Search

The native populations of Iris hymenospatha and Iris histrio, two endangered bulbous species within the large Iris genus in Iridaceae, are threatened with extinction due to mining and other industrial activities in their natural habitats in Central Asia, including Iran. These species not only have a significant economic impact on the global horticultural industry due to their versatility and attractive phenotypic traits, but also have significant ecological value that necessitates their conservation. In this study, we examined the morphological and functional diversity between individuals within these two species, which exhibit high tolerance to environmental stresses. Our study examined 10 populations of I. hymenospatha and two populations of I. histrio based on bulb, flower, and leaf characteristics throughout Iran. We recognized a gradation of five different leaf shapes among I. hymenospatha populations with significant differences between some populations, including "Arak-Khomain" and "Arak-Gerdo". The "Jaro", "Natanz-Karkas", "Ardestan-Taleghan", "Arak-Rahjerd", "Arak-Gerdo", "Ganjnameh", and "Abas-Abad" populations of I. hymenospatha displayed maximal values in leaf width, stem diameter under flower, crown diameter, flower number, leaf number, and bulb diameter. The I. histrio "Velian" population had a significantly larger flower size, a longer stem length, a larger style width, a longer flowering date, and a higher plant height compared to the "Ganjnameh" population of I. histrio. Such characteristics of both species make them remarkable ornamental plants. Our study also revealed that I. hymenospatha populations grow on different soils and elevations and have the ability to adapt to different growing conditions. Given the threats they face, conservation through horticultural selection and propagation offers a viable conservation strategy for both species. This approach not only preserves the genetic diversity of these species, but also enables their further contribution to the horticultural industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single Iris bushes can be seen in many flower and bird miniature of Shiraz painters. This flower grows in the region of Susa. The region of Susa or Suzian has been so named because of the growth of Iris - in the west and southwest of present in the Elamite period, and has a religious connection with the Elamite goddess and has a symbolic aspect in the culture and art of ancient Iran. Also emphasizes the belief of the people of this region in the mother-gods and Iris can be known in the Ural language "As the land of the Aryans". In the islamic period, due to the prohibition of portraiture, the use of the role of Iris (Islamic) in the decoration of places such as mosques and elements that add to their architectural nature such as water(pool) and light(skylight) is a continuation of the traditions of temples and crypts of worship of the goddess Anahita. The aim is the genealogy of the Iris flower and its connection with the gods in the art of ancient Iran and its transformation in the Islamic period. So what is relationship between he celestial Iris and the goddess Anahita? And how did its transformation into Islam manifest itself in the Islamic period? And what is its place in Safavid to Qajar flowers and birid miniature? The research method is descriptive and analytical and data collection is library and electronic. The findings show that the Iris is known in pre-islamic texts as the guardian of the plant and water on earth, Along with the goddess Anahita, with two amshaspands of "Hwrtat" and "Ameretat". In the art of ancient Iran, the role of the Iris along with the Lotus and Ahuramazda, formed the holy trinity of the Iranians and confirmed their religious aspect by appearing in the murals of the stairs of apadana palace. In the Islamic period, artists established the abstract role of Iris in Islamic, Islimi or Arabesque Form in religious places. From the Safavid period onwards, when Iranian painting tended towards naturalism, artists used western painting methods and applied it realistically, not only in murals and marquises, but also in the texture of fabrics. Examining the composition of Irises in lacquer works, it can be understood that the artists of the fitrat period had some knowledge of the characteristics of two flowers of the Iris and the lily. as well as the poems that we see in the margins of these roles that contain words such as "mirror", idol (goddess of Pinikir), ornament (Anahita's feature in Aban yasht), seal, light, wheel (sky), moon (goddess of sin), sitting on the mirror (emphasis on the moon), divine kight (Mitra), the shadow of god the connection between Mehr and Anahita, which is between water and light, can be understood. Light emerges from three sources (sun, moon and stars). It can be understood that these lacquered mirror cases & book coovers in the Zand and Qajar periods (the school of flowers) were an emphasis on Anahita's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Iris germanica L. is a medicinal plant, which has a long history of uses, mainly in medieval Persia and many places worldwide for the management of a wide variety of diseases. In this study, we aimed to review ethnopharmacological applications in addition to phytochemical and pharmacological properties of I. germanica. Key findings: Ethnomedical uses of I. germanica have been reported from many countries such as China, Pakistan, India, Iran and Turkey. The medicinal part of I. germanica is the rhizome and the roots. Based on phytochemical investigations, different bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, triterpenes, sterols, phenolics, ceramides and benzoquinones, have been identified in its medicinal parts. Current pharmacological studies represent that the plant possesses several biological and therapeutic effects, including neuroprotective, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antiplasmodial, antifungal, immunomodulatory, cytotoxic and antimutagenic effects. Summary: Although the majority of preclinical studies reported various pharmacological activities of this plant, however, sufficient clinical trials are not currently available. Therefore, to draw a definitive conclusion about the efficacy and therapeutic activities of I. germanica and its bioactive compounds, further clinical and experimental studies are required. Moreover, it is necessary to focus on the pharmacokinetic and safety studies on the extracts of I. germanica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital images allow for the objective evaluation of facial appearance and abnormalities as well as treatment outcomes and stability. With the advancement of technology, manual clinical measurements can be replaced with fully automatic photographic assessments. However, obtaining millimetric measurements on photographs does not provide clinicians with their actual value due to different image magnification ratios. A deep learning tool was developed to estimate linear measurements on images with unknown magnification using the iris diameter. A framework was designed to segment the eyes' iris and calculate the horizontal visible iris diameter (HVID) in pixels. A constant value of 12.2 mm was assigned as the HVID value in all the photographs. A vertical and a horizontal distance were measured in pixels on photographs of 94 subjects and were estimated in millimeters by calculating the magnification ratio using HVID. Manual measurement of the distances was conducted on the subjects and the actual and estimated amounts were compared using Bland-Altman analysis. The obtained error was calculated as mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 2.9% and 4.3% in horizontal and vertical measurements. Our study shows that due to the consistent size and narrow range of HVID values, the iris diameter can be used as a reliable scale to calibrate the magnification of the images to obtain precise measurements in further research., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Vitiligo is a common acquired disorder characterized by depigmented cutaneous patches devoid of melanocytes. The disease carries a risk for ocular abnormalities. Few reports are available about the ocular findings and their possible association with the disease in patients with vitiligo in the literature. Methods: A total of 72 patients with previously documented cutaneous vitiligo were examined for ocular findings and 50 healthy individuals were enrolled as the control group in Razi Hospital in Tehran, Iran during years 2007-2008. Demographic features including age, gender, duration of the disease, presence of any accompanying autoimmune diseases, type of vitiligo and its anatomical distribution were recorded to investigate a possible association between the disease and the ocular findings. Results: Amongst 72 patients with vitiligo, 11 (15.3%) had ocular findings including retinal pigment epithelium hypopigmentation, posterior pole pigment changes, peripheral iris atrophy, atrophy of retinal pigment epithelium and iris hyperpigmentation. Amongst the controls, only two cases (4%) had ocular findings which consisted of iris hyperpigmentation. The relationship between ocular findings and vitiligo was statistically significant (p= 0.04). No other remarkable features, such as age, gender, age at the onset of the disease, type of vitiligo, presence of priorbital lesions or body surface area involvement by the disease, were suggestive of an association or presenting a risk factor for vitiligo. Conclusion: Although the sample size and prevalence of ocular findings were not satisfactory enough to make a definite conclusion, we found a higher occurrence of ocular findings in patients with vitiligo than the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 24-year-old Iranian woman presented to our department for routine eye control. She had had cosmetic iris implants (BrightOcular©) implanted 5 years before in a Tunisian eye clinic in order to change the color of her eyes. Despite subjective freedom of symptoms, a dramatically reduced corneal endothelial cell count was measured in the left eye. Therefore, surgical removal of the angle-supported cosmetic iris implants was necessary. Cosmetic iris implants are associated with sight-threatening complications-even years after their implantation. We report on a case of cosmetic iris implants inserted for alteration of eye color only, which gave rise to serious complications for our patient.