Annual Research & Review in Biology

Aims: The objective of this research was to assess the effect of cultivars and processing stages on soybean seed quality as well as determining the step that exacerbates mechanical damage to seeds.
Study Design: Losing soybean seed quality under effect of processing stages accomplished through an experiment in factorial arrangement (6×3) with 18 treatments based on completely randomized design with three replications.
Place and Duration of Study: This study carried out in Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Institute of Sari- Iran (2011-12).
Methodology: The experiment proceeded with two separate factors, the first factor consisted of six different seed Processing stages: before cleaning, after elevator, after pre-cleaning, after cleaning, after drying and after packaging, and the second factor involved three cultivars of soybean, Telar, Sari and Line 033.
Result: Cultivar effect on germination percentage, cracked seed coat percentage, mean germination time, germination after accelerated aging test, electrical conductivity test and seedling vigor index was significant. However these parameters were significantly affected by different processing stages.
Conclusion: The lowest value of germination percentage, the highest value of broken seed percentage and the greatest value of cracked seed coat percentage caused after elevator stage while the rest of processing stages led to maximum quality of seed.

Studying the quantitative effect of tomato viruses including tomato yellow leaf curl (TYLCV), cucumber mosaic (CMV), tomato mosaic (TMV) and potato virus Y (PVY) revealed that tomato productivity and fruit weight were severely affected by the number of viruses infected the plant at the same time. Simultaneous occurrence of the four viruses on tomato plants caused drastic reduction in the number of fruit and weight approaching 96% and 93% respectively. Also, mixed infection of tomato with three viruses reduced the number of fruit and weight by72-92% and 52-84% respectively. Plant infection with TYLCV alone reduced the fruit number by 77% and 46% for fruit weight. Single infection by either CMV or TMV caused a reduction in the number of fruit and weight by 63% and 25% or 52% and 12% respectively.

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea and its severity among female university students in Iran; its associated symptoms; its impact on academic performance and social activities.
Study Design: This is a cross – sectional descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: This study carried out from May to July 2012 in the Islamic Azad university, branch of Rasht in Iran.
Methodology: A cross – sectional survey of 600 students conducted by questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts that included demographic characteristics; menstrual history; and impact of dysmenorrhea on academic performance and social activities. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the severity of dysmenorrhea. Data were analyzed using the chi-squire test by SPSS.
Results: The results showed that the prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 73.2% and there were significant differences between pain intensity and associated symptoms (P<0.05). Among participants, 69.7% expressed that dysmenorrhea had an adverse effect on their academic performance. Also, more than 60% of participants reported that their social activities and relationships with family were affected by dysmenorrhea. Statistically significant correlation was observed between pain duration, its severity, and social activities (P<0/0001).
Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among female university students and is related to absenteeism and limitations in social and academic performance. Therefore, it is necessary that educational programs about its effective methods can help alleviate the discomfort during menses.

Background: In previous studies it has been emphasized that morphine effectiveness site may be either in the embryo or the placenta. In this study, we perused the morphine effect site in embryo with placenta, simultaneously. Animals treated by C¹⁴-Morphine.
Material and Methods: Experimental groups received daily doses of 0.05mg/ml C¹⁴-morphine in their drinking water. On the 9^th and14^th embryonic days, the rats were anesthetized, embryos with the placenta removed and were fixed in 10% formalin for two weeks. Then, processed, sectioned in 5 and 25µm thicknesses, and fixed on glass slides for further evaluation. The 25µm sections were delivered to black and white film for three days. Films processed and evaluated with a digital inverse microscope for possible radiological impression. The 5µm sections were processed for H&E staining, and evaluated by light microscope and MOTIC software.
Results: Results showed that total surface of 9^th- day placenta and embryo, increases simultaneously in compare with control one. 14^th- day placenta, showed a significant decrease. Labeled morphine consumption data, revealed that maximum location of morphine effect aggregation is simultaneously on the placental villi and whole embryo.
Conclusion: Morphine effect to detect embryo’s normal growth can be result from its effect on normal placental development and its passage from placental barrier.

Aims: The reaction forces of the Milwaukee Brace’s (MB’s) several areas were measured during normal daily activities (24 hr) by a new measurement device improved in order to force acquisition by groups of sensors distributed in all of the MB’s internal areas.
Methodology: In the current study, a new measurement system using Force Sensitive Resistance (FSRs) distributed on the different areas of MB for scoliosis patients. Sensitivity analysis has been fulfilled to compare two different sensors arrangements placed in the basket of MB. A reliability analysis has been carried out for normal activities including sitting, walking and sleeping. Two healthy volunteers and two scoliosis patients were nominated to force acquisition from their MB during 23 hours of daily activities.
Results: In the sensitivity analysis, maximum value of Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.775 for sitting at basket lateral side. In the reliability analysis, the maximum and minimum difference between the force values of the two arrangements is 1.37(N) and 0.19(N) respectively related to the sitting test. The tests for each subject commenced with 9-11 hours of sleeping and continued for 12-14 hours in which main activities were sitting and walking. The forces average values of each part of the tests were reported for different areas of MBs. The mean, median, mode, standard deviation and ratio of standard deviation on the mean have been calculated for each brace region for both time durations.
Conclusion: The brace different areas forces for sleeping and day time activities had normal distribution. The force value of the brace regions having direct contact with mattress surface was increased during sleeping with respect to day time activities. Other regions forces were decreased or remained constant in this time duration. The forces detected from the lumbar pad during most of the test time were constant.

Aims: Study of maximum pressure in the left ventricle (MPLV) has already been a challenging aspect of clinical diagnosis. The aim of this study was to propose a model to estimate the MPLV for a healthy subject based on cardiac outputs measured by echo-Doppler (non-invasive) and catheterization (invasive) techniques at rest and during exercise.
Study Design and Methodology: Blood flow through the aortic valve was measured by Doppler flow echocardiography. The aortic valve geometry was then calculated by echocardiographic imaging. A Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulation was performed, using an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) mesh. Boundary conditions were defined as pressure loads on ventricular and aortic sides during ejection phase. The FSI modelling was applied to determine a numerical relationship between the cardiac output to left ventricular and aortic diastolic pressures. These relationships enable the prediction of pressure loads from cardiac outputs measured by invasive and non-invasive clinical methods.
Results: Peak ventricular systolic pressure calculated from cardiac output of Doppler method, Fick oximetric and Thermodilution methods led to a 82.1%, 95.6% and 147% increment throughout exercise, respectively. The mean slopes obtained from curves of ventricular systolic pressure based on Doppler, Fick oximetric and Thermodilution methods are 1.27, 1.85 and 2.65mmHg.min, respectively. Our predicted Fick-MPLV values were 8% to 19% lower, 17% to 25% lower for Thermodilution-MPLV and 57% to 73% lower for Doppler-MPLV values when compared to clinical reports.
Conclusion: Predicted results are in good agreement with values in the literature. The method, however, requires validation by additional experiments, comprising independent quantifications of MPLV. Since flow depends on the pressure loads, measuring more accurate intraventricular pressures helps to understand the cardiac flow dynamics for better clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, the method is noninvasive, safe, cheap and practical. As clinical Fick-measured values have been known to be more accurate, our Fick-based prediction could be the most applicable.

Aims: This study assessed the larval mosquito diversity and distribution in rice field agro-ecosystems in Quezon Province, Philippines.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Sariaya, Quezon Province, Philippines between November 2011 and January 2012.
Methodology: Grab water samples were obtained in the constructed agricultural wetlands and were assessed for physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, and total dissolved solids). Mosquito larvae surveys were conducted in the rice field agro-ecosystems using the standard dipping method, and fourth instar larvae were examined to genus level morphologically using standard keys.
Results: A total of 2,106 mosquito larvae were collected from the rice field agro-ecosystems. Of these total, four genera were obtained, namely, Culex sp., Anopheles sp., Stegomyia sp., and Toxorhynchites sp. The monitored rice field agro-ecosystem had a high breeding index but low to medium mosquito diversity. No significant differences on the breeding and diversity index exist across the study sites examined (P =0.36).
Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of the occurrence of mosquito larvae is necessary as it plays an important role in the transmission of mosquito-related diseases.

Aims: Schefflera arboricola is an evergreen shrub in the family Araliaceae. Beside Mycorrhizae are symbiotic associations which can enhance rooting of horticulture plants. Although commercially produced inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi is readily available to horticulturist, cultivar specific responses to inoculation are unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi on the rooting of cuttings of Schefflera arboricola.
Study Design: The rooting test of cuttings involved a one-factor (inoculation) randomized block design with 3 replication plots with 27 cuttings.
Place and Duration of Study: This experiment was executed in the greenhouse of Research Institute in University of Zabol in Iran on May 2013. Duration of experiment was approximately 45 days.
Methodology: This experiment was carried out by application of 2 species of Glomus as mycorrhizal fungi and their blend to rooting media on Schefflera cuttings and comparison of them to non-inoculated cuttings. Parameters such as rooting, number of root, total length of root, root fresh and dry weight per each cutting were measured.
Results: The result showed Using mycorrhizal fungi in rooting substrate increased root initiation, number of rooted cuttings and number of roots per each cutting compared to control treatments. Although the effect of MF on root length wasn’t significant, the greatest total root length per cutting was observed in G. mosseae fungi with nearly 55 cm, whiles cutting in control treatments had 2.97 cm total root length. Also the effect of MF on root fresh and dry weight wasn’t significant, but in these characteristics mosseae treatments was better than the others. Observation of roots by microscope showed Symbiosis between plants and fungi. Thus application of mycorrhizal fungi can enhanced the rooting of Schefflera cuttings and greenhouse owner can use this way for acceleration to ornamental plants production.

Aims: The study was carried out to assess the soil Phosphorus (P) status (available and total) in farms with organic amendments and compared the results to those which practice an integrated amendment system. In conjugation to P status of soil, the soil microbial flora in terms of total microbial count and Phosphate Solubilizing Microorganisms (PSM) was studied. The soil chemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), available nitrogen and potassium were also evaluated.
Study Design: The sites selected for study comprised 8 fields of maize (Zea mays) on two farms (4 fields for A1 and 4 fields for A2).The organic amendment (A1) included farm yard compost (FYC) applied at the rate of 4 ton/Ha, as a basal dose which was applied before sowing. In these fields, after sowing, a five day fermented concoction of cow dung, jaggery, soil, cow urine and gram flour was applied with watering twice, at seven days interval from sowing. In the integrated amendment fields (A2) FYM (farm yard manure) at the rate of 1 ton/Ha) was applied as a basal dose before sowing and DAP (di ammonium phosphate) (40 Kg/Ha) + urea (60 Kg/Ha) was applied at 15-20 days after sowing. The study was carried out for two seasons of crops in the year of 2012, February-May and July-Oct , at three different phases of crop growth (15, 45 and 60 days after sowing).
Place of Study: Different agricultural fields in semi-arid zone of Kachchh, Western India (23º13’48.00’’N, 69º42’35.06’’E) were chosen.
Methodology: Samples were collected from the rhizosphere of the crop upto the depth of 12 cm using standard soil sampling procedure. Four samples were collected per hectare and pooled to form one composite sample. Samples were analyzed in triplicates. Soil samples were divided into two parts, one part of the sample was air dried and sieved through a 2 mm sieve and analyzed for chemical characteristics and another part of soil sample was stored at 4°C for microbiological analysis.
Results: The results demonstrated that although this zone of western India has good amounts of total P, the available P status was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05, 0.01, 0.001) in organic amended fields than integrated fields. The organic amendments were able to maintain a good microbial count (total as well as PSM) than integrated fields. This confirms that efficient nutrient management in cropping systems could lead to build up of microbial population especially PSM over time which in turn solubilize the fixed P and make it available to plants.
Conclusion: Phosphorous is an important element after nitrogen as a mineral nutrient in terms of quantitative plant requirement. Although abundant in soils, in both organic and inorganic forms, its availability is restricted as it occurs mostly in insoluble forms. PSM play a vital role through solubilisation and mineralization of fixed P. The present study focused on highlighting the beneficial effects of organic farming practices over integrated amendments, especially in the semi-arid tropics.

This study investigated the effect of climatic factors (namely, evaporation, sunshine, relative humidity, soil temperature, and air temperature) on flower and boll production and retention in cotton (Gossypium barbadense). Also, this study investigated the relationship between climatic factors and production of flowers and bolls obtained during the development periods of the flowering and boll stage, and to determine the most representative period corresponding to the overall crop pattern. Evaporation, sunshine duration, relative humidity, surface soil temperature at 1800 h, and maximum air temperature, are the important climatic factors that significantly affect flower and boll production. The least important variables were found to be surface soil temperature at 0600 h and minimum temperature. There was a negative correlation between flower and boll production and either evaporation or sunshine duration, while that correlation with minimum relative humidity was positive. Higher minimum relative humidity, short period of sunshine duration, and low temperatures enhanced flower and boll formation. Temperature appeared to be less important in the reproduction growth stage of cotton in Egypt than evaporation (water stress), sunshine duration and minimum relative humidity. These findings concur with those of other researchers except for the importance of temperature. A possible reason for that contradiction is that the effects of evaporation rate and relative humidity were not taken into consideration in the research studies conducted by other researchers in other countries.