.8%increasein the severe drought. Furthermore, the HADCM3 model using the probabilistic approach showed a 73% reduction under the A2 scenario for normal condition and an increase of 20% for severe drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compositional gradient known as a potential of vertically variations in composition (and sometimes areal changes) has a remarkable effect on reservoir management steps such as estimation of initial hydrocarbon in place, design of downstream equipments and prediction of gas-oil contact. One of the main steps in development of compositional grading is to characterize fluid sample. In this study, compositional grading is studied in a volatile oil sample from an oil field in south of Iran. Implemented models are based on isothermal and non-isothermal, i.e., zero diffusion, Hasse and Kempers models. Results illustrated that isothermal and zero diffusion models are in appropriate consistency with field data. Then, effect of C splitting on compositional grading was studied. It was shown that splitting of C to more pseudo-components does not have significant effect on variation in composition of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kowsar Damis constructed on the Kheyrabad River at the northern limb of the Duck Anticline, close to itsNW plunge, SW Iran. The dam is built on the karstic Asmari Formation, and the reservoir is in direct contact with this formation from the dambody to the upstream impermeable Gachsaran Formation. After reservoir impounding, several new springs emerged from the Asmari Formation, adjacent to the old small springs at the southern limb of the Duck Anticline. The discharge of these downstream springs was not reduced despite grout curtain treatment works. The main water leakage route is not below or through the grout curtain, as shown by considering rock permeability in pilot and check holes, cement consumption in grouting boreholes, boreholewater levels, spring locations, and discharge of the dam galleries. The Duck Anticline is hydrogeologically connected to the adjacent Dill and Pahn Anticlines, comprising the Asmari Karst Aquifer, which is divided into three karst sub-aquifers. The general flow direction of karst water in each sub-aquifer was determined using hydrogeological analysis and water balance calculations. Two alternative models are proposed for water flow at the northern limb of the Duck Anticline. The main leakage route toward the downstream springs is most probably through a relict karst conduit system, developed along bedding planes of the Asmari Formation at theNWplunge of the anticline, according to the first proposed model. In this case, the water leakage can be significantly reduced by extension of the grout curtain further into the upstream impermeable Gachsaran Formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asmari and Sarvak limestone are two main oil producer formations in Iran and the Middle East. Perception and optimal utilization of these reservoirs will have a significant impact on the economy of the petroleum industries. Geomechanical modelling of oil reservoirs are widely used in optimum drilling, production and reservoir compaction. Hence, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and static Young’ modulus ( E S ) are the most essential parameters for any reservoir geomechanical modelling. However, information on the value of UCS and E S along the well length is often discontinuous and limited to cross well with the core. Therefore, dynamic Young’s modulus ( E d ) determined from open hole log data such as density ( ρ ) and compressional and shear wave velocities could results in continuous estimation of elastic properties of the well length. Nevertheless, static parameters are more reliable than the dynamic parameters and they are widely accepted by geomechanics community around the world. Therefore, finding a valid correlation between static and dynamic parameters could result in a continuous and more reliable knowledge on elastic parameters. In this study, the uniaxial compressive strength and ultrasonic tests were carried out on 45 Asmari and Sarvak limestone core specimen. Then, local correlations were established between dynamic and static measurements. Suggested equations were compared with previous relations. Moreover, the sensitivity of the suggested relations to crushed and compacted zones were investigated. These expressions are utilized for future wellbore stability analysis, fracture detections and hydraulic fracturing studies across many oil and gas fields in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a growing tendency to assess the safety levels of existing dams by using mathematical and statistical methods. In this study, the application of risk and uncertainty analysis to dam overtopping is presented for Doroudzan Reservoir located at the south part of Iran. The main objective of the overtopping analysis of dams is estimating the height of water in the reservoir under various inflows and comparing the computed results with the dam crest elevation. Hence, the main steps of this study include univariate flood frequency analysis of annual maximum inflows to estimate the peak flows in various return periods, generate inflow hydrographs based on the estimated peak flows, and route the hydrographs through the reservoir to compute the maximum height of the water in reservoir. In this study, the spillway discharge coefficient, quantile of peak flows, and initial water surface level are subject to uncertainty, and the Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) and Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) are applied to perform the uncertainty analysis. In addition to inflows, the effect of different wind speeds on the probability of overtopping has been considered. The results demonstrated that both increasing water level and wind speed have significant impact on the risk of overflowing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To identify the vectors and reservoirs of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the endemic focus of Farashband, Fars Province, South of Iran. Methods: Sticky papers and Sherman trap were used for collection of sand flies and rodents, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of kDNA, ITS1-rDNA were used for identification of Leishmania parasite in sand flies as well as rodents. Results: Totally 2 010 sand flies were collected and the species of Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli was the common specimen in outdoors and indoors places. PCR technique was employed on 130 females of Phlebotomus papatasi. One of them (0.76%) was positive to parasite Leishmania major (L. major) and one specimen (0.76%) was positive to Leishmania infantum. Microscopic investigation on blood smear of the animal reservoirs for amastigote parasites revealed 16 (44%) infected Tatera indica. Infection of them to L. major was confirmed by PCR against kDNA loci of the parasite. Conclusions: The results indicated that Phlebotomus papatasi was the dominant species circulating two species of parasites including L. major and Leishmania infantum among human and reservoirs. Furthermore, Tatera indica is the only main host reservoir for maintenance of the parasite source in the area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new predictive methodology is introduced, based on a combined principal component analysis (PCA), Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA), and artificial neural network (ANN) methodologies for parameters estimation of a petroleum reservoir. Prediction of continuous petrophysical parameters is often time consuming and complicated because of geological variability such as facies changes due to sedimentary and structural changes. The petrophysical parameters, however, are usually difficult to measure due to reliability considerations, limitations insights on cost, inappropriate instrument maintenance, and sensor failures, evaluated by crude diagrams of reservoir parameters valuably. PCA and FDA provides an optimal lower dimensional representation in terms of discriminating among classes of data and are developed utilizing the reservoir historical data to incorporate reliability and prediction capabilities of ANN. The developed soft sensors are applied to predict the parameters of Marun reservoir located in Ahwaz, Iran, by utilizing the available geophysical well log data. The resulting outcomes demonstrate the promising capabilities of the proposed hybrid PCA-FDA-NN methodology than the conventional back-propagation NN, FDA, and PCA algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Considering all different formations in Zagros Basin, the Cretaceous column has a remarkable position. Fahliyan Carbonate Formation with the age of Neocomian (Lower Cretaceous) is a main reservoir of Khami Group and is extended in whole Zagros Basin. Considering Fahliyan performance as a high-quality reservoir and Marun Oil Field as one of the top biggest oil fields in Dezful Embayment, southwest Iran, a detailed study looked quite necessary in this area. This research was mainly done based on petrographic methods. Moreover, well logs were used as a subsidiary tool to assess the reservoir potential of microfacies. After recognition of microfacies and evaluation of lateral and vertical variations (using Walter's law), the depositional model of Fahliyan Formation was proposed. At the final stage, compartments with more reservoir potential were proposed. Generally speaking, the main tasks done through this study are study of different kinds of microfacies, study of diagenetic processes, study of depositional environment, and assessment of microfacies with reservoir potential using thin sections and well logs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sediment yield data, collected for most regions in Iran has been insufficient and not so reliable and there is still not any sufficiently reliable methodology available for sediment yield assessment in the country as a whole. On the other hand, an attainment of reliable sediment yield data is a must and key requirement for the design of effective sediment management as well as control strategies. Sediment deposition in reservoirs is assumed as a very useful tool in providing such data. The main objective of the present research was to discuss a combination of both source fingerprinting technique and reservoir sediment survey to provide reliable data on sediment yield of geological formations for three small catchments in Semnan Province, Iran. Throughout the study, the volume and mass of deposited sediments in reservoirs were initially assessed. Fingerprinting technique was employed to identify the contribution to, as well as the specific sediment deposition yield of each geological formation into reservoir sediments. Results indicate that there is a high spatial variation in Specific Sediment Yield (SSY) among the geological formations in all the three catchments varying from 2.98 t ha-1 year-1 to 0.16 t ha-1 year-1. The results also emphasize the importance of Quaternary Units and Upper Red Formation as the dominant surface sources within some vast areas of the catchments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ant colony optimization algorithm (ACA) has the powerful ability to search for a globally optimal solution, and the back-propagation (BP) algorithm features rapid convergence on local optima. A proper hybrid of the two algorithms (ACA-BP) may accelerate the evolution of neural networks and improve their forecasting precision. An ACA-BP scheme adopts an ACA to search for the optimal combination of weights in the solution space and then uses a BP algorithm to obtain the accurate optimal solution quickly. The ACA-BP and BP algorithms were applied to predict the permeability of Mansuri Bangestan reservoir located in Ahwaz, Iran, utilizing available geophysical well log data. Experimental results showed that the proposed ACA-BP scheme was more efficient and effective than the BP algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reservoir system reliability is the ability of reservoir to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. In classical method of reservoir system reliability analysis, the operation policy is used in a simple simulation model, considering the historical/synthetic inflow series and a number of physical bounds on a reservoir system. This type of reliability analysis assumes a reservoir system as fully failed or functioning, called binary state assumption. A number of researchers from various research backgrounds have shown that the binary state assumption in the traditional reliability theory is not extensively acceptable. Our approach to tackle the present problem space is to implement the algorithm of advance first order second moment (AFOSM) method. In this new method, the inflow and reservoir storage are considered as uncertain variables. The mean, variance and covariance of uncertain variables are determined using moment values of reservoir state variables. For this purpose, a stochastic optimization model developed based on the constraint state formulation is applied. The proposed model of reliability analysis is used to a real case study in Iran. As a result, monthly probabilities of water allocation were computed from AFOSM method, and the outputs were compared with those from Monte Carlo method. The comparison shows that the outputs from AFOSM method are similar to those from the Monte Carlo method. In term of practical use of this study, the proposed method is appropriate to determine the monthly probability of failure in water allocation without the aid of simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we investigate how the integration of back-propagation (BP) with particle swarm optimization (PSO) improves the reliability and prediction capability of PSO. This strategy is applied to predict permeability in Mansuri Bangestan reservoir located in Ahwaz, Iran, utilizing available geophysical well log data. Our methodology utilizes a hybrid PSO–BP. The particle swarm optimization algorithm was shown to converge rapidly during the initial stages of a global search, but around global optimum, the search process will become very slow. On the contrary, the gradient descending method can achieve faster convergence speed around global optimum and with greater accuracy. The proposed algorithm combines the local search ability of the gradient-based BP strategy with the global search ability of particle swarm optimization. PSO is used to decide the initial weights of the gradient decent methods so that all of the initial weights can be searched intelligently. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid PSO–BP algorithm is better than the PSO algorithm in convergence speed and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most carbonate fractured reservoirs display complex behaviour in the simulation and production stages of their development, and this complexity is thought to be the result of the different fracture distributions and intensities within the reservoir. Accurate fracture characterization is therefore essential and the two techniques most commonly used for fracture prediction are ‘strain analysis’ and ‘curvature analysis’. In this paper these two methods of fracture analysis are compared by applying them to the Gachsaran oil field in the Zagros folded belt and comparing the predictions of the two with the performance history of the reservoir. This reservoir is well suited for such a study as there is a large quantity of seismic data and over 350 wells have been drilled. Fracture intensity indicator maps have been produced using both methods and the results compared with production index data from the wells. The indicator map produced using the 3D strain analysis method in which special attention was given to the structural setting, structural evolution and the position of the fractures with respect to the local stress orientation, was found to be more compatible with the production index data than the map produced using the method of curvature analysis. In addition, the study also demonstrates that one of the great advantages of strain analysis compared to the curvature method is its ability to predict variations in the vertical direction and thus provide data related to a reservoir volume rather than simply to a surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To determine the sand flies species responsible for most transmission of Leishmania major (L. major) to human, as well as to determine the main reservoir hosts of the disease. Methods: Sand flies were collected using sticky papers and mounted in Puri''s medium for species identification. Rodents were trapped by live Sherman traps. Both sand flies and rodents were subjected to molecular methods for detection of leishmanial parasite. Results: Phlebotomus papatasi (P. papatasi) was the common species in outdoor and indoor resting places. Employing PCR technique only three specimens of 150 P. papatasi (2%) were found naturally infected by parasites with a band of 350 bp which is equal to the L. major parasite. Forty six rodents were captured by Sherman traps and identified. Microscopic investigation on blood smear of the animals for amastigote parasites revealed 1 (3.22%) infected Meriones libycus (M. libycus). Infection of this animal to L. major was confirmed by PCR against rDNA loci of the parasite. Conclusions: This is the first molecular report of parasite infection of both vector (P. papatasi) and reservoir (M. libycus) to L. major in the region. The results indicated that P. papatasi was the primary vector of the disease and circulating the parasite between human and reservoirs and M. libycus was the most important host reservoir for maintenance of the parasite source in the area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To reveal subspecies composition of Rhombomy opimus (R. opimus) in Iran. Methods: In this study, field specimens of the gerbil were collected from all its geographical rang in northeast and central parts of Iran and identified on basis of morphological characteristics. Results: Results revealed presence of two subspecies of R. opimus sodalis and R. opimus sargadensis in the country. The first subspecies with brown to hazel-nut color and a size bigger than a typical R. opimus was found only in Golestan province, an isolated colony which is located in plains of north slopes of Alborz Chain Mountains of the country, connected with the Turkmenistan. The subspecies of R. opimus sargadensis with a yellowish color and similar size as a typical R. opimus was found in all other areas of the great gerbil distribution in Iran. There was a distinct topographic difference but similar ectoparasites between colonies of the two subspecies in the study area. Conclusions: Further ecological and genetic investigations are required for more detailed description of the R. opimus subspecies range and structure. The R. opimus – Phlebotomus papatasi-Leishmania major association and the ZCL severity and outcome in hosts are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Upper Jurassic carbonates of the Mozduran Formation constitute the principal reservoir intervals at the giant Khangiran and Gonbadli gasfields in the Kopet Dagh Basin, NE Iran. These carbonates were investigated using detailed field studies and petrographic and wireline log analyses in order to clarify their depositional facies and sequence stratigraphy. Facies were interpreted to reflect deep basin, fore-shoal, shelf margin, lagoon, tidal flat and coastal plain depositional systems. The Mozduran Formation is composed of six depositional sequences. Thickness variations were controlled by differential subsidence. Aggradation on the platform margin and reduced carbonate production in the deep basin together with differential subsidence resulted in the creation of a narrow seaway during the late Oxfordian. Petrographic studies suggest that Mozduran Formation carbonates had a low-Mg calcite mineralogy during the Oxfordian, and an aragonite to high-Mg calcite mineralogy during the Kimmeridgian. Reservoir pay zones are located in highstand systems tracts within the lower and middle Kimmeridgian depositional sequences. The rapid lateral thickness variations of these sequences were controlled by tectonic factors, leading to compartmentalization of the Mozduran Formation reservoir with the possible creation of stratigraphic traps, especially at the Khangiran field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]